DESTRUCTION OF THE JUDÆAN STATE.
Galilæan Fugitives in Jerusalem--Condition of the
Capital--Internal Contests--The Idumæans--Eleazer ben
Simon, John of Gischala, and Simon Bar-Giora--Progress of
the War--Affairs in Rome--Vespasian created Emperor--Siege
of Jerusalem by Titus--Heroic Defense--Famine--Fall of the
Fortress Antonia--Burning of the Temple--Destruction of the
City--Number of the Slain.
67.70 C. E.
Jerusalem was the rallying point of all the Galilæan fugitives.
Thither many thousands had been brought by John of Gischala, and
thither numbers fled from Tiberias; there, where the last stroke of
the nation's destiny was to fall, patriotism, ambition, revenge, and
despair were all duly represented. The Galilæan Zealots' burning
account of their desperate resistance to the Roman arms, and of
the massacre of the weak and defenseless by the soldiers of Titus,
had stirred the blood of the people of Jerusalem. The despondent
drew fresh courage, and the fearless still greater ardor from the
words of these enthusiasts. The defenders of their country, daily
growing in numbers, and heroic in deed as well as in word, considered
themselves invincible. When the Zealots looked upon the fortresses
of their capital, the last shadow of alarm melted away. The Romans,
they declared, must have wings to take those walls and those towers,
whose defenders were iron-hearted men. Had it not cost Rome a
desperate struggle to conquer Galilee; what then had the strongly
fortified capital to fear? This overwrought condition of the Judæans
was stimulated by their ardent belief that the Messianic period, so
long foretold by the prophets, was actually dawning, when every
other nation of the earth would be given into the dominion of Israel.
In spite of the loss of Galilee and of its brave defenders, coins
were struck, bearing this inscription: "In the first or second year
of the deliverance or freedom of Israel," and on the reverse side:
"Simon, Prince of Israel." But the Zealots were indulging in fatal
self-confidence, almost as dangerous to their cause as the treachery of
Josephus and the conquest of Galilee.
Never had Jerusalem been so populous, so beautiful, and so strong as at
the moment when she was doomed to destruction; it was as if she was to
learn the bitter lesson that outward strength and outward glory alone
are of but little avail. Within the fortifications, the circumference
of Jerusalem was nearly one geographical mile in extent, embracing
the suburbs of Bethany and Bethphage, where the worshipers who came
up thrice a year to the holy city found shelter. It is difficult to
compute the exact population of Jerusalem. From one source we learn
that it contained six hundred thousand souls; but then we must further
take into account the numbers that had streamed into the city for
protection.
The Zealots had not succeeded in imparting their enthusiasm to the
inhabitants of the country towns; many of the wealthiest and shrewdest,
seeing no possible advantage to themselves in the continuation of the
war, were ready to capitulate. Thus only the very young and men of no
worldly position devoted themselves to the cause of the revolutionists.
Every community, every family, was divided against itself, some
clamoring for war and others demanding peace; but as the former had
no rallying point in their own towns, they all sought kindred spirits
in Jerusalem, and increased the number of Zealots in that city. The
fortress of Masada alone, commanded by Eleazer ben Jair, was a
hotbed of insurgents; it was the Jerusalem of the Sicarii, who were
strengthened by the leadership of Simon Bar-Giora. This man, who was
to play a leading part in the war, was remarkable for his physical
strength, and distinguished for his reckless courage, a quality which
did not desert him until his last breath. At the flight of the Roman
troops under Cestius he followed amongst the very first upon the heels
of the fugitives. He then gathered a number of free-lances about
him, and led a wild life in the neighborhood of the Dead Sea, namely
in Acrabattine. When the inhabitants of that district complained
in Jerusalem that he imperiled their safety, the moderate party of
the Zealots sent a troop against him, obliging him to take refuge
in Masada. It was from this place that he and the Sicarii undertook
armed expeditions into Idumæa for the purpose of cattle-lifting and
forage-hunting. This roused the Idumæans to retaliate by opposing his
force with a large army numbering twenty thousand men. These rival
hosts outdid each other in patriotism, fierce courage, and recklessness.
The stream of patriots daily pouring into Jerusalem fanned the
excitement and warlike energy of the inhabitants, embittered as they
were by Josephus' duplicity and defection. For, as long as the Judæans
believed that he was buried under the ruins of Jotapata, his name was
mentioned with reverence, but as soon as the tidings spread that he
was in the Roman camp, and treated with consideration by the Roman
generals, their feelings of pity were changed into violent hatred. The
ultra-Zealots were filled with suspicion and distrust, and they looked
upon all who were not in favor of extreme measures as traitors to the
cause.
