Vespasian, fielding more than sixty thousand soldiers, begins operations by subjugating Galilee.
Many towns give up without a fight, although others have to be taken by force.
The Romans quickly break the Jewish resistance in the north.
The Jews have failed to establish an effective field army and Vespasian's campaign is therefore dominated by sieges.
Josephus after a failed attempt to confront the Roman army at Sepphoris had retired to Tiberias but soon establishes himself at Yodfat (Jotapata), drawing the Roman legions to the town.
Yodfat, however, suffers from a lack of any local natural source of water.
Excavations have revealed the existence of an extensive system of cisterns, both public and private, that were used to collect rain water.
While a large quantity of corn had been stored away, Yodfat's dependence on a limited and diminishable supply of water will prove problematic during the Roman siege.
Josephus puts the population of Yodfat on the eve of the siege at over forty thousand people, including refugees, although this number is undoubtedly inflated.
On the forty-seventh day of the siege, the day when the ramp surpasses the walls, a deserter goes over to the Romans and discloses the dire situation within Yodfat.
Few defenders have remained, and these, worn out by their perpetual fighting and vigilance, usually sleep during the last watch of the night.
At dawn on the very next day (July 20, 67), a band of Romans reportedly led by Titus himself stealthily scales the walls, cuts the throats of the watch and opens the gates, letting in the entire Roman army.
The Jews, taken by surprise, are furthermore confounded by a thick mist, and the Romans quickly take hold of the summit, pursuing the inhabitants down the eastern slope.
According to Josephus, forty thousand are slain or commit suicide and twelve hundred women and infants are taken into slavery, while the Romans suffer but a single fatality.
Vespasian orders the town demolished and its walls torn down.
The Romans prohibit burial of the fallen and it is only a year or more later when Jews are allowed to return to bury the remains in caves and cisterns.
Yosef Ben-Matityahu had hidden in one of the caves that litter the site, along with forty other prominent citizens of Yodfat.
Although Ben-Matityahu is in favor of surrendering to the Romans, the majority of his comrades opt to kill themselves rather than fall into Roman hands.
As suicide is considered sinful, they decide to draw lots to kill each other.
Ben-Matityahu and another man, however, are the last to survive, and both resolve to give themselves up.
Taken in chains to see the Roman general, Ben-Matityahu, assuming the role of a prophet, foretells that Vespasian will one day become emperor.
Vespasian subsequently spares the rebel leader, who begins collaborating with the Romans.
At first a slave, he will later be freed and be granted Roman citizenship as Flavius Josephus.
Josephus' role as leader of the defenders of Yodfat, his subsequent collaboration with the Romans and his servitude to the Flavians have all made his account of the siege of Yodfat suspect.
As the sole account of the battle, as well as of many events of the Great Revolt, the credibility of Josephus has been a central subject of historical inquiry.
Although evidence from excavations indicate that hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were clearly killed during the battle, the archaeology of Yodfat also reveals that the fortification of Yodfat cannot be credited to Josephus' effort alone.
Furthermore, archaeology is unable to provide insight into many of the details he provides, particularly events surrounding the final fall of Yodfat and his surrender to Vespasian.
The figure he provides for the population of Yodfat, and the large number of casualties are clearly inflated.
A more realistic figure would place the population of the town on the eve of the siege, including refugees and fighting men, at seven thousand people.
