Roman Capture of the Antonia and Burning of the Colonnade

Josephus

The Jewish War 6.149–192 (selections)

ca. 75

6.149–151

Meanwhile the rest of the Roman army demolished Antonia and its foundations in seven days and engineered a wide road giving access to the temple. The legions could now approach the first perimeter wall, and began work on four ramps—one opposite the north-west corner of the inner temple court, another facing the northern concourse between…
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After fierce fighting, the Antonia fortress, essential to the defense of Jerusalem, is taken by the Romans. The Jews still hold the Temple, however, and the Romans begin to build a siege ramp in order to gain access to the Temple.

The Jews, now feeling the “pinch of famine,” attempt a surprise attack on the Tenth Legion, which is guarding the Mount of Olives. “Worsted in every encounter,” according to Josephus, the Jews determine that their best course of action is to destroy the colonnade that links the Antonia fortress to the Temple, in an effort to make it more difficult for the Romans to enter the Temple. In the course of destroying this colonnade, Jewish insurgents feign retreat and trick some Roman soldiers into going up onto the colonnade, which they have rigged to explode in flames. The Roman soldiers are killed.

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Creator Bio

Josephus

37–100

Flavius Josephus was born into a prominent Jewish priestly family and served as a general stationed in the Galilee during the First Jewish Revolt (66–73 CE). He was captured by the Romans and eventually integrated into the Flavian imperial aristocracy, who commissioned him to compose chronicles of the Jewish–Roman war and the history of the Jews. Josephus’ works, all written in Greek, include The Jewish War, Jewish Antiquities, Against Apion, and his autobiography, Life of Josephus. These writings provide important insights into the Judaisms of the Second Temple period and include one of the few surviving accounts of the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE.

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