First Jewish – Roman War The First Jewish – Roman War ( 66 – 73 CE ) , sometimes called The Great Revolt ( , " ha - Mered Ha - Gadol " , ) , was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews of Judaea Province ( Iudaea ) against the Roman Empire . The second was the Kitos War in 115 – 117 , and the third was Bar Kokhba ' s revolt of 132 – 135 . The Great Revolt began in the year 66 CE , originating in the Greek and Jewish religious tensions . The crisis escalated due to anti - taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizens . The Romans responded by plundering the Second Jewish Temple and executing up to 6 , 000 Jews in Jerusalem , prompting a full - scale rebellion . The Roman military garrison of Judaea was quickly overrun by rebels , while the pro - Roman king Agrippa II , together with Roman officials , fled Jerusalem . As it became clear the rebellion was getting out of control , Cestius Gallus , the legate of Syria , brought in the Syrian army , based on XII Fulminata and reinforced by auxiliary troops , to restore order and quell the revolt . Despite initial advances and conquest of Jaffa , the Syrian Legion was ambushed and defeated by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon with 6 , 000 Romans massacred and the Legion ' s aquila lost - a result that shocked the Roman leadership . Later , in Jerusalem , an attempt by Sicarii leader Menahem ben Yehuda to take control of the city failed . He was executed and the remaining of the Sicarii were ejected from the city . A charismatic , but radical peasant leader Simon bar Giora was also expelled by the new Judean government , and Ananus ben Ananus began reinforcing the city . Yosef ben Matityahu was appointed the rebel commander in the Galilee and Elazar ben Hananiya in Edom . The experienced and unassuming general Vespasian was given the task of crushing the rebellion in Judaea province . His son Titus was appointed as second - in - command . Given four legions and assisted by forces of King Agrippa II Vespasian invaded Galilee in 67 . Avoiding a direct attack on the reinforced city of Jerusalem , which was defended by the main rebel force , the Romans launched a persistent campaign of terror to eradicate rebel strongholds and punish the population . Within several months Vespasian and Titus took over the major Jewish strongholds of Galilee and finally overran Jodapatha , which was under the command of Yosef ben Matitiyahu , after a 47 day siege . Driven from Galilee , Zealot rebels and thousands of refugees arrived in Judea , creating political turmoil in Jerusalem . Confrontation between the mainly Sadducee Jerusalemites and the mainly Zealot factions of the Northern Revolt under the command of John of Giscala and Eleazar ben Simon , erupted into bloody violence . With Edomites entering the city and fighting by the side of the Zealots , Ananus ben Ananus was killed and his faction suffered severe casualties . Bar - Giora , commanding 15 , 000 troops , was then invited into Jerusalem by the Sadducee leaders to stand against the Zealots , and quickly took control over much of the city . Bitter infighting between factions of Bar - Giora , John and Eleazar followed through the year 69 . After a lull in the military operations , owing to civil war and political turmoil in Rome , Vespasian was called to Rome and appointed as Emperor in 69 . With Vespasian ' s departure , Titus moved to besiege the center of rebel resistance in Jerusalem in early 70 . The first two walls of Jerusalem were breached within three weeks , but a stubborn rebel standoff prevented the Roman Army from breaking the third and thickest wall . Following a brutal seven - month siege , during which Zealot infighting resulted in burning of the entire food supplies of the city , the Romans finally succeeded in breaching the defenses of the weakened Jewish forces in the summer of 70 . Following the fall of Jerusalem , Titus left for Rome , leaving Legion X " Fretensis " to defeat the remaining Jewish strongholds , finalizing the Roman campaign in Masada in 73 – 74 . Background . Following increasing Roman domination of the Eastern Mediterranean , the initially semi - independent Herodian dynasty was officially merged into the Roman Empire in the year 6 CE . The transition of the client kingdom into a Roman province brought a great deal of tension and a Jewish uprising by Judas of Galilee erupted as a response to the Census of Quirinius . This revolt was quickly put down by the Romans . The years 7 - 26 were relatively calm , but after 37 the province again began to be a source of trouble for Emperor Caligula . The cause of tensions in the east of the Empire was complicated , involving the spread of Greek culture , Roman Law and the rights of Jews in the empire . Caligula did not trust the prefect of Egypt , Aulus Avilius Flaccus . Flaccus had been loyal to