Eleazer ben Simon, the leader of the Zealots, and a man of great
penetration, nursed a special feeling of hatred against the Synhedrion,
a body that bound him, valiant and aspiring patriot as he was, to a
life of inaction. And who presided in the Synhedrion? Josephus' friend
and chosen companion, Joshua ben Gamala, who had not attempted to
depose the Governor of Galilee, even when his duplicity was clearly
proved. And who was the treasurer? Antipas, a Herodian, a near relative
of King Agrippa. Was it not more than likely that the Synhedrion and
the Herodians would throw open the gates of their city at the approach
of the Romans? This was the prevailing feeling of the Zealots, and they
believed themselves strong enough to take the government into their own
hands, and by desperate exertions to prosecute the war undisturbed.
It was not surprising that from day to day the feeling of enmity
between the Zealots and the more moderate Synhedrists should grow
in intensity, for it was a war of life and death in which they were
engaged. Matters were brought to a crisis by the Zealots falling upon
and imprisoning those persons whose relationship to the royal house
and whose doubtful opinions seemed to proclaim them to be secret
conspirators. But they did not halt at this step. They degraded those
belonging to the family of the high-priest from their position,
and replaced them by representatives chosen from the people. They
determined upon divesting the high-priest of his office (of late
years the Romans had held the conferring of this dignity in their own
hands), and raising to this exalted rank an unknown priest of the name
of Phineas ben Samuel, of the city of Aphta. It was said of Phineas,
probably to disparage him, that he had originally been a stone-mason
or an agriculturist. He was brought by the Zealots with due solemnity
from his homely surroundings, was invested with the priestly garments,
and was materially aided by his rich friends to maintain the dignity
of his state, whilst Matthias ben Theophilus, who had been chosen
high-priest by Agrippa, was deposed. The Synhedrists, whose leaders
belonged principally to the high-priesthood, and who looked upon the
instalment of Phineas as an outrage to their sacred calling, were
beside themselves with indignation at this step. Anan, whose audacity
of speech and great wealth entitled him to a prominent position in
the Synhedrion, induced the citizens of Jerusalem to rebel, and to
attack the Zealots sword in hand, and thus the civil war commenced.
The moderate party, who were numerically the stronger, drove their
antagonists step by step out of every district of the city up to the
Mount of the Temple, where they forced them to take refuge within
the second wall of the citadel. Meanwhile, a rumor spread that Anan
had called upon the Roman general for help. This was enough to bring
John of Gischala with his troops to the gates of the capital. Twenty
thousand Idumæans, men who rejoiced in an appeal to reckless and savage
soldiery, under the leadership of John, Simon, Phineas, and Jacob,
appeared likewise before Jerusalem, ready to wield their swords in
favor of the Zealots who were besieged in the Temple. Anan prepared
for the assault by barring the gates and doubling his sentinels. But
in the ensuing night his troops were seized with a panic. A terrific
storm of thunder, lightning, and drenching rain raged over Jerusalem.
The Idumæans, men of bold character and hardy nature, did not flinch
from their position, but many of the sentinels on the walls sought
shelter from the violence of the elements and deserted their posts.
The ever-watchful Zealots within the fortifications were thus able to
communicate with their Idumæan allies and to effect their entrance. The
besiegers threw themselves upon some of the unsuspecting watch, whilst
the Zealots overpowered others. The citizens were roused to arms and
a terrible battle ensued. The moderate party laid their weapons down
in despair, as the Idumæans pouring into the city massacred all those
whom they suspected of being friendly to Anan. The morning sun dawned
upon a hideous mass of corpses, for more than 8000 dead bodies were
found in the city.
The Zealots were now the victors, and their reign of terror began.
They committed to trial, not without some show of justice, and then
executed, all persons suspected of having been concerned in the
conspiracy. Anan and Joshua ben Gamala were necessarily amongst the
victims, and the bitterness which was felt towards them was so great
that their unburied bodies were thrown to the dogs. The Synhedrion
naturally ceased to exist, so many of its members having been executed;
but a new Synhedrion seems to have been called into being by the
Zealots, no longer of aristocratic and high-priestly elements, but
rather of a democratic order, also numbering seventy members.
