Thus far the insurrection had been limited to Jerusalem, for the rest of Judæa, although equally excited, remained quiet during the events that were taking place in the capital, and awaited the result. Florus himself had likewise remained quietly at Cæsarea, taking care, however, that the revolution should flow on like a stream of fire, carrying devastation all over the country, and even beyond its boundaries. When tidings of the battle between the Zealots and the Roman cohorts in Jerusalem reached Cæsarea, the Greeks and Syrians attacked the Judæans who had returned there. The carnage which ensued must have been fearful; more than twenty thousand Judæans were killed, and these, doubtless, did not succumb without, in self-defense, causing some other deaths. Not a single Judæan remained alive in Cæsarea. Those who tried to flee were captured, put into chains by the command of Florus, and sent as slaves to various ships. This unexampled cruelty exasperated the whole population of Judæa, and their hatred against the heathens broke out into wild frenzy. Everywhere, as though by common assent, bands of free troops formed themselves, attacking the heathen inhabitants of the country, burning, destroying, and slaying. These barbarous onslaughts, of course, called again for revenge from the heathen population of Judæa and Syria. Many towns were divided into two hostile parties, which savagely fought together during the day, and lay in ambush to injure each other at night.
A horrible deed, resulting from the war of races, took place in the town of Bethshean, the first of a long series of acts of self-destruction of which we read in the account of the destruction of the Temple. Its heathen inhabitants had made a covenant with their Judæan fellow-citizens, promising to befriend them if they would assist in repulsing any attack of Judæan bands upon their town. The Judæans in Bethshean honestly fulfilled their agreement, fought vigorously against their brethren, and drove them away from the vicinity of the town. Among the combatants on that occasion, Simon ben Saul, a Judæan of gigantic strength and great valor, was principally distinguished. No sooner, however, were the heathen inhabitants delivered from their assailants than, under cover of the night, they fell upon the unguarded Judæans, and put them all, nearly thirteen thousand, to death. In that fearful massacre Simon and his family alone survived, the former, wielding his drawn sword with the energy of despair, drove terror into the hearts of his enemies. Full of anguish and remorse at having fought against his brethren, he resolved to fall only by his own hand. After killing his aged parents, his wife and children, he thrust his sword into his breast and expired at their side.
The violent animosity which inflamed the Judæans and heathens in Cæsarea also reached Alexandria. A massacre of the Judæans, partly due to the anger of an apostate, took place in the Egyptian capital. The Alexandrian Greeks, jealous of their Judæan fellow-citizens, resolved to solicit the Emperor Nero to deprive them of the rights which they had received from Claudius, putting them on a footing of equality with the Greeks. To select the deputies who were to convey their wishes to the emperor, a large concourse assembled in the amphitheater of the town. A few Judæans being discovered among the crowd, they were fiercely attacked and insulted as spies. Three of them were dragged through the streets to be committed alive to the flames. Enraged at the savage treatment of their brethren, the Judæans armed themselves, seized firebrands, and threatened to burn the amphitheater where the Greeks were still assembled. The governor Tiberius now attempted to interfere in order to stay the impending civil strife, but he only increased the angry ferment. The Judæans hated him for being a renegade to his faith, and reproached him with his apostasy. Infuriated by their taunts, Tiberius Alexander lost all control over himself; he ordered his legions to repair to the Judæan quarter, and gave free license to the exercise of that brutality which it had cost so much effort to restrain. The soldiers, greedy for blood and plunder, poured in upon the beautiful Delta quarter of the town, killed all whom they found in their way, burned the houses, and filled the streets with blood and corpses. Fifty thousand Judæans lost their lives, and the man who ordered that frightful butchery was the nephew of the Judæan philosopher Philo!
Such was the alarming proportion which the insurrectionary movement by Eleazar ben Ananias had assumed. The revolution had tasted blood, and was drawn on and on in its hurried course till it carried away even the indifferent, and converted almost the whole nation into Zealots. From day to day the number of brave and daring warriors increased. The expected help now came from Adiabene and Babylon. Members of the royal house of Adiabene, brothers and sons of the King Izates, Monobazus and Cenedæus, took the management of the rebellion into their own hands, and prepared to hold out to the last. Three heroes, who alone seemed more than equal to a whole army, now entered Jerusalem. They were Niger, from the other side of the Jordan, Silas, the Babylonian, and Simon Bar-Giora, the wild patriot, who, from his first entrance to the end of the war, brought terror to the hearts of the Romans. Cestius Gallus, whose duty it was as Governor of Syria to uphold the honor of Roman arms, and to keep the imperial supremacy intact in the country placed under his jurisdiction, could no longer witness the rebellion spreading around him without an effort to stem its progress. He called his legions together, and the neighboring princes voluntarily sent their troops to his assistance as auxiliaries. Even Agrippa contributed three thousand foot soldiers and two thousand horsemen to the Roman army, and offered himself as guide through the mountain paths and ravines of that dangerous country. Cestius led more than thirty thousand men, experienced soldiers, out of Antioch, against Judæa, and doubted not that in one battle he would be able to destroy the Judæan rebels. On his way along the sea-coast he left in every town marks of blood and fire.
