After the taking of Jotapata, Vespasian dispatched the 5th and 10th legions to secure Scythopolis in Samaria, while he took two other legions to the coastal city of Caesarea. From there, he marched down the coast to Joppa, and promptly destroyed it.
Meanwhile, some of the Jews who had escaped from Jotapata made their way to Jerusalem and shared the news of Vespasian’s march through Galilee. Initially, they reported that not only was Jotapata taken, but that Josephus had been killed in the battle. Upon hearing this, the people of Jerusalem wept for Josephus and hailed him a martyr for the cause.
Soon, though, survivors from the other cities that Vespasian had taken came to Jerusalem and reported that not only had Josephus not been killed, but that he was now on the Romans’ side. Upon hearing this, the people’s sorrow turned to anger and rage—Josephus had betrayed them.
Vespasian Takes Taricheae
Vespasian still had more work to be done to secure the entire region of Galilee before he could make his way to Jerusalem. After taking Scythopolis and destroying Joppa, Vespasian once again turned back to Galilee to smash the last vestiges of the revolt there. When he came to Tiberias, the people opened the gates for him—not only had they rejected John of Gischala the year before, but they soon had grown tired of Josephus, and thus they were willing to freely accept Roman control once again. And since it was a city in Agrippa’s territory, Vespasian forbade his troops from any looting of the city.
From there, Vespasian’s forces marched to Taricheae on the Sea of Galilee, where a number of rebels had taken over the city. When the Roman forces began the siege of Taricheae, the people of the city found the courage to rise up against the rebels, and soon they were able to open the city gates. And within no time, Titus led his troops into the city and captured the rebels.
Vespasian then set up a tribunal to pass sentence on the rebels and the rebel leaders. The rank and file who had not been killed in the fighting were sold as slaves, whereas Vespasian ordered that the leaders be taken to Tiberias. He did this, though, because he did not want any public executions in Taricheae to possibly reignite any talk of further rebellion. The fact was that as soon as the rebel leaders had passed down the road to Tiberias, and out of sight of Taricheae, Vespasian ordered them killed and their bodies dumped on the side of the road.
Vespasian Takes Gamala
The next city Vespasian advanced to was Gamala, which was on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. Gamala, though, was going to be a much tougher fight that Taricheae.
As Vespasian orders his legions to prepare for a siege, King Agrippa came close enough to the walls of Gamala in order to try to convince the people to surrender. If they chose to open the city gates and surrender, the Romans would spare their lives. As he was making his appeal, though, the city’s answer came in the form of the actions of some of the stone-slingers on the wall. They launched a volley of stones, and one of the stones hit Agrippa in the right elbow. The answer was clear: “No!”
And so, the Roman legions did what Roman legions do: after setting up the siege, they brought in their battering rams and began to go to work on the city walls. Soon, a breach was made in the walls and the Romans attempted to get into the city. Yet there were two rebel leaders, Charles and Joseph, who led the Jews in a counter attack, and pretty soon the battle spread into the ruins of the city. At one point, Vespasian and his men actually found themselves trapped and in danger. When it was clear they were unable to take the city with their first assault, the Romans fell back to their camp.
Days later, it became obvious that Gamala was running out of supplies, and so Vespasian ordered his troops to prepare for a second assault. At the same time, he sent one of his commanders, Placidus, along with 600 horsemen, to subdue the rebels who were positioned on Mount Tabor. According to Vespasian’s orders, Placidus offered the rebels on Mount Tabor terms: surrender peacefully and they would not be killed. The rebels accepted the terms but attempted to double-cross Placidus. This was something that he was prepared for, though, and the result was that the rebels on Mount Tabor were summarily slaughtered in the battle.
The siege of Gamala lasted until the 22nd day of Tishri (September/October) AD 68, when three Roman soldiers were able to sneak under one of the towers of Gamala, undermine its foundations, and cause the tower to come crashing down. That night, Titus snuck into the city with 200 horsemen and a host of footmen and opened the city gates.
The next day, on the 23rd of Tishri, Roman soldiers killed 4,000 people in the vicious fighting, while a few thousand more people of Gamala threw themselves off the city walls. The Romans even killed the infants by hurling them over the city walls. All in all, only two women survived.
Vespasian Takes Gischala, John Escapes to Jerusalem
One of the last cities in Galilee to be taken was John’s hometown of Gischala, northwest of the Sea of Galilee. By this time, the people of the city wanted no part of the rebellion and did not want to suffer the wrath of the Romans. And although John and his men were in charge of the city, it was clear they their hold on the city was slipping.
Vespasian had sent Titus along with 1,000 horsemen to take Gischala, while he took the 5th and 15th legions back to Caesarea for a respite.
When Titus arrived at Gischala, he offered the city terms: open the gates, surrender, and be spared. John, knowing that to reject the offer would mean he’d be fighting both the Romans from outside of the city and the people from the inside of the city, readily accepted the terms…on one condition. The next day was the Sabbath, so John requested that Titus wait one day before they surrender, so they could observe the Sabbath. Titus agreed.
What Titus didn’t realize though was that John was planning his escape, for as soon as the sun went down to begin the Sabbath day, John and his men snuck out of the city and escaped to Jerusalem. The day after the Sabbath, the city opened its gates, and Titus discovered that John and his men were nowhere to be found. Titus dispatched some troops to chase John, but John and his men had gotten too much of a head start, and Titus’ troops were unable to catch him.
Galilee was now firmly in the hands of Vespasian, and John of Gischala, along with all the other rebels who had escaped Vespasian’s campaign in Galilee and Samaria, had found his way to Jerusalem.
The horrors that were to take place in Jerusalem over the next year or so were just beginning.