Tiberius , had conspired against Caligula ' s mother and had connections with Egyptian separatists . In 38 , Caligula sent Agrippa to Alexandria unannounced to check on Flaccus . According to Philo , the visit was met with jeers from the Greek population , who saw Agrippa as the king of the Jews . Flaccus tried to placate both the Greek population and Caligula by having statues of the emperor placed in Jewish synagogues . As a result , extensive religious riots broke out in the city . Caligula responded by removing Flaccus from his position and executing him . In 39 , Agrippa accused Herod Antipas , the tetrarch of Galilee and Perea , of planning a rebellion against Roman rule with the help of Parthia . Herod Antipas confessed and Caligula exiled him . Agrippa was rewarded with his territories . Riots again erupted in Alexandria in 40 between Jews and Greeks . Jews were accused of not honoring the emperor . Disputes occurred also in the city of Jamnia . Jews were angered by the erection of a clay altar and destroyed it . In response , Caligula ordered the erection of a statue of himself in the Jewish Temple of Jerusalem , The governor of Syria , Publius Petronius , fearing civil war if the order were carried out , delayed implementing it for nearly a year . Agrippa finally convinced Caligula to reverse the order . In 46 an insurrection by the Jews broke out in Judeaea province . The Jacob and Simon uprising was instigated by two brothers Jacob and Simon and lasted between 46 - 48 . The revolt , which concentrated in the Galilee , began as sporadic insurgency and in 48 was put down by Roman authorities and both brothers executed . Chronology . Outbreak of the rebellion . According to Josephus , the violence which began at Caesarea in 66 was provoked by Greeks sacrificing birds in front of a local synagogue . The Roman garrison did not intervene and the long - standing Hellenistic and Jewish religious tensions took a downward spiral . In reaction , one of the Jewish Temple clerks Eliezar ben Hanania ceased prayers and sacrifices for the Roman Emperor at the Temple . Protests over taxation joined the list of grievances and random attacks on Roman citizens and perceived ' traitors ' occurred in Jerusalem . The Jewish Temple was then breached by Roman troops at the order of Roman governor Gessius Florus , having seventeen " talents " removed from the treasury of the Temple , claiming the money was for the Emperor . In response to this action , the city fell into unrest and some of the Jewish population began to openly mock Florus by passing a basket around to collect money as if Florus was poor . Florus reacted to the unrest by sending soldiers into Jerusalem the next day to raid the city and arrest a number of the city leaders , who were later whipped and crucified , despite many of them being Roman citizens . Shortly , outraged Judean nationalist factions took up arms and the Roman military garrison of Jerusalem was quickly overrun by rebels . Fearing the worst , the pro - Roman king Agrippa II and his sister Berenice fled Jerusalem to Galilee . Judean militias later moved upon Roman citizens of Judaea and pro - Roman officials , cleansing the country of any Roman symbols . In response to the unrest in Judaea , Cestius Gallus , the legate of Syria , assembled the Syrian legion XII Fulminata and auxiliary troops as reinforcements , a total of 30 , 000 soldiers , in order to restore order in the neighbouring province . Gallus first reached Acre in Western Galilee , and then marched on Caesarea and Jaffa , where he massacred some 8 , 400 people . The Syrian legion captured Narbata and also took Sipporis , which surrendered with no fight . The Judean rebels , who withdrew from Sipporis , took refuge at Atzmon hill , but were defeated following a short siege . Continuing his military campaign , Gallus took Lydda and Afeq and engaged Jerusalemite rebels in Geva , where he lost 500 Roman troops to Judean rebels under Simon bar Giora , reinforced by ally volunteers from Adiabene . The Syrian legion then invested Jerusalem , but for uncertain reasons and despite initial gains , withdrew back towards the coast , where it was ambushed and defeated by Judean rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon - a result that shocked the Roman Empire leadership . The defeat of the Romans in Beth Horon is considered one of the worst military defeats of the Roman Empire by a rebel province throughout its history . Some 6 , 000 Roman troops were killed and many more wounded in the battle , with Legio XII Fulminata losing its " aquila " , as Gallus abandoned his troops in disarray fleeing to Syria . The Roman response . Emperor Nero appointed general Vespasian , instead of Gallus to crush the rebellion . Vespasian , along with legions X " Fretensis " and V " Macedonica " , landed at Ptolemais in April 67 . There he was joined