22 July 70 – 25 Tammuz 3830
Titus, son of the emperor Vespasian, overruns the Antonia fortress just north of the Temple Mount. The fortress that dominated the Temple courtyard was one of the clearest symbols of Roman rule over Jerusalem. When the Judean Revolt began in 66 CE, Roman procurator Gassius Florus attempted to raid the Temple mount (he’d already plundered the Temple treasury), and the rebels responded by destroying the subterranean halls connecting the Antonia fortress to the Temple. The Roman legionaries took shelter inside the fortress, while Zealot leader Elazar son of Hanania laid seige around it. When they surrendered, they were all killed by the rebels. Titus’ recapture of the Antonia signaled the end of the revolt, making it only a matter of time before the last vestiges of resistance were removed from the Temple mount. Two weeks later, the Temple went up in flames.