Publius Quinctilius Varus was son of
one of the assassins of Julius
Caesar who had committed
suicide after Marc
Antony's victory at Philippi (42
BCE). Since the younger Varus' wife was a relative of Octavian,
however, he was given a series of imperial appointments, including
legate to Syria (6
BCE). With brutal efficiency he crushed the
Jewish revolt after Herod's
death (4
BCE), destroying
the Galilean
capitol of Sepphoris
& crucifying thousands of Jews. He then was appointed governor
of Germany, where he eventually committed suicide after suffering
one of the most devastating defeats in Roman military history at the hands
of the German general, Arminius ["Hermann the
German"].
References:
Josephus,
Antiquities
17.89-93, 118-133, 221-228, 250-268, 286-303.
_____, War 1.617-640;
2.16-54, 66-83.
Tacitus, Annals
1.3, 55, 57, 60-61.
Velleius Paterculus, Roman
History 2.117-120.
Cassius Dio, Roman
History 56.18-23.
Suetonius, Twelve
Caesars: Augustus 23.
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