Judea. When the First Jewish-Roman War broke out in Judea, Gallus decided to march there with his troops, which included the Legio XII Fulminata; he conquered Beit She’arim, seat of the Sanhedrin (the supreme Jewish political-religious court), but was unable to retake Jerusalem. During a retreat, he was ambushed by Eleazar ben Simon (Lazarus son of Simon) at Bethoron: in the battle, he lost almost his entire legion (5,880 men). During the retreat, he was pursued by enemy forces, who surrounded him: he managed to escape and take refuge in Antioch only with the loss of many men and much material. Gallus died shortly thereafter, in early 67: the emperor Nero replaced him with Gaius Licinius Mucianus (who would become legate of Syria) and Titus Flavius Vespasianus, who was charged with crushing the rebels in Judea.