The Idumæans were as heartily disliked by the Zealots as they were by
the moderate party, and many of them were courteously persuaded to
withdraw from Jerusalem. Meanwhile the reign of terror continued, and
amongst others fell Niger, the hero from Peræa, probably because he
had upheld the Synhedrists. In fact, this one case corroborates the
general rule that every revolution devours its originators. For Niger
was one of those who had strained every nerve to support the first
rising amongst the Judæans, and his death was a blot upon the rule of
the Zealots. In order to check the anarchy which followed the overthrow
of the Synhedrion, John of Gischala threw himself boldly into the
front ranks, and was warmly supported by the Galilæan fugitives. His
heroic bearing soon secured him the following of the most fiery of the
Judæans, whose devotion to himself rivaled that of his own Galilæans.
John was born to be a leader of men; for not only was he dauntless
as a commander, but he excelled others in penetration and fertility
of invention. This superiority naturally awakened the jealousy of
the Zealot leaders in Jerusalem, who were not a little afraid of his
becoming sole dictator and lawgiver.
Meanwhile the Romans were remaining absolutely quiet. Vespasian was far
too prudent to attack the lion in his lair, in spite of the repeated
assurances of his followers that the conquest of Jerusalem would be
an easy task. He chose to wait until the Judæans, weakened by their
internal strife, would be entirely at his mercy. His troops, after
spending an inactive winter (67-68), opened a new campaign in the
spring against Peræa and many distant parts of Judæa, where thousands
were slain in obstinate and hard fighting. Vespasian returned to
Cæsarea at the end of this campaign, and left Jerusalem undisturbed for
two years. He was led to this course by two different events: the fresh
outburst of civil war in Jerusalem, the death of Nero, and the fact
that his successor had been chosen and triumphantly installed by the
Spanish and Gallic legions.
The lawless Simon Bar-Giora, who had kindled the war in Jerusalem,
could not rest in Masada, where the Sicarii had received him, for he
was ambitious and eager for action. Thus he left the fortress, and
collecting a number of slaves, to whom he held out promises of freedom
and plunder, appeared before Jerusalem, ready to play an important part
in the war. But the Zealots were afraid of him, and wished to make
him powerless. They did not dare meet him in open battle, for he had
already been their conqueror; so they waited in ambush, and made his
wife and some of his soldiery prisoners, hoping to crush him by this
cowardly action. But Bar-Giora was a stern-hearted warrior, and, in
retaliation, threw himself upon the defenseless Judæans who ventured
outside the walls to procure the necessaries of life. The Judæans,
alarmed at this revenge, sent back his wife, while Bar-Giora was more
determined than ever to make himself master of the capital. Day and
night he waited and watched for some means of ingress, and at last he
obtained what he wished through the party of the aristocrats.
In spite of the loss of their most prominent men, this party had not
really ceased to exist, but was secretly working to destroy the power
of the Zealots. At their head stood the high-priest Matthias, the son
of Boëthus, and others belonging to the great priestly families. They
knew how to enlist upon their side many of the populace who were unable
to leave the city, and who were afraid of the consequences of the civil
war. In league with the Idumæans, they suddenly made a well-directed
attack upon the Zealots, over whom they gained a signal, but only a
momentary advantage, for, recovering themselves from this defeat, the
Zealots assembled upon the Mount of the Temple, and prepared to show a
bold front to their opponents. The latter, much discomfited, appealed
to Bar-Giora for assistance, and thus a fatal division was brought
within the very walls of Jerusalem.
With the entry of this commander, civil war began in its most terrible
form. Bar-Giora commanded his followers to surround the Mount of the
Temple, where the Zealots lay entrenched. From the galleries and from
the roofs the besieged were able not only to defend themselves, but
also to repulse their assailants. In spite of his impatience, Bar-Giora
was obliged to withdraw and to take up a safer position in the town.
Vespasian, who was informed of all these movements, quietly bided his
time, convinced that the losing side would sooner or later demand his
help, and that then victory would be easy. He felt indisposed, through
various circumstances, to undertake a long and difficult siege, but
was inclined rather to keep his hands free for the final struggle.
