Roman forces under Titus destroyed Jerusalem's Second Temple in 70 CE during the First Jewish-Roman War, ending sacrificial worship and transforming Judaism into a rabbinic, text-based religion. This catastrophic event scattered Jewish communities throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, initiating nearly two millennia of diaspora existence that profoundly shaped Jewish identity and culture.

The Temple's destruction inspired centuries of Hebrew poetry lamenting Zion, from medieval piyyutim to modern Israeli verse. The Talmud, compiled in response to this crisis, contains extensive poetic passages and influenced Jewish liturgical poetry. Themes of exile, longing, and hope for return became central to Jewish poetic expression, influencing poets from Yehuda Halevi to Paul Celan and shaping diaspora literature globally.