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Destruction of Jerusalem, by Flavius Josephus
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Title: The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem
Author: Flavius Josephus
Translator: William Whiston
Release Date: January 10, 2009 [EBook #2850]
Last Updated: August 3, 2013
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK WARS OF THE JEWS ***
Produced by David Reed, and David Widger
THE WARS OF THE JEWS
OR HISTORY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
By Flavius Josephus
Translated by William Whiston
Contents
PREFACE
BOOK I.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER 5.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
CHAPTER 11.
CHAPTER 12.
CHAPTER 13.
CHAPTER 14.
CHAPTER 15.
CHAPTER 16.
CHAPTER 17.
CHAPTER 18.
CHAPTER 19.
CHAPTER 20.
CHAPTER 21.
CHAPTER 22.
CHAPTER 23.
CHAPTER 24.
CHAPTER 25.
CHAPTER 26.
CHAPTER 27.
CHAPTER 28.
CHAPTER 29.
CHAPTER 30.
CHAPTER 31.
CHAPTER 32.
CHAPTER 33.
BOOK 2.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER 5.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
CHAPTER 11.
CHAPTER 12.
CHAPTER 13.
CHAPTER 14.
CHAPTER 15.
CHAPTER 16.
CHAPTER 17.
CHAPTER 18.
CHAPTER 19.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 21.
CHAPTER 22.
BOOK III.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER 5.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
BOOK IV.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
CHAPTER 11.
BOOK V.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER 5.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
CHAPTER 11.
CHAPTER 12.
CHAPTER 13.
BOOK VI.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER 5.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
BOOK VII.
CHAPTER 1.
CHAPTER 2.
CHAPTER 3.
CHAPTER 4.
CHAPTER V.
CHAPTER 6.
CHAPTER 7.
CHAPTER 8.
CHAPTER 9.
CHAPTER 10.
CHAPTER 11.
PREFACE
1. 1 Whereas the war which the Jews made with the Romans hath been the
greatest of all those, not only that have been in our times, but, in a
manner, of those that ever were heard of; both of those wherein cities
have fought against cities, or nations against nations; while some men
who were not concerned in the affairs themselves have gotten together
vain and contradictory stories by hearsay, and have written them down
after a sophistical manner; and while those that were there present
have given false accounts of things, and this either out of a humor of
flattery to the Romans, or of hatred towards the Jews; and while their
writings contain sometimes accusations, and sometimes encomiums, but no
where the accurate truth of the facts; I have proposed to myself,
for the sake of such as live under the government of the Romans, to
translate those books into the Greek tongue, which I formerly composed
in the language of our country, and sent to the Upper Barbarians; 2
Joseph, the son of Matthias, by birth a Hebrew, a priest also, and one
who at first fought against the Romans myself, and was forced to be
present at what was done afterwards, [am the author of this work].
2. Now at the time when this great concussion of affairs happened, the
affairs of the Romans were themselves in great disorder. Those Jews also
who were for innovations, then arose when the times were disturbed; they
were also in a flourishing condition for strength and riches, insomuch
that the affairs of the East were then exceeding tumultuous, while some
hoped for gain, and others were afraid of loss in such troubles; for the
Jews hoped that all of their nation which were beyond Euphrates would
have raised an insurrection together with them. The Gauls also, in the
neighborhood of the Romans, were in motion, and the Geltin were
not quiet; but all was in disorder after the death of Nero. And the
opportunity now offered induced many to aim at the royal power; and the
soldiery affected change, out of the hopes of getting money. I thought
it therefore an absurd thing to see the truth falsified in affairs of
such great consequence, and to take no notice of it; but to suffer those
Greeks and Romans that were not in the wars to be ignorant of these
things, and to read either flatteries or fictions, while the Parthians,
and the Babylonians, and the remotest Arabians, and those of our nation
beyond Euphrates, with the Adiabeni, by my means, knew accurately both
whence the war begun, what miseries it brought upon us, and after what
manner it ended.
3. It is true, these writers have the confidence to call their accounts
histories; wherein yet they seem to me to fail of their own purpose,
as well as to relate nothing that is sound. For they have a mind to
demonstrate the greatness of the Romans, while they still diminish and
lessen the actions of the Jews, as not discerning how it cannot be that
those must appear to be great who have only conquered those that were
little. Nor are they ashamed to overlook the length of the war, the
multitude of the Roman forces who so greatly suffered in it, or the
might of the commanders, whose great labors about Jerusalem will be
deemed inglorious, if what they achieved be reckoned but a small matter.
4. However, I will not go to the other extreme, out of opposition to
those men who extol the Romans nor will I determine to raise the actions
of my countrymen too high; but I will prosecute the actions of both
parties with accuracy. Yet shall I suit my language to the passions I am
under, as to the affairs I describe, and must be allowed to indulge some
lamentations upon the miseries undergone by my own country. For that it
was a seditious temper of our own that destroyed it, and that they were
the tyrants among the Jews who brought the Roman power upon us, who
unwillingly attacked us, and occasioned the burning of our holy temple,
Titus Caesar, who destroyed it, is himself a witness, who, during the
entire war, pitied the people who were kept under by the seditious, and
did often voluntarily delay the taking of the city, and allowed time to
the siege, in order to let the authors have opportunity for repentance.
But if any one makes an unjust accusation against us, when we speak so
passionately about the tyrants, or the robbers, or sorely bewail the
misfortunes of our country, let him indulge my affections herein, though
it be contrary to the rules for writing history; because it had so
come to pass, that our city Jerusalem had arrived at a higher degree of
felicity than any other city under the Roman government, and yet at last
fell into the sorest of calamities again. Accordingly, it appears to
me that the misfortunes of all men, from the beginning of the world, if
they be compared to these of the Jews 3 are not so considerable as they
were; while the authors of them were not foreigners neither. This makes
it impossible for me to contain my lamentations. But if any one be
inflexible in his censures of me, let him attribute the facts themselves
to the historical part, and the lamentations to the writer himself only.
5. However, I may justly blame the learned men among the Greeks, who,
when such great actions have been done in their own times, which, upon
the comparison, quite eclipse the old wars, do yet sit as judges of
those affairs, and pass bitter censures upon the labors of the best
writers of antiquity; which moderns, although they may be superior
to the old writers in eloquence, yet are they inferior to them in
the execution of what they intended to do. While these also write new
histories about the Assyrians and Medes, as if the ancient writers had
not described their affairs as they ought to have done; although these
be as far inferior to them in abilities as they are different in their
notions from them. For of old every one took upon them to write what
happened in his own time; where their immediate concern in the actions
made their promises of value; and where it must be reproachful to write
lies, when they must be known by the readers to be such. But then,
an undertaking to preserve the memory Of what hath not been before
recorded, and to represent the affairs of one's own time to those that
come afterwards, is really worthy of praise and commendation. Now he is
to be esteemed to have taken good pains in earnest, not who does no more
than change the disposition and order of other men's works, but he
who not only relates what had not been related before, but composes an
entire body of history of his own: accordingly, I have been at great
charges, and have taken very great pains [about this history], though
I be a foreigner; and do dedicate this work, as a memorial of great
actions, both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians. But for some of our
own principal men, their mouths are wide open, and their tongues loosed
presently, for gain and law-suits, but quite muzzled up when they are
to write history, where they must speak truth and gather facts together
with a great deal of pains; and so they leave the writing such histories
to weaker people, and to such as are not acquainted with the actions of
princes. Yet shall the real truth of historical facts be preferred by
us, how much soever it be neglected among the Greek historians.
6. To write concerning the Antiquities of the Jews, who they were
[originally], and how they revolted from the Egyptians, and what country
they traveled over, and what countries they seized upon afterward,
and how they were removed out of them, I think this not to be a fit
opportunity, and, on other accounts, also superfluous; and this because
many Jews before me have composed the histories of our ancestors very
exactly; as have some of the Greeks done it also, and have translated
our histories into their own tongue, and have not much mistaken the
truth in their histories. But then, where the writers of these affairs
and our prophets leave off, thence shall I take my rise, and begin my
history. Now as to what concerns that war which happened in my own time,
I will go over it very largely, and with all the diligence I am able;
but for what preceded mine own age, that I shall run over briefly.
7. [For example, I shall relate] how Antiochus, who was named Epiphanes,
took Jerusalem by force, and held it three years and three months, and
was then ejected out of the country by the sons of Asamoneus: after
that, how their posterity quarreled about the government, and brought
upon their settlement the Romans and Pompey; how Herod also, the son of
Antipater, dissolved their government, and brought Sosins upon them; as
also how our people made a sedition upon Herod's death, while Augustus
was the Roman emperor, and Quintilius Varus was in that country; and
how the war broke out in the twelfth year of Nero, with what happened to
Cestius; and what places the Jews assaulted in a hostile manner in the
first sallies of the war.
8. As also [I shall relate] how they built walls about the neighboring
cities; and how Nero, upon Cestius's defeat, was in fear of the entire
event of the war, and thereupon made Vespasian general in this war; and
how this Vespasian, with the elder of his sons 4 made an expedition into
the country of Judea; what was the number of the Roman army that he made
use of; and how many of his auxiliaries were cut off in all Galilee;
and how he took some of its cities entirely, and by force, and others
of them by treaty, and on terms. Now, when I am come so far, I shall
describe the good order of the Romans in war, and the discipline of
their legions; the amplitude of both the Galilees, with its nature, and
the limits of Judea. And, besides this, I shall particularly go over
what is peculiar to the country, the lakes and fountains that are in
them, and what miseries happened to every city as they were taken; and
all this with accuracy, as I saw the things done, or suffered in them.
For I shall not conceal any of the calamities I myself endured, since I
shall relate them to such as know the truth of them.
9. After this, [I shall relate] how, When the Jews' affairs were
become very bad, Nero died, and Vespasian, when he was going to attack
Jerusalem, was called back to take the government upon him; what signs
happened to him relating to his gaining that government, and what
mutations of government then happened at Rome, and how he was
unwillingly made emperor by his soldiers; and how, upon his departure to
Egypt, to take upon him the government of the empire, the affairs of
the Jews became very tumultuous; as also how the tyrants rose up against
them, and fell into dissensions among themselves.
10. Moreover, [I shall relate] how Titus marched out of Egypt into Judea
the second time; as also how, and where, and how many forces he got
together; and in what state the city was, by the means of the seditious,
at his coming; what attacks he made, and how many ramparts he cast up;
of the three walls that encompassed the city, and of their measures;
of the strength of the city, and the structure of the temple and holy
house; and besides, the measures of those edifices, and of the altar,
and all accurately determined. A description also of certain of
their festivals, and seven purifications of purity, 5 and the sacred
ministrations of the priests, with the garments of the priests, and
of the high priests; and of the nature of the most holy place of the
temple; without concealing any thing, or adding any thing to the known
truth of things.
11. After this, I shall relate the barbarity of the tyrants towards the
people of their own nation, as well as the indulgence of the Romans in
sparing foreigners; and how often Titus, out of his desire to preserve
the city and the temple, invited the seditious to come to terms of
accommodation. I shall also distinguish the sufferings of the people,
and their calamities; how far they were afflicted by the sedition, and
how far by the famine, and at length were taken. Nor shall I omit to
mention the misfortunes of the deserters, nor the punishments inflicted
on the captives; as also how the temple was burnt, against the consent
of Caesar; and how many sacred things that had been laid up in the
temple were snatched out of the fire; the destruction also of the entire
city, with the signs and wonders that went before it; and the taking the
tyrants captives, and the multitude of those that were made slaves,
and into what different misfortunes they were every one distributed.
Moreover, what the Romans did to the remains of the wall; and how they
demolished the strong holds that were in the country; and how Titus
went over the whole country, and settled its affairs; together with his
return into Italy, and his triumph.
12. I have comprehended all these things in seven books, and have left
no occasion for complaint or accusation to such as have been acquainted
with this war; and I have written it down for the sake of those that
love truth, but not for those that please themselves [with fictitious
relations]. And I will begin my account of these things with what I call
my First Chapter.
WAR PREFACE FOOTNOTES
1 (return) [ I have already observed more than once, that this History
of the Jewish War was Josephus's first work, and published about A.D.
75, when he was but thirty-eight years of age; and that when he wrote
it, he was not thoroughly acquainted with several circumstances of
history from the days of Antiochus Epiphanes, with which it begins, till
near his own times, contained in the first and former part of the
second book, and so committed many involuntary errors therein. That he
published his Antiquities eighteen years afterward, in the thirteenth
year of Domitian, A.D. 93, when he was much more completely acquainted
with those ancient times, and after he had perused those most authentic
histories, the First Book of Maccabees, and the Chronicles of the
Priesthood of John Hyrcanus, etc. That accordingly he then reviewed
those parts of this work, and gave the public a more faithful, complete,
and accurate account of the facts therein related; and honestly
corrected the errors he had before run into.]
2 (return) [ Who these Upper Barbarians, remote from the sea, were,
Josephus himself will inform us, sect. 2, viz. the Parthians and
Babylonians, and remotest Arabians [of the Jews among them]; besides the
Jews beyond Euphrates, and the Adiabeni, or Assyrians. Whence we also
learn that these Parthians, Babylonians, the remotest Arabians, [or at
least the Jews among them,] as also the Jews beyond Euphrates, and
the Adiabeni, or Assyrians, understood Josephus's Hebrew, or rather
Chaldaic, books of The Jewish War, before they were put into the Greek
language.]
3 (return) [ That these calamities of the Jews, who were our Savior's
murderers, were to be the greatest that had ever been since the beginning
of the world, our Savior had directly foretold, Matthew 24:21; Mark
13:19; Luke 21:23, 24; and that they proved to be such accordingly,
Josephus is here a most authentic witness.]
4 (return) [ Titus.]
5 (return) [ These seven, or rather five, degrees of purity, or
purification, are enumerated hereafter, B. V. ch. 5. sect. 6. The
Rabbins make ten degrees of them, as Reland there informs us.]
BOOK I.
Containing The Interval Of One Hundred And Sixty-Seven
Years.
From The Taking Of Jerusalem By Antiochus Epiphanes,
To The Death Of Herod The Great.
CHAPTER 1.
How The City Jerusalem Was Taken, And The Temple Pillaged
[By Antiochus Epiphanes]. As Also Concerning The Actions Of
The Maccabees, Matthias And Judas; And Concerning The Death
Of Judas.
1. At the same time that Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, had a
quarrel with the sixth Ptolemy about his right to the whole country of
Syria, a great sedition fell among the men of power in Judea, and they
had a contention about obtaining the government; while each of those
that were of dignity could not endure to be subject to their equals.
However, Onias, one of the high priests, got the better, and cast the
sons of Tobias out of the city; who fled to Antiochus, and besought
him to make use of them for his leaders, and to make an expedition into
Judea. The king being thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them,
and came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force,
and slew a great multitude of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out
his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple,
and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice
of expiation for three years and six months. But Onias, the high
priest, fled to Ptolemy, and received a place from him in the Nomus of
Heliopolis, where he built a city resembling Jerusalem, and a temple
that was like its temple 1 concerning which we shall speak more in its
proper place hereafter.
2. Now Antiochus was not satisfied either with his unexpected taking
the city, or with its pillage, or with the great slaughter he had made
there; but being overcome with his violent passions, and remembering
what he had suffered during the siege, he compelled the Jews to dissolve
the laws of their country, and to keep their infants uncircumcised,
and to sacrifice swine's flesh upon the altar; against which they all
opposed themselves, and the most approved among them were put to death.
Bacchides also, who was sent to keep the fortresses, having these wicked
commands, joined to his own natural barbarity, indulged all sorts of the
extremest wickedness, and tormented the worthiest of the inhabitants,
man by man, and threatened their city every day with open destruction,
till at length he provoked the poor sufferers by the extremity of his
wicked doings to avenge themselves.
3. Accordingly Matthias, the son of Asamoneus, one of the priests who
lived in a village called Modin, armed himself, together with his
own family, which had five sons of his in it, and slew Bacchides with
daggers; and thereupon, out of the fear of the many garrisons [of the
enemy], he fled to the mountains; and so many of the people followed
him, that he was encouraged to come down from the mountains, and to give
battle to Antiochus's generals, when he beat them, and drove them out of
Judea. So he came to the government by this his success, and became
the prince of his own people by their own free consent, and then died,
leaving the government to Judas, his eldest son.
4. Now Judas, supposing that Antiochus would not lie still, gathered an
army out of his own countrymen, and was the first that made a league of
friendship with the Romans, and drove Epiphanes out of the country when
he had made a second expedition into it, and this by giving him a great
defeat there; and when he was warmed by this great success, he made an
assault upon the garrison that was in the city, for it had not been cut
off hitherto; so he ejected them out of the upper city, and drove the
soldiers into the lower, which part of the city was called the Citadel.
He then got the temple under his power, and cleansed the whole
place, and walled it round about, and made new vessels for sacred
ministrations, and brought them into the temple, because the former
vessels had been profaned. He also built another altar, and began to
offer the sacrifices; and when the city had already received its sacred
constitution again, Antiochus died; whose son Antiochus succeeded him in
the kingdom, and in his hatred to the Jews also.
5. So this Antiochus got together fifty thousand footmen, and five
thousand horsemen, and fourscore elephants, and marched through Judea
into the mountainous parts. He then took Bethsura, which was a small
city; but at a place called Bethzacharis, where the passage was narrow,
Judas met him with his army. However, before the forces joined battle,
Judas's brother Eleazar, seeing the very highest of the elephants
adorned with a large tower, and with military trappings of gold to guard
him, and supposing that Antiochus himself was upon him, he ran a great
way before his own army, and cutting his way through the enemy's troops,
he got up to the elephant; yet could he not reach him who seemed to be
the king, by reason of his being so high; but still he ran his weapon
into the belly of the beast, and brought him down upon himself, and was
crushed to death, having done no more than attempted great things, and
showed that he preferred glory before life. Now he that governed the
elephant was but a private man; and had he proved to be Antiochus,
Eleazar had performed nothing more by this bold stroke than that it
might appear he chose to die, when he had the bare hope of thereby
doing a glorious action; nay, this disappointment proved an omen to his
brother [Judas] how the entire battle would end. It is true that the
Jews fought it out bravely for a long time, but the king's forces,
being superior in number, and having fortune on their side, obtained
the victory. And when a great many of his men were slain, Judas took the
rest with him, and fled to the toparchy of Gophna. So Antiochus went to
Jerusalem, and staid there but a few days, for he wanted provisions,
and so he went his way. He left indeed a garrison behind him, such as he
thought sufficient to keep the place, but drew the rest of his army off,
to take their winter-quarters in Syria.
6. Now, after the king was departed, Judas was not idle; for as many of
his own nation came to him, so did he gather those that had escaped out
of the battle together, and gave battle again to Antiochus's generals
at a village called Adasa; and being too hard for his enemies in the
battle, and killing a great number of them, he was at last himself slain
also. Nor was it many days afterward that his brother John had a plot
laid against him by Antiochus's party, and was slain by them.
CHAPTER 2.
Concerning The Successors Of Judas, Who Were Jonathan And
Simon, And John Hyrcanus.
1. When Jonathan, who was Judas's brother, succeeded him, he behaved
himself with great circumspection in other respects, with relation to
his own people; and he corroborated his authority by preserving his
friendship with the Romans. He also made a league with Antiochus the
son. Yet was not all this sufficient for his security; for the tyrant
Trypho, who was guardian to Antiochus's son, laid a plot against
him; and besides that, endeavored to take off his friends, and caught
Jonathan by a wile, as he was going to Ptolemais to Antiochus, with
a few persons in his company, and put him in bonds, and then made an
expedition against the Jews; but when he was afterward driven away by
Simon, who was Jonathan's brother, and was enraged at his defeat, he put
Jonathan to death.
2. However, Simon managed the public affairs after a courageous manner,
and took Gazara, and Joppa, and Jamnia, which were cities in his
neighborhood. He also got the garrison under, and demolished the
citadel. He was afterward an auxiliary to Antiochus, against Trypho,
whom he besieged in Dora, before he went on his expedition against the
Medes; yet could not he make the king ashamed of his ambition, though
he had assisted him in killing Trypho; for it was not long ere Antiochus
sent Cendebeus his general with an army to lay waste Judea, and to
subdue Simon; yet he, though he was now in years, conducted the war
as if he were a much younger man. He also sent his sons with a band of
strong men against Antiochus, while he took part of the army himself
with him, and fell upon him from another quarter. He also laid a great
many men in ambush in many places of the mountains, and was superior
in all his attacks upon them; and when he had been conqueror after so
glorious a manner, he was made high priest, and also freed the Jews from
the dominion of the Macedonians, after one hundred and seventy years of
the empire [of Seleucus].
3. This Simon also had a plot laid against him, and was slain at a feast
by his son-in-law Ptolemy, who put his wife and two sons into prison,
and sent some persons to kill John, who was also called Hyrcanus. 2
But when the young man was informed of their coming beforehand, he
made haste to get to the city, as having a very great confidence in the
people there, both on account of the memory of the glorious actions of
his father, and of the hatred they could not but bear to the injustice
of Ptolemy. Ptolemy also made an attempt to get into the city by another
gate; but was repelled by the people, who had just then admitted of
Hyrcanus; so he retired presently to one of the fortresses that were
about Jericho, which was called Dagon. Now when Hyrcanus had received
the high priesthood, which his father had held before, and had offered
sacrifice to God, he made great haste to attack Ptolemy, that he might
afford relief to his mother and brethren.
4. So he laid siege to the fortress, and was superior to Ptolemy in
other respects, but was overcome by him as to the just affection [he had
for his relations]; for when Ptolemy was distressed, he brought forth
his mother, and his brethren, and set them upon the wall, and beat them
with rods in every body's sight, and threatened, that unless he would
go away immediately, he would throw them down headlong; at which sight
Hyrcanus's commiseration and concern were too hard for his anger. But
his mother was not dismayed, neither at the stripes she received, nor
at the death with which she was threatened; but stretched out her hands,
and prayed her son not to be moved with the injuries that she suffered
to spare the wretch; since it was to her better to die by the means of
Ptolemy, than to live ever so long, provided he might be punished for
the injuries he done to their family. Now John's case was this: When
he considered the courage of his mother, and heard her entreaty, he set
about his attacks; but when he saw her beaten, and torn to pieces
with the stripes, he grew feeble, and was entirely overcome by his
affections. And as the siege was delayed by this means, the year of rest
came on, upon which the Jews rest every seventh year as they do on
every seventh day. On this year, therefore, Ptolemy was freed from being
besieged, and slew the brethren of John, with their mother, and fled to
Zeno, who was also called Cotylas, who was tyrant of Philadelphia.
5. And now Antiochus was so angry at what he had suffered from Simon,
that he made an expedition into Judea, and sat down before Jerusalem and
besieged Hyrcanus; but Hyrcanus opened the sepulcher of David, who was
the richest of all kings, and took thence about three thousand talents
in money, and induced Antiochus, by the promise of three thousand
talents, to raise the siege. Moreover, he was the first of the Jews that
had money enough, and began to hire foreign auxiliaries also.
6. However, at another time, when Antiochus was gone upon an expedition
against the Medes, and so gave Hyrcanus an opportunity of being revenged
upon him, he immediately made an attack upon the cities of Syria, as
thinking, what proved to be the case with them, that he should find them
empty of good troops. So he took Medaba and Samea, with the towns in
their neighborhood, as also Shechem, and Gerizzim; and besides these,
[he subdued] the nation of the Cutheans, who dwelt round about that
temple which was built in imitation of the temple at Jerusalem; he also
took a great many other cities of Idumea, with Adoreon and Marissa.
7. He also proceeded as far as Samaria, where is now the city Sebaste,
which was built by Herod the king, and encompassed it all round with a
wall, and set his sons, Aristobulus and Antigonus, over the siege; who
pushed it on so hard, that a famine so far prevailed within the city,
that they were forced to eat what never was esteemed food. They
also invited Antiochus, who was called Cyzicenus, to come to their
assistance; whereupon he got ready, and complied with their invitation,
but was beaten by Aristobulus and Antigonus; and indeed he was pursued
as far as Scythopolis by these brethren, and fled away from them. So
they returned back to Samaria, and shut the multitude again within the
wall; and when they had taken the city, they demolished it, and made
slaves of its inhabitants. And as they had still great success in their
undertakings, they did not suffer their zeal to cool, but marched with
an army as far as Scythopolis, and made an incursion upon it, and laid
waste all the country that lay within Mount Carmel.
8. But then these successes of John and of his sons made them be envied,
and occasioned a sedition in the country; and many there were who got
together, and would not be at rest till they brake out into open war,
in which war they were beaten. So John lived the rest of his life very
happily, and administered the government after a most extraordinary
manner, and this for thirty-three entire years together. He died,
leaving five sons behind him. He was certainly a very happy man, and
afforded no occasion to have any complaint made of fortune on his
account. He it was who alone had three of the most desirable things in
the world,--the government of his nation, and the high priesthood, and
the gift of prophecy. For the Deity conversed with him, and he was
not ignorant of any thing that was to come afterward; insomuch that he
foresaw and foretold that his two eldest sons would not continue masters
of the government; and it will highly deserve our narration to describe
their catastrophe, and how far inferior these men were to their father
in felicity.
CHAPTER 3.
How Aristobulus Was The First That Put A Diadem About His
Head; And After He Had Put His Mother And Brother To Death,
Died Himself, When He Had Reigned No More Than A Year.
1. For after the death of their father, the elder of them, Aristobulus,
changed the government into a kingdom, and was the first that put a
diadem upon his head, four hundred seventy and one years and three
months after our people came down into this country, when they were set
free from the Babylonian slavery. Now, of his brethren, he appeared to
have an affection for Antigonus, who was next to him, and made him his
equal; but for the rest, he bound them, and put them in prison. He also
put his mother in bonds, for her contesting the government with him;
for John had left her to be the governess of public affairs. He also
proceeded to that degree of barbarity as to cause her to be pined to
death in prison.
2. But vengeance circumvented him in the affair of his brother
Antigonus, whom he loved, and whom he made his partner in the kingdom;
for he slew him by the means of the calumnies which ill men about the
palace contrived against him. At first, indeed, Aristobulus would
not believe their reports, partly out of the affection he had for his
brother, and partly because he thought that a great part of these tales
were owing to the envy of their relaters: however, as Antigonus came
once in a splendid manner from the army to that festival, wherein our
ancient custom is to make tabernacles for God, it happened, in those
days, that Aristobulus was sick, and that, at the conclusion of the
feast, Antigonus came up to it, with his armed men about him; and this
when he was adorned in the finest manner possible; and that, in a great
measure, to pray to God on the behalf of his brother. Now at this very
time it was that these ill men came to the king, and told him in what
a pompous manner the armed men came, and with what insolence Antigonus
marched, and that such his insolence was too great for a private person,
and that accordingly he was come with a great band of men to kill him;
for that he could not endure this bare enjoyment of royal honor, when it
was in his power to take the kingdom himself.
3. Now Aristobulus, by degrees, and unwillingly, gave credit to these
accusations; and accordingly he took care not to discover his suspicion
openly, though he provided to be secure against any accidents; so he
placed the guards of his body in a certain dark subterranean passage;
for he lay sick in a place called formerly the Citadel, though
afterwards its name was changed to Antonia; and he gave orders that if
Antigonus came unarmed, they should let him alone; but if he came to him
in his armor, they should kill him. He also sent some to let him know
beforehand that he should come unarmed. But, upon this occasion, the
queen very cunningly contrived the matter with those that plotted his
ruin, for she persuaded those that were sent to conceal the king's
message; but to tell Antigonus how his brother had heard he had got a
very the suit of armor made with fine martial ornaments, in Galilee;
and because his present sickness hindered him from coming and seeing all
that finery, he very much desired to see him now in his armor; because,
said he, in a little time thou art going away from me.
4. As soon as Antigonus heard this, the good temper of his brother not
allowing him to suspect any harm from him, he came along with his armor
on, to show it to his brother; but when he was going along that dark
passage which was called Strato's Tower, he was slain by the body
guards, and became an eminent instance how calumny destroys all
good-will and natural affection, and how none of our good affections are
strong enough to resist envy perpetually.
5. And truly any one would be surprised at Judas upon this occasion. He
was of the sect of the Essens, and had never failed or deceived men in
his predictions before. Now this man saw Antigonus as he was passing
along by the temple, and cried out to his acquaintance, [they were not a
few who attended upon him as his scholars,] "O strange!" said he, "it is
good for me to die now, since truth is dead before me, and somewhat that
I have foretold hath proved false; for this Antigonus is this day alive,
who ought to have died this day; and the place where he ought to be
slain, according to that fatal decree, was Strato's Tower, which is at
the distance of six hundred furlongs from this place; and yet four hours
of this day are over already; which point of time renders the prediction
impossible to be fill filled." And when the old man had said this, he
was dejected in his mind, and so continued. But in a little time news
came that Antigonus was slain in a subterraneous place, which was itself
also called Strato's Tower, by the same name with that Cesarea which lay
by the sea-side; and this ambiguity it was which caused the prophet's
disorder.
6. Hereupon Aristobulus repented of the great crime he had been guilty
of, and this gave occasion to the increase of his distemper. He also
grew worse and worse, and his soul was constantly disturbed at the
thoughts of what he had done, till his very bowels being torn to pieces
by the intolerable grief he was under, he threw up a great quantity of
blood. And as one of those servants that attended him carried out that
blood, he, by some supernatural providence, slipped and fell down in the
very place where Antigonus had been slain; and so he spilt some of
the murderer's blood upon the spots of the blood of him that had been
murdered, which still appeared. Hereupon a lamentable cry arose among
the spectators, as if the servant had spilled the blood on purpose in
that place; and as the king heard that cry, he inquired what was the
cause of it; and while nobody durst tell him, he pressed them so much
the more to let him know what was the matter; so at length, when he had
threatened them, and forced them to speak out, they told; whereupon he
burst into tears, and groaned, and said, "So I perceive I am not like
to escape the all-seeing eye of God, as to the great crimes I have
committed; but the vengeance of the blood of my kinsman pursues me
hastily. O thou most impudent body! how long wilt thou retain a soul
that ought to die on account of that punishment it ought to suffer for a
mother and a brother slain! How long shall I myself spend my blood drop
by drop? let them take it all at once; and let their ghosts no longer be
disappointed by a few parcels of my bowels offered to them." As soon
as he had said these words, he presently died, when he had reigned no
longer than a year.
CHAPTER 4.
What Actions Were Done By Alexander Janneus, Who Reigned
Twenty-Seven Years.
1. And now the king's wife loosed the king's brethren, and made
Alexander king, who appeared both elder in age, and more moderate in his
temper than the rest; who, when he came to the government, slew one of
his brethren, as affecting to govern himself; but had the other of them
in great esteem, as loving a quiet life, without meddling with public
affairs.
2. Now it happened that there was a battle between him and Ptolemy, who
was called Lathyrus, who had taken the city Asochis. He indeed slew a
great many of his enemies, but the victory rather inclined to Ptolemy.
But when this Ptolemy was pursued by his mother Cleopatra, and retired
into Egypt, Alexander besieged Gadara, and took it; as also he did
Amathus, which was the strongest of all the fortresses that were about
Jordan, and therein were the most precious of all the possessions of
Theodorus, the son of Zeno. Whereupon Theodorus marched against him, and
took what belonged to himself as well as the king's baggage, and slew
ten thousand of the Jews. However, Alexander recovered this blow, and
turned his force towards the maritime parts, and took Raphia and Gaza,
with Anthedon also, which was afterwards called Agrippias by king Herod.
3. But when he had made slaves of the citizens of all these cities, the
nation of the Jews made an insurrection against him at a festival; for
at those feasts seditions are generally begun; and it looked as if he
should not be able to escape the plot they had laid for him, had not his
foreign auxiliaries, the Pisidians and Cilicians, assisted him; for as
to the Syrians, he never admitted them among his mercenary troops, on
account of their innate enmity against the Jewish nation. And when he
had slain more than six thousand of the rebels, he made an incursion
into Arabia; and when he had taken that country, together with the
Gileadires and Moabites, he enjoined them to pay him tribute, and
returned to Areathus; and as Theodorus was surprised at his great
success, he took the fortress, and demolished it.
4. However, when he fought with Obodas, king of the Arabians, who had
laid an ambush for him near Golan, and a plot against him, he lost his
entire army, which was crowded together in a deep valley, and broken to
pieces by the multitude of camels. And when he had made his escape to
Jerusalem, he provoked the multitude, which hated him before, to make
an insurrection against him, and this on account of the greatness of the
calamity that he was under. However, he was then too hard for them; and,
in the several battles that were fought on both sides, he slew not fewer
than fifty thousand of the Jews in the interval of six years. Yet had
he no reason to rejoice in these victories, since he did but consume his
own kingdom; till at length he left off fighting, and endeavored to
come to a composition with them, by talking with his subjects. But this
mutability and irregularity of his conduct made them hate him still
more. And when he asked them why they so hated him, and what he should
do in order to appease them, they said, by killing himself; for that it
would be then all they could do to be reconciled to him, who had done
such tragical things to them, even when he was dead. At the same time
they invited Demetrius, who was called Eucerus, to assist them; and as
he readily complied with their requests, in hopes of great advantages,
and came with his army, the Jews joined with those their auxiliaries
about Shechem.
5. Yet did Alexander meet both these forces with one thousand horsemen,
and eight thousand mercenaries that were on foot. He had also with him
that part of the Jews which favored him, to the number of ten thousand;
while the adverse party had three thousand horsemen, and fourteen
thousand footmen. Now, before they joined battle, the kings made
proclamation, and endeavored to draw off each other's soldiers, and make
them revolt; while Demetrius hoped to induce Alexander's mercenaries
to leave him, and Alexander hoped to induce the Jews that were with
Demetrius to leave him. But since neither the Jews would leave off their
rage, nor the Greeks prove unfaithful, they came to an engagement, and
to a close fight with their weapons. In which battle Demetrius was
the conqueror, although Alexander's mercenaries showed the greatest
exploits, both in soul and body. Yet did the upshot of this battle prove
different from what was expected, as to both of them; for neither did
those that invited Demetrius to come to them continue firm to him,
though he was conqueror; and six thousand Jews, out of pity to the
change of Alexander's condition, when he was fled to the mountains,
came over to him. Yet could not Demetrius bear this turn of affairs; but
supposing that Alexander was already become a match for him again, and
that all the nation would [at length] run to him, he left the country,
and went his way.
6. However, the rest of the [Jewish] multitude did not lay aside their
quarrels with him, when the [foreign] auxiliaries were gone; but they
had a perpetual war with Alexander, until he had slain the greatest part
of them, and driven the rest into the city Berneselis; and when he had
demolished that city, he carried the captives to Jerusalem. Nay, his
rage was grown so extravagant, that his barbarity proceeded to the
degree of impiety; for when he had ordered eight hundred to be hung upon
crosses in the midst of the city, he had the throats of their wives and
children cut before their eyes; and these executions he saw as he
was drinking and lying down with his concubines. Upon which so deep a
surprise seized on the people, that eight thousand of his opposers
fled away the very next night, out of all Judea, whose flight was only
terminated by Alexander's death; so at last, though not till late,
and with great difficulty, he, by such actions, procured quiet to his
kingdom, and left off fighting any more.
7. Yet did that Antiochus, who was also called Dionysius, become an
origin of troubles again. This man was the brother of Demetrius, and the
last of the race of the Seleucidae. 3 Alexander was afraid of him, when
he was marching against the Arabians; so he cut a deep trench between
Antipatris, which was near the mountains, and the shores of Joppa; he
also erected a high wall before the trench, and built wooden towers,
in order to hinder any sudden approaches. But still he was not able to
exclude Antiochus, for he burnt the towers, and filled up the trenches,
and marched on with his army. And as he looked upon taking his
revenge on Alexander, for endeavoring to stop him, as a thing of less
consequence, he marched directly against the Arabians, whose king
retired into such parts of the country as were fittest for engaging the
enemy, and then on the sudden made his horse turn back, which were in
number ten thousand, and fell upon Antiochus's army while they were in
disorder, and a terrible battle ensued. Antiochus's troops, so long as
he was alive, fought it out, although a mighty slaughter was made among
them by the Arabians; but when he fell, for he was in the forefront, in
the utmost danger, in rallying his troops, they all gave ground, and the
greatest part of his army were destroyed, either in the action or the
flight; and for the rest, who fled to the village of Cana, it happened
that they were all consumed by want of necessaries, a few only excepted.
8. About this time it was that the people of Damascus, out of their
hatred to Ptolemy, the son of Menhens, invited Aretas [to take the
government], and made him king of Celesyria. This man also made an
expedition against Judea, and beat Alexander in battle; but afterwards
retired by mutual agreement. But Alexander, when he had taken
Pella, marched to Gerasa again, out of the covetous desire he had of
Theodorus's possessions; and when he had built a triple wall about the
garrison, he took the place by force. He also demolished Golan, and
Seleucia, and what was called the Valley of Antiochus; besides which,
he took the strong fortress of Gamala, and stripped Demetrius, who was
governor therein, of what he had, on account of the many crimes laid to
his charge, and then returned into Judea, after he had been three whole
years in this expedition. And now he was kindly received of the nation,
because of the good success he had. So when he was at rest from war,
he fell into a distemper; for he was afflicted with a quartan ague, and
supposed that, by exercising himself again in martial affairs, he
should get rid of this distemper; but by making such expeditions at
unseasonable times, and forcing his body to undergo greater hardships
than it was able to bear, he brought himself to his end. He died,
therefore, in the midst of his troubles, after he had reigned seven and
twenty years.
CHAPTER 5.
Alexandra Reigns Nine Years, During Which Time The Pharisees
Were The Real Rulers Of The Nation.
1. Now Alexander left the kingdom to Alexandra his wife, and depended
upon it that the Jews would now very readily submit to her, because she
had been very averse to such cruelty as he had treated them with,
and had opposed his violation of their laws, and had thereby got the
good-will of the people. Nor was he mistaken as to his expectations; for
this woman kept the dominion, by the opinion that the people had of her
piety; for she chiefly studied the ancient customs of her country, and
cast those men out of the government that offended against their holy
laws. And as she had two sons by Alexander, she made Hyrcanus the elder
high priest, on account of his age, as also, besides that, on account of
his inactive temper, no way disposing him to disturb the public. But
she retained the younger, Aristobulus, with her as a private person, by
reason of the warmth of his temper.
2. And now the Pharisees joined themselves to her, to assist her in
the government. These are a certain sect of the Jews that appear more
religious than others, and seem to interpret the laws more accurately.
Now Alexandra hearkened to them to an extraordinary degree, as being
herself a woman of great piety towards God. But these Pharisees artfully
insinuated themselves into her favor by little and little, and became
themselves the real administrators of the public affairs: they banished
and reduced whom they pleased; they bound and loosed [men] at their
pleasure; 4 and, to say all at once, they had the enjoyment of the royal
authority, whilst the expenses and the difficulties of it belonged to
Alexandra. She was a sagacious woman in the management of great
affairs, and intent always upon gathering soldiers together; so that she
increased the army the one half, and procured a great body of foreign
troops, till her own nation became not only very powerful at home, but
terrible also to foreign potentates, while she governed other people,
and the Pharisees governed her.
3. Accordingly, they themselves slew Diogenes, a person of figure,
and one that had been a friend to Alexander; and accused him as having
assisted the king with his advice, for crucifying the eight hundred men
[before mentioned.] They also prevailed with Alexandra to put to death
the rest of those who had irritated him against them. Now she was so
superstitious as to comply with their desires, and accordingly they slew
whom they pleased themselves. But the principal of those that were in
danger fled to Aristobulus, who persuaded his mother to spare the men on
account of their dignity, but to expel them out of the city, unless she
took them to be innocent; so they were suffered to go unpunished, and
were dispersed all over the country. But when Alexandra sent out her
army to Damascus, under pretense that Ptolemy was always oppressing
that city, she got possession of it; nor did it make any considerable
resistance. She also prevailed with Tigranes, king of Armenia, who lay
with his troops about Ptolemais, and besieged Cleopatra, 5 by agreements
and presents, to go away. Accordingly, Tigranes soon arose from
the siege, by reason of those domestic tumults which happened upon
Lucullus's expedition into Armenia.
4. In the mean time, Alexandra fell sick, and Aristobulus, her younger
son, took hold of this opportunity, with his domestics, of which he had
a great many, who were all of them his friends, on account of the warmth
of their youth, and got possession of all the fortresses. He also used
the sums of money he found in them to get together a number of mercenary
soldiers, and made himself king; and besides this, upon Hyrcanus's
complaint to his mother, she compassionated his case, and put
Aristobulus's wife and sons under restraint in Antonia, which was a
fortress that joined to the north part of the temple. It was, as I have
already said, of old called the Citadel; but afterwards got the name of
Antonia, when Antony was [lord of the East], just as the other cities,
Sebaste and Agrippias, had their names changed, and these given them
from Sebastus and Agrippa. But Alexandra died before she could punish
Aristobulus for his disinheriting his brother, after she had reigned
nine years.
CHAPTER 6.
When Hyrcanus Who Was Alexander's Heir, Receded From His
Claim To The Crown Aristobulus Is Made King; And Afterward
The Same Hyrcanus By The Means Of Antipater, Is Brought Back
By Abetas. At Last Pompey Is Made The Arbitrator Of The
Dispute Between The Brothers.
1. Now Hyrcanus was heir to the kingdom, and to him did his mother
commit it before she died; but Aristobulus was superior to him in power
and magnanimity; and when there was a battle between them, to decide
the dispute about the kingdom, near Jericho, the greatest part deserted
Hyrcanus, and went over to Aristobulus; but Hyrcanus, with those of his
party who staid with him, fled to Antonia, and got into his power the
hostages that might be for his preservation [which were Aristobulus's
wife, with her children]; but they came to an agreement before things
should come to extremities, that Aristobulus should be king, and
Hyrcanus should resign that up, but retain all the rest of his
dignities, as being the king's brother. Hereupon they were reconciled
to each other in the temple, and embraced one another in a very kind
manner, while the people stood round about them; they also changed their
houses, while Aristobulus went to the royal palace, and Hyrcanus retired
to the house of Aristobulus.
2. Now those other people which were at variance with Aristobulus were
afraid upon his unexpected obtaining the government; and especially this
concerned Antipater 6 whom Aristobulus hated of old. He was by birth
an Idumean, and one of the principal of that nation, on account of his
ancestors and riches, and other authority to him belonging: he also
persuaded Hyrcanus to fly to Aretas, the king of Arabia, and to lay
claim to the kingdom; as also he persuaded Aretas to receive Hyrcanus,
and to bring him back to his kingdom: he also cast great reproaches upon
Aristobulus, as to his morals, and gave great commendations to Hyrcanus,
and exhorted Aretas to receive him, and told him how becoming a filing
it would be for him, who ruled so great a kingdom, to afford his
assistance to such as are injured; alleging that Hyrcanus was treated
unjustly, by being deprived of that dominion which belonged to him by
the prerogative of his birth. And when he had predisposed them both to
do what he would have them, he took Hyrcanus by night, and ran away from
the city, and, continuing his flight with great swiftness, he escaped to
the place called Petra, which is the royal seat of the king of Arabia,
where he put Hyrcanus into Aretas's hand; and by discoursing much with
him, and gaining upon him with many presents, he prevailed with him
to give him an army that might restore him to his kingdom. This
army consisted of fifty thousand footmen and horsemen, against which
Aristobulus was not able to make resistance, but was deserted in his
first onset, and was driven to Jerusalem; he also had been taken
at first by force, if Scaurus, the Roman general, had not come and
seasonably interposed himself, and raised the siege. This Scaurus was
sent into Syria from Armenia by Pompey the Great, when he fought against
Tigranes; so Scaurus came to Damascus, which had been lately taken by
Metellus and Lollius, and caused them to leave the place; and, upon his
hearing how the affairs of Judea stood, he made haste thither as to a
certain booty.
3. As soon, therefore, as he was come into the country, there
came ambassadors from both the brothers, each of them desiring his
assistance; but Aristobulus's three hundred talents had more weight with
him than the justice of the cause; which sum, when Scaurus had received,
he sent a herald to Hyrcanus and the Arabians, and threatened them with
the resentment of the Romans and of Pompey, unless they would raise
the siege. So Aretas was terrified, and retired out of Judea to
Philadelphia, as did Scaurus return to Damascus again; nor was
Aristobulus satisfied with escaping [out of his brother's hands,] but
gathered all his forces together, and pursued his enemies, and fought
them at a place called Papyron, and slew about six thousand of them,
and, together with them Antipater's brother Phalion.
4. When Hyrcanus and Antipater were thus deprived of their hopes from
the Arabians, they transferred the same to their adversaries; and
because Pompey had passed through Syria, and was come to Damascus, they
fled to him for assistance; and, without any bribes, they made the same
equitable pleas that they had used to Aretas, and besought him to hate
the violent behavior of Aristobulus, and to bestow the kingdom on him
to whom it justly belonged, both on account of his good character and
on account of his superiority in age. However, neither was Aristobulus
wanting to himself in this case, as relying on the bribes that Scaurus
had received: he was also there himself, and adorned himself after
a manner the most agreeable to royalty that he was able. But he soon
thought it beneath him to come in such a servile manner, and could not
endure to serve his own ends in a way so much more abject than he was
used to; so he departed from Diospolis.
5. At this his behavior Pompey had great indignation; Hyrcanus also and
his friends made great intercessions to Pompey; so he took not only his
Roman forces, but many of his Syrian auxiliaries, and marched against
Aristobulus. But when he had passed by Pella and Scythopolis, and was
come to Corea, where you enter into the country of Judea, when you go
up to it through the Mediterranean parts, he heard that Aristobulus was
fled to Alexandrium, which is a strong hold fortified with the utmost
magnificence, and situated upon a high mountain; and he sent to him, and
commanded him to come down. Now his inclination was to try his fortune
in a battle, since he was called in such an imperious manner, rather
than to comply with that call. However, he saw the multitude were in
great fear, and his friends exhorted him to consider what the power of
the Romans was, and how it was irresistible; so he complied with their
advice, and came down to Pompey; and when he had made a long apology for
himself, and for the justness of his cause in taking the government,
he returned to the fortress. And when his brother invited him again [to
plead his cause], he came down and spake about the justice of it, and
then went away without any hinderance from Pompey; so he was between
hope and fear. And when he came down, it was to prevail with Pompey to
allow him the government entirely; and when he went up to the citadel,
it was that he might not appear to debase himself too low. However,
Pompey commanded him to give up his fortified places, and forced him to
write to every one of their governors to yield them up; they having
had this charge given them, to obey no letters but what were of his
own hand-writing. Accordingly he did what he was ordered to do; but had
still an indignation at what was done, and retired to Jerusalem, and
prepared to fight with Pompey.
6. But Pompey did not give him time to make any preparations [for a
siege], but followed him at his heels; he was also obliged to make haste
in his attempt, by the death of Mithridates, of which he was informed
about Jericho. Now here is the most fruitful country of Judea, which
bears a vast number of palm trees 7 besides the balsam tree, whose
sprouts they cut with sharp stones, and at the incisions they gather the
juice, which drops down like tears. So Pompey pitched his camp in that
place one night, and then hasted away the next morning to Jerusalem; but
Aristobulus was so affrighted at his approach, that he came and met him
by way of supplication. He also promised him money, and that he would
deliver up both himself and the city into his disposal, and thereby
mitigated the anger of Pompey. Yet did not he perform any of the
conditions he had agreed to; for Aristobulus's party would not so much
as admit Gabinius into the city, who was sent to receive the money that
he had promised.
CHAPTER 7.
How Pompey Had The City Of Jerusalem Delivered Up To Him But
Took The Temple By Force. How He Went Into The Holy Of
Holies; As Also What Were His Other Exploits In Judea.
1. At this treatment Pompey was very angry, and took Aristobulus into
custody. And when he was come to the city, he looked about where he
might make his attack; for he saw the walls were so firm, that it would
be hard to overcome them; and that the valley before the walls was
terrible; and that the temple, which was within that valley, was itself
encompassed with a very strong wall, insomuch that if the city were
taken, that temple would be a second place of refuge for the enemy to
retire to.
2. Now as he was long in deliberating about this matter, a sedition
arose among the people within the city; Aristobulus's party being
willing to fight, and to set their king at liberty, while the party of
Hyrcanus were for opening the gates to Pompey; and the dread people were
in occasioned these last to be a very numerous party, when they looked
upon the excellent order the Roman soldiers were in. So Aristobulus's
party was worsted, and retired into the temple, and cut off the
communication between the temple and the city, by breaking down the
bridge that joined them together, and prepared to make an opposition to
the utmost; but as the others had received the Romans into the city, and
had delivered up the palace to him, Pompey sent Piso, one of his great
officers, into that palace with an army, who distributed a garrison
about the city, because he could not persuade any one of those that had
fled to the temple to come to terms of accommodation; he then disposed
all things that were round about them so as might favor their attacks,
as having Hyrcanus's party very ready to afford them both counsel and
assistance.