Nero had ended his shameful life with a shameful death (68), and Galba,
who succeeded him as emperor, held the reins of power with an aged
and trembling grasp. Old and childless, he had to think of choosing
a successor. At this critical time, when every day was pregnant with
some important event, Vespasian did not think it prudent to devote
himself to the siege of Jerusalem. He adopted a waiting, watchful
policy, and sent his son Titus with King Agrippa to Rome to receive
the new emperor, and, as people said, to be adopted by him as heir
to his vast empire. But when Titus heard, upon arriving in Corinth,
that Galba had been murdered (5 Jan., 69), and that two emperors had
been elected by the legions in his stead--Otho in Rome, and Vitellius
in Lower Germany, he hurried back to Judæa, not only buoyed up by
the secret hopes of seeing his father created emperor in the general
confusion which was pending, but also attracted by a powerful magnet,
the beautiful Princess Berenice, who, in spite of living according to
orthodox Judæan custom, did not hesitate to carry on an intrigue with
the heathen Titus. Otho could retain possession of the purple only for
one hundred days, at the end of which time he found himself forced
to fight against Vitellius, whom the German legions had borne upon
their shields, by way of teaching the Spanish legions that they were
fittest to choose and instal an emperor. They also wished to make it
evident that the emperor need not owe his election only to Rome and the
Prætorian Guard, but should be the choice also of the legions in the
provinces. Vitellius' army gained the victory, and Otho, after brave
resistance, fell by his own hand. Meanwhile Vespasian was dreaming of
the moment when he should drape himself in the stained imperial mantle,
but he hesitated before putting his scheme into execution. He wished
to be driven to it. Partly, he feared Licinius Mucianus, governor of
Syria, who commanded more legions than he did, and with whom he was not
on very friendly terms. But Vespasian's son Titus, who made no secret
of his ambition, won over Mucianus to urge his father into allowing
himself to be proclaimed emperor. It was also absolutely essential to
obtain the support of Tiberius Alexander, the son of the Alabarch and
the governor of that most important province--Egypt. This move in the
great game was due to the hand of a woman. The Princess Berenice was a
friend of the Egyptian governor, and she was furthering the imperial
election as an affair of the heart. Titus' love for her was so openly
avowed that all her court were convinced that he had promised her
marriage. It was therefore not unnatural that she should employ all the
means suggested by her imagination, and made possible by her personal
charms, to attain this end. The most important step was to gain
Tiberius Alexander's support for Vespasian, and in this she succeeded
admirably. The governor of Egypt responded to her appeal by making his
legions swear fealty to him whom they now called emperor. A few days
later the legions stationed in Judæa, and the Syrian troops under the
command of Mucianus, also tendered their allegiance to Vespasian. The
possession of the coveted purple was enough to make Vespasian for the
time being forgetful of the conquest of Judæa. Accompanied by his son
Titus, he repaired to Egypt, where they received the news of Vitellius'
death (Dec., 69), an event which had drawn forth but the contemptuous
scorn of his people.
And how did Jerusalem spend the two years of peace that Vespasian
granted her? There were originally four distinct factions in the
city, without counting the more moderate. These were the Jerusalem
Zealots under Eleazer ben Simon and Simon ben Ezron, consisting only
of two thousand four hundred members, the Galilæan Zealots under
John, numbering six thousand armed men, the Simonists and Sicarii
outnumbering the rest by their army of ten thousand, and the Idumæans
under Jacob ben Sosa and Simon ben Kathla, a troop of five thousand
men. These twenty-four thousand heroic patriots might have put their
valor to some account in one decisive battle could they but have acted
in harmony. But not one of their leaders was capable of sacrificing
his own ambition to the general good. The followers of Eleazer claimed
precedence on the grounds of their being natives of Jerusalem and of
having thus given the first impulse to the movement. John insisted upon
his superiority on account of his quickness of perception and readiness
in action, and Simon felt revengeful towards the Zealots, who had
dared quell his disorder. Members of the four different factions were
perpetually meeting and fighting in the streets, giving the enemy both
the time and the opportunity to devastate the surrounding country; for
it was almost certain that no one faction would dare oppose the Romans,
and equally certain that the four factions would not combine in arms
against them.
Titus, the new heir to the imperial throne, at last made his appearance
before Jerusalem (February, 70), fully expecting that he would be
able to force the city into submission; for it was almost a reproach
to the Romans that this rebellious capital should have maintained
her independence for four years. The prestige of the new imperial
house seemed in some measure to depend upon the fall of Jerusalem; a
protracted siege would necessarily imply weakness in the military power
of Vespasian and his son.
