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Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

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I'm a big fan of history and there's one particular recorded event that happened in 70 A.D that has impressed me since first hearing about it.

Some 40 years after the crucifixion of Christ, in April of 70 A.D. the Jewish people of Israel living in Jerusalem began a revolt against Romans who first entered the city in 63 A.D. After a few years the Parthians came in but the Romans eventually returned to place a false king Herod over the people, that didn't work out to well so there were procurator's placed over the city. These procurators were incompetent and lacked the forces needed to enforce law, they were also heavily dependent on the local elites who lacked confidence and respect of the Jewish people. To compound the issue the population had class, ethnic and religious divides which meant the region of Judea was highly unstable and so revolution seemed to always be around the corner.

In the year of 66 A.D. rioting was met by an overreaction of the Roman procurator, Florus who made the situation worse by pillaging southwest Jerusalem and killing some 3600 people. As the situation escalated reinforcements came from Caesarea but were driven out by a rebellion that had spread to the entire region. Jerusalem was taken by Jewish rebels while Roman strongholds were eliminated in Judea and Perea. Efforts to stop the uprising were lead by Vespasian and his son Titus under orders from the Emperor Nero. The campaign season of 67 A.D. saw Vespasian advance south from Antioch and placed effort on subduing Galilee.

Field battles were almost unheard of because the Romans had a huge advantage and most of the fighting was concentrated around fortifications, this resulted in nightmarish treatment of local populations who didn't submit immediately. Rome typically acted in a harsh way to make a point. In the campaign of 68 A.D. cities downstream of the Roman army learned about the presence of the enemy not by messenger but by bodies floating in the Jordan river.


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01-Mar-2021 06:25:24

Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

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The 68 A.D. campaign season halted with news of Nero's death, within the next year there would be anarchy and four emperor's. Vespasian on July 1st of the year 69 A.D. made a bid for power, in the following year of 70 AD, Vespasian had taken the victory and set out for Rome to claim the prize. He put his son Titus in charge of the Judean campaign with instructions to end the Jewish uprising, which meant a long delayed assault on Jerusalem which was the home of the rebel leaders and heart of the resistance. In the spring of 70 AD Titus began the campaign against Jerusalem.

His army of four legions was assembled in Alexandria and they marched north to Caesarea along the shoreline, supporting his force was twenty three cohorts of auxiliary infantry, eight (ally?) of cavalry and many attachments of local provided by the regions client rulers. To break that down that's 20,000 local troops, 15,900 infantry, 3,180 cavalry, and the four legions consisted of 20,760 men totaling to 59,840 soldiers.
There is some doubt about the number of local troops allocated but it could be that the regions leaders were trying to remain in the goodwill of Rome by helping with the war effort.

The numbers of the local troops would help Rome by freeing up the legionaries to do what they did best by taking on many tasks, this would be important in the upcoming siege against a city as large and fortified as Jerusalem. The Romans approached the city in separate marching columns due to the security and supply constraints of the Judean hills.

Titus lead the 12th and 15th legions by the most direct road which the 5th Macedonica approached from Emmaus, and the 10th Fertensis approached from Jericho. On April 23rd the lead units from the 12th and 15th legions arrived on the hills north of the city, that night the 10th Fertensis arrived and by morning the remaining forces entered the battlefield. Before them lay a great city with a beautiful temple and strong battlements.

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01-Mar-2021 06:50:24 - Last edited on 01-Mar-2021 19:11:00 by Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

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The ancient city of Jerusalem was built atop several key topographic features, incorporating two spurs of land with a terrapin valley between those spurs. On the eastern spurs were the Temple and the Antonia Fortress, the western spur was where the elites who built the upper city (where they lived) during the Hasmonian and Herodian periods. Between these two spurs was the lower and much older Lower City which held most of the population. Both the upper and lower cities were enclosed with a wall which was anchored to the enormous fortifications around the temple mount. Over time the city outgrew it's walls and a second city was built (known as the Second City) was built north of the first wall. This new expansion was exposed but soon a second wall was built around it which ran from the Antonia in the east to a gate in the west.

By the 1st century AD another city was built north of the Second City which was known as the New City, as with any other major location, fortifications were needed so in 41 AD Herod Agrippa commissioned another wall to be built around the new(est) addition. This wall was built using huge stone blocks which helped to secure a larger area. The scale of the wall seems to have raised some suspicion amongst the Romans who forced their client King to abandon the project before it's completion, though despite the revolt in place the wall was eventually finished.

By the time the Roman legions arrived the walls had been raised an additional nine 29 feet, or nine meters and a series of square towers were built projecting outwards. Looking at it from a strategic view there was a combination difficult terrain and stout walls which made for a formidable defense three layered defensive network. In addition, there were many narrow, maze like streets that could be easily blocked, below ground were sewage and water tunnels which meant the defenders could emerge from any location for a surprise attack on intruders.

