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See Also: First Jewish-Roman War The siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 was a conclusive event in the first Jewish-Roman War. Despite early successes in repelling the Roman sieges, the Zealots fought among themselves, lacking proper leadership, discipline, training, and preparation for the battles that were to follow. Titus surrounded the city, with three Legions ( Legio V Macedonica , Legio XII Fulminata , Legio XV Apollinaris ) on the western side and a fourth ( Legio X Fretensis ) on the Mount Of Olives to the east. He put pressure on the food and water supplies of the inhabitants by allowing pilgrims to enter the city to celebrate Passover , and then refusing them egress. After Jewish sallies killed a number of Roman soldiers, Titus sent Flavius Josephus , a former Jewish commander now loyal to Rome, to negotiate with the defenders; this failed, and another sally was launched. In mid-May Titus set to destroying the newly built Third Wall with a ram, breaching it as well as the Second Wall, and turning their attention to the Fortress of Antonia just north of the Temple Mount . The Romans were then drawn into street fighting with the Zealots and sustained heavy enough losses that they were ordered to retreat. Josephus failed in another attempt at negotiations, and Jewish attacks prevented the construction of siege towers at the Fortress of Antonia. Food, water, and other provisions were dwindling, but small foraging parties managed to sneak supplies into the city, harrying Roman forces in the process. To put an end to the success of these foragers, orders were issued to build a new wall, and siege tower construction was restarted as well. After several failed attempts to breach or scale the walls of the Fortress, the Romans finally launched a secret attack, overwhelming sleeping Zealot guards and taking the Fortress. This was the second highest ground in the city, after the Temple Mount, and provided a perfect point from which to attack the Temple itself. Battering Ram s made little progress, but the fighting itself eventually set the walls on fire. Destroying the Temple was not among Titus' goals, possibly due in large part to the massive expansions done by Herod The Great mere decades earlier. Most likely, Titus had wanted to seize it and transform it into a pagan temple, dedicated to the Roman Emperor and to the Roman Pantheon . But the flames spread quite quickly and were soon unquenchable. The Temple was destroyed on Tisha B'Av , at the end of August, and as the flames spread into the residential sections of the city, along with the Roman legions, Jewish resistance crumbled quickly. The city was completely under Roman control by the September 7. The destruction of the Temple is still mourned annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av , and the Arch Of Titus , depicting and celebrating the sack of Jerusalem and the Temple, still stands in Rome . DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM Sulpicius Severus ( 363 – 420 ), referring in his ''Chronica'' to Tacitus ' ( 56 BCE – 120 ) earlier account, claimed that Titus favored destroying the Jerusalem Temple to help uproot and demolish both the Jewish and Christian sects. The account of Josephus, generally considered unreliable in this case, described Titus as "moderate" in his approach and, after conferring with others, ordering that the then-thousand-year-old Temple be spared. According to Josephus the Romans soldiers grew furious with Jewish attacks and tactics and, against Titus' orders, set fire to an apartment adjacent to the Temple, which soon spread all throughout. Josephus had acted as a mediator for the Romans and, when negotiations failed, witnessed the siege and aftermath. He wrote:
FULFILLMENT OF CHRISTIAN PROPHECY See Also: Jesus on the destruction of Jerusalem Many . Eusebius records in ''The History of the Church'' that the Christians who lived in Jerusalem at the time fled during the withdrawal of Cestius Gallus four years before the calamity took place. In opposition to this, secular biblical scholars date the writings of the New Testament after the destruction of the Temple, claiming that they were written with the advantage of hindsight to the events surrounding AD 70. Christians also believe that the events surrounding AD 70 are the fulfillment of various prophecies in the Old Testament . For example, Isaiah 10:3 talks about a "day of visitation", when "desolation comes from far"; and the prophet Daniel foresaw a day when "the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (Dan 9:26). Some believe that the Jews were punished for not recognizing the "day of visitation" espoused by Jesus , since they rejected him as their Messiah . Messianic claims did shape the ultimate Schism between Christianity and Judaism, which came about sixty years later in the course of the Bar Kokhba's Revolt ( 132 – 135 ). See also Council Of Jamnia . SEE ALSO
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