Siege of Yodfat
Encyclopedia
The Siege of Yodfat was a 47 day siege by Roman
forces of the Jewish town of Yodfat
which took place in 67 CE, during the Great Revolt. Led by Roman General Vespasian
and his son Titus
, both future emperors, the siege ended with the sacking of the town, the deaths of most of its inhabitants and the enslavement of the rest. It was the second bloodiest battle of the revolt, surpassed only by the sacking
of Jerusalem, and the longest bar Jerusalem and Masada
. The siege was chronicled by Josephus
, who had personally commanded the Jewish forces at Yodfat
and was subsequently captured by the Romans.
had been a troubled region throughout the 1st century CE, torn between different religious sects, struggling to fit into the Roman system and subject to Roman procurators who were often corrupt and repressive. A major rebellion finally erupted in 66 CE and a rebel government established in Jerusalem. When Cestius Gallus
, the legate of Syria
, failed to take Jerusalem and was then ambushed at Beth Horon
, the rebellion spread into the kingdom of Agrippa II
, including the Galilee
.
Emperor Nero
thereupon called upon Vespasian, a distinguished veteran of the conquest of Britannia
, to suppress the rebellion. In April 67 Vespasian, accompanied by legions X Fretensis
and V Macedonica
, landed at Ptolemais
. There he was joined by Titus
, who had arrived from Alexandria
at the head of Legio XV Apollinaris
, and by the armies of various local allies including that of king Agrippa II. Fielding more than 60,000 soldiers, Vespasian proceeded with an invasion of the Galilee.
The Jews had failed to establish an effective field army and Vespasian's campaign was therefore dominated by sieges. The rebel government in Jerusalem had assigned command of both Galilee and the Golan to Yosef Ben Matityahu (the future Josephus) who, according to Josephus himself, had prior to the Roman invasion fortified 19 of the most important towns of the region, including Yodfat.
After a failed attempt to confront the Roman army at Sepphoris, Josephus had retired to Tiberias, but soon established himself at Yodfat, drawing the Roman legions to the town.
and 9 km north of Sepphoris, in a topographical setting that contributed greatly to the town's defense. It was positioned on an isolated hill hidden between high peaks, surrounded on three sides by steep ravines and easily accessible only from the saddle to the north.
Archaeological exploration of Yodfat has revealed traces of habitation from the early Hellenistic Period
(4th and 3rd centuries BCE) through Roman times, though the town reached its zenith in the 1st century CE, prior to the revolt, when it expanded from the summit of the hill to its southern plateau. The same excavations have also revealed two, perhaps three, phases of fortification. The first, a wall surrounding the summit, was dated to the early 1st century BCE and attributed to the Hasmonean
kings who had at the time expanded their influence to the Galilee. These were later bolstered by an additional parallel wall, while a massive tower stood at the center of the site and a small one to the west. The final phase of fortification took place at the turn of the millennium, with the construction of a wall that encompassed both the summit and the southern plateau, an area of roughly 47 dunams (approx. 12 acres). On the accessible northern side of Yodfat this was composed of a case-mate wall, turning into a single solid wall enforced with a few towers beyond the summit. The single wall closely followed the topography of the hill and in some cases directly abutted or incorporated existing buildings, suggesting it was constructed in haste, during stressful times. These may have been the revolt-era fortifications Josephus attributes to himself.
Yodfat, however, suffered from a lack of any local natural source of water. Excavations have revealed the existence of an extensive system of cisterns, both public and private, that were used to collect rain water. While a large quantity of corn had been stored away, Yodfat's dependence on a limited and diminishable supply of water would prove problematic during the Roman siege.
Although undoubtedly inflated, Josephus puts the population of Yodfat on the eve of the siege at over 40,000 people, including refugees.
s and ballista
s, backed by lightly armed troops, slingers and archers, to dislodge the defenders from the walls. These were in turn met with repeated sallies by the besieged, but work on the ramp continued, raising it to the height of the battlements and forcing Ben-Matityahu to have the walls themselves raised.
Ben-Matityahu had Yodfat's limited supply of water rationed before the siege began. The Romans had heard of this and began to use their artillery to target efforts to draw water, hoping to exacerbate an already difficult situation and bring a swift end to the siege. The Jews confounded these expectations by wringing out their clothes over the battlements until the walls were running with water, leading the Romans to believe they had some hidden supply of water. According to Josephus, this had the double effect of strengthening Roman resolve to take the city by force and the defenders' resolve to fight, hoping to die by the sword rather than thirst or starvation.
