Category:Siege of Jotapata (event)

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The Siege of Jotapata refers to the conquest of Jotapata by the Romans during the Jewish War and to the

Overview

Before moving toward Jerusalem, the Roman army led by Vespasian completed the reconquest of the rebel cities in Galilee. The defense of the region had been charged to Josephus (Joseph ben Mattatihu).

Once Vespasian was informed that Joseph ben Mattatihu was at Jotapata, he sent 1000 cavalryman to guard the town, and shut in the Jews. Then the whole Roman army followed and camped around the city. Jotapata, although it had a surface very reduced, was very difficult to assault. The city could be approached only from the top of a hill facing the city. Vespasian begun the siege with his artillery, backed by the light armed troops, who kept a constant stream of projectiles on the defenders. Meanwhile the Romans erected a ramp to reach the level of the city battlements. Joseph Ben Mattatihu ordered that the height of the city walls had to be raised. The Romans, once they terminated the ramp, begun to batter down with a ram the walls of the city. The defenders succeeded in breaking off the ram's head with a boulder thrown from the walls and in burning down its frame. However the same evening the Romans had already repaired the ram. By dawn the city wall collapsed, however the Roman soldiers were driven away by the city defenders. Thus Vespasian, to spare his soldiers lives, erected siege towers covered in iron, that were set near the walls to keep the defenders under fire. Meanwhile the Romans heightened the ramp till it surpassed the city battlements. The Romans then, after forty seven days of siege, penetrated in the city, which was razed to the ground. Around 40.000 Jews were killed. Most importantly from the point of view of the Romans, the commander-in-chief of the Galilean insurgency was captured alive; see Capture of Josephus at Jotapata. Destined to be spared for the triumph in Rome, Joseph ben Mattatihu decided to collaborate with the Roman army. By the end of the war, he was freed, given Roman citizenship with the name of Flavius Josephus

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