Image Details

PUBLIC DOMAIN, VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

THE FALL OF JERUSALEM. Recorded in the writings of Josephus and other authors of the time, the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, depicted in this 1850 work by David Roberts, was the culmination of a months-long siege and four years of warfare between Roman and Jewish forces. Although conflict would continue in Judah for several more years, the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple were among the most influential events in the history of early Judaism. Archaeologists have uncovered several features of Jerusalem’s first-century fortifications, but the Roman siegeworks have remained hidden. New archaeological evidence, combined with recent topographic surveys, has finally revealed where the Romans likely established their lines.