Although Titus was eagerly looking forward to the subjection of Judæa,
he could not complete his preparations for the siege of Jerusalem
before the spring. He collected an army of not less than eighty
thousand men, who came, bringing with them the largest number of
battering machines that had been used in the warfare of that time.
Three traitors amongst the Judæans were most useful to him in his
laborious undertakings--King Agrippa, who not only brought a contingent
of men, but who also tried to influence the inhabitants of Jerusalem in
favor of the Romans; Tiberius Alexander, who sealed his apostasy from
Judaism by going into battle against his own nation; and Josephus, the
constant companion of Titus, who, from being a prisoner, had become a
guide in the country which he knew so well. Titus was not experienced
enough in the art of war, and so bade the Judæan apostate stand by
his side, and gave him the command of his own body-guard (Præfectus
prætorio). But the hostile factions had drawn together when this new
danger threatened them. Shortly before the Passover festival numbers
of devoted men streamed into Jerusalem to defend their holy city. The
elders and chiefs had sent messengers to the people living in the
outlying provinces, praying for help, and their request was not made in
vain. The walls of Jerusalem were fortified more strongly than ever.
At last Titus assembled his huge army from all sides and encamped
at Scopus-Zophim, north of Jerusalem. He summoned in the first
instance the inhabitants to surrender; he demanded only submission,
acknowledgment of the Roman rule, and payment of the taxes. Eager as
he was to return to Rome, where all the enjoyments belonging to his
great position were awaiting him, he was ready to deal gently with the
Judæans. Besides which, his devotion to a Judæan princess, who, in
spite of her errors, still clung faithfully to the holy city, made him
anxious to spare that city from destruction. But the Judæans refused
all negotiation. They had sworn to defend their city with their lives,
and would not hear of surrender. Then the siege began in earnest. All
the gardens and groves to the north and west of Jerusalem, the first
points of the attack, were unsparingly destroyed.
Titus, anxious to reconnoitre the ground, advanced with a few followers
to the north wall, where he narrowly escaped being taken prisoner.
The first feat of arms upon the part of the Judæans was crowned with
success, and seemed a good omen for the future. A few days later they
surprised and totally discomfited the Tenth Legion, who were pitching
their tents on the Mount of Olives. But, unfortunately, this skirmish
proved fruitless, for the Judæans were always obliged to retreat to
their fortresses, not, however, without having convinced the Romans
that they would have a desperate foe to encounter. The besiegers
succeeded in pitching their camps on three sides of the city, and
in raising their engines against the outer wall. Titus commenced
operations during the Passover festival (March or April, 70), when
he believed that the Judæans would not be willing to fight. But as
soon as the engines were in working order, they rushed like demons
from their retreat, destroying the battering-rams, scattering the
workmen, and bringing alarm and confusion upon the enemy. Not only the
Zealots, but all who could carry arms took part in the defense, the
women setting splendid examples of heroism to the men. The besieged
threw masses of stone upon their assailants, poured boiling oil upon
their heads, seized the ponderous missiles that were hurled into the
city, and turned them into tools of destruction against the Romans.
But the latter succeeded in repairing their broken battering-rams, and
in forcing the Judæans, after fifteen days of conflict, back from the
outer wall. This wall, the scene of a desperate struggle, was at last
taken by the Romans, who, while making themselves masters of it, seized
the suburban town of Bezetha.
The skirmishes were now carried on daily, and with increasing
bitterness. After seventeen days of unremitting labor, the Romans
succeeded in raising their banks opposite the Antonine tower. But John
of Gischala and some heroic followers of Bar-Giora, creeping through a
subterranean passage, destroyed these works by setting fire to them.
With the ever-increasing danger grew the heroism of the besieged. All
Josephus' persuasive words, prompted by Titus, were useless. There were
but two courses left open to them--victory or death. At the very outset
of the siege they had learned what they would have to expect from the
Romans. Titus, surnamed "Delight of all Mankind," crucified, at times,
five hundred of his prisoners in a day. Again, he would send them back
into the city after cutting off their hands. He was, however, forced to
acknowledge to himself that the siege would be one of long duration.