With the completion of the assault ramp, Vespasian ordered a battering ram
brought up against the wall. Various stratagems were used by the defenders against the ram, including lowering sacks filled with chaff to receive its blows (until these were torn away by the Romans) and sallying forth and setting fire to the ram. Josephus also chronicles an incident in which one of the defenders, renowned for his strength, cast a huge stone on the ram from above, breaking off its head. Nevertheless, the attempts to batter down the wall continued. When Vespasian himself was wounded by a defender's dart, the Romans were so incensed that they continued their bombardment of the wall throughout the night. By morning a breach had been created and the Romans were ready to assault the walls. The besieged, however, charged through the breach, and when the Roman attempted to scale the walls, scalding oil was poured down upon them from above and they were beaten back.
Vespasian's next ploy was to raise the siege ramp even further, and in order to protect his soldiers he had three siege towers built, each 15m tall. Raining missiles on the defenders, the towers allowed the Roman soldiers beneath to complete their siege works, heightening the ramp until it surpassed the city walls.
According to Josephus, 40,000 were slain or committed suicide and 1,200 women and infants were taken into slavery, while the Romans suffered but a single fatality. Vespasian ordered the town demolished and its walls torn down. The Romans prohibited burial of the fallen and it was only a year or more later when Jews were allowed to return to bury the remains in caves and cisterns.
Yosef Ben-Matityahu had hidden in one of the caves that litter the site, along with 40 other prominent citizens of Yodfat. Although Ben-Matityahu was in favour of surrendering to the Romans, the majority of his comrades opted to kill themselves rather than fall into Roman hands. As suicide is considered sinful, they decided to draw lots to kill each other. Ben-Matityahu and another man, however, were the last to survive, and both resolved to give themselves up. Taken to see the Roman general, Ben-Matityahu prophesied that Vespasian would one day become emperor. Vespasian subsequently spared the rebel leader, who began collaborating with the Romans. At first a slave, he would later be freed and be granted Roman citizenship as Flavius Josephus.
As the original site of Yodfat had never been resettled nor built over, it provides an almost unparalleled glimpse of both Jewish life at the time and the battle site. Yet although the site of Yodfat had been identified in the mid 19th century, excavations of the ancient town only began with six seasons undertaken between 1992 and 2000. These have revealed that Josephus' description of the events at Yodfat were, to a large extent, accurate.
The site shows evidence of hasty fortifications and of a large scale battle which took place. Exploration of the Roman assault ramp as well of the residential areas of the town have produced hundreds of bow and ballista arrowheads, as well as catapult stones, while in the ramp were also found a pair of caligae
nails and a large rolling stone. A fill containing a catapult stone in the corner of the northern casemate wall is indicative of attempts at reinforcement against a battering ram. Human bones of all ages were found in every house and cistern, including arms and skulls bearing cut marks from heavy sharp tools. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were clearly killed during the battle.
The archaeology of Yodfat also reveals that the fortification of Yodfat cannot be credited to Josephus' effort alone. Furthermore, archaeology is unable to provide insight into many of the details he provides, particularly events surrounding the final fall of Yodfat and his surrender to Vespasian. The figure he provides for the population of Yodfat, and the large number of casualties are clearly inflated. A more realistic figure would place the population of the town on the eve of the siege, including refugees and fighting men, at 7,000 people.
One find of particular interest is an 8 by 11 cm stone slab, found in the residential area on the eastern slope of Yodfat, covered on both sides with scratched drawings made by a pointed tool. One side depicts a building with a triangular roof upon a podium, a small tree and a harp, and is thought to portray a Nefesh (a traditional Judean mausoleum). The other side of the stone features a crab, the astrological symbol of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, on the first day of which Yodfat fell. The stone is believed to have been the work of a besieged Jew anticipating his own impending doom, and its likeness has been etched on a modern memorial to the defenders of Yodfat placed at the foot of the Roman siege ramp.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
forces of the Jewish town of Yodfat
Yodfat
Yodfat , is a moshav shitufi in the Lower Galilee, south of Carmiel, Israel. Part of the Misgav Regional Council and located in the vicinity of the Atzmon mountain ridge, north of the Beit Netofa Valley, Yodfat is named after the Second Temple-era town of the same name. It is situated north of the...
