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siege, landmark, ancient

Siege of Jerusalem

Siege of Jerusalem was a siege conducted in February AD 70 at Jerusalem, in what is now Israel. It was part of First Jewish-Roman War, which ran from AD 66 to AD 74. The recorded result: Roman victory.

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Map of the siege of Jerusalem with movements of Roman army
Map of the siege of Jerusalem with movements of Roman army. User:Barosaurus Lentus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtFebruary AD 70
WhereJerusalem, Israel31.778N, 35.236E
OutcomeRoman victory
BelligerentsRoman EmpireagainstJewish rebels
Part ofFirst Jewish-Roman WarAD 66 to AD 74

Where it sits in First Jewish-Roman War

Battle of Beth Horon, AD 66Battle of Jerusalem, AD 66Battle of Gabaon, AD 66Siege of Ascalon, AD 67Battle of Joppa, AD 67Siege of Gush Halav, AD 67pillage of Ein Gedi, AD 67Siege of Gabara, AD 67Galilee campaign, AD 67Battle of Mount Gerizim, AD 67Siege of Japha, AD 67Siege of Yodfat, AD 67Siege of Gamala, AD 67Battle of Mount Tabor, AD 67Capture of Tarichaea, AD 68Zealot Temple Siege, AD 68Battle of Bethennabris, AD 68Battle of the Jordan River, AD 68Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70Siege of Machaerus, AD 71Siege of Masada, AD 72AD 66AD 72Siege of Jerusalem, AD 70
21 placed engagements of First Jewish-Roman War in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateFebruary AD 70 (month precision)
to 8 September AD 70
PlaceJerusalem, Israel
31.778N, 35.236E
KindSiege, ancient
Commanders
  • Titus
  • Tiberius Julius Alexander
  • Simon bar Giora
  • John of Gischala
  • Eleazar ben Simon
Siege of JerusalemSiege of JerusalemSiege of JerusalemBattle of JerusalemBattle of JerusalemOperation KilshonKing David Hotel bombingSiege of JerusalemTel AvivAmmanGaza CityHaifaNablusEl ArishNazarethAl Karak100 km31.778N, 35.236E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Jerusalem
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 25 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Jerusalem today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-08-19. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 745 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from 360 to 847 m, 487 m of relief, steep country and today it is 76% built-up, 12% grassland, 8% tree cover.

built-up: 76%grassland: 12%tree cover: 8%shrubland: 2%built-up 76%grassland 12%tree cover 8%shrubland 2%
west to east, 10.0 km389 to 811 mnorth to south, 10.0 km609 to 827 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 24 times between 1010 BC and 1967.

In the same war

Elsewhere in AD 70

Siege of Jerusalem is one of 63 engagements of the 1st century in the atlas and one of 179 in present-day Israel.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q844886, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE), revision 1383882998, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.