A Temple in Flames The Final Battle for Jerusalem and the Destruction of the Second Temple

[Music] in the spring of the year 70 Cee Titus marches his legions from the coastal plain to Jerusalem he's boiling with anger it has been four years and the Roman army has not succeeded in suppressing the stubborn revolt that broke out in Judea the Jews fight courageously for every piece of land even the esteemed commander Vespasian Titus father could not defeat them now after his father's appointment to Emperor it's Titus turn to manage the campaign he commands the most powerful war machine in the world tens of thousands of trained Legionnaires equipped with advanced weapons sophisticated breaching tools and lethal artillery against the mighty Roman army stands a small force of Fighters who will fight for their freedom until their last drop of blood [Music] the final battle of the great revolt against Rome begins it will be a battle that will never be forgotten [Music] in the dark of night Titus brings up his soldiers from three directions to Jerusalem as dawn breaks on the 14th of Nisan the eve of Passover the residents of Jerusalem awaken to a site that makes their blood run cold sixty thousand Roman soldiers thirsty for war surrounded the city from every direction now when the Romans stand at the gates of the city does the tragedy caused by the civil war raging in the city become clear in clashes between the various factions whole sections of Jerusalem were destroyed stores of food that could have provided vital provisions during the fighting and siege went up in flames and vanished too late the rebels joined forces against the true enemy what they lack in weaponry and soldiers will be reinforced by acts of bravery and unrestrained daring the Jews take the initiative and respond quickly they attack ferociously before the Romans take up positions the surprised Romans scatter in all directions Titus himself escapes by the skin of his teeth before the Romans managed to recover the Jews are treat behind the Mayan defenses of the walls of Jerusalem [Music] these walls are Titus main problem Jerusalem is built on a hill and surrounded by three fortified walls each stronger than the other to bleach such a wall Titus must raise huge earthen revs and bring up siege towers and battering rams to reach it [Music] in excavations conducted in Jerusalem in the Russian compound remains of the third wall have been found it is the outer wall of the ancient city we have here testimony to the battle we found more than 70 catapult stones right here at the front of the wall so that we know a battle took place here the number and density of the catapult stones and their locations are basically the testimony that there was a battle here during the Roman period dated according to the pot shards the evidence enabled us to conclude that we are dealing with the section of the third wall through which the Romans penetrated Jerusalem with these huge catapult stones Titus soldiers bombarded the Jewish defenders thus ensuring that they would not disturb the builds of the wrapping each of these stones weighs about 26 kilograms and flew at a speed of tens of kilometers per hour when a stone like this crashed into the wall it was better not to be there [Music] under heavy artillery cover the iron Rams climbed to the top of the wall and pierced it and the noise is deafening the largest battering ram of all nicknamed meek on the victor was the first to breach the wall [Music] [Applause] the Roman soldiers burst into bait Zeta neighborhood they slaughter the residents without mercy and set the entire neighborhood on fire within a few days the second wall also falls the Jewish defenses begin to disintegrate [Music] Tidus renews the attack and advances his soldiers to the internal wall the strongest wall of Jerusalem known as the first wall he concentrates most of his efforts here at the antonio fortress the antonia is the largest strongest fortress in jerusalem it was built by herod to the north of the Temple Mount in order to control the temple the Titus plan was well thought out the moment the Antonia Falls the temple will fall and when the temple falls the Jews will lose all hope and Jerusalem will finally fall into his hands but nothing prepared him for what happens next in a daring action the soldiers of John of GU Scala succeed in digging a tunnel under the earth and rev opposite the Antonia setting fire to its foundations and toppling it together with the soldiers to the ground at the same time Simon bar Yarra attacks the ramp opposite the first wall and sets it on fire hundreds of Roman soldiers are killed and wounded all at once the Roman attack is halted and the entire Roman army is driven out of the city stunned by the failure Titus gathers his commanders urgently and decides to change tactics if it is not possible to break into the city he will surround it from without and starve the Jews to death in a record time of only three days Titus builds a giant siege wall around Jerusalem a choke ring seven kilometers long that effectively blocks off all supply lines now starvation sets in to cruelly afflict the city affluent people scour the gutters to find scraps of food and small children whose parents have starved to death wander the streets in search of a piece of bread the tension in the city grows those who are left with a little food eaten secret others try to evade the zealots and escape from the city most of those who try to flee are caught by the Romans and crucified on wooden beams around the city walls fatigue and starvation weaken the Jewish fighters this is Titus chance to deal the crushing blow to Jerusalem the Roman army is concentrated on one task to conquer Antonia fortress and break through to the temple [Music] the