What Did Rome Actually Do to Yahrushalam in 70 CE?
Date: 70 CE · Empire: Rome · Commander: Titus · Primary: Josephus, The Jewish War Books 5–6 · Physical: first-century Yahrushalam remains + Roman victory monuments
What the ancient record says
More than "the Temple was destroyed." The campaign culminated in a siege; Josephus (a survivor writing under Roman patronage) describes famine, mass death, Roman assault, burning, destruction of the sanctuary and much of the city, captivity, enslavement, forced labor, Roman spectacles, and the carrying away of sacred objects. Sanctuary: Josephus portrays Titus as initially wanting it preserved, but Roman forces ultimately burned it, do not rewrite Josephus to say Titus ordered the final burning; the undisputed result is the army captured the complex and it burned during the conquest.
City: Romans demolished city and walls extensively, leaving selected towers and part of the western wall as evidence of the city's strength. Not only Josephus: the destruction is securely established via his account + Roman victory monuments + Roman coinage + archaeological destruction evidence + later witnesses.
Read it for yourself. Josephus, The Jewish War Book 5 (siege), Book 6 (final assault), Perseus / Scaife ATLAS.
Evidence strength: Extremely strong for the Roman destruction. Documented: Rome captured Yahrushalam; sanctuary destroyed; large numbers killed and captured; Rome celebrated the victory. Caution: exact casualty numbers; private motives of individual commanders.