Zealot Temple Siege
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The Zealot Temple Siege (68 AD) was a short
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...
of the
Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusa ...
fought between Jewish factions during the
First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
(66–70 AD). According to the historian
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
, the forces of
Ananus ben Ananus Ananus ben Ananus (Hebrew: ''Hanan ben Hanan'' Greek: "Ananos son of Ananos" var: Ananias, la, Anani Ananus or ), d. 68 CE, was a Herodian-era High Priest of Israel in Jerusalem, Iudaea Province. He was the High Priest who ordered the exe ...
, one of the heads of the Judean provisional government and former
High Priest of Israel High Priest ( he, כהן גדול, translit=Kohen Gadol or ; ) was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post- Exilic times until the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE. Previously ...
, besieged the
Zealots The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...
who held the Temple. When
John of Giscala John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, ; 70) was a leader of the first Jewish revolt against the Romans. History During the Jewish war with Rome, John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης ἀπὸ Γισχάλων), son of Levi (), vied ...
led the Zealots to believe that Ananus had contacted the Roman General
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
for assistance in retaking control of all Jerusalem, the Zealots, driven to desperation, asked the
Edom Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east.N ...
ites (Idumeans) for assistance in preventing the delivery of the city to the Romans. When the Edomites arrived, the Zealots opened the gates of Jerusalem to them, and the Edomites slaughtered ben Hanan's (Ananus ben Ananus) forces, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, the Edomites and Zealots massacred the common people. Jerusalem mostly remained in the control of the Zealots until 70 AD, when it was sacked by Rome and the Temple was destroyed.


Background

The Zealots were a political movement in 1st century Judaism that sought to incite the people of
Judaea Province Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of ...
to rebel against the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
and expel it from the
Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy ...
by force of arms. The
First Jewish–Roman War The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), sometimes called the Great Jewish Revolt ( he, המרד הגדול '), or The Jewish War, was the first of three major rebellions by the Jews against the Roman Empire, fought in Roman-controlled ...
began in the year 66 AD with
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
and Jewish religious tensions and expanded into anti-
taxation A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal person, legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regiona ...
protests and Jewish attacks upon
Roman citizen Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...
s.Josephus, ''War of the Jews'' II.8.11, II.13.7, II.14.4, II.14.5 However, by the year 68, Jewish resistance in the North had been crushed and the Roman General
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
had established his headquarters at
Caesarea Maritima Caesarea Maritima (; Greek: ''Parálios Kaisáreia''), formerly Strato's Tower, also known as Caesarea Palestinae, was an ancient city in the Sharon plain on the coast of the Mediterranean, now in ruins and included in an Israeli national park ...
. The leaders of the collapsed Northern revolt,
John of Giscala John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, ; 70) was a leader of the first Jewish revolt against the Romans. History During the Jewish war with Rome, John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης ἀπὸ Γισχάλων), son of Levi (), vied ...
and
Simon Bar Giora Simon bar Giora (alternatively known as Simeon bar Giora or Simon ben Giora or Shimon bar Giora, arc, שִׁמְעוֹן בַּר גִּיּוֹרָא or he, שִׁמְעוֹן בֵּן גִּיּוֹרָא; died 71 CE) was the leader of one of ...
, managed to escape to Jerusalem, but brutal
civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
erupted as the
Zealots The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...
and the fanatical
Sicarii The Sicarii (Modern Hebrew: סיקריים ''siqariyim'') were a splinter group of the Jewish Zealots who, in the decades preceding Jerusalem's destruction in 70 CE, strongly opposed the Roman occupation of Judea and attempted to expel them and th ...
executed anyone advocating surrender.


Siege

In 68 AD, there was growing unrest in Jerusalem.
Ananus ben Ananus Ananus ben Ananus (Hebrew: ''Hanan ben Hanan'' Greek: "Ananos son of Ananos" var: Ananias, la, Anani Ananus or ), d. 68 CE, was a Herodian-era High Priest of Israel in Jerusalem, Iudaea Province. He was the High Priest who ordered the exe ...
incited the people to rise up against the
Zealots The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...
, who were robbing the people and using the Temple of Jerusalem as their base of operations. Ben Hanan began to recruit for armed conflict. The Zealots, who were quartered in the Temple, learned that ben Hanan was preparing for battle, and sallied forth, attacking all in their way. Ben Hanan quickly organized the people against them. The skirmish began with the belligerents throwing rocks at one another, then javelins, then finally hand-to-hand combat with swords ensued. Eventually the Zealots retreated to the inner court of the Temple, and 6,000 of Ben Hanan's men held the first (outer) court. According to
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
,
John of Giscala John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, ; 70) was a leader of the first Jewish revolt against the Romans. History During the Jewish war with Rome, John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης ἀπὸ Γισχάλων), son of Levi (), vied ...
, who secretly sought to rule Jerusalem, had cultivated a friendship with Ananus: John was suspected of being a spy, and so was made to swear an "oath of goodwill" to Ananus ben Ananus and the people. After swearing the oath, Ananus sent
John of Giscala John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, ; 70) was a leader of the first Jewish revolt against the Romans. History During the Jewish war with Rome, John of Gischala ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης ἀπὸ Γισχάλων), son of Levi (), vied ...
into the inner court, to speak with the Zealots on his behalf. John immediately turned coat, "as if his oath had been made to the zealots," telling them that they were in imminent danger, and could not survive a siege. He told them that they had two options: 1) to surrender, in which case they'd either face execution, vigilantism, or retribution for the "desperate things they had done"; or 2) to ask for outside assistance. John told the Zealots that Ananus had sent ambassadors to
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
to ask him to come take the city. This in fact was not true, but convinced them that they could not endure a siege without help. The messengers managed to sneak out of the Temple and successfully deliver their message to the rulers of the Edomites, who were greatly alarmed, and quickly raised an army of 20,000 to march on Jerusalem, "in order to maintain the liberty of their metropolis." Upon receiving word that 20,000 Edomites were marching on Jerusalem, ben Hanan ordered the gates shut against them, and the walls guarded. Jesus, one of the elder high priests, made a speech from the walls, denouncing the Zealots as robbers and telling the Edomites to throw down their arms. Simon, son of Cathlas, one of Idumean commanders, quieted the tumult of his own men and answered: "I can no longer wonder that the patrons of liberty are under custody in the temple, since there are those that shut the gates of our common city to their own nation, and at the same time are prepared to admit the Romans into it; nay, perhaps are disposed to crown the gates with garlands at their coming, while they speak to the Idumeans from their own towers, and enjoin them to throw down their arms which they have taken up for the preservation of its liberty. . . ." That night a thunderstorm blew over Jerusalem, and the Zealots sneaked from the Temple to the gates, and cut the bars of the gates with saws, the sound masked by the sound of the wind and thunder. They opened the gates of Jerusalem to the Edomites, who fell upon the guards and made their way to the Temple. They slaughtered Ananus' forces there, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, they massacred the common people. Eventually, after learning that
Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...
had never been contacted by Ananus ben Ananus, the Edomites repented and left the city.


Aftermath

Jerusalem remained in the hands of the Zealots until the Siege of Jerusalem (70 AD) by Roman legions under
Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September 81 AD) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death. Before becoming emperor, Titus gained renown as a mili ...
resulted in the sack of the city and the capture and imprisonment of Zealot leaders.


See also

*
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...


References

{{Reflist


External links


Timeline of Jewish-Roman Wars, including Temple Siege
Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire Military history of Jerusalem First Jewish–Roman War 60s conflicts 68 Israel in the Roman era 60s in the Roman Empire Second Temple