Jewish historian Flavius Josephus provides an eyewitness account that may shed light on this conflict. He reports that during the Roman assault on Jerusalem in 70 C.E., the rebels retreated into the temple precinct. Some of these bloodied fighters were in areas that had been off limits because of their sacredness. Repelled by this desecration of what even Romans tended to view as sacred ground, General Titus called out:

“You disgusting people! Didn’t you put up that balustrade [or low barrier dividing off part of the courtyard] to guard your Holy House? Didn’t you at intervals along it place slabs inscribed in Greek characters and our own, forbidding anyone to go beyond the parapet?

[Pictures on page 31]

This inscription from the temple courtyard (see inset) warned Gentiles against passing beyond the low wall of the temple

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Reproduction of the city of Jerusalem at the time of the second temple​—located on the grounds of the Holyland Hotel, Jerusalem

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Pictorial Archive (Near Eastern History) Est.