After this defeat, Emperor Nero replaced Gallus with Vespasian. He crushed the Northern and Southern leadership and the rebellion began to fall apart. Later that year, Nero was deposed. The Roman forces besieged Jerusalem and breached the walls by 70 AD. Once they got into the walls, the Roman soldiers burned and ransacked the city also destroying the Second Temple. The final stronghold at Masada was taken in 73 AD and when the Roman soldiers broke through the defences, they discovered all the defenders had committed suicide. As a result, most of the Jews in the area were scattered or sold into slavery. The final death toll, according to Josephus who was often wrong about numbers, was over one million.