Bibliography
| Title: Cestius Gallus' Campaign in Judaea Secondary Title: PEQ Volume: 113 Pages: 39-62, 140 Type: Journal Article Year: 1981 Abstract: "A discussion of Josephus, Bellum II, 18, 9-11 on the assumption that this text portion is reasonably objective and thrustworthy. The author cautiously applies modern military thinking to the ancient campaign of Cestius Gallus".
"Cestius Gallus' campaign against the rebellious Judeans in A.D. 66 was a typical colonial action designed to put down a provincial uprising before it developed into a major war. Application of modern military thinking to Josephus' account of the campaign (War 2:499-555) makes it difficult to fault either the Roman army's preparedness and capacity for quick movement or Cestius' basic plan to move on Jerusalem. But Cestius was easily diverted from his primary objective and wrongly assessed the time factor. Although the Roman practice of switching officers from civil to military posts and vice versa had its merits, the outcome could be disastrous (as with Cestius' campaign in Judea) if the individual was not naturally gifted for high comma. Timetables of the campaign are provided in an appendix". - D.J.H. Keywords: History of the Judean War (66-73) |