. >> the romans sent in their legions from assyria and fought their way south through galilee, to jerusalemism, and fortress of the jewish rebels. >> they made the tactical mistake of all assembling in jerusalem around that temple. and the worst thing happened, they started to fight among themselves, about what to do, how to defend themselves. >> that's when, according to the jewish historian joseiphus, the roman general titus surrounded jerusalem. titus, a brutal warrior, cut off the city's food and water in an attempt to starve the people out. >> meanwhile, he waited for jewish faction a to defeat jewish faction b. he let the internal revolutionaries fight the battle for him. >> titus and his troops then breached the walls of jerusalem. they attacked the temple, slaughtering more than half a million jews with sword, fire, and crucifixion. >> the temple mount was a huge area. you could fit 40 american football fields inside the temple mount within the walls. much of it was plated with gold and with fine wood, and so from a distance, it would sparkle. >> every single jew had an obligation t