But the horrors of famine were soon to come to his assistance. All
egress from and ingress into the besieged city being rigorously
prevented, the provisions began to fail amongst the thickly-crowded
populace. Houses and streets were filled with unburied corpses, and
the pangs of starvation seemed to destroy all feelings of pity in
the unfortunate survivors. The prospect--a terrible one indeed--of a
lingering death sent numbers of deserters to the Romans, where they
met with a pitiful fate. As the number of these unfortunate fugitives
increased, the Zealots treated those whom they suspected of defection
with still greater severity. A conspiracy being discovered amongst
Bar-Giora's followers, that leader relentlessly punished the guilty
with death. They were all beheaded in full view of the Roman camp,
amongst them being Matthias Boëthus, of priestly family.
But in spite of the watchfulness of the Zealots, they were unable to
circumvent the traitors in all their designs. Those who were secretly
friendly to Rome shot off on their arrow-heads written accounts
concerning the state of the city, which fell into the enemy's camp.
The Zealots struggled manfully to prevent the Romans from completing
their earthworks, but at the end of twenty-one days, the battering-rams
were again pointing at the Antonine tower. The wall surrounding the
fortress fell at length under the tremendous blows from without.
What was the surprise and horror of the Romans, however, when they
discovered that a second and inner wall had been erected behind the
one they had succeeded in destroying. They tried in vain to storm it,
the Judæans repulsing a nocturnal attack. The battle lasted until the
following morning. It was at about this time that the daily sacrifices
ceased, on account of the scarcity of the animals. Titus seized this
opportunity again to summon the besieged to surrender, but the mere
sight of the interpreter who bore the message aroused the indignation
of the besieged. John of Gischala replied that the holy city could not
be destroyed, and that God held her fate in His hands. The Judæans then
withdrew to their last point of defense, the Temple. The battering-rams
were raised against the sacred walls. The unfortunate people were
compelled to destroy the colonnades leading to the Antonine tower, thus
cutting off all connection with that fortress. They spared no craft to
tire out the Romans, even setting fire to some of the pillars attached
to the Temple, and then pretending to take flight. This stratagem
succeeded in making the Romans climb over the walls, beyond which the
Judæans lay in ambush to receive them, putting them to the sword or
casting them into the flames. But the fire could not be extinguished,
and the beautiful colonnade of the western side was entirely destroyed.
Meanwhile, the inhabitants of the city were suffering cruelly from
famine, which was sapping their life, obliterating all distinctions
between rich and poor, and giving free scope to the lowest passions.
Money had lost its value, for it could not purchase bread. Men fought
desperately in the streets over the most loathsome and disgusting food,
a handful of straw, a piece of leather, or offal thrown to the dogs.
The wealthy Martha, wife of the High Priest Joshua ben Gamala, whose
wont it had been to step on carpets from her house to the Temple, was
found searching the town like the very poorest for a morsel of food,
of even the most revolting description. As if not one line of the old
prophecy concerning the doom of Judæa was to remain unfulfilled, a
terrible scene was enacted, which struck even the enemy with horror. A
woman by the name of Miriam, who had fled from Peræa to the capital,
actually killed and devoured her own child.
The rapidly increasing number of unburied corpses made the sultry
summer air pestilential, and the populace fell a prey to sickness,
famine, and the sword. But the army of the besieged fought on with
unbroken courage, they rushed to the battle-field, although fainting
with hunger and surrounded by grim pictures of death, as bravely as had
been their wont in the early days of the siege. The Romans were amazed
at the unflinching heroism of the Zealots, at their devotion to the
Sanctuary and to the cause of their people. In fact, they grew to look
upon them as invincible, and stimulated by this belief, some few of
their number were actually known to desert their colors and their faith
and to accept Judaism, persuaded, in their turn, that the holy city
could never fall into the hands of the enemy. Proud as the Judæans well
might be of these voluntary proselytes, at this the supreme moment of
their history, they volunteered to guard them as best they could from
the horrors of starvation.
Meanwhile, the Romans had begun to batter the outer walls of the courts
of the Temple. For six days they had been working in vain, and had
then tried to fix their scaling ladders and storm the walls. But as
they were repulsed with great loss of life, Titus relinquished his
hope of sparing the sacred edifice, and ordered his men to set fire to
the gates. For a whole night and the next day the fire raged fiercely;
then Titus commanded that it should be extinguished, and that a road
should be leveled for the advance of his legions. A council of war
was hastily summoned to decide upon the fate of the Sanctuary. This
council consisted of six of the chief generals of the army, three of
whom advised the destruction of the Temple, which, if spared, would
inevitably remain as a focus for rebellion. Titus was opposed to this
decision, partly on account of the Princess Berenice's feelings, and
three of the council agreeing with their leader, it was decided to take
the Temple, but not to destroy it.
