Destruction of the Second Temple

Destruction of the Second Temple

According to Josephus, on 8 Av (July/August), two legions completed their ramps against the Temple. When the battering rams failed to breach the masonry, Titus ordered the gates set alight; the fire spread through the porticoes, and the outer court fell into Roman hands. Two days later, on 10 Av, a Roman soldier hurled a burning piece of wood through a window on the Temple's north side, igniting a fire that ultimately consumed the structure. Josephus writes that Titus, roused from rest, rushed to the scene and ordered the fire extinguished, but that some soldiers either failed to hear or disregarded his orders, with some urging others to spread the flames. Titus and his commanders then entered the Temple, where he again ordered the soldiers to extinguish the fire, but many continued their actions, motivated by hatred of the Jews and hope of plunder.