3. But Pompey himself filled up the ditch that was on the north side of
the temple, and the entire valley also, the army itself being obliged to
carry the materials for that purpose. And indeed it was a hard thing to
fill up that valley, by reason of its immense depth, especially as
the Jews used all the means possible to repel them from their superior
situation; nor had the Romans succeeded in their endeavors, had not
Pompey taken notice of the seventh days, on which the Jews abstain
from all sorts of work on a religious account, and raised his bank, but
restrained his soldiers from fighting on those days; for the Jews only
acted defensively on sabbath days. But as soon as Pompey had filled
up the valley, he erected high towers upon the bank, and brought those
engines which they had fetched from Tyre near to the wall, and tried
to batter it down; and the slingers of stones beat off those that stood
above them, and drove them away; but the towers on this side of the
city made very great resistance, and were indeed extraordinary both for
largeness and magnificence.
4. Now here it was that, upon the many hardships which the Romans
underwent, Pompey could not but admire not only at the other instances
of the Jews' fortitude, but especially that they did not at all intermit
their religious services, even when they were encompassed with darts
on all sides; for, as if the city were in full peace, their daily
sacrifices and purifications, and every branch of their religious
worship, was still performed to God with the utmost exactness. Nor
indeed when the temple was actually taken, and they were every day
slain about the altar, did they leave off the instances of their Divine
worship that were appointed by their law; for it was in the third
month of the siege before the Romans could even with great difficulty
overthrow one of the towers, and get into the temple. Now he that first
of all ventured to get over the wall, was Faustus Cornelius the son of
Sylla; and next after him were two centurions, Furius and Fabius; and
every one of these was followed by a cohort of his own, who encompassed
the Jews on all sides, and slew them, some of them as they were running
for shelter to the temple, and others as they, for a while, fought in
their own defense.
5. And now did many of the priests, even when they saw their enemies
assailing them with swords in their hands, without any disturbance, go
on with their Divine worship, and were slain while they were offering
their drink-offerings, and burning their incense, as preferring the
duties about their worship to God before their own preservation. The
greatest part of them were slain by their own countrymen, of the adverse
faction, and an innumerable multitude threw themselves down precipices;
nay, some there were who were so distracted among the insuperable
difficulties they were under, that they set fire to the buildings that
were near to the wall, and were burnt together with them. Now of the
Jews were slain twelve thousand; but of the Romans very few were slain,
but a greater number was wounded.
6. But there was nothing that affected the nation so much, in the
calamities they were then under, as that their holy place, which had
been hitherto seen by none, should be laid open to strangers; for
Pompey, and those that were about him, went into the temple itself 8
whither it was not lawful for any to enter but the high priest, and
saw what was reposited therein, the candlestick with its lamps, and the
table, and the pouring vessels, and the censers, all made entirely
of gold, as also a great quantity of spices heaped together, with two
thousand talents of sacred money. Yet did not he touch that money, nor
any thing else that was there reposited; but he commanded the ministers
about the temple, the very next day after he had taken it, to cleanse
it, and to perform their accustomed sacrifices. Moreover, he made
Hyrcanus high priest, as one that not only in other respects had showed
great alacrity, on his side, during the siege, but as he had been the
means of hindering the multitude that was in the country from fighting
for Aristobulus, which they were otherwise very ready to have done;
by which means he acted the part of a good general, and reconciled
the people to him more by benevolence than by terror. Now, among the
Captives, Aristobulus's father-in-law was taken, who was also his uncle:
so those that were the most guilty he punished with decollation; but
rewarded Faustus, and those with him that had fought so bravely,
with glorious presents, and laid a tribute upon the country, and upon
Jerusalem itself.
7. He also took away from the nation all those cities that they had
formerly taken, and that belonged to Celesyria, and made them subject to
him that was at that time appointed to be the Roman president there; and
reduced Judea within its proper bounds. He also rebuilt Gadara, 9 that
had been demolished by the Jews, in order to gratify one Demetrius,
who was of Gadara, and was one of his own freed-men. He also made other
cities free from their dominion, that lay in the midst of the country,
such, I mean, as they had not demolished before that time; Hippos, and
Scythopolis, as also Pella, and Samaria, and Marissa; and besides these
Ashdod, and Jamnia, and Arethusa; and in like manner dealt he with the
maritime cities, Gaza, and Joppa, and Dora, and that which was
anciently called Strato's Tower, but was afterward rebuilt with the
most magnificent edifices, and had its name changed to Cesarea, by king
Herod. All which he restored to their own citizens, and put them under
the province of Syria; which province, together with Judea, and the
countries as far as Egypt and Euphrates, he committed to Scaurus as
their governor, and gave him two legions to support him; while he made
all the haste he could himself to go through Cilicia, in his way
to Rome, having Aristobulus and his children along with him as his
captives. They were two daughters and two sons; the one of which sons,
Alexander, ran away as he was going; but the younger, Antigonus, with
his sisters, were carried to Rome.
CHAPTER 8.
Alexander, The Son Of Aristobulus, Who Ran Away From Pompey,
Makes An Expedition Against Hyrcanus; But Being Overcome By
Gabinius He Delivers Up The Fortresses To Him. After This
Aristobulus Escapes From Rome And Gathers An Army Together;
But Being Beaten By The Romans, He Is Brought Back To Rome;
With Other Things Relating To Gabinius, Crassus And Cassius.
1. In the mean time, Scaurus made an expedition into Arabia, but was
stopped by the difficulty of the places about Petra. However, he laid
waste the country about Pella, though even there he was under great
hardship; for his army was afflicted with famine. In order to supply
which want, Hyrcanus afforded him some assistance, and sent him
provisions by the means of Antipater; whom also Scaurus sent to Aretas,
as one well acquainted with him, to induce him to pay him money to buy
his peace. The king of Arabia complied with the proposal, and gave him
three hundred talents; upon which Scaurus drew his army out of Arabia 10
2. But as for Alexander, that son of Aristobulus who ran away from
Pompey, in some time he got a considerable band of men together, and lay
heavy upon Hyrcanus, and overran Judea, and was likely to overturn
him quickly; and indeed he had come to Jerusalem, and had ventured to
rebuild its wall that was thrown down by Pompey, had not Gabinius, who
was sent as successor to Scaurus into Syria, showed his bravery, as in
many other points, so in making an expedition against Alexander; who, as
he was afraid that he would attack him, so he got together a large army,
composed of ten thousand armed footmen, and fifteen hundred horsemen.
He also built walls about proper places; Alexandrium, and Hyrcanium, and
Machaerus, that lay upon the mountains of Arabia.
3. However, Gabinius sent before him Marcus Antonius, and followed
himself with his whole army; but for the select body of soldiers that
were about Antipater, and another body of Jews under the command of
Malichus and Pitholaus, these joined themselves to those captains
that were about Marcus Antonius, and met Alexander; to which body came
Gabinius with his main army soon afterward; and as Alexander was not
able to sustain the charge of the enemies' forces, now they were joined,
he retired. But when he was come near to Jerusalem, he was forced to
fight, and lost six thousand men in the battle; three thousand of which
fell down dead, and three thousand were taken alive; so he fled with the
remainder to Alexandrium.
4. Now when Gabinius was come to Alexandrium, because he found a great
many there en-camped, he tried, by promising them pardon for their
former offenses, to induce them to come over to him before it came to a
fight; but when they would hearken to no terms of accommodation, he
slew a great number of them, and shut up a great number of them in the
citadel. Now Marcus Antonius, their leader, signalized himself in this
battle, who, as he always showed great courage, so did he never show it
so much as now; but Gabinius, leaving forces to take the citadel, went
away himself, and settled the cities that had not been demolished,
and rebuilt those that had been destroyed. Accordingly, upon his
injunctions, the following cities were restored: Scythopolis, and
Samaria, and Anthedon, and Apollonia, and Jamnia, and Raphia, and
Mariassa, and Adoreus, and Gamala, and Ashdod, and many others; while
a great number of men readily ran to each of them, and became their
inhabitants.
5. When Gabinius had taken care of these cities, he returned to
Alexandrium, and pressed on the siege. So when Alexander despaired of
ever obtaining the government, he sent ambassadors to him, and prayed
him to forgive what he had offended him in, and gave up to him the
remaining fortresses, Hyrcanium and Machaerus, as he put Alexandrium
into his hands afterwards; all which Gabinius demolished, at the
persuasion of Alexander's mother, that they might not be receptacles of
men in a second war. She was now there in order to mollify Gabinius, out
of her concern for her relations that were captives at Rome, which were
her husband and her other children. After this Gabinius brought Hyrcanus
to Jerusalem, and committed the care of the temple to him; but ordained
the other political government to be by an aristocracy. He also parted
the whole nation into five conventions, assigning one portion to
Jerusalem, another to Gadara, that another should belong to Amathus, a
fourth to Jericho, and to the fifth division was allotted Sepphoris,
a city of Galilee. So the people were glad to be thus freed from
monarchical government, and were governed for the future by all
aristocracy.
6. Yet did Aristobulus afford another foundation for new disturbances.
He fled away from Rome, and got together again many of the Jews that
were desirous of a change, such as had borne an affection to him of old;
and when he had taken Alexandrium in the first place, he attempted to
build a wall about it; but as soon as Gabinius had sent an army against
him under Siscuria, and Antonius, and Servilius, he was aware of it,
and retreated to Machaerus. And as for the unprofitable multitude, he
dismissed them, and only marched on with those that were armed, being to
the number of eight thousand, among whom was Pitholaus, who had been the
lieutenant at Jerusalem, but deserted to Aristobulus with a thousand
of his men; so the Romans followed him, and when it came to a battle,
Aristobulus's party for a long time fought courageously; but at length
they were overborne by the Romans, and of them five thousand fell down
dead, and about two thousand fled to a certain little hill, but the
thousand that remained with Aristobulus brake through the Roman army,
and marched together to Machaerus; and when the king had lodged the
first night upon its ruins, he was in hopes of raising another army, if
the war would but cease a while; accordingly, he fortified that strong
hold, though it was done after a poor manner. But the Romans falling
upon him, he resisted, even beyond his abilities, for two days, and then
was taken, and brought a prisoner to Gabinius, with Antigonus his son,
who had fled away together with him from Rome; and from Gabinius he was
carried to Rome again. Wherefore the senate put him under confinement,
but returned his children back to Judea, because Gabinius informed them
by letters that he had promised Aristobulus's mother to do so, for her
delivering the fortresses up to him.
7. But now as Gabinius was marching to the war against the Parthians,
he was hindered by Ptolemy, whom, upon his return from Euphrates, he
brought back into Egypt, making use of Hyrcanus and Antipater to provide
every thing that was necessary for this expedition; for Antipater
furnished him with money, and weapons, and corn, and auxiliaries; he
also prevailed with the Jews that were there, and guarded the avenues at
Pelusium, to let them pass. But now, upon Gabinius's absence, the other
part of Syria was in motion, and Alexander, the son of Aristobulus,
brought the Jews to revolt again. Accordingly, he got together a very
great army, and set about killing all the Romans that were in the
country; hereupon Gabinius was afraid, [for he was come back already out
of Egypt, and obliged to come back quickly by these tumults,] and
sent Antipater, who prevailed with some of the revolters to be quiet.
However, thirty thousand still continued with Alexander, who was himself
eager to fight also; accordingly, Gabinius went out to fight, when
the Jews met him; and as the battle was fought near Mount Tabor, ten
thousand of them were slain, and the rest of the multitude dispersed
themselves, and fled away. So Gabinius came to Jerusalem, and settled
the government as Antipater would have it; thence he marched, and fought
and beat the Nabateans: as for Mithridates and Orsanes, who fled out of
Parthin, he sent them away privately, but gave it out among the soldiers
that they had run away.
8. In the mean time, Crassus came as successor to Gabinius in Syria. He
took away all the rest of the gold belonging to the temple of Jerusalem,
in order to furnish himself for his expedition against the Parthians.
He also took away the two thousand talents which Pompey had not touched;
but when he had passed over Euphrates, he perished himself, and his army
with him; concerning which affairs this is not a proper time to speak
[more largely].
9. But now Cassius, after Crassus, put a stop to the Parthians, who were
marching in order to enter Syria. Cassius had fled into that province,
and when he had taken possession of the same, he made a hasty march into
Judea; and, upon his taking Taricheae, he carried thirty thousand Jews
into slavery. He also slew Pitholaus, who had supported the seditious
followers of Aristobulus; and it was Antipater who advised him so to
do. Now this Antipater married a wife of an eminent family among the
Arabisus, whose name was Cypros, and had four sons born to him by her,
Phasaelus and Herod, who was afterwards king, and, besides these, Joseph
and Pheroras; and he had a daughter whose name was Salome. Now as he
made himself friends among the men of power every where, by the kind
offices he did them, and the hospitable manner that he treated them;
so did he contract the greatest friendship with the king of Arabia, by
marrying his relation; insomuch that when he made war with Aristobulus,
he sent and intrusted his children with him. So when Cassius had forced
Alexander to come to terms and to be quiet, he returned to Euphrates,
in order to prevent the Parthians from repassing it; concerning which
matter we shall speak elsewhere. 11
CHAPTER 9.
Aristobulus Is Taken Off By Pompey's Friends, As Is His Son
Alexander By Scipio. Antipater Cultivates A Friendship With
Caesar, After Pompey's Death; He Also Performs Great Actions
In That War, Wherein He Assisted Mithridates.
1. Now, upon the flight of Pompey and of the senate beyond the Ionian
Sea, Caesar got Rome and the empire under his power, and released
Aristobulus from his bonds. He also committed two legions to him, and
sent him in haste into Syria, as hoping that by his means he should
easily conquer that country, and the parts adjoining to Judea. But envy
prevented any effect of Aristobulus's alacrity, and the hopes of Caesar;
for he was taken off by poison given him by those of Pompey's party;
and, for a long while, he had not so much as a burial vouchsafed him
in his own country; but his dead body lay [above ground], preserved in
honey, until it was sent to the Jews by Antony, in order to be buried in
the royal sepulchers.
2. His son Alexander also was beheaded by Scipio at Antioch, and that
by the command of Pompey, and upon an accusation laid against him before
his tribunal, for the mischiefs he had done to the Romans. But Ptolemy,
the son of Menneus, who was then ruler of Chalcis, under Libanus, took
his brethren to him by sending his son Philippio for them to Ascalon,
who took Antigonus, as well as his sisters, away from Aristobulus's
wife, and brought them to his father; and falling in love with the
younger daughter, he married her, and was afterwards slain by his father
on her account; for Ptolemy himself, after he had slain his son, married
her, whose name was Alexandra; on the account of which marriage he took
the greater care of her brother and sister.
3. Now, after Pompey was dead, Antipater changed sides, and cultivated
a friendship with Caesar. And since Mithridates of Pergamus, with
the forces he led against Egypt, was excluded from the avenues about
Pelusium, and was forced to stay at Asealon, he persuaded the Arabians,
among whom he had lived, to assist him, and came himself to him, at the
head of three thousand armed men. He also encouraged the men of power in
Syria to come to his assistance, as also of the inhabitants of Libanus,
Ptolemy, and Jamblicus, and another Ptolemy; by which means the cities
of that country came readily into this war; insomuch that Mithridates
ventured now, in dependence upon the additional strength that he had
gotten by Antipater, to march forward to Pelusium; and when they refused
him a passage through it, he besieged the city; in the attack of which
place Antipater principally signalized himself, for he brought down that
part of the wall which was over against him, and leaped first of all
into the city, with the men that were about him.
4. Thus was Pelusium taken. But still, as they were marching on, those
Egyptian Jews that inhabited the country called the country of Onias
stopped them. Then did Antipater not only persuade them not to stop
them, but to afford provisions for their army; on which account even
the people about Memphis would not fight against them, but of their
own accord joined Mithridates. Whereupon he went round about Delta, and
fought the rest of the Egyptians at a place called the Jews' Camp; nay,
when he was in danger in the battle with all his right wing, Antipater
wheeled about, and came along the bank of the river to him; for he
had beaten those that opposed him as he led the left wing. After which
success he fell upon those that pursued Mithridates, and slew a great
many of them, and pursued the remainder so far that he took their camp,
while he lost no more than fourscore of his own men; as Mithridates
lost, during the pursuit that was made after him, about eight hundred.
He was also himself saved unexpectedly, and became an unreproachable
witness to Caesar of the great actions of Antipater.
5. Whereupon Caesar encouraged Antipater to undertake other hazardous
enterprises for him, and that by giving him great commendations and
hopes of reward. In all which enterprises he readily exposed himself to
many dangers, and became a most courageous warrior; and had many wounds
almost all over his body, as demonstrations of his valor. And when
Caesar had settled the affairs of Egypt, and was returning into Syria
again, he gave him the privilege of a Roman citizen, and freedom from
taxes, and rendered him an object of admiration by the honors and marks
of friendship he bestowed upon him. On this account it was that he also
confirmed Hyrcanus in the high priesthood.
CHAPTER 10.
Caesar Makes Antipater Procurator Of Judea; As Does
Antipater Appoint Phasaelus To Be Governor Of Jerusalem, And
Herod Governor Of Galilee; Who, In Some Time, Was Called To
Answer For Himself [Before The Sanhedrim], Where He Is
Acquitted. Sextus Caesar Is Treacherously Killed By Bassus
And Is Succeeded By Marcus.
1. About this time it was that Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus,
came to Caesar, and became, in a surprising manner, the occasion of
Antipater's further advancement; for whereas he ought to have lamented
that his father appeared to have been poisoned on account of his
quarrels with Pompey, and to have complained of Scipio's barbarity
towards his brother, and not to mix any invidious passion when he
was suing for mercy; besides those things, he came before Caesar, and
accused Hyrcanus and Antipater, how they had driven him and his brethren
entirely out of their native country, and had acted in a great many
instances unjustly and extravagantly with relation to their nation; and
that as to the assistance they had sent him into Egypt, it was not done
out of good-will to him, but out of the fear they were in from former
quarrels, and in order to gain pardon for their friendship to [his
enemy] Pompey.
2. Hereupon Antipater threw away his garments, and showed the multitude
of the wounds he had, and said, that as to his good-will to Caesar, he
had no occasion to say a word, because his body cried aloud, though he
said nothing himself; that he wondered at Antigonus's boldness, while
he was himself no other than the son of an enemy to the Romans, and of
a fugitive, and had it by inheritance from his father to be fond of
innovations and seditions, that he should undertake to accuse other
men before the Roman governor, and endeavor to gain some advantages to
himself, when he ought to be contented that he was suffered to live;
for that the reason of his desire of governing public affairs was not so
much because he was in want of it, but because, if he could once obtain
the same, he might stir up a sedition among the Jews, and use what he
should gain from the Romans to the disservice of those that gave it him.
3. When Caesar heard this, he declared Hyrcanus to be the most worthy
of the high priesthood, and gave leave to Antipater to choose what
authority he pleased; but he left the determination of such dignity to
him that bestowed the dignity upon him; so he was constituted procurator
of all Judea, and obtained leave, moreover, to rebuild 12 those walls of
his country that had been thrown down. These honorary grants Caesar sent
orders to have engraved in the Capitol, that they might stand there as
indications of his own justice, and of the virtue of Antipater.
4. But as soon as Antipater had conducted Caesar out of Syria he
returned to Judea, and the first thing he did was to rebuild that wall
of his own country [Jerusalem] which Pompey had overthrown, and then to
go over the country, and to quiet the tumults that were therein; where
he partly threatened, and partly advised, every one, and told them
that in case they would submit to Hyrcanus, they would live happily and
peaceably, and enjoy what they possessed, and that with universal peace
and quietness; but that in case they hearkened to such as had some
frigid hopes by raising new troubles to get themselves some gain, they
should then find him to be their lord instead of their procurator; and
find Hyrcanus to be a tyrant instead of a king; and both the Romans and
Caesar to be their enemies, instead of rulers; for that they would not
suffer him to be removed from the government, whom they had made their
governor. And, at the same time that he said this, he settled the
affairs of the country by himself, because he saw that Hyrcanus was
inactive, and not fit to manage the affairs of the kingdom. So he
constituted his eldest son, Phasaelus, governor of Jerusalem, and of the
parts about it; he also sent his next son, Herod, who was very young, 13
with equal authority into Galilee.
5. Now Herod was an active man, and soon found proper materials for his
active spirit to work upon. As therefore he found that Hezekias, the
head of the robbers, ran over the neighboring parts of Syria with a
great band of men, he caught him and slew him, and many more of the
robbers with him; which exploit was chiefly grateful to the Syrians,
insomuch that hymns were sung in Herod's commendation, both in the
villages and in the cities, as having procured their quietness, and
having preserved what they possessed to them; on which occasion he
became acquainted with Sextus Caesar, a kinsman of the great Caesar,
and president of Syria. A just emulation of his glorious actions excited
Phasaelus also to imitate him. Accordingly, he procured the good-will of
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, by his own management of the city affairs,
and did not abuse his power in any disagreeable manner; whence it came
to pass that the nation paid Antipater the respects that were due only
to a king, and the honors they all yielded him were equal to the honors
due to an absolute lord; yet did he not abate any part of that good-will
or fidelity which he owed to Hyrcanus.
6. However, he found it impossible to escape envy in such his
prosperity; for the glory of these young men affected even Hyrcanus
himself already privately, though he said nothing of it to any body; but
what he principally was grieved at was the great actions of Herod, and
that so many messengers came one before another, and informed him of the
great reputation he got in all his undertakings. There were also many
people in the royal palace itself who inflamed his envy at him; those, I
mean, who were obstructed in their designs by the prudence either of
the young men, or of Antipater. These men said, that by committing the
public affairs to the management of Antipater and of his sons, he
sat down with nothing but the bare name of a king, without any of its
authority; and they asked him how long he would so far mistake himself,
as to breed up kings against his own interest; for that they did not now
conceal their government of affairs any longer, but were plainly lords
of the nation, and had thrust him out of his authority; that this was
the case when Herod slew so many men without his giving him any command
to do it, either by word of mouth, or by his letter, and this in
contradiction to the law of the Jews; who therefore, in case he be not a
king, but a private man, still ought to come to his trial, and answer it
to him, and to the laws of his country, which do not permit any one to
be killed till he hath been condemned in judgment.
7. Now Hyrcanus was, by degrees, inflamed with these discourses, and at
length could bear no longer, but he summoned Herod to take his trial.
Accordingly, by his father's advice, and as soon as the affairs of
Galilee would give him leave, he came up to [Jerusalem], when he had
first placed garrisons in Galilee; however, he came with a sufficient
body of soldiers, so many indeed that he might not appear to have with
him an army able to overthrow Hyrcanus's government, nor yet so few as
to expose him to the insults of those that envied him. However, Sextus
Caesar was in fear for the young man, lest he should be taken by
his enemies, and brought to punishment; so he sent some to denounce
expressly to Hyrcanus that he should acquit Herod of the capital charge
against him; who acquitted him accordingly, as being otherwise inclined
also so to do, for he loved Herod.
8. But Herod, supposing that he had escaped punishment without the
consent of the king, retired to Sextus, to Damascus, and got every thing
ready, in order not to obey him if he should summon him again; whereupon
those that were evil-disposed irritated Hyrcanus, and told him that
Herod was gone away in anger, and was prepared to make war upon him; and
as the king believed what they said, he knew not what to do, since he
saw his antagonist was stronger than he was himself. And now, since
Herod was made general of Coelesyria and Samaria by Sextus Caesar, he
was formidable, not only from the good-will which the nation bore him,
but by the power he himself had; insomuch that Hyrcanus fell into the
utmost degree of terror, and expected he would presently march against
him with his army.
9. Nor was he mistaken in the conjecture he made; for Herod got his army
together, out of the anger he bare him for his threatening him with the
accusation in a public court, and led it to Jerusalem, in order to throw
Hyrcanus down from his kingdom; and this he had soon done, unless his
father and brother had gone out together and broken the force of his
fury, and this by exhorting him to carry his revenge no further than to
threatening and affrighting, but to spare the king, under whom he had
been advanced to such a degree of power; and that he ought not to be so
much provoked at his being tried, as to forget to be thankful that
he was acquitted; nor so long to think upon what was of a melancholy
nature, as to be ungrateful for his deliverance; and if we ought to
reckon that God is the arbitrator of success in war, an unjust cause
is of more disadvantage than an army can be of advantage; and that
therefore he ought not to be entirely confident of success in a case
where he is to fight against his king, his supporter, and one that had
often been his benefactor, and that had never been severe to him, any
otherwise than as he had hearkened to evil counselors, and this no
further than by bringing a shadow of injustice upon him. So Herod was
prevailed upon by these arguments, and supposed that what he had already
done was sufficient for his future hopes, and that he had enough shown
his power to the nation.
10. In the mean time, there was a disturbance among the Romans about
Apamia, and a civil war occasioned by the treacherous slaughter of
Sextus Caesar, by Cecilius Bassus, which he perpetrated out of his
good-will to Pompey; he also took the authority over his forces; but as
the rest of Caesar's commanders attacked Bassus with their whole army,
in order to punish him for the murder of Caesar, Antipater also sent
them assistance by his sons, both on account of him that was murdered,
and on account of that Caesar who was still alive, both of which were
their friends; and as this war grew to be of a considerable length,
Marcus came out of Italy as successor to Sextus.
CHAPTER 11.
Herod Is Made Procurator Of All Syria; Malichus Is Afraid Of
Him, And Takes Antipater Off By Poison; Whereupon The
Tribunes Of The Soldiers Are Prevailed With To Kill Him.
1. There, was at this time a mighty war raised among the Romans upon the
sudden and treacherous slaughter of Caesar by Cassius and Brutus, after
he had held the government for three years and seven months. 14 Upon
this murder there were very great agitations, and the great men were
mightily at difference one with another, and every one betook himself to
that party where they had the greatest hopes of their own, of advancing
themselves. Accordingly, Cassius came into Syria, in order to receive
the forces that were at Apamia, where he procured a reconciliation
between Bassus and Marcus, and the legions which were at difference with
him; so he raised the siege of Apamia, and took upon him the command of
the army, and went about exacting tribute of the cities, and demanding
their money to such a degree as they were not able to bear.
2. So he gave command that the Jews should bring in seven hundred
talents; whereupon Antipater, out of his dread of Cassius's threats,
parted the raising of this sum among his sons, and among others of his
acquaintance, and to be done immediately; and among them he required
one Malichus, who was at enmity with him, to do his part also, which
necessity forced him to do. Now Herod, in the first place, mitigated the
passion of Cassius, by bringing his share out of Galilee, which was a
hundred talents, on which account he was in the highest favor with him;
and when he reproached the rest for being tardy, he was angry at the
cities themselves; so he made slaves of Gophna and Emmaus, and two
others of less note; nay, he proceeded as if he would kill Malichus,
because he had not made greater haste in exacting his tribute; but
Antipater prevented the ruin of this man, and of the other cities, and
got into Cassius's favor by bringing in a hundred talents immediately.
15
3. However, when Cassius was gone Malichus forgot the kindness that
Antipater had done him, and laid frequent plots against him that
had saved him, as making haste to get him out of the way, who was an
obstacle to his wicked practices; but Antipater was so much afraid of
the power and cunning of the man, that he went beyond Jordan, in order
to get an army to guard himself against his treacherous designs; but
when Malichus was caught in his plot, he put upon Antipater's sons by
his impudence, for he thoroughly deluded Phasaelus, who was the guardian
of Jerusalem, and Herod who was intrusted with the weapons of war, and
this by a great many excuses and oaths, and persuaded them to procure
his reconciliation to his father. Thus was he preserved again by
Antipater, who dissuaded Marcus, the then president of Syria, from
his resolution of killing Malichus, on account of his attempts for
innovation.
4. Upon the war between Cassius and Brutus on one side, against the
younger Caesar [Augustus] and Antony on the other, Cassius and Marcus
got together an army out of Syria; and because Herod was likely to have
a great share in providing necessaries, they then made him procurator of
all Syria, and gave him an army of foot and horse. Cassius promised him
also, that after the war was over, he would make him king of Judea. But
it so happened that the power and hopes of his son became the cause of
his perdition; for as Malichus was afraid of this, he corrupted one
of the king's cup-bearers with money to give a poisoned potion to
Antipater; so he became a sacrifice to Malichus's wickedness, and died
at a feast. He was a man in other respects active in the management
of affairs, and one that recovered the government to Hyrcanus, and
preserved it in his hands.
5. However, Malichus, when he was suspected of poisoning Antipater, and
when the multitude was angry with him for it, denied it, and made the
people believe he was not guilty. He also prepared to make a greater
figure, and raised soldiers; for he did not suppose that Herod would
be quiet, who indeed came upon him with an army presently, in order to
revenge his father's death; but, upon hearing the advice of his brother
Phasaelus, not to punish him in an open manner, lest the multitude
should fall into a sedition, he admitted of Malichus's apology, and
professed that he cleared him of that suspicion; he also made a pompous
funeral for his father.
6. So Herod went to Samaria, which was then in a tumult, and settled the
city in peace; after which at the [Pentecost] festival, he returned
to Jerusalem, having his armed men with him: hereupon Hyrcanus, at the
request of Malichus, who feared his reproach, forbade them to introduce
foreigners to mix themselves with the people of the country while they
were purifying themselves; but Herod despised the pretense, and him that
gave that command, and came in by night. Upon which Malithus came to
him, and bewailed Antipater; Herod also made him believe [he admitted
of his lamentations as real], although he had much ado to restrain his
passion at him; however, he did himself bewail the murder of his father
in his letters to Cassius, who, on other accounts, also hated Malichus.
Cassius sent him word back that he should avenge his father's death upon
him, and privately gave order to the tribunes that were under him, that
they should assist Herod in a righteous action he was about.
7. And because, upon the taking of Laodicea by Cassius, the men of power
were gotten together from all quarters, with presents and crowns in
their hands, Herod allotted this time for the punishment of Malichus.
When Malichus suspected that, and was at Tyre, he resolved to withdraw
his son privately from among the Tyrians, who was a hostage there, while
he got ready to fly away into Judea; the despair he was in of escaping
excited him to think of greater things; for he hoped that he should
raise the nation to a revolt from the Romans, while Cassius was busy
about the war against Antony, and that he should easily depose Hyrcanus,
and get the crown for himself.
8. But fate laughed at the hopes he had; for Herod foresaw what he
was so zealous about, and invited both Hyrcanus and him to supper; but
calling one of the principal servants that stood by him to him, he
sent him out, as though it were to get things ready for supper, but in
reality to give notice beforehand about the plot that was laid against
him; accordingly they called to mind what orders Cassius had given
them, and went out of the city with their swords in their hands upon the
sea-shore, where they encompassed Malichus round about, and killed him
with many wounds. Upon which Hyrcanus was immediately affrighted, till
he swooned away and fell down at the surprise he was in; and it was
with difficulty that he was recovered, when he asked who it was that had
killed Malichus. And when one of the tribunes replied that it was done
by the command of Cassius, "Then," said he, "Cassius hath saved both me
and my country, by cutting off one that was laying plots against them
both." Whether he spake according to his own sentiments, or whether his
fear was such that he was obliged to commend the action by saying so,
is uncertain; however, by this method Herod inflicted punishment upon
Malichus.
CHAPTER 12.
Phasaelus Is Too Hard For Felix; Herod Also Overcomes
Antigonus In Rattle; And The Jews Accuse Both Herod And
Phasaelus But Antonius Acquits Them, And Makes Them
Tetrarchs.
1. When Cassius was gone out of Syria, another sedition arose at
Jerusalem, wherein Felix assaulted Phasaelus with an army, that he might
revenge the death of Malichus upon Herod, by falling upon his brother.
Now Herod happened then to be with Fabius, the governor of Damascus,
and as he was going to his brother's assistance, he was detained by
sickness; in the mean time, Phasaelus was by himself too hard for Felix,
and reproached Hyrcanus on account of his ingratitude, both for what
assistance he had afforded Malichus, and for overlooking Malichus's
brother, when he possessed himself of the fortresses; for he had gotten
a great many of them already, and among them the strongest of them all,
Masada.
2. However, nothing could be sufficient for him against the force of
Herod, who, as soon as he was recovered, took the other fortresses
again, and drove him out of Masada in the posture of a supplicant; he
also drove away Marion, the tyrant of the Tyrians, out of Galilee, when
he had already possessed himself of three fortified places; but as to
those Tyrians whom he had caught, he preserved them all alive; nay, some
of them he gave presents to, and so sent them away, and thereby procured
good-will to himself from the city, and hatred to the tyrant. Marion had
indeed obtained that tyrannical power of Cassius, who set tyrants
over all Syria 16 and out of hatred to Herod it was that he assisted
Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, and principally on Fabius's account,
whom Antigonus had made his assistant by money, and had him accordingly
on his side when he made his descent; but it was Ptolemy, the kinsman of
Antigonus, that supplied all that he wanted.
3. When Herod had fought against these in the avenues of Judea, he
was conqueror in the battle, and drove away Antigonus, and returned to
Jerusalem, beloved by every body for the glorious action he had done;
for those who did not before favor him did join themselves to him now,
because of his marriage into the family of Hyrcanus; for as he had
formerly married a wife out of his own country of no ignoble blood,
who was called Doris, of whom he begat Antipater; so did he now marry
Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, and the
granddaughter of Hyrcanus, and was become thereby a relation of the
king.
4. But when Caesar and Antony had slain Cassius near Philippi, and
Caesar was gone to Italy, and Antony to Asia, amongst the rest of the
cities which sent ambassadors to Antony unto Bithynia, the great men of
the Jews came also, and accused Phasaelus and Herod, that they kept the
government by force, and that Hyrcanus had no more than an honorable
name. Herod appeared ready to answer this accusation; and having made
Antony his friend by the large sums of money which he gave him, he
brought him to such a temper as not to hear the others speak against
him; and thus did they part at this time.
5. However, after this, there came a hundred of the principal men among
the Jews to Daphne by Antioch to Antony, who was already in love with
Cleopatra to the degree of slavery; these Jews put those men that were
the most potent, both in dignity and eloquence, foremost, and accused
the brethren. 17 But Messala opposed them, and defended the brethren,
and that while Hyrcanus stood by him, on account of his relation to
them. When Antony had heard both sides, he asked Hyrcanus which party
was the fittest to govern, who replied that Herod and his party were
the fittest. Antony was glad of that answer, for he had been formerly
treated in an hospitable and obliging manner by his father Antipater,
when he marched into Judea with Gabinius; so he constituted the brethren
tetrarchs, and committed to them the government of Judea.
6. But when the ambassadors had indignation at this procedure, Antony
took fifteen of them, and put them into custody, whom he was also going
to kill presently, and the rest he drove away with disgrace; on which
occasion a still greater tumult arose at Jerusalem; so they sent again a
thousand ambassadors to Tyre, where Antony now abode, as he was marching
to Jerusalem; upon these men who made a clamor he sent out the governor
of Tyre, and ordered him to punish all that he could catch of them, and
to settle those in the administration whom he had made tetrarchs.
7. But before this, Herod and Hyrcanus went out upon the sea-shore, and
earnestly desired of these ambassadors that they would neither bring
ruin upon themselves, nor war upon their native country, by their rash
contentions; and when they grew still more outrageous, Antony sent out
armed men, and slew a great many, and wounded more of them; of whom
those that were slain were buried by Hyrcanus, as were the wounded
put under the care of physicians by him; yet would not those that
had escaped be quiet still, but put the affairs of the city into such
disorder, and so provoked Antony, that he slew those whom he had in
bonds also.
CHAPTER 13.
The Parthians Bring Antigonus Back Into Judea, And Cast
Hyrcanus And Phasaelus Into Prison. The Flight Of Herod, And
The Taking Of Jerusalem And What Hyrcanus And Phasaelus
Suffered.
1. Now two years afterward, when Barzapharnes, a governor among the
Parthians, and Paeorus, the king's son, had possessed themselves of
Syria, and when Lysanias had already succeeded upon the death of his
father Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, in the government [of Chalcis], he
prevailed with the governor, by a promise of a thousand talents, and
five hundred women, to bring back Antigonus to his kingdom, and to turn
Hyrcanus out of it. Pacorus was by these means induced so to do, and
marched along the sea-coast, while he ordered Barzapharnes to fall upon
the Jews as he went along the Mediterranean part of the country; but
of the maritime people, the Tyrians would not receive Pacorus, although
those of Ptolemais and Sidon had received him; so he committed a troop
of his horse to a certain cup-bearer belonging to the royal family,
of his own name [Pacorus], and gave him orders to march into Judea, in
order to learn the state of affairs among their enemies, and to help
Antigonus when he should want his assistance.
2. Now as these men were ravaging Carmel, many of the Jews ran together
to Antigonus, and showed themselves ready to make an incursion into
the country; so he sent them before into that place called Drymus, [the
woodland 18 ] to seize upon the place; whereupon a battle was fought
between them, and they drove the enemy away, and pursued them, and ran
after them as far as Jerusalem, and as their numbers increased, they
proceeded as far as the king's palace; but as Hyrcanus and Phasaelus
received them with a strong body of men, there happened a battle in the
market-place, in which Herod's party beat the enemy, and shut them up
in the temple, and set sixty men in the houses adjoining as a guard to
them. But the people that were tumultuous against the brethren came in,
and burnt those men; while Herod, in his rage for killing them, attacked
and slew many of the people, till one party made incursions on the other
by turns, day by day, in the way of ambushes, and slaughters were made
continually among them.
3. Now when that festival which we call Pentecost was at hand, all the
places about the temple, and the whole city, was full of a multitude of
people that were come out of the country, and which were the greatest
part of them armed also, at which time Phasaelus guarded the wall, and
Herod, with a few, guarded the royal palace; and when he made an assault
upon his enemies, as they were out of their ranks, on the north quarter
of the city, he slew a very great number of them, and put them all to
flight; and some of them he shut up within the city, and others within
the outward rampart. In the mean time, Antigonus desired that Pacorus
might be admitted to be a reconciler between them; and Phasaelus was
prevailed upon to admit the Parthian into the city with five hundred
horse, and to treat him in an hospitable manner, who pretended that he
came to quell the tumult, but in reality he came to assist Antigonus;
however, he laid a plot for Phasaelus, and persuaded him to go as an
ambassador to Barzapharnes, in order to put an end to the war, although
Herod was very earnest with him to the contrary, and exhorted him to
kill the plotter, but not expose himself to the snares he had laid for
him, because the barbarians are naturally perfidious. However,
Pacorus went out and took Hyrcanus with him, that he might be the less
suspected; he also 19 left some of the horsemen, called the Freemen,
with Herod, and conducted Phasaelus with the rest.
4. But now, when they were come to Galilee, they found that the people
of that country had revolted, and were in arms, who came very cunningly
to their leader, and besought him to conceal his treacherous intentions
by an obliging behavior to them; accordingly, he at first made them
presents; and afterward, as they went away, laid ambushes for them; and
when they were come to one of the maritime cities called Ecdippon, they
perceived that a plot was laid for them; for they were there informed
of the promise of a thousand talents, and how Antigonus had devoted the
greatest number of the women that were there with them, among the five
hundred, to the Parthians; they also perceived that an ambush was always
laid for them by the barbarians in the night time; they had also been
seized on before this, unless they had waited for the seizure of Herod
first at Jerusalem, because if he were once informed of this treachery
of theirs, he would take care of himself; nor was this a mere report,
but they saw the guards already not far off them.
5. Nor would Phasaelus think of forsaking Hyrcanus and flying away,
although Ophellius earnestly persuaded him to it; for this man had
learned the whole scheme of the plot from Saramalla, the richest of
all the Syrians. But Phasaelus went up to the Parfilian governor, and
reproached him to his face for laying this treacherous plot against
them, and chiefly because he had done it for money; and he promised him
that he would give him more money for their preservation, than Antigonus
had promised to give for the kingdom. But the sly Parthian endeavored to
remove all this suspicion by apologies and by oaths, and then went [to
the other] Pacorus; immediately after which those Parthians who were
left, and had it in charge, seized upon Phasaelus and Hyrcanus, who
could do no more than curse their perfidiousness and their perjury.
6. In the mean time, the cup-bearer was sent [back], and laid a plot how
to seize upon Herod, by deluding him, and getting him out of the city,
as he was commanded to do. But Herod suspected the barbarians from the
beginning; and having then received intelligence that a messenger,
who was to bring him the letters that informed him of the treachery
intended, had fallen among the enemy, he would not go out of the city;
though Pacorus said very positively that he ought to go out, and meet
the messengers that brought the letters, for that the enemy had not
taken them, and that the contents of them were not accounts of any plots
upon them, but of what Phasaelus had done; yet had he heard from others
that his brother was seized; and Alexandra 20 the shrewdest woman in the
world, Hyrcanus's daughter, begged of him that he would not go out, nor
trust himself to those barbarians, who now were come to make an attempt
upon him openly.
7. Now as Pacorus and his friends were considering how they might bring
their plot to bear privately, because it was not possible to circumvent
a man of so great prudence by openly attacking him, Herod prevented
them, and went off with the persons that were the most nearly related to
him by night, and this without their enemies being apprized of it. But
as soon as the Parthians perceived it, they pursued after them; and as
he gave orders for his mother, and sister, and the young woman who was
betrothed to him, with her mother, and his youngest brother, to make the
best of their way, he himself, with his servants, took all the care they
could to keep off the barbarians; and when at every assault he had slain
a great many of them, he came to the strong hold of Masada.
8. Nay, he found by experience that the Jews fell more heavily upon him
than did the Parthians, and created him troubles perpetually, and this
ever since he was gotten sixty furlongs from the city; these sometimes
brought it to a sort of a regular battle. Now in the place where Herod
beat them, and killed a great number of them, there he afterward built
a citadel, in memory of the great actions he did there, and adorned it
with the most costly palaces, and erected very strong fortifications,
and called it, from his own name, Herodium. Now as they were in their
flight, many joined themselves to him every day; and at a place called
Thressa of Idumea his brother Joseph met him, and advised him to ease
himself of a great number of his followers, because Masada would not
contain so great a multitude, which were above nine thousand. Herod
complied with this advice, and sent away the most cumbersome part of his
retinue, that they might go into Idumea, and gave them provisions
for their journey; but he got safe to the fortress with his nearest
relations, and retained with him only the stoutest of his followers; and
there it was that he left eight hundred of his men as a guard for the
women, and provisions sufficient for a siege; but he made haste himself
to Petra of Arabia.
9. As for the Parthians in Jerusalem, they betook themselves to
plundering, and fell upon the houses of those that were fled, and upon
the king's palace, and spared nothing but Hyrcanus's money, which was
not above three hundred talents. They lighted on other men's money also,
but not so much as they hoped for; for Herod having a long while had
a suspicion of the perfidiousness of the barbarians, had taken care to
have what was most splendid among his treasures conveyed into Idumea,
as every one belonging to him had in like manner done also. But the
Parthians proceeded to that degree of injustice, as to fill all the
country with war without denouncing it, and to demolish the city
Marissa, and not only to set up Antigonus for king, but to deliver
Phasaelus and Hyrcanus bound into his hands, in order to their being
tormented by him. Antigonus himself also bit off Hyrcanus's ears with
his own teeth, as he fell down upon his knees to him, that so he might
never be able upon any mutation of affairs to take the high priesthood
again, for the high priests that officiated were to be complete, and
without blemish.
10. However, he failed in his purpose of abusing Phasaelus, by reason of
his courage; for though he neither had the command of his sword nor of
his hands, he prevented all abuses by dashing his head against a stone;
so he demonstrated himself to be Herod's own brother, and Hyrcanus a
most degenerate relation, and died with great bravery, and made the end
of his life agreeable to the actions of it. There is also another
report about his end, viz. that he recovered of that stroke, and that
a surgeon, who was sent by Antigonus to heal him, filled the wound with
poisonous ingredients, and so killed him; whichsoever of these deaths
he came to, the beginning of it was glorious. It is also reported that
before he expired he was informed by a certain poor woman how Herod had
escaped out of their hands, and that he said thereupon, "I now die with
comfort, since I leave behind me one alive that will avenge me of mine
enemies."
11. This was the death of Phasaelus; but the Parthians, although they
had failed of the women they chiefly desired, yet did they put the
government of Jerusalem into the hands of Antigonus, and took away
Hyrcanus, and bound him, and carried him to Parthia.
CHAPTER 14.
When Herod Is Rejected In Arabia, He Makes Haste To Rome
Where Antony And Caesar Join Their Interest To Make Him King
.
1. Now Herod did the more zealously pursue his journey into Arabia, as
making haste to get money of the king, while his brother was yet alive;
by which money alone it was that he hoped to prevail upon the covetous
temper of the barbarians to spare Phasaelus; for he reasoned thus with
himself:--that if the Arabian king was too forgetful of his father's
friendship with him, and was too covetous to make him a free gift, he
would however borrow of him as much as might redeem his brother, and
put into his hands, as a pledge, the son of him that was to be redeemed.
Accordingly he led his brother's son along with him, who was of the age
of seven years. Now he was ready to give three hundred talents for his
brother, and intended to desire the intercession of the Tyrians, to get
them accepted; however, fate had been too quick for his diligence;
and since Phasaelus was dead, Herod's brotherly love was now in vain.
Moreover, he was not able to find any lasting friendship among the
Arabians; for their king, Malichus, sent to him immediately, and
commanded him to return back out of his country, and used the name of
the Parthians as a pretense for so doing, as though these had denounced
to him by their ambassadors to cast Herod out of Arabia; while in
reality they had a mind to keep back what they owed to Antipater, and
not be obliged to make requitals to his sons for the free gifts the
father had made them. He also took the impudent advice of those who,
equally with himself, were willing to deprive Herod of what Antipater
had deposited among them; and these men were the most potent of all whom
he had in his kingdom.
2. So when Herod had found that the Arabians were his enemies, and this
for those very reasons whence he hoped they would have been the most
friendly, and had given them such an answer as his passion suggested,
he returned back, and went for Egypt. Now he lodged the first evening at
one of the temples of that country, in order to meet with those whom he
left behind; but on the next day word was brought him, as he was going
to Rhinocurura, that his brother was dead, and how he came by his death;
and when he had lamented him as much as his present circumstances could
bear, he soon laid aside such cares, and proceeded on his journey. But
now, after some time, the king of Arabia repented of what he had done,
and sent presently away messengers to call him back: Herod had prevented
them, and was come to Pelusium, where he could not obtain a passage from
those that lay with the fleet, so he besought their captains to let him
go by them; accordingly, out of the reverence they bore to the fame and
dignity of the man, they conducted him to Alexandria; and when he came
into the city, he was received by Cleopatra with great splendor,
who hoped he might be persuaded to be commander of her forces in the
expedition she was now about; but he rejected the queen's solicitations,
and being neither afrighted at the height of that storm which then
happened, nor at the tumults that were now in Italy, he sailed for Rome.
3. But as he was in peril about Pamphylia, and obliged to cast out
the greatest part of the ship's lading, he with difficulty got safe
to Rhodes, a place which had been grievously harassed in the war with
Cassius. He was there received by his friends, Ptolemy and Sappinius;
and although he was then in want of money, he fitted up a three-decked
ship of very great magnitude, wherein he and his friends sailed to
Brundusium, 21 and went thence to Rome with all speed; where he first
of all went to Antony, on account of the friendship his father had with
him, and laid before him the calamities of himself and his family; and
that he had left his nearest relations besieged in a fortress, and
had sailed to him through a storm, to make supplication to him for
assistance.
4. Hereupon Antony was moved to compassion at the change that had been
made in Herod's affairs, and this both upon his calling to mind how
hospitably he had been treated by Antipater, but more especially on
account of Herod's own virtue; so he then resolved to get him made king
of the Jews, whom he had himself formerly made tetrarch. The contest
also that he had with Antigonus was another inducement, and that of no
less weight than the great regard he had for Herod; for he looked upon
Antigonus as a seditious person, and an enemy of the Romans; and as for
Caesar, Herod found him better prepared than Antony, as remembering
very fresh the wars he had gone through together with his father, the
hospitable treatment he had met with from him, and the entire good-will
he had showed to him; besides the activity which he saw in Herod
himself. So he called the senate together, wherein Messalas, and after
him Atratinus, produced Herod before them, and gave a full account of
the merits of his father, and his own good-will to the Romans. At the
same time they demonstrated that Antigonus was their enemy, not only
because he soon quarreled with them, but because he now overlooked the
Romans, and took the government by the means of the Parthians. These
reasons greatly moved the senate; at which juncture Antony came in, and
told them that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod
should be king; so they all gave their votes for it. And when the senate
was separated, Antony and Caesar went out, with Herod between them;
while the consul and the rest of the magistrates went before them, in
order to offer sacrifices, and to lay the decree in the Capitol. Antony
also made a feast for Herod on the first day of his reign.
CHAPTER 15.
Antigonus Besieges Those That Were In Masada, Whom Herod
Frees From Confinement When He Came Back From Rome, And
Presently Marches To Jerusalem Where He Finds Silo Corrupted
By Bribes.
