The disasters thus brought on the empire by Florus and Nero cost Rome four years of effort to repair, and entailed the systematic reduction of the whole of Palestine. On the death of Cestius, Vespasian was ordered to the east in the year 66 A. D. His ability had been shown twenty years before, when, at the age of thirty-seven, he was commanding in Britain, where he subdued the isle of Vectis. He was now pro-consul in Africa, and had thus a wide experience of war in the west and in the east alike. He made his base in Syria, and gathered a force of four legions, ordering reinforcements from Egypt to fill the ranks of the 5th and 10th, or Macedonian and Fretensis, legions.[341] His plan was to conquer the country completely from the north, in order finally to march on Jerusalem from all sides except the south. The war thus began in Galilee, and it was not till February, 68 A. D., that Gadara submitted, and allowed of his advance to Jericho in May. This success gained him the confidence of the Romans; and the 5th, 10th, and 15th legions, whom he met in Syria, knew him well, having served under him before. The 12th legion was made up to strength by drafts from the 22nd and 23rd legions stationed at Alexandria. On July 1, 69 A. D., Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, and left for Italy. The final triumph was thus reserved for his brave and able son Titus. A Roman legion, at this period of history, answered to a division, consisting of 5,000 to 6,000 regular infantry, with the same number of auxiliaries, and 300 cavalry. In addition to a force of at least 40,000 men, Titus had also a number of native allies. The Arabs sent 5,000 archers and 1,000 horsemen, and Agrippa--who joined the army in Galilee--brought 1,000 foot and 1,000 horse. Thus Josephus is probably right in estimating the total at about 60,000 in all. This army indeed represented a very moderate force for the reduction of the whole country and for the conquest of the difficult mountain region round Jerusalem, though the Crusaders afterwards took the city with 40,000 men. It was very important, not only for the Flavian family, but for the peace of the world, that there should be no further defeat of Rome, and a margin of safety was desirable. The fighting force in Jerusalem did not probably exceed 20,000 in all, and though a proportion of three to one was barely sufficient for the besiegers of so strong a fortress, the Romans were far superior in discipline and in the use of engines of war.