e was but three hundred feet.
The cloisters were considered to form part of the Temple, and the
Jews were therefore reluctant to destroy them, although they
greatly facilitated the attack of the Romans.

Finding that his offers were all rejected, Titus spent seven days
in the destruction of a large portion of Antonia, and then prepared
for a night attack. As the whole army could not make the assault,
thirty men were picked from each hundred. Tribunes were appointed
over each thousand, Cerealis being chosen to command the whole.
Titus himself mounted a watchtower in Antonia, in order that he
might see and reward each act of bravery.

The assault began between two and three o'clock in the morning. The
Jews were on the watch and, as soon as the massive columns moved
forward, the cries of the guards gave the alarm; and the Jews,
sleeping in and around the Temple, seized their arms and rushed
down to the defence. For a time, the Romans had the advantage. The
weight of their close formation enabled them to press forward
against the most obstinate resistance and, even in the darkness,
there was no fear of mistaking friend for foe; while the Jews,
fighting in small parties, often mistook each other for enemies,
and as many fell by the swords of their friends as by those of the
enemy. The loss was all the greater, since the troops of John of
Gischala and Simon had no common password and, coming suddenly upon
each other, often fought desperately before they discovered their
mistake; but as daylight began to break, these mistakes became less
frequent. The presence and example of their leaders animated the
Jews to the greatest exertions, while the knowledge that Titus was
watching them inspired the Romans with even more than their usual
courage and obstinacy. For nine hours, the conflict raged; and then
the Romans, unable to make the slightest impression upon the
resistance of the Jews, fell back again into Antonia.

Finding that, in hand-to-hand conflict, his soldiers could not overcome
the Jews, Titus ordered the erection of small embankments--two on the
platform between the cloisters, the other two outside the cloister walls.
But the work proceeded slowly, owing to the difficulty of procuring wood.
The Jews, as usual, hindered the work as much as possible, with showers
of missiles; and attempted to create a diversion, by a sortie and attack
upon the camp of the Tenth Legion, on the Mount of Olives. This, however,
was repulse