Episode Details

Barry Strauss, author of Jews vs. Rome, Part One: Strauss covers the First Jewish-Roman War, focusing on the defense and subsequent fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Relying heavily on the historian Josephus—who surrendered at Jotapataand prophesied Vespasian's rise to secure his own survival—Strauss examines the siege led by Vespasian's son, Titus. Despite Jerusalem's robust, thick fortifications, internal factional infighting among Jewish rebel leaders John, Simon, and Eleazar doomed the defense by destroying the city's critical grain supply. This culminated in the devastating destruction of the Second Temple and Jerusalem's absolute leveling. (1)