by his son Titus , who arrived from Alexandria at the head of Legio XV Apollinaris , as well as by the armies of various local allies including that of king Agrippa II . Fielding more than 60 , 000 soldiers , Vespasian began operations by subjugating Galilee . Many towns gave up without a fight , although others had to be taken by force . Of these , Josephus provides detailed accounts of the sieges of Yodfat and Gamla . By the year 68 , Jewish resistance in the north had been crushed , and Vespasian made Caesarea Maritima his headquarters and methodically proceeded to cleanse the coastline of the country , avoiding direct confrontation with the rebels at Jerusalem . Regrouping and civil war . Jews , who were driven out of Galilee rebuilt Joppa ( Jaffa ) , which had been destroyed earlier by Cestius Gallus . Surrounded and cut off by the Romans , they rebuilt the city walls , and used a light flotilla to demoralize commerce and interrupt the grain supply to Rome from Alexandria . In his The Jewish War Josephus wrote : The leaders of the collapsed Northern revolt , John of Giscala and Simon Bar Giora , managed to escape to Jerusalem . Packed with militants of many factions and largely cut off by Roman forces , Jerusalem quickly descended into anarchy , with the radicals taking control of large parts of the fortified city . Brutal civil war then erupted , with the Zealots and the fanatical Sicarii executing anyone advocating surrender , and by 68 the entire leadership of the southern revolt was assassinated in the infighting , some at the notorious Zealot Temple Siege . New Emperor . While the war in Judea was in progress , great events were occurring in Rome . In the middle of 68 , the emperor Nero ' s increasingly erratic behavior finally lost him all support for his position . The Roman Senate , the Praetorian Guard and several prominent army commanders conspired for his removal . When the senate declared Nero an Enemy of the people , he fled Rome and committed suicide with the help of a secretary . The newly installed emperor , the former Governor of Spain Galba , was murdered after just a few months by Otho - a rival , triggering a civil war that came to be known as the Year of the Four Emperors . In 69 , though previously uninvolved , the popular Vespasian was also hailed emperor by the legions under his command . He decided , upon gaining further widespread support , to return to Rome to claim the throne from the usurper Vitellius , Otho having killed himself , leaving his son Titus to finish the war in Judea . With departure of Vespasian , who had opposed an open siege upon Jerusalem , fearing to lose many troops against the fortified city , Titus advanced Roman legions upon the capital of the rebellious province . Conquering town after town , Titus quickly advanced on the hill country , while the outcry of the brutal suppression created an immense wave of Judean refugees , seeking shelter in fortified Jerusalem . The Judean rebels avoided direct confrontation with the Roman troops , as multiple factions were mostly interested in their own control and survival , rather than Roman defeat . Weakened by the brutal civil war within the city , the victorious Zealot factions could still field a significant number of troops to oppose an immediate Roman conquest of the capital . Fall of Jerusalem . The siege of Jerusalem , the fortified capital city of the province , quickly turned into a stalemate . Unable to breach the city ' s defenses , the Roman armies established a permanent camp just outside the city , digging a trench around the circumference of its walls and building a wall as high as the city walls themselves around Jerusalem . Anyone caught in the trench , attempting to flee the city would be captured , crucified , and placed in lines on top of the dirt wall facing into Jerusalem . The two Zealot leaders , John of Gischala and Simon Bar Giora , only ceased hostilities and joined forces to defend the city when the Romans began to construct ramparts for the siege . Those attempting to escape the city were crucified , with as many as five hundred crucifixions occurring in a day . During the infighting inside the city walls , a stockpiled supply of dry food was intentionally burned by the Zealots to induce the defenders to fight against the siege , instead of negotiating peace ; as a result many city dwellers and soldiers died of starvation during the siege . Tacitus , a historian of the time , notes that those , who were besieged in Jerusalem amounted to no fewer than six hundred thousand , that men and women alike and every age engaged in armed resistance , everyone who could pick up a weapon did , both sexes showed equal determination , preferring death to a life that involved expulsion from their country . Josephus puts the number of the besieged at near 1 million . Following a seven - month siege , Titus