80 From the book: A STORY OF THE GREATEST LIES 25 The first revolt against Rome broke out in 66 C.E. The procurator of Judea, Gessius Florus, demanded that the Jerusalem Temple pay 17 talents from the treasury. After the refusal, Gessius Florus ordered the troops to attack the Jews. Judea rebelled. The Temple was plundered, killing more than 3,600 Jews. At first, no one in Rome took the rebels seriously. It was believed that the garrisons located in Syria and Judea itself would easily cope with the rebels. Time passed, and the Roman troops were defeated. Judea fiercely resisted, and the emperor Nero sent the commander Vespasian to Judea as the head of the army. The latter captured Galilee, Samaria, and approached Jerusalem.