**After** these events, Caesar Nero sent against them his general Vespasian and his son Titus [(as Josephus writes many times that Titus was his son, and in Sifrei Parshat HaAzinu in the section "the fat of whose offerings they would eat" it says son of his wife Vespasian)], and they came up with a multitude that could not be counted. Agrippos was with the Romans. Then Yosef ben Gurion the Kohen was anointed to lead the war, and he struck the Romans a great and mighty blow the likes of which had not been seen among the Romans.

Until later days the Romans struck all his people by the sword, and Yosef the Kohen mentioned above was sent by Vespasian bound in chains to Rome. Also Agrippos and his son Munbaz were taken by Vespasian with him when he went up from Yerushalayim to Rome to become Caesar, saying perhaps the Yehudim would follow after their brother and rebel against him. In later days they slandered Agrippos saying he planned to betray him and that he had sent to Yerushalayim a letter about this.

Vespasian was angry at him and killed him and Munbaz his son by the sword 3 and a half years before the destruction, which was year 3825. In this same year Caesar Vespasian removed from the prison house the one called Yosef, known as Josephus, and showed him favor, as written in Josephus chapter 78. After these events, when there were 3 zealot factions in Yerushalayim - Yochanan HaGalili, El'azar ben Anani, and Shimon the Zealot - there was hatred and each man's sword was against his fellow and his brother.

Even in the Temple of HaShem there was much killing between them, even while the Kohanim were offering burnt offerings and sacrifices. The blood of the righteous was mixed with the blood of the wicked, and the blood within the Temple of HaShem was like a pool of water. Also because of the zealots, fire broke out in the city and consumed about 1,400 storehouse buildings that were full of food and provisions for times of siege that would have sufficed for most of the souls for 20 years, as the elders and trustworthy men who were then in Yerushalayim estimated - all were burned in the wars of the zealots (Josephus chapter 79 and in the chapter of the elders).

And there was then in Yerushalayim plague, sword, famine, and fire. And despite all this, the zealots were not humbled and worsened their deeds more than before. Shimon the Zealot killed the 3 sons of Amitai the pious Kohen before their father's eyes, and afterward killed the father too. He also commanded that Chananyah the Kohen Gadol be killed that same day and they threw his corpse on the corpses of Amitai and his sons.

He also commanded that the scribe Aristius the trustworthy be killed along with 12 righteous men of his family and 28 other sages, Josephus chapter 89 [(Tzeda)].

**Menachem** ben Saruk was a trustworthy scribe at the gate of Yerushalayim [he authored Sefer Shorashim, which is a dictionary of words (Shadi Yad)]. He wrote that the number of the dead that were taken out of the city from the gate of Nachal Kidron was 115,000 and 1,408 souls, dignitaries and honored ones of the notables of Yerushalayim, who all died during the time of the troubles of the zealots, besides those taken out from the other gates of the city and those thrown from the walls.

Titus made the heads of the Yehudim who came to him to escape from the evils of the zealots swear to tell him the number of the dead from famine and war since they came to besiege Yisrael, and the number was 600,000 and 1,575, besides those killed by the zealots. Despite all this, the zealots hardened their necks and did not listen to Yosef the Kohen and did not allow the people of the city to make peace, Josephus chapter 61 [(Tzeda)].

**Rabbi Zechariah** ben HaKatzav the Kohen and Rabbi Zechariah ben Kavutal the Kohen were present close to the destruction [(Yuchsin)].

**The Kohanim Gedolim** who served in the Second Temple [(see above year 3337)] were more than 6 Kohanim Gedolim, some of whom served 40 years like Shimon HaTzaddik, 80 years Yochanan Kohen Gadol, and 12 years Yochanan ben Narvai, and 15 years El'azar ben Charsom. From here on it is estimated that 21 did not complete their year. In Yerushalmi first chapter of Yoma, in the Second Temple the Kohanim Gedolim would buy the position with money, and some say they would kill each other with sorcery.

Some say 80 served, some say 61, some say 83, some say 82, some say 200, some say 85. In the book Sha'arei Tzion that Rabbi Yitzchak HaLevi authored, these are the Kohanim Gedolim who served in the Second Temple: Ezra, Yehoshua ben Yehotzadak, Yehoiakim, Elyashiv, Yehoiada, Yadua, Chananyah, and then they took the Kehunah from Menashe and his brother Huna, Shimon, Yeshua his brother, Chananyah his son, Yochanan his son, Shimon, Yatav from the Galil, Chashmona'i, Matityahu his son, Yochanan his son, Shimon his brother, Yehudah his brother, El'azar his brother, Yonatan his brother, Yehudah ben Shimon, Hyrkanos Yannai Yisaskhar, a man from Kfar Barkai, Alexandrus, and Hyrkanos, Antigonus, Aristobulus, Hyrkanos his brother, son of Yochanan ben Chana'el ben Matityahu, Elyashiv, Yehosef, Ananyah, Yoezer, Yosef his son, Yechezkel, Anan, Yehoshua ben Gamla, Tuvlus ben Hyrkanos, Chana'el ben Yonatan, Eli'adani, Shimon the Great, Yosef his son, Chananyah, Yeshua, Yishmael, Serayah, Shmaneh, the children of Kamchit, Yonatan HaYuglos, Chanma'el, Matityahu ben Pinchas, Yishmael, Chanma'el the Egyptian, Yishmael, Shimon, Yochanan, Yechezkel, Pagi, Yishmael, Bago, Tavai, Yehudah his son, Anani, El'azar his son, Pagi ben Pani'el, a man from Sadeh, Eli'sha, Yishmael his son who was killed by Titus - thus far.

But I do not know his source. Almost all these names I have seen in their chronicles [(Sha'ar HaDorot 26)].