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01-Mar-2021 06:54:52 - Last edited on 01-Mar-2021 19:37:10 by Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

Posts: 2,947 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Set up within this secure city was a garrison of 20,000 Jewish troops. However, they weren't professionals like the Romans instead they were a mix of militia, refugees and zealots, the way this army was composed was a reflection of the fractured nature of the Jewish resistance. Since the start of the revolt an effective, localized government failed to form up and the resistance suffered by not being able to bring together the various factions. The city had been falling apart through bloody infighting even up until the Romans arrived at their doorstep.

The leaders of the resistance were Simon Gioras who laid claim to the Upper City and John of Gischala who was based out of the Temple Mount. Simon lead the majority of the forces with 10,000 men, about 50 officers and 6,000 allied Idumeans under 8 commanders. These men garrisoned the wall all the way from the Kidron valley to the Palace of the Kings. On the other side of the city John had a following of 6,000 men, about 20 officers and was joined by Eliazar who had 2,400 zealots. These forces held the Temple mount and surrounding neighborhoods including the (Offal?) and terrapin valley.

The Jewish Skirmishers were armed with bows, javelins and slings for ranged attacks but when things got close they used spears, swords and clubs. Though they were agile they wouldn't stand a chance in an engagement with Romans who had heavy cavalry.

The Jews in Jerusalem were better equipped after amassing gear from workshop, Herodian armories, arms dealers, deserters, and defeated enemies. A large amount of gear had been acquired from Romans who had been defeated at Beth-Haram, namely artillery pieces. In addition the confusion of siege warfare would negate any advantage the Romans would enjoy in a regular field battle. The Morale was also really high because the city resolved to fight rather than to lie down and die.

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01-Mar-2021 20:05:41

Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

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While it's important to consider the armies, we need to remember that siege warfare is about attrition which means we should ask about the food and water supply of the Jewish occupants.

Fresh water was not a very high priority due to the presence of cisterns and a few massive pools which collected rain water. Food one the other hand was in short supply because during much of the infighting, the grain stores had been raided or destroyed by opposing factions. In addition, the population had increased to refugees and pilgrims coming to the city for Passover. The non-combatants far outnumbered the armed defenders and this severely affected the length supplies would last.

As Titus came to the city he recognized that his army was exhausted after that long march and ordered a preliminary wall be built outside of the range of the cities defenses. The 12th and 15th legions who had arrived from the north began to set up 1 kilometer away (0.62 miles) atop Mount Scopus with another camp for the 5th Macedonica planned another 550 meters back. As the Romans moved in, Titus rode ahead to survey the defenses, on the morning of April 23 he set off with 600 horsemen following the road that lead to the main gate of the third wall. However, the terrain was uneven and was cluttered with gardens, olive groves, fences, hedges, walls, and stone structures which had been knocked down by the defenders, it was a maze of obstacles.

Suddenly Jewish forces came out of the gates swarming the Roman column, cutting it in half. Cavalry men in the rear ran back out into the open country from which they had just come, meanwhile Titus and his escorts were left behind, the general didn't wear his helmet or breastplate for the expedition but still drew sword and lead a charge to break out. According to Historian alive at the time - Flavius Josephus (I want his books) He (Titus) diverted perpetually with his sword those that came on his side

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01-Mar-2021 20:24:05

Wild Bill63

Wild Bill63

Posts: 2,947 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Overturned many of those that directly met him, and rode his horse over those which had been overthrown" The encounter was a close call but eventually the Romans were able to cut their way through and get back though they lost a few men and left many who were injured. Because of this Titus was likely shaken and thus eager to get the siege underway and so ordered the 10th Fertensis move closer and begin construction of entrenchments atop the Mount of Olives. However, the Jews were emboldened and poured out of the eastern and southern gateways, sights set on the legionaries. Many fighters streamed across the Kidron valley and descended upon the half built camp of the 10th Fertensis. The Romans were completely caught off guard and the Jews began cutting their way down while more reinforcements came from the city to complete the route so Titus rode in attacking the flank of the Jews and drove them back down the Kidron valley and so the legionaries began to resume work only to face a second assault who had been bringing in more and more men.

This ferocious attack overwhelmed the Roman force on the low ground and so many of the soldiers fled to the hills while Titus and a band of troops attempted to hold the line. Soon after the legionaries regrouped and charged back down the hill to rejoin the fight and drive the Jews back once more. In the ensuing lull the camp fortifications of the Romans was completed. This meant the Roman forward position was secure but left everyone with a reminder that the strength of the Jewish defense had been dangerously underestimated.

In response Titus took precautions against further attacks by posting cavalry divisions to deflect attacks and ordered that the ground between the roman camps and the walls be cleared of all obstructions. This meant cutting down trees, flattening hedges, filling in ditches and destroying rock projections, this served a dual purpose of removing cover and preparing the ground for siege works.

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01-Mar-2021 20:41:28

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