1. Now during this time Antigonus besieged those that were in Masada,
who had all other necessaries in sufficient quantity, but were in want
of water; on which account Joseph, Herod's brother, was disposed to run
away to the Arabians, with two hundred of his own friends, because he
had heard that Malichus repented of his offenses with regard to Herod;
and he had been so quick as to have been gone out of the fortress
already, unless, on that very night when he was going away, there had
fallen a great deal of rain, insomuch that his reservoirs were full of
water, and so he was under no necessity of running away. After which,
therefore, they made an irruption upon Antigonus's party, and slew a
great many of them, some in open battles, and some in private ambush;
nor had they always success in their attempts, for sometimes they were
beaten, and ran away.
2. In the mean time Ventidius, the Roman general, was sent out of Syria,
to restrain the incursions of the Parthians; and after he had done that,
he came into Judea, in pretense indeed to assist Joseph and his party,
but in reality to get money of Antigonus; and when he had pitched his
camp very near to Jerusalem, as soon as he had got money enough, he went
away with the greatest part of his forces; yet still did he leave Silo
with some part of them, lest if he had taken them all away, his taking
of bribes might have been too openly discovered. Now Antigonus hoped
that the Parthians would come again to his assistance, and therefore
cultivated a good understanding with Silo in the mean time, lest any
interruption should be given to his hopes.
3. Now by this time Herod had sailed out of Italy, and was come to
Ptolemais; and as soon as he had gotten together no small army of
foreigners, and of his own countrymen, he marched through Galilee
against Antigonus, wherein he was assisted by Ventidius and Silo, both
whom Dellius, 22 a person sent by Antony, persuaded to bring Herod
[into his kingdom]. Now Ventidius was at this time among the cities, and
composing the disturbances which had happened by means of the Parthians,
as was Silo in Judea corrupted by the bribes that Antigonus had given
him; yet was not Herod himself destitute of power, but the number of his
forces increased every day as he went along, and all Galilee, with few
exceptions, joined themselves to him. So he proposed to himself to set
about his most necessary enterprise, and that was Masada, in order to
deliver his relations from the siege they endured. But still Joppa stood
in his way, and hindered his going thither; for it was necessary to take
that city first, which was in the enemies' hands, that when he should
go to Jerusalem, no fortress might be left in the enemies' power behind
him. Silo also willingly joined him, as having now a plausible occasion
of drawing off his forces [from Jerusalem]; and when the Jews pursued
him, and pressed upon him, [in his retreat,] Herod made all excursion
upon them with a small body of his men, and soon put them to flight, and
saved Silo when he was in distress.
4. After this Herod took Joppa, and then made haste to Masada to free
his relations. Now, as he was marching, many came in to him, induced by
their friendship to his father, some by the reputation he had already
gained himself, and some in order to repay the benefits they had
received from them both; but still what engaged the greatest number on
his side, was the hopes from him when he should be established in his
kingdom; so that he had gotten together already an army hard to be
conquered. But Antigonus laid an ambush for him as he marched out,
in which he did little or no harm to his enemies. However, he easily
recovered his relations again that were in Masada, as well as the
fortress Ressa, and then marched to Jerusalem, where the soldiers that
were with Silo joined themselves to his own, as did many out of the
city, from a dread of his power.
5. Now when he had pitched his camp on the west side of the city, the
guards that were there shot their arrows and threw their darts at them,
while others ran out in companies, and attacked those in the forefront;
but Herod commanded proclamation to be made at the wall, that he was
come for the good of the people and the preservation of the city,
without any design to be revenged on his open enemies, but to grant
oblivion to them, though they had been the most obstinate against him.
Now the soldiers that were for Antigonus made a contrary clamor, and did
neither permit any body to hear that proclamation, nor to change their
party; so Antigonus gave order to his forces to beat the enemy from the
walls; accordingly, they soon threw their darts at them from the towers,
and put them to flight.
6. And here it was that Silo discovered he had taken bribes; for he set
many of the soldiers to clamor about their want of necessaries, and to
require their pay, in order to buy themselves food, and to demand that
he would lead them into places convenient for their winter quarters;
because all the parts about the city were laid waste by the means of
Antigonus's army, which had taken all things away. By this he moved the
army, and attempted to get them off the siege; but Herod went to the
captains that were under Silo, and to a great many of the soldiers, and
begged of them not to leave him, who was sent thither by Caesar, and
Antony, and the senate; for that he would take care to have their wants
supplied that very day. After the making of which entreaty, he went
hastily into the country, and brought thither so great an abundance
of necessaries, that he cut off all Silo's pretenses; and in order to
provide that for the following days they should not want supplies, he
sent to the people that were about Samaria [which city had joined itself
to him] to bring corn, and wine, and oil, and cattle to Jericho. When
Antigonus heard of this, he sent some of his party with orders to
hinder, and lay ambushes for these collectors of corn. This command was
obeyed, and a great multitude of armed men were gathered together about
Jericho, and lay upon the mountains, to watch those that brought the
provisions. Yet was Herod not idle, but took with him ten cohorts, five
of them were Romans, and five were Jewish cohorts, together with
some mercenary troops intermixed among them, and besides those a few
horsemen, and came to Jericho; and when he came, he found the city
deserted, but that there were five hundred men, with their wives and
children, who had taken possession of the tops of the mountains; these
he took, and dismissed them, while the Romans fell upon the rest of the
city, and plundered it, having found the houses full of all sorts of
good things. So the king left a garrison at Jericho, and came back, and
sent the Roman army into those cities which were come over to him, to
take their winter quarters there, viz. into Judea, [or Idumea,] and
Galilee, and Samaria. Antigonus also by bribes obtained of Silo to let a
part of his army be received at Lydda, as a compliment to Antonius.
CHAPTER 16.
Herod Takes Sepphoris And Subdues The Robbers That Were In
The Caves; He After That Avenges Himself Upon Machaerus, As
Upon An Enemy Of His And Goes To Antony As He Was Besieging
Samosata.
1. So the Romans lived in plenty of all things, and rested from war.
However, Herod did not lie at rest, but seized upon Idumea, and kept it,
with two thousand footmen, and four hundred horsemen; and this he did by
sending his brother Joseph thither, that no innovation might be made by
Antigonus. He also removed his mother, and all his relations, who had
been in Masada, to Samaria; and when he had settled them securely, he
marched to take the remaining parts of Galilee, and to drive away the
garrisons placed there by Antigonus.
2. But when Herod had reached Sepphoris, 23 in a very great snow, he
took the city without any difficulty; the guards that should have kept
it flying away before it was assaulted; where he gave an opportunity
to his followers that had been in distress to refresh themselves, there
being in that city a great abundance of necessaries. After which he
hasted away to the robbers that were in the caves, who overran a great
part of the country, and did as great mischief to its inhabitants as
a war itself could have done. Accordingly, he sent beforehand three
cohorts of footmen, and one troop of horsemen, to the village Arbela,
and came himself forty days afterwards 24 with the rest of his forces
Yet were not the enemy affrighted at his assault but met him in arms;
for their skill was that of warriors, but their boldness was the
boldness of robbers: when therefore it came to a pitched battle,
they put to flight Herod's left wing with their right one; but Herod,
wheeling about on the sudden from his own right wing, came to their
assistance, and both made his own left wing return back from its flight,
and fell upon the pursuers, and cooled their courage, till they could
not bear the attempts that were made directly upon them, and so turned
back and ran away. 3. But Herod followed them, and slew them as he
followed them, and destroyed a great part of them, till those that
remained were scattered beyond the river [Jordan;] and Galilee was
freed from the terrors they had been under, excepting from those that
remained, and lay concealed in caves, which required longer time ere
they could be conquered. In order to which Herod, in the first place,
distributed the fruits of their former labors to the soldiers, and gave
every one of them a hundred and fifty drachmae of silver, and a great
deal more to their commanders, and sent them into their winter quarters.
He also sent to his youngest brother Pheroas, to take care of a good
market for them, where they might buy themselves provisions, and to
build a wall about Alexandrium; who took care of both those injunctions
accordingly.
4. In the mean time Antony abode at Athens, while Ventidius called for
Silo and Herod to come to the war against the Parthians, but ordered
them first to settle the affairs of Judea; so Herod willingly dismissed
Silo to go to Ventidius, but he made an expedition himself against those
that lay in the caves. Now these caves were in the precipices of craggy
mountains, and could not be come at from any side, since they had only
some winding pathways, very narrow, by which they got up to them; but
the rock that lay on their front had beneath it valleys of a vast depth,
and of an almost perpendicular declivity; insomuch that the king
was doubtful for a long time what to do, by reason of a kind of
impossibility there was of attacking the place. Yet did he at length
make use of a contrivance that was subject to the utmost hazard; for he
let down the most hardy of his men in chests, and set them at the mouths
of the dens. Now these men slew the robbers and their families, and when
they made resistance, they sent in fire upon them [and burnt them]; and
as Herod was desirous of saving some of them, he had proclamation made,
that they should come and deliver themselves up to him; but not one of
them came willingly to him; and of those that were compelled to come,
many preferred death to captivity. And here a certain old man, the
father of seven children, whose children, together with their mother,
desired him to give them leave to go out, upon the assurance and right
hand that was offered them, slew them after the following manner: He
ordered every one of them to go out, while he stood himself at the
cave's mouth, and slew that son of his perpetually who went out. Herod
was near enough to see this sight, and his bowels of compassion were
moved at it, and he stretched out his right hand to the old man, and
besought him to spare his children; yet did not he relent at all upon
what he said, but over and above reproached Herod on the lowness of
his descent, and slew his wife as well as his children; and when he had
thrown their dead bodies down the precipice, he at last threw himself
down after them.
5. By this means Herod subdued these caves, and the robbers that were
in them. He then left there a part of his army, as many as he thought
sufficient to prevent any sedition, and made Ptolemy their general, and
returned to Samaria; he led also with him three thousand armed footmen,
and six hundred horsemen, against Antigonus. Now here those that used
to raise tumults in Galilee, having liberty so to do upon his departure,
fell unexpectedly upon Ptolemy, the general of his forces, and slew him;
they also laid the country waste, and then retired to the bogs, and
to places not easily to be found. But when Herod was informed of this
insurrection, he came to the assistance of the country immediately, and
destroyed a great number of the seditions, and raised the sieges of all
those fortresses they had besieged; he also exacted the tribute of a
hundred talents of his enemies, as a penalty for the mutations they had
made in the country.
6. By this time [the Parthians being already driven out of the country,
and Pacorus slain] Ventidius, by Antony's command, sent a thousand
horsemen, and two legions, as auxiliaries to Herod, against Antigonus.
Now Antigonus besought Machaerus, who was their general, by letter, to
come to his assistance, and made a great many mournful complaints about
Herod's violence, and about the injuries he did to the kingdom; and
promised to give him money for such his assistance; but he complied not
with his invitation to betray his trust, for he did not contemn him that
sent him, especially while Herod gave him more money [than the other
offered]. So he pretended friendship to Antigonus, but came as a spy to
discover his affairs; although he did not herein comply with Herod, who
dissuaded him from so doing. But Antigonus perceived what his intentions
were beforehand, and excluded him out of the city, and defended himself
against him as against an enemy, from the walls; till Machaerus was
ashamed of what he had done, and retired to Emmaus to Herod; and as he
was in a rage at his disappointment, he slew all the Jews whom he met
with, without sparing those that were for Herod, but using them all as
if they were for Antigonus.
7. Hereupon Herod was very angry at him, and was going to fight against
Machaerus as his enemy; but he restrained his indignation, and marched
to Antony to accuse Machaerus of maladministration. But Machaerus was
made sensible of his offenses, and followed after the king immediately,
and earnestly begged and obtained that he would be reconciled to him.
However, Herod did not desist from his resolution of going to Antony;
but when he heard that he was besieging Samosata 25 with a great army,
which is a strong city near to Euphrates, he made the greater haste;
as observing that this was a proper opportunity for showing at once his
courage, and for doing what would greatly oblige Antony. Indeed, when he
came, he soon made an end of that siege, and slew a great number of the
barbarians, and took from them a large prey; insomuch that Antony, who
admired his courage formerly, did now admire it still more. Accordingly,
he heaped many more honors upon him, and gave him more assured hopes
that he should gain his kingdom; and now king Antiochus was forced to
deliver up Samosata.
CHAPTER 17.
The Death Of Joseph [Herod's Brother] Which Had Been
Signified To Herod In Dreams. How Herod Was Preserved Twice
After A Wonderful Manner. He Cuts Off The Head Of Pappus,
Who Was The Murderer Of His Brother And Sends That Head To
[His Other Brother] Pheroras, And In No Long Time He
Besieges Jerusalem And Marries Mariamne.
1. In the mean time, Herod's affairs in Judea were in an ill state. He
had left his brother Joseph with full power, but had charged him to make
no attempts against Antigonus till his return; for that Machaerus would
not be such an assistant as he could depend on, as it appeared by what
he had done already; but as soon as Joseph heard that his brother was
at a very great distance, he neglected the charge he had received, and
marched towards Jericho with five cohorts, which Machaerus sent with
him. This movement was intended for seizing on the corn, as it was
now in the midst of summer; but when his enemies attacked him in the
mountains, and in places which were difficult to pass, he was both
killed himself, as he was very bravely fighting in the battle, and the
entire Roman cohorts were destroyed; for these cohorts were new-raised
men, gathered out of Syria, and here was no mixture of those called
veteran soldiers among them, who might have supported those that were
unskillful in war.
2. This victory was not sufficient for Antigonus; but he proceeded to
that degree of rage, as to treat the dead body of Joseph barbarously;
for when he had got possession of the bodies of those that were slain,
he cut off his head, although his brother Pheroras would have given
fifty talents as a price of redemption for it. And now the affairs of
Galilee were put in such disorder after this victory of Antigonus's,
that those of Antigonus's party brought the principal men that were
on Herod's side to the lake, and there drowned them. There was a great
change made also in Idumea, where Machaerus was building a wall about
one of the fortresses, which was called Gittha. But Herod had not yet
been informed of these things; for after the taking of Samosata, and
when Antony had set Sosius over the affairs of Syria, and had given him
orders to assist Herod against Antigonus, he departed into Egypt; but
Sosius sent two legions before him into Judea to assist Herod, and
followed himself soon after with the rest of his army.
3. Now when Herod was at Daphne, by Antioch, he had some dreams which
clearly foreboded his brother's death; and as he leaped out of his bed
in a disturbed manner, there came messengers that acquainted him with
that calamity. So when he had lamented this misfortune for a while, he
put off the main part of his mourning, and made haste to march against
his enemies; and when he had performed a march that was above his
strength, and was gone as far as Libanus, he got him eight hundred men
of those that lived near to that mountain as his assistants, and joined
with them one Roman legion, with which, before it was day, he made an
irruption into Galilee, and met his enemies, and drove them back to
the place which they had left. He also made an immediate and continual
attack upon the fortress. Yet was he forced by a most terrible storm to
pitch his camp in the neighboring villages before he could take it. But
when, after a few days' time, the second legion, that came from Antony,
joined themselves to him, the enemy were affrighted at his power, and
left their fortifications in the night time.
4. After this he marched through Jericho, as making what haste he
could to be avenged on his brother's murderers; where happened to him
a providential sign, out of which, when he had unexpectedly escaped,
he had the reputation of being very dear to God; for that evening there
feasted with him many of the principal men; and after that feast was
over, and all the guests were gone out, the house fell down immediately.
And as he judged this to be a common signal of what dangers he should
undergo, and how he should escape them in the war that he was going
about, he, in the morning, set forward with his army, when about six
thousand of his enemies came running down from the mountains, and began
to fight with those in his forefront; yet durst they not be so very bold
as to engage the Romans hand to hand, but threw stones and darts at them
at a distance; by which means they wounded a considerable number; in
which action Herod's own side was wounded with a dart.
5. Now as Antigonus had a mind to appear to exceed Herod, not only in
the courage, but in the number of his men, he sent Pappus, one of his
companions, with an army against Samaria, whose fortune it was to oppose
Machaerus; but Herod overran the enemy's country, and demolished five
little cities, and destroyed two thousand men that were in them,
and burned their houses, and then returned to his camp; but his
head-quarters were at the village called Cana.
6. Now a great multitude of Jews resorted to him every day, both out of
Jericho and the other parts of the country. Some were moved so to do
out of their hatred to Antigonus, and some out of regard to the glorious
actions Herod had done; but others were led on by an unreasonable desire
of change; so he fell upon them immediately. As for Pappus and his
party, they were not terrified either at their number or at their zeal,
but marched out with great alacrity to fight them; and it came to a
close fight. Now other parts of their army made resistance for a while;
but Herod, running the utmost hazard, out of the rage he was in at the
murder of his brother, that he might be avenged on those that had been
the authors of it, soon beat those that opposed him; and after he had
beaten them, he always turned his force against those that stood to it
still, and pursued them all; so that a great slaughter was made, while
some were forced back into that village whence they came out; he also
pressed hard upon the hindermost, and slew a vast number of them; he
also fell into the village with the enemy, where every house was filled
with armed men, and the upper rooms were crowded above with soldiers for
their defense; and when he had beaten those that were on the outside,
he pulled the houses to pieces, and plucked out those that were within;
upon many he had the roofs shaken down, whereby they perished by heaps;
and as for those that fled out of the ruins, the soldiers received them
with their swords in their hands; and the multitude of those slain and
lying on heaps was so great, that the conquerors could not pass along
the roads. Now the enemy could not bear this blow, so that when the
multitude of them which was gathered together saw that those in the
village were slain, they dispersed themselves, and fled away; upon the
confidence of which victory, Herod had marched immediately to Jerusalem,
unless he tad been hindered by the depth of winter's [coming on]. This
was the impediment that lay in the way of this his entire glorious
progress, and was what hindered Antigonus from being now conquered, who
was already disposed to forsake the city.
7. Now when at the evening Herod had already dismissed his friends to
refresh themselves after their fatigue, and when he was gone himself,
while he was still hot in his armor, like a common soldier, to bathe
himself, and had but one servant that attended him, and before he was
gotten into the bath, one of the enemies met him in the face with a
sword in his hand, and then a second, and then a third, and after that
more of them; these were men who had run away out of the battle into
the bath in their armor, and they had lain there for some time in, great
terror, and in privacy; and when they saw the king, they trembled for
fear, and ran by him in a flight, although he was naked, and endeavored
to get off into the public road. Now there was by chance nobody else at
hand that might seize upon these men; and for Herod, he was contented to
have come to no harm himself, so that they all got away in safety.
8. But on the next day Herod had Pappus's head cut off, who was the
general for Antigonus, and was slain in the battle, and sent it to his
brother Pheroras, by way of punishment for their slain brother; for he
was the man that slew Joseph. Now as winter was going off, Herod marched
to Jerusalem, and brought his army to the wall of it; this was the third
year since he had been made king at Rome; so he pitched his camp before
the temple, for on that side it might be besieged, and there it was
that Pompey took the city. So he parted the work among the army, and
demolished the suburbs, end raised three banks, and gave orders to
have towers built upon those banks, and left the most laborious of his
acquaintance at the works. But he went himself to Samaria, to take the
daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, to wife, who had
been betrothed to him before, as we have already said; and thus he
accomplished this by the by, during the siege of the city, for he had
his enemies in great contempt already.
9. When he had thus married Mariamne, he came back to Jerusalem with a
greater army. Sosius also joined him with a large army, both of horsemen
and footmen, which he sent before him through the midland parts, while
he marched himself along Phoenicia; and when the whole army was gotten
together, which were eleven regiments of footmen, and six thousand
horsemen, besides the Syrian auxiliaries, which were no small part
of the army, they pitched their camp near to the north wall. Herod's
dependence was upon the decree of the senate, by which he was made king;
and Sosius relied upon Antony, who sent the army that was under him to
Herod's assistance.
CHAPTER 18.
How Herod And Sosius Took Jerusalem By Force; And What Death
Antigonus Came To. Also Concerning Cleopatra's Avaricious
Temper.
1. Now the multitude of the Jews that were in the city were divided into
several factions; for the people that crowded about the temple, being
the weaker part of them, gave it out that, as the times were, he was the
happiest and most religious man who should die first. But as to the
more bold and hardy men, they got together in bodies, and fell a robbing
others after various manners, and these particularly plundered the
places that were about the city, and this because there was no food left
either for the horses or the men; yet some of the warlike men, who were
used to fight regularly, were appointed to defend the city during the
siege, and these drove those that raised the banks away from the
wall; and these were always inventing some engine or another to be a
hinderance to the engines of the enemy; nor had they so much success any
way as in the mines under ground.
2. Now as for the robberies which were committed, the king contrived
that ambushes should be so laid, that they might restrain their
excursions; and as for the want of provisions, he provided that they
should be brought to them from great distances. He was also too hard
for the Jews, by the Romans' skill in the art of war; although they were
bold to the utmost degree, now they durst not come to a plain battle
with the Romans, which was certain death; but through their mines under
ground they would appear in the midst of them on the sudden, and before
they could batter down one wall, they built them another in its
stead; and to sum up all at once, they did not show any want either of
painstaking or of contrivances, as having resolved to hold out to the
very last. Indeed, though they had so great an army lying round about
them, they bore a siege of five months, till some of Herod's chosen men
ventured to get upon the wall, and fell into the city, as did Sosius's
centurions after them; and now they first of all seized upon what
was about the temple; and upon the pouring in of the army, there was
slaughter of vast multitudes every where, by reason of the rage the
Romans were in at the length of this siege, and by reason that the Jews
who were about Herod earnestly endeavored that none of their adversaries
might remain; so they were cut to pieces by great multitudes, as they
were crowded together in narrow streets, and in houses, or were running
away to the temple; nor was there any mercy showed either to infants, or
to the aged, or to the weaker sex; insomuch that although the king sent
about and desired them to spare the people, nobody could be persuaded
to withhold their right hand from slaughter, but they slew people of all
ages, like madmen. Then it was that Antigonus, without any regard to his
former or to his present fortune, came down from the citadel, and fell
at Sosius's feet, who without pitying him at all, upon the change of his
condition, laughed at him beyond measure, and called him Antigona. 26
Yet did he not treat him like a woman, or let him go free, but put him
into bonds, and kept him in custody.
3. But Herod's concern at present, now he had gotten his enemies under
his power, was to restrain the zeal of his foreign auxiliaries; for the
multitude of the strange people were very eager to see the temple, and
what was sacred in the holy house itself; but the king endeavored to
restrain them, partly by his exhortations, partly by his threatenings,
nay, partly by force, as thinking the victory worse than a defeat to
him, if any thing that ought not to be seen were seen by them. He also
forbade, at the same time, the spoiling of the city, asking Sosius in
the most earnest manner, whether the Romans, by thus emptying the city
of money and men, had a mind to leave him king of a desert,--and told
him that he judged the dominion of the habitable earth too small a
compensation for the slaughter of so many citizens. And when Sosius said
that it was but just to allow the soldiers this plunder as a reward for
what they suffered during the siege, Herod made answer, that he would
give every one of the soldiers a reward out of his own money. So he
purchased the deliverance of his country, and performed his promises to
them, and made presents after a magnificent manner to each soldier,
and proportionably to their commanders, and with a most royal bounty
to Sosius himself, whereby nobody went away but in a wealthy condition.
Hereupon Sosius dedicated a crown of gold to God, and then went away
from Jerusalem, leading Antigonus away in bonds to Antony; then did the
axe bring him to his end, 27 who still had a fond desire of life, and
some frigid hopes of it to the last, but by his cowardly behavior well
deserved to die by it.
4. Hereupon king Herod distinguished the multitude that was in the city;
and for those that were of his side, he made them still more his friends
by the honors he conferred on them; but for those of Antigonus's party,
he slew them; and as his money ran low, he turned all the ornaments he
had into money, and sent it to Antony, and to those about him. Yet could
he not hereby purchase an exemption from all sufferings; for Antony was
now bewitched by his love to Cleopatra, and was entirely conquered by
her charms. Now Cleopatra had put to death all her kindred, till no
one near her in blood remained alive, and after that she fell a slaying
those no way related to her. So she calumniated the principal men among
the Syrians to Antony, and persuaded him to have them slain, that so she
might easily gain to be mistress of what they had; nay, she extended her
avaricious humor to the Jews and Arabians, and secretly labored to have
Herod and Malichus, the kings of both those nations, slain by his order.
5. Now is to these her injunctions to Antony, he complied in part; for
though he esteemed it too abominable a thing to kill such good and great
kings, yet was he thereby alienated from the friendship he had for
them. He also took away a great deal of their country; nay, even the
plantation of palm trees at Jericho, where also grows the balsam tree,
and bestowed them upon her; as also all the cities on this side the
river Eleutherus, Tyre and Sidon 28 excepted. And when she was become
mistress of these, and had conducted Antony in his expedition against
the Parthians as far as Euphrates, she came by Apamia and Damascus
into Judea and there did Herod pacify her indignation at him by large
presents. He also hired of her those places that had been torn away from
his kingdom, at the yearly rent of two hundred talents. He conducted her
also as far as Pelusium, and paid her all the respects possible. Now it
was not long after this that Antony was come back from Parthia, and led
with him Artabazes, Tigranes's son, captive, as a present for Cleopatra;
for this Parthian was presently given her, with his money, and all the
prey that was taken with him.
CHAPTER 19.
How Antony At The Persuasion Of Cleopatra Sent Herod To
Fight Against The Arabians; And Now After Several Battles,
He At Length Got The Victory. As Also Concerning A Great
Earthquake.
1. Now when the war about Actium was begun, Herod prepared to come to
the assistance of Antony, as being already freed from his troubles in
Judea, and having gained Hyrcania, which was a place that was held by
Antigonus's sister. However, he was cunningly hindered from partaking of
the hazards that Antony went through by Cleopatra; for since, as we
have already noted, she had laid a plot against the kings [of Judea
and Arabia], she prevailed with Antony to commit the war against the
Arabians to Herod; that so, if he got the better, she might become
mistress of Arabia, or, if he were worsted, of Judea; and that she might
destroy one of those kings by the other.
2. However, this contrivance tended to the advantage of Herod; for at
the very first he took hostages from the enemy, and got together a great
body of horse, and ordered them to march against them about Diespous;
and he conquered that army, although it fought resolutely against him.
After which defeat, the Arabians were in great motion, and assembled
themselves together at Kanatha, a city of Celesyria, in vast multitudes,
and waited for the Jews. And when Herod was come thither, he tried to
manage this war with particular prudence, and gave orders that they
should build a wall about their camp; yet did not the multitude comply
with those orders, but were so emboldened by their foregoing victory,
that they presently attacked the Arabians, and beat them at the first
onset, and then pursued them; yet were there snares laid for Herod in
that pursuit; while Athenio, who was one of Cleopatra's generals, and
always an antagonist to Herod, sent out of Kanatha the men of that
country against him; for, upon this fresh onset, the Arabians took
courage, and returned back, and both joined their numerous forces about
stony places, that were hard to be gone over, and there put Herod's men
to the rout, and made a great slaughter of them; but those that escaped
out of the battle fled to Ormiza, where the Arabians surrounded their
camp, and took it, with all the men in it. 3. In a little time after
this calamity, Herod came to bring them succors; but he came too late.
Now the occasion of that blow was this, that the officers would not obey
orders; for had not the fight begun so suddenly, Athenio had not found
a proper season for the snares he laid for Herod: however, he was even
with the Arabians afterward, and overran their country, and did them
more harm than their single victory could compensate. But as he
was avenging himself on his enemies, there fell upon him another
providential calamity; for in the seventh 29 year of his reign, when the
war about Actium was at the height, at the beginning of the spring, the
earth was shaken, and destroyed an immense number of cattle, with thirty
thousand men; but the army received no harm, because it lay in the open
air. In the mean time, the fame of this earthquake elevated the Arabians
to greater courage, and this by augmenting it to a fabulous height, as
is constantly the case in melancholy accidents, and pretending that all
Judea was overthrown. Upon this supposal, therefore, that they should
easily get a land that was destitute of inhabitants into their power,
they first sacrificed those ambassadors who were come to them from the
Jews, and then marched into Judea immediately. Now the Jewish nation
were affrighted at this invasion, and quite dispirited at the greatness
of their calamities one after another; whom yet Herod got together, and
endeavored to encourage to defend themselves by the following speech
which he made to them:
4. "The present dread you are under seems to me to have seized upon
you very unreasonably. It is true, you might justly be dismayed at
that providential chastisement which hath befallen you; but to suffer
yourselves to be equally terrified at the invasion of men is unmanly. As
for myself, I am so far from being affrighted at our enemies after this
earthquake, that I imagine that God hath thereby laid a bait for the
Arabians, that we may be avenged on them; for their present invasion
proceeds more from our accidental misfortunes, than that they have any
great dependence on their weapons, or their own fitness for action.
Now that hope which depends not on men's own power, but on others' ill
success, is a very ticklish thing; for there is no certainty among men,
either in their bad or good fortunes; but we may easily observe that
fortune is mutable, and goes from one side to another; and this you may
readily learn from examples among yourselves; for when you were once
victors in the former fight, your enemies overcame you at last; and very
likely it will now happen so, that these who think themselves sure of
beating you will themselves be beaten. For when men are very confident,
they are not upon their guard, while fear teaches men to act with
caution; insomuch that I venture to prove from your very timorousness
that you ought to take courage; for when you were more bold than you
ought to have been, and than I would have had you, and marched on,
Athenio's treachery took place; but your present slowness and seeming
dejection of mind is to me a pledge and assurance of victory. And
indeed it is proper beforehand to be thus provident; but when we come
to action, we ought to erect our minds, and to make our enemies, be they
ever so wicked, believe that neither any human, no, nor any providential
misfortune, can ever depress the courage of Jews while they are alive;
nor will any of them ever overlook an Arabian, or suffer such a one to
become lord of his good things, whom he has in a manner taken captive,
and that many times also. And do not you disturb yourselves at the
quaking of inanimate creatures, nor do you imagine that this earthquake
is a sign of another calamity; for such affections of the elements are
according to the course of nature, nor does it import any thing further
to men, than what mischief it does immediately of itself. Perhaps there
may come some short sign beforehand in the case of pestilences, and
famines, and earthquakes; but these calamities themselves have their
force limited by themselves [without foreboding any other calamity]. And
indeed what greater mischief can the war, though it should be a violent
one, do to us than the earthquake hath done? Nay, there is a signal of
our enemies' destruction visible, and that a very great one also; and
this is not a natural one, nor derived from the hand of foreigners
neither, but it is this, that they have barbarously murdered our
ambassadors, contrary to the common law of mankind; and they have
destroyed so many, as if they esteemed them sacrifices for God, in
relation to this war. But they will not avoid his great eye, nor his
invincible right hand; and we shall be revenged of them presently, in
case we still retain any of the courage of our forefathers, and rise up
boldly to punish these covenant-breakers. Let every one therefore go on
and fight, not so much for his wife or his children, or for the
danger his country is in, as for these ambassadors of ours; those dead
ambassadors will conduct this war of ours better than we ourselves who
are alive. And if you will be ruled by me, I will myself go before
you into danger; for you know this well enough, that your courage is
irresistible, unless you hurt yourselves by acting rashly." 30
5. When Herod had encouraged them by this speech, and he saw with
what alacrity they went, he offered sacrifice to God; and after that
sacrifice, he passed over the river Jordan with his army, and pitched
his camp about Philadelphia, near the enemy, and about a fortification
that lay between them. He then shot at them at a distance, and was
desirous to come to an engagement presently; for some of them had been
sent beforehand to seize upon that fortification: but the king sent some
who immediately beat them out of the fortification, while he himself
went in the forefront of the army, which he put in battle-array every
day, and invited the Arabians to fight. But as none of them came out
of their camp, for they were in a terrible fright, and their general,
Elthemus, was not able to say a word for fear,--so Herod came upon
them, and pulled their fortification to pieces, by which means they were
compelled to come out to fight, which they did in disorder, and so that
the horsemen and foot-men were mixed together. They were indeed superior
to the Jews in number, but inferior in their alacrity, although they
were obliged to expose themselves to danger by their very despair of
victory.
6. Now while they made opposition, they had not a great number slain;
but as soon as they turned their backs, a great many were trodden to
pieces by the Jews, and a great many by themselves, and so perished,
till five thousand were fallen down dead in their flight, while the rest
of the multitude prevented their immediate death, by crowding into the
fortification. Herod encompassed these around, and besieged them; and
while they were ready to be taken by their enemies in arms, they had
another additional distress upon them, which was thirst and want of
water; for the king was above hearkening to their ambassadors; and when
they offered five hundred talents, as the price of their redemption,
he pressed still harder upon them. And as they were burnt up by their
thirst, they came out and voluntarily delivered themselves up by
multitudes to the Jews, till in five days' time four thousand of them
were put into bonds; and on the sixth day the multitude that were left
despaired of saving themselves, and came out to fight: with these Herod
fought, and slew again about seven thousand, insomuch that he punished
Arabia so severely, and so far extinguished the spirits of the men, that
he was chosen by the nation for their ruler.
CHAPTER 20.
Herod Is Confirmed In His Kingdom By Caesar, And Cultivates
A Friendship With The Emperor By Magnificent Presents; While
Caesar Returns His Kindness By Bestowing On Him That Part Of
His Kingdom Which Had Been Taken Away From It By Cleopatra
With The Addition Of Zenodoruss Country Also.
1. But now Herod was under immediate concern about a most important
affair, on account of his friendship with Antony, who was already
overcome at Actium by Caesar; yet he was more afraid than hurt; for
Caesar did not think he had quite undone Antony, while Herod continued
his assistance to him. However, the king resolved to expose himself to
dangers: accordingly he sailed to Rhodes, where Caesar then abode, and
came to him without his diadem, and in the habit and appearance of a
private person, but in his behavior as a king. So he concealed nothing
of the truth, but spoke thus before his face: "O Caesar, as I was made
king of the Jews by Antony, so do I profess that I have used my royal
authority in the best manner, and entirely for his advantage; nor will I
conceal this further, that thou hadst certainly found me in arms, and an
inseparable companion of his, had not the Arabians hindered me. However,
I sent him as many auxiliaries as I was able, and many ten thousand
[cori] of corn. Nay, indeed, I did not desert my benefactor after the
bow that was given him at Actium; but I gave him the best advice I was
able, when I was no longer able to assist him in the war; and I told him
that there was but one way of recovering his affairs, and that was to
kill Cleopatra; and I promised him that, if she were once dead, I would
afford him money and walls for his security, with an army and myself
to assist him in his war against thee: but his affections for Cleopatra
stopped his ears, as did God himself also who hath bestowed the
government on thee. I own myself also to be overcome together with
him; and with his last fortune I have laid aside my diadem, and am come
hither to thee, having my hopes of safety in thy virtue; and I desire
that thou wilt first consider how faithful a friend, and not whose
friend, I have been."
2. Caesar replied to him thus: "Nay, thou shalt not only be in safety,
but thou shalt be a king; and that more firmly than thou wast before;
for thou art worthy to reign over a great many subjects, by reason
of the fastness of thy friendship; and do thou endeavor to be equally
constant in thy friendship to me, upon my good success, which is what I
depend upon from the generosity of thy disposition. However, Antony hath
done well in preferring Cleopatra to thee; for by this means we have
gained thee by her madness, and thus thou hast begun to be my friend
before I began to be thine; on which account Quintus Didius hath written
to me that thou sentest him assistance against the gladiators. I do
therefore assure thee that I will confirm the kingdom to thee by decree:
I shall also endeavor to do thee some further kindness hereafter, that
thou mayst find no loss in the want of Antony."
3. When Caesar had spoken such obliging things to the king, and had put
the diadem again about his head, he proclaimed what he had bestowed on
him by a decree, in which he enlarged in the commendation of the man
after a magnificent manner. Whereupon Herod obliged him to be kind
to him by the presents he gave him, and he desired him to forgive
Alexander, one of Antony's friends, who was become a supplicant to him.
But Caesar's anger against him prevailed, and he complained of the many
and very great offenses the man whom he petitioned for had been guilty
of; and by that means he rejected his petition. After this Caesar went
for Egypt through Syria, when Herod received him with royal and rich
entertainments; and then did he first of all ride along with Caesar, as
he was reviewing his army about Ptolemais, and feasted him with all
his friends, and then distributed among the rest of the army what was
necessary to feast them withal. He also made a plentiful provision of
water for them, when they were to march as far as Pelusium, through a
dry country, which he did also in like manner at their return thence;
nor were there any necessaries wanting to that army. It was therefore
the opinion, both of Caesar and of his soldiers, that Herod's kingdom
was too small for those generous presents he made them; for which
reason, when Caesar was come into Egypt, and Cleopatra and Antony were
dead, he did not only bestow other marks of honor upon him, but made an
addition to his kingdom, by giving him not only the country which had
been taken from him by Cleopatra, but besides that, Gadara, and Hippos,
and Samaria; and moreover, of the maritime cities, Gaza 31 and Anthedon,
and Joppa, and Strato's Tower. He also made him a present of four
hundred Galls [Galatians] as a guard for his body, which they had been
to Cleopatra before. Nor did any thing so strongly induce Caesar to make
these presents as the generosity of him that received them.
4. Moreover, after the first games at Actium, he added to his kingdom
both the region called Trachonitis, and what lay in its neighborhood,
Batanea, and the country of Auranitis; and that on the following
occasion: Zenodorus, who had hired the house of Lysanias, had all along
sent robbers out of Trachonitis among the Damascenes; who thereupon had
recourse to Varro, the president of Syria, and desired of him that he
would represent the calamity they were in to Caesar. When Caesar was
acquainted with it, he sent back orders that this nest of robbers should
be destroyed. Varro therefore made an expedition against them, and
cleared the land of those men, and took it away from Zenodorus. Caesar
did also afterward bestow it on Herod, that it might not again become
a receptacle for those robbers that had come against Damascus. He
also made him a procurator of all Syria, and this on the tenth year
afterward, when he came again into that province; and this was so
established, that the other procurators could not do any thing in the
administration without his advice: but when Zenodorus was dead, Caesar
bestowed on him all that land which lay between Trachonitis and Galilee.
Yet, what was still of more consequence to Herod, he was beloved by
Caesar next after Agrippa, and by Agrippa next after Caesar; whence he
arrived at a very great degree of felicity. Yet did the greatness of his
soul exceed it, and the main part of his magnanimity was extended to the
promotion of piety.
CHAPTER 21.
Of The [Temple And] Cities That Were Built By Herod And
Erected From The Very Foundations; As Also Of Those Other
Edifices That Were Erected By Him; And What Magnificence He
Showed To Foreigners; And How Fortune Was In All Things
Favorable To Him.
1. Accordingly, in the fifteenth year of his reign, Herod rebuilt the
temple, and encompassed a piece of land about it with a wall, which land
was twice as large as that before enclosed. The expenses he laid
out upon it were vastly large also, and the riches about it were
unspeakable. A sign of which you have in the great cloisters that were
erected about the temple, and the citadel which was on its north side.
The cloisters he built from the foundation, but the citadel 32 he
repaired at a vast expense; nor was it other than a royal palace, which
he called Antonia, in honor of Antony. He also built himself a palace in
the Upper city, containing two very large and most beautiful apartments;
to which the holy house itself could not be compared [in largeness]. The
one apartment he named Caesareum, and the other Agrippium, from his [two
great] friends.
2. Yet did he not preserve their memory by particular buildings only,
with their names given them, but his generosity went as far as entire
cities; for when he had built a most beautiful wall round a country in
Samaria, twenty furlongs long, and had brought six thousand inhabitants
into it, and had allotted to it a most fruitful piece of land, and in
the midst of this city, thus built, had erected a very large temple to
Caesar, and had laid round about it a portion of sacred land of three
furlongs and a half, he called the city Sebaste, from Sebastus, or
Augustus, and settled the affairs of the city after a most regular
manner.
3. And when Caesar had further bestowed upon him another additional
country, he built there also a temple of white marble, hard by the
fountains of Jordan: the place is called Panium, where is a top of a
mountain that is raised to an immense height, and at its side, beneath,
or at its bottom, a dark cave opens itself; within which there is a
horrible precipice, that descends abruptly to a vast depth; it contains
a mighty quantity of water, which is immovable; and when any body lets
down any thing to measure the depth of the earth beneath the water, no
length of cord is sufficient to reach it. Now the fountains of Jordan
rise at the roots of this cavity outwardly; and, as some think, this
is the utmost origin of Jordan: but we shall speak of that matter more
accurately in our following history.
4. But the king erected other places at Jericho also, between the
citadel Cypros and the former palace, such as were better and more
useful than the former for travelers, and named them from the same
friends of his. To say all at once, there was not any place of his
kingdom fit for the purpose that was permitted to be without somewhat
that was for Caesar's honor; and when he had filled his own country with
temples, he poured out the like plentiful marks of his esteem into his
province, and built many cities which he called Cesareas.
5. And when he observed that there was a city by the sea-side that was
much decayed, [its name was Strato's Tower,] but that the place, by the
happiness of its situation, was capable of great improvements from his
liberality, he rebuilt it all with white stone, and adorned it with
several most splendid palaces, wherein he especially demonstrated his
magnanimity; for the case was this, that all the sea-shore between Dora
and Joppa, in the middle, between which this city is situated, had no
good haven, insomuch that every one that sailed from Phoenicia for Egypt
was obliged to lie in the stormy sea, by reason of the south winds that
threatened them; which wind, if it blew but a little fresh, such vast
waves are raised, and dash upon the rocks, that upon their retreat the
sea is in a great ferment for a long way. But the king, by the expenses
he was at, and the liberal disposal of them, overcame nature, and built
a haven larger than was the Pyrecum 33 [at Athens]; and in the inner
retirements of the water he built other deep stations [for the ships
also].
6. Now although the place where he built was greatly opposite to his
purposes, yet did he so fully struggle with that difficulty, that the
firmness of his building could not easily be conquered by the sea; and
the beauty and ornament of the works were such, as though he had not had
any difficulty in the operation; for when he had measured out as large a
space as we have before mentioned, he let down stones into twenty fathom
water, the greatest part of which were fifty feet in length, and nine in
depth, and ten in breadth, and some still larger. But when the haven was
filled up to that depth, he enlarged that wall which was thus already
extant above the sea, till it was two hundred feet wide; one hundred of
which had buildings before it, in order to break the force of the waves,
whence it was called Procumatia, or the first breaker of the waves; but
the rest of the space was under a stone wall that ran round it. On this
wall were very large towers, the principal and most beautiful of which
was called Drusium, from Drusus, who was son-in-law to Caesar.
7. There were also a great number of arches, where the mariners dwelt;
and all the places before them round about was a large valley, or walk,
for a quay [or landing-place] to those that came on shore; but the
entrance was on the north, because the north wind was there the most
gentle of all the winds. At the mouth of the haven were on each side
three great Colossi, supported by pillars, where those Colossi that are
on your left hand as you sail into the port are supported by a solid
tower; but those on the right hand are supported by two upright stones
joined together, which stones were larger than that tower which was on
the other side of the entrance. Now there were continual edifices joined
to the haven, which were also themselves of white stone; and to this
haven did the narrow streets of the city lead, and were built at equal
distances one from another. And over against the mouth of the haven,
upon an elevation, there was a temple for Caesar, which was excellent
both in beauty and largeness; and therein was a Colossus of Caesar, not
less than that of Jupiter Olympius, which it was made to resemble.
The other Colossus of Rome was equal to that of Juno at Argos. So he
dedicated the city to the province, and the haven to the sailors there;
but the honor of the building he ascribed to Caesar, 34 and named it
Cesarea accordingly.
8. He also built the other edifices, the amphitheater, and theater, and
market-place, in a manner agreeable to that denomination; and appointed
games every fifth year, and called them, in like manner, Caesar's
Games; and he first himself proposed the largest prizes upon the hundred
ninety-second olympiad; in which not only the victors themselves, but
those that came next to them, and even those that came in the third
place, were partakers of his royal bounty. He also rebuilt Anthedon,
a city that lay on the coast, and had been demolished in the wars, and
named it Agrippeum. Moreover, he had so very great a kindness for his
friend Agrippa, that he had his name engraved upon that gate which he
had himself erected in the temple.
9. Herod was also a lover of his father, if any other person ever was
so; for he made a monument for his father, even that city which he built
in the finest plain that was in his kingdom, and which had rivers and
trees in abundance, and named it Antipatris. He also built a wall about
a citadel that lay above Jericho, and was a very strong and very
fine building, and dedicated it to his mother, and called it Cypros.
Moreover, he dedicated a tower that was at Jerusalem, and called it
by the name of his brother Phasaelus, whose structure, largeness, and
magnificence we shall describe hereafter. He also built another city in
the valley that leads northward from Jericho, and named it Phasaelis.
10. And as he transmitted to eternity his family and friends, so did he
not neglect a memorial for himself, but built a fortress upon a mountain
towards Arabia, and named it from himself, Herodium 35 and he called
that hill that was of the shape of a woman's breast, and was sixty
furlongs distant from Jerusalem, by the same name. He also bestowed much
curious art upon it, with great ambition, and built round towers all
about the top of it, and filled up the remaining space with the most
costly palaces round about, insomuch that not only the sight of the
inner apartments was splendid, but great wealth was laid out on the
outward walls, and partitions, and roofs also. Besides this, he brought
a mighty quantity of water from a great distance, and at vast charges,
and raised an ascent to it of two hundred steps of the whitest marble,
for the hill was itself moderately high, and entirely factitious. He
also built other palaces about the roots of the hill, sufficient to
receive the furniture that was put into them, with his friends also,
insomuch that, on account of its containing all necessaries, the
fortress might seem to be a city, but, by the bounds it had, a palace
only.
11. And when he had built so much, he showed the greatness of his soul
to no small number of foreign cities. He built palaces for exercise at
Tripoli, and Damascus, and Ptolemais; he built a wall about Byblus,
as also large rooms, and cloisters, and temples, and market-places at
Berytus and Tyre, with theatres at Sidon and Damascus. He also built
aqueducts for those Laodiceans who lived by the sea-side; and for those
of Ascalon he built baths and costly fountains, as also cloisters round
a court, that were admirable both for their workmanship and largeness.
Moreover, he dedicated groves and meadows to some people; nay, not a few
cities there were who had lands of his donation, as if they were parts
of his own kingdom. He also bestowed annual revenues, and those for ever
also, on the settlements for exercises, and appointed for them, as well
as for the people of Cos, that such rewards should never be wanting. He
also gave corn to all such as wanted it, and conferred upon Rhodes large
sums of money for building ships; and this he did in many places,
and frequently also. And when Apollo's temple had been burnt down, he
rebuilt it at his own charges, after a better manner than it was before.
What need I speak of the presents he made to the Lycians and Samnians?
or of his great liberality through all Ionia? and that according
to every body's wants of them. And are not the Athenians, and
Lacedemonians, and Nicopolitans, and that Pergamus which is in Mysia,
full of donations that Herod presented them withal? And as for that
large open place belonging to Antioch in Syria, did not he pave it with
polished marble, though it were twenty furlongs long? and this when
it was shunned by all men before, because it was full of dirt and
filthiness, when he besides adorned the same place with a cloister of
the same length.
12. It is true, a man may say, these were favors peculiar to those
particular places on which he bestowed his benefits; but then what
favors he bestowed on the Eleans was a donation not only in common to
all Greece, but to all the habitable earth, as far as the glory of the
Olympic games reached. For when he perceived that they were come to
nothing, for want of money, and that the only remains of ancient Greece
were in a manner gone, he not only became one of the combatants in that
return of the fifth-year games, which in his sailing to Rome he happened
to be present at, but he settled upon them revenues of money for
perpetuity, insomuch that his memorial as a combatant there can never
fail. It would be an infinite task if I should go over his payments
of people's debts, or tributes, for them, as he eased the people of
Phasaelis, of Batanea, and of the small cities about Cilicia, of those
annual pensions they before paid. However, the fear he was in much
disturbed the greatness of his soul, lest he should be exposed to envy,
or seem to hunt after greater filings than he ought, while he bestowed
more liberal gifts upon these cities than did their owners themselves.
13. Now Herod had a body suited to his soul, and was ever a most
excellent hunter, where he generally had good success, by the means of
his great skill in riding horses; for in one day he caught forty wild
beasts: 36 that country breeds also bears, and the greatest part of it
is replenished with stags and wild asses. He was also such a warrior as
could not be withstood: many men, therefore, there are who have stood
amazed at his readiness in his exercises, when they saw him throw the
javelin directly forward, and shoot the arrow upon the mark. And then,
besides these performances of his depending on his own strength of mind
and body, fortune was also very favorable to him; for he seldom failed
of success in his wars; and when he failed, he was not himself the
occasion of such failings, but he either was betrayed by some, or the
rashness of his own soldiers procured his defeat.
CHAPTER 22.
The Murder Of Aristobulus And Hyrcanus, The High Priests, As
Also Of Mariamne The Queen.