As soon as the Zealots in Jerusalem heard of the approach of the Roman troops they seized their arms, in spite of its being the Sabbath day. They were not afraid to face the Romans, nor would they allow the Sabbath laws to interfere with their warlike ardor. Cestius had made a halt at Gabaot, about a mile from Jerusalem, expecting, perhaps, a missive of repentant submission. But the Zealots attacked the Roman army with such impetuosity that they broke through their ranks, killing in the first onslaught more than five hundred soldiers, whilst they only lost three and twenty men themselves (26th Tishri—October). If the Roman cavalry had not come to the assistance of the foot soldiers, the latter would have been utterly destroyed. Loaded with rich booty, the victors returned to Jerusalem, singing jubilant hosannas, while Cestius during three days remained idle in his camp without venturing to advance.
It was only on the fourth day that the Roman army approached the capital. The Zealots had abandoned the outer parts of Jerusalem, which could afford them no adequate shelter, and had withdrawn behind the strong walls of the inner town behind the Temple. The Romans thereupon marched in, destroyed the suburb Bezetha, then pressed on towards the western point, just opposite Herod's palace, where they pitched their camp (30th Tishri). This caused no alarm to the Zealots; they threw the traitors who, following the advice of Anan ben Jonathan, wished to open the gates to the enemy, over the walls, and prepared vigorously for the defense of the places they occupied. During five successive days the Romans stormed the walls, but were always obliged to fall back before the missiles of the Judæans. It was only on the sixth day that they succeeded in undermining a part of the northern wall in front of the Temple. But this advantage was not followed up by Cestius. He did not deem it advisable to continue the combat against heroic enthusiasts and embark on a lengthy campaign at that season, when the autumn rains would soon commence, if they had not already set in, and might prevent the army from receiving provisions. On that account probably he thought it more prudent to retrace his steps. It could hardly have been cowardice which inspired the resolve.
As soon as the unexpected departure of the Romans became known to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, they followed them, attacking the rear and flanks of the army from the mountain crests, the Roman troops being obliged to keep to the beaten ways in the valleys and passes. A great number of Romans, among whom were many distinguished officers, lay slain upon the line of march. When the army reached the camp in Gabaot, it found itself surrounded by swarming hosts of Judæans, and Cestius, not considering it safe to remain there any longer, hastened his retreat, leaving the heaviest part of the baggage behind. In the narrow pass of Bethoron the Roman army fared still worse; attacked on all sides, it was brought into confusion and disorder, and the men could not defend themselves from the arrows of the enemy, which fell thick upon them from the vantage-ground of the mountain wall on either side. Wildly the Roman troops hurried on towards Bethoron, and they would have been almost completely destroyed in their flight had not approaching night saved them from further pursuit.
The Judæans remained all night before Bethoron, but Cestius, leaving four hundred brave soldiers in the camp, marched noiselessly out with the whole of his army, so that at break of day, when the Judæans perceived what had taken place, he had already obtained a considerable start. The four hundred soldiers left behind succumbed to the Judæans, who then vainly followed the Roman army as far as Antipatris. They found, however, rich booty, consisting of arms and implements of war. These they brought back as trophies to Jerusalem, making good use of them later on against their enemies. The money chests of Cestius, which contained the supplies for the war, fell also into their hands, and helped to replenish the treasury at Jerusalem. In this first campaign against the despised Judæans the army of Cestius lost nearly six thousand men, both Romans and allies; and the legion which the governor had brought from Antioch as a picked corps to fight against Jerusalem had lost their eagles, a loss which was regarded by Rome as the greatest dishonor that could befall an army, equivalent to a shameful defeat.
The Zealots, shouting exultant war songs, returned to Jerusalem (8th October), their hearts beating with the joyful hope of liberty and independence. The proud and happy time of the Hasmonæans seemed to have returned, and its glory even to be surpassed. Had not the great Roman army, feared by all the world, been defeated and forced to ignominious flight? What a change had been effected in the brief space of six months! Then every one trembled before the cowardly Florus and his few soldiers, and now the Romans had fled! Had not God helped them as mercifully as He had helped their forefathers? The hearts of the Zealots knew no fears for the future. "As we have beaten the two generals, Metilius and Cestius, so likewise shall we overcome their successors." Any one who spoke of submission to Rome or of the advantage of opening negotiations with her was looked upon as a traitor to his country and an enemy to Judaism. The advocates of peace had for the moment lost all influence, and the friends of Rome could not venture to utter aloud their real sentiments. Many of them left Jerusalem secretly, whilst others pretended to share the Zealots' love of freedom and hatred of Rome. The two Herodian brothers, Costobar and Saul, sought the presence of the Emperor Nero in Greece, attempting to excuse the insurrectionary outburst and to throw the blame of it upon Florus. While they were trying to vindicate the fidelity of the Judæan nation, the Zealots, intoxicated with their victory, had coins struck with the inscription—"For the deliverance of Jerusalem." Even the Samaritans now put aside their old feeling of animosity against the Judæans, and to gratify their hatred of the Romans made common cause with their former enemies.
Stirring activity took possession of the capital, and gave it quite a new appearance. Everywhere weapons were being forged and implements of war manufactured, in preparation for any fresh assault. The walls of Jerusalem were strengthened to a degree that promised to set the enemy for a long time at defiance. The young men underwent daily military exercise, and their enthusiasm made up for their want of experience. In all parts of Judæa the warlike patriots and foes of Rome formed provisional committees to prepare for the great struggle which they felt must be approaching, and their glowing ardor was shared even by the Judæans who lived in foreign lands.