The Siege of Jerusalem (70 AD) - Assault on the Antonia Fortress (Part 3/4)

With the completion of the wall of circumvallation, the noose around Jerusalem was finally pulled tight. Previously citizens had been able to slip out at night to collect supplies from the countryside, but now this proved impossible. Any rebels caught outside the walls were crucified, as a terrifying example of Rome's wrath, while even those who defected willingly were often gutted by troops who believed their stomachs would be filled with precious items ingested for concealment. Inside, the food situation rapidly deteriorated. The defenders were reduced to eating pets and boiling hay. Disturbing reports also mentioned instances of infantile cannibalism taking place. Now in the tenth week of the siege, Titus ordered all forces to concentrate their assault on the Antonia Fortress. The full-scale assault began with the mobilization of archers and artillery to suppress the walls while two battering rams moved into position and men armed with crowbars took aim at the foundation blocks of the towers. Despite great efforts made the first day, the Romans were forced to withdraw for the night without making any noticeable gains. Unbeknownst to both sides, however, the heavy activity in the area took a toll on the structural stability of the fortress. The mine, which had previously brought down the Roman siege ramps, had also undermined the Antonia. A heavy rain, combined with the pressure of the men and the machinery at work, provided the straw that broke the camel's back. In the dead of night, the northern wall of the fortress collapsed. At first light, the Romans positioned themselves for a direct assault through the breach. Once again, however, the Jews were one step ahead and had already constructed another secondary wall on the other side. Unwilling to give up the nighttime gift, Titus asked for volunteers to tackle the fortifications head on. A handful of brave men volunteered, no doubt encouraged by the promise of rich reward. This gang took heavy fire as they ran up to the barricade but managed to scramble over the top. The attackers proved too few and with no reinforcements on the way, were inevitably slaughtered. The failure of this mission in full sight of the Roman army sapped their will to fight. A tentative stalemate ensued. Two days later, in the early morning, 24 enterprising Romans, including a standard bearer, from the 5th Macedonica, and a trumpeter, decided to attack on their own initiative. The men silently climbed the ruins of the Antonia fortress and slit the throats of the sentries. With the barricade now secured, the trumpeter sounded a signal. This blast within the walls threw the Jews into a panic as they jolted awake from their sleep. Imagining that the entire Roman army was upon them, they fled to the Temple Mount. Meanwhile the Roman command was equally confused but knew something had to be done. Titus, along with his officers, collected picked men from the units and immediately sent them towards the sound of the trumpet. When the Jews realized that the Romans were not hot on their heels, cooler heads prevailed and they rallied. Militias streamed into the courtyard as it soon became apparent that the real Roman forces would now certainly be on their way. If they gained a foothold in the sanctuary, all was lost. Both sides realized that this was the case and plunged into the darkness towards the passages linking the Antonia to the Temple Mount. Brutal fighting occurred in the close quarter confines that dragged on for nearly 10 hours. In the end, the fury of the Jews, fed by constant reinforcements, prevailed over the Romans who sounded the retreat, thus ending the first battle of the Temple. Titus ordered the men to raise the Antonia on his side of the battle lines and within a week was ready to renew the attack. 7,200 legionaries, picked from 30 of the best troops from each century, were mustered at night on July 17th. These men silently shuffled towards the ruins of the Antonia for a surprise attack. Jewish sentries, however, picked up on the advance and sounded the alarm. In some areas, Roman forces were able to cut their way past the previous week's high watermark. However, in the obscurity of the night, chaos reigned. This was made even worse by the fact that the rebels had equipped themselves with captured Roman gear to the point that many legionaries and Jewish units ended up bumping into and fighting friendly forces. The combat was so confused that it proved virtually impossible to capitalize on any gains either side made. When the sun eventually began to rise, some degree of order was finally restored. Josephus reports that both sides now separated and drew up into ragged battle lines at the edges of the sanctuary's northern edge. Missiles began to fly, and a savage pitched battle developed. Titus attempted to orchestrate an organized attack, but the tight confines again rendered this futile. By midday, it became apparent that no gains would be made, and the second battle of the temple was called off. Clearly it would be impossible to punch a hole through the Jewish bottleneck. Titus thus resolved to broaden the scale of the attack. In the peak of the summer heat, he ordered four more ramps to be built against the northwestern corner of the temple mount. In response, the Jews massed their missiles at the walls and sent forth continuous waves of skirmishers and sorties to harass the work crews. Nonetheless, the legions steadily made progress. With the works nearing completion, the defenders tore down the northwestern corner of the temple colonnade, severing connection between the defensive parapets and the remaining elements of the Antonia. This effectively removed a key avenue the Romans were hoping to use as an attack route. At the same time, a major sally was attempted against the Roman wall of circumvallation at the Mount of Olives. Though unsuccessful, this assault once again attested to the boldness of the defenders. On the 27th of July, Roman work parties building a ramp against the broken end of the western colonnade spotted an opportunity. It appeared that Jewish activity on the other fronts had caused a withdrawal of defensive forces in the area. The legions rushed forward with ladders for an immediate assault by escalade. Hundreds of troops now swarmed onto the undefended walls with many more following behind them. However, the Jewish retreat had been a trap. In the previous days, they had secretly filled the rafters with dry wood and bitumen, which they now set alight. The entire sector of the wall burst into flames with the Roman assault troops caught in the inferno. This occurred in sight of both armies and provided a tremendous morale boost to the defenders. The Romans proved wary of another escalade assault and instead tried to breach the walls with rams and picks. For days, they worked around the clock in relays to undermine the defensive fortifications. They did so under a continuous bombardment of missiles and harassment. Eventually, several huge blocks were pried loose but the thick construction of the Temple Mount defied all attempts at destruction. Titus must have been unimaginably frustrated. Desperate for results, he ordered another storming of the walls. The results were predictably bloody. Roman troops climbing the ladders were dangerously exposed. Many found themselves toppled in their attempts to scale the walls while others finally managed to reach the top under continual artillery and archer covering fire only to be left isolated. Those that did make it up were vastly outnumbered and slaughtered. Roman centurions resorted to throwing legionary eagles onto the walls in a bid to motivate the proud soldiers to retrieve them. However, even this desperate measure proved fruitless and only resulted in the death of even more bull-headed attackers. The increasingly costly assault was abandoned. Rather than abandon all hope, Titus made preparations for yet another attack on the Temple in the beginning of August. The objective would be to finally push through the bottleneck at the Antonia and move out onto the open spaces of the courtyard where the legions would gain the necessary space to fight effectively. Archers and artillery were massed in and around the ruins of the Antonia. These began to target the defenders holding out at the north end of the Temple complex. Once they had cleared, Roman troops burnt out and tore down the entire northern colonnade. This would allow the attackers to deploy along the entire width of the plaza while at the same time stripping away a crucial Jewish defensive position. While the northern battlements were now destroyed, sightlines were opened up onto the other flanking battlement positions. The defenders stationed here found themselves dangerously exposed and were forced to pull back. The Jewish line of defense was reformed and now cut across the center of the Temple Mount with the Temple itself serving as a central bastion. It is around this time that the gravest of ill omens took place. This spiritual crisis involved the daily sacrifice of lamb to Yahweh. Like clockwork, the priests had upheld the holy rite of Tamed amidst the bloodshed and starvation of the siege. But on the 5th of August, the last of the sacrificial lambs ran out. Now at the height of the siege, with the Romans advancing, the Jews lost their connection to God.