The Judeans and legionnaires smashed into one another, heavy infantry head on head. The combat was intense. The Judeans fought as if commanded by God, while the legionnaires battled for Roman honor, their religion. Numbers won out. In the end, the 12th Legion was annihilated, and their prized eagle standard, called an aquila, was taken as booty. In the empire’s thousand-year history, only a few aquila had ever been lost to enemy forces. Beth Horon was one of Rome’s worst defeats.
