July 12

70: The armies
of Titus attacked the walls of Jerusalem after a six-month siege and three days
later they breached the walls, which enabled the army to destroy the Second
Temple.

1191: The armies of the Third Crusade (1189-92), led by England…

July 10

48 BCE: In his
war with Pompey, Julius Caesar barely avoids defeat at the Battle of
Dyrrhachium.  A month later, after
regrouping his forces, Caesar defeated Pompey at the Battle of Pharsalus.  While neither of the Roman leaders were…

July
1

69: Tiberius Julius
Alexander orders his Roman legions in Alexandria to swear allegiance to
Vespasian as emperor. This consolidation of Vespasian’s imperial power helped
to seal the fate of Jerusalem since the destruction of the Jewish …

JUNE 29

1096: Crusaders massacred the Jews of Mehr.

1106: Moses Sephardi was baptized at Huseca, Spain
and took the name of Petrus Alphonsi, the noted “physician, writer, astronomer
and polemicist.”  Among those who took
issue with Alphonsi’s mu…

JUNE 23

79:
Vespasian, the Roman general who was in the process of conquering Judea when he
became Emperor, died.

79:
Titus, the Roman general whom the Jews will always remember for the destruction
of Jerusalem and the Temple succeeded his father Ves…

JUNE 13

823:
Birthdate of Charles the Bald, who as Holy Roman Emperor refused to comply with
anti-Semitic edicts of Amulo, the Archbishop of Lyon.  In doing so, Charles was following in the
footsteps of his grandfather Charlemagne who had also re…

JUNE 8

65
CE: Jewish insurgent forces captured the fortress of Antonia in Jerusalem. This
battle marked the outbreak of the Jewish revolt against Rome. This revolt would
end with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E.

68:
The Roman Senate ac…