The Fall of Jerusalem 

    After a series of battles outside the walls of Jerusalem, Titus made an assault on the first wall, which is the 

outer most wall around the city. Josephus gives the date when the Roman army breached the first wall and 

took possession of the area between the second wall and the first wall:  the seventh day of the month of 

Artemisius [Iyar]. 

1092

 He also tells us that it took the Romans 15 days to breach this first wall.

1093

 The date of 

Artemisius [Iyar] 7 coincided with Saturday, April 10, in 

A.D.

 56. Counting the 15 days inclusively, the assault 

on the first wall began on Saturday, March 27 and Xanthicus [Nisan] 22. This timing makes sense in the 

context of the Roman strategies of war. Josephus tells us that the Jews would not attack on the Sabbath 

(Saturday), but they would fight defensively on that day. So the Roman strategy was to refrain from attacking 

on the Sabbath, so as to be able to concentrate all of their efforts on raising their siege works and 

embankments.

1094

 Thus the Romans deliberately began the siege against the first wall on a Sabbath. Now the 

Romans also were able to complete the siege on a Sabbath, and this was not entirely by coincidence. They 

could put more time and effort into their siege works on the Sabbath and so they were more likely to complete 

this task on the Sabbath. 

    Titus was able to breach the second wall on the fifth day after the first wall had been taken.

1095

 The date of 

this event must then be Wednesday, Artemisius [Iyar] 12 and April 15.  But breach in the second wall was 

narrow, and the Romans were not able to hold their position against the Jews attacks.

1096

 The Jews then 

defended the breach in the second wall for three days. On the fourth day, the Romans took the wall again, and 

the Jews retreated to the third wall.

1097

 The 4th day would then be either Artemisius [Iyar] 15 or 16, and April 

18 or 19, depending on whether or not Josephus counted the day the breach occurred as the first day of the 

four. 

    After the second wall was taken, for the second time, Titus demolished the second wall and began to 

determine how best to take the third wall.

1098

 The task of demolishing the second wall, that is, of making the 

breach in the wall very large, may have taken at least several days. Titus did not immediately thereafter assault 

the third wall, rather he decided to  relax the siege for a little while  to see if the loss of the second wall and 

the famine might soften the Jews resolve to fight.

1099

 The length of this respite from the siege is not given by 

Josephus, but it must have been at least several days. So, adding the time needed to demolish the second wall 

to the time for this respite from the siege brings us to late April or early May and to the end, or nearly the end 

of Artemisius [Iyar]. 

    Then Josephus tells us that the usual time for paying the soldiers had arrived. The end of April, and perhaps 

part of early May, were taken up with the above described events, so the distribution of pay most likely 

occurred in early to mid May. Since there were several Roman legions present, it took 4 days to distribute the 

money.

1100

 On the 5th day, since the Jews had still not surrendered, Titus began to raise the siege works against 

the third wall. Clearly by now, the month of Artemisius [Iyar] has been completed, and we should be in the 

subsequent month of Daisios [Sivan]. However, Josephus gives the date of the raising of the siege works 

against the third wall as  the twelfth day of the month of Artemisius [Iyar]. 

1101

    Notice that this date for the start of the siege against the third wall conflicts with the dates given for the fall 

of the second wall. The second wall was taken on Artemisius 12 [Iyar], then lost for a few days, then finally 

taken again on Artemisius [Iyar] 15 or 16. There are numerous events described between this final capture of 

the second wall and the start of the siege against the third wall. The assault on the third wall must have taken 

place on the 12th of the month after Artemisius. Yet Josephus was an eyewitness to these events, a Jewish 

priest (knowledge of the calendar is an integral part of the role of Jewish priest), and a Roman historian. So, 

we cannot suppose that he was in error. Furthermore, his description of subsequent events in no way supports 

the idea that this month was not Artemisius (as we shall see). 

    The only conclusion which fits the description given by Josephus is that there were two months named 

Artemisius, one after the other, in this particular year. This surprising conclusion is easily supported. Josephus 

doesn't give the month names by the Jewish calendar (Nisan, Iyar, etc.), instead he uses the month names of 

the Macedonian calendar (Xanthicus, Artemisius, etc.). The Jewish month names in the quotations from 

Josephus are in brackets because they were added by the translator/editor, not by Josephus himself. In the 

Jewish calendar, during a leap year, a 13th month is added by repeating the month of Adar. First Adar is 

followed by Second Adar (AdarI and AdarII). In the Macedonian calendar, the calendar is similarly arranged, 

but the leap month was the month of Artemisius.

1102

 In a leap year, in the Macedonian calendar, the month of 

Artemisius would be followed by a second month called Artemisius. The year 

A.D.

 56 would have been a leap 

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