which took place in 67 CE, during the Great Revolt. Led by Roman General Vespasian
Vespasian
Vespasian , was Roman Emperor from 69 AD to 79 AD. Vespasian was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for a quarter century. Vespasian was descended from a family of equestrians, who rose into the senatorial rank under the Emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty...
and his son Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
, both future emperors, the siege ended with the sacking of the town, the deaths of most of its inhabitants and the enslavement of the rest. It was the second bloodiest battle of the revolt, surpassed only by the sacking
Siege of Jerusalem (70)
The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 AD was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman army, led by the future Emperor Titus, with Tiberius Julius Alexander as his second-in-command, besieged and conquered the city of Jerusalem, which had been occupied by its Jewish defenders in...
of Jerusalem, and the longest bar Jerusalem and Masada
Masada
Masada is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Masada is best known for the violence that occurred there in the first century CE...
. The siege was chronicled by Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, who had personally commanded the Jewish forces at Yodfat
Yodfat
Yodfat , is a moshav shitufi in the Lower Galilee, south of Carmiel, Israel. Part of the Misgav Regional Council and located in the vicinity of the Atzmon mountain ridge, north of the Beit Netofa Valley, Yodfat is named after the Second Temple-era town of the same name. It is situated north of the...
and was subsequently captured by the Romans.
The Great Revolt
JudaeaIudaea Province
Judaea or Iudaea are terms used by historians to refer to the Roman province that extended over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of Israel...
had been a troubled region throughout the 1st century CE, torn between different religious sects, struggling to fit into the Roman system and subject to Roman procurators who were often corrupt and repressive. A major rebellion finally erupted in 66 CE and a rebel government established in Jerusalem. When Cestius Gallus
Cestius Gallus
Gaius Cestius Gallus was the son of a consul in ancient Rome and himself a suffect consul in 42.He was legate of Syria from 63 or 65. He marched into Judea in 66 in an attempt to restore calm at the outset of the Great Jewish Revolt...
, the legate of Syria
Syria (Roman province)
Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...
, failed to take Jerusalem and was then ambushed at Beth Horon
Battle of Beth Horon (66)
The Battle of Beth Horon was a battle fought in 66 AD between the Roman army and Jewish rebel forces in the First Jewish-Roman War. The Battle of Beth Horon was the worst defeat the Romans suffered at the hands of rebels.-Background:...
, the rebellion spread into the kingdom of Agrippa II
Agrippa II
Agrippa II , son of Agrippa I, and like him originally named Marcus Julius Agrippa, was the seventh and last king of the family of Herod the Great, thus last of the Herodians. He was the brother of Berenice, Mariamne, and Drusilla...
, including the Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
.
Emperor Nero
Nero
Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....
thereupon called upon Vespasian, a distinguished veteran of the conquest of Britannia
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
, to suppress the rebellion. In April 67 Vespasian, accompanied by legions X Fretensis
Legio X Fretensis
Legio X Fretensis was a Roman legion levied by Augustus Caesar in 41/40 BC to fight during the period of civil war that started the dissolution of the Roman Republic...
and V Macedonica
Legio V Macedonica
Legio quinta Macedonica was a Roman legion. It was probably originally levied by consul Gaius Vibius Pansa Caetronianus and Octavian in 43 BC, and it was stationed in Moesia at least until 5th century. Its symbol was the bull, but the eagle was used as well...
, landed at Ptolemais
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
. There he was joined by Titus
Titus
Titus , was Roman Emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, thus becoming the first Roman Emperor to come to the throne after his own father....
, who had arrived from Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
at the head of Legio XV Apollinaris
Legio XV Apollinaris
Legio quinta decima Apollinaris was a Roman legion. It was recruited by Octavian in 41/40 BC. The emblem of this legion was probably a picture of Apollo, or of one of his holy animals....
, and by the armies of various local allies including that of king Agrippa II. Fielding more than 60,000 soldiers, Vespasian proceeded with an invasion of the Galilee.
The Jews had failed to establish an effective field army and Vespasian's campaign was therefore dominated by sieges. The rebel government in Jerusalem had assigned command of both Galilee and the Golan to Yosef Ben Matityahu (the future Josephus) who, according to Josephus himself, had prior to the Roman invasion fortified 19 of the most important towns of the region, including Yodfat.
After a failed attempt to confront the Roman army at Sepphoris, Josephus had retired to Tiberias, but soon established himself at Yodfat, drawing the Roman legions to the town.
