Wikipedia's first sentence called it “short siege of the temple of jerusalem fought between jewish factions during the great jewish revolt against th”. Today it says “violent seizure of power in 66–68 ce”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2025
Siege of the Temple in Jerusalem during the First Jewish–Roman War (66–70 AD) Belligerents Zealots Idumeans Galileans Judean provisional government Commanders and leaders Eleazar ben Simon John Jacob ben Sosa Simon ben Cathlas Phineas ben Clusothus John of Giscala Ananus ben Ananus † Joseph ben Gurion † Strength Unknown number of Zealots 20,000 Edomite men 6,000 men Casualties and losses Unknown 6,000, plus mass civilian casualties The Zealot coup in Jerusalem was a violent seizure of power in 66–68 CE, in which the Zealots , a radical Jewish faction, overthrew the moderate government established at the outset of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE). The coup marked a turning point in the growing internal conflict among Jewish factions resisting Roman rule. The zealot coup took place as Vespasian 's forces were concluding their Galilee campaign , while Jerusalem faced mounting instability due to an influx of refugees and rebel fighters. Led by Eleazar ben Simon , the Zealots executed prominent figures accused of collaboration with the Romans, seized the Temple precinct , and replaced the traditional high priesthood with Phannias ben Samuel , chosen by lot. Moderate leader Ananus ben Ananus gained popular support and began raising an army to challenge the Zealots. In response, the Zealots launched a counteroffensive, but were outnumbered and forced to retreat and fortify themselves in the Temple. Urged by John of Gischala , they summoned the Idumeans , who entered the city under the cover of a storm and aided in the massacre of the moderates. Following their victory, the Zealots and Idumeans established tribunals, killed their opponents—including Ananus, Joshua ben Gamla , and Niger the Perean —and solidified control through terror and purges. Many Idumeans later withdrew, while some joined the faction of Simon bar Giora . The internal violence led many to flee the city, and according to Josephus , convinced Vespasian to delay his assault on the city, believing the Jews were destroying themselves without Roman intervention.
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 1290415098.
The opening as it stood in 2010
The Zealot Temple Siege (68 CE) was a short siege of the Temple of Jerusalem fought between Jewish factions during the Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire (66-70). The forces of Ananus ben Ananus , a Jewish priest and former High Priest of Israel , besieged the Zealots who held the Temple. According to the historian Josephus , Ananus incited the people to rise up against the Zealots who were in control of the Temple. When John of Giscala led the Zealots to believe that Ananus had contacted the Roman General Vespasian for assistance in retaking control of all Jerusalem, the Zealots, driven to desperation, asked the Edomites (Idumeans) for assistance in preventing the delivery of the city to the Romans. When the Edomites arrived, the Zealots opened the gates of Jerusalem to them, and the Edomites slaughtered ben Hanan's forces, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, they massacred the common people. Jerusalem remained in the control of the Zealots until 70 CE when it was sacked by Rome and the Temple was destroyed .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 363651813.
The opening as it stood in 2015
The Zealot Temple Siege (68 CE) was a short siege of the Temple in Jerusalem fought between Jewish factions during the Great Jewish Revolt against the Roman Empire (66–70). The forces of Ananus ben Ananus , a Jewish priest and former High Priest of Israel , besieged the Zealots who held the Temple. According to the historian Josephus , Ananus incited the people to rise up against the Zealots who were in control of the Temple. When John of Giscala led the Zealots to believe that Ananus had contacted the Roman General Vespasian for assistance in retaking control of all Jerusalem, the Zealots, driven to desperation, asked the Edomites (Idumeans) for assistance in preventing the delivery of the city to the Romans. When the Edomites arrived, the Zealots opened the gates of Jerusalem to them, and the Edomites slaughtered ben Hanan's (Ananus ben Ananus) forces, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, they massacred the common people. Jerusalem remained in the control of the Zealots until 70 CE, when it was sacked by Rome and the Temple was destroyed .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 652856115.
The opening as it stood in 2020 2 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear
According to the historian Josephus , the forces of Ananus ben Ananus , one of the heads of the Judean provisional government and former High Priest of Israel , besieged the Zealots who held the Temple. When John of Giscala led the Zealots to believe that Ananus had contacted the Roman General Vespasian for assistance in retaking control of all Jerusalem, the Zealots, driven to desperation, asked the Edomites (Idumeans) for assistance in preventing the delivery of the city to the Romans. When the Edomites arrived, the Zealots opened the gates of Jerusalem to them, and the Edomites slaughtered ben Hanan's (Ananus ben Ananus) forces, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, the Edomites and Zealots massacred the common people.Jerusalem mostly remained in the control of the Zealots until 70 AD, when it was sacked by Rome and the Temple was destroyed .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 963276910.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
According to the historian Josephus , the forces of Ananus ben Ananus , one of the heads of the Judean provisional government and former High Priest of Israel , besieged the Zealots who held the Temple. When John of Gischala led the Zealots to believe that Ananus had contacted the Roman general Vespasian for assistance in retaking control of all Jerusalem, the Zealots, driven to desperation, asked the Edomites (Idumeans) for assistance in preventing the delivery of the city to the Romans. When the Edomites arrived, the Zealots opened the gates of Jerusalem to them, and the Edomites slaughtered ben Hanan's (Ananus ben Ananus) forces, killing him as well. After freeing the Zealots from the Temple, the Edomites and Zealots massacred the common people. Jerusalem mostly remained in the control of the Zealots until 70 AD, when it was sacked by Rome and the Temple was destroyed.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1147193193.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “short siege of the temple of jerusalem fought between jewish factions during the great jewish revolt against th”. Today it says “violent seizure of power in 66–68 ce”. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
short siege of the temple of jerusalem fought between jewish factions during the great jewish revolt against th
Now
violent seizure of power in 66–68 ce
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