Flavius , Vespasian ' s son , eventually used the collapse of several of the city walls to breach Jerusalem . By the summer of 70 , the Romans had breached the walls of Jerusalem , ransacking and burning nearly the entire city . The Romans began by attacking the weakest spot : the third wall . It was built shortly before the siege so it did not have as much time invested in its protection . They succeeded towards the end of May and shortly afterwards broke through the more important second wall . During the final stages of the Roman attack , Zealots under John of Giscala still held the Temple , while the Sicarii , led by Simon Bar Giora , held the upper city . The Second Temple ( the renovated Herod ' s Temple ) , one of the last fortified bastions of the rebellion , was destroyed on Tisha B ' Av ( 29 or 30 July 70 ) . All three walls of Jerusalem were eventually destroyed as well as the Temple and the citadels ; the city was then put to the torch , with most survivors taken into slavery ; some of those overturned stones and their place of impact can still be seen . John of Giscala surrendered at Agrippa II ' s fortress of Jotapata and was sentenced to life imprisonment . The famous Arch of Titus in Rome depicts Roman legionaries carrying the Temple of Jerusalem ' s treasuries , including the Menorah , during Titus ' s triumphal procession in Rome . With the fall of Jerusalem , some insurrection still continued in isolated locations in Judea , lasting as long as 73 . Last strongholds . During the spring of 71 , Titus set sail for Rome . A new military governor was then appointed from Rome , Lucilius Bassus , whose assigned task was to undertake the " mopping - up " operations in Judea . He used X " Fretensis " to besiege and capture the few remaining fortresses that still resisted . Bassus took Herodium , and then crossed the Jordan to capture the fortress of Machaerus on the shore of the Dead Sea . Because of illness , Bassus did not live to complete his mission . Lucius Flavius Silva replaced him , and moved against the last Judean stronghold , Masada , in the autumn of 72 . He used Legio X , auxiliary troops , and thousands of Jewish prisoners , for a total of 10 , 000 soldiers . After his orders for surrender were rejected , Silva established several base camps and circumvallated the fortress . According to Josephus , when the Romans finally broke through the walls of this citadel in 73 , they discovered that 960 of the 967 defenders had committed suicide . The outcome . The defeat of the Jewish revolt altered the Jewish diaspora , as many of the Jewish rebels were scattered or sold into slavery . Josephus claims that 1 , 100 , 000 people were killed during the siege , a sizeable portion of these were at Jewish hands and due to illnesses brought about by hunger . " A pestilential destruction upon them , and soon afterward such a famine , as destroyed them more suddenly . " On the order of 97 , 000 were captured and enslaved and many others fled to areas around the Mediterranean . The Jewish Encyclopedia article on the Hebrew Alphabet states : " Not until the revolts against Nero and against Hadrian did the Jews return to the use of the old Hebrew script on their coins , which they did from motives similar to those which had governed them two or three centuries previously ; both times , it is true , only for a brief period . " Titus reportedly refused to accept a wreath of victory , claiming that he had " lent his arms to God . " Before Vespasian ' s departure , the Pharisaic sage and Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai obtained his permission to establish a Judaic school at Yavne . Zakkai was smuggled away from Jerusalem in a coffin by his students . Later this school became a major center of Talmudic study ( see Mishnah ) . Sources . The main account of the revolt comes from Josephus , the former Jewish commander of Galilee who , after capture by the Romans after the Siege of Yodfat , attempted to end the rebellion by negotiating with the Judeans on Titus ' s behalf . Josephus and Titus became close friends , and later Josephus was granted Roman citizen ship and a pension . He never returned to his homeland after the fall of Jerusalem , living in Rome as a historian under the patronage of Vespasian and Titus . He wrote two works , " The Jewish War " ( c . 75 ) and " Jewish Antiquities " ( c . 94 ) which , on occasion , are contradictory . These are the only surviving source materials containing information on specific events occurring during the fighting . The material has been questioned because of claims that cannot be verified by secondary sources and because of Josephus ' potential bias as a client of the Romans and defender of the Roman cause . Only since the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls has some solid confirmation been given to the events he describes .