Jewish revolt 2

[Anonymous]

Okay, in a nutshell, the routing of the XII Fulminata at the beginning of the revolt began when the auxiliary garrison of Jerusalem, housed in the Antonia Fortress, were overcome by the Jewish forces, and the fortress taken. The Legate of Syria, Cestius Gallus, marched on Jerusalem at the head of the XII to take back the Antonia and to "sort things out", so to speak. Gallus began a seige of the Antonia, but received word that a large rebel force was on its way to Jerusalem. Fearing that his legion may, in turn, become beseiged by this relief force, Gallus decided to break-off the operation and to retreat to a more secure location untill a more suitable time. From the way Josephus describes it, Gallus' army was in quite a state of disarray while retreating and dumped quite alot of it's baggage, artillery and seige machines in order to move faster, swelling the Jew's arms stockpiles. From all accounts, the XII Legion is said to have been "lost" or "destroyed" as a result of this rout (Josephus puts the Roman dead at 5,300 foot and 330 horse) but, strangely, reappears towards the end of the revolt.<br>
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Was this a good or bad decision on Gallus' part? Hard to say without knowing more about this fast approaching Jewish relief force. As we all know, a routed army, panicked and disorganized, is easy prey. One thing we know for sure (or, at least what Josephus tells us) is that Gallus was no J. Caesar, and this engagement was no Alesia. <p></p><i>Edited by: <A HREF=http://pub45.ezboard.com/uthecaesarionsection.showPublicProfile?language=EN>The Caesarion Section</A> at: 8/30/01 5:44:53 am<br></i>