Ancient Yodfat
The ancient town of Yodfat is located about 22 km southeast of AcreAcre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
and 9 km north of Sepphoris, in a topographical setting that contributed greatly to the town's defense. It was positioned on an isolated hill hidden between high peaks, surrounded on three sides by steep ravines and easily accessible only from the saddle to the north.
Archaeological exploration of Yodfat has revealed traces of habitation from the early Hellenistic Period
Hellenistic period
The Hellenistic period or Hellenistic era describes the time which followed the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was so named by the historian J. G. Droysen. During this time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its zenith in Europe and Asia...
(4th and 3rd centuries BCE) through Roman times, though the town reached its zenith in the 1st century CE, prior to the revolt, when it expanded from the summit of the hill to its southern plateau. The same excavations have also revealed two, perhaps three, phases of fortification. The first, a wall surrounding the summit, was dated to the early 1st century BCE and attributed to the Hasmonean
Hasmonean
The Hasmonean dynasty , was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE, the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea...
kings who had at the time expanded their influence to the Galilee. These were later bolstered by an additional parallel wall, while a massive tower stood at the center of the site and a small one to the west. The final phase of fortification took place at the turn of the millennium, with the construction of a wall that encompassed both the summit and the southern plateau, an area of roughly 47 dunams (approx. 12 acres). On the accessible northern side of Yodfat this was composed of a case-mate wall, turning into a single solid wall enforced with a few towers beyond the summit. The single wall closely followed the topography of the hill and in some cases directly abutted or incorporated existing buildings, suggesting it was constructed in haste, during stressful times. These may have been the revolt-era fortifications Josephus attributes to himself.
Yodfat, however, suffered from a lack of any local natural source of water. Excavations have revealed the existence of an extensive system of cisterns, both public and private, that were used to collect rain water. While a large quantity of corn had been stored away, Yodfat's dependence on a limited and diminishable supply of water would prove problematic during the Roman siege.
Although undoubtedly inflated, Josephus puts the population of Yodfat on the eve of the siege at over 40,000 people, including refugees.
Roman Siege
In early June 67 a force of 1,000 cavalrymen arrived at Yodfat to seal off the town, followed a day later by the entire Roman army. Vespasian pitched his own camp north of the town, facing its only accessible side, while his forces surrounded the city. An assault against the wall on the second day of the siege failed, and after several days in which the defenders made a number of successful sorties against his forces, Vespasian decided to prosecute the siege with vigour. The Roman army then began building a siege ramp against the city walls, and when these works were disrupted by the Jews, Vespasian set 160 engines, catapultCatapult
A catapult is a device used to throw or hurl a projectile a great distance without the aid of explosive devices—particularly various types of ancient and medieval siege engines. Although the catapult has been used since ancient times, it has proven to be one of the most effective mechanisms during...
s and ballista
Ballista
The ballista , plural ballistae, was an ancient missile weapon which launched a large projectile at a distant target....
s, backed by lightly armed troops, slingers and archers, to dislodge the defenders from the walls. These were in turn met with repeated sallies by the besieged, but work on the ramp continued, raising it to the height of the battlements and forcing Ben-Matityahu to have the walls themselves raised.
Ben-Matityahu had Yodfat's limited supply of water rationed before the siege began. The Romans had heard of this and began to use their artillery to target efforts to draw water, hoping to exacerbate an already difficult situation and bring a swift end to the siege. The Jews confounded these expectations by wringing out their clothes over the battlements until the walls were running with water, leading the Romans to believe they had some hidden supply of water. According to Josephus, this had the double effect of strengthening Roman resolve to take the city by force and the defenders' resolve to fight, hoping to die by the sword rather than thirst or starvation.
With the completion of the assault ramp, Vespasian ordered a battering ram
Battering ram
A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times and designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates...
brought up against the wall. Various stratagems were used by the defenders against the ram, including lowering sacks filled with chaff to receive its blows (until these were torn away by the Romans) and sallying forth and setting fire to the ram. Josephus also chronicles an incident in which one of the defenders, renowned for his strength, cast a huge stone on the ram from above, breaking off its head. Nevertheless, the attempts to batter down the wall continued. When Vespasian himself was wounded by a defender's dart, the Romans were so incensed that they continued their bombardment of the wall throughout the night. By morning a breach had been created and the Romans were ready to assault the walls. The besieged, however, charged through the breach, and when the Roman attempted to scale the walls, scalding oil was poured down upon them from above and they were beaten back.
