A rebellion broke out in Jerusalem against Roman rule. The Roman fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem was captured and the soldiers killed. The Romans dispatched an army from Syria to quell the revolt, but it was destroyed on the way to Jerusalem.
Rome sent an enormous army. under the command of Vespasian, to retake Judea. The Roman army quickly subdued the Jewish forces in Galilee and laid siege to Jerusalem. Vespasian was recalled to Rome and the siege continued by his son, Titus. Titus succeeded in capturing Jerusalem on the ninth day of Ab (according to the Jewish calendar). He burned Jerusalem, killing or selling into slavery tens of thousands of Jews.
The Fortress of Masada, in the Judean Desert near the shores of the Dead Sea and occupied by Jewish zealots opposed to Rome, held out for three years. When it became clear that they could hold out no longer, the defenders of Masada committed mass suicide rather then become captives of the Romans.