1. However, fortune was avenged on Herod in his external great
successes, by raising him up domestical troubles; and he began to have
wild disorders in his family, on account of his wife, of whom he was so
very fond. For when he came to the government, he sent away her whom
he had before married when he was a private person, and who was born at
Jerusalem, whose name was Doris, and married Mariamne, the daughter of
Alexander, the son of Aristobulus; on whose account disturbances arose
in his family, and that in part very soon, but chiefly after his return
from Rome. For, first of all, he expelled Antipater the son of Doris,
for the sake of his sons by Mariamne, out of the city, and permitted him
to come thither at no other times than at the festivals. After this
he slew his wife's grandfather, Hyrcanus, when he was returned out of
Parthin to him, under this pretense, that he suspected him of plotting
against him. Now this Hyrcanus had been carried captive to Barzapharnes,
when he overran Syria; but those of his own country beyond Euphrates
were desirous he would stay with them, and this out of the commiseration
they had for his condition; and had he complied with their desires,
when they exhorted him not to go over the river to Herod, he had not
perished: but the marriage of his granddaughter [to Herod] was his
temptation; for as he relied upon him, and was over-fond of his own
country, he came back to it. Herod's provocation was this,--not that
Hyrcanus made any attempt to gain the kingdom, but that it was fitter
for him to be their king than for Herod.
2. Now of the five children which Herod had by Mariamne, two of them
were daughters, and three were sons; and the youngest of these sons was
educated at Rome, and there died; but the two eldest he treated as those
of royal blood, on account of the nobility of their mother, and because
they were not born till he was king. But then what was stronger than all
this was the love that he bare to Mariamne, and which inflamed him every
day to a great degree, and so far conspired with the other motives, that
he felt no other troubles, on account of her he loved so entirely. But
Mariamne's hatred to him was not inferior to his love to her. She had
indeed but too just a cause of indignation from what he had done,
while her boldness proceeded from his affection to her; so she openly
reproached him with what he had done to her grandfather Hyrcanus, and to
her brother Aristobulus; for he had not spared this Aristobulus, though
he were but a child; for when he had given him the high priesthood at
the age of seventeen, he slew him quickly after he had conferred that
dignity upon him; but when Aristobulus had put on the holy vestments,
and had approached to the altar at a festival, the multitude, in great
crowds, fell into tears; whereupon the child was sent by night to
Jericho, and was there dipped by the Galls, at Herod's command, in a
pool till he was drowned.
3. For these reasons Mariamne reproached Herod, and his sister and
mother, after a most contumelious manner, while he was dumb on account
of his affection for her; yet had the women great indignation at her,
and raised a calumny against her, that she was false to his bed;
which thing they thought most likely to move Herod to anger. They also
contrived to have many other circumstances believed, in order to make
the thing more credible, and accused her of having sent her picture into
Egypt to Antony, and that her lust was so extravagant, as to have thus
showed herself, though she was absent, to a man that ran mad after
women, and to a man that had it in his power to use violence to her.
This charge fell like a thunderbolt upon Herod, and put him into
disorder; and that especially, because his love to her occasioned him to
be jealous, and because he considered with himself that Cleopatra was a
shrewd woman, and that on her account Lysanias the king was taken off,
as well as Malichus the Arabian; for his fear did not only extend to the
dissolving of his marriage, but to the danger of his life.
4. When therefore he was about to take a journey abroad, he committed
his wife to Joseph, his sister Salome's husband, as to one who would be
faithful to him, and bare him good-will on account of their kindred; he
also gave him a secret injunction, that if Antony slew him, he should
slay her. But Joseph, without any ill design, and only in order to
demonstrate the king's love to his wife, how he could not bear to think
of being separated from her, even by death itself, discovered this grand
secret to her; upon which, when Herod was come back, and as they talked
together, and he confirmed his love to her by many oaths, and assured
her that he had never such an affection for any other woman as he had
for her--"Yes," says she, "thou didst, to be sure, demonstrate thy love
to me by the injunctions thou gavest Joseph, when thou commandedst him
to kill me." 37
5. When he heard that this grand secret was discovered, he was like a
distracted man, and said that Joseph would never have disclosed that
injunction of his, unless he had debauched her. His passion also made
him stark mad, and leaping out of his bed, he ran about the palace after
a wild manner; at which time his sister Salome took the opportunity
also to blast her reputation, and confirmed his suspicion about Joseph;
whereupon, out of his ungovernable jealousy and rage, he commanded both
of them to be slain immediately; but as soon as ever his passion was
over, he repented of what he had done, and as soon as his anger was
worn off, his affections were kindled again. And indeed the flame of his
desires for her was so ardent, that he could not think she was dead, but
would appear, under his disorders, to speak to her as if she were
still alive, till he were better instructed by time, when his grief and
trouble, now she was dead, appeared as great as his affection had been
for her while she was living.
CHAPTER 23.
Calumnies Against The Sons Of Mariamne. Antipateris
Preferred Before Them. They Are Accused Before Caesar, And
Herod Is Reconciled To Them.
1. Now Mariamne's sons were heirs to that hatred which had been borne
their mother; and when they considered the greatness of Herod's crime
towards her, they were suspicious of him as of an enemy of theirs; and
this first while they were educated at Rome, but still more when they
were returned to Judea. This temper of theirs increased upon them
as they grew up to be men; and when they were Come to an age fit for
marriage, the one of them married their aunt Salome's daughter, which
Salome had been the accuser of their mother; the other married the
daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia. And now they used boldness
in speaking, as well as bore hatred in their minds. Now those that
calumniated them took a handle from such their boldness, and certain
of them spake now more plainly to the king that there were treacherous
designs laid against him by both his sons; and he that was son-in-law to
Archelaus, relying upon his father-in-law, was preparing to fly away, in
order to accuse Herod before Caesar; and when Herod's head had been long
enough filled with these calumnies, he brought Antipater, whom he had by
Doris, into favor again, as a defense to him against his other sons, and
began all the ways he possibly could to prefer him before them.
2. But these sons were not able to bear this change in their affairs;
but when they saw him that was born of a mother of no family, the
nobility of their birth made them unable to contain their indignation;
but whensoever they were uneasy, they showed the anger they had at
it. And as these sons did day after day improve in that their anger,
Antipater already exercised all his own abilities, which were very
great, in flattering his father, and in contriving many sorts of
calumnies against his brethren, while he told some stories of them
himself, and put it upon other proper persons to raise other stories
against them, till at length he entirely cut his brethren off from all
hopes of succeeding to the kingdom; for he was already publicly put into
his father's will as his successor. Accordingly, he was sent with royal
ornaments, and other marks of royalty, to Caesar, excepting the diadem.
He was also able in time to introduce his mother again into Mariamne's
bed. The two sorts of weapons he made use of against his brethren were
flattery and calumny, whereby he brought matters privately to such a
pass, that the king had thoughts of putting his sons to death.
3. So the father drew Alexander as far as Rome, and charged him with an
attempt of poisoning him before Caesar. Alexander could hardly speak for
lamentation; but having a judge that was more skillful than Antipater,
and more wise than Herod, he modestly avoided laying any imputation upon
his father, but with great strength of reason confuted the calumnies
laid against him; and when he had demonstrated the innocency of his
brother, who was in the like danger with himself, he at last bewailed
the craftiness of Antipater, and the disgrace they were under. He was
enabled also to justify himself, not only by a clear conscience, which
he carried within him, but by his eloquence; for he was a shrewd man
in making speeches. And upon his saying at last, that if his father
objected this crime to them, it was in his power to put them to death,
he made all the audience weep; and he brought Caesar to that pass, as
to reject the accusations, and to reconcile their father to them
immediately. But the conditions of this reconciliation were these,
that they should in all things be obedient to their father, and that he
should have power to leave the kingdom to which of them he pleased.
4. After this the king came back from Rome, and seemed to have forgiven
his sons upon these accusations; but still so that he was not without
his suspicions of them. They were followed by Antipater, who was the
fountain-head of those accusations; yet did not he openly discover his
hatred to them, as revering him that had reconciled them. But as Herod
sailed by Cilicia, he touched at Eleusa, 38 where Archelaus treated them
in the most obliging manner, and gave him thanks for the deliverance of
his son-in-law, and was much pleased at their reconciliation; and this
the more, because he had formerly written to his friends at Rome that
they should be assisting to Alexander at his trial. So he conducted
Herod as far as Zephyrium, and made him presents to the value of thirty
talents.
5. Now when Herod was come to Jerusalem, he gathered the people
together, and presented to them his three sons, and gave them an
apologetic account of his absence, and thanked God greatly, and
thanked Caesar greatly also, for settling his house when it was under
disturbances, and had procured concord among his sons, which was of
greater consequence than the kingdom itself,--"and which I will render
still more firm; for Caesar hath put into my power to dispose of the
government, and to appoint my successor. Accordingly, in way of requital
for his kindness, and in order to provide for mine own advantage, I do
declare that these three sons of mine shall be kings. And, in the first
place, I pray for the approbation of God to what I am about; and, in the
next place, I desire your approbation also. The age of one of them, and
the nobility of the other two, shall procure them the succession. Nay,
indeed, my kingdom is so large that it may be sufficient for more kings.
Now do you keep those in their places whom Caesar hath joined, and their
father hath appointed; and do not you pay undue or unequal respects to
them, but to every one according to the prerogative of their births;
for he that pays such respects unduly, will thereby not make him that is
honored beyond what his age requires so joyful, as he will make him
that is dishonored sorrowful. As for the kindred and friends that are
to converse with them, I will appoint them to each of them, and will so
constitute them, that they may be securities for their concord; as
well knowing that the ill tempers of those with whom they converse will
produce quarrels and contentions among them; but that if these with
whom they converse be of good tempers, they will preserve their natural
affections for one another. But still I desire that not these only, but
all the captains of my army, have for the present their hopes placed on
me alone; for I do not give away my kingdom to these my sons, but give
them royal honors only; whereby it will come to pass that they will
enjoy the sweet parts of government as rulers themselves, but that the
burden of administration will rest upon myself whether I will or not.
And let every one consider what age I am of, how I have conducted my
life, and what piety I have exercised; for my age is not so great that
men may soon expect the end of my life; nor have I indulged such a
luxurious way of living as cuts men off when they are young; and we
have been so religious towards God, that we [have reason to hope we] may
arrive at a very great age. But for such as cultivate a friendship with
my sons, so as to aim at my destruction, they shall be punished by me
on their account. I am not one who envy my own children, and therefore
forbid men to pay them great respect; but I know that such [extravagant]
respects are the way to make them insolent. And if every one that comes
near them does but revolve this in his mind, that if he prove a good
man, he shall receive a reward from me, but that if he prove seditious,
his ill-intended complaisance shall get him nothing from him to whom it
is shown, I suppose they will all be of my side, that is, of my sons'
side; for it will be for their advantage that I reign, and that I be
at concord with them. But do you, O my good children, reflect upon
the holiness of nature itself, by whose means natural affection is
preserved, even among wild beasts; in the next place, reflect upon
Caesar, who hath made this reconciliation among us; and in the third
place, reflect upon me, who entreat you to do what I have power to
command you,--continue brethren. I give you royal garments, and royal
honors; and I pray to God to preserve what I have determined, in case
you be at concord one with another." When the king had thus spoken, and
had saluted every one of his sons after an obliging manner, he dismissed
the multitude; some of which gave their assent to what he had said, and
wished it might take effect accordingly; but for those who wished for a
change of affairs, they pretended they did not so much as hear what he
said.
CHAPTER 24.
The Malice Of Antipater And Doris. Alexander Is Very Uneasy
On Glaphyras Account. Herod Pardons Pheroras, Whom He
Suspected, And Salome Whom He Knew To Make Mischief Among
Them. Herod's Eunuchs Are Tortured And Alexander Is Bound.
1. But now the quarrel that was between them still accompanied these
brethren when they parted, and the suspicions they had one of the
other grew worse. Alexander and Aristobulus were much grieved that the
privilege of the first-born was confirmed to Antipater; as was Antipater
very angry at his brethren that they were to succeed him. But then this
last being of a disposition that was mutable and politic, he knew how to
hold his tongue, and used a great deal of cunning, and thereby concealed
the hatred he bore to them; while the former, depending on the nobility
of their births, had every thing upon their tongues which was in their
minds. Many also there were who provoked them further, and many of their
[seeming] friends insinuated themselves into their acquaintance, to
spy out what they did. Now every thing that was said by Alexander was
presently brought to Antipater, and from Antipater it was brought to
Herod with additions. Nor could the young man say any thing in the
simplicity of his heart, without giving offense, but what he said was
still turned to calumny against him. And if he had been at any time a
little free in his conversation, great imputations were forged from
the smallest occasions. Antipater also was perpetually setting some to
provoke him to speak, that the lies he raised of him might seem to have
some foundation of truth; and if, among the many stories that were given
out, but one of them could be proved true, that was supposed to imply
the rest to be true also. And as to Antipater's friends, they were all
either naturally so cautious in speaking, or had been so far bribed to
conceal their thoughts, that nothing of these grand secrets got abroad
by their means. Nor should one be mistaken if he called the life of
Antipater a mystery of wickedness; for he either corrupted Alexander's
acquaintance with money, or got into their favor by flatteries; by which
two means he gained all his designs, and brought them to betray their
master, and to steal away, and reveal what he either did or said. Thus
did he act a part very cunningly in all points, and wrought himself a
passage by his calumnies with the greatest shrewdness; while he put on
a face as if he were a kind brother to Alexander and Aristobulus, but
suborned other men to inform of what they did to Herod. And when any
thing was told against Alexander, he would come in, and pretend [to be
of his side], and would begin to contradict what was said; but would
afterward contrive matters so privately, that the king should have an
indignation at him. His general aim was this,--to lay a plot, and to
make it believed that Alexander lay in wait to kill his father; for
nothing afforded so great a confirmation to these calumnies as did
Antipater's apologies for him.
2. By these methods Herod was inflamed, and as much as his natural
affection to the young men did every day diminish, so much did it
increase towards Antipater. The courtiers also inclined to the same
conduct, some of their own accord, and others by the king's injunction,
as particularly did Ptolemy, the king's dearest friend, as also the
king's brethren, and all his children; for Antipater was all in all; and
what was the bitterest part of all to Alexander, Antipater's mother was
also all in all; she was one that gave counsel against them, and was
more harsh than a step-mother, and one that hated the queen's sons more
than is usual to hate sons-in-law. All men did therefore already pay
their respects to Antipater, in hopes of advantage; and it was the
king's command which alienated every body [from the brethren], he having
given this charge to his most intimate friends, that they should not
come near, nor pay any regard, to Alexander, or to his friends. Herod
was also become terrible, not only to his domestics about the court, but
to his friends abroad; for Caesar had given such a privilege to no other
king as he had given to him, which was this,--that he might fetch back
any one that fled from him, even out of a city that was not under
his own jurisdiction. Now the young men were not acquainted with the
calumnies raised against them; for which reason they could not guard
themselves against them, but fell under them; for their father did not
make any public complaints against either of them; though in a little
time they perceived how things were by his coldness to them, and by the
great uneasiness he showed upon any thing that troubled him. Antipater
had also made their uncle Pheroras to be their enemy, as well as their
aunt Salome, while he was always talking with her, as with a wife,
and irritating her against them. Moreover, Alexander's wife, Glaphyra,
augmented this hatred against them, by deriving her nobility and
genealogy [from great persons], and pretending that she was a lady
superior to all others in that kingdom, as being derived by her father's
side from Temenus, and by her mother's side from Darius, the son of
Hystaspes. She also frequently reproached Herod's sister and wives with
the ignobility of their descent; and that they were every one chosen by
him for their beauty, but not for their family. Now those wives of his
were not a few; it being of old permitted to the Jews to marry many
wives, 39 and this king delighting in many; all which hated Alexander,
on account of Glaphyra's boasting and reproaches.
3. Nay, Aristobulus had raised a quarrel between himself and Salome, who
was his mother-in-law, besides the anger he had conceived at Glaphyra's
reproaches; for he perpetually upbraided his wife with the meanness
of her family, and complained, that as he had married a woman of a low
family, so had his brother Alexander married one of royal blood. At
this Salome's daughter wept, and told it her with this addition, that
Alexander threatened the mothers of his other brethren, that when he
should come to the crown, he would make them weave with their maidens,
and would make those brothers of his country schoolmasters; and brake
this jest upon them, that they had been very carefully instructed, to
fit them for such an employment. Hereupon Salome could not contain her
anger, but told all to Herod; nor could her testimony be suspected,
since it was against her own son-in-law There was also another calumny
that ran abroad and inflamed the king's mind; for he heard that these
sons of his were perpetually speaking of their mother, and, among their
lamentations for her, did not abstain from cursing him; and that when
he made presents of any of Mariamne's garments to his later wives, these
threatened that in a little time, instead of royal garments, they would
clothe theft in no better than hair-cloth.
4. Now upon these accounts, though Herod was somewhat afraid of the
young men's high spirit, yet did he not despair of reducing them to a
better mind; but before he went to Rome, whither he was now going by
sea, he called them to him, and partly threatened them a little, as a
king; but for the main, he admonished them as a father, and exhorted
them to love their brethren, and told them that he would pardon their
former offenses, if they would amend for the time to come. But they
refuted the calumnies that had been raised of them, and said they
were false, and alleged that their actions were sufficient for their
vindication; and said withal, that he himself ought to shut his ears
against such tales, and not be too easy in believing them, for that
there would never be wanting those that would tell lies to their
disadvantage, as long as any would give ear to them.
5. When they had thus soon pacified him, as being their father, they got
clear of the present fear they were in. Yet did they see occasion for
sorrow in some time afterward; for they knew that Salome, as well as
their uncle Pheroras, were their enemies; who were both of them heavy
and severe persons, and especially Pheroras, who was a partner with
Herod in all the affairs of the kingdom, excepting his diadem. He had
also a hundred talents of his own revenue, and enjoyed the advantage
of all the land beyond Jordan, which he had received as a gift from his
brother, who had asked of Caesar to make him a tetrarch, as he was made
accordingly. Herod had also given him a wife out of the royal family,
who was no other than his own wife's sister, and after her death had
solemnly espoused to him his own eldest daughter, with a dowry of three
hundred talents; but Pheroras refused to consummate this royal marriage,
out of his affection to a maidservant of his. Upon which account Herod
was very angry, and gave that daughter in marriage to a brother's son
of his, [Joseph,] who was slain afterward by the Parthians; but in some
time he laid aside his anger against Pheroras, and pardoned him, as one
not able to overcome his foolish passion for the maid-servant.
6. Nay, Pheroras had been accused long before, while the queen
[Mariamne] was alive, as if he were in a plot to poison Herod; and there
came then so great a number of informers, that Herod himself, though he
was an exceeding lover of his brethren, was brought to believe what was
said, and to be afraid of it also. And when he had brought many of those
that were under suspicion to the torture, he came at last to Pheroras's
own friends; none of which did openly confess the crime, but they owned
that he had made preparation to take her whom he loved, and run away to
the Parthians. Costobarus also, the husband of Salome, to whom the king
had given her in marriage, after her former husband had been put to
death for adultery, was instrumental in bringing about this contrivance
and flight of his. Nor did Salome escape all calumny upon herself; for
her brother Pheroras accused her that she had made an agreement to marry
Silleus, the procurator of Obodas, king of Arabia, who was at bitter
enmity with Herod; but when she was convicted of this, and of all that
Pheroras had accused her of, she obtained her pardon. The king also
pardoned Pheroras himself the crimes he had been accused of.
7. But the storm of the whole family was removed to Alexander, and all
of it rested upon his head. There were three eunuchs who were in the
highest esteem with the king, as was plain by the offices they were in
about him; for one of them was appointed to be his butler, another of
them got his supper ready for him, and the third put him into bed, and
lay down by him. Now Alexander had prevailed with these men, by large
gifts, to let him use them after an obscene manner; which, when it was
told to the king, they were tortured, and found guilty, and presently
confessed the criminal conversation he had with them. They also
discovered the promises by which they were induced so to do, and how
they were deluded by Alexander, who had told them that they ought not to
fix their hopes upon Herod, an old man, and one so shameless as to color
his hair, unless they thought that would make him young again; but that
they ought to fix their attention to him who was to be his successor
in the kingdom, whether he would or not; and who in no long time would
avenge himself on his enemies, and make his friends happy and blessed,
and themselves in the first place; that the men of power did already pay
respects to Alexander privately, and that the captains of the soldiery,
and the officers, did secretly come to him.
8. These confessions did so terrify Herod, that he durst not immediately
publish them; but he sent spies abroad privately, by night and by day,
who should make a close inquiry after all that was done and said; and
when any were but suspected [of treason], he put them to death, insomuch
that the palace was full of horribly unjust proceedings; for every body
forged calumnies, as they were themselves in a state of enmity or hatred
against others; and many there were who abused the king's bloody passion
to the disadvantage of those with whom they had quarrels, and lies
were easily believed, and punishments were inflicted sooner than the
calumnies were forged. He who had just then been accusing another was
accused himself, and was led away to execution together with him whom
he had convicted; for the danger the king was in of his life made
examinations be very short. He also proceeded to such a degree of
bitterness, that he could not look on any of those that were not accused
with a pleasant countenance, but was in the most barbarous disposition
towards his own friends. Accordingly, he forbade a great many of them to
come to court, and to those whom he had not power to punish actually
he spake harshly. But for Antipater, he insulted Alexander, now he was
under his misfortunes, and got a stout company of his kindred together,
and raised all sorts of calumny against him; and for the king, he was
brought to such a degree of terror by those prodigious slanders and
contrivances, that he fancied he saw Alexander coming to him with a
drawn sword in his hand. So he caused him to be seized upon immediately,
and bound, and fell to examining his friends by torture, many of whom
died [under the torture], but would discover nothing, nor say any thing
against their consciences; but some of them, being forced to speak
falsely by the pains they endured, said that Alexander, and his brother
Aristobulus, plotted against him, and waited for an opportunity to kill
him as he was hunting, and then fly away to Rome. These accusations
though they were of an incredible nature, and only framed upon the great
distress they were in, were readily believed by the king, who thought it
some comfort to him, after he had bound his son, that it might appear he
had not done it unjustly.
CHAPTER 25.
Archelaus Procures A Reconciliation Between Alexander
Pheroras, And Herod.
1. Now as to Alexander, since he perceived it impossible to persuade his
father [that he was innocent], he resolved to meet his calamities, how
severe soever they were; so he composed four books against his enemies,
and confessed that he had been in a plot; but declared withal that the
greatest part [of the courtiers] were in a plot with him, and chiefly
Pheroras and Salome; nay, that Salome once came and forced him to lie
with her in the night time, whether he would or no. These books were put
into Herod's hands, and made a great clamor against the men in power.
And now it was that Archelaus came hastily into Judea, as being
affrighted for his son-in-law and his daughter; and he came as a proper
assistant, and in a very prudent manner, and by a stratagem he obliged
the king not to execute what he had threatened; for when he was come to
him, he cried out, "Where in the world is this wretched son-in-law of
mine? Where shall I see the head of him which contrived to murder his
father, which I will tear to pieces with my own hands? I will do the
same also to my daughter, who hath such a fine husband; for although she
be not a partner in the plot, yet, by being the wife of such a creature,
she is polluted. And I cannot but admire at thy patience, against whom
this plot is laid, if Alexander be still alive; for as I came with what
haste I could from Cappadocia, I expected to find him put to death for
his crimes long ago; but still, in order to make an examination with
thee about my daughter, whom, out of regard to thee and by dignity, I
had espoused to him in marriage; but now we must take counsel about them
both; and if thy paternal affection be so great, that thou canst not
punish thy son, who hath plotted against thee, let us change our right
hands, and let us succeed one to the other in expressing our rage upon
this occasion."
2. When he had made this pompous declaration, he got Herod to remit of
his anger, though he were in disorder, who thereupon gave him the books
which Alexander had composed to be read by him; and as he came to every
head, he considered of it, together with Herod. So Archelaus took hence
the occasion for that stratagem which he made use of, and by degrees
he laid the blame on those men whose names were in these books, and
especially upon Pheroras; and when he saw that the king believed him [to
be in earnest], he said, "We must consider whether the young man be not
himself plotted against by such a number of wicked wretches, and not
thou plotted against by the young man; for I cannot see any occasion for
his falling into so horrid a crime, since he enjoys the advantages of
royalty already, and has the expectation of being one of thy successors;
I mean this, unless there were some persons that persuade him to it, and
such persons as make an ill use of the facility they know there is
to persuade young men; for by such persons, not only young men are
sometimes imposed upon, but old men also, and by them sometimes are the
most illustrious families and kingdoms overturned."
3. Herod assented to what he had said, and, by degrees, abated of
his anger against Alexander, but was more angry at Pheroras; for the
principal subject of the four books was Pheroras; who perceiving that
the king's inclinations changed on a sudden, and that Archelaus's
friendship could do every thing with him, and that he had no honorable
method of preserving himself, he procured his safety by his impudence.
So he left Alexander, and had recourse to Archelaus, who told him that
he did not see how he could get him excused, now he was directly caught
in so many crimes, whereby it was evidently demonstrated that he had
plotted against the king, and had been the cause of those misfortunes
which the young man was now under, unless he would moreover leave off
his cunning knavery, and his denials of what he was charged withal, and
confess the charge, and implore pardon of his brother, who still had a
kindness for him; but that if he would do so, he would afford him all
the assistance he was able.
4. With this advice Pheroras complied, and putting himself into such a
habit as might most move compassion, he came with black cloth upon his
body, and tears in his eyes, and threw himself down at Herod's feet, and
begged his pardon for what he had done, and confessed that he had acted
very wickedly, and was guilty of every thing that he had been accused
of, and lamented that disorder of his mind, and distraction which his
love to a woman, he said, had brought him to. So when Archelaus had
brought Pheroras to accuse and bear witness against himself, he then
made an excuse for him, and mitigated Herod's anger towards him, and
this by using certain domestical examples; for that when he had suffered
much greater mischiefs from a brother of his own, he prefered the
obligations of nature before the passion of revenge; because it is in
kingdoms as it is in gross bodies, where some member or other is ever
swelled by the body's weight, in which case it is not proper to cut off
such member, but to heal it by a gentle method of cure.
5. Upon Arehelaus's saying this, and much more to the same purpose,
Herod's displeasure against Pheroras was mollified; yet did he persevere
in his own indignation against Alexander, and said he would have his
daughter divorced, and taken away from him, and this till he had brought
Herod to that pass, that, contrary to his former behavior to him,
he petitioned Archelaus for the young man, and that he would let his
daughter continue espoused to him: but Archelaus made him strongly
believe that he would permit her to be married to any one else, but not
to Alexander, because he looked upon it as a very valuable advantage,
that the relation they had contracted by that affinity, and the
privileges that went along with it, might be preserved. And when the
king said that his son would take it for a great favor to him, if he
would not dissolve that marriage, especially since they had already
children between the young man and her, and since that wife of his was
so well beloved by him, and that as while she remains his wife she would
be a great preservative to him, and keep him from offending, as he had
formerly done; so if she should be once torn away from him, she would be
the cause of his falling into despair, because such young men's attempts
are best mollified when they are diverted from them by settling their
affections at home. So Arehelaus complied with what Herod desired, but
not without difficulty, and was both himself reconciled to the young
man, and reconciled his father to him also. However, he said he must,
by all means, be sent to Rome to discourse with Caesar, because he had
already written a full account to him of this whole matter.
6. Thus a period was put to Archelaus's stratagem, whereby he
delivered his son-in-law out of the dangers he was in; but when these
reconciliations were over, they spent their time in feastings and
agreeable entertainments. And when Archelaus was going away, Herod made
him a present of seventy talents, with a golden throne set with precious
stones, and some eunuchs, and a concubine who was called Pannychis.
He also paid due honors to every one of his friends according to their
dignity. In like manner did all the king's kindred, by his command, make
glorious presents to Archelaus; and so he was conducted on his way by
Herod and his nobility as far as Antioch.
CHAPTER 26.
How Eurycles 40 Calumniated The Sons Of Mariamne; And How
Euaratus Of Cos's Apology For Them Had No Effect.
1. Now a little afterward there came into Judea a man that was much
superior to Arehelaus's stratagems, who did not only overturn that
reconciliation that had been so wisely made with Alexander, but proved
the occasion of his ruin. He was a Lacedemonian, and his name was
Eurycles. He was so corrupt a man, that out of the desire of getting
money, he chose to live under a king, for Greece could not suffice his
luxury. He presented Herod with splendid gifts, as a bait which he
laid in order to compass his ends, and quickly received them back again
manifold; yet did he esteem bare gifts as nothing, unless he imbrued the
kingdom in blood by his purchases. Accordingly, he imposed upon the king
by flattering him, and by talking subtlely to him, as also by the lying
encomiums which he made upon him; for as he soon perceived Herod's blind
side, so he said and did every thing that might please him, and thereby
became one of his most intimate friends; for both the king and all that
were about him had a great regard for this Spartan, on account of his
country. 41
2. Now as soon as this fellow perceived the rotten parts of the family,
and what quarrels the brothers had one with another, and in what
disposition the father was towards each of them, he chose to take his
lodging at the first in the house of Antipater, but deluded Alexander
with a pretense of friendship to him, and falsely claimed to be an old
acquaintance of Archelaus; for which reason he was presently admitted
into Alexander's familiarity as a faithful friend. He also soon
recommended himself to his brother Aristobulus. And when he had thus
made trial of these several persons, he imposed upon one of them by one
method, and upon another by another. But he was principally hired by
Antipater, and so betrayed Alexander, and this by reproaching Antipater,
because, while he was the eldest son he overlooked the intrigues of
those who stood in the way of his expectations; and by reproaching
Alexander, because he who was born of a queen, and was married to a
king's daughter, permitted one that was born of a mean woman to lay
claim to the succession, and this when he had Archelaus to support him
in the most complete manner. Nor was his advice thought to be other
than faithful by the young man, because of his pretended friendship
with Archelaus; on which account it was that Alexander lamented to him
Antipater's behavior with regard to himself, and this without concealing
any thing from him; and how it was no wonder if Herod, after he had
killed their mother, should deprive them of her kingdom. Upon this
Eurycles pretended to commiserate his condition, and to grieve with him.
He also, by a bait that he laid for him, procured Aristobulus to say the
same things. Thus did he inveigle both the brothers to make complaints
of their father, and then went to Antipater, and carried these grand
secrets to him. He also added a fiction of his own, as if his brothers
had laid a plot against him, and were almost ready to come upon him with
their drawn swords. For this intelligence he received a great sum of
money, and on that account he commended Antipater before his father, and
at length undertook the work of bringing Alexander and Aristobulus to
their graves, and accused them before their father. So he came to Herod,
and told him that he would save his life, as a requital for the favors
he had received from him, and would preserve his light [of life] by way
of retribution for his kind entertainment; for that a sword had been
long whetted, and Alexander's right hand had been long stretched out
against him; but that he had laid impediments in his way, prevented his
speed, and that by pretending to assist him in his design: how Alexander
said that Herod was not contented to reign in a kingdom that belonged to
others, and to make dilapidations in their mother's government after
he had killed her; but besides all this, that he introduced a spurious
successor, and proposed to give the kingdom of their ancestors to that
pestilent fellow Antipater:--that he would now appease the ghosts of
Hyrcanus and Mariamne, by taking vengeance on him; for that it was not
fit for him to take the succession to the government from such a father
without bloodshed: that many things happen every day to provoke him so
to do, insomuch that he can say nothing at all, but it affords occasion
for calumny against him; for that if any mention be made of nobility
of birth, even in other cases, he is abused unjustly, while his father
would say that nobody, to be sure, is of noble birth but Alexander, and
that his father was inglorious for want of such nobility. If they be
at any time hunting, and he says nothing, he gives offense; and if he
commends any body, they take it in way of jest. That they always find
their father unmercifully severe, and have no natural affection for
any of them but for Antipater; on which accounts, if this plot does not
take, he is very willing to die; but that in case he kill his father, he
hath sufficient opportunities for saving himself. In the first place, he
hath Archelaus his father-in-law to whom he can easily fly; and in the
next place, he hath Caesar, who had never known Herod's character to
this day; for that he shall not appear then before him with that dread
he used to do when his father was there to terrify him; and that he
will not then produce the accusations that concerned himself alone,
but would, in the first place, openly insist on the calamities of their
nation, and how they are taxed to death, and in what ways of luxury and
wicked practices that wealth is spent which was gotten by bloodshed;
what sort of persons they are that get our riches, and to whom those
cities belong upon whom he bestows his favors; that he would have
inquiry made what became of his grandfather [Hyrcanus], and his mother
[Mariamne], and would openly proclaim the gross wickedness that was in
the kingdom; on which accounts he should not be deemed a parricide.
3. When Eurycles had made this portentous speech, he greatly commended
Antipater, as the only child that had an affection for his father,
and on that account was an impediment to the other's plot against him.
Hereupon the king, who had hardly repressed his anger upon the former
accusations, was exasperated to an incurable degree. At which time
Antipater took another occasion to send in other persons to his
father to accuse his brethren, and to tell him that they had privately
discoursed with Jucundus and Tyrannus, who had once been masters of
the horse to the king, but for some offenses had been put out of
that honorable employment. Herod was in a very great rage at these
informations, and presently ordered those men to be tortured; yet did
not they confess any thing of what the king had been informed; but a
certain letter was produced, as written by Alexander to the governor of
a castle, to desire him to receive him and Aristobulus into the castle
when he had killed his father, and to give them weapons, and what other
assistance he could, upon that occasion. Alexander said that this letter
was a forgery of Diophantus. This Diophantus was the king's secretary, a
bold man, and cunning in counterfeiting any one's hand; and after he had
counterfeited a great number, he was at last put to death for it.
Herod did also order the governor of the castle to be tortured, but got
nothing out of him of what the accusations suggested.
4. However, although Herod found the proofs too weak, he gave order to
have his sons kept in custody; for till now they had been at liberty.
He also called that pest of his family, and forger of all this vile
accusation, Eurycles, his savior and benefactor, and gave him a reward
of fifty talents. Upon which he prevented any accurate accounts that
could come of what he had done, by going immediately into Cappadocia,
and there he got money of Archelaus, having the impudence to pretend
that he had reconciled Herod to Alexander. He thence passed over into
Greece, and used what he had thus wickedly gotten to the like wicked
purposes. Accordingly, he was twice accused before Caesar, that he had
filled Achaia with sedition, and had plundered its cities; and so he was
sent into banishment. And thus was he punished for what wicked actions
he had been guilty of about Aristobulus and Alexander.
5. But it will now be worth while to put Euaratus of Cos in opposition
to this Spartan; for as he was one of Alexander's most intimate friends,
and came to him in his travels at the same time that Eurycles came;
so the king put the question to him, whether those things of which
Alexander was accused were true? He assured him upon oath that he had
never heard any such things from the young men; yet did this testimony
avail nothing for the clearing those miserable creatures; for Herod was
only disposed and most ready to hearken to what made against them, and
every one was most agreeable to him that would believe they were guilty,
and showed their indignation at them.
CHAPTER 27.
Herod By Caesars Direction Accuses His Sons At Eurytus. They
Are Not Produced Before The Courts But Yet Are Condemned;
And In A Little Time They Are Sent To Sebaste, And Strangled
There.
1. Moreover, Salome exasperated Herod's cruelty against his sons; for
Aristobulus was desirous to bring her, who was his mother-in-law and his
aunt, into the like dangers with themselves; so he sent to her to take
care of her own safety, and told her that the king was preparing to put
her to death, on account of the accusation that was laid against her, as
if when she formerly endeavored to marry herself to Sylleus the Arabian,
she had discovered the king's grand secrets to him, who was the king's
enemy; and this it was that came as the last storm, and entirely sunk
the young men when they were in great danger before. For Salome came
running to the king, and informed him of what admonition had been given
her; whereupon he could bear no longer, but commanded both the young
men to be bound, and kept the one asunder from the other. He also sent
Volumnius, the general of his army, to Caesar immediately, as also his
friend Olympus with him, who carried the informations in writing along
with them. Now as soon as they had sailed to Rome, and delivered the
king's letters to Caesar, Caesar was mightily troubled at the case of
the young men; yet did not he think he ought to take the power from the
father of condemning his sons; so he wrote back to him, and appointed
him to have the power over his sons; but said withal, that he would do
well to make an examination into this matter of the plot against him in
a public court, and to take for his assessors his own kindred, and the
governors of the province. And if those sons be found guilty, to put
them to death; but if they appear to have thought of no more than flying
away from him, that he should moderate their punishment.
2. With these directions Herod complied, and came to Berytus, where
Caesar had ordered the court to be assembled, and got the judicature
together. The presidents sat first, as Caesar's letters had appointed,
who were Saturninus and Pedanius, and their lieutenants that were with
them, with whom was the procurator Volumnius also; next to them sat the
king's kinsmen and friends, with Salome also, and Pheroras; after whom
sat the principal men of all Syria, excepting Archelaus; for Herod had a
suspicion of him, because he was Alexander's father-in-law. Yet did not
he produce his sons in open court; and this was done very cunningly,
for he knew well enough that had they but appeared only, they would
certainly have been pitied; and if withal they had been suffered to
speak, Alexander would easily have answered what they were accused of;
but they were in custody at Platane, a village of the Sidontans.
3. So the king got up, and inveighed against his sons, as if they were
present; and as for that part of the accusation that they had plotted
against him, he urged it but faintly, because he was destitute of
proofs; but he insisted before the assessors on the reproaches, and
jests, and injurious carriage, and ten thousand the like offenses
against him, which were heavier than death itself; and when nobody
contradicted him, he moved them to pity his case, as though he had been
condemned himself, now he had gained a bitter victory against his sons.
So he asked every one's sentence, which sentence was first of all given
by Saturninus, and was this: That he condemned the young men, but not
to death; for that it was not fit for him, who had three sons of his
own now present, to give his vote for the destruction of the sons of
another. The two lieutenants also gave the like vote; some others there
were also who followed their example; but Volumnius began to vote on the
more melancholy side, and all those that came after him condemned the
young men to die, some out of flattery, and some out of hatred to Herod;
but none out of indignation at their crimes. And now all Syria and Judea
was in great expectation, and waited for the last act of this tragedy;
yet did nobody, suppose that Herod would be so barbarous as to murder
his children: however, he carried them away to Tyre, and thence sailed
to Cesarea, and deliberated with himself what sort of death the young
men should suffer.
4. Now there was a certain old soldier of the king's, whose name
was Tero, who had a son that was very familiar with and a friend to
Alexander, and who himself particularly loved the young men. This
soldier was in a manner distracted, out of the excess of the indignation
he had at what was doing; and at first he cried out aloud, as he went
about, that justice was trampled under foot; that truth was perished,
and nature confounded; and that the life of man was full of iniquity,
and every thing else that passion could suggest to a man who spared
not his own life; and at last he ventured to go to the king, and said,
"Truly I think thou art a most miserable man, when thou hearkenest to
most wicked wretches, against those that ought to be dearest to thee;
since thou hast frequently resolved that Pheroras and Salome should be
put to death, and yet believest them against thy sons; while these,
by cutting off the succession of thine own sons, leave all wholly
to Antipater, and thereby choose to have thee such a king as may be
thoroughly in their own power. However, consider whether this death of
Antipater's brethren will not make him hated by the soldiers; for there
is nobody but commiserates the young men; and of the captains, a great
many show their indignation at it openly." Upon his saying this, he
named those that had such indignation; but the king ordered those men,
with Tero himself and his son, to be seized upon immediately.
5. At which time there was a certain barber, whose name was Trypho. This
man leaped out from among the people in a kind of madness, and accused
himself, and said, "This Tero endeavored to persuade me also to cut thy
throat with my razor, when I trimmed thee, and promised that Alexander
should give me large presents for so doing." When Herod heard this, he
examined Tero, with his son and the barber, by the torture; but as the
others denied the accusation, and he said nothing further, Herod gave
order that Tero should be racked more severely; but his son, out of pity
to his father, promised to discover the whole to the king, if he would
grant [that his father should be no longer tortured]. When he had agreed
to this, he said that his father, at the persuasion of Alexander, had an
intention to kill him. Now some said this was forged, in order to free
his father from his torments; and some said it was true.
6. And now Herod accused the captains and Tero in an assembly of the
people, and brought the people together in a body against them; and
accordingly there were they put to death, together with [Trypho] the
barber; they were killed by the pieces of wood and the stones that were
thrown at them. He also sent his sons to Sebaste, a city not far from
Cesarea, and ordered them to be there strangled; and as what he had
ordered was executed immediately, so he commanded that their dead
bodies should be brought to the fortress Alexandrium, to be buried with
Alexander, their grandfather by the mother's side. And this was the end
of Alexander and Aristobulus.
CHAPTER 28.
How Antipater Is Hated Of All Men; And How The King Espouses
The Sons Of Those That Had Been Slain To His Kindred; But
That Antipater Made Him Change Them For Other Women. Of
Herod's Marriages, And Children.
1. But an intolerable hatred fell upon Antipater from the nation, though
he had now an indisputable title to the succession, because they all
knew that he was the person who contrived all the calumnies against
his brethren. However, he began to be in a terrible fear, as he saw the
posterity of those that had been slain growing up; for Alexander had two
sons by Glaphyra, Tigranes and Alexander; and Aristobulus had Herod,
and Agrippa, and Aristobulus, his sons, with Herodias and Mariamne,
his daughters, and all by Bernice, Salome's daughter. As for Glaphyra,
Herod, as soon as he had killed Alexander, sent her back, together with
her portion, to Cappadocia. He married Bernice, Aristobulus's daughter,
to Antipater's uncle by his mother, and it was Antipater who, in
order to reconcile her to him, when she had been at variance with him,
contrived this match; he also got into Pheroras's favor, and into
the favor of Caesar's friends, by presents, and other ways of
obsequiousness, and sent no small sums of money to Rome; Saturninus
also, and his friends in Syria, were all well replenished with the
presents he made them; yet the more he gave, the more he was hated, as
not making these presents out of generosity, but spending his money out
of fear. Accordingly, it so fell out that the receivers bore him no more
good-will than before, but that those to whom he gave nothing were his
more bitter enemies. However, he bestowed his money every day more and
more profusely, on observing that, contrary to his expectations, the
king was taking care about the orphans, and discovering at the same time
his repentance for killing their fathers, by his commiseration of those
that sprang from them.
2. Accordingly, Herod got together his kindred and friends, and set
before them the children, and, with his eyes full of tears, said thus
to them: "It was an unlucky fate that took away from me these
children's fathers, which children are recommended to me by that natural
commiseration which their orphan condition requires; however, I will
endeavor, though I have been a most unfortunate father, to appear a
better grandfather, and to leave these children such curators after
myself as are dearest to me. I therefore betroth thy daughter, Pheroras,
to the elder of these brethren, the children of Alexander, that thou
mayst be obliged to take care of them. I also betroth to thy son,
Antipater, the daughter of Aristobulus; be thou therefore a father to
that orphan; and my son Herod [Philip] shall have her sister, whose
grandfather, by the mother's side, was high priest. And let every one
that loves me be of my sentiments in these dispositions, which none that
hath an affection for me will abrogate. And I pray God that he will join
these children together in marriage, to the advantage of my kingdom, and
of my posterity; and may he look down with eyes more serene upon them
than he looked upon their fathers."
3. While he spake these words he wept, and joined the children's
right hands together; after which he embraced them every one after an
affectionate manner, and dismissed the assembly. Upon this, Antipater
was in great disorder immediately, and lamented publicly at what was
done; for he supposed that this dignity which was conferred on these
orphans was for his own destruction, even in his father's lifetime, and
that he should run another risk of losing the government, if Alexander's
sons should have both Archelaus [a king], and Pheroras a tetrarch, to
support them. He also considered how he was himself hated by the nation,
and how they pitied these orphans; how great affection the Jews bare
to those brethren of his when they were alive, and how gladly they
remembered them now they had perished by his means. So he resolved by
all the ways possible to get these espousals dissolved.
4. Now he was afraid of going subtlely about this matter with his
father, who was hard to be pleased, and was presently moved upon the
least suspicion: so he ventured to go to him directly, and to beg of
him before his face not to deprive him of that dignity which he had been
pleased to bestow upon him; and that he might not have the bare name of
a king, while the power was in other persons; for that he should never
be able to keep the government, if Alexander's son was to have both his
grandfather Archelaus and Pheroras for his curators; and he besought him
earnestly, since there were so many of the royal family alive, that he
would change those [intended] marriages. Now the king had nine wives, 42
and children by seven of them; Antipater was himself born of Doris, and
Herod Philip of Mariamne, the high priest's daughter; Antipas also and
Archelaus were by Malthace, the Samaritan, as was his daughter Olympias,
which his brother Joseph's 43 son had married. By Cleopatra of Jerusalem
he had Herod and Philip; and by Pallas, Phasaelus; he had also two
daughters, Roxana and Salome, the one by Phedra, and the other by Elpis;
he had also two wives that had no children, the one his first cousin,
and the other his niece; and besides these he had two daughters, the
sisters of Alexander and Aristobulus, by Mariamne. Since, therefore,
the royal family was so numerous, Antipater prayed him to change these
intended marriages.
5. When the king perceived what disposition he was in towards these
orphans, he was angry at it, and a suspicion came into his mind as to
those sons whom he had put to death, whether that had not been brought
about by the false tales of Antipater; so that at that time he made
Antipater a long and a peevish answer, and bid him begone. Yet was he
afterwards prevailed upon cunningly by his flatteries, and changed the
marriages; he married Aristobulus's daughter to him, and his son to
Pheroras's daughter.
6. Now one may learn, in this instance, how very much this flattering
Antipater could do,--even what Salome in the like circumstances could
not do; for when she, who was his sister, and who, by the means of
Julia, Caesar's wife, earnestly desired leave to be married to Sylleus
the Arabian, Herod swore he would esteem her his bitter enemy, unless
she would leave off that project: he also caused her, against her own
consent, to be married to Alexas, a friend of his, and that one of
her daughters should be married to Alexas's son, and the other to
Antipater's uncle by the mother's side. And for the daughters the king
had by Mariamne, the one was married to Antipater, his sister's son, and
the other to his brother's son, Phasaelus.
CHAPTER 29.
Antipater Becomes Intolerable. He Is Sent To Rome, And
Carries Herod's Testament With Him; Pheroras Leaves His
Brother, That He May Keep His Wife. He Dies At Home.
1. Now when Antipater had cut off the hopes of the orphans, and had
contracted such affinities as would be most for his own advantage, he
proceeded briskly, as having a certain expectation of the kingdom; and
as he had now assurance added to his wickedness, he became intolerable;
for not being able to avoid the hatred of all people, he built his
security upon the terror he struck into them. Pheroras also assisted him
in his designs, looking upon him as already fixed in the kingdom.
There was also a company of women in the court, which excited new
disturbances; for Pheroras's wife, together with her mother and sister,
as also Antipater's mother, grew very impudent in the palace. She also
was so insolent as to affront the king's two daughters, 44 on which
account the king hated her to a great degree; yet although these women
were hated by him, they domineered over others: there was only Salome
who opposed their good agreement, and informed the king of their
meetings, as not being for the advantage of his affairs. And when those
women knew what calumnies she had raised against them, and how much
Herod was displeased, they left off their public meetings, and friendly
entertainments of one another; nay, on the contrary, they pretended
to quarrel one with another when the king was within hearing. The like
dissimulation did Antipater make use of; and when matters were public,
he opposed Pheroras; but still they had private cabals and merry
meetings in the night time; nor did the observation of others do any
more than confirm their mutual agreement. However, Salome knew every
thing they did, and told every thing to Herod.
2. But he was inflamed with anger at them, and chiefly at Pheroras's
wife; for Salome had principally accused her. So he got an assembly of
his friends and kindred together, and there accused this woman of many
things, and particularly of the affronts she had offered his daughters;
and that she had supplied the Pharisees with money, by way of rewards
for what they had done against him, and had procured his brother to
become his enemy, by giving him love potions. At length he turned his
speech to Pheroras, and told him that he would give him his choice of
these two things: Whether he would keep in with his brother, or with his
wife? And when Pheroras said that he would die rather than forsake his
wife, Herod, not knowing what to do further in that matter, turned his
speech to Antipater, and charged him to have no intercourse either with
Pheroras's wife, or with Pheroras himself, or with any one belonging
to her. Now though Antipater did not transgress that his injunction
publicly, yet did he in secret come to their night meetings; and because
he was afraid that Salome observed what he did, he procured, by the
means of his Italian friends, that he might go and live at Rome; for
when they wrote that it was proper for Antipater to be sent to Caesar
for some time, Herod made no delay, but sent him, and that with a
splendid attendance, and a great deal of money, and gave him his
testament to carry with him,--wherein Antipater had the kingdom
bequeathed to him, and wherein Herod was named for Antipater's
successor; that Herod, I mean, who was the son of Mariamne, the high
priest's daughter.
