Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple

After a brutal five-month siege that reduces Jerusalem's population to starvation and cannibalism, Roman legions under Titus break through the walls and set fire to the Temple on the 9th of Av — the same date tradition says the first Temple was destroyed by Babylon. Josephus, an eyewitness, describes the gold melting and running between the stones, which soldiers then pried apart to recover it — fulfilling the image of not one stone left upon another. The Arch of Titus in Rome still stands today, depicting soldiers carrying the Temple menorah in triumph.