Jews trying to prevent the capture of the Temple Mount and sabotage the building of the ramps without without me out that's on their look they shot flaming arrows through giant stones and pour boiling oil on ahead of the Roman soldiers the signal now far now of the Temple Mount sifting project iron arrow heads were found these arrowheads were used for catapult fire catapults are machines for shooting arrows and they bombarded the walls with such force that even the bravest of the Jewish fighters could not withstand after fierce battles Titus soldiers gain control of the Antonia on the 17th of Tammuz titus commands them to destroy the mighty citadel down to its foundations this day on which according to the tradition the city was breached is commemorated as a day of mourning on the Jewish calendar the temple service ceased completely and during the following three weeks the days between the straights the Jews would struggle in bloody face-to-face battles in the courtyards of God's temple the battering rams breached the western walls of the Temple Mount ladders are leaned against the remains of the wall and the Roman soldiers stream and mass into the temple courtyard it seems that the campaign is drawing to a close but what happens next is totally inconceivable when the Jews realized that the temple is in real danger they shake off all feelings of hunger and weakness thousands of citizens women men elders and youth everyone who can hold a weapon join the fighters together as one man they fall upon the Romans and block the way to the temple with their bodies only one weapon can beat the fire of faith that burns in the hearts of the Jewish fighters the burning fire of torches and thus on the night of the ninth of of Titus sets fire to the gates that surround the Temple Mount on their way to the temple the Romans burst the rule killing stabbing and trampling everyone in their path the blood flows on the colorful stone floors of the Temple Mount as bodies of the slain pile high the flames quickly spread and approach the entrance to the temple a moment before it goes up in flames Titus gathers his commanders for a final consultation to determine the fate of the temple Josephus claims that Titus opposed destroying the temple which in his eyes was the glory of human creation according to Josephus the fire was caused by accident by a Roman soldier who inadvertently tossed a burning torch into the sanctuary but most scholars do not believe this is really true the anger over the many casualties caused by the Jews and the understanding that as long as the temple stood the Jews would continue to fight decided the temples fate let them see and fear on the ninth of of towards evening Titus gave the order and the following day the tent above his soldiers set fire to the sanctuary the temple that had been the source of inspiration faith ethics and righteousness for the Jewish people and all humanity for centuries now went up in flames the cries of pain of the Jews rose up to the heavens Titus commands the burning of the lower city in the upper city the rebels continue to fight stubbornly for another month until the Romans take control of it - and set it ablaze the charred remains of fire and destruction discovered by professor Nath mana of God in what was once an opulent neighborhood tell the story of the complete destruction of Jerusalem [Music] chilling testimony to the last moments of the city is found here between layers of ruins and ashes the severed arm of a young woman with a spear alongside it it appears that she too was unable to escape to the rebels final refuge the underground drainage channel [Music] we're inside the drainage channel where the rebels hit 2,000 years ago the last of the Jerusalem residents hidden this tunnel here where we stand suffocating darkness and terrible fear surrounded them the Romans searched for them found them broke through the ceiling of the tunnel and killed everyone and among the finds discovered here that testify to the horror was this Roman sword the Roman glass found on the tunnel floor nearby were cooking pots clay lamps and coins of the revolt with the Hebrew words air root Sein freedom for Zion two words that expressed the heartfelt aspiration of the Jews who hid and were killed here in the drainage channel in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago it is possible that the death of these people in the depths of the ground was preferable to the horrors suffered by their brethren who were taken captive the prisoners were sold into lifelong slavery or died in bloodsport fighting against wild animals and gladiators in pain shock and sorrow the Jewish prisoners are marched through the streets of Rome and before them go the spoils of war from Jerusalem the golden menorah and the holy vessels of the temple Rome celebrates its victory with a parade with huge monuments and a special coin that glorifies and commemorates the suppression of Judea Jerusalem weeping and mourning descends under layers of ash and destruction after five years of persistent struggle against the strongest empire in the world the Second Temple is destroyed [Music] you you

Channel: Megalim Institute מכון מגלי"ם

Views: 1,052,634

Keywords: Jerusalem, Second Temple, Roman, siege, Jerusalem in 70 CE, Temple in Flames, Titus, Jewish fighter, destruction, roman army, vespasian, soldiers, war, fighters, the final battle, eyal miron, jews, walls, then third wall, the second wall, antonia fortress, Dr. Rina Avner, ancient, battle, simon bar giora, arrow head, temple mount sifting project, 17th of tammuz, Flavius Josephus, uprising, drainage channel, Eli Shukron, city of david, gabriel barkay

Id: y5vuoX09ryw

Length: 15min 34sec (934 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 18 2019