3. Sylleus also, the Arabian, sailed to Rome, without any regard to
Caesar's injunctions, and this in order to oppose Antipater with all
his might, as to that law-suit which Nicolaus had with him before. This
Sylleus had also a great contest with Aretas his own king; for he had
slain many others of Aretas's friends, and particularly Sohemus, the
most potent man in the city Petra. Moreover, he had prevailed with
Phabatus, who was Herod's steward, by giving him a great sum of money,
to assist him against Herod; but when Herod gave him more, he induced
him to leave Sylleus, and by this means he demanded of him all that
Caesar had required of him to pay. But when Sylleus paid nothing of what
he was to pay, and did also accuse Phabatus to Caesar, and said that he
was not a steward for Caesar's advantage, but for Herod's, Phabatus was
angry at him on that account, but was still in very great esteem with
Herod, and discovered Sylleus's grand secrets, and told the king that
Sylleus had corrupted Corinthus, one of the guards of his body, by
bribing him, and of whom he must therefore have a care. Accordingly, the
king complied; for this Corinthus, though he was brought up in Herod's
kingdom, yet was he by birth an Arabian; so the king ordered him to be
taken up immediately, and not only him, but two other Arabians, who were
caught with him; the one of them was Sylleus's friend, the other the
head of a tribe. These last, being put to the torture, confessed that
they had prevailed with Corinthus, for a large sum of money, to kill
Herod; and when they had been further examined before Saturninus, the
president of Syria, they were sent to Rome.
4. However, Herod did not leave off importuning Pheroras, but proceeded
to force him to put away his wife; 45 yet could he not devise any way
by which he could bring the woman herself to punishment, although he
had many causes of hatred to her; till at length he was in such great
uneasiness at her, that he cast both her and his brother out of his
kingdom. Pheroras took this injury very patiently, and went away into
his own tetrarchy, [Perea beyond Jordan,] and sware that there should
be but one end put to his flight, and that should be Herod's death;
and that he would never return while he was alive. Nor indeed would he
return when his brother was sick, although he earnestly sent for him to
come to him, because he had a mind to leave some injunctions with him
before he died; but Herod unexpectedly recovered. A little afterward
Pheroras himself fell sick, when Herod showed great moderation; for
he came to him, and pitied his case, and took care of him; but his
affection for him did him no good, for Pheroras died a little afterward.
Now though Herod had so great an affection for him to the last day
of his life, yet was a report spread abroad that he had killed him
by poison. However, he took care to have his dead body carried to
Jerusalem, and appointed a very great mourning to the whole nation for
him, and bestowed a most pompous funeral upon him. And this was the end
that one of Alexander's and Aristobulus's murderers came to.
CHAPTER 30.
When Herod Made Inquiry About Pheroras's Death A Discovery
Was Made That Antipater Had Prepared A Poisonous Draught For
Him. Herod Casts Doris And Her Accomplices, As Also
Mariamne, Out Of The Palace And Blots Her Son Herod Out Of
His Testament.
1. But now the punishment was transferred unto the original author,
Antipater, and took its rise from the death of Pheroras; for certain of
his freed-men came with a sad countenance to the king, and told him that
his brother had been destroyed by poison, and that his wife had brought
him somewhat that was prepared after an unusual manner, and that, upon
his eating it, he presently fell into his distemper; that Antipater's
mother and sister, two days before, brought a woman out of Arabia that
was skillful in mixing such drugs, that she might prepare a love potion
for Pheroras; and that instead of a love potion, she had given him
deadly poison; and that this was done by the management of Sylleus, who
was acquainted with that woman.
2. The king was deeply affected with so many suspicions, and had the
maid-servants and some of the free women also tortured; one of which
cried out in her agonies, "May that God that governs the earth and
the heaven punish this author of all these our miseries, Antipater's
mother!" The king took a handle from this confession, and proceeded to
inquire further into the truth of the matter. So this woman discovered
the friendship of Antipater's mother to Pheroras, and Antipater's women,
as also their secret meetings, and that Pheroras and Antipater had drunk
with them for a whole night together as they returned from the king,
and would not suffer any body, either man-servant or maidservant, to be
there; while one of the free women discovered the matter.
3. Upon this Herod tortured the maid-servants every one by themselves
separately, who all unanimously agreed in the foregoing discoveries,
and that accordingly by agreement they went away, Antipater to Rome, and
Pheroras to Perea; for that they oftentimes talked to one another thus:
That after Herod had slain Alexander and Aristobulus, he would fall upon
them, and upon their wives, because, after he Mariamne and her children
he would spare nobody; and that for this reason it was best to get as
far off the wild beast as they were able:--and that Antipater oftentimes
lamented his own case before his mother, and said to her, that he had
already gray hairs upon his head, and that his father grew younger again
every day, and that perhaps death would overtake him before he should
begin to be a king in earnest; and that in case Herod should die, which
yet nobody knew when it would be, the enjoyment of the succession could
certainly be but for a little time; for that these heads of Hydra, the
sons of Alexander and Aristobulus, were growing up: that he was deprived
by his father of the hopes of being succeeded by his children, for that
his successor after his death was not to be any one of his own sons,
but Herod the son of Mariamne: that in this point Herod was plainly
distracted, to think that his testament should therein take place; for
he would take care that not one of his posterity should remain, because
he was of all fathers the greatest hater of his children. Yet does he
hate his brother still worse; whence it was that he a while ago gave
himself a hundred talents, that he should not have any intercourse with
Pheroras. And when Pheroras said, Wherein have we done him any harm?
Antipater replied, "I wish he would but deprive us of all we have, and
leave us naked and alive only; but it is indeed impossible to escape
this wild beast, who is thus given to murder, who will not permit us to
love any person openly, although we be together privately; yet may we be
so openly too, if we have but the courage and the hands of men."
4. These things were said by the women upon the torture; as also that
Pheroras resolved to fly with them to Perea. Now Herod gave credit to
all they said, on account of the affair of the hundred talents; for he
had no discourse with any body about them, but only with Antipater. So
he vented his anger first of all against Antipater's mother, and took
away from her all the ornaments which he had given her, which cost a
great many talents, and cast her out of the palace a second time. He
also took care of Pheroras's women after their tortures, as being now
reconciled to them; but he was in great consternation himself, and
inflamed upon every suspicion, and had many innocent persons led to
the torture, out of his fear lest he should leave any guilty person
untortured.
5. And now it was that he betook himself to examine Antipater of
Samaria, who was the steward of [his son] Antipater; and upon torturing
him, he learned that Antipater had sent for a potion of deadly poison
for him out of Egypt, by Antiphilus, a companion of his; that Theudio,
the uncle of Antipater, had it from him, and delivered it to Pheroras;
for that Antipater had charged him to take his father off while he was
at Rome, and so free him from the suspicion of doing it himself: that
Pheroras also committed this potion to his wife. Then did the king send
for her, and bid her bring to him what she had received immediately. So
she came out of her house as if she would bring it with her, but
threw herself down from the top of the house, in order to prevent any
examination and torture from the king. However, it came to pass, as it
seems by the providence of God, when he intended to bring Antipater to
punishment, that she fell not upon her head, but upon other parts of her
body, and escaped. The king, when she was brought to him, took care of
her, [for she was at first quite senseless upon her fall,] and asked
her why she had thrown herself down; and gave her his oath, that if she
would speak the real truth, he would excuse her from punishment; but
that if she concealed any thing, he would have her body torn to pieces
by torments, and leave no part of it to be buried.
6. Upon this the woman paused a little, and then said, "Why do I spare
to speak of these grand secrets, now Pheroras is dead? that would only
tend to save Antipater, who is all our destruction. Hear then, O king,
and be thou, and God himself, who cannot be deceived, witnesses to the
truth of what I am going to say. When thou didst sit weeping by Pheroras
as he was dying," then it was that he called me to him, and said, "My
dear wife, I have been greatly mistaken as to the disposition of my
brother towards me, and have hated him that is so affectionate to me,
and have contrived to kill him who is in such disorder for me before I
am dead. As for myself, I receive the recompence of my impiety; but do
thou bring what poison was left with us by Antipater, and which thou
keepest in order to destroy him, and consume it immediately in the fire
in my sight, that I may not be liable to the avenger in the invisible
world." This I brought as he bid me, and emptied the greatest part of
it into the fire, but reserved a little of it for my own use against
uncertain futurity, and out of my fear of thee.
7. When she had said this, she brought the box, which had a small
quantity of this potion in it: but the king let her alone, and
transferred the tortures to Antiphilus's mother and brother; who both
confessed that Antiphilus brought the box out of Egypt, and that they
had received the potion from a brother of his, who was a physician at
Alexandria. Then did the ghosts of Alexander and Aristobulus go round
all the palace, and became the inquisitors and discoverers of what could
not otherwise have been found out and brought such as were the freest
from suspicion to be examined; whereby it was discovered that Mariamne,
the high priest's daughter, was conscious of this plot; and her very
brothers, when they were tortured, declared it so to be. Whereupon
the king avenged this insolent attempt of the mother upon her son, and
blotted Herod, whom he had by her, out of his tretament, who had been
before named therein as successor to Antipater.
CHAPTER 31.
Antipater Is Convicted By Bathyllus; But He Still Returns
From Rome Without Knowing It. Herod Brings Him To His Trial.
1. After these things were over, Bathyllus came under examination, in
order to convict Antipater, who proved the concluding attestation to
Antipater's designs; for indeed he was no other than his freed-man. This
man came, and brought another deadly potion, the poison of asps, and
the juices of other serpents, that if the first potion did not do the
business, Pheroras and his wife might be armed with this also to destroy
the king. He brought also an addition to Antipater's insolent attempt
against his father, which was the letters which he wrote against his
brethren, Archelaus and Philip, which were the king's sons, and educated
at Rome, being yet youths, but of generous dispositions. Antipater set
himself to get rid of these as soon as he could, that they might not be
prejudicial to his hopes; and to that end he forged letters against them
in the name of his friends at Rome. Some of these he corrupted by bribes
to write how they grossly reproached their father, and did openly bewail
Alexander and Aristobulus, and were uneasy at their being recalled; for
their father had already sent for them, which was the very thing that
troubled Antipater.
2. Nay, indeed, while Antipater was in Judea, and before he was upon
his journey to Rome, he gave money to have the like letters against them
sent from Rome, and then came to his father, who as yet had no suspicion
of him, and apologized for his brethren, and alleged on their behalf
that some of the things contained in those letters were false, and
others of them were only youthful errors. Yet at the same time that he
expended a great deal of his money, by making presents to such as wrote
against his brethren, did he aim to bring his accounts into confusion,
by buying costly garments, and carpets of various contextures, with
silver and gold cups, and a great many more curious things, that so,
among the view great expenses laid out upon such furniture, he might
conceal the money he had used in hiring men [to write the letters];
for he brought in an account of his expenses, amounting to two hundred
talents, his main pretense for which was file law-suit he had been in
with Sylleus. So while all his rogueries, even those of a lesser sort
also, were covered by his greater villainy, while all the examinations
by torture proclaimed his attempt to murder his father, and the letters
proclaimed his second attempt to murder his brethren; yet did no one of
those that came to Rome inform him of his misfortunes in Judea, although
seven months had intervened between his conviction and his return, so
great was the hatred which they all bore to him. And perhaps they were
the ghosts of those brethren of his that had been murdered that stopped
the mouths of those that intended to have told him. He then wrote from
Rome, and informed his [friends] that he would soon come to them, and
how he was dismissed with honor by Caesar.
3. Now the king, being desirous to get this plotter against him into
his hands, and being also afraid lest he should some way come to the
knowledge how his affairs stood, and be upon his guard, he dissembled
his anger in his epistle to him, as in other points he wrote kindly to
him, and desired him to make haste, because if he came quickly, he would
then lay aside the complaints he had against his mother; for Antipater
was not ignorant that his mother had been expelled out of the palace.
However, he had before received a letter, which contained an account of
the death of Pheroras, at Tarentum, 46 and made great lamentations at
it; for which some commended him, as being for his own uncle; though
probably this confusion arose on account of his having thereby failed in
his plot [on his father's life]; and his tears were more for the loss
of him that was to have been subservient therein, than for [an uncle]
Pheroras: moreover, a sort of fear came upon him as to his designs, lest
the poison should have been discovered. However, when he was in Cilicia,
he received the forementioned epistle from his father, and made great
haste accordingly. But when he had sailed to Celenderis, a suspicion
came into his mind relating to his mother's misfortunes; as if his soul
foreboded some mischief to itself. Those therefore of his friends which
were the most considerate advised him not rashly to go to his father,
till he had learned what were the occasions why his mother had been
ejected, because they were afraid that he might be involved in the
calumnies that had been cast upon his mother: but those that were less
considerate, and had more regard to their own desires of seeing their
native country, than to Antipater's safety, persuaded him to make haste
home, and not, by delaying his journey, afford his father ground for an
ill suspicion, and give a handle to those that raised stories against
him; for that in case any thing had been moved to his disadvantage, it
was owing to his absence, which durst not have been done had he been
present. And they said it was absurd to deprive himself of certain
happiness, for the sake of an uncertain suspicion, and not rather to
return to his father, and take the royal authority upon him, which was
in a state of fluctuation on his account only. Antipater complied with
this last advice, for Providence hurried him on [to his destruction]. So
he passed over the sea, and landed at Sebastus, the haven of Cesarea.
4. And here he found a perfect and unexpected solitude, while ever body
avoided him, and nobody durst come at him; for he was equally hated by
all men; and now that hatred had liberty to show itself, and the dread
men were in at the king's anger made men keep from him; for the whole
city [of Jerusalem] was filled with the rumors about Antipater, and
Antipater himself was the only person who was ignorant of them; for as
no man was dismissed more magnificently when he began his voyage to Rome
so was no man now received back with greater ignominy. And indeed he
began already to suspect what misfortunes there were in Herod's family;
yet did he cunningly conceal his suspicion; and while he was inwardly
ready to die for fear, he put on a forced boldness of countenance. Nor
could he now fly any whither, nor had he any way of emerging out of the
difficulties which encompassed him; nor indeed had he even there any
certain intelligence of the affairs of the royal family, by reason
of the threats the king had given out: yet had he some small hopes
of better tidings; for perhaps nothing had been discovered; or if any
discovery had been made, perhaps he should be able to clear himself by
impudence and artful tricks, which were the only things he relied upon
for his deliverance.
5. And with these hopes did he screen himself, till he came to the
palace, without any friends with him; for these were affronted, and shut
out at the first gate. Now Varus, the president of Syria, happened to
be in the palace [at this juncture]; so Antipater went in to his father,
and, putting on a bold face, he came near to salute him. But Herod
Stretched out his hands, and turned his head away from him, and cried
out, "Even this is an indication of a parricide, to be desirous to
get me into his arms, when he is under such heinous accusations. God
confound thee, thou vile wretch; do not thou touch me, till thou hast
cleared thyself of these crimes that are charged upon thee. I appoint
thee a court where thou art to be judged, and this Varus, who is very
seasonably here, to be thy judge; and get thou thy defense ready against
tomorrow, for I give thee so much time to prepare suitable excuses for
thyself." And as Antipater was so confounded, that he was able to make
no answer to this charge, he went away; but his mother and wife came
to him, and told him of all the evidence they had gotten against him.
Hereupon he recollected himself, and considered what defense he should
make against the accusations.
CHAPTER 32.
Antipater Is Accused Before Varus, And Is Convicted Of
Laying A Plot [Against His Father] By The Strongest
Evidence. Herod Puts Off His Punishment Till He Should Be
Recovered, And In The Mean Time Alters His Testament.
1. Now the day following the king assembled a court of his kinsmen and
friends, and called in Antipater's friends also. Herod himself, with
Varus, were the presidents; and Herod called for all the witnesses, and
ordered them to be brought in; among whom some of the domestic servants
of Antipater's mother were brought in also, who had but a little while
before been caught, as they were carrying the following letter from her
to her son: "Since all those things have been already discovered to
thy father, do not thou come to him, unless thou canst procure some
assistance from Caesar." When this and the other witnesses were
introduced, Antipater came in, and falling on his face before his
father's feet, he said, "Father, I beseech thee, do not condemn me
beforehand, but let thy ears be unbiassed, and attend to my defense; for
if thou wilt give me leave, I will demonstrate that I am innocent."
2. Hereupon Herod cried out to him to hold his peace, and spake thus
to Varus: "I cannot but think that thou, Varus, and every other upright
judge, will determine that Antipater is a vile wretch. I am also afraid
that thou wilt abhor my ill fortune, and judge me also myself worthy
of all sorts of calamity for begetting such children; while yet I ought
rather to be pitied, who have been so affectionate a father to such
wretched sons; for when I had settled the kingdom on my former sons,
even when they were young, and when, besides the charges of their
education at Rome, I had made them the friends of Caesar, and made them
envied by other kings, I found them plotting against me. These have been
put to death, and that, in great measure, for the sake of Antipater;
for as he was then young, and appointed to be my successor, I took care
chiefly to secure him from danger: but this profligate wild beast, when
he had been over and above satiated with that patience which I showed
him, he made use of that abundance I had given him against myself; for I
seemed to him to live too long, and he was very uneasy at the old age
I was arrived at; nor could he stay any longer, but would be a king by
parricide. And justly I am served by him for bringing him back out of
the country to court, when he was of no esteem before, and for thrusting
out those sons of mine that were born of the queen, and for making him a
successor to my dominions. I confess to thee, O Varus, the great folly I
was guilty for I provoked those sons of mine to act against me, and cut
off their just expectations for the sake of Antipater; and indeed what
kindness did I do them; that could equal what I have done to Antipater?
to I have, in a manner, yielded up my royal while I am alive, and whom I
have openly named for the successor to my dominions in my testament, and
given him a yearly revenue of his own of fifty talents, and supplied him
with money to an extravagant degree out of my own revenue; and' when
he was about to sail to Rome, I gave him three talents, and recommended
him, and him alone of all my children, to Caesar, as his father's
deliverer. Now what crimes were those other sons of mine guilty of like
these of Antipater? and what evidence was there brought against them so
strong as there is to demonstrate this son to have plotted against
me? Yet does this parricide presume to speak for himself, and hopes
to obscure the truth by his cunning tricks. Thou, O Varus, must guard
thyself against him; for I know the wild beast, and I foresee how
plausibly he will talk, and his counterfeit lamentation. This was he who
exhorted me to have a care of Alexander when he was alive, and not to
intrust my body with all men! This was he who came to my very bed, and
looked about lest any one should lay snares for me! This was he who took
care of my sleep, and secured me from fear of danger, who comforted me
under the trouble I was in upon the slaughter of my sons, and looked to
see what affection my surviving brethren bore me! This was my protector,
and the guardian of my body! And when I call to mind, O Varus, his
craftiness upon every occasion, and his art of dissembling, I can hardly
believe that I am still alive, and I wonder how I have escaped such a
deep plotter of mischief. However, since some fate or other makes my
house desolate, and perpetually raises up those that are dearest to me
against me, I will, with tears, lament my hard fortune, and privately
groan under my lonesome condition; yet am I resolved that no one who
thirsts after my blood shall escape punishment, although the evidence
should extend itself to all my sons."
3. Upon Herod's saying this, he was interrupted by the confusion he was
in; but ordered Nicolaus, one of his friends, to produce the evidence
against Antipater. But in the mean time Antipater lifted up his head,
[for he lay on the ground before his father's feet,] and cried out
aloud, "Thou, O father, hast made my apology for me; for how can I be
a parricide, whom thou thyself confessest to have always had for
thy guardian? Thou callest my filial affection prodigious lies and
hypocrisy! how then could it be that I, who was so subtle in other
matters, should here be so mad as not to understand that it was not easy
that he who committed so horrid a crime should be concealed from men,
but impossible that he should be concealed from the Judge of heaven, who
sees all things, and is present every where? or did not I know what end
my brethren came to, on whom God inflicted so great a punishment for
their evil designs against thee? And indeed what was there that could
possibly provoke me against thee? Could the hope of being king do it?
I was a king already. Could I suspect hatred from thee? No. Was not I
beloved by thee? And what other fear could I have? Nay, by preserving
thee safe, I was a terror to others. Did I want money? No; for who was
able to expend so much as myself? Indeed, father, had I been the most
execrable of all mankind, and had I had the soul of the most cruel
wild beast, must I not have been overcome with the benefits thou hadst
bestowed upon me? whom, as thou thyself sayest, thou broughtest [into
the palace]; whom thou didst prefer before so many of thy sons; whom
thou madest a king in thine own lifetime, and, by the vast magnitude of
the other advantages thou bestowedst on me, thou madest me an object of
envy. O miserable man! that thou shouldst undergo this bitter absence,
and thereby afford a great opportunity for envy to arise against thee,
and a long space for such as were laying designs against thee! Yet was
I absent, father, on thy affairs, that Sylleus might not treat thee with
contempt in thine old age. Rome is a witness to my filial affection, and
so is Caesar, the ruler of the habitable earth, who oftentimes called me
Philopater. 47 Take here the letters he hath sent thee, they are more
to be believed than the calumnies raised here; these letters are my only
apology; these I use as the demonstration of that natural affection I
have to thee. Remember that it was against my own choice that I sailed
[to Rome], as knowing the latent hatred that was in the kingdom against
me. It was thou, O father, however unwillingly, who hast been my ruin,
by forcing me to allow time for calumnies against me, and envy at me.
However, I am come hither, and am ready to hear the evidence there
is against me. If I be a parricide, I have passed by land and by sea,
without suffering any misfortune on either of them: but this method of
trial is no advantage to me; for it seems, O father, that I am already
condemned, both before God and before thee; and as I am already
condemned, I beg that thou wilt not believe the others that have been
tortured, but let fire be brought to torment me; let the racks march
through my bowels; have no regard to any lamentations that this polluted
body can make; for if I be a parricide, I ought not to die without
torture." Thus did Antipater cry out with lamentation and weeping, and
moved all the rest, and Varus in particular, to commiserate his case.
Herod was the only person whose passion was too strong to permit him to
weep, as knowing that the testimonies against him were true.
4. And now it was that, at the king's command, Nicolaus, when he
had premised a great deal about the craftiness of Antipater, and had
prevented the effects of their commiseration to him, afterwards
brought in a bitter and large accusation against him, ascribing all
the wickedness that had been in the kingdom to him, and especially the
murder of his brethren; and demonstrated that they had perished by the
calumnies he had raised against them. He also said that he had laid
designs against them that were still alive, as if they were laying plots
for the succession; and [said he] how can it be supposed that he who
prepared poison for his father should abstain from mischief as to his
brethren? He then proceeded to convict him of the attempt to poison
Herod, and gave an account in order of the several discoveries that
had been made; and had great indignation as to the affair of Pheroras,
because Antipater had been for making him murder his brother, and had
corrupted those that were dearest to the king, and filled the whole
palace with wickedness; and when he had insisted on many other
accusations, and the proofs for them, he left off.
5. Then Varus bid Antipater make his defense; but he lay along in
silence, and said no more but this, "God is my witness that I am
entirely innocent." So Varus asked for the potion, and gave it to be
drunk by a condemned malefactor, who was then in prison, who died upon
the spot. So Varus, when he had had a very private discourse with Herod,
and had written an account of this assembly to Caesar, went away, after
a day's stay. The king also bound Antipater, and sent away to inform
Caesar of his misfortunes.
6. Now after this it was discovered that Antipater had laid a plot
against Salome also; for one of Antiphilus's domestic servants came,
and brought letters from Rome, from a maid-servant of Julia, [Caesar's
wife,] whose name was Acme. By her a message was sent to the king, that
she had found a letter written by Salome, among Julia's papers, and had
sent it to him privately, out of her good-will to him. This letter of
Salome contained the most bitter reproaches of the king, and the highest
accusations against him. Antipater had forged this letter, and had
corrupted Acme, and persuaded her to send it to Herod. This was proved
by her letter to Antipater, for thus did this woman write to him: "As
thou desirest, I have written a letter to thy father, and have sent that
letter, and am persuaded that the king will not spare his sister when he
reads it. Thou wilt do well to remember what thou hast promised when all
is accomplished."
7. When this epistle was discovered, and what the epistle forged against
Salome contained, a suspicion came into the king's mind, that perhaps
the letters against Alexander were also forged: he was moreover greatly
disturbed, and in a passion, because he had almost slain his sister on
Antipater's account. He did no longer delay therefore to bring him
to punishment for all his crimes; yet when he was eagerly pursuing
Antipater, he was restrained by a severe distemper he fell into.
However, he sent all account to Caesar about Acme, and the contrivances
against Salome; he sent also for his testament, and altered it, and
therein made Antipas king, as taking no care of Archelaus and Philip,
because Antipater had blasted their reputations with him; but he
bequeathed to Caesar, besides other presents that he gave him, a
thousand talents; as also to his wife, and children, and friends, and
freed-men about five hundred: he also bequeathed to all others a great
quantity of land, and of money, and showed his respects to Salome
his sister, by giving her most splendid gifts. And this was what was
contained in his testament, as it was now altered.
CHAPTER 33.
The Golden Eagle Is Cut To Pieces. Herod's Barbarity When He
Was Ready To Die. He Attempts To Kill Himself. He Commands
Antipater To Be Slain. He Survives Him Five Days And Then
Dies.
1. Now Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and this
because these his disorders fell upon him in his old age, and when he
was in a melancholy condition; for he was already seventy years of age,
and had been brought by the calamities that happened to him about
his children, whereby he had no pleasure in life, even when he was in
health; the grief also that Antipater was still alive aggravated his
disease, whom he resolved to put to death now not at random, but as soon
as he should be well again, and resolved to have him slain [in a public
manner].
2. There also now happened to him, among his other calamities, a
certain popular sedition. There were two men of learning in the city
[Jerusalem,] who were thought the most skillful in the laws of their
country, and were on that account had in very great esteem all over the
nation; they were, the one Judas, the son of Sepphoris, and the other
Matthias, the son of Margalus. There was a great concourse of the young
men to these men when they expounded the laws, and there got together
every day a kind of an army of such as were growing up to be men.
Now when these men were informed that the king was wearing away
with melancholy, and with a distemper, they dropped words to their
acquaintance, how it was now a very proper time to defend the cause
of God, and to pull down what had been erected contrary to the laws of
their country; for it was unlawful there should be any such thing in
the temple as images, or faces, or the like representation of any animal
whatsoever. Now the king had put up a golden eagle over the great gate
of the temple, which these learned men exhorted them to cut down; and
told them, that if there should any danger arise, it was a glorious
thing to die for the laws of their country; because that the soul was
immortal, and that an eternal enjoyment of happiness did await such as
died on that account; while the mean-spirited, and those that were not
wise enough to show a right love of their souls, preferred a death by a
disease, before that which is the result of a virtuous behavior.
3. At the same time that these men made this speech to their disciples,
a rumor was spread abroad that the king was dying, which made the
young men set about the work with greater boldness; they therefore let
themselves down from the top of the temple with thick cords, and this at
midday, and while a great number of people were in the temple, and cut
down that golden eagle with axes. This was presently told to the king's
captain of the temple, who came running with a great body of soldiers,
and caught about forty of the young men, and brought them to the king.
And when he asked them, first of all, whether they had been so hardy as
to cut down the golden eagle, they confessed they had done so; and when
he asked them by whose command they had done it, they replied, at the
command of the law of their country; and when he further asked them how
they could be so joyful when they were to be put to death, they replied,
because they should enjoy greater happiness after they were dead. 48
4. At this the king was in such an extravagant passion, that he overcame
his disease [for the time,] and went out, and spake to the people;
wherein he made a terrible accusation against those men, as being guilty
of sacrilege, and as making greater attempts under pretense of their
law, and he thought they deserved to be punished as impious persons.
Whereupon the people were afraid lest a great number should be found
guilty and desired that when he had first punished those that put them
upon this work, and then those that were caught in it, he would leave
off his anger as to the rest. With this the king complied, though not
without difficulty, and ordered those that had let themselves down,
together with their Rabbins, to be burnt alive, but delivered the rest
that were caught to the proper officers, to be put to death by them.
5. After this, the distemper seized upon his whole body, and greatly
disordered all its parts with various symptoms; for there was a gentle
fever upon him, and an intolerable itching over all the surface of his
body, and continual pains in his colon, and dropsical turnouts about
his feet, and an inflammation of the abdomen, and a putrefaction of his
privy member, that produced worms. Besides which he had a difficulty of
breathing upon him, and could not breathe but when he sat upright, and
had a convulsion of all his members, insomuch that the diviners said
those diseases were a punishment upon him for what he had done to the
Rabbins. Yet did he struggle with his numerous disorders, and still
had a desire to live, and hoped for recovery, and considered of several
methods of cure. Accordingly, he went over Jordan, and made use of those
hot baths at Callirrhoe, which ran into the lake Asphaltites, but are
themselves sweet enough to be drunk. And here the physicians thought
proper to bathe his whole body in warm oil, by letting it down into a
large vessel full of oil; whereupon his eyes failed him, and he came and
went as if he was dying; and as a tumult was then made by his servants,
at their voice he revived again. Yet did he after this despair of
recovery, and gave orders that each soldier should have fifty drachmae
a-piece, and that his commanders and friends should have great sums of
money given them.
6. He then returned back and came to Jericho, in such a melancholy state
of body as almost threatened him with present death, when he proceeded
to attempt a horrid wickedness; for he got together the most illustrious
men of the whole Jewish nation, out of every village, into a place
called the Hippodrome, and there shut them in. He then called for his
sister Salome, and her husband Alexas, and made this speech to them:
"I know well enough that the Jews will keep a festival upon my death
however, it is in my power to be mourned for on other accounts, and to
have a splendid funeral, if you will but be subservient to my commands.
Do you but take care to send soldiers to encompass these men that are
now in custody, and slay them immediately upon my death, and then all
Judea, and every family of them, will weep at it, whether they will or
no."
7. These were the commands he gave them; when there came letters from
his ambassadors at Rome, whereby information was given that Acme was put
to death at Caesar's command, and that Antipater was condemned to die;
however, they wrote withal, that if Herod had a mind rather to banish
him, Caesar permitted him so to do. So he for a little while revived,
and had a desire to live; but presently after he was overborne by his
pains, and was disordered by want of food, and by a convulsive cough,
and endeavored to prevent a natural, death; so he took an apple, and
asked for a knife for he used to pare apples and eat them; he then
looked round about to see that there was nobody to hinder him, and lift
up his right hand as if he would stab himself; but Achiabus, his first
cousin, came running to him, and held his hand, and hindered him from
so doing; on which occasion a very great lamentation was made in the
palace, as if the king were expiring. As soon as ever Antipater heard
that, he took courage, and with joy in his looks, besought his keepers,
for a sum of money, to loose him and let him go; but the principal
keeper of the prison did not only obstruct him in that his intention,
but ran and told the king what his design was; hereupon the king cried
out louder than his distemper would well bear, and immediately sent some
of his guards and slew Antipater; he also gave order to have him
buried at Hyrcanium, and altered his testament again, and therein made
Archelaus, his eldest son, and the brother of Antipas, his successor,
and made Antipas tetrarch.
8. So Herod, having survived the slaughter of his son five days, died,
having reigned thirty-four years since he had caused Antigonus to be
slain, and obtained his kingdom; but thirty-seven years since he had
been made king by the Romans. Now as for his fortune, it was prosperous
in all other respects, if ever any other man could be so, since, from a
private man, he obtained the kingdom, and kept it so long, and left
it to his own sons; but still in his domestic affairs he was a most
unfortunate man. Now, before the soldiers knew of his death, Salome and
her husband came out and dismissed those that were in bonds, whom the
king had commanded to be slain, and told them that he had altered his
mind, and would have every one of them sent to their own homes. When
these men were gone, Salome, told the soldiers [the king was dead], and
got them and the rest of the multitude together to an assembly, in the
amphitheater at Jericho, where Ptolemy, who was intrusted by the king
with his signet ring, came before them, and spake of the happiness the
king had attained, and comforted the multitude, and read the epistle
which had been left for the soldiers, wherein he earnestly exhorted them
to bear good-will to his successor; and after he had read the epistle,
he opened and read his testament, wherein Philip was to inherit
Trachonitis, and the neighboring countries, and Antipas was to be
tetrarch, as we said before, and Archelaus was made king. He had also
been commanded to carry Herod's ring to Caesar, and the settlements
he had made, sealed up, because Caesar was to be lord of all the
settlements he had made, and was to confirm his testament; and he
ordered that the dispositions he had made were to be kept as they were
in his former testament.
9. So there was an acclamation made to Archelaus, to congratulate him
upon his advancement; and the soldiers, with the multitude, went round
about in troops, and promised him their good-will, and besides, prayed
God to bless his government. After this, they betook themselves to
prepare for the king's funeral; and Archelaus omitted nothing of
magnificence therein, but brought out all the royal ornaments to augment
the pomp of the deceased. There was a bier all of gold, embroidered with
precious stones, and a purple bed of various contexture, with the dead
body upon it, covered with purple; and a diadem was put upon his head,
and a crown of gold above it, and a sceptre in his right hand; and near
to the bier were Herod's sons, and a multitude of his kindred; next to
which came his guards, and the regiment of Thracians, the Germans also
and Gauls, all accounted as if they were going to war; but the rest of
the army went foremost, armed, and following their captains and officers
in a regular manner; after whom five hundred of his domestic servants
and freed-men followed, with sweet spices in their hands: and the body
was carried two hundred furlongs, to Herodium, where he had given order
to be buried. And this shall suffice for the conclusion of the life of
Herod.
WAR BOOK 1 FOOTNOTES
1 (return) [ I see little difference in the several accounts in Josephus
about the Egyptian temple Onion, of which large complaints are made by
his commentators. Onias, it seems, hoped to have made it very like that
at Jerusalem, and of the same dimensions; and so he appears to have
really done, as far as he was able and thought proper. Of this temple,
see Antiq. B. XIII. ch. 3. sect. 1--3, and Of the War, B. VII. ch. 10.
sect. 8.]
2 (return) [ Why this John, the son of Simon, the high priest and
governor of the Jews, was called Hyrcanus, Josephus no where informs
us; nor is he called other than John at the end of the First Book of the
Maccabees. However, Sixtus Seuensis, when he gives us an epitome of
the Greek version of the book here abridged by Josephus, or of the
Chronicles of this John Hyrcanus, then extant, assures us that he was
called Hyrcanus from his conquest of one of that name. See Authent. Rec.
Part I. p. 207. But of this younger Antiochus, see Dean Aldrich's note
here.]
3 (return) [ Josephus here calls this Antiochus the last of the
Seleucidae, although there remained still a shadow of another king of
that family, Antiochus Asiaticus, or Commagenus, who reigned, or rather
lay hid, till Pompey quite turned him out, as Dean Aldrich here notes
from Appian and Justin.]
4 (return) [ Matthew 16:19; 18:18. Here we have the oldest and most
authentic Jewish exposition of binding and loosing, for punishing or
absolving men, not for declaring actions lawful or unlawful, as some
more modern Jews and Christians vainly pretend.]
5 (return) [ Strabo, B. XVI. p. 740, relates, that this Selene Cleopatra
was besieged by Tigranes, not in Ptolemais, as here, but after she had
left Syria, in Seleucia, a citadel in Mesopotamia; and adds, that when
he had kept her a while in prison, he put her to death. Dean Aldrich
supposes here that Strabo contradicts Josephus, which does not appear
to me; for although Josephus says both here and in the Antiquities, B.
XIII. ch. 16. sect. 4, that Tigranes besieged her now in Ptolemais,
and that he took the city, as the Antiquities inform us, yet does he
no where intimate that he now took the queen herself; so that both the
narrations of Strabo and Josephus may still be true notwithstanding.]
6 (return) [ That this Antipater, the father of Herod the Great was an
Idumean, as Josephus affirms here, see the note on Antiq. B. XIV. ch.
15. sect. 2. It is somewhat probable, as Hapercamp supposes, and partly
Spanheim also, that the Latin is here the truest; that Pompey did him
Hyrcanus, as he would have done the others from Aristobulus, sect. 6,
although his remarkable abstinence from the 2000 talents that were in
the Jewish temple, when he took it a little afterward, ch. 7. sect. 6,
and Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 4. sect. 4, will to Greek all which agree he did
not take them.]
7 (return) [ Of the famous palm trees and balsam about Jericho and
Engaddl, see the notes in Havercamp's edition, both here and B. II. ch.
9. sect. 1. They are somewhat too long to be transcribed in this place.]
8 (return) [ Thus says Tacitus: Cn. Pompelna first of all subdued the
Jews, and went into their temple, by right of conquest, Hist. B. V.
ch. 9. Nor did he touch any of its riches, as has been observed on the
parallel place of the Antiquities, B. XIV. ch. 4. sect. 4, out of Cicero
himself.]
9 (return) [ The coin of this Gadara, still extant, with its date from
this era, is a certain evidence of this its rebuilding by Pompey, as
Spanheim here assures us.]
10 (return) [ Take the like attestation to the truth of this submission
of Aretas, king of Arabia, to Scaurus the Roman general, in the words of
Dean Aldrich. "Hence [says he] is derived that old and famous Denarius
belonging to the Emillian family [represented in Havercamp's edition],
wherein Aretas appears in a posture of supplication, and taking hold of
a camel's bridle with his left hand, and with his right hand presenting
a branch of the frankincense tree, with this inscription, M. SCAURUS EX
S.C.; and beneath, REX ARETAS."]
11 (return) [ This citation is now wanting.]
12 (return) [ What is here noted by Hudson and Spanheim, that this grant
of leave to rebuild the walls of the cities of Judea was made by Julius
Caesar, not as here to Antipater, but to Hyrcanas, Antiq. B. XIV. ch.
8. sect. 5, has hardly an appearance of a contradiction; Antipater being
now perhaps considered only as Hyrcanus's deputy and minister; although
he afterwards made a cipher of Hyrcanus, and, under great decency of
behavior to him, took the real authority to himself.]
13 (return) [ Or twenty-five years of age. See note on Antiq. B. I. ch.
12. sect. 3; and on B. XIV. ch. 9. sect. 2; and Of the War, B. II.
ch. 11. sect. 6; and Polyb. B. XVII. p. 725. Many writers of the Roman
history give an account of this murder of Sextus Caesar, and of the war
of Apamia upon that occasion. They are cited in Dean Aldrich's note.]
14 (return) [ In the Antiquities, B. XIV. ch. 11. sect. 1, the duration
of the reign of Julius Caesar is three years six months; but here three
years seven months, beginning nightly, says Dean Aldrich, from his
second dictatorship. It is probable the real duration might be three
years and between six and seven months.]
15 (return) [ It appears evidently by Josephus's accounts, both here and
in his Antiquities, B. XIV. ch. 11. sect. 2, that this Cassius, one of
Caesar's murderers, was a bitter oppressor, and exactor of tribute
in Judea. These seven hundred talents amount to about three hundred
thousand pounds sterling, and are about half the yearly revenues of king
Herod afterwards. See the note on Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 11. sect. 4. It
also appears that Galilee then paid no more than one hundred talents, or
the seventh part of the entire sum to be levied in all the country.]
16 (return) [ Here we see that Cassius set tyrants over all Syria; so
that his assisting to destroy Caesar does not seem to have proceeded
from his true zeal for public liberty, but from a desire to be a tyrant
himself.]
17 (return) [ Phasaelus and Herod.]
18 (return) [ This large and noted wood, or woodland, belonging
to Carmel, called Apago by the Septuagint, is mentioned in the Old
Testament, 2 Kings 19:23; Isaiah 37:24, and by I Strabo, B. XVI. p. 758,
as both Aldrich and Spanheim here remark very pertinently.]
19 (return) [ These accounts, both here and Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 13. sect.
5, that the Parthians fought chiefly on horseback, and that only
some few of their soldiers were free-men, perfectly agree with Trogus
Pompeius, in Justin, B. XLI. 2, 3, as Dean Aldrich well observes on this
place.]
20 (return) [ Mariamac here, in the copies.]
21 (return) [ This Brentesium or Brundusium has coin still preserved, on
which is written, as Spanheim informs us.]
22 (return) [ This Dellius is famous, or rather infamous, in the history
of Mark Antony, as Spanheim and Aldrich here note, from the coins, from
Plutarch and Dio.]
23 (return) [ This Sepphoris, the metropolis of Galilee, so often
mentioned by Josephus, has coins still remaining, as Spanheim here
informs us.]
24 (return) [ This way of speaking, "after forty days," is interpreted
by Josephus himself, "on the fortieth day," Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 15. sect.
4. In like manner, when Josephus says, ch. 33. sect. 8, that Herod lived
"after" he had ordered Antipater to be slain "five days;" this is by
himself interpreted, Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 8. sect. 1, that he died "on
the fifth day afterward." So also what is in this book, ch. 13. sect.
1, "after two years," is, Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 13. sect. 3, "on the second
year." And Dean Aldrich here notes that this way of speaking is familiar
to Josephus.]
25 (return) [ This Samosata, the metropolis of Commagena, is well known
from its coins, as Spanheim here assures us. Dean Aldrich also confirms
what Josephus here notes, that Herod was a great means of taking the
city by Antony, and that from Plutarch and Dio.]
26 (return) [ That is, a woman, not, a man.]
27 (return) [ This death of Antigonus is confirmed by Plutarch and.
Straho; the latter of whom is cited for it by Josephus himself, Antiq.
B. XV. ch. 1. sect. 2, as Dean Aldrich here observes.]
28 (return) [ This ancient liberty of Tyre and Sidon under the Romans,
taken notice of by Josephus, both here and Antiq. B. XV. ch. 4. sect. 1,
is confirmed by the testimony of Sirabe, B. XVI. p. 757, as Dean Aldrich
remarks; although, as he justly adds, this liberty lasted but a little
while longer, when Augtus took it away from them.]
29 (return) [ This seventh year of the reign of Herod [from the conquest
or death of Antigonus], with the great earthquake in the beginning of
the same spring, which are here fully implied to be not much before the
fight at Actium, between Octavius and Antony, and which is known from
the Roman historians to have been in the beginning of September, in the
thirty-first year before the Christian era, determines the chronology
of Josephus as to the reign of Herod, viz. that he began in the year 37,
beyond rational contradiction. Nor is it quite unworthy of our notice,
that this seventh year of the reign of Herod, or the thirty-first before
the Christian era, contained the latter part of a Sabbatic year, on
which Sabbatic year, therefore, it is plain this great earthquake
happened in Judea.]
30 (return) [ This speech of Herod is set down twice by Josephus, here
and Antiq. B. XV. ch. 5. sect. 3, to the very same purpose, but by no
means in the same words; whence it appears that the sense was Herod's,
but the composition Josephus's.]
31 (return) [ Since Josephus, both here and in his Antiq. B. XV. ch.
7. sect. 3, reckons Gaza, which had been a free city, among the cities
given Herod by Augustus, and yet implies that Herod had made Costobarus
a governor of it before, Antiq. B. XV. ch. 7. sect. 9, Hardain has some
pretense for saying that Josephus here contradicted himself. But perhaps
Herod thought he had sufficient authority to put a governor into Gaza,
after he was made tetrarch or king, in times of war, before the city was
entirely delivered into his hands by Augustus.]
32 (return) [ This fort was first built, as it is supposed, by John
Hyrcanus; see Prid. at the year 107; and called "Baris," the Tower or
Citadel. It was afterwards rebuilt, with great improvements, by Herod,
under the government of Antonius, and was named from him "the Tower of
Antoni;" and about the time when Herod rebuilt the temple, he seems to
have put his last hand to it. See Antiq. B. XVIII. ch. 5. sect. 4; Of
the War, B. I. ch. 3. sect. 3; ch. 5. sect. 4. It lay on the northwest
side of the temple, and was a quarter as large.]
33 (return) [ That Josephus speaks truth, when he assures us that the
haven of this Cesarea was made by Herod not less, nay rather larger,
than that famous haven at Athens, called the Pyrecum, will appear, says
Dean Aldrich, to him who compares the descriptions of that at Athens in
Thucydides and Pausanias, with this of Cesarea in Josephus here, and in
the Antiq. B. XV. ch. 9. sect. 6, and B. XVII. ch. 9. sect. 1.]
34 (return) [ These buildings of cities by the name of Caesar, and
institution of solemn games in honor of Augustus Caesar, as here, and
in the Antiquities, related of Herod by Josephus, the Roman historians
attest to, as things then frequent in the provinces of that empire, as
Dean Aldrich observes on this chapter.]
35 (return) [ There were two cities, or citadels, called Herodium, in
Judea, and both mentioned by Josephus, not only here, but Antiq. B. XIV.
ch. 13. sect. 9; B. XV. ch. 9. sect. 6; Of the War, B. I. ch. 13. sect.
8; B. III. ch. 3. sect. 5. One of them was two hundred, and the other
sixty furlongs distant from Jerusalem. One of them is mentioned by
Pliny, Hist. Nat. B. V. ch. 14., as Dean Aldrich observes here.]
36 (return) [ Here seems to be a small defect in the copies, which
describe the wild beasts which were hunted in a certain country by
Herod, without naming any such country at all.]
37 (return) [ Here is either a defect or a great mistake in Josephus's
present copies or memory; for Mariamne did not now reproach Herod with
this his first injunction to Joseph to kill her, if he himself were
slain by Antony, but that he had given the like command a second time
to Soemus also, when he was afraid of being slain by Augustus. Antiq. B.
XV. ch. 3. sect. 5, etc.]
38 (return) [ That this island Eleusa, afterward called Sebaste,
near Cilicia, had in it the royal palace of this Archelaus, king of
Cappadocia, Strabo testifies, B. XV. p. 671. Stephanus of Byzantiam
also calls it "an island of Cilicia, which is now Sebaste;" both whose
testimonies are pertinently cited here by Dr. Hudson. See the same
history, Antiq. B. XVI. ch. 10. sect. 7.]
39 (return) [ That it was an immemorial custom among the Jews, and their
forefathers, the patriarchs, to have sometimes more wives or wives and
concubines, than one at the same the and that this polygamy was not
directly forbidden in the law of Moses is evident; but that polygamy
was ever properly and distinctly permitted in that law of Moses, in the
places here cited by Dean Aldrich, Deuteronomy 17:16, 17, or 21:15, or
indeed any where else, does not appear to me. And what our Savior says
about the common Jewish divorces, which may lay much greater claim to
such a permission than polygamy, seems to me true in this case also;
that Moses, "for the hardness of their hearts," suffered them to have
several wives at the same time, but that "from the beginning it was not
so," Matthew 19:8; Mark 10:5.]
40 (return) [ This vile fellow, Eurycles the Lacedemonian, seems to
have been the same who is mentioned by Plutarch, as [twenty-live years
before] a companion to Mark Antony, and as living with Herod; whence he
might easily insinuate himself into the acquaintance of Herod's sons,
Antipater and Alexander, as Usher, Hudson, and Spanheim justly suppose.
The reason why his being a Spartan rendered him acceptable to the Jews
as we here see he was, is visible from the public records of the Jews
and Spartans, owning those Spartans to be of kin to the Jews, and
derived from their common ancestor Abraham, the first patriarch of the
Jewish nation, Antiq. B. XII. ch. 4. sect. 10; B. XIII. ch. 5. sect. 8;
and 1 Macc. 12:7.]
41 (return) [ See the preceding note.]
42 (return) [ Dean Aldrich takes notice here, that these nine wives of
Herod were alive at the same time; and that if the celebrated Mariamne,
who was now dead, be reckoned, those wives were in all ten. Yet it is
remarkable that he had no more than fifteen children by them all.]
43 (return) [ To prevent confusion, it may not be amiss, with Dean
Aldrich, to distinguish between four Josephs in the history of Herod.
1. Joseph, Herod's uncle, and the [second] husband of his sister Salome,
slain by Herod, on account of Mariamne. 2. Joseph, Herod's quaestor, or
treasurer, slain on the same account. 3. Joseph, Herod's brother, slain
in battle against Antigonus. 4. Joseph, Herod's nephew, the husband of
Olympias, mentioned in this place.]
44 (return) [ These daughters of Herod, whom Pheroras's wife affronted,
were Salome and Roxana, two virgins, who were born to him of his two
wives, Elpide and Phedra. See Herod's genealogy, Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 1.
sect. 3.]
45 (return) [ This strange obstinacy of Pheroras in retaining his wife,
who was one of a low family, and refusing to marry one nearly related to
Herod, though he so earnestly desired it, as also that wife's admission
to the counsels of the other great court ladies, together with Herod's
own importunity as to Pheroras's divorce and other marriage, all so
remarkable here, or in the Antiquities XVII. ch. 2. sect. 4; and ch. 3.
be well accounted for, but on the supposal that Pheroras believed, and
Herod suspected, that the Pharisees' prediction, as if the crown of
Judea should be translated from Herod to Pheroras's posterity and that
most probably to Pheroras's posterity by this his wife, also would prove
true. See Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 2. sect. 4; and ch. 3. sect. 1.]
46 (return) [ This Tarentum has coins still extant, as Reland informs us
here in his note.]
