Ventidius Cumanus

Following an investigation by the governor of Syria, Gaius Ummidius Durmius Quadratus, Cumanus was sent to Rome for a hearing before the Emperor Claudius, who held him responsible for the violence and sentenced him to exile.

[6] Under Alexander, the province of Iudaea had enjoyed a period of relative peace, but that proved to be transient, as Cumanus' governorship was marked by a series of serious public disturbances.

Cumanus, following the precedent set by earlier governors, assembled a detachment of Roman soldiers on the roof of the Temple portico to maintain order among the crowds, but one caused chaos by exposing himself to the Jews in the courtyard while calling out insults.

Angered by this insult to God and to the Jewish religion, a crowd of Jews confronted Cumanus at Caesarea Maritima, demanding that the guilty party should be punished.

A Galilean embassy asked Cumanus to investigate but received little attention; Josephus alleges that he had been bribed by the Samaritans to turn a blind eye.

Cumanus led most of his troops against the militants, killing many and taking others prisoner, and the Jewish leaders from Jerusalem were subsequently able to calm most of the others, but a state of guerrilla warfare persisted.

[14] Meanwhile, two separate embassies had been dispatched to Tyre to appeal to Ummidius Caius Quadratus, who as legatus pro praetore or governor of Syria had some authority over the lower-ranking procurator of Iudaea.

[15] Agreeing to investigate, Quadratus proceeded in 52 to Iudaea, where he had all of Cumanus' Jewish prisoners crucified and ordered the beheading of several other Jews and Samaritans who had been involved in the fighting.