On the 9th Ab, the Judæans made another desperate sally, but were
driven back by an overpowering force of the besiegers. But the hour of
the city's doom was about to strike, and in striking, leave an echo
that would ring through the centuries to come. The besieged attempted
one more furious onslaught upon their enemies. They were again
defeated, and again driven back to their sheltering walls. But this
time they were closely followed by the Romans, one of whom, seizing a
burning firebrand, mounted upon a comrade's shoulders, and flung his
terrible missile through the so-called golden window of the Temple.
The fire blazed up; it caught the wooden beams of the sanctuary, and
rose in flames heavenwards. At this sight the bravest of the Judæans
recoiled terror-stricken. Titus hurried to the spot with his troops,
and shouted to the soldiers to extinguish the flames. But no one
heeded him. The maddened soldiery plunged into the courts of the
Temple, murdering all who came within their reach, and hurling their
firebrands into the blazing building. Titus, unable to control his
legions, and urged by curiosity, penetrated into the Holy of Holies.
Meanwhile, the Judæans, desperate in their death agonies, closed wildly
with their assailants. The shouts of victory, the shrieks of despair,
the fierce hissing of the flames, making the very earth tremble and the
air vibrate, rose in one hideous din, which echoed from the tottering
walls of the Sanctuary to the mountain-heights of Judæa. There were
congregated clusters of trembling people from all the country round,
who beheld in the ascending flames the sign that the glory of their
nation had departed forever. Many of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
unwilling to outlive their beloved Temple, cast themselves headlong
into the burning mass. But thousands of men, women, and children, in
spite of the fierce onslaught of the legions and the rapidly increasing
flames, clung fondly to the inner court. For had they not been promised
by the persuasive lips of false prophets, that God would save them by
a miracle at the very moment of destruction? They fell but an easier
prey to the Romans, who slew some six thousand on the spot. The Temple
was burnt to the ground, and only a few smouldering ruins were left,
rising like gigantic ghosts from the ashes. A few of the priests had
escaped to the tops of the walls, where they remained without food for
some days, until they were compelled to surrender. Titus ordered their
instant execution, saying, "Priests must fall with their Temple." The
conquering legions raised their standards in the midst of the ruins,
sacrificed to their gods in the Holy Place, and saluted Titus as
emperor. By a strange coincidence the second Temple had fallen upon
the anniversary of the destruction of the first Temple (10th Ab, 70).
Titus, who could no longer feel bound to respect the feelings of the
Princess Berenice, gave orders that the Acra and the Ophla, different
parts of the city, should be instantly set on fire.
But the struggle was not yet over. The leaders of the rebellion had
retreated to the upper city with some of their followers. There they
conferred with Titus. John and Simon, having sworn that they would
never lay down their arms, offered to surrender upon the condition
that they would be permitted to pass armed through the Roman camp. But
Titus sternly bade them throw themselves upon his mercy; and so the
fierce strife blazed out anew. On the 20th of Ab, the Romans began to
raise their embankments, and after eighteen days of labor the siege
of the upper city commenced. Even then the Zealots would not think
of surrender. Discovering that the Idumæans were secretly making
terms with Titus, they threw some of the ringleaders into prison,
and executed others. But the Judæan warriors were exhausted by their
super-human resistance and by the long famine, and the Romans were at
last able to scale the walls and to seize the fortresses, a prelude to
their spreading through the city, plundering and murdering the last of
the wretched inhabitants. On the 8th of Elul they set fire to all that
remained of Jerusalem, the upper city, known by the name of Zion. The
walls were entirely leveled, Titus leaving only the three fortresses of
Hippicus, Mariamne, and Phasael to stand as lasting witnesses of his
victory. Under the ruins of Jerusalem and her Temple lay buried the
last remnant of Judæa's independence. More than a million of lives had
been lost during the siege. Counting those who had fallen at Galilee,
Peræa, and the provinces, it may be assumed that the Judæans who
inhabited their native land were almost all destroyed.
Once more did Zion sit weeping amongst the ruins, weeping over her sons
fallen in battle, over her daughters sold into slavery or abandoned to
the savage soldiery of Rome; but she was more desolate now than in the
days of her first captivity, for hushed was the voice of the prophet,
who once foretold the end of her widowhood and her mourning.