Gaius Cestius Gallus (d. 67 AD) was a

Roman senator The Roman Senate () was the highest and Roman constitution, constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the Rome, city of Rome (traditionally founded ...

and general who was active during the

Principate The Principate was the form of imperial government of the Roman Empire from the beginning of the reign of Augustus in 27 BC to the end of the Crisis of the Third Century in AD 284, after which it evolved into the Dominate. The principate was ch ...

. He was suffect consul for the second '' nundinium'' of the year 42 as the colleague of Gaius Caecina Largus. Gallus was the son of Gaius Cestius Gallus, ordinary consul in 35.

Governor of Syria

Gallus was proconsul of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

from 63 to 65. He marched into

Judea Judea or Judaea (; ; , ; ) is a mountainous region of the Levant. Traditionally dominated by the city of Jerusalem, it is now part of Palestine and Israel. The name's usage is historic, having been used in antiquity and still into the pres ...

with a force of over 30,000 men in September 66 in an attempt to restore order at the outset of the First Jewish-Roman War. As assembled at

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, Gallus' army comprised '' Legio XII Fulminata'', detachments from the three other legions based in Syria, six cohorts of auxiliary infantry, and four alae of cavalry. These regular troops were supported by 14,000 allies provided by Agrippa II and other client rulers.

Jewish Revolt

With his force reduced by detachments sent to occupy Galilee and the Judean coast, Gallus turned inland to subdue Jerusalem. After suffering losses amongst his baggage train and rearguard, Gallus reached

Mount Scopus Mount Scopus ( ', "Mount of the Watchmen/ Sentinels"; ', lit. "Mount Lookout", or ' "Mount of the Scene/Burial Site", or "Mount Syenite") is a mountain (elevation: above sea level) in northeast Jerusalem. Between the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

and penetrated the outer city, but was unable to take the Temple Mount. After a siege of nine days, Gallus decided to fall back to the coast. His decision appears to have been based on the loss of siege equipment by ambush and the threatened cutting of his supply lines as the October rains began. The war-like faction in Jerusalem, under Shimon bar Giora, rose up against the Roman contingent, pursuing them as far as Antipatris, via Beit Horon.Cf.

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

, '' De Bello Judaico'' (The Jewish War
2.19.22.19.9
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initially estimated the number of Roman losses at 515, but in the ensuing rout, the dead among the Imperial Roman army numbered 5300 infantrymen and 380 cavalrymen. This incident befell the Roman army in the lunar month of Heshvan, during the 12th year of the reign of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

, and marked the beginning of the war with Rome.

Death

Soon after his return to Syria, and before the spring of 67, Gallus died. According to Titus Flavius Josephus the legate was broken by shame at a major and unexpected Roman defeat. Gallus was succeeded in the governorship of Syria by Licinius Mucianus. Emperor

appointed the future Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

as commander of the Roman forces assembled in the province to crush the rebellion in Judea.

References

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

, Hist. v. 10, 13 *

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

, Vespasian, 4 *

, Bell. Jud. ii. 14-20 * Emil Schürer, ''History of the Jewish People'', 1st edn. div. i. vol. ii. p. 212 (Eng. tr., 1890); vol. 1, pp. 487f of Vermes and Millar's 1973 re-edition. * S. G. F. Brandon, 'The Defeat of Cestius Gallus', A.D. 66, ''History Today'' vol.xx. pp. 38–46 (1970) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cestius Gallus, Gaius 67 deaths 1st-century Roman consuls 1st-century Roman governors of Syria Generals of Nero Year of birth unknown People of the First Jewish–Roman War Roman legates Cestii Ancient Roman generals

Governor of Syria

Jewish Revolt

Death

See also

References