03-11-2016, 11:50 AM
(03-10-2016, 11:35 PM)LonginusXXI Wrote: How would five cohorts and 1 cavalry unit be enough to supervise Judea? There would have to be reinforcements every now and then, especially during Passover
This does suggest that Judea was quite lightly garrisoned during the early decades of Roman rule, with a reliance on local authorities to maintain order (the various 'temple guards' and so on mentioned in the Bible perhaps). The governors of Syria could and did intervene in cases of trouble - Governor Longinus brought a force down from Syria to counter unrest during either Passover or Pentecost of 44-45.
Mary Smallwood, in The Jews under Roman Rule, suggests that the initial garrison actually comprised the 3000 Samarian troops of Herod, under new Roman commanders - Herod had apparently employed Roman officers anyway, and his army was probably organised on Roman lines. This would make up five 500-strong infantry cohorts and one 500-strong cavalry ala. However, this seems to have changed after the unrest of 44-45 following the death of Agrippa - the (unreliable?) Samarian troops were sent elsewhere, and a regular Roman auxiliary garrison brought in from Syria.
Unfortunately we don't know that much about the new garrison, as the troops in Judea remained part of the Syrian establishment, until the formation of the new province of Syria Palestina under Hadrian. The Syrian garrison fluctuated in size, but reached a peak of four cavalry alae and seventeen infantry cohorts under Domitian. This was following the Jewish war of 66-70, so the large size is not surprising.
Nathan Ross
