Gessius Florus

Gessius Florus

Gessius Florus was the Roman procurator of Judea from 64 until 66. Born in Clazomenae, Florus was appointed to replace Lucceius Albinus as procurator by the Emperor Nero due to his wife's friendship with Nero's wife Poppaea. He was noted for his public greed and injustice to the Jewish population, and is credited by Josephus as being the primary cause of the Great Jewish Revolt.Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews", Book 20, Chapter 11, Section 1]

Upon taking office in Caesarea, Florus began a practice of favoring the local Greek population of the city over the Jewish population. The local Greek population noticed Florus' policies and took advantage of the circumstances to denigrate the local Jewish population. One notable instance of provocation occurred while the Jews were worshiping at their local synagogue and a Hellenist sacrificed several birds on top of an earthenware container at the entrance of the synagogue, an act that rendered the building ritually unclean. In response to this action, the Jews sent a group of men to petition Florus for redress. Despite accepting a payment of eight talents to hear the case, Florus refused to listen to the complaints and instead had the petitioners imprisoned.Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews", Book 2, Chapter 14, Section 5]

Florus further angered the Jewish population of his province by having seventeen talents removed from the treasury of the Temple in Jerusalem, claiming the money was for the Emperor. In response to this action, the city fell into unrest and some of the Jewish population began to openly mock Florus by passing a basket around to collect money as if Florus was poor.Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews", Book 2, Chapter 14, Section 6] Florus reacted to the unrest by sending soldiers into Jerusalem the next day to raid the city and arrest a number of the city leaders. The arrested individuals were whipped and crucified despite many of them being Roman citizens.Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews", Book 2, Chapter 14, Section 9]

After the outbreak of the Great Jewish Revolt, Florus was replaced as procurator by Marcus Antonius Julianus.Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews", Book 6, Chapter 4, Section 3]

ee also

* Prefects, Procurators, and Legates of Roman Judaea

Notes

References

*cite book | last=Josephus | first=Flavius | authorlink=Josephus | year=c. 93 | others=Translated by William Whiston | title=Antiquities of the Jews | url= http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2848
*cite book | last=Josephus | first=Flavius | authorlink=Josephus | year=c. 75 | others=Translated by William Whiston | title=The Wars of the Jews | url= http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/2850


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  • GESSIUS FLORUS° — GESSIUS FLORUS°, the last procurator of Judea before the Jewish War; governed from 64–66 C.E. He was appointed on the recommendation of Nero s consort Poppaea Sabina (Tacitus, Historiae, 5:10). Florus showed himself to be an oppressive and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Gessĭus Florus — Gessĭus Florus, gebürtig aus Klazomenä in Kleinasien, wurde 64 n. Chr. Procurator von Judäa, wo er aber mit solcher Härte u. Grausamkeit gegen die Einwohner verfuhr, daß ein Aufruhr ausbrach, der zum Kriege führte; dieser wurde erst durch die… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Gessĭus Florus — Gessĭus Florus, geb. zu Klazomenä in Kleinasien, erhielt durch Vermittelung seiner Gattin Kleopatra, einer Freundin Poppäas, der Gemahlin Neros, 65 n. Chr. die Statthalterschaft von Judäa und beschleunigte durch seine Käuflichkeit, Habsucht und… …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • GESSIUS Florus — Procurator Iudaeae, sub quo bellum ortum, in quo occidit. Tac. Hist. l. 5. c. 10 …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • Gessius Florus — Die Provinz Judäa im 1 Jahrhundert n. Chr. Gessius Florus war ein römischer Ritter und als Nachfolger des Lucceius Albinus der letzte der sieben Prokuratoren in Judäa. Seine Amtszeit 64–66 n. Chr. endete mit dem Ausbruch des ersten jüdischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Florus (Begriffsklärung) — Florus ist der Name von Florus, römischer Historiker in der Zeit der Kaiser Trajan (98–117) und Hadrian (117–138). Gaius Aquillius Florus, römischer Politiker während des Ersten Punischen Krieges Gessius Florus, römischer Prokurator in Judäa… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Florus (disambiguation) — Florus may refer to: * Florus, a 2nd century Roman historian. * Gessius Florus, Roman procurator of Judea from AD 64 until 66. * Julius Florus, Roman poet, orator, and jurist. * Publius Annius Florus, Roman poet and rhetorician * Florus of Lyon,… …   Wikipedia

  • Florus — Florus, 1) Julius, ein Freund des Horatius, an welchen dieser Dichter zwei seiner Episteln richtete. F. befand sich in der Umgebung des Tiberius, als dieser 20 v. Chr. nach Armenien ging, um den König Tigranes einzusetzen, dann 11 v. Chr. mit… …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • FLORUS Gessius — Clazomenius, Praefectus Iudaeae, post Albinum. Obavaritiam, cum crudelitate coniunctam, belli Iudaici contra Romanos auctor. Ioseph. Antiqq. l. 20. c. 9. de B. I. l. 2. c. 13. 14. et 15 …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • PROCURATOR — PROCURATOR, title of the governors (first over Judea, later over most of Palestine) appointed by Rome during the years 6–41 and 44–66 C.E. From a recently discovered inscription in which pontius pilate is mentioned, it appears that the title of… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

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