[1] He first commanded in Apulia where he was very successful: Canusium and Venusia, with many other towns, opened their gates to him, and some which refused to obey him he took by force.
[2] Judacilius joined with Titus Afranius (also called Lafrenius) and Publius Ventidius Bassus at Mount Falerinus, where they defeated Pompeius Strabo, who retreated to Firmum, after which the three went their separate ways.
When Strabo had in his turn gained a victory over Afranius and laid siege to Picenum, Judacilius, anxious to save his native town, hastened to the city with eight cohorts.
He sent word beforehand to the inhabitants that when they saw him advancing at a distance they should make a sally against Strabo's besieging force, so that the enemy should be attacked on both sides at once.
Finding that the city could not possibly hold out much longer, and resolved not to survive its fall, he first put to death all his enemies, including those of Asculum he thought had discouraged the townsfolk from rallying to the fight, and then erected a funeral pyre within the precincts of the chief temple in the city.