Zealot Temple Siege
Encyclopedia
The Zealot Temple Siege (68 CE) was a short siege
of the Temple in Jerusalem
fought between Jewish factions during the Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire
(66–70). The forces of Ananus ben Ananus, a Jewish priest
and former High Priest of Israel
, besieged the Zealots
who held the Temple.
According to the historian Josephus
, Ananus incited the people to rise up against the Zealots who were in control of the Temple. When John of Giscala
led the Zealots to believe that Ananus had contacted the Roman General Vespasian
for assistance in retaking control of all Jerusalem, the Zealots, driven to desperation, asked the Edomite
s (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 forces, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, they massacred the common people.
Jerusalem remained in the control of the Zealots until 70 CE, when it was sacked by Rome and the Temple was destroyed
.
that sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province
to rebel against the Roman Empire
and expel it from the Holy Land
by force of arms. The Great Jewish Revolt began in the year 66 with Greek
and Jewish religious tensions and expanded into anti-taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizen
s. However, by the year 68
, Jewish resistance in the North had been crushed and the Roman General Vespasian
had established his headquarters at Caesarea Maritima. The leaders of the collapsed Northern revolt, John of Giscala
and Simon Bar Giora
, managed to escape to Jerusalem, but brutal civil war
erupted as the Zealots
and the fanatical Sicarii
executed anyone advocating surrender.
CE, there was growing unrest in Jerusalem. Ananus ben Ananus incited the people to rise up against the Zealots
, 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
, John of Giscala
, 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
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
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
had never been contacted by Ananus ben Ananus, the Edomites repented and left the city.
(70 CE) by Roman legions under Titus
resulted in the sack of the city and the capture and imprisonment of Zealot leaders.
Siege
A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit". Generally speaking, siege warfare is a form of constant, low intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static...
of the Temple in Jerusalem
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
fought between Jewish factions during the Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
(66–70). The forces of Ananus ben Ananus, a Jewish priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
and former High Priest of Israel
Kohen Gadol
The High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
, besieged the Zealots
Zealotry
Zealotry was originally a political movement in 1st century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy land by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt...
who held the Temple.
According to the historian Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Ananus incited the people to rise up against the Zealots who were in control of the Temple. When John of Giscala
John of Giscala
John of Giscala , was a leader of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in the First Jewish-Roman War, and played a part in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70....
led the Zealots to believe that Ananus had contacted the Roman General Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
for assistance in retaking control of all Jerusalem, the Zealots, driven to desperation, asked the Edomite
Edom
Edom or Idumea was a historical region of the Southern Levant located south of Judea and the Dead Sea. It is mentioned in biblical records as a 1st millennium BC Iron Age kingdom of Edom, and in classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to a smaller area in the same region...
s (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 forces, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, they massacred the common people.
Jerusalem remained in the control of the Zealots until 70 CE, when it was sacked by Rome and the Temple was destroyed
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
.
Background
The Zealots were a political movement in first century JudaismTannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
that sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province
Judaea (Roman province)
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
to rebel against the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
and expel it from the Holy Land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
by force of arms. The Great Jewish Revolt began in the year 66 with Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
and Jewish religious tensions and expanded into anti-taxation protests and attacks upon Roman citizen
Roman citizenship
Citizenship in ancient Rome was a privileged political and legal status afforded to certain free-born individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance....
s. However, by the year 68
68
Year 68 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asconius and Thraculus...
, Jewish resistance in the North had been crushed and the Roman General Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
had established his headquarters at Caesarea Maritima. The leaders of the collapsed Northern revolt, John of Giscala
John of Giscala
John of Giscala , was a leader of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in the First Jewish-Roman War, and played a part in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70....
and Simon Bar Giora
Simon Bar Giora
Simon bar Giora d. 70 CE, was a leader of revolutionary forces during the First Jewish-Roman War in the 1st century Judea.- History :...
, managed to escape to Jerusalem, but brutal civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
erupted as the Zealots
Zealotry
Zealotry was originally a political movement in 1st century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy land by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt...
and the fanatical Sicarii
Sicarii
Sicarii is a term applied, in the decades immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD, to an extremist splinter group of the Jewish Zealots, who attempted to expel the Romans and their partisans from Judea using concealed daggers .-History:The Sicarii used...
executed anyone advocating surrender.
Siege
In 6868
Year 68 was a leap year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Asconius and Thraculus...
CE, there was growing unrest in Jerusalem. Ananus ben Ananus incited the people to rise up against the Zealots
Zealotry
Zealotry was originally a political movement in 1st century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Iudaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy land by force of arms, most notably during the Great Jewish Revolt...
, 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
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, John of Giscala
John of Giscala
John of Giscala , was a leader of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in the First Jewish-Roman War, and played a part in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70....
, 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 Giscala
John of Giscala , was a leader of the Jewish revolt against the Romans in the First Jewish-Roman War, and played a part in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70....
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
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
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
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
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 JerusalemSiege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
(70 CE) by Roman legions under Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
resulted in the sack of the city and the capture and imprisonment of Zealot leaders.