The whole strength of the besiegem was now directed against the Antonia and the Temple. The Antonia lay before them to the east, a strong and lofty tower, within a square inclosed by strong walls. Behind the Antonia, stretching farther to the east, lay the much larger square of the mountain of the Lord's house ;' this too was protected with strong walls lined on the inside by lofty pillared cloisters, the flat roof of which ran nearly on a level with the top of the wall. Within this large square was another inclosure of an oblong shape, also protected by walls of great strength, cloistered like the others on the inside, and containing within them the sacred courts of the Lord's house and the holy edifice itself. The whole of this ground was called the Temple, and with it the Antonia was connected by a passage opening upon the cloisters of the great square at its north-west corner. Titus began by raising four fresh mounds to act against the An tonia. These mounds were of great size, and it took twenty-one days to complete them. They seem to have been erected as a support for the en gines by which projectiles were thrown into the fortress, while the battering-mms acted against its walls. Some sallies were in the meantime made by the besieged, but not with as much vigour as before, nor did they interfere much with the progress of the besiegers ; and such was the effect of one day's battering upon the wall, the foundations of which had been already loosened by the mine which had destroyed the first mounds, that it fell in the night. It was then discovered that the besieged had built a second wall within, and the ruins of the first had fallen against it, and formed a sort of bank by which it might be scaled. A forlorn hope of twelve men, fired by the exhortations of Titus, and the example of their leader, sprung forward, but perished in their attempt to dislodge the enemy. Two nights afterwards another party of twelve stole in over the ruins, killed the guards of the Antonia Tower, and let in the Romans. Then fol lowed a scene of terrible struggling and bloodshed, while Roman and Jew fought together in a space too narrow for the action of great numbers, both parties urged forward from behind and the places of the slain perpetually filled up by fresh men, the Romans striving to press through the passage from the Antonia into the Temple, the Jews thrusting them back. That day's fight accomplished nothing, and Titus resolved to clear a passage through the Antonia precincts for the main body of his troop,. In the meantime he strove to win the Jews to sub mission by sending them proposals of peace, ancl graciously receiving those who placed themselves in his power, while famine and its usual attendants, death, pestilence, and horrible rapacity, added force to his persuasions. But they were met with obstinate refusal and contempt by the heads of the fighting party, while the tinhappy sufferers could do nothing. On the 17th Tammuz (June 23), about the time of the first attack upon the Temple, the daily sacrifice ceased for want of priests to offer it, and from that day to the 9th Ab (July I4.), was the last death-struggle of Jerusalem. 'Fitus hemming in the holy places closer and closer, every inch of the way to the inner courts disputed, and again and again recovered, the wall of the great court taken and its cloisters burnt, the inner court invested, its walls battered in vain, its silver-plated gates forced by fire, its cloisters and encircling chambers burnt piece by piece. Onward still went thc flames making their way round the court of the priests, burning down cloister and sacred chamber, while the holy fane itself still reared its polished cor ners' in all their glory, resplendent with gold and marble, before the astonished eyes of its besiegers, still sheltered its ministering priests, its priceless treasures, and its objects of mysterious sanctity. Titus anxiously desired to preserve it ; but a Roman soldier flung a burning brand through a window which opened into its exterior chambers. The fire once kindled never ceased to rage till the whole was a ruin, and the roar of its burning was mingled with cries of agony, terror, and despair.
On the south side of the great inclosure of the Temple were two gates, which led by a bridge across the deep valley of the cheesemongers (Tyro pceon) to the upper city. Along this way now
rushed the crowd of fighting men, leaving To,000 of the more helpless, who had sought shelter in the Temple, to be butchered by the Roman sol diers, who, when the work of destruction was over, set up their standards before the east gate of the Temple, paid them divine honours, and saluted Titus as Imperator. After this, the conqueror, still anxious to spare the people and the city, held a parley with the chiefs of the insurrection, the two parties standing at opposite ends of the bridge. Titus required an unconditional surrender, but pro mised them their lives and kind treatment. This they refused, requiring permission to leave the city with their wives and children. Titus thereupon directed its plunder and destruction. This was not the work of a day, nor was it accomplished without a valorous resistance. But at length the whole city was reduced to ashes, except the three great towers on the western wall, and all its inhabitants put to the sword, except those who were reserved for slavery or to grace the triumph of the conqueror.
After the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus, and the occupation of a military post among its ruins by a Roman garrison, we hear nothing of any con sequence connected with the city till A. D. 130. In that year the Emueror Hadrian took some fir,t steps with a view to the rebuilding of Jerusalem for his own purposes. Stringent laws had been made for the control of the Jews, and a heavy tribute exacted from them immediately after the destruction of Jerusalem, and violent outbreaks had occurred among them in various parts of the empire, at Cyrene, in Egypt, in Cyprus, in Meso potamia ; and it was obviously important that Rome should have a powerful centre of dominion in the midst of them, and that a race possessing so much vitality and so turbulent a spirit should be prevented from seizing it themselves. Ile was in terrupted in this design by a more serious outbreak than any previous one, which led to another long Jewish war, and which cost Rome so much blood that the victory by which it was finally suppressed was not considered a subject for congratulation. The leader of the insurrection was Ben Coziba, a bandit chief, who proclaimed himself to be the Messiah, and changed his name to Barchochab or Barchocheba (son of a star), in allusion to the star foretold by Balaam. He took possession of Jeru salem, stamped money there with his own insignia, and was so bold and specious an impostor that Rabbi Akibah, a president of the Sanhedrim,* was induced to join him and become his armour bearer. Julius Severns was summoned from Britain in this emergency, and two years were spent in various attempts to suppress the insurrection before Jerusalem was taken, after an obstinate defence, and Barchocheba slain. The insurgents then betook themselves to Bether (otherwise written Bitter and Beth Tar), a strong place near Jerusalem, which was also taken with terrible slaughter after great sufferings from famine and disease, A.D. 135. R. Akibah was made prisoner, and after a close con finement of two years, cruelly put to death.
Hadrian's first work after this victory was the utter demolition of all remains of the old Jeru salem ; his next was to build a new city with a new name, and occupying a site rather more to the north than the former one, so as to exclude the suburb of Ophel, to the south of the Temple, and a portion of what had been the upper city. To this new city he gave the name of iElia CapitOlina, from his own name, Publius Mitts Hadrianus, and that of Jupiter Capitolinus. All persons of Jewish descent were excluded from it by peremp tory decree. They were not even to approach it within a distance of three miles ; and to extinguish all affectionate remembrance of the place, every thing was done to give it the character of a heathen city. A temple of Jupiter Capitolinus and statues of the emperor occupied the site of the Lord's House ; a temple of Astarte, the ancient Ashtoreth or Syrian Venus, was built on the place afterwards recognised as the holy sepulchre. The worship of Serapis was introduced from Egypt ; and the mili tary ensigns of Rome were sculptured over the gates.