Tiberius Julius Alexander

Tiberius Julius Alexander was an Egyptian equestrian governor and general in the Roman Empire. Born into a wealthy Egyptian Jewish family of Alexandria but abandoning or neglecting the Jewish religion, he rose to become the 2nd procurator of Judea under Claudius. While Prefect of Egypt (66-69), he employed his legions against the Alexandrian Jews in a brutal response to ethnic violence, and was instrumental in the Emperor Vespasian's rise to power. In 70, he participated in the Siege of Jerusalem as Titus' second-in-command. He became the most powerful Jew of his age, and is ranked as one of the most prominent Jews in military history.