47 (return) [ A lover of his father.]
48 (return) [ Since in these two sections we have an evident account of
the Jewish opinions in the days of Josephus, about a future happy state,
and the resurrection of the dead, as in the New Testament, John 11:24,
I shall here refer to the other places in Josephus, before he became a
catholic Christian, which concern the same matters. Of the War, B. II.
ch. 8. sect. 10, 11; B. III. ch. 8. sect. 4; B. VII. ch. 6. sect. 7;
Contr. Apion, B. II. sect. 30; where we may observe, that none of these
passages are in his Books of Antiquities, written peculiarly for the use
of the Gentiles, to whom he thought it not proper to insist on topics
so much out of their way as these were. Nor is this observation to be
omitted here, especially on account of the sensible difference we
have now before us in Josephus's reason of the used by the Rabbins to
persuade their scholars to hazard their lives for the vindication of
God's law against images, by Moses, as well as of the answers those
scholars made to Herod, when they were caught, and ready to die for
the same; I mean as compared with the parallel arguments and answers
represented in the Antiquities, B. XVII. ch. 6. sect, 2, 3. A like
difference between Jewish and Gentile notions the reader will find in my
notes on Antiquities, B. III. ch. 7. sect. 7; B. XV. ch. 9. sect. 1. See
the like also in the case of the three Jewish sects in the Antiquities,
B. XIII. ch. 5. sect. 9, and ch. 10. sect. 4, 5; B. XVIII. ch. 1. sect.
5; and compared with this in his Wars of the Jews, B. II. ch. 8. sect.
2-14. Nor does St. Paul himself reason to Gentiles at Athens, Acts
17:16-34, as he does to Jews in his Epistles.]
BOOK II.
Containing The Interval Of Sixty-Nine Years.
From The Death Of Herod Till Vespasian Was Sent To Subdue
The Jews By Nero.
CHAPTER 1.
Archelaus Makes A Funeral Feast For The People, On The
Account Of Herod. After Which A Great Tumult Is Raised By
The Multitude And He Sends The Soldiers Out Upon Them, Who
Destroy About Three Thousand Of Them.
1. Now the necessity which Archelaus was under of taking a journey to
Rome was the occasion of new disturbances; for when he had mourned for
his father seven days, 1 and had given a very expensive funeral feast to
the multitude, [which custom is the occasion of poverty to many of the
Jews, because they are forced to feast the multitude; for if any one
omits it, he is not esteemed a holy person,] he put on a white garment,
and went up to the temple, where the people accosted him with various
acclamations. He also spake kindly to the multitude from an elevated
seat and a throne of gold, and returned them thanks for the zeal they
had shown about his father's funeral, and the submission they had made
to him, as if he were already settled in the kingdom; but he told them
withal, that he would not at present take upon him either the authority
of a king, or the names thereto belonging, until Caesar, who is made
lord of this whole affair by the testament, confirm the succession; for
that when the soldiers would have set the diadem on his head at Jericho,
he would not accept of it; but that he would make abundant requitals,
not to the soldiers only, but to the people, for their alacrity and
good-will to him, when the superior lords [the Romans] should have given
him a complete title to the kingdom; for that it should be his study to
appear in all things better than his father.
2. Upon this the multitude were pleased, and presently made a trial of
what he intended, by asking great things of him; for some made a clamor
that he would ease them in their taxes; others, that he would take off
the duties upon commodities; and some, that he would loose those
that were in prison; in all which cases he answered readily to their
satisfaction, in order to get the good-will of the multitude; after
which he offered [the proper] sacrifices, and feasted with his friends.
And here it was that a great many of those that desired innovations
came in crowds towards the evening, and began then to mourn on their own
account, when the public mourning for the king was over. These lamented
those that were put to death by Herod, because they had cut down the
golden eagle that had been over the gate of the temple. Nor was this
mourning of a private nature, but the lamentations were very great, the
mourning solemn, and the weeping such as was loudly heard all over the
city, as being for those men who had perished for the laws of their
country, and for the temple. They cried out that a punishment ought to
be inflicted for these men upon those that were honored by Herod; and
that, in the first place, the man whom he had made high priest should
be deprived; and that it was fit to choose a person of greater piety and
purity than he was.
3. At these clamors Archelaus was provoked, but restrained himself from
taking vengeance on the authors, on account of the haste he was in of
going to Rome, as fearing lest, upon his making war on the multitude,
such an action might detain him at home. Accordingly, he made trial to
quiet the innovators by persuasion, rather than by force, and sent his
general in a private way to them, and by him exhorted them to be quiet.
But the seditious threw stones at him, and drove him away, as he came
into the temple, and before he could say any thing to them. The like
treatment they showed to others, who came to them after him, many of
which were sent by Archelaus, in order to reduce them to sobriety, and
these answered still on all occasions after a passionate manner; and it
openly appeared that they would not be quiet, if their numbers were but
considerable. And indeed, at the feast of unleavened bread, which was
now at hand, and is by the Jews called the Passover, and used to be
celebrated with a great number of sacrifices, an innumerable multitude
of the people came out of the country to worship; some of these stood
in the temple bewailing the Rabbins [that had been put to death],
and procured their sustenance by begging, in order to support their
sedition. At this Archelaus was affrighted, and privately sent a
tribune, with his cohort of soldiers, upon them, before the disease
should spread over the whole multitude, and gave orders that they should
constrain those that began the tumult, by force, to be quiet. At these
the whole multitude were irritated, and threw stones at many of the
soldiers, and killed them; but the tribune fled away wounded, and had
much ado to escape so. After which they betook themselves to their
sacrifices, as if they had done no mischief; nor did it appear to
Archelaus that the multitude could be restrained without bloodshed; so
he sent his whole army upon them, the footmen in great multitudes, by
the way of the city, and the horsemen by the way of the plain, who,
falling upon them on the sudden, as they were offering their sacrifices,
destroyed about three thousand of them; but the rest of the multitude
were dispersed upon the adjoining mountains: these were followed by
Archelaus's heralds, who commanded every one to retire to their own
homes, whither they all went, and left the festival.
CHAPTER 2.
Archelaus Goes To Rome With A Great Number Of His Kindred.
He Is There Accused Before Caesar By Antipater; But Is
Superior To His Accusers In Judgment By The Means Of That
Defense Which Nicolaus Made For Him.
1. Archelaus went down now to the sea-side, with his mother and his
friends, Poplas, and Ptolemy, and Nicolaus, and left behind him Philip,
to be his steward in the palace, and to take care of his domestic
affairs. Salome went also along with him with her sons, as did also the
king's brethren and sons-in-law. These, in appearance, went to give him
all the assistance they were able, in order to secure his succession,
but in reality to accuse him for his breach of the laws by what he had
done at the temple.
2. But as they were come to Cesarea, Sabinus, the procurator of Syria,
met them; he was going up to Judea, to secure Herod's effects; but
Varus, [president of Syria,] who was come thither, restrained him from
going any farther. This Varus Archelaus had sent for, by the earnest
entreaty of Ptolemy. At this time, indeed, Sabinus, to gratify Varus,
neither went to the citadels, nor did he shut up the treasuries where
his father's money was laid up, but promised that he would lie still,
until Caesar should have taken cognizance of the affair. So he abode at
Cesarea; but as soon as those that were his hinderance were gone,
when Varus was gone to Antioch, and Archelaus was sailed to Rome, he
immediately went on to Jerusalem, and seized upon the palace. And when
he had called for the governors of the citadels, and the stewards [of
the king's private affairs], he tried to sift out the accounts of the
money, and to take possession of the citadels. But the governors of
those citadels were not unmindful of the commands laid upon them by
Archelaus, and continued to guard them, and said the custody of them
rather belonged to Caesar than to Archelaus.
3. In the mean time, Antipas went also to Rome, to strive for the
kingdom, and to insist that the former testament, wherein he was named
to be king, was valid before the latter testament. Salome had also
promised to assist him, as had many of Archelaus's kindred, who sailed
along with Archelaus himself also. He also carried along with him his
mother, and Ptolemy, the brother of Nicolaus, who seemed one of great
weight, on account of the great trust Herod put in him, he having been
one of his most honored friends. However, Antipas depended chiefly
upon Ireneus, the orator; upon whose authority he had rejected such as
advised him to yield to Archelaus, because he was his elder brother, and
because the second testament gave the kingdom to him. The inclinations
also of all Archelaus's kindred, who hated him, were removed to Antipas,
when they came to Rome; although in the first place every one rather
desired to live under their own laws [without a king], and to be under
a Roman governor; but if they should fail in that point, these desired
that Antipas might be their king.
4. Sabinus did also afford these his assistance to the same purpose by
letters he sent, wherein he accused Archelaus before Caesar, and highly
commended Antipas. Salome also, and those with her, put the crimes which
they accused Archelaus of in order, and put them into Caesar's hands;
and after they had done that, Archelaus wrote down the reasons of his
claim, and, by Ptolemy, sent in his father's ring, and his father's
accounts. And when Caesar had maturely weighed by himself what both had
to allege for themselves, as also had considered of the great burden of
the kingdom, and largeness of the revenues, and withal the number of the
children Herod had left behind him, and had moreover read the letters he
had received from Varus and Sabinus on this occasion, he assembled the
principal persons among the Romans together, [in which assembly Caius,
the son of Agrippa, and his daughter Julias, but by himself adopted
for his own son, sat in the first seat,] and gave the pleaders leave to
speak.
5. Then stood up Salome's son, Antipater, [who of all Archelaus's
antagonists was the shrewdest pleader,] and accused him in the following
speech: That Archelaus did in words contend for the kingdom, but that
in deeds he had long exercised royal authority, and so did but insult
Caesar in desiring to be now heard on that account, since he had not
staid for his determination about the succession, and since he had
suborned certain persons, after Herod's death, to move for putting the
diadem upon his head; since he had set himself down in the throne, and
given answers as a king, and altered the disposition of the army, and
granted to some higher dignities; that he had also complied in all
things with the people in the requests they had made to him as to their
king, and had also dismissed those that had been put into bonds by his
father for most important reasons. Now, after all this, he desires the
shadow of that royal authority, whose substance he had already seized to
himself, and so hath made Caesar lord, not of things, but of words. He
also reproached him further, that his mourning for his father was only
pretended, while he put on a sad countenance in the day time, but drank
to great excess in the night; from which behavior, he said, the late
disturbance among the multitude came, while they had an indignation
thereat. And indeed the purport of his whole discourse was to aggravate
Archelaus's crime in slaying such a multitude about the temple, which
multitude came to the festival, but were barbarously slain in the midst
of their own sacrifices; and he said there was such a vast number of
dead bodies heaped together in the temple, as even a foreign war, that
should come upon them [suddenly], before it was denounced, could not
have heaped together. And he added, that it was the foresight his father
had of that his barbarity which made him never give him any hopes of the
kingdom, but when his mind was more infirm than his body, and he was not
able to reason soundly, and did not well know what was the character of
that son, whom in his second testament he made his successor; and this
was done by him at a time when he had no complaints to make of him whom
he had named before, when he was sound in body, and when his mind was
free from all passion. That, however, if any one should suppose Herod's
judgment, when he was sick, was superior to that at another time, yet
had Archelaus forfeited his kingdom by his own behavior, and those his
actions, which were contrary to the law, and to its disadvantage.
Or what sort of a king will this man be, when he hath obtained the
government from Caesar, who hath slain so many before he hath obtained
it!
6. When Antipater had spoken largely to this purpose, and had produced a
great number of Archelaus's kindred as witnesses, to prove every part of
the accusation, he ended his discourse. Then stood up Nicolaus to plead
for Archelaus. He alleged that the slaughter in the temple could not
be avoided; that those that were slain were become enemies not to
Archelaus's kingdom, only, but to Caesar, who was to determine about
him. He also demonstrated that Archelaus's accusers had advised him
to perpetrate other things of which he might have been accused. But he
insisted that the latter testament should, for this reason, above all
others, be esteemed valid, because Herod had therein appointed Caesar to
be the person who should confirm the succession; for he who showed such
prudence as to recede from his own power, and yield it up to the lord
of the world, cannot be supposed mistaken in his judgment about him
that was to be his heir; and he that so well knew whom to choose for
arbitrator of the succession could not be unacquainted with him whom he
chose for his successor.
7. When Nicolaus had gone through all he had to say, Archelaus came,
and fell down before Caesar's knees, without any noise;--upon which he
raised him up, after a very obliging manner, and declared that truly
he was worthy to succeed his father. However, he still made no firm
determination in his case; but when he had dismissed those assessors
that had been with him that day, he deliberated by himself about the
allegations which he had heard, whether it were fit to constitute any
of those named in the testaments for Herod's successor, or whether the
government should be parted among all his posterity, and this because of
the number of those that seemed to stand in need of support therefrom.
CHAPTER 3.
The Jews Fight A Great Battle With Sabinus's Soldiers, And A
Great Destruction Is Made At Jerusalem.
1. Now before Caesar had determined any thing about these affairs,
Malthace, Arehelaus's mother, fell sick and died. Letters also were
brought out of Syria from Varus, about a revolt of the Jews. This was
foreseen by Varus, who accordingly, after Archelaus was sailed, went
up to Jerusalem to restrain the promoters of the sedition, since it was
manifest that the nation would not be at rest; so he left one of those
legions which he brought with him out of Syria in the city, and went
himself to Antioch. But Sabinus came, after he was gone, and gave them
an occasion of making innovations; for he compelled the keepers of the
citadels to deliver them up to him, and made a bitter search after the
king's money, as depending not only on the soldiers which were left by
Varus, but on the multitude of his own servants, all which he armed and
used as the instruments of his covetousness. Now when that feast, which
was observed after seven weeks, and which the Jews called Pentecost, [i.
e. the 50th day,] was at hand, its name being taken from the number
of the days [after the passover], the people got together, but not on
account of the accustomed Divine worship, but of the indignation they
had ['at the present state of affairs']. Wherefore an immense multitude
ran together, out of Galilee, and Idumea, and Jericho, and Perea, that
was beyond Jordan; but the people that naturally belonged to Judea
itself were above the rest, both in number, and in the alacrity of the
men. So they distributed themselves into three parts, and pitched their
camps in three places; one at the north side of the temple, another at
the south side, by the Hippodrome, and the third part were at the palace
on the west. So they lay round about the Romans on every side, and
besieged them.
2. Now Sabinus was affrighted, both at their multitude, and at their
courage, and sent messengers to Varus continually, and besought him to
come to his succor quickly; for that if he delayed, his legion would be
cut to pieces. As for Sabinus himself, he got up to the highest tower
of the fortress, which was called Phasaelus; it is of the same name with
Herod's brother, who was destroyed by the Parthians; and then he made
signs to the soldiers of that legion to attack the enemy; for his
astonishment was so great, that he durst not go down to his own men.
Hereupon the soldiers were prevailed upon, and leaped out into the
temple, and fought a terrible battle with the Jews; in which, while
there were none over their heads to distress them, they were too hard
for them, by their skill, and the others' want of skill, in war; but
when once many of the Jews had gotten up to the top of the cloisters,
and threw their darts downwards, upon the heads of the Romans,
there were a great many of them destroyed. Nor was it easy to avenge
themselves upon those that threw their weapons from on high, nor was it
more easy for them to sustain those who came to fight them hand to hand.
3. Since therefore the Romans were sorely afflicted by both these
circumstances, they set fire to the cloisters, which were works to be
admired, both on account of their magnitude and costliness. Whereupon
those that were above them were presently encompassed with the flame,
and many of them perished therein; as many of them also were destroyed
by the enemy, who came suddenly upon them; some of them also threw
themselves down from the walls backward, and some there were who, from
the desperate condition they were in, prevented the fire, by killing
themselves with their own swords; but so many of them as crept out from
the walls, and came upon the Romans, were easily mastered by them, by
reason of the astonishment they were under; until at last some of the
Jews being destroyed, and others dispersed by the terror they were in,
the soldiers fell upon the treasure of God, which was now deserted, and
plundered about four hundred talents, Of which sum Sabinus got together
all that was not carried away by the soldiers.
4. However, this destruction of the works [about the temple], and of the
men, occasioned a much greater number, and those of a more warlike sort,
to get together, to oppose the Romans. These encompassed the palace
round, and threatened to deploy all that were in it, unless they went
their ways quickly; for they promised that Sabinus should come to no
harm, if he would go out with his legion. There were also a great many
of the king's party who deserted the Romans, and assisted the Jews; yet
did the most warlike body of them all, who were three thousand of the
men of Sebaste, go over to the Romans. Rufus also, and Gratus, their
captains, did the same, [Gratus having the foot of the king's party
under him, and Rufus the horse,] each of whom, even without the forces
under them, were of great weight, on account of their strength and
wisdom, which turn the scales in war. Now the Jews in the siege, and
tried to break down walls of the fortress, and cried out to Sabinus and
his party, that they should go their ways, and not prove a hinderance to
them, now they hoped, after a long time, to recover that ancient liberty
which their forefathers had enjoyed. Sabinus indeed was well contented
to get out of the danger he was in, but he distrusted the assurances the
Jews gave him, and suspected such gentle treatment was but a bait laid
as a snare for them: this consideration, together with the hopes he had
of succor from Varus, made him bear the siege still longer.
CHAPTER 4.
Herod's Veteran Soldiers Become Tumultuous. The Robberies Of
Judas. Simon And Athronoeus Take The Name Of King Upon Them.
1. At this time there were great disturbances in the country, and that
in many places; and the opportunity that now offered itself induced a
great many to set up for kings. And indeed in Idumea two thousand of
Herod's veteran soldiers got together, and armed and fought against
those of the king's party; against whom Achiabus, the king's first
cousin, fought, and that out of some of the places that were the most
strongly fortified; but so as to avoid a direct conflict with them in
the plains. In Sepphoris also, a city of Galilee, there was one Judas
[the son of that arch-robber Hezekias, who formerly overran the country,
and had been subdued by king Herod]; this man got no small multitude
together, and brake open the place where the royal armor was laid up,
and armed those about him, and attacked those that were so earnest to
gain the dominion.
2. In Perea also, Simon, one of the servants to the king, relying upon
the handsome appearance and tallness of his body, put a diadem upon his
own head also; he also went about with a company of robbers that he had
gotten together, and burnt down the royal palace that was at Jericho,
and many other costly edifices besides, and procured himself very easily
spoils by rapine, as snatching them out of the fire. And he had soon
burnt down all the fine edifices, if Gratus, the captain of the foot
of the king's party, had not taken the Trachonite archers, and the
most warlike of Sebaste, and met the man. His footmen were slain in the
battle in abundance; Gratus also cut to pieces Simon himself, as he was
flying along a strait valley, when he gave him an oblique stroke upon
his neck, as he ran away, and brake it. The royal palaces that were
near Jordan at Betharamptha were also burnt down by some other of the
seditious that came out of Perea.
3. At this time it was that a certain shepherd ventured to set himself
up for a king; he was called Athrongeus. It was his strength of body
that made him expect such a dignity, as well as his soul, which despised
death; and besides these qualifications, he had four brethren like
himself. He put a troop of armed men under each of these his brethren,
and made use of them as his generals and commanders, when he made his
incursions, while he did himself act like a king, and meddled only with
the more important affairs; and at this time he put a diadem about his
head, and continued after that to overrun the country for no little time
with his brethren, and became their leader in killing both the Romans
and those of the king's party; nor did any Jew escape him, if any gain
could accrue to him thereby. He once ventured to encompass a whole troop
of Romans at Emmaus, who were carrying corn and weapons to their legion;
his men therefore shot their arrows and darts, and thereby slew their
centurion Arius, and forty of the stoutest of his men, while the rest
of them, who were in danger of the same fate, upon the coming of Gratus,
with those of Sebaste, to their assistance, escaped. And when these
men had thus served both their own countrymen and foreigners, and that
through this whole war, three of them were, after some time, subdued;
the eldest by Archelaus, the two next by falling into the hands of
Gratus and Ptolemeus; but the fourth delivered himself up to Archelaus,
upon his giving him his right hand for his security. However, this their
end was not till afterward, while at present they filled all Judea with
a piratic war.
CHAPTER 5.
Varus Composes The Tumults In Judea And Crucifies About Two
Thousand Of The Seditious.
1. Upon Varus's reception of the letters that were written by Sabinus
and the captains, he could not avoid being afraid for the whole legion
[he had left there]. So he made haste to their relief, and took with
him the other two legions, with the four troops of horsemen to them
belonging, and marched to Ptolenlais; having given orders for the
auxiliaries that were sent by the kings and governors of cities to
meet him there. Moreover, he received from the people of Berytus, as he
passed through their city, fifteen hundred armed men. Now as soon as the
other body of auxiliaries were come to Ptolemais, as well as Aretas the
Arabian, [who, out of the hatred he bore to Herod, brought a great army
of horse and foot,] Varus sent a part of his army presently to Galilee,
which lay near to Ptolemais, and Caius, one of his friends, for their
captain. This Caius put those that met him to flight, and took the city
Sepphoris, and burnt it, and made slaves of its inhabitants; but as for
Varus himself, he marched to Samaria with his whole army, where he did
not meddle with the city itself, because he found that it had made no
commotion during these troubles, but pitched his camp about a certain
village which was called Aras. It belonged to Ptolemy, and on that
account was plundered by the Arabians, who were very angry even at
Herod's friends also. He thence marched on to the village Sampho,
another fortified place, which they plundered, as they had done the
other. As they carried off all the money they lighted upon belonging
to the public revenues, all was now full of fire and blood-shed, and
nothing could resist the plunders of the Arabians. Emnaus was also
burnt, upon the flight of its inhabitants, and this at the command of
Varus, out of his rage at the slaughter of those that were about Arias.
2. Thence he marched on to Jerusalem, and as soon as he was but seen by
the Jews, he made their camps disperse themselves; they also went away,
and fled up and down the country. But the citizens received him, and
cleared themselves of having any hand in this revolt, and said that
they had raised no commotions, but had only been forced to admit the
multitude, because of the festival, and that they were rather besieged
together with the Romans, than assisted those that had revolted. There
had before this met him Joseph, the first cousin of Archelaus, and
Gratus, together with Rufus, who led those of Sebaste, as well as the
king's army: there also met him those of the Roman legion, armed after
their accustomed manner; for as to Sabinus, he durst not come into
Varus's sight, but was gone out of the city before this, to the
sea-side. But Varus sent a part of his army into the country, against
those that had been the authors of this commotion, and as they caught
great numbers of them, those that appeared to have been the least
concerned in these tumults he put into custody, but such as were the
most guilty he crucified; these were in number about two thousand.
3. He was also informed that there continued in Idumea ten thousand
men still in arms; but when he found that the Arabians did not act like
auxiliaries, but managed the war according to their own passions, and
did mischief to the country otherwise than he intended, and this out of
their hatred to Herod, he sent them away, but made haste, with his own
legions, to march against those that had revolted; but these, by the
advice of Achiabus, delivered themselves up to him before it came to a
battle. Then did Varus forgive the multitude their offenses, but sent
their captains to Caesar to be examined by him. Now Caesar forgave the
rest, but gave orders that certain of the king's relations [for some of
those that were among them were Herod's kinsmen] should be put to death,
because they had engaged in a war against a king of their own family.
When therefore Varus had settled matters at Jerusalem after this manner,
and had left the former legion there as a garrison, he returned to
Antioch.
CHAPTER 6.
The Jews Greatly Complain Of Archelaus And Desire That They
May Be Made Subject To Roman Governors. But When Caesar Had
Heard What They Had To Say, He Distributed Herod's Dominions
Among His Sons According To His Own Pleasure.
1. But now came another accusation from the Jews against Archelaus at
Rome, which he was to answer to. It was made by those ambassadors who,
before the revolt, had come, by Varus's permission, to plead for the
liberty of their country; those that came were fifty in number, but
there were more than eight thousand of the Jews at Rome who supported
them. And when Caesar had assembled a council of the principal Romans in
Apollo's 2 temple, that was in the palace, [this was what he had himself
built and adorned, at a vast expense,] the multitude of the Jews stood
with the ambassadors, and on the other side stood Archelaus, with his
friends; but as for the kindred of Archelaus, they stood on neither
side; for to stand on Archelaus's side, their hatred to him, and envy at
him, would not give them leave, while yet they were afraid to be seen by
Caesar with his accusers. Besides these, there were present Archelaus's
brother Philip, being sent thither beforehand, out of kindness by
Varus, for two reasons: the one was this, that he might be assisting
to Archelaus; and the other was this, that in case Caesar should make
a distribution of what Herod possessed among his posterity, he might
obtain some share of it.
2. And now, upon the permission that was given the accusers to speak,
they, in the first place, went over Herod's breaches of their law, and
said that he was not a king, but the most barbarous of all tyrants, and
that they had found him to be such by the sufferings they underwent from
him; that when a very great number had been slain by him, those that
were left had endured such miseries, that they called those that
were dead happy men; that he had not only tortured the bodies of his
subjects, but entire cities, and had done much harm to the cities of his
own country, while he adorned those that belonged to foreigners; and he
shed the blood of Jews, in order to do kindnesses to those people that
were out of their bounds; that he had filled the nation full of poverty,
and of the greatest iniquity, instead of that happiness and those laws
which they had anciently enjoyed; that, in short, the Jews had borne
more calamities from Herod, in a few years, than had their forefathers
during all that interval of time that had passed since they had come out
of Babylon, and returned home, in the reign of Xerxes 3 that, however,
the nation was come to so low a condition, by being inured to hardships,
that they submitted to his successor of their own accord, though he
brought them into bitter slavery; that accordingly they readily called
Archelaus, though he was the son of so great a tyrant, king, after the
decease of his father, and joined with him in mourning for the death of
Herod, and in wishing him good success in that his succession; while
yet this Archelaus, lest he should be in danger of not being thought the
genuine son of Herod, began his reign with the murder of three thousand
citizens; as if he had a mind to offer so many bloody sacrifices to God
for his government, and to fill the temple with the like number of dead
bodies at that festival: that, however, those that were left after so
many miseries, had just reason to consider now at last the calamities
they had undergone, and to oppose themselves, like soldiers in war, to
receive those stripes upon their faces [but not upon their backs, as
hitherto]. Whereupon they prayed that the Romans would have compassion
upon the [poor] remains of Judea, and not expose what was left of them
to such as barbarously tore them to pieces, and that they would join
their country to Syria, and administer the government by their own
commanders, whereby it would [soon] be demonstrated that those who are
now under the calumny of seditious persons, and lovers of war, know how
to bear governors that are set over them, if they be but tolerable ones.
So the Jews concluded their accusation with this request. Then rose up
Nicolaus, and confuted the accusations which were brought against the
kings, and himself accused the Jewish nation, as hard to be ruled, and
as naturally disobedient to kings. He also reproached all those kinsmen
of Archelaus who had left him, and were gone over to his accusers.
3. So Caesar, after he had heard both sides, dissolved the assembly for
that time; but a few days afterward, he gave the one half of Herod's
kingdom to Archelaus, by the name of Ethnarch, and promised to make him
king also afterward, if he rendered himself worthy of that dignity. But
as to the other half, he divided it into two tetrarchies, and gave them
to two other sons of Herod, the one of them to Philip, and the other to
that Antipas who contested the kingdom with Archelaus. Under this
last was Perea and Galilee, with a revenue of two hundred talents; but
Batanea, and Trachonitis, and Auranitis, and certain parts of Zeno's
house about Jamnia, with a revenue of a hundred talents, were made
subject to Philip; while Idumea, and all Judea, and Samaria were parts
of the ethnarchy of Archelaus, although Samaria was eased of one quarter
of its taxes, out of regard to their not having revolted with the rest
of the nation. He also made subject to him the following cities, viz.
Strato's Tower, and Sebaste, and Joppa, and Jerusalem; but as to the
Grecian cities, Gaza, and Gadara, and Hippos, he cut them off from the
kingdom, and added them to Syria. Now the revenue of the country that
was given to Archelaus was four hundred talents. Salome also, besides
what the king had left her in his testaments, was now made mistress of
Jamnia, and Ashdod, and Phasaelis. Caesar did moreover bestow upon her
the royal palace of Ascalon; by all which she got together a revenue of
sixty talents; but he put her house under the ethnarchy of Archelaus.
And for the rest of Herod's offspring, they received what was bequeathed
to them in his testaments; but, besides that, Caesar granted to Herod's
two virgin daughters five hundred thousand [drachmae] of silver, and
gave them in marriage to the sons of Pheroras: but after this family
distribution, he gave between them what had been bequeathed to him by
Herod, which was a thousand talents, reserving to himself only some
inconsiderable presents, in honor of the deceased.
CHAPTER 7.
The History Of The Spurious Alexander. Archelaus Is Banished
And Glaphyra Dies, After What Was To Happen To Both Of Them
Had Been Showed Them In Dreams.
1. In the meantime, there was a man, who was by birth a Jew, but brought
up at Sidon with one of the Roman freed-men, who falsely pretended,
on account of the resemblance of their countenances, that he was that
Alexander who was slain by Herod. This man came to Rome, in hopes of not
being detected. He had one who was his assistant, of his own nation, and
who knew all the affairs of the kingdom, and instructed him to say how
those that were sent to kill him and Aristobulus had pity upon them,
and stole them away, by putting bodies that were like theirs in their
places. This man deceived the Jews that were at Crete, and got a great
deal of money of them for traveling in splendor; and thence sailed to
Melos, where he was thought so certainly genuine, that he got a great
deal more money, and prevailed with those that had treated him to sail
along with him to Rome. So he landed at Dicearchia, [Puteoli,] and got
very large presents from the Jews who dwelt there, and was conducted by
his father's friends as if he were a king; nay, the resemblance in
his countenance procured him so much credit, that those who had seen
Alexander, and had known him very well, would take their oaths that he
was the very same person. Accordingly, the whole body of the Jews that
were at Rome ran out in crowds to see him, and an innumerable multitude
there was which stood in the narrow places through which he was carried;
for those of Melos were so far distracted, that they carried him in a
sedan, and maintained a royal attendance for him at their own proper
charges.
2. But Caesar, who knew perfectly well the lineaments of Alexander's
face, because he had been accused by Herod before him, discerned the
fallacy in his countenance, even before he saw the man. However, he
suffered the agreeable fame that went of him to have some weight with
him, and sent Celadus, one who well knew Alexander, and ordered him
to bring the young man to him. But when Caesar saw him, he immediately
discerned a difference in his countenance; and when he had discovered
that his whole body was of a more robust texture, and like that of a
slave, he understood the whole was a contrivance. But the impudence of
what he said greatly provoked him to be angry at him; for when he was
asked about Aristobulus, he said that he was also preserved alive, and
was left on purpose in Cyprus, for fear of treachery, because it would
be harder for plotters to get them both into their power while they were
separate. Then did Caesar take him by himself privately, and said to
him, "I will give thee thy life, if thou wilt discover who it was that
persuaded thee to forge such stories." So he said that he would discover
him, and followed Caesar, and pointed to that Jew who abused the
resemblance of his face to get money; for that he had received more
presents in every city than ever Alexander did when he was alive. Caesar
laughed at the contrivance, and put this spurious Alexander among his
rowers, on account of the strength of his body, but ordered him that
persuaded him to be put to death. But for the people of Melos, they had
been sufficiently punished for their folly, by the expenses they had
been at on his account.
3. And now Archelaus took possession of his ethnarchy, and used not the
Jews only, but the Samaritans also, barbarously; and this out of his
resentment of their old quarrels with him. Whereupon they both of them
sent ambassadors against him to Caesar; and in the ninth year of his
government he was banished to Vienna, a city of Gaul, and his effects
were put into Caesar's treasury. But the report goes, that before he was
sent for by Caesar, he seemed to see nine ears of corn, full and large,
but devoured by oxen. When, therefore, he had sent for the diviners,
and some of the Chaldeans, and inquired of them what they thought it
portended; and when one of them had one interpretation, and another had
another, Simon, one of the sect of Essens, said that he thought the
ears of corn denoted years, and the oxen denoted a mutation of things,
because by their ploughing they made an alteration of the country. That
therefore he should reign as many years as there were ears of corn; and
after he had passed through various alterations of fortune, should
die. Now five days after Archelaus had heard this interpretation he was
called to his trial.
4. I cannot also but think it worthy to be recorded what dream Glaphyra,
the daughter of Archelaus, king of Cappadocia, had, who had at first
been wife to Alexander, who was the brother of Archelaus, concerning
whom we have been discoursing. This Alexander was the son of Herod the
king, by whom he was put to death, as we have already related. This
Glaphyra was married, after his death, to Juba, king of Libya; and,
after his death, was returned home, and lived a widow with her father.
Then it was that Archelaus, the ethnarch, saw her, and fell so deeply
in love with her, that he divorced Mariamne, who was then his wife,
and married her. When, therefore, she was come into Judea, and had been
there for a little while, she thought she saw Alexander stand by her,
and that he said to her; "Thy marriage with the king of Libya might have
been sufficient for thee; but thou wast not contented with him, but art
returned again to my family, to a third husband; and him, thou impudent
woman, hast thou chosen for thine husband, who is my brother. However, I
shall not overlook the injury thou hast offered me; I shall [soon] have
thee again, whether thou wilt or no." Now Glaphyra hardly survived the
narration of this dream of hers two days.
CHAPTER 8.
Archelaus's Ethnarchy Is Reduced Into A [Roman] Province.
The Sedition Of Judas Of Galilee. The Three Sects.
1. And now Archelaus's part of Judea was reduced into a province, and
Coponius, one of the equestrian order among the Romans, was sent as a
procurator, having the power of [life and] death put into his hands by
Caesar. Under his administration it was that a certain Galilean, whose
name was Judas, prevailed with his countrymen to revolt, and said they
were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans and would
after God submit to mortal men as their lords. This man was a teacher
of a peculiar sect of his own, and was not at all like the rest of those
their leaders.
2. For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews. The followers
of the first of which are the Pharisees; of the second, the Sadducees;
and the third sect, which pretends to a severer discipline, are called
Essens. These last are Jews by birth, and seem to have a greater
affection for one another than the other sects have. These Essens reject
pleasures as an evil, but esteem continence, and the conquest over
our passions, to be virtue. They neglect wedlock, but choose out other
persons children, while they are pliable, and fit for learning, and
esteem them to be of their kindred, and form them according to their own
manners. They do not absolutely deny the fitness of marriage, and the
succession of mankind thereby continued; but they guard against the
lascivious behavior of women, and are persuaded that none of them
preserve their fidelity to one man.
3. These men are despisers of riches, and so very communicative as
raises our admiration. Nor is there any one to be found among them who
hath more than another; for it is a law among them, that those who come
to them must let what they have be common to the whole order,--insomuch
that among them all there is no appearance of poverty, or excess of
riches, but every one's possessions are intermingled with every other's
possessions; and so there is, as it were, one patrimony among all the
brethren. They think that oil is a defilement; and if any one of them be
anointed without his own approbation, it is wiped off his body; for they
think to be sweaty is a good thing, as they do also to be clothed in
white garments. They also have stewards appointed to take care of their
common affairs, who every one of them have no separate business for any,
but what is for the uses of them all.
4. They have no one certain city, but many of them dwell in every city;
and if any of their sect come from other places, what they have lies
open for them, just as if it were their own; and they go in to such as
they never knew before, as if they had been ever so long acquainted with
them. For which reason they carry nothing at all with them when they
travel into remote parts, though still they take their weapons with
them, for fear of thieves. Accordingly, there is, in every city where
they live, one appointed particularly to take care of strangers, and
to provide garments and other necessaries for them. But the habit and
management of their bodies is such as children use who are in fear of
their masters. Nor do they allow of the change of garments or of shoes
till be first torn to pieces, or worn out by time. Nor do they either
buy or sell any thing to one another; but every one of them gives what
he hath to him that wanteth it, and receives from him again in lieu of
it what may be convenient for himself; and although there be no requital
made, they are fully allowed to take what they want of whomsoever they
please.
5. And as for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary; for
before sun-rising they speak not a word about profane matters, but put
up certain prayers which they have received from their forefathers, as
if they made a supplication for its rising. After this every one of them
are sent away by their curators, to exercise some of those arts wherein
they are skilled, in which they labor with great diligence till the
fifth hour. After which they assemble themselves together again into one
place; and when they have clothed themselves in white veils, they then
bathe their bodies in cold water. And after this purification is over,
they every one meet together in an apartment of their own, into which it
is not permitted to any of another sect to enter; while they go, after
a pure manner, into the dining-room, as into a certain holy temple, and
quietly set themselves down; upon which the baker lays them loaves in
order; the cook also brings a single plate of one sort of food, and sets
it before every one of them; but a priest says grace before meat; and it
is unlawful for any one to taste of the food before grace be said. The
same priest, when he hath dined, says grace again after meat; and when
they begin, and when they end, they praise God, as he that bestows their
food upon them; after which they lay aside their [white] garments, and
betake themselves to their labors again till the evening; then they
return home to supper, after the same manner; and if there be any
strangers there, they sit down with them. Nor is there ever any clamor
or disturbance to pollute their house, but they give every one leave to
speak in their turn; which silence thus kept in their house appears
to foreigners like some tremendous mystery; the cause of which is that
perpetual sobriety they exercise, and the same settled measure of
meat and drink that is allotted them, and that such as is abundantly
sufficient for them.
6. And truly, as for other things, they do nothing but according to the
injunctions of their curators; only these two things are done among them
at everyone's own free-will, which are to assist those that want it,
and to show mercy; for they are permitted of their own accord to afford
succor to such as deserve it, when they stand in need of it, and to
bestow food on those that are in distress; but they cannot give any
thing to their kindred without the curators. They dispense their anger
after a just manner, and restrain their passion. They are eminent for
fidelity, and are the ministers of peace; whatsoever they say also is
firmer than an oath; but swearing is avoided by them, and they esteem it
worse than perjury 4 for they say that he who cannot be believed without
[swearing by] God is already condemned. They also take great pains in
studying the writings of the ancients, and choose out of them what is
most for the advantage of their soul and body; and they inquire after
such roots and medicinal stones as may cure their distempers.
7. But now if any one hath a mind to come over to their sect, he is not
immediately admitted, but he is prescribed the same method of living
which they use for a year, while he continues excluded'; and they give
him also a small hatchet, and the fore-mentioned girdle, and the white
garment. And when he hath given evidence, during that time, that he can
observe their continence, he approaches nearer to their way of living,
and is made a partaker of the waters of purification; yet is he not
even now admitted to live with them; for after this demonstration of his
fortitude, his temper is tried two more years; and if he appear to be
worthy, they then admit him into their society. And before he is allowed
to touch their common food, he is obliged to take tremendous oaths,
that, in the first place, he will exercise piety towards God, and then
that he will observe justice towards men, and that he will do no harm to
any one, either of his own accord, or by the command of others; that he
will always hate the wicked, and be assistant to the righteous; that
he will ever show fidelity to all men, and especially to those
in authority, because no one obtains the government without God's
assistance; and that if he be in authority, he will at no time whatever
abuse his authority, nor endeavor to outshine his subjects either in his
garments, or any other finery; that he will be perpetually a lover of
truth, and propose to himself to reprove those that tell lies; that he
will keep his hands clear from theft, and his soul from unlawful gains;
and that he will neither conceal any thing from those of his own sect,
nor discover any of their doctrines to others, no, not though anyone
should compel him so to do at the hazard of his life. Moreover, he
swears to communicate their doctrines to no one any otherwise than as
he received them himself; that he will abstain from robbery, and will
equally preserve the books belonging to their sect, and the names of the
angels 5 [or messengers]. These are the oaths by which they secure their
proselytes to themselves.
8. But for those that are caught in any heinous sins, they cast them out
of their society; and he who is thus separated from them does often die
after a miserable manner; for as he is bound by the oath he hath taken,
and by the customs he hath been engaged in, he is not at liberty to
partake of that food that he meets with elsewhere, but is forced to eat
grass, and to famish his body with hunger, till he perish; for which
reason they receive many of them again when they are at their last gasp,
out of compassion to them, as thinking the miseries they have endured
till they came to the very brink of death to be a sufficient punishment
for the sins they had been guilty of.
9. But in the judgments they exercise they are most accurate and just,
nor do they pass sentence by the votes of a court that is fewer than
a hundred. And as to what is once determined by that number, it is
unalterable. What they most of all honor, after God himself, is the name
of their legislator [Moses], whom if any one blaspheme he is punished
capitally. They also think it a good thing to obey their elders, and the
major part. Accordingly, if ten of them be sitting together, no one of
them will speak while the other nine are against it. They also avoid
spitting in the midst of them, or on the right side. Moreover, they are
stricter than any other of the Jews in resting from their labors on the
seventh day; for they not only get their food ready the day before, that
they may not be obliged to kindle a fire on that day, but they will not
remove any vessel out of its place, nor go to stool thereon. Nay, on
other days they dig a small pit, a foot deep, with a paddle [which kind
of hatchet is given them when they are first admitted among them]; and
covering themselves round with their garment, that they may not affront
the Divine rays of light, they ease themselves into that pit, after
which they put the earth that was dug out again into the pit; and even
this they do only in the more lonely places, which they choose out for
this purpose; and although this easement of the body be natural, yet
it is a rule with them to wash themselves after it, as if it were a
defilement to them.
10. Now after the time of their preparatory trial is over, they are
parted into four classes; and so far are the juniors inferior to the
seniors, that if the seniors should be touched by the juniors, they must
wash themselves, as if they had intermixed themselves with the company
of a foreigner. They are long-lived also, insomuch that many of them
live above a hundred years, by means of the simplicity of their diet;
nay, as I think, by means of the regular course of life they observe
also. They contemn the miseries of life, and are above pain, by the
generosity of their mind. And as for death, if it will be for their
glory, they esteem it better than living always; and indeed our war with
the Romans gave abundant evidence what great souls they had in their
trials, wherein, although they were tortured and distorted, burnt and
torn to pieces, and went through all kinds of instruments of torment,
that they might be forced either to blaspheme their legislator, or to
eat what was forbidden them, yet could they not be made to do either of
them, no, nor once to flatter their tormentors, or to shed a tear;
but they smiled in their very pains, and laughed those to scorn who
inflicted the torments upon them, and resigned up their souls with great
alacrity, as expecting to receive them again.
11. For their doctrine is this: That bodies are corruptible, and that
the matter they are made of is not permanent; but that the souls are
immortal, and continue for ever; and that they come out of the most
subtile air, and are united to their bodies as to prisons, into which
they are drawn by a certain natural enticement; but that when they are
set free from the bonds of the flesh, they then, as released from a long
bondage, rejoice and mount upward. And this is like the opinions of the
Greeks, that good souls have their habitations beyond the ocean, in a
region that is neither oppressed with storms of rain or snow, or with
intense heat, but that this place is such as is refreshed by the gentle
breathing of a west wind, that is perpetually blowing from the ocean;
while they allot to bad souls a dark and tempestuous den, full of
never-ceasing punishments. And indeed the Greeks seem to me to have
followed the same notion, when they allot the islands of the blessed to
their brave men, whom they call heroes and demi-gods; and to the souls
of the wicked, the region of the ungodly, in Hades, where their fables
relate that certain persons, such as Sisyphus, and Tantalus, and Ixion,
and Tityus, are punished; which is built on this first supposition,
that souls are immortal; and thence are those exhortations to virtue and
dehortations from wickedness collected; whereby good men are bettered
in the conduct of their life by the hope they have of reward after their
death; and whereby the vehement inclinations of bad men to vice are
restrained, by the fear and expectation they are in, that although
they should lie concealed in this life, they should suffer immortal
punishment after their death. These are the Divine doctrines of the
Essens 6 about the soul, which lay an unavoidable bait for such as have
once had a taste of their philosophy.
12. There are also those among them who undertake to foretell things
to come, 7 by reading the holy books, and using several sorts of
purifications, and being perpetually conversant in the discourses of the
prophets; and it is but seldom that they miss in their predictions.
13. Moreover, there is another order of Essens, 8 who agree with the
rest as to their way of living, and customs, and laws, but differ from
them in the point of marriage, as thinking that by not marrying they
cut off the principal part of human life, which is the prospect of
succession; nay, rather, that if all men should be of the same opinion,
the whole race of mankind would fail. However, they try their spouses
for three years; and if they find that they have their natural
purgations thrice, as trials that they are likely to be fruitful, they
then actually marry them. But they do not use to accompany with their
wives when they are with child, as a demonstration that they do not many
out of regard to pleasure, but for the sake of posterity. Now the women
go into the baths with some of their garments on, as the men do with
somewhat girded about them. And these are the customs of this order of
Essens.
14. But then as to the two other orders at first mentioned, the
Pharisees are those who are esteemed most skillful in the exact
explication of their laws, and introduce the first sect. These ascribe
all to fate [or providence], and to God, and yet allow, that to act what
is right, or the contrary, is principally in the power of men, although
fate does co-operate in every action. They say that all souls are
incorruptible, but that the souls of good men only are removed into
other bodies,--but that the souls of bad men are subject to eternal
punishment. But the Sadducees are those that compose the second order,
and take away fate entirely, and suppose that God is not concerned in
our doing or not doing what is evil; and they say, that to act what is
good, or what is evil, is at men's own choice, and that the one or the
other belongs so to every one, that they may act as they please. They
also take away the belief of the immortal duration of the soul, and the
punishments and rewards in Hades. Moreover, the Pharisees are friendly
to one another, and are for the exercise of concord, and regard for the
public; but the behavior of the Sadducees one towards another is in some
degree wild, and their conversation with those that are of their own
party is as barbarous as if they were strangers to them. And this is
what I had to say concerning the philosophic sects among the Jews.
CHAPTER 9.
The Death Of Salome. The Cities Which Herod And Philip
Built. Pilate Occasions Disturbances. Tiberius Puts Agrippa
Into Bonds But Caius Frees Him From Them, And Makes Him
King. Herod Antipas Is Banished.
1. And now as the ethnarchy of Archelaus was fallen into a Roman
province, the other sons of Herod, Philip, and that Herod who was called
Antipas, each of them took upon them the administration of their own
tetrarchies; for when Salome died, she bequeathed to Julia, the wife of
Augustus, both her toparchy, and Jamriga, as also her plantation of palm
trees that were in Phasaelis. But when the Roman empire was translated
to Tiberius, the son of Julia, upon the death of Augustus, who had
reigned fifty-seven years, six months, and two days, both Herod and
Philip continued in their tetrarchies; and the latter of them built the
city Cesarea, at the fountains of Jordan, and in the region of Paneas;
as also the city Julias, in the lower Gaulonitis. Herod also built the
city Tiberius in Galilee, and in Perea [beyond Jordan] another that was
also called Julias.
2. Now Pilate, who was sent as procurator into Judea by Tiberius, sent
by night those images of Caesar that are called ensigns into Jerusalem.
This excited a very great tumult among the Jews when it was day;
for those that were near them were astonished at the sight of them, as
indications that their laws were trodden under foot; for those laws do
not permit any sort of image to be brought into the city. Nay, besides
the indignation which the citizens had themselves at this procedure,
a vast number of people came running out of the country. These came
zealously to Pilate to Cesarea, and besought him to carry those ensigns
out of Jerusalem, and to preserve them their ancient laws inviolable;
but upon Pilate's denial of their request, they fell 9 down prostrate
upon the ground, and continued immovable in that posture for five days
and as many nights.
3. On the next day Pilate sat upon his tribunal, in the open
market-place, and called to him the multitude, as desirous to give them
an answer; and then gave a signal to the soldiers, that they should all
by agreement at once encompass the Jews with their weapons; so the band
of soldiers stood round about the Jews in three ranks. The Jews were
under the utmost consternation at that unexpected sight. Pilate also
said to them that they should be cut in pieces, unless they would admit
of Caesar's images, and gave intimation to the soldiers to draw their
naked swords. Hereupon the Jews, as it were at one signal, fell down in
vast numbers together, and exposed their necks bare, and cried out
that they were sooner ready to be slain, than that their law should be
transgressed. Hereupon Pilate was greatly surprised at their prodigious
superstition, and gave order that the ensigns should be presently
carried out of Jerusalem.
4. After this he raised another disturbance, by expending that sacred
treasure which is called Corban 10 upon aqueducts, whereby he brought
water from the distance of four hundred furlongs. At this the multitude
had indignation; and when Pilate was come to Jerusalem, they came
about his tribunal, and made a clamor at it. Now when he was apprized
aforehand of this disturbance, he mixed his own soldiers in their armor
with the multitude, and ordered them to conceal themselves under the
habits of private men, and not indeed to use their swords, but with
their staves to beat those that made the clamor. He then gave the signal
from his tribunal [to do as he had bidden them]. Now the Jews were so
sadly beaten, that many of them perished by the stripes they received,
and many of them perished as trodden to death by themselves; by which
means the multitude was astonished at the calamity of those that were
slain, and held their peace.
