 The Sasanian Persians were joined by Nehemiah ben Hushiel and Benjamin of Tiberias (a man of immense wealth), who enlisted and armed Jewish soldiers from Tiberias, Nazareth and the mountain cities of Galilee, and together with a band of Arabs and additional Jews from southern parts of the country they marched on Jerusalem.Some 20,000 Jewish rebels joined the war against the Byzantine Christians.Depending on the chronicler figures of either 20,000 or 26,000 are given.