As assembled at Antioch, 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.
[2] With his force reduced by detachments sent to occupy Galilee and the Judean coast, Gallus turned inland to subdue Jerusalem.
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.
[3] 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.
This incident befell the Roman army in the lunar month of Heshvan, during the 12th year of the reign of Nero, and marked the beginning of the war with Rome.