First Jewish–Roman War

In 66, after the procurator Gessius Florus seized 17 talents from the Temple treasury, unrest in Jerusalem turned into a revolt that spread across Judaea. The army of Cestius Gallus, the governor of Syria, was routed on its retreat at Beth Horon. Nero gave the command to Vespasian, who in 67 subdued Galilee; at Yodfat (Jotapata) the rebel commander Yosef ben Mattityahu surrendered and, as Flavius Josephus, became the historian of the war.

The civil war of 68–69 halted the campaign. Proclaimed emperor, Vespasian left his son Titus to besiege Jerusalem, which fell in the summer of 70 together with the Temple. Masada, held by the Sicarii, was taken after a siege traditionally dated to 72–73, though some scholars argue for 73–74; according to Josephus its defenders killed one another rather than surrender.

Rome imposed a special tax on all Jews, the fiscus Judaicus, kept the Legio X Fretensis in Judaea and celebrated the victory with a triumph and with coins inscribed Judaea Capta. With the Temple gone, Judaism was reshaped by the rabbis gathered at Yavne.