Illustration showing Jerusalem just before the outbreak of the first war against the Romans in the 1st century CE | Author: Rocío Espín Piñar
The siege of Jerusalem, defended by Jewish insurgents against the Romans, lasted for several months in 70 CE. The defenders were deceptive many times, and he did not fail to mention Josephus – our main source of information about those events.
During the defence of the great Temple on the Temple Mount, an interesting situation occurred. The staunch defenders did not want to surrender to the Romans, but they were thirsty. Josephus Flavius reports that one of the defenders – a young boy – asked the Roman soldiers from the walls to let him go down and let him drink water, promising safety beforehand. Legionnaires agreed because of his young age; the boy went down to quench his thirst. Unexpectedly, he filled the vessel with water and escaped from the guards to the walls.
The soldiers were supposed to curse him for adultery, but he defended himself by saying that he did not promise to stay with them downstairs in exchange for water.
- Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, VI.1
