Cassius sells into slavery the inhabitants of the four towns unable to pay the tribute

After the assassination of Caesar, Cassius held Syria and raised there the funds to finance the war against the triumvirs. He demanded a considerable tribute from Judea, the apportionment of which was entrusted to Antipater and his sons, Phasaël and Hérode.

Gophna, Emmaüs, Lydda, and Thamna could not raise the sum. Cassius had their inhabitants sold as slaves, following a Roman practice that treated failure to pay tribute as rebellion. Marc Antoine, having become master of the East, later ordered their release and the restitution of the seized territories — a measure whose extent of application remains unknown.

The episode marks the moment when Roman war taxation began to bear directly on the towns of Judea, rather than solely on the Temple and its treasuries.