5. In the mean time Agrippa, the son of that Aristobulus who had
been slain by his father Herod, came to Tiberius, to accuse Herod the
tetrarch; who not admitting of his accusation, he staid at Rome, and
cultivated a friendship with others of the men of note, but principally
with Caius the son of Germanicus, who was then but a private person.
Now this Agrippa, at a certain time, feasted Caius; and as he was very
complaisant to him on several other accounts, he at length stretched out
his hands, and openly wished that Tiberius might die, and that he might
quickly see him emperor of the world. This was told to Tiberius by
one of Agrippa's domestics, who thereupon was very angry, and ordered
Agrippa to be bound, and had him very ill-treated in the prison for six
months, until Tiberius died, after he had reigned twenty-two years, six
months, and three days.
6. But when Caius was made Caesar, he released Agrippa from his bonds,
and made him king of Philip's tetrarchy, who was now dead; but when
Agrippa had arrived at that degree of dignity, he inflamed the ambitious
desires of Herod the tetrarch, who was chiefly induced to hope for the
royal authority by his wife Herodias, who reproached him for his sloth,
and told him that it was only because he would not sail to Caesar
that he was destitute of that great dignity; for since Caesar had made
Agrippa a king, from a private person, much mole would he advance him
from a tetrarch to that dignity. These arguments prevailed with Herod,
so that he came to Caius, by whom he was punished for his ambition, by
being banished into Spain; for Agrippa followed him, in order to accuse
him; to whom also Caius gave his tetrarchy, by way of addition. So Herod
died in Spain, whither his wife had followed him.
CHAPTER 10.
Caius Commands That His Statue Should Be Set Up In The
Temple Itself; And What Petronius Did Thereupon.
1. Now Caius Caesar did so grossly abuse the fortune he had arrived at,
as to take himself to be a god, and to desire to be so called also, and
to cut off those of the greatest nobility out of his country. He also
extended his impiety as far as the Jews. Accordingly, he sent Petronius
with an army to Jerusalem, to place his statues in the temple, 11 and
commanded him that, in case the Jews would not admit of them, he should
slay those that opposed it, and carry all the rest of the nation into
captivity: but God concerned himself with these his commands. However,
Petronius marched out of Antioch into Judea, with three legions, and
many Syrian auxiliaries. Now as to the Jews, some of them could not
believe the stories that spake of a war; but those that did believe them
were in the utmost distress how to defend themselves, and the terror
diffused itself presently through them all; for the army was already
come to Ptolemais.
2. This Ptolemais is a maritime city of Galilee, built in the great
plain. It is encompassed with mountains: that on the east side, sixty
furlongs off, belongs to Galilee; but that on the south belongs to
Carmel, which is distant from it a hundred and twenty furlongs; and that
on the north is the highest of them all, and is called by the people of
the country, The Ladder of the Tyrians, which is at the distance of
a hundred furlongs. The very small river Belus 12 runs by it, at the
distance of two furlongs; near which there is Menmon's monument, 13 and
hath near it a place no larger than a hundred cubits, which deserves
admiration; for the place is round and hollow, and affords such sand
as glass is made of; which place, when it hath been emptied by the many
ships there loaded, it is filled again by the winds, which bring into
it, as it were on purpose, that sand which lay remote, and was no more
than bare common sand, while this mine presently turns it into glassy
sand. And what is to me still more wonderful, that glassy sand which is
superfluous, and is once removed out of the place, becomes bare common
sand again. And this is the nature of the place we are speaking of.
3. But now the Jews got together in great numbers with their wives and
children into that plain that was by Ptolemais, and made supplication to
Petronius, first for their laws, and, in the next place, for themselves.
So he was prevailed upon by the multitude of the supplicants, and by
their supplications, and left his army and the statues at Ptolemais, and
then went forward into Galilee, and called together the multitude
and all the men of note to Tiberias, and showed them the power of the
Romans, and the threatenings of Caesar; and, besides this, proved
that their petition was unreasonable, because while all the nations
in subjection to them had placed the images of Caesar in their several
cities, among the rest of their gods, for them alone to oppose it, was
almost like the behavior of revolters, and was injurious to Caesar.
4. And when they insisted on their law, and the custom of their country,
and how it was not only not permitted them to make either an image of
God, or indeed of a man, and to put it in any despicable part of their
country, much less in the temple itself, Petronius replied, "And am
not I also," said he, "bound to keep the law of my own lord? For if I
transgress it, and spare you, it is but just that I perish; while he
that sent me, and not I, will commence a war against you; for I am under
command as well as you." Hereupon the whole multitude cried out that
they were ready to suffer for their law. Petronius then quieted them,
and said to them, "Will you then make war against Caesar?" The Jews
said, "We offer sacrifices twice every day for Caesar, and for the Roman
people;" but that if he would place the images among them, he must first
sacrifice the whole Jewish nation; and that they were ready to expose
themselves, together with their children and wives, to be slain. At
this Petronius was astonished, and pitied them, on account of the
inexpressible sense of religion the men were under, and that courage
of theirs which made them ready to die for it; so they were dismissed
without success.
5. But on the following days he got together the men of power privately,
and the multitude publicly, and sometimes he used persuasions to them,
and sometimes he gave them his advice; but he chiefly made use of
threatenings to them, and insisted upon the power of the Romans, and the
anger of Caius; and besides, upon the necessity he was himself under [to
do as he was enjoined]. But as they could be no way prevailed upon, and
he saw that the country was in danger of lying without tillage; [for it
was about seed time that the multitude continued for fifty days together
idle;] so he at last got them together, and told them that it was
best for him to run some hazard himself; "for either, by the Divine
assistance, I shall prevail with Caesar, and shall myself escape the
danger as well as you, which will be matter of joy to us both; or, in
case Caesar continue in his rage, I will be ready to expose my own
life for such a great number as you are." Whereupon he dismissed the
multitude, who prayed greatly for his prosperity; and he took the army
out of Ptolemais, and returned to Antioch; from whence he presently sent
an epistle to Caesar, and informed him of the irruption he had made into
Judea, and of the supplications of the nation; and that unless he had a
mind to lose both the country and the men in it, he must permit them
to keep their law, and must countermand his former injunction. Caius
answered that epistle in a violent-way, and threatened to have Petronius
put to death for his being so tardy in the execution of what he had
commanded. But it happened that those who brought Caius's epistle were
tossed by a storm, and were detained on the sea for three months,
while others that brought the news of Caius's death had a good voyage.
Accordingly, Petronins received the epistle concerning Caius seven and
twenty days before he received that which was against himself.
CHAPTER 11.
Concerning The Government Of Claudius, And The Reign Of
Agrippa. Concerning The Deaths Of Agrippa And Of Herod And
What Children They Both Left Behind Them.
1. Now when Caius had reigned three years and eight months, and had been
slain by treachery, Claudius was hurried away by the armies that were at
Rome to take the government upon him; but the senate, upon the reference
of the consuls, Sentis Saturninus, and Pomponius Secundus, gave orders
to the three regiments of soldiers that staid with them to keep the city
quiet, and went up into the capitol in great numbers, and resolved to
oppose Claudius by force, on account of the barbarous treatment they
had met with from Caius; and they determined either to settle the nation
under an aristocracy, as they had of old been governed, or at least to
choose by vote such a one for emperor as might be worthy of it.
2. Now it happened that at this time Agrippa sojourned at Rome, and that
both the senate called him to consult with them, and at the same time
Claudius sent for him out of the camp, that he might be serviceable to
him, as he should have occasion for his service. So he, perceiving that
Claudius was in effect made Caesar already, went to him, who sent him as
an ambassador to the senate, to let them know what his intentions were:
that, in the first place, it was without his seeking that he was hurried
away by the soldiers; moreover, that he thought it was not just to
desert those soldiers in such their zeal for him, and that if he should
do so, his own fortune would be in uncertainty; for that it was a
dangerous case to have been once called to the empire. He added further,
that he would administer the government as a good prince, and not like
a tyrant; for that he would be satisfied with the honor of being called
emperor, but would, in every one of his actions, permit them all to
give him their advice; for that although he had not been by nature
for moderation, yet would the death of Caius afford him a sufficient
demonstration how soberly he ought to act in that station.
3. This message was delivered by Agrippa; to which the senate replied,
that since they had an army, and the wisest counsels on their side,
they would not endure a voluntary slavery. And when Claudius heard what
answer the senate had made, he sent Agrippa to them again, with the
following message: That he could not bear the thoughts of betraying them
that had given their oaths to be true to him; and that he saw he must
fight, though unwillingly, against such as he had no mind to fight;
that, however, [if it must come to that,] it was proper to choose a
place without the city for the war, because it was not agreeable to
piety to pollute the temples of their own city with the blood of their
own countrymen, and this only on occasion of their imprudent conduct.
And when Agrippa had heard this message, he delivered it to the
senators.
4. In the mean time, one of the soldiers belonging to the senate drew
his sword, and cried out, "O my fellow soldiers, what is the meaning of
this choice of ours, to kill our brethren, and to use violence to our
kindred that are with Claudius? while we may have him for our emperor
whom no one can blame, and who hath so many just reasons [to lay claim
to the government]; and this with regard to those against whom we are
going to fight." When he had said this, he marched through the whole
senate, and carried all the soldiers along with him. Upon which all
the patricians were immediately in a great fright at their being thus
deserted. But still, because there appeared no other way whither they
could turn themselves for deliverance, they made haste the same way with
the soldiers, and went to Claudius. But those that had the greatest luck
in flattering the good fortune of Claudius betimes met them before the
walls with their naked swords, and there was reason to fear that those
that came first might have been in danger, before Claudius could know
what violence the soldiers were going to offer them, had not Agrippa ran
before, and told him what a dangerous thing they were going about, and
that unless he restrained the violence of these men, who were in a fit
of madness against the patricians, he would lose those on whose account
it was most desirable to rule, and would be emperor over a desert.
5. When Claudius heard this, he restrained the violence of the soldiery,
and received the senate into the camp, and treated them after an
obliging manner, and went out with them presently to offer their
thank-offerings to God, which were proper upon, his first coming to
the empire. Moreover, he bestowed on Agrippa his whole paternal kingdom
immediately, and added to it, besides those countries that had been
given by Augustus to Herod, Trachonitis and Auranitis, and still besides
these, that kingdom which was called the kingdom of Lysanius. This gift
he declared to the people by a decree, but ordered the magistrates to
have the donation engraved on tables of brass, and to be set up in the
capitol. He bestowed on his brother Herod, who was also his son-in-law,
by marrying [his daughter] Bernice, the kingdom of Chalcis.
6. So now riches flowed in to Agrippa by his enjoyment of so large a
dominion; nor did he abuse the money he had on small matters, but
he began to encompass Jerusalem with such a wall, which, had it been
brought to perfection, had made it impracticable for the Romans to take
it by siege; but his death, which happened at Cesarea, before he had
raised the walls to their due height, prevented him. He had then reigned
three years, as he had governed his tetrarchies three other years.
He left behind him three daughters, born to him by Cypros, Bernice,
Mariamne, and Drusilla, and a son born of the same mother, whose name
was Agrippa: he was left a very young child, so that Claudius made the
country a Roman province, and sent Cuspius Fadus to be its procurator,
and after him Tiberius Alexander, who, making no alterations of the
ancient laws, kept the nation in tranquillity. Now after this, Herod the
king of Chalcis died, and left behind him two sons, born to him of his
brother's daughter Bernice; their names were Bernie Janus and Hyrcanus.
[He also left behind him] Aristobulus, whom he had by his former wife
Mariamne. There was besides another brother of his that died a private
person, his name was also Aristobulus, who left behind him a daughter,
whose name was Jotape: and these, as I have formerly said, were
the children of Aristobulus the son of Herod, which Aristobulus and
Alexander were born to Herod by Mariamne, and were slain by him. But as
for Alexander's posterity, they reigned in Armenia.
CHAPTER 12.
Many Tumults Under Cumanus, Which Were Composed By
Quadratus. Felix Is Procurator Of Judea. Agrippa Is Advanced
From Chalcis To A Greater Kingdom.
1 Now after the death of Herod, king of Chalcis, Claudius set Agrippa,
the son of Agrippa, over his uncle's kingdom, while Cumanus took upon
him the office of procurator of the rest, which was a Roman province,
and therein he succeeded Alexander; under which Cumanus began the
troubles, and the Jews' ruin came on; for when the multitude were come
together to Jerusalem, to the feast of unleavened bread, and a Roman
cohort stood over the cloisters of the temple, [for they always were
armed, and kept guard at the festivals, to prevent any innovation which
the multitude thus gathered together might make,] one of the soldiers
pulled back his garment, and cowering down after an indecent manner,
turned his breech to the Jews, and spake such words as you might expect
upon such a posture. At this the whole multitude had indignation, and
made a clamor to Cumanus, that he would punish the soldier; while
the rasher part of the youth, and such as were naturally the most
tumultuous, fell to fighting, and caught up stones, and threw them at
the soldiers. Upon which Cumanus was afraid lest all the people should
make an assault upon him, and sent to call for more armed men, who, when
they came in great numbers into the cloisters, the Jews were in a very
great consternation; and being beaten out of the temple, they ran into
the city; and the violence with which they crowded to get out was so
great, that they trod upon each other, and squeezed one another, till
ten thousand of them were killed, insomuch that this feast became the
cause of mourning to the whole nation, and every family lamented their
own relations.
2. Now there followed after this another calamity, which arose from
a tumult made by robbers; for at the public road at Beth-boron, one
Stephen, a servant of Caesar, carried some furniture, which the robbers
fell upon and seized. Upon this Cumanus sent men to go round about to
the neighboring villages, and to bring their inhabitants to him bound,
as laying it to their charge that they had not pursued after the
thieves, and caught them. Now here it was that a certain soldier,
finding the sacred book of the law, tore it to pieces, and threw it into
the fire. 14 Hereupon the Jews were in great disorder, as if their whole
country were in a flame, and assembled themselves so many of them by
their zeal for their religion, as by an engine, and ran together with
united clamor to Cesarea, to Cumanus, and made supplication to him that
he would not overlook this man, who had offered such an affront to God,
and to his law; but punish him for what he had done. Accordingly, he,
perceiving that the multitude would not be quiet unless they had a
comfortable answer from him, gave order that the soldier should be
brought, and drawn through those that required to have him punished, to
execution, which being done, the Jews went their ways.
3. After this there happened a fight between the Galileans and the
Samaritans; it happened at a village called Geman, which is situate in
the great plain of Samaria; where, as a great number of Jews were going
up to Jerusalem to the feast [of tabernacles,] a certain Galilean was
slain; and besides, a vast number of people ran together out of Galilee,
in order to fight with the Samaritans. But the principal men among
them came to Cumanus, and besought him that, before the evil became
incurable, he would come into Galilee, and bring the authors of this
murder to punishment; for that there was no other way to make the
multitude separate without coming to blows. However, Cumanus postponed
their supplications to the other affairs he was then about, and sent the
petitioners away without success.
4. But when the affair of this murder came to be told at Jerusalem, it
put the multitude into disorder, and they left the feast; and without
any generals to conduct them, they marched with great violence to
Samaria; nor would they be ruled by any of the magistrates that were set
over them, but they were managed by one Eleazar, the son of Dineus, and
by Alexander, in these their thievish and seditious attempts. These
men fell upon those that were in the neighborhood of the Acrabatene
toparchy, and slew them, without sparing any age, and set the villages
on fire.
5. But Cumanus took one troop of horsemen, called the troop of Sebaste,
out of Cesarea, and came to the assistance of those that were spoiled;
he also seized upon a great number of those that followed Eleazar, and
slew more of them. And as for the rest of the multitude of those that
went so zealously to fight with the Samaritans, the rulers of Jerusalem
ran out clothed with sackcloth, and having ashes on their head, and
begged of them to go their ways, lest by their attempt to revenge
themselves upon the Samaritans they should provoke the Romans to come
against Jerusalem; to have compassion upon their country and temple,
their children and their wives, and not bring the utmost dangers of
destruction upon them, in order to avenge themselves upon one Galilean
only. The Jews complied with these persuasions of theirs, and dispersed
themselves; but still there were a great number who betook themselves
to robbing, in hopes of impunity; and rapines and insurrections of the
bolder sort happened over the whole country. And the men of power among
the Samaritans came to Tyre, to Ummidius Quadratus, 15 the president of
Syria, and desired that they that had laid waste the country might be
punished: the great men also of the Jews, and Jonathan the son of Ananus
the high priest, came thither, and said that the Samaritans were
the beginners of the disturbance, on account of that murder they had
committed; and that Cumanus had given occasion to what had happened, by
his unwillingness to punish the original authors of that murder.
6. But Quadratus put both parties off for that time, and told them, that
when he should come to those places, he would make a diligent inquiry
after every circumstance. After which he went to Cesarea, and crucified
all those whom Cumanus had taken alive; and when from thence he was come
to the city Lydda, he heard the affair of the Samaritans, and sent for
eighteen of the Jews, whom he had learned to have been concerned in that
fight, and beheaded them; but he sent two others of those that were of
the greatest power among them, and both Jonathan and Ananias, the high
priests, as also Artanus the son of this Ananias, and certain others
that were eminent among the Jews, to Caesar; as he did in like manner
by the most illustrious of the Samaritans. He also ordered that Cumanus
[the procurator] and Celer the tribune should sail to Rome, in order to
give an account of what had been done to Caesar. When he had finished
these matters, he went up from Lydda to Jerusalem, and finding the
multitude celebrating their feast of unleavened bread without any
tumult, he returned to Antioch.
7. Now when Caesar at Rome had heard what Cumanus and the Samaritans
had to say, [where it was done in the hearing of Agrippa, who zealously
espoused the cause of the Jews, as in like manner many of the great men
stood by Cumanus,] he condemned the Samaritans, and commanded that three
of the most powerful men among them should be put to death; he banished
Cumanus, and sent Celer bound to Jerusalem, to be delivered over to the
Jews to be tormented; that he should be drawn round the city, and then
beheaded.
8. After this Caesar sent Felix, 16 the brother of Pallas, to be
procurator of Galilee, and Samaria, and Perea, and removed Agrippa from
Chalcis unto a greater kingdom; for he gave him the tetrarchy which
had belonged to Philip, which contained Batanae, Trachonitis, and
Gaulonitis: he added to it the kingdom of Lysanias, and that province
[Abilene] which Varus had governed. But Claudius himself, when he had
administered the government thirteen years, eight months, and twenty
days, died, and left Nero to be his successor in the empire, whom he had
adopted by his Wife Agrippina's delusions, in order to be his successor,
although he had a son of his own, whose name was Britannicus, by
Messalina his former wife, and a daughter whose name was Octavia, whom
he had married to Nero; he had also another daughter by Petina, whose
name was Antonia.
CHAPTER 13.
Nero Adds Four Cities To Agrippas Kingdom; But The Other
Parts Of Judea Were Under Felix. The Disturbances Which Were
Raised By The Sicarii The Magicians And An Egyptian False
Prophet. The Jews And Syrians Have A Contest At Cesarea.
1. Now as to the many things in which Nero acted like a madman, out of
the extravagant degree of the felicity and riches which he enjoyed, and
by that means used his good fortune to the injury of others; and after
what manner he slew his brother, and wife, and mother, from whom his
barbarity spread itself to others that were most nearly related to him;
and how, at last, he was so distracted that he became an actor in
the scenes, and upon the theater,--I omit to say any more about them,
because there are writers enough upon those subjects every where; but
I shall turn myself to those actions of his time in which the Jews were
concerned.
2. Nero therefore bestowed the kingdom of the Lesser Armenia upon
Aristobulus, Herod's son, 17 and he added to Agrippa's kingdom four
cities, with the toparchies to them belonging; I mean Abila, and that
Julias which is in Perea, Tarichea also, and Tiberias of Galilee; but
over the rest of Judea he made Felix procurator. This Felix took Eleazar
the arch-robber, and many that were with him, alive, when they had
ravaged the country for twenty years together, and sent them to Rome;
but as to the number of the robbers whom he caused to be crucified, and
of those who were caught among them, and whom he brought to punishment,
they were a multitude not to be enumerated.
3. When the country was purged of these, there sprang up another sort of
robbers in Jerusalem, which were called Sicarii, who slew men in the
day time, and in the midst of the city; this they did chiefly at
the festivals, when they mingled themselves among the multitude, and
concealed daggers under their garments, with which they stabbed those
that were their enemies; and when any fell down dead, the murderers
became a part of those that had indignation against them; by which means
they appeared persons of such reputation, that they could by no means
be discovered. The first man who was slain by them was Jonathan the high
priest, after whose death many were slain every day, while the fear men
were in of being so served was more afflicting than the calamity itself;
and while every body expected death every hour, as men do in war, so men
were obliged to look before them, and to take notice of their enemies at
a great distance; nor, if their friends were coming to them, durst
they trust them any longer; but, in the midst of their suspicions and
guarding of themselves, they were slain. Such was the celerity of the
plotters against them, and so cunning was their contrivance.
4. There was also another body of wicked men gotten together, not so
impure in their actions, but more wicked in their intentions, which
laid waste the happy state of the city no less than did these murderers.
These were such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretense
of Divine inspiration, but were for procuring innovations and changes
of the government; and these prevailed with the multitude to act like
madmen, and went before them into the wilderness, as pretending that
God would there show them the signals of liberty. But Felix thought this
procedure was to be the beginning of a revolt; so he sent some horsemen
and footmen both armed, who destroyed a great number of them.
5. But there was an Egyptian false prophet that did the Jews more
mischief than the former; for he was a cheat, and pretended to be a
prophet also, and got together thirty thousand men that were deluded by
him; these he led round about from the wilderness to the mount which
was called the Mount of Olives, and was ready to break into Jerusalem
by force from that place; and if he could but once conquer the Roman
garrison and the people, he intended to domineer over them by the
assistance of those guards of his that were to break into the city
with him. But Felix prevented his attempt, and met him with his Roman
soldiers, while all the people assisted him in his attack upon them,
insomuch that when it came to a battle, the Egyptian ran away, with a
few others, while the greatest part of those that were with him were
either destroyed or taken alive; but the rest of the multitude were
dispersed every one to their own homes, and there concealed themselves.
6. Now when these were quieted, it happened, as it does in a diseased
body, that another part was subject to an inflammation; for a company
of deceivers and robbers got together, and persuaded the Jews to revolt,
and exhorted them to assert their liberty, inflicting death on those
that continued in obedience to the Roman government, and saying, that
such as willingly chose slavery ought to be forced from such their
desired inclinations; for they parted themselves into different bodies,
and lay in wait up and down the country, and plundered the houses of the
great men, and slew the men themselves, and set the villages on fire;
and this till all Judea was filled with the effects of their madness.
And thus the flame was every day more and more blown up, till it came to
a direct war.
7. There was also another disturbance at Cesarea,--those Jews who were
mixed with the Syrians that lived there rising a tumult against them.
The Jews pretended that the city was theirs, and said that he who built
it was a Jew, meaning king Herod. The Syrians confessed also that its
builder was a Jew; but they still said, however, that the city was a
Grecian city; for that he who set up statues and temples in it could not
design it for Jews. On which account both parties had a contest with
one another; and this contest increased so much, that it came at last to
arms, and the bolder sort of them marched out to fight; for the elders
of the Jews were not able to put a stop to their own people that were
disposed to be tumultuous, and the Greeks thought it a shame for them
to be overcome by the Jews. Now these Jews exceeded the others in
riches and strength of body; but the Grecian part had the advantage
of assistance from the soldiery; for the greatest part of the Roman
garrison was raised out of Syria; and being thus related to the Syrian
part, they were ready to assist it. However, the governors of the city
were concerned to keep all quiet, and whenever they caught those that
were most for fighting on either side, they punished them with stripes
and bands. Yet did not the sufferings of those that were caught affright
the remainder, or make them desist; but they were still more and more
exasperated, and deeper engaged in the sedition. And as Felix came once
into the market-place, and commanded the Jews, when they had beaten the
Syrians, to go their ways, and threatened them if they would not, and
they would not obey him, he sent his soldiers out upon them, and slew
a great many of them, upon which it fell out that what they had was
plundered. And as the sedition still continued, he chose out the most
eminent men on both sides as ambassadors to Nero, to argue about their
several privileges.
CHAPTER 14.
Festus Succeeds Felix Who Is Succeeded By Albinus As He Is
By Florus; Who By The Barbarity Of His Government Forces The
Jews Into The War.
1. Now it was that Festus succeeded Felix as procurator, and made it his
business to correct those that made disturbances in the country. So he
caught the greatest part of the robbers, and destroyed a great many of
them. But then Albinus, who succeeded Festus, did not execute his office
as the other had done; nor was there any sort of wickedness that could
be named but he had a hand in it. Accordingly, he did not only, in his
political capacity, steal and plunder every one's substance, nor did he
only burden the whole nation with taxes, but he permitted the relations
of such as were in prison for robbery, and had been laid there, either
by the senate of every city, or by the former procurators, to redeem
them for money; and no body remained in the prisons as a malefactor but
he who gave him nothing. At this time it was that the enterprises of
the seditious at Jerusalem were very formidable; the principal men
among them purchasing leave of Albinus to go on with their seditious
practices; while that part of the people who delighted in disturbances
joined themselves to such as had fellowship with Albinus; and every one
of these wicked wretches were encompassed with his own band of robbers,
while he himself, like an arch-robber, or a tyrant, made a figure among
his company, and abused his authority over those about him, in order
to plunder those that lived quietly. The effect of which was this, that
those who lost their goods were forced to hold their peace, when they
had reason to show great indignation at what they had suffered; but
those who had escaped were forced to flatter him that deserved to be
punished, out of the fear they were in of suffering equally with the
others. Upon the Whole, nobody durst speak their minds, but tyranny
was generally tolerated; and at this time were those seeds sown which
brought the city to destruction.
2. And although such was the character of Albinus, yet did Gessius
Florus 18 who succeeded him, demonstrate him to have been a most
excellent person, upon the comparison; for the former did the greatest
part of his rogueries in private, and with a sort of dissimulation; but
Gessius did his unjust actions to the harm of the nation after a pompous
manner; and as though he had been sent as an executioner to punish
condemned malefactors, he omitted no sort of rapine, or of vexation;
where the case was really pitiable, he was most barbarous, and in things
of the greatest turpitude he was most impudent. Nor could any one outdo
him in disguising the truth; nor could any one contrive more subtle ways
of deceit than he did. He indeed thought it but a petty offense to get
money out of single persons; so he spoiled whole cities, and ruined
entire bodies of men at once, and did almost publicly proclaim it all
the country over, that they had liberty given them to turn robbers, upon
this condition, that he might go shares with them in the spoils they
got. Accordingly, this his greediness of gain was the occasion that
entire toparchies were brought to desolation, and a great many of the
people left their own country, and fled into foreign provinces.
3. And truly, while Cestius Gallus was president of the province of
Syria, nobody durst do so much as send an embassage to him against
Florus; but when he was come to Jerusalem, upon the approach of the
feast of unleavened bread, the people came about him not fewer in number
than three millions 19 these besought him to commiserate the calamities
of their nation, and cried out upon Florus as the bane of their country.
But as he was present, and stood by Cestius, he laughed at their words.
However, Cestius, when he had quieted the multitude, and had assured
them that he would take care that Florus should hereafter treat them in
a more gentle manner, returned to Antioch. Florus also conducted him
as far as Cesarea, and deluded him, though he had at that very time the
purpose of showing his anger at the nation, and procuring a war upon
them, by which means alone it was that he supposed he might conceal his
enormities; for he expected that if the peace continued, he should have
the Jews for his accusers before Caesar; but that if he could procure
them to make a revolt, he should divert their laying lesser crimes to
his charge, by a misery that was so much greater; he therefore did every
day augment their calamities, in order to induce them to a rebellion.
4. Now at this time it happened that the Grecians at Cesarea had been
too hard for the Jews, and had obtained of Nero the government of the
city, and had brought the judicial determination: at the same time began
the war, in the twelfth year of the reign of Nero, and the seventeenth
of the reign of Agrippa, in the month of Artemisius [Jyar.] Now the
occasion of this war was by no means proportionable to those heavy
calamities which it brought upon us. For the Jews that dwelt at Cesarea
had a synagogue near the place, whose owner was a certain Cesarean
Greek: the Jews had endeavored frequently to have purchased the
possession of the place, and had offered many times its value for its
price; but as the owner overlooked their offers, so did he raise
other buildings upon the place, in way of affront to them, and made
working-shops of them, and left them but a narrow passage, and such as
was very troublesome for them to go along to their synagogue. Whereupon
the warmer part of the Jewish youth went hastily to the workmen, and
forbade them to build there; but as Florus would not permit them to use
force, the great men of the Jews, with John the publican, being in the
utmost distress what to do, persuaded Florus, with the offer of eight
talents, to hinder the work. He then, being intent upon nothing but
getting money, promised he would do for them all they desired of him,
and then went away from Cesarea to Sebaste, and left the sedition to
take its full course, as if he had sold a license to the Jews to fight
it out.
5. Now on the next day, which was the seventh day of the week, when the
Jews were crowding apace to their synagogue, a certain man of Cesarea,
of a seditious temper, got an earthen vessel, and set it with the bottom
upward, at the entrance of that synagogue, and sacrificed birds. This
thing provoked the Jews to an incurable degree, because their laws were
affronted, and the place was polluted. Whereupon the sober and moderate
part of the Jews thought it proper to have recourse to their governors
again, while the seditious part, and such as were in the fervor of their
youth, were vehemently inflamed to fight. The seditions also among the
Gentiles of Cesarea stood ready for the same purpose; for they had, by
agreement, sent the man to sacrifice beforehand [as ready to support
him;] so that it soon came to blows. Hereupon Jucundus, the master of
the horse, who was ordered to prevent the fight, came thither, and took
away the earthen vessel, and endeavored to put a stop to the sedition;
but when 20 he was overcome by the violence of the people of Cesarea,
the Jews caught up their books of the law, and retired to Narbata, which
was a place to them belonging, distant from Cesarea sixty furlongs.
But John, and twelve of the principal men with him, went to Florus, to
Sebaste, and made a lamentable complaint of their case, and besought
him to help them; and with all possible decency, put him in mind of the
eight talents they had given him; but he had the men seized upon, and
put in prison, and accused them for carrying the books of the law out of
Cesarea.
6. Moreover, as to the citizens of Jerusalem, although they took this
matter very ill, yet did they restrain their passion; but Florus acted
herein as if he had been hired, and blew up the war into a flame, and
sent some to take seventeen talents out of the sacred treasure, and
pretended that Caesar wanted them. At this the people were in confusion
immediately, and ran together to the temple, with prodigious clamors,
and called upon Caesar by name, and besought him to free them from the
tyranny of Florus. Some also of the seditious cried out upon Florus, and
cast the greatest reproaches upon him, and carried a basket about, and
begged some spills of money for him, as for one that was destitute of
possessions, and in a miserable condition. Yet was not he made ashamed
hereby of his love of money, but was more enraged, and provoked to get
still more; and instead of coming to Cesarea, as he ought to have done,
and quenching the flame of war, which was beginning thence, and so
taking away the occasion of any disturbances, on which account it was
that he had received a reward [of eight talents], he marched hastily
with an army of horsemen and footmen against Jerusalem, that he might
gain his will by the arms of the Romans, and might, by his terror, and
by his threatenings, bring the city into subjection.
7. But the people were desirous of making Florus ashamed of his attempt,
and met his soldiers with acclamations, and put themselves in order
to receive him very submissively. But he sent Capito, a centurion,
beforehand, with fifty soldiers, to bid them go back, and not now make
a show of receiving him in an obliging manner, whom they had so foully
reproached before; and said that it was incumbent on them, in case they
had generous souls, and were free speakers, to jest upon him to his
face, and appear to be lovers of liberty, not only in words, but with
their weapons also. With this message was the multitude amazed; and
upon the coming of Capito's horsemen into the midst of them, they were
dispersed before they could salute Florus, or manifest their submissive
behavior to him. Accordingly, they retired to their own houses, and
spent that night in fear and confusion of face.
8. Now at this time Florus took up his quarters at the palace; and on
the next day he had his tribunal set before it, and sat upon it, when
the high priests, and the men of power, and those of the greatest
eminence in the city, came all before that tribunal; upon which Florus
commanded them to deliver up to him those that had reproached him, and
told them that they should themselves partake of the vengeance to them
belonging, if they did not produce the criminals; but these demonstrated
that the people were peaceably disposed, and they begged forgiveness for
those that had spoken amiss; for that it was no wonder at all that in
so great a multitude there should be some more daring than they ought to
be, and, by reason of their younger age, foolish also; and that it was
impossible to distinguish those that offended from the rest, while every
one was sorry for what he had done, and denied it out of fear of what
would follow: that he ought, however, to provide for the peace of the
nation, and to take such counsels as might preserve the city for the
Romans, and rather for the sake of a great number of innocent people to
forgive a few that were guilty, than for the sake of a few of the wicked
to put so large and good a body of men into disorder.
9. Florus was more provoked at this, and called out aloud to the
soldiers to plunder that which was called the Upper Market-place, and to
slay such as they met with. So the soldiers, taking this exhortation of
their commander in a sense agreeable to their desire of gain, did not
only plunder the place they were sent to, but forcing themselves into
every house, they slew its inhabitants; so the citizens fled along
the narrow lanes, and the soldiers slew those that they caught, and
no method of plunder was omitted; they also caught many of the quiet
people, and brought them before Florus, whom he first chastised with
stripes, and then crucified. Accordingly, the whole number of those that
were destroyed that day, with their wives and children, [for they did
not spare even the infants themselves,] was about three thousand and six
hundred. And what made this calamity the heavier was this new method
of Roman barbarity; for Florus ventured then to do what no one had done
before, that is, to have men of the equestrian order whipped 21 and
nailed to the cross before his tribunal; who, although they were by
birth Jews, yet were they of Roman dignity notwithstanding.
CHAPTER 15.
Concerning Bernice's Petition To Florus, To Spare The Jews,
But In Vain; As Also How, After The Seditious Flame Was
Quenched, It Was Kindled Again By Florus.
1. About this very time king Agrippa was going to Alexandria, to
congratulate Alexander upon his having obtained the government of Egypt
from Nero; but as his sister Bernice was come to Jerusalem, and saw the
wicked practices of the soldiers, she was sorely affected at it, and
frequently sent the masters of her horse and her guards to Florus, and
begged of him to leave off these slaughters; but he would not comply
with her request, nor have any regard either to the multitude of those
already slain, or to the nobility of her that interceded, but only to
the advantage he should make by this plundering; nay, this violence of
the soldiers brake out to such a degree of madness, that it spent itself
on the queen herself; for they did not only torment and destroy those
whom they had caught under her very eyes, but indeed had killed herself
also, unless she had prevented them by flying to the palace, and had
staid there all night with her guards, which she had about her for fear
of an insult from the soldiers. Now she dwelt then at Jerusalem, in
order to perform a vow 22 which she had made to God; for it is usual
with those that had been either afflicted with a distemper, or with any
other distresses, to make vows; and for thirty days before they are to
offer their sacrifices, to abstain from wine, and to shave the hair of
their head. Which things Bernice was now performing, and stood barefoot
before Florus's tribunal, and besought him [to spare the Jews]. Yet
could she neither have any reverence paid to her, nor could she escape
without some danger of being slain herself.
2. This happened upon the sixteenth day of the month Artemisius [Jyar].
Now, on the next day, the multitude, who were in a great agony, ran
together to the Upper Market-place, and made the loudest lamentations
for those that had perished; and the greatest part of the cries were
such as reflected on Florus; at which the men of power were affrighted,
together with the high priests, and rent their garments, and fell down
before each of them, and besought them to leave off, and not to provoke
Florus to some incurable procedure, besides what they had already
suffered. Accordingly, the multitude complied immediately, out of
reverence to those that had desired it of them, and out of the hope they
had that Florus would do them no more injuries.
3. So Florus was troubled that the disturbances were over, and
endeavored to kindle that flame again, and sent for the high priests,
with the other eminent persons, and said the only demonstration that the
people would not make any other innovations should be this, that they
must go out and meet the soldiers that were ascending from Cesarea,
whence two cohorts were coming; and while these men were exhorting
the multitude so to do, he sent beforehand, and gave directions to the
centurions of the cohorts, that they should give notice to those that
were under them not to return the Jews' salutations; and that if they
made any reply to his disadvantage, they should make use of their
weapons. Now the high priests assembled the multitude in the temple, and
desired them to go and meet the Romans, and to salute the cohorts very
civilly, before their miserable case should become incurable. Now
the seditious part would not comply with these persuasions; but the
consideration of those that had been destroyed made them incline to
those that were the boldest for action.
4. At this time it was that every priest, and every servant of God,
brought out the holy vessels, and the ornamental garments wherein they
used to minister in sacred things. The harpers also, and the singers of
hymns, came out with their instruments of music, and fell down before
the multitude, and begged of them that they would preserve those holy
ornaments to them, and not provoke the Romans to carry off those sacred
treasures. You might also see then the high priests themselves, with
dust sprinkled in great plenty upon their heads, with bosoms deprived of
any covering but what was rent; these besought every one of the eminent
men by name, and the multitude in common, that they would not for a
small offense betray their country to those that were desirous to have
it laid waste; saying, "What benefit will it bring to the soldiers to
have a salutation from the Jews? or what amendment of your affairs will
it bring you, if you do not now go out to meet them? and that if they
saluted them civilly, all handle would be cut off from Florus to begin
a war; that they should thereby gain their country, and freedom from all
further sufferings; and that, besides, it would be a sign of great
want of command of themselves, if they should yield to a few seditious
persons, while it was fitter for them who were so great a people to
force the others to act soberly."
5. By these persuasions, which they used to the multitude and to the
seditious, they restrained some by threatenings, and others by the
reverence that was paid them. After this they led them out, and they met
the soldiers quietly, and after a composed manner, and when they were
come up with them, they saluted them; but when they made no answer,
the seditious exclaimed against Florus, which was the signal given for
falling upon them. The soldiers therefore encompassed them presently,
and struck them with their clubs; and as they fled away, the horsemen
trampled them down, so that a great many fell down dead by the strokes
of the Romans, and more by their own violence in crushing one another.
Now there was a terrible crowding about the gates, and while every
body was making haste to get before another, the flight of them all was
retarded, and a terrible destruction there was among those that fell
down, for they were suffocated, and broken to pieces by the multitude of
those that were uppermost; nor could any of them be distinguished by
his relations in order to the care of his funeral; the soldiers also who
beat them, fell upon those whom they overtook, without showing them any
mercy, and thrust the multitude through the place called Bezetha, 23 as
they forced their way, in order to get in and seize upon the temple, and
the tower Antonia. Florus also being desirous to get those places into
his possession, brought such as were with him out of the king's palace,
and would have compelled them to get as far as the citadel [Antonia;]
but his attempt failed, for the people immediately turned back upon him,
and stopped the violence of his attempt; and as they stood upon the tops
of their houses, they threw their darts at the Romans, who, as they were
sorely galled thereby, because those weapons came from above, and they
were not able to make a passage through the multitude, which stopped up
the narrow passages, they retired to the camp which was at the palace.
6. But for the seditious, they were afraid lest Florus should come
again, and get possession of the temple, through Antonia; so they got
immediately upon those cloisters of the temple that joined to Antonia,
and cut them down. This cooled the avarice of Florus; for whereas he
was eager to obtain the treasures of God [in the temple], and on that
account was desirous of getting into Antonia, as soon as the cloisters
were broken down, he left off his attempt; he then sent for the high
priests and the sanhedrim, and told them that he was indeed himself
going out of the city, but that he would leave them as large a garrison
as they should desire. Hereupon they promised that they would make no
innovations, in case he would leave them one band; but not that which
had fought with the Jews, because the multitude bore ill-will against
that band on account of what they had suffered from it; so he changed
the band as they desired, and, with the rest of his forces, returned to
Cesarea.
CHAPTER 16.
Cestius Sends Neopolitanus The Tribune To See In What
Condition The Affairs Of The Jews Were. Agrippa Makes A
Speech To The People Of The Jews That He May Divert Them
From Their Intentions Of Making War With The Romans.
1. However, Florus contrived another way to oblige the Jews to begin
the war, and sent to Cestius, and accused the Jews falsely of revolting
[from the Roman government], and imputed the beginning of the former
fight to them, and pretended they had been the authors of that
disturbance, wherein they were only the sufferers. Yet were not the
governors of Jerusalem silent upon this occasion, but did themselves
write to Cestius, as did Bernice also, about the illegal practices of
which Florus had been guilty against the city; who, upon reading both
accounts, consulted with his captains [what he should do]. Now some
of them thought it best for Cestius to go up with his army, either to
punish the revolt, if it was real, or to settle the Roman affairs on a
surer foundation, if the Jews continued quiet under them; but he thought
it best himself to send one of his intimate friends beforehand, to
see the state of affairs, and to give him a faithful account of the
intentions of the Jews. Accordingly, he sent one of his tribunes, whose
name was Neopolitanus, who met with king Agrippa as he was returning
from Alexandria, at Jamnia, and told him who it was that sent him, and
on what errands he was sent.
2. And here it was that the high priests, and men of power among the
Jews, as well as the sanhedrim, came to congratulate the king [upon his
safe return]; and after they had paid him their respects, they lamented
their own calamities, and related to him what barbarous treatment
they had met with from Florus. At which barbarity Agrippa had great
indignation, but transferred, after a subtle manner, his anger towards
those Jews whom he really pitied, that he might beat down their high
thoughts of themselves, and would have them believe that they had
not been so unjustly treated, in order to dissuade them from avenging
themselves. So these great men, as of better understanding than the
rest, and desirous of peace, because of the possessions they had,
understood that this rebuke which the king gave them was intended
for their good; but as to the people, they came sixty furlongs out of
Jerusalem, and congratulated both Agrippa and Neopolitanus; but the
wives of those that had been slain came running first of all and
lamenting. The people also, when they heard their mourning, fell into
lamentations also, and besought Agrippa to assist them: they also
cried out to Neopolitanus, and complained of the many miseries they had
endured under Florus; and they showed them, when they were come into the
city, how the market-place was made desolate, and the houses plundered.
They then persuaded Neopolitanus, by the means of Agrippa, that he would
walk round the city, with one only servant, as far as Siloam, that he
might inform himself that the Jews submitted to all the rest of the
Romans, and were only displeased at Florus, by reason of his exceeding
barbarity to them. So he walked round, and had sufficient experience
of the good temper the people were in, and then went up to the temple,
where he called the multitude together, and highly commended them for
their fidelity to the Romans, and earnestly exhorted them to keep the
peace; and having performed such parts of Divine worship at the temple
as he was allowed to do, he returned to Cestius.
3. But as for the multitude of the Jews, they addressed themselves to
the king, and to the high priests, and desired they might have leave to
send ambassadors to Nero against Florus, and not by their silence afford
a suspicion that they had been the occasions of such great slaughters
as had been made, and were disposed to revolt, alleging that they
should seem to have been the first beginners of the war, if they did not
prevent the report by showing who it was that began it; and it appeared
openly that they would not be quiet, if any body should hinder them
from sending such an embassage. But Agrippa, although he thought it
too dangerous a thing for them to appoint men to go as the accusers of
Florus, yet did he not think it fit for him to overlook them, as
they were in a disposition for war. He therefore called the multitude
together into a large gallery, and placed his sister Bernice in the
house of the Asamoneans, that she might be seen by them, [which house
was over the gallery, at the passage to the upper city, where the bridge
joined the temple to the gallery,] and spake to them as follows:
4.24 "Had I perceived that you were all zealously disposed to go to war
with the Romans, and that the purer and more sincere part of the people
did not propose to live in peace, I had not come out to you, nor been
so bold as to give you counsel; for all discourses that tend to persuade
men to do what they ought to do are superfluous, when the hearers are
agreed to do the contrary. But because some are earnest to go to war
because they are young, and without experience of the miseries it
brings, and because some are for it out of an unreasonable expectation
of regaining their liberty, and because others hope to get by it, and
are therefore earnestly bent upon it, that in the confusion of your
affairs they may gain what belongs to those that are too weak to resist
them, I have thought proper to get you all together, and to say to
you what I think to be for your advantage; that so the former may grow
wiser, and change their minds, and that the best men may come to no harm
by the ill conduct of some others. And let not any one be tumultuous
against me, in case what they hear me say do not please them; for as
to those that admit of no cure, but are resolved upon a revolt, it
will still be in their power to retain the same sentiments after my
exhortation is over; but still my discourse will fall to the ground,
even with a relation to those that have a mind to hear me, unless
you will all keep silence. I am well aware that many make a tragical
exclamation concerning the injuries that have been offered you by your
procurators, and concerning the glorious advantages of liberty; but
before I begin the inquiry, who you are that must go to war, and who
they are against whom you must fight, I shall first separate those
pretenses that are by some connected together; for if you aim at
avenging yourselves on those that have done you injury, why do you
pretend this to be a war for recovering your liberty? but if you think
all servitude intolerable, to what purpose serve your complaint against
your particular governors? for if they treated you with moderation, it
would still be equally an unworthy thing to be in servitude. Consider
now the several cases that may be supposed, how little occasion there is
for your going to war. Your first occasion is the accusations you have
to make against your procurators; now here you ought to be submissive
to those in authority, and not give them any provocation; but when
you reproach men greatly for small offenses, you excite those whom you
reproach to be your adversaries; for this will only make them leave off
hurting you privately, and with some degree of modesty, and to lay what
you have waste openly. Now nothing so much damps the force of strokes as
bearing them with patience; and the quietness of those who are injured
diverts the injurious persons from afflicting. But let us take it for
granted that the Roman ministers are injurious to you, and are incurably
severe; yet are they not all the Romans who thus injure you; nor hath
Caesar, against whom you are going to make war, injured you: it is not
by their command that any wicked governor is sent to you; for they who
are in the west cannot see those that are in the east; nor indeed is it
easy for them there even to hear what is done in these parts. Now it is
absurd to make war with a great many for the sake of one, to do so with
such mighty people for a small cause; and this when these people are not
able to know of what you complain: nay, such crimes as we complain of
may soon be corrected, for the same procurator will not continue
for ever; and probable it is that the successors will come with more
moderate inclinations. But as for war, if it be once begun, it is not
easily laid down again, nor borne without calamities coming therewith.
However, as to the desire of recovering your liberty, it is unseasonable
to indulge it so late; whereas you ought to have labored earnestly in
old time that you might never have lost it; for the first experience of
slavery was hard to be endured, and the struggle that you might never
have been subject to it would have been just; but that slave who hath
been once brought into subjection, and then runs away, is rather a
refractory slave than a lover of liberty; for it was then the proper
time for doing all that was possible, that you might never have admitted
the Romans [into your city], when Pompey came first into the country.
But so it was, that our ancestors and their kings, who were in much
better circumstances than we are, both as to money, and strong bodies,
and [valiant] souls, did not bear the onset of a small body of the Roman
army. And yet you, who have now accustomed yourselves to obedience from
one generation to another, and who are so much inferior to those who
first submitted, in your circumstances will venture to oppose the entire
empire of the Romans. While those Athenians, who, in order to preserve
the liberty of Greece, did once set fire to their own city; who pursued
Xerxes, that proud prince, when he sailed upon the land, and walked upon
the sea, and could not be contained by the seas, but conducted such an
army as was too broad for Europe; and made him run away like a fugitive
in a single ship, and brake so great a part of Asia at the Lesser
Salamis; are yet at this time servants to the Romans; and those
injunctions which are sent from Italy become laws to the principal
governing city of Greece. Those Lacedemonians also who got the great
victories at Thermopylae and Platea, and had Agesilaus [for their king],
and searched every corner of Asia, are contented to admit the same
lords. Those Macedonians also, who still fancy what great men their
Philip and Alexander were, and see that the latter had promised them
the empire over the world, these bear so great a change, and pay their
obedience to those whom fortune hath advanced in their stead. Moreover,
ten thousand ether nations there are who had greater reason than we to
claim their entire liberty, and yet do submit. You are the only people
who think it a disgrace to be servants to those to whom all the world
hath submitted. What sort of an army do you rely on? What are the arms
you depend on? Where is your fleet, that may seize upon the Roman
seas? and where are those treasures which may be sufficient for your
undertakings? Do you suppose, I pray you, that you are to make war with
the Egyptians, and with the Arabians? Will you not carefully reflect
upon the Roman empire? Will you not estimate your own weakness? Hath not
your army been often beaten even by your neighboring nations, while the
power of the Romans is invincible in all parts of the habitable earth?
nay, rather they seek for somewhat still beyond that; for all Euphrates
is not a sufficient boundary for them on the east side, nor the Danube
on the north; and for their southern limit, Libya hath been searched
over by them, as far as countries uninhabited, as is Cadiz their limit
on the west; nay, indeed, they have sought for another habitable earth
beyond the ocean, and have carried their arms as far as such British
islands as were never known before. What therefore do you pretend to?
