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Roman destruction of the Second Temple
AD 70· Event· Judaism, Christianity & Islam
Historical recordConfirmed by archaeology, outside sources or contemporary records.
In AD 70 Roman legions under Titus captured Jerusalem and burned the Second Temple, crushing a revolt that began in 66.
See it on the World Religions map →What it is
Judea rose against Roman rule in 66. After crushing Galilee, Rome besieged Jerusalem in spring 70; the city fell after months of famine and fighting, and the Temple burned in August, traditionally on the 9th of Av, mourned yearly as Tisha B'Av. Josephus, an eyewitness, claimed over a million died; modern historians think far fewer, though estimates vary and losses were enormous. Many survivors were enslaved. The Arch of Titus in Rome still shows soldiers carrying the Temple's menorah.
Why it matters
It ended Temple sacrifice and the priestly system, forcing both the rabbis and the young Christian movement to define themselves anew, and deepened a long era of Jewish life in diaspora.
Sources and history
Josephus' Jewish War; Tacitus and Cassius Dio; the Arch of Titus; burned houses and toppled Temple-platform stones excavated in Jerusalem; Roman 'Judaea Capta' victory coins.
Questions and debates
Whether Titus ordered the Temple burned, as a later Christian source, perhaps drawing on Tacitus, suggests, or it caught fire against his wishes, as Josephus says, is debated.
Inside this (1)
Connections (3)
▸Roman destruction of the Second Temple ended Second Temple JudaismHistorical record
The connection
Second Temple Judaism revolved around the Jerusalem Temple: sacrifices, priests, pilgrimage festivals and the high priest's authority. When Rome burned it in AD 70, sacrifice stopped and the Sadducees, the priestly elite, faded away. Of the era's many groups, mainly the Pharisees' successors, the rabbis, and the Jesus movement carried on.
When and where
Jerusalem, August AD 70, under the Roman general Titus, effectively ending the revolt begun in 66; the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–135) ended hopes of rebuilding.
Historical evidence
Josephus' eyewitness account, the Arch of Titus, burned layers in Jerusalem, and the disappearance of the Sadducees and Temple sacrifice from later sources.
Questions and debates
Whether some sacrifice continued after 70, and how quickly groups like the Essenes disappeared, are debated.
▸Roman destruction of the Second Temple gave rise to Rabbinic JudaismHistorical record
The connection
With the Temple gone, Judaism needed a new center. Tradition says Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai escaped the siege and set up an academy at Yavneh. There and later in Galilee, sages replaced sacrifice with prayer, Torah study and acts of kindness, moved Temple rites into synagogue and home, and built the legal tradition later written in the Mishnah.
When and where
Yavneh, on Judea's coastal plain, after AD 70, under Yohanan ben Zakkai and later Gamaliel II; leadership moved to Galilee after 135.
Historical evidence
Rabbinic texts recount the move to Yavneh and the replacement of sacrifice; synagogue archaeology and later Jewish practice show the shift.
Questions and debates
The escape story is legend-tinged and recorded centuries later; many historians think rabbinic leadership emerged gradually rather than at one founding moment.
▸Western Wall survived Roman destruction of the Second TempleHistorical record
The connection
In AD 70 the Romans burned the Temple and pulled down its buildings, but the massive retaining walls of Herod's platform largely remained. Later Roman, Byzantine and Muslim rulers built on the platform. The surviving western side, nearest the vanished sanctuary, became a living memorial of the loss, mourned especially on Tisha B'Av.
When and where
Jerusalem, August AD 70, when Titus' legions burned the Temple; the lower courses of the western retaining wall stayed in place.
Historical evidence
Excavations along the wall found Herodian stones in place and, below Robinson's Arch, a street piled with stones the Romans toppled from above in 70.
Questions and debates
How much of the wall was damaged in 70 and repaired later is still studied; its upper courses date from early Islamic, medieval and Ottoman times.