Person · 3769–3839 AM · 9 CE — 79 CE
Vespasian
the general who became emperor at the walls of Jerusalem
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (9–79 CE) was besieging Jerusalem when Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai, carried out of the city in a coffin, greeted him: "Peace to you, O king".—"I am no king". Word came from Rome—he was king; and the sage's request was granted: "give me Yavne and its sages" (Gittin 56a–b). So the teaching outlived the Temple.
On the timeline
Sources
Chazal: Mishnah, Talmud, midrash, Zohar
- Gittin 56a–b — «give me Yavne and its sages»
Documents of the period
- Josephus, The Jewish War III–IV — the command in Judea and the acclamation as emperor
Basis: documents and evidence.