DBA Armies

This list depends heavily on Josephus’ account of the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule of 66 AD. The Jewish leaders were mostly at daggers drawn and often fought each other instead of the Romans. The Judeans did not accept that Galileans were proper Jews and both hated the Samaritans, while even the 3 major sects of the Judeans disagreed on most issues. The main leader of the first rebellion was Simon bar Giora who controlled 10,000 men assisted and hindered by 2 feuding factions of Zealots providing 8,400 more and by 5,000 Idumean hillmen interested mostly in loot. He struggled to arm his troops and persuade his allies to work together. At the start of the rising, masses of rebels were ridden down by Roman cavalry charges, but the survivors learned to fight effectively from a distance and became reluctant to close, though they would fanatically hold city walls. Dissension was less of a problem in the revolt of 132 AD, when Shimon Bar Kochba was the recognised single leader and letters to his subordinates were clearly couched as orders. Reference: Armies and Enemies of Imperial Rome P. Barker, The Jewish War Josephus, Son of a Star Andrew Meiseis (novel).