Herodian Jerusalem (March 70 ce)

Abstract

Abstract Perhaps no event in Jerusalem’s long history has been more momentous than the destruction of the second temple in 70 ce—a trauma reportedly forecast by Jesus and mourned by Jews ever since. At the time of its destruction, Jerusalem was largely the product of Herod the Great’s building program, which included the reconstruction of the temple and the expansion of the Temple Mount. This is the city in which Jesus spent his final days, and where his body was laid to rest after he was crucified. Seventy years after Herod’s death in 4 bce, Jewish dissatisfaction with Roman maladministration erupted when the First Jewish Revolt broke out. The revolt ended when Jerusalem fell to the Romans after a long and bloody siege which culminated with the destruction of the second temple.