During the reign of Vespasian a revolt of the Jews was
crushed, and Jerusalem was captured by Titus, Vespasian's son. It is said,
doubtless with exaggeration, that one million Jews perished in the siege, the
most awful that history records. The Holy City, together with the Temple, was
destroyed, and a Roman camp was pitched upon the spot. We may still see in Rome
the splendid arch that commemorates this tragic event. [9]
[9] In 131 A.D., during the reign of the emperor Hadrian,
the Jews once more broke out in revolt. Jerusalem, which had risen from its
ruins, was again destroyed by the Romans, and the plow was passed over the
foundations of the Temple. From Roman times to the present the Jews have been a
people without a country.
ERUPTION OF VESUVIUS, 79 A.D.
The reign of Titus is chiefly memorable for the
destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, two cites on the bay of Naples. After
long inactivity the volcano of Vesuvius suddenly belched forth torrents of
liquid lava and mud, followed by a rain of ashes. Pompeii was covered to a
depth of about fifteen feet by the falling cinders. Herculaneum was overwhelmed
in a sea of sulphurous mud and lava to a depth of eighty feet in many places.
The cities were completely entombed, and in time even their location was
forgotten. Modern excavations have disclosed a large part of Pompeii, with its
streets, shops, baths, temples, and theaters. The visitor there gains a vivid
impression of Roman life during the first century of our era. [10]
[10] See Bulwer-Lytton's novel, The Last Days of
Pompeii.
