Destruction of the Second Temple

66–70 AD Judea Status: ended Casualties: Josephus: 1.1 million dead, 97,000 enslaved

Foretold by Christ ('not one stone shall be left upon another'), the Roman siege of AD 70 ended with the Temple in flames on the ninth of Av. The menorah was carried to Rome — its image still stands on the Arch of Titus. Matthew 24, Luke 21, Josephus' Wars.

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Belligerents

Roman Empire under Vespasian & Titus
Zealots & defenders of Jerusalem

Casualties

Josephus: 1.1 million dead, 97,000 enslaved

Key events

AD 66 — revolt sparked at Caesarea; Cestius Gallus repulsed at Beth-horon
AD 67 — Vespasian reduces Galilee; Josephus surrenders at Jotapata
AD 70 — Titus circumvallates Jerusalem at Passover
9 Av — Temple set ablaze; the menorah carried to Rome
AD 73 — Masada falls; defenders die by their own hand

Aftermath

End of the Second Temple, the priesthood, and the sacrificial cult. Rabbinic Judaism rises out of Yavneh; Christianity finally severs from the Temple courts. Christ's prophecy ('not one stone shall be left upon another') was the orienting fact of the next two millennia of Jewish memory.

Weapons & matériel

Roman ballistae and battering rams
The siege wall thrown around the city

Sources

Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21
Josephus, The Jewish War
Arch of Titus, Rome

From World at War, an interactive atlas by Jairus Pereira. Figures are approximate, drawn from Wikipedia, UCDP, ACLED and academic sources — a design artefact, not an authoritative register. Contact.