Cestius

Also known as: Cestius Gallus · Family: Roman · Role: president of the province of Syria · First appears: Book II, Chapter 14

As president of the Roman province of Syria, Cestius first confronted the disturbance surrounding Gessius Florus in Book II, Chapter 14. He quieted the multitude and assured them that “Florus should hereafter treat them in a more gentle manner,” after which Florus accompanied him as far as Caesarea before Cestius returned to Antioch. When Florus falsely accused the Jews of revolt, Cestius sent his tribune and intimate friend Neopolitanus to investigate; Neopolitanus inspected Jerusalem, praised the people’s loyalty to Rome, and reported back.

In Book II, Chapter 18, Agrippa accompanied Cestius as guide and adviser, while Cestius sent Gallus into Galilee and marched with forces supplied by Antiochus, Sohemus, and Agrippa. His troops plundered and burned deserted Zabulon, then captured Joppa, killing its inhabitants and their families and burning the city. After a Jewish victory in which 515 Romans were killed, Borceus and Phebus promised that Cestius would forgive those who laid down their arms, while Tyrannius Priseus, corrupted by Florus, diverted him from his attempt to capture Jerusalem.

Cestius entered Jerusalem, burned Bezetha and the timber market, and camped opposite the royal palace, but overlooked Ananus’s offer to open the gates. On the third day he abandoned the siege and retreated; at Antipatris, his army was defeated, losing 5,300 infantry and 380 cavalry. Cestius then sent Saul, Costobarus, and Philip the son of Jacimus to Nero to report the distress and blame Florus for beginning the war. Later, Simon used engines formerly taken from Cestius, and around c. 70 Titus expelled the twelfth legion from Syria because it had yielded to the Jews under Cestius.