Vespasian's next ploy was to raise the siege ramp even further, and in order to protect his soldiers he had three siege towers built, each 15m tall. Raining missiles on the defenders, the towers allowed the Roman soldiers beneath to complete their siege works, heightening the ramp until it surpassed the city walls.
Fall of Yodfat
On the 47th day of the siege, the day when the ramp surpassed the walls, a deserter went over to the Romans and disclosed the dire situation within Yodfat. Few defenders had remained, and these, worn out by their perpetual fighting and vigilance, usually slept during the last watch of the night. At dawn on the very next day, the first of Panemus (July 20, 67), a band of Romans reportedly led by Titus himself stealthily scaled the walls, cut the throats of the watch and opened the gates, letting in the entire Roman army. Taken by surprise, the Jews were furthermore confounded by a thick mist, and the Romans quickly took hold of the summit, pursuing the inhabitants down the eastern slope.According to Josephus, 40,000 were slain or committed suicide and 1,200 women and infants were taken into slavery, while the Romans suffered but a single fatality. Vespasian ordered the town demolished and its walls torn down. The Romans prohibited burial of the fallen and it was only a year or more later when Jews were allowed to return to bury the remains in caves and cisterns.
Yosef Ben-Matityahu had hidden in one of the caves that litter the site, along with 40 other prominent citizens of Yodfat. Although Ben-Matityahu was in favour of surrendering to the Romans, the majority of his comrades opted to kill themselves rather than fall into Roman hands. As suicide is considered sinful, they decided to draw lots to kill each other. Ben-Matityahu and another man, however, were the last to survive, and both resolved to give themselves up. Taken to see the Roman general, Ben-Matityahu prophesied that Vespasian would one day become emperor. Vespasian subsequently spared the rebel leader, who began collaborating with the Romans. At first a slave, he would later be freed and be granted Roman citizenship as Flavius Josephus.
Archaeology
Josephus' role as leader of the defenders of Yodfat, his subsequent collaboration with the Romans and his servitude to the Flavians have all made his account of the siege of Yodfat suspect. As the sole account of the battle, as well as of many events of the Great Revolt, the credibility of Josephus has been a central subject of historical inquiry.As the original site of Yodfat had never been resettled nor built over, it provides an almost unparalleled glimpse of both Jewish life at the time and the battle site. Yet although the site of Yodfat had been identified in the mid 19th century, excavations of the ancient town only began with six seasons undertaken between 1992 and 2000. These have revealed that Josephus' description of the events at Yodfat were, to a large extent, accurate.
The site shows evidence of hasty fortifications and of a large scale battle which took place. Exploration of the Roman assault ramp as well of the residential areas of the town have produced hundreds of bow and ballista arrowheads, as well as catapult stones, while in the ramp were also found a pair of caligae
Caligae
Caligae are heavy-soled hob-nailed military boots worn by Roman legionary soldiers and auxiliaries throughout the Roman Republic and Empire. Worn by all ranks up to and including centurions, no other shoes in history stand as much symbol for the expansion of an empire than the famed caligae...
nails and a large rolling stone. A fill containing a catapult stone in the corner of the northern casemate wall is indicative of attempts at reinforcement against a battering ram. Human bones of all ages were found in every house and cistern, including arms and skulls bearing cut marks from heavy sharp tools. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were clearly killed during the battle.
The archaeology of Yodfat also reveals that the fortification of Yodfat cannot be credited to Josephus' effort alone. Furthermore, archaeology is unable to provide insight into many of the details he provides, particularly events surrounding the final fall of Yodfat and his surrender to Vespasian. The figure he provides for the population of Yodfat, and the large number of casualties are clearly inflated. A more realistic figure would place the population of the town on the eve of the siege, including refugees and fighting men, at 7,000 people.
One find of particular interest is an 8 by 11 cm stone slab, found in the residential area on the eastern slope of Yodfat, covered on both sides with scratched drawings made by a pointed tool. One side depicts a building with a triangular roof upon a podium, a small tree and a harp, and is thought to portray a Nefesh (a traditional Judean mausoleum). The other side of the stone features a crab, the astrological symbol of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, on the first day of which Yodfat fell. The stone is believed to have been the work of a besieged Jew anticipating his own impending doom, and its likeness has been etched on a modern memorial to the defenders of Yodfat placed at the foot of the Roman siege ramp.