First Jewish-Roman War

The First Jewish-Roman War was fought from 66 to 73 AD between the Roman Empire and Jewish rebels in the province of Judaea, the first of three major Jewish revolts against Rome. Provoked by rising tensions over taxation, Roman mismanagement and religious grievances, the revolt began with the defeat of a Roman relief force under Cestius Gallus at the Battle of Beth Horon in 66 AD, prompting a full-scale Roman response under the general Vespasian, later joined by his son Titus. Roman forces methodically reconquered Galilee and the Judaean countryside before besieging Jerusalem itself in 70 AD; the city fell after a siege of several months, and the Second Temple was destroyed, an event of lasting significance in Jewish history. Resistance continued at isolated fortresses, most famously the mass suicide of the Sicarii garrison at Masada in 73 AD, which is traditionally counted as the war's end. The revolt's suppression accelerated the Jewish diaspora and reshaped Judaism around rabbinic rather than Temple-centered practice.