Important Dates in the Lives of Jesus and Mary 

year in the Jewish calendar, except that it coincided with the Sabbatical year. In the Macedonian calendar, 

A.D.

 56 would also have been a leap year. That is why Josephus seems to describe two months worth of events 

all within the month called Artemisius. 

    The siege against the third wall began on the 12th of ArtemisiusII, which coincided with May 15, a 

Saturday. This timing accords with the Roman practice of beginning to raise siege works against the Jews on a 

Sabbath, when the Jews would not attack them. Notice that now the Macedonian and Jewish calendars are 

out of their usual synchronization, such that ArtemisiusII coincides with Sivan in the Jewish calendar, and the 

subsequent month of Daisios will now coincide with Tammuz. (See Appendix I, Chart 5.) According to 

Josephus, the siege works were completed on the 29th day of the same month, ArtemisiusII [Sivan].

1103

 That 

date coincided with Tuesday, June 1, in 

A.D.

 56. 

    Next followed a series of attempts by the Jews to destroy the siege works (embankments built to scale the 

wall). These attempts occupied about three days.

1104

 The Jews were successful in destroying and damaging the 

siege works, so that the capture of the third wall was delayed. This brings us to about the third day of June and 

the second day of Daisios [Tammuz]. 

    Titus then put his soldiers to work raising a wall around the city, to prevent the Jews from coming out to 

obtain food or to fight against the Romans. This task took only three days.

1105

 Since Titus may have taken a 

day or two to decide on this course of action, this brings us to approximately June 7 and Daisios [Tammuz] 6 

as the date for the completion of the Roman's wall. 

    The wall built around the city by the Romans did not suffice to cause the Jews to surrender. So Titus 

ordered the soldiers again to build siege works against the third wall.

1106

 Josephus does not tell us how long 

Titus waited before determining this new course of action. However, he does say that these new siege works 

took 21 days to complete.

1107

 These 21 days, plus the previous events, take up the entire month of Daisios. The 

building of the siege works probably began on the first Saturday (June 12; Daisios 11) after the Romans wall 

was completed, in accordance with the Roman practice. This timing also allows sufficient time, after the 

completion of the  Roman's wall around the city, for Titus to decide that the wall was not working and that 

additional siege works needed to be built. Furthermore, Josephus tells us that the Jews made an attack on 

these new siege works, after they had been completed,  on the first day of the month Panemus. 

1108

 That date 

is the 21st day inclusive from Saturday, June 12 and Daisios 11. The first day of Panemus coincided with July 

2 in 

A.D.

 56. 

    Note: Because the Macedonian calendar included the second month of Artemisius due to the leap year, the 

Jewish calendar no longer had the usual synchronization with the Macedonian calendar. For this reason, the 

Jewish calendar month name, placed in brackets or parentheses next to the Macedonian calendar name by the 

translator/editor of The Wars of the Jews, ceases to be correct beginning with the second Artemisius. So, where 

Josephus wrote  the twelfth day of the month Artemisius,  referring to the second instance of that month, the 

corresponding Jewish month would be Sivan, not Iyar.

1109

 For the following month, which is Daisios in the 

Macedonian calendar, Josephus happens not to mention the month name at all. Instead, he simply gives the 

number of days each event occupied. Daisios would usually correspond to the Jewish month of Sivan, but, 

because of the second Artemisius, in this year Daisios corresponded to Tammuz. The next month name 

Josephus mentions is Panemus, which would usually correspond to Tammuz, but in this year corresponded to 

the Jewish month of Av (or  Ab ). 

    When the siege works against the third wall were completed, about Panemus [Av] 1 and July 2, there began 

a series of battles at the place where the Roman embankment allowed them access to the part of the city within 

the third wall.

1110

 The Romans first fought to get over the third wall, then they fought battles within the wall, 

including a battle at the entrance to the Temple of Jerusalem.

1111

 Josephus mentions the dates of Panemus [Av] 

1, Panemus 3, and Panemus 17, which correspond to July 2, July 4, and July 18 of 

A.D.

 56.

1112

 The date of 

Panemus [Av] 17 is given as the first day when Titus ordered his soldiers to dig up the foundations of the 

tower of Antonia.

1113

    Later on, Josephus describes a long battle that took place at the entrance to the Temple.

1114

 Then he 

immediately states that the soldiers had spend 7 days overturning a part of the foundation for the tower of 

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