Are you richer than the Gauls, stronger than the Germans, wiser than
the Greeks, more numerous than all men upon the habitable earth? What
confidence is it that elevates you to oppose the Romans? Perhaps it will
be said, It is hard to endure slavery. Yes; but how much harder is this
to the Greeks, who were esteemed the noblest of all people under the
sun! These, though they inhabit in a large country, are in subjection to
six bundles of Roman rods. It is the same case with the Macedonians,
who have juster reason to claim their liberty than you have. What is
the case of five hundred cities of Asia? Do they not submit to a single
governor, and to the consular bundle of rods? What need I speak of the
Henlochi, and Colchi and the nation of Tauri, those that inhabit the
Bosphorus, and the nations about Pontus, and Meotis, who formerly
knew not so much as a lord of their own, but are now subject to three
thousand armed men, and where forty long ships keep the sea in peace,
which before was not navigable, and very tempestuous? How strong a plea
may Bithynia, and Cappadocia, and the people of Pamphylia, the Lycians,
and Cilicians, put in for liberty! But they are made tributary without
an army. What are the circumstances of the Thracians, whose country
extends in breadth five days' journey, and in length seven, and is of a
much more harsh constitution, and much more defensible, than yours, and
by the rigor of its cold sufficient to keep off armies from attacking
them? do not they submit to two thousand men of the Roman garrisons? Are
not the Illyrlans, who inhabit the country adjoining, as far as Dalmatia
and the Danube, governed by barely two legions? by which also they put a
stop to the incursions of the Daeians. And for the Dalmatians, who have
made such frequent insurrections in order to regain their liberty, and
who could never before be so thoroughly subdued, but that they always
gathered their forces together again, revolted, yet are they now very
quiet under one Roman legion. Moreover, great advantages might provoke
any people to revolt, the Gauls might do it best of all, as being so
thoroughly walled round by nature; on the east side by the Alps, on the
north by the river Rhine, on the south by the Pyrenean mountains, and
on the west by the ocean. Now although these Gauls have such obstacles
before them to prevent any attack upon them, and have no fewer than
three hundred and five nations among them, nay have, as one may say,
the fountains of domestic happiness within themselves, and send out
plentiful streams of happiness over almost the whole world, these bear
to be tributary to the Romans, and derive their prosperous condition
from them; and they undergo this, not because they are of effeminate
minds, or because they are of an ignoble stock, as having borne a war
of eighty years in order to preserve their liberty; but by reason of
the great regard they have to the power of the Romans, and their good
fortune, which is of greater efficacy than their arms. These Gauls,
therefore, are kept in servitude by twelve hundred soldiers, which are
hardly so many as are their cities; nor hath the gold dug out of the
mines of Spain been sufficient for the support of a war to preserve
their liberty, nor could their vast distance from the Romans by land
and by sea do it; nor could the martial tribes of the Lusitanians and
Spaniards escape; no more could the ocean, with its tide, which yet was
terrible to the ancient inhabitants. Nay, the Romans have extended their
arms beyond the pillars of Hercules, and have walked among the clouds,
upon the Pyrenean mountains, and have subdued these nations. And one
legion is a sufficient guard for these people, although they were so
hard to be conquered, and at a distance so remote from Rome. Who is
there among you that hath not heard of the great number of the Germans?
You have, to be sure, yourselves seen them to be strong and tall, and
that frequently, since the Romans have them among their captives every
where; yet these Germans, who dwell in an immense country, who have
minds greater than their bodies, and a soul that despises death, and
who are in rage more fierce than wild beasts, have the Rhine for the
boundary of their enterprises, and are tamed by eight Roman legions.
Such of them as were taken captive became their servants; and the rest
of the entire nation were obliged to save themselves by flight. Do you
also, who depend on the walls of Jerusalem, consider what a wall the
Britons had; for the Romans sailed away to them, an subdued them while
they were encompassed by the ocean, and inhabited an island that is not
less than the [continent of this] habitable earth; and four legions are
a sufficient guard to so large an island And why should I speak much
more about this matter, while the Parthians, that most warlike body
of men, and lords of so many nations, and encompassed with such mighty
forces, send hostages to the Romans? whereby you may see, if you please,
even in Italy, the noblest nation of the East, under the notion of
peace, submitting to serve them. Now when almost all people under the
sun submit to the Roman arms, will you be the only people that make war
against them? and this without regarding the fate of the Carthaginians,
who, in the midst of their brags of the great Hannibal, and the nobility
of their Phoenician original, fell by the hand of Scipio. Nor indeed
have the Cyrenians, derived from the Lacedemonians, nor the Marmaridite,
a nation extended as far as the regions uninhabitable for want of
water, nor have the Syrtes, a place terrible to such as barely hear
it described, the Nasamons and Moors, and the immense multitude of the
Numidians, been able to put a stop to the Roman valor. And as for the
third part of the habitable earth, [Africa,] whose nations are so many
that it is not easy to number them, and which is bounded by the Atlantic
Sea and the pillars of Hercules, and feeds an innumerable multitude
of Ethiopians, as far as the Red Sea, these have the Romans subdued
entirely. And besides the annual fruits of the earth, which maintain
the multitude of the Romans for eight months in the year, this, over and
above, pays all sorts of tribute, and affords revenues suitable to
the necessities of the government. Nor do they, like you, esteem such
injunctions a disgrace to them, although they have but one Roman legion
that abides among them. And indeed what occasion is there for showing
you the power of the Romans over remote countries, when it is so easy to
learn it from Egypt, in your neighborhood? This country is extended as
far as the Ethiopians, and Arabia the Happy, and borders upon India; it
hath seven millions five hundred thousand men, besides the inhabitants
of Alexandria, as may be learned from the revenue of the poll tax; yet
it is not ashamed to submit to the Roman government, although it hath
Alexandria as a grand temptation to a revolt, by reason it is so full of
people and of riches, and is besides exceeding large, its length being
thirty furlongs, and its breadth no less than ten; and it pays more
tribute to the Romans in one month than you do in a year; nay, besides
what it pays in money, it sends corn to Rome that supports it for four
months [in the year]: it is also walled round on all sides, either by
almost impassable deserts, or seas that have no havens, or by rivers,
or by lakes; yet have none of these things been found too strong for
the Roman good fortune; however, two legions that lie in that city are a
bridle both for the remoter parts of Egypt, and for the parts inhabited
by the more noble Macedonians. Where then are those people whom you are
to have for your auxiliaries? Must they come from the parts of the world
that are uninhabited? for all that are in the habitable earth are [under
the] Romans. Unless any of you extend his hopes as far as beyond the
Euphrates, and suppose that those of your own nation that dwell in
Adiabene will come to your assistance; but certainly these will not
embarrass themselves with an unjustifiable war, nor, if they should
follow such ill advice, will the Parthians permit them so to do; for
it is their concern to maintain the truce that is between them and the
Romans, and they will be supposed to break the covenants between them,
if any under their government march against the Romans. What remains,
therefore, is this, that you have recourse to Divine assistance; but
this is already on the side of the Romans; for it is impossible that so
vast an empire should be settled without God's providence. Reflect upon
it, how impossible it is for your zealous observations of your religious
customs to be here preserved, which are hard to be observed even when
you fight with those whom you are able to conquer; and how can you
then most of all hope for God's assistance, when, by being forced to
transgress his law, you will make him turn his face from you? and if you
do observe the custom of the sabbath days, and will not be revealed
on to do any thing thereon, you will easily be taken, as were your
forefathers by Pompey, who was the busiest in his siege on those days on
which the besieged rested. But if in time of war you transgress the law
of your country, I cannot tell on whose account you will afterward go
to war; for your concern is but one, that you do nothing against any of
your forefathers; and how will you call upon God to assist you, when you
are voluntarily transgressing against his religion? Now all men that go
to war do it either as depending on Divine or on human assistance; but
since your going to war will cut off both those assistances, those that
are for going to war choose evident destruction. What hinders you from
slaying your children and wives with your own hands, and burning this
most excellent native city of yours? for by this mad prank you will,
however, escape the reproach of being beaten. But it were best, O
my friends, it were best, while the vessel is still in the haven, to
foresee the impending storm, and not to set sail out of the port into
the middle of the hurricanes; for we justly pity those who fall into
great misfortunes without fore-seeing them; but for him who rushes
into manifest ruin, he gains reproaches [instead of commiseration].
But certainly no one can imagine that you can enter into a war as by
agreement, or that when the Romans have got you under their power, they
will use you with moderation, or will not rather, for an example to
other nations, burn your holy city, and utterly destroy your whole
nation; for those of you who shall survive the war will not be able to
find a place whither to flee, since all men have the Romans for their
lords already, or are afraid they shall have hereafter. Nay, indeed, the
danger concerns not those Jews that dwell here only, but those of
them which dwell in other cities also; for there is no people upon the
habitable earth which have not some portion of you among them, whom your
enemies will slay, in case you go to war, and on that account also; and
so every city which hath Jews in it will be filled with slaughter for
the sake of a few men, and they who slay them will be pardoned; but if
that slaughter be not made by them, consider how wicked a thing it is to
take arms against those that are so kind to you. Have pity, therefore,
if not on your children and wives, yet upon this your metropolis, and
its sacred walls; spare the temple, and preserve the holy house, with
its holy furniture, for yourselves; for if the Romans get you under
their power, they will no longer abstain from them, when their former
abstinence shall have been so ungratefully requited. I call to witness
your sanctuary, and the holy angels of God, and this country common
to us all, that I have not kept back any thing that is for your
preservation; and if you will follow that advice which you ought to do,
you will have that peace which will be common to you and to me; but if
you indulge four passions, you will run those hazards which I shall be
free from."
5. When Agrippa had spoken thus, both he and his sister wept, and by
their tears repressed a great deal of the violence of the people; but
still they cried out, that they would not fight against the Romans, but
against Florus, on account of what they had suffered by his means. To
which Agrippa replied, that what they had already done was like such as
make war against the Romans; "for you have not paid the tribute which is
due to Caesar 25 and you have cut off the cloisters [of the temple] from
joining to the tower Antonia. You will therefore prevent any occasion
of revolt if you will but join these together again, and if you will but
pay your tribute; for the citadel does not now belong to Florus, nor are
you to pay the tribute money to Florus."
CHAPTER 17.
How The War Of The Jews With The Romans Began, And
Concerning Manahem.
1. This advice the people hearkened to, and went up into the temple with
the king and Bernice, and began to rebuild the cloisters; the rulers
also and senators divided themselves into the villages, and collected
the tributes, and soon got together forty talents, which was the sum
that was deficient. And thus did Agrippa then put a stop to that war
which was threatened. Moreover, he attempted to persuade the multitude
to obey Florus, until Caesar should send one to succeed him; but they
were hereby more provoked, and cast reproaches upon the king, and
got him excluded out of the city; nay, some of the seditious had the
impudence to throw stones at him. So when the king saw that the violence
of those that were for innovations was not to be restrained, and being
very angry at the contumelies he had received, he sent their rulers,
together with their men of power, to Florus, to Cesarea, that he might
appoint whom he thought fit to collect the tribute in the country, while
he retired into his own kingdom.
2. And at this time it was that some of those that principally excited
the people to go to war made an assault upon a certain fortress called
Masada. They took it by treachery, and slew the Romans that were there,
and put others of their own party to keep it. At the same time Eleazar,
the son of Ananias the high priest, a very bold youth, who was at that
time governor of the temple, persuaded those that officiated in the
Divine service to receive no gift or sacrifice for any foreigner.
And this was the true beginning of our war with the Romans; for they
rejected the sacrifice of Caesar on this account; and when many of the
high priests and principal men besought them not to omit the sacrifice,
which it was customary for them to offer for their princes, they would
not be prevailed upon. These relied much upon their multitude, for the
most flourishing part of the innovators assisted them; but they had the
chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple.
3. Hereupon the men of power got together, and conferred with the high
priests, as did also the principal of the Pharisees; and thinking all
was at stake, and that their calamities were becoming incurable, took
counsel what was to be done. Accordingly, they determined to try what
they could do with the seditious by words, and assembled the people
before the brazen gate, which was that gate of the inner temple [court
of the priests] which looked toward the sun-rising. And, in the first
place, they showed the great indignation they had at this attempt for a
revolt, and for their bringing so great a war upon their country; after
which they confuted their pretense as unjustifiable, and told them that
their forefathers had adorned their temple in great part with donations
bestowed on them by foreigners, and had always received what had been
presented to them from foreign nations; and that they had been so
far from rejecting any person's sacrifice [which would be the highest
instance of impiety,] that they had themselves placed those donation
about the temple which were still visible, and had remained there so
long a time; that they did now irritate the Romans to take arms against
them, and invited them to make war upon them, and brought up novel rules
of a strange Divine worship, and determined to run the hazard of
having their city condemned for impiety, while they would not allow any
foreigner, but Jews only, either to sacrifice or to worship therein.
And if such a law should be introduced in the case of a single private
person only, he would have indignation at it, as an instance of
inhumanity determined against him; while they have no regard to the
Romans or to Caesar, and forbid even their oblations to be received
also; that however they cannot but fear, lest, by thus rejecting their
sacrifices, they shall not be allowed to offer their own; and that this
city will lose its principality, unless they grow wiser quickly, and
restore the sacrifices as formerly, and indeed amend the injury [they
have offered foreigners] before the report of it comes to the ears of
those that have been injured.
4. And as they said these things, they produced those priests that were
skillful in the customs of their country, who made the report that all
their forefathers had received the sacrifices from foreign nations. But
still not one of the innovators would hearken to what was said; nay,
those that ministered about the temple would not attend their Divine
service, but were preparing matters for beginning the war. So the men of
power perceiving that the sedition was too hard for them to subdue, and
that the danger which would arise from the Romans would come upon them
first of all, endeavored to save themselves, and sent ambassadors, some
to Florus, the chief of which was Simon the son of Ananias; and others
to Agrippa, among whom the most eminent were Saul, and Antipas, and
Costobarus, who were of the king's kindred; and they desired of them
both that they would come with an army to the city, and cut off the
seditious before it should be too hard to be subdued. Now this terrible
message was good news to Florus; and because his design was to have a
war kindled, he gave the ambassadors no answer at all. But Agrippa was
equally solicitous for those that were revolting, and for those against
whom the war was to be made, and was desirous to preserve the Jews for
the Romans, and the temple and metropolis for the Jews; he was also
sensible that it was not for his own advantage that the disturbances
should proceed; so he sent three thousand horsemen to the assistance
of the people out of Auranitis, and Batanea, and Trachonitis, and these
under Darius, the master of his horse, and Philip the son of Jacimus,
the general of his army.
5. Upon this the men of power, with the high priests, as also all the
part of the multitude that were desirous of peace, took courage, and
seized upon the upper city [Mount Sion;] for the seditious part had the
lower city and the temple in their power; so they made use of stones and
slings perpetually against one another, and threw darts continually
on both sides; and sometimes it happened that they made incursions
by troops, and fought it out hand to hand, while the seditious were
superior in boldness, but the king's soldiers in skill. These last
strove chiefly to gain the temple, and to drive those out of it who
profaned it; as did the seditious, with Eleazar, besides what they
had already, labor to gain the upper city. Thus were there perpetual
slaughters on both sides for seven days' time; but neither side would
yield up the parts they had seized on.
6. Now the next day was the festival of Xylophory; upon which the custom
was for every one to bring wood for the altar [that there might never be
a want of fuel for that fire which was unquenchable and always burning].
Upon that day they excluded the opposite party from the observation of
this part of religion. And when they had joined to themselves many of
the Sicarii, who crowded in among the weaker people, [that was the name
for such robbers as had under their bosoms swords called Sicae,] they
grew bolder, and carried their undertaking further; insomuch that the
king's soldiers were overpowered by their multitude and boldness; and
so they gave way, and were driven out of the upper city by force. The
others then set fire to the house of Ananias the high priest, and to the
palaces of Agrippa and Bernice; after which they carried the fire to
the place where the archives were reposited, and made haste to burn the
contracts belonging to their creditors, and thereby to dissolve their
obligations for paying their debts; and this was done in order to
gain the multitude of those who had been debtors, and that they might
persuade the poorer sort to join in their insurrection with safety
against the more wealthy; so the keepers of the records fled away, and
the rest set fire to them. And when they had thus burnt down the nerves
of the city, they fell upon their enemies; at which time some of the men
of power, and of the high priests, went into the vaults under ground,
and concealed themselves, while others fled with the king's soldiers
to the upper palace, and shut the gates immediately; among whom were
Ananias the high priest, and the ambassadors that had been sent to
Agrippa. And now the seditious were contented with the victory they had
gotten, and the buildings they had burnt down, and proceeded no further.
7. But on the next day, which was the fifteenth of the month Lous, [Ab,]
they made an assault upon Antonia, and besieged the garrison which was
in it two days, and then took the garrison, and slew them, and set the
citadel on fire; after which they marched to the palace, whither the
king's soldiers were fled, and parted themselves into four bodies, and
made an attack upon the walls. As for those that were within it, no one
had the courage to sally out, because those that assaulted them were
so numerous; but they distributed themselves into the breast-works and
turrets, and shot at the besiegers, whereby many of the robbers fell
under the walls; nor did they cease to fight one with another either by
night or by day, while the seditious supposed that those within would
grow weary for want of food, and those without supposed the others would
do the like by the tediousness of the siege.
8. In the mean time, one Manahem, the son of Judas, that was called the
Galilean, [who was a very cunning sophister, and had formerly reproached
the Jews under Cyrenius, that after God they were subject to the
Romans,] took some of the men of note with him, and retired to Masada,
where he broke open king Herod's armory, and gave arms not only to his
own people, but to other robbers also. These he made use of for a guard,
and returned in the state of a king to Jerusalem; he became the leader
of the sedition, and gave orders for continuing the siege; but they
wanted proper instruments, and it was not practicable to undermine the
wall, because the darts came down upon them from above. But still they
dug a mine from a great distance under one of the towers, and made it
totter; and having done that, they set on fire what was combustible, and
left it; and when the foundations were burnt below, the tower fell down
suddenly. Yet did they then meet with another wall that had been built
within, for the besieged were sensible beforehand of what they were
doing, and probably the tower shook as it was undermining; so they
provided themselves of another fortification; which when the besiegers
unexpectedly saw, while they thought they had already gained the place,
they were under some consternation. However, those that were within sent
to Manahem, and to the other leaders of the sedition, and desired
they might go out upon a capitulation: this was granted to the king's
soldiers and their own countrymen only, who went out accordingly; but
the Romans that were left alone were greatly dejected, for they were not
able to force their way through such a multitude; and to desire them to
give them their right hand for their security, they thought it would be
a reproach to them; and besides, if they should give it them, they durst
not depend upon it; so they deserted their camp, as easily taken,
and ran away to the royal towers,--that called Hippicus, that called
Phasaelus, and that called Mariamne. But Manahem and his party fell upon
the place whence the soldiers were fled, and slew as many of them as
they could catch, before they got up to the towers, and plundered what
they left behind them, and set fire to their camp. This was executed on
the sixth day of the month Gorpieus [Elul].
9. But on the next day the high priest was caught where he had concealed
himself in an aqueduct; he was slain, together with Hezekiah his
brother, by the robbers: hereupon the seditious besieged the towers, and
kept them guarded, lest any one of the soldiers should escape. Now the
overthrow of the places of strength, and the death of the high priest
Ananias, so puffed up Manahem, that he became barbarously cruel; and
as he thought he had no antagonist to dispute the management of affairs
with him, he was no better than an insupportable tyrant; but Eleazar
and his party, when words had passed between them, how it was not proper
when they revolted from the Romans, out of the desire of liberty, to
betray that liberty to any of their own people, and to bear a lord,
who, though he should be guilty of no violence, was yet meaner than
themselves; as also, that in case they were obliged to set some one over
their public affairs, it was fitter they should give that privilege to
any one rather than to him; they made an assault upon him in the temple;
for he went up thither to worship in a pompous manner, and adorned
with royal garments, and had his followers with him in their armor. But
Eleazar and his party fell violently upon him, as did also the rest of
the people; and taking up stones to attack him withal, they threw them
at the sophister, and thought, that if he were once ruined, the entire
sedition would fall to the ground. Now Manahem and his party made
resistance for a while; but when they perceived that the whole multitude
were falling upon them, they fled which way every one was able; those
that were caught were slain, and those that hid themselves were searched
for. A few there were of them who privately escaped to Masada, among
whom was Eleazar, the son of Jairus, who was of kin to Manahem, and
acted the part of a tyrant at Masada afterward. As for Manahem himself,
he ran away to the place called Ophla, and there lay skulking in
private; but they took him alive, and drew him out before them all; they
then tortured him with many sorts of torments, and after all slew him,
as they did by those that were captains under him also, and particularly
by the principal instrument of his tyranny, whose name was Apsalom.
10. And, as I said, so far truly the people assisted them, while they
hoped this might afford some amendment to the seditious practices; but
the others were not in haste to put an end to the war, but hoped to
prosecute it with less danger, now they had slain Manahem. It is
true, that when the people earnestly desired that they would leave
off besieging the soldiers, they were the more earnest in pressing it
forward, and this till Metilius, who was the Roman general, sent to
Eleazar, and desired that they would give them security to spare their
lives only; but agreed to deliver up their arms, and what else they had
with them. The others readily complied with their petition, sent to them
Gorion, the son of Nicodemus, and Ananias, the son of Sadduk, and Judas,
the son of Jonathan, that they might give them the security Of their
right hands, and of their oaths; after which Metilius brought down his
soldiers; which soldiers, while they were in arms, were not meddled with
by any of the seditious, nor was there any appearance of treachery; but
as soon as, according to the articles of capitulation, they had all laid
down their shields and their swords, and were under no further suspicion
of any harm, but were going away, Eleazar's men attacked them after a
violent manner, and encompassed them round, and slew them, while they
neither defended themselves, nor entreated for mercy, but only cried out
upon the breach of their articles of capitulation and their oaths. And
thus were all these men barbarously murdered, excepting Metilius; for
when he entreated for mercy, and promised that he would turn Jew, and
be circumcised, they saved him alive, but none else. This loss to the
Romans was but light, there being no more than a few slain out of an
immense army; but still it appeared to be a prelude to the Jews' own
destruction, while men made public lamentation when they saw that such
occasions were afforded for a war as were incurable; that the city
was all over polluted with such abominations, from which it was but
reasonable to expect some vengeance, even though they should escape
revenge from the Romans; so that the city was filled with sadness, and
every one of the moderate men in it were under great disturbance,
as likely themselves to undergo punishment for the wickedness of the
seditious; for indeed it so happened that this murder was perpetrated on
the sabbath day, on which day the Jews have a respite from their works
on account of Divine worship.
CHAPTER 18.
The Calamities And Slaughters That Came Upon The Jews.
1. Now the people of Cesarea had slain the Jews that were among them
on the very same day and hour [when the soldiers were slain], which
one would think must have come to pass by the direction of Providence;
insomuch that in one hour's time above twenty thousand Jews were killed,
and all Cesarea was emptied of its Jewish inhabitants; for Florus caught
such as ran away, and sent them in bonds to the galleys. Upon which
stroke that the Jews received at Cesarea, the whole nation was greatly
enraged; so they divided themselves into several parties, and laid waste
the villages of the Syrians, and their neighboring cities, Philadelphia,
and Sebonitis, and Gerasa, and Pella, and Scythopolis, and after them
Gadara, and Hippos; and falling upon Gaulonitis, some cities they
destroyed there, and some they set on fire, and then went to Kedasa,
belonging to the Tyrians, and to Ptolemais, and to Gaba, and to Cesarea;
nor was either Sebaste [Samaria] or Askelon able to oppose the violence
with which they were attacked; and when they had burnt these to the
ground; they entirely demolished Anthedon and Gaza; many also of the
villages that were about every one of those cities were plundered, and
an immense slaughter was made of the men who were caught in them.
2. However, the Syrians were even with the Jews in the multitude of
the men whom they slew; for they killed those whom they caught in their
cities, and that not only out of the hatred they bare them, as formerly,
but to prevent the danger under which they were from them; so that the
disorders in all Syria were terrible, and every city was divided into
two armies, encamped one against another, and the preservation of the
one party was in the destruction of the other; so the day time was spent
in shedding of blood, and the night in fear, which was of the two the
more terrible; for when the Syrians thought they had ruined the Jews,
they had the Judaizers in suspicion also; and as each side did not care
to slay those whom they only suspected on the other, so did they
greatly fear them when they were mingled with the other, as if they were
certainly foreigners. Moreover, greediness of gain was a provocation to
kill the opposite party, even to such as had of old appeared very mild
and gentle towards them; for they without fear plundered the effects of
the slain, and carried off the spoils of those whom they slew to their
own houses, as if they had been gained in a set battle; and he was
esteemed a man of honor who got the greatest share, as having prevailed
over the greatest number of his enemies. It was then common to see
cities filled with dead bodies, still lying unburied, and those of old
men, mixed with infants, all dead, and scattered about together; women
also lay amongst them, without any covering for their nakedness: you
might then see the whole province full of inexpressible calamities,
while the dread of still more barbarous practices which were threatened
was every where greater than what had been already perpetrated.
3. And thus far the conflict had been between Jews and foreigners; but
when they made excursions to Scythopolis, they found Jew that acted as
enemies; for as they stood in battle-array with those of Scythopolis,
and preferred their own safety before their relation to us, they fought
against their own countrymen; nay, their alacrity was so very great,
that those of Scythopolis suspected them. These were afraid, therefore,
lest they should make an assault upon the city in the night time, and,
to their great misfortune, should thereby make an apology for themselves
to their own people for their revolt from them. So they commanded them,
that in case they would confirm their agreement and demonstrate their
fidelity to them, who were of a different nation, they should go out of
the city, with their families to a neighboring grove; and when they had
done as they were commanded, without suspecting any thing, the people of
Scythopolis lay still for the interval of two days, to tempt them to be
secure; but on the third night they watched their opportunity, and cut
all their throats, some as they lay unguarded, and some as they lay
asleep. The number that was slain was above thirteen thousand, and then
they plundered them of all that they had.
4. It will deserve our relation what befell Simon; he was the son of
one Saul, a man of reputation among the Jews. This man was distinguished
from the rest by the strength of his body, and the boldness of his
conduct, although he abused them both to the mischieving of his
countrymen; for he came every day and slew a great many of the Jews of
Scythopolis, and he frequently put them to flight, and became himself
alone the cause of his army's conquering. But a just punishment overtook
him for the murders he had committed upon those of the same nation with
him; for when the people of Scythopolis threw their darts at them in the
grove, he drew his sword, but did not attack any of the enemy; for he
saw that he could do nothing against such a multitude; but he cried out
after a very moving manner, and said, "O you people of Scythopolis, I
deservedly suffer for what I have done with relation to you, when I gave
you such security of my fidelity to you, by slaying so many of those
that were related to me. Wherefore we very justly experience the
perfidiousness of foreigners, while we acted after a most wicked manner
against our own nation. I will therefore die, polluted wretch as I am,
by mine own hands; for it is not fit I should die by the hand of our
enemies; and let the same action be to me both a punishment for my great
crimes, and a testimony of my courage to my commendation, that so no one
of our enemies may have it to brag of, that he it was that slew me,
and no one may insult upon me as I fall." Now when he had said this, he
looked round about him upon his family with eyes of commiseration and
of rage [that family consisted of a wife and children, and his aged
parents]; so, in the first place, he caught his father by his grey
hairs, and ran his sword through him, and after him he did the same to
his mother, who willingly received it; and after them he did the like
to his wife and children, every one almost offering themselves to his
sword, as desirous to prevent being slain by their enemies; so when he
had gone over all his family, he stood upon their bodies to be seen
by all, and stretching out his right hand, that his action might be
observed by all, he sheathed his entire sword into his own bowels. This
young man was to be pitied, on account of the strength of his body and
the courage of his soul; but since he had assured foreigners of his
fidelity [against his own countrymen], he suffered deservedly.
5. Besides this murder at Scythopolis, the other cities rose up against
the Jews that were among them; those of Askelon slew two thousand five
hundred, and those of Ptolemais two thousand, and put not a few into
bonds; those of Tyre also put a great number to death, but kept a
greater number in prison; moreover, those of Hippos, and those of
Gadara, did the like while they put to death the boldest of the Jews,
but kept those of whom they were afraid in custody; as did the rest of
the cities of Syria, according as they every one either hated them or
were afraid of them; only the Antiochtans the Sidontans, and Apamians
spared those that dwelt with them, and would not endure either to kill
any of the Jews, or to put them in bonds. And perhaps they spared them,
because their own number was so great that they despised their
attempts. But I think the greatest part of this favor was owing to their
commiseration of those whom they saw to make no innovations. As for the
Gerasans, they did no harm to those that abode with them; and for those
who had a mind to go away, they conducted them as far as their borders
reached.
6. There was also a plot laid against the Jews in Agrippa's kingdom; for
he was himself gone to Cestius Gallus, to Antioch, but had left one
of his companions, whose name was Noarus, to take care of the public
affairs; which Noarus was of kin to king Sohemus. 26 Now there came
certain men seventy in number, out of Batanea, who were the most
considerable for their families and prudence of the rest of the people;
these desired to have an army put into their hands, that if any tumult
should happen, they might have about them a guard sufficient to restrain
such as might rise up against them. This Noarus sent out some of the
king's armed men by night, and slew all those [seventy] men; which bold
action he ventured upon without the consent of Agrippa, and was such
a lover of money, that he chose to be so wicked to his own countrymen,
though he brought ruin on the kingdom thereby; and thus cruelly did he
treat that nation, and this contrary to the laws also, until Agrippa
was informed of it, who did not indeed dare to put him to death, out
of regard to Sohemus; but still he put an end to his procuratorship
immediately. But as to the seditious, they took the citadel which
was called Cypros, and was above Jericho, and cut the throats of the
garrison, and utterly demolished the fortifications. This was about
the same time that the multitude of the Jews that were at Machaerus
persuaded the Romans who were in garrison to leave the place, and
deliver it up to them. These Romans being in great fear, lest the place
should be taken by force, made an agreement with them to depart upon
certain conditions; and when they had obtained the security they
desired, they delivered up the citadel, into which the people of
Machaerus put a garrison for their own security, and held it in their
own power.
7. But for Alexandria, the sedition of the people of the place against
the Jews was perpetual, and this from that very time when Alexander [the
Great], upon finding the readiness of the Jews in assisting him against
the Egyptians, and as a reward for such their assistance, gave them
equal privileges in this city with the Grecians themselves; which
honorary reward Continued among them under his successors, who also set
apart for them a particular place, that they might live without being
polluted [by the Gentiles], and were thereby not so much intermixed with
foreigners as before; they also gave them this further privilege, that
they should be called Macedonians. Nay, when the Romans got possession
of Egypt, neither the first Caesar, nor any one that came after him,
thought of diminishing the honors which Alexander had bestowed on the
Jews. But still conflicts perpetually arose with the Grecians; and
although the governors did every day punish many of them, yet did
the sedition grow worse; but at this time especially, when there were
tumults in other places also, the disorders among them were put into a
greater flame; for when the Alexandrians had once a public assembly, to
deliberate about an embassage they were sending to Nero, a great number
of Jews came flocking to the theater; but when their adversaries saw
them, they immediately cried out, and called them their enemies, and
said they came as spies upon them; upon which they rushed out, and laid
violent hands upon them; and as for the rest, they were slain as they
ran away; but there were three men whom they caught, and hauled them
along, in order to have them burnt alive; but all the Jews came in a
body to defend them, who at first threw stones at the Grecians, but
after that they took lamps, and rushed with violence into the theater,
and threatened that they would burn the people to a man; and this they
had soon done, unless Tiberius Alexander, the governor of the city, had
restrained their passions. However, this man did not begin to teach them
wisdom by arms, but sent among them privately some of the principal men,
and thereby entreated them to be quiet, and not provoke the Roman
army against them; but the seditious made a jest of the entreaties of
Tiberius, and reproached him for so doing.
8. Now when he perceived that those who were for innovations would not
be pacified till some great calamity should overtake them, he sent out
upon them those two Roman legions that were in the city, and together
with them five thousand other soldiers, who, by chance, were come
together out of Libya, to the ruin of the Jews. They were also permitted
not only to kill them, but to plunder them of what they had, and to set
fire to their houses. These soldiers rushed violently into that part of
the city that was called Delta, where the Jewish people lived together,
and did as they were bidden, though not without bloodshed on their own
side also; for the Jews got together, and set those that were the best
armed among them in the forefront, and made a resistance for a great
while; but when once they gave back, they were destroyed unmercifully;
and this their destruction was complete, some being caught in the open
field, and others forced into their houses, which houses were first
plundered of what was in them, and then set on fire by the Romans;
wherein no mercy was shown to the infants, and no regard had to the
aged; but they went on in the slaughter of persons of every age, till
all the place was overflowed with blood, and fifty thousand of them
lay dead upon heaps; nor had the remainder been preserved, had they not
be-taken themselves to supplication. So Alexander commiserated their
condition, and gave orders to the Romans to retire; accordingly,
these being accustomed to obey orders, left off killing at the first
intimation; but the populace of Alexandria bare so very great hatred to
the Jews, that it was difficult to recall them, and it was a hard thing
to make them leave their dead bodies.
9. And this was the miserable calamity which at this time befell the
Jews at Alexandria. Hereupon Cestius thought fit no longer to lie still,
while the Jews were everywhere up in arms; so he took out of Antioch
the twelfth legion entire, and out of each of the rest he selected two
thousand, with six cohorts of footmen, and four troops of horsemen,
besides those auxiliaries which were sent by the kings; of which
Antiochus sent two thousand horsemen, and three thousand footmen, with
as many archers; and Agrippa sent the same number of footmen, and one
thousand horsemen; Sohemus also followed with four thousand, a third
part whereof were horsemen, but most part were archers, and thus did
he march to Ptolemais. There were also great numbers of auxiliaries
gathered together from the [free] cities, who indeed had not the same
skill in martial affairs, but made up in their alacrity and in their
hatred to the Jews what they wanted in skill. There came also along with
Cestius Agrippa himself, both as a guide in his march over the country,
and a director what was fit to be done; so Cestius took part of his
forces, and marched hastily to Zabulon, a strong city of Galilee, which
was called the City of Men, and divides the country of Ptolemais from
our nation; this he found deserted by its men, the multitude having fled
to the mountains, but full of all sorts of good things; those he gave
leave to the soldiers to plunder, and set fire to the city, although it
was of admirable beauty, and had its houses built like those in Tyre,
and Sidon, and Berytus. After this he overran all the country, and
seized upon whatsoever came in his way, and set fire to the villages
that were round about them, and then returned to Ptolemais. But when the
Syrians, and especially those of Berytus, were busy in plundering,
the Jews pulled up their courage again, for they knew that Cestius was
retired, and fell upon those that were left behind unexpectedly, and
destroyed about two thousand of them. 27
10. And now Cestius himself marched from Ptolemais, and came to Cesarea;
but he sent part of his army before him to Joppa, and gave order, that
if they could take that city [by surprise] they should keep it; but that
in case the citizens should perceive they were coming to attack them,
that they then should stay for him, and for the rest of the army. So
some of them made a brisk march by the sea-side, and some by land, and
so coming upon them on both sides, they took the city with ease; and as
the inhabitants had made no provision beforehand for a flight, nor had
gotten any thing ready for fighting, the soldiers fell upon them, and
slew them all, with their families, and then plundered and burnt the
city. The number of the slain was eight thousand four hundred. In
like manner, Cestius sent also a considerable body of horsemen to the
toparchy of Narbatene, that adjoined to Cesarea, who destroyed the
country, and slew a great multitude of its people; they also plundered
what they had, and burnt their villages.
11. But Cestius sent Gallus, the commander of the twelfth legion, into
Galilee, and delivered to him as many of his forces as he supposed
sufficient to subdue that nation. He was received by the strongest city
of Galilee, which was Sepphoris, with acclamations of joy; which wise
conduct of that city occasioned the rest of the cities to be in quiet;
while the seditious part and the robbers ran away to that mountain
which lies in the very middle of Galilee, and is situated over against
Sepphoris; it is called Asamon. So Gallus brought his forces against
them; but while those men were in the superior parts above the Romans,
they easily threw their darts upon the Romans, as they made their
approaches, and slew about two hundred of them. But when the Romans had
gone round the mountains, and were gotten into the parts above their
enemies, the others were soon beaten; nor could they who had only light
armor on sustain the force of them that fought them armed all over; nor
when they were beaten could they escape the enemies' horsemen; insomuch
that only some few concealed themselves in certain places hard to be
come at, among the mountains, while the rest, above two thousand in
number, were slain.
CHAPTER 19.
What Cestius Did Against The Jews; And How, Upon His
Besieging Jerusalem, He Retreated From The City Without Any
Just Occasion In The World. As Also What Severe Calamities
He Under Went From The Jews In His Retreat.
1. And now Gallus, seeing nothing more that looked towards an innovation
in Galilee, returned with his army to Cesarea: but Cestius removed with
his whole army, and marched to Antipatris; and when he was informed that
there was a great body of Jewish forces gotten together in a certain
tower called Aphek, he sent a party before to fight them; but this party
dispersed the Jews by affrighting them before it came to a battle: so
they came, and finding their camp deserted, they burnt it, as well
as the villages that lay about it. But when Cestius had marched from
Antipatris to Lydda, he found the city empty of its men, for the whole
multitude 28 were gone up to Jerusalem to the feast of tabernacles;
yet did he destroy fifty of those that showed themselves, and burnt the
city, and so marched forwards; and ascending by Betboron, he pitched
his camp at a certain place called Gabao, fifty furlongs distant from
Jerusalem.
2. But as for the Jews, when they saw the war approaching to their
metropolis, they left the feast, and betook themselves to their arms;
and taking courage greatly from their multitude, went in a sudden and
disorderly manner to the fight, with a great noise, and without any
consideration had of the rest of the seventh day, although the Sabbath
29 was the day to which they had the greatest regard; but that rage
which made them forget the religious observation [of the sabbath]
made them too hard for their enemies in the fight: with such violence
therefore did they fall upon the Romans, as to break into their ranks,
and to march through the midst of them, making a great slaughter as they
went, insomuch that unless the horsemen, and such part of the footmen as
were not yet tired in the action, had wheeled round, and succored that
part of the army which was not yet broken, Cestius, with his whole army,
had been in danger: however, five hundred and fifteen of the Romans were
slain, of which number four hundred were footmen, and the rest horsemen,
while the Jews lost only twenty-two, of whom the most valiant were the
kinsmen of Monobazus, king of Adiabene, and their names were Monobazus
and Kenedeus; and next to them were Niger of Perea, and Silas of
Babylon, who had deserted from king Agrippa to the Jews; for he had
formerly served in his army. When the front of the Jewish army had been
cut off, the Jews retired into the city; but still Simon, the son of
Giora, fell upon the backs of the Romans, as they were ascending up
Bethoron, and put the hindmost of the army into disorder, and carried
off many of the beasts that carried the weapons of war, and led Shem
into the city. But as Cestius tarried there three days, the Jews seized
upon the elevated parts of the city, and set watches at the entrances
into the city, and appeared openly resolved not to rest when once the
Romans should begin to march.
3. And now when Agrippa observed that even the affairs of the Romans
were likely to be in danger, while such an immense multitude of their
enemies had seized upon the mountains round about, he determined to try
what the Jews would agree to by words, as thinking that he should either
persuade them all to desist from fighting, or, however, that he should
cause the sober part of them to separate themselves from the opposite
party. So he sent Borceus and Phebus, the persons of his party that were
the best known to them, and promised them that Cestius should give them
his right hand, to secure them of the Romans' entire forgiveness of what
they had done amiss, if they would throw away their arms, and come over
to them; but the seditious, fearing lest the whole multitude, in
hopes of security to themselves, should go over to Agrippa, resolved
immediately to fall upon and kill the ambassadors; accordingly they
slew Phebus before he said a word, but Borceus was only wounded, and so
prevented his fate by flying away. And when the people were very angry
at this, they had the seditious beaten with stones and clubs, and drove
them before them into the city.
4. But now Cestius, observing that the disturbances that were begun
among the Jews afforded him a proper opportunity to attack them, took
his whole army along with him, and put the Jews to flight, and pursued
them to Jerusalem. He then pitched his camp upon the elevation called
Scopus, [or watch-tower,] which was distant seven furlongs from
the city; yet did not he assault them in three days' time, out of
expectation that those within might perhaps yield a little; and in the
mean time he sent out a great many of his soldiers into neighboring
villages, to seize upon their corn. And on the fourth day, which was the
thirtieth of the month Hyperbereteus, [Tisri,] when he had put his army
in array, he brought it into the city. Now for the people, they were
kept under by the seditious; but the seditious themselves were greatly
affrighted at the good order of the Romans, and retired from the
suburbs, and retreated into the inner part of the city, and into the
temple. But when Cestius was come into the city, he set the part called
Bezetha, which is called Cenopolis, [or the new city,] on fire; as he
did also to the timber market; after which he came into the upper city,
and pitched his camp over against the royal palace; and had he but at
this very time attempted to get within the walls by force, he had won
the city presently, and the war had been put an end to at once; but
Tyrannius Priseus, the muster-master of the army, and a great number of
the officers of the horse, had been corrupted by Florus, and diverted
him from that his attempt; and that was the occasion that this war
lasted so very long, and thereby the Jews were involved in such
incurable calamities.
5. In the mean time, many of the principal men of the city were
persuaded by Ananus, the son of Jonathan, and invited Cestius into the
city, and were about to open the gates for him; but he overlooked this
offer, partly out of his anger at the Jews, and partly because he did
not thoroughly believe they were in earnest; whence it was that he
delayed the matter so long, that the seditious perceived the treachery,
and threw Ananus and those of his party down from the wall, and,
pelting them with stones, drove them into their houses; but they stood
themselves at proper distances in the towers, and threw their darts at
those that were getting over the wall. Thus did the Romans make their
attack against the wall for five days, but to no purpose. But on the
next day Cestius took a great many of his choicest men, and with them
the archers, and attempted to break into the temple at the northern
quarter of it; but the Jews beat them off from the cloisters, and
repulsed them several times when they were gotten near to the wall, till
at length the multitude of the darts cut them off, and made them retire;
but the first rank of the Romans rested their shields upon the wall,
and so did those that were behind them, and the like did those that were
still more backward, and guarded themselves with what they call Testudo,
[the back of] a tortoise, upon which the darts that were thrown fell,
and slided off without doing them any harm; so the soldiers undermined
the wall, without being themselves hurt, and got all things ready for
setting fire to the gate of the temple.
6. And now it was that a horrible fear seized upon the seditious,
insomuch that many of them ran out of the city, as though it were to be
taken immediately; but the people upon this took courage, and where the
wicked part of the city gave ground, thither did they come, in order to
set open the gates, and to admit Cestius 30 as their benefactor, who,
had he but continued the siege a little longer, had certainly taken the
city; but it was, I suppose, owing to the aversion God had already at
the city and the sanctuary, that he was hindered from putting an end to
the war that very day.
7. It then happened that Cestius was not conscious either how the
besieged despaired of success, nor how courageous the people were for
him; and so he recalled his soldiers from the place, and by despairing
of any expectation of taking it, without having received any disgrace,
he retired from the city, without any reason in the world. But when the
robbers perceived this unexpected retreat of his, they resumed their
courage, and ran after the hinder parts of his army, and destroyed a
considerable number of both their horsemen and footmen; and now Cestius
lay all night at the camp which was at Scopus; and as he went off
farther next day, he thereby invited the enemy to follow him, who still
fell upon the hindmost, and destroyed them; they also fell upon the
flank on each side of the army, and threw darts upon them obliquely,
nor durst those that were hindmost turn back upon those who wounded them
behind, as imagining that the multitude of those that pursued them was
immense; nor did they venture to drive away those that pressed upon them
on each side, because they were heavy with their arms, and were afraid
of breaking their ranks to pieces, and because they saw the Jews were
light, and ready for making incursions upon them. And this was the
reason why the Romans suffered greatly, without being able to revenge
themselves upon their enemies; so they were galled all the way, and
their ranks were put into disorder, and those that were thus put out of
their ranks were slain; among whom were Priscus, the commander of the
sixth legion, and Longinus, the tribune, and Emilius Secundus, the
commander of a troop of horsemen. So it was not without difficulty that
they got to Gabao, their former camp, and that not without the loss of
a great part of their baggage. There it was that Cestius staid two
days, and was in great distress to know what he should do in these
circumstances; but when on the third day he saw a still much greater
number of enemies, and all the parts round about him full of Jews, he
understood that his delay was to his own detriment, and that if he staid
any longer there, he should have still more enemies upon him.
8. That therefore he might fly the faster, he gave orders to cast away
what might hinder his army's march; so they killed the mules and other
creatures, excepting those that carried their darts and machines, which
they retained for their own use, and this principally because they were
afraid lest the Jews should seize upon them. He then made his army march
on as far as Bethoron. Now the Jews did not so much press upon them when
they were in large open places; but when they were penned up in their
descent through narrow passages, then did some of them get before, and
hindered them from getting out of them; and others of them thrust the
hinder-most down into the lower places; and the whole multitude extended
themselves over against the neck of the passage, and covered the Roman
army with their darts. In which circumstances, as the footmen knew not
how to defend themselves, so the danger pressed the horsemen still more,
for they were so pelted, that they could not march along the road in
their ranks, and the ascents were so high, that the cavalry were not
able to march against the enemy; the precipices also and valleys into
which they frequently fell, and tumbled down, were such on each side of
them, that there was neither place for their flight, nor any contrivance
could be thought of for their defense; till the distress they were at
last in was so great, that they betook themselves to lamentations, and
to such mournful cries as men use in the utmost despair: the joyful
acclamations of the Jews also, as they encouraged one another, echoed
the sounds back again, these last composing a noise of those that at
once rejoiced and were in a rage. Indeed, things were come to such a
pass, that the Jews had almost taken Cestius's entire army prisoners,
had not the night come on, when the Romans fled to Bethoron, and the
Jews seized upon all the places round about them, and watched for their
coming out [in the morning].
9. And then it was that Cestius, despairing of obtaining room for a
public march, contrived how he might best run away; and when he had
selected four hundred of the most courageous of his soldiers, he placed
them at the strongest of their fortifications, and gave order, that when
they went up to the morning guard, they should erect their ensigns, that
the Jews might be made to believe that the entire army was there still,
while he himself took the rest of his forces with him, and marched,
without any noise, thirty furlongs. But when the Jews perceived, in the
morning, that the camp was empty, they ran upon those four hundred who
had deluded them, and immediately threw their darts at them, and slew
them; and then pursued after Cestius. But he had already made use of a
great part of the night in his flight, and still marched quicker when it
was day; insomuch that the soldiers, through the astonishment and
fear they were in, left behind them their engines for sieges, and for
throwing of stones, and a great part of the instruments of war. So the
Jews went on pursuing the Romans as far as Antipatris; after which,
seeing they could not overtake them, they came back, and took the
engines, and spoiled the dead bodies, and gathered the prey together
which the Romans had left behind them, and came back running and singing
to their metropolis; while they had themselves lost a few only, but had
slain of the Romans five thousand and three hundred footmen, and three
hundred and eighty horsemen. This defeat happened on the eighth day of
the month Dius, [Marchesvan,] in the twelfth year of the reign of Nero.
CHAPTER 20.
Cestius Sends Ambassadors To Nero. The People Of Damascus
Slay Those Jews That Lived With Them. The People Of
Jerusalem After They Had [Left Off] Pursuing Cestius, Return
To The City And Get Things Ready For Its Defense And Make A
Great Many Generals For Their Armies And Particularly
Josephus The Writer Of These Books. Some Account Of His
Administration.
1. After this calamity had befallen Cestius, many of the most eminent
of the Jews swam away from the city, as from a ship when it was going to
sink; Costobarus, therefore, and Saul, who were brethren, together with
Philip, the son of Jacimus, who was the commander of king Agrippa's
forces, ran away from the city, and went to Cestius. But then how
Antipas, who had been besieged with them in the king's palace, but would
not fly away with them, was afterward slain by the seditious, we shall
relate hereafter. However, Cestius sent Saul and his friends, at their
own desire, to Achaia, to Nero, to inform him of the great distress they
were in, and to lay the blame of their kindling the war upon Florus, as
hoping to alleviate his own danger, by provoking his indignation against
Florus.
2. In the mean time, the people of Damascus, when they were informed
of the destruction of the Romans, set about the slaughter of those Jews
that were among them; and as they had them already cooped up together in
the place of public exercises, which they had done out of the suspicion
they had of them, they thought they should meet with no difficulty in
the attempt; yet did they distrust their own wives, which were almost
all of them addicted to the Jewish religion; on which account it was
that their greatest concern was, how they might conceal these things
from them; so they came upon the Jews, and cut their throats, as being
in a narrow place, in number ten thousand, and all of them unarmed, and
this in one hour's time, without any body to disturb them.
3. But as to those who had pursued after Cestius, when they were
returned back to Jerusalem, they overbore some of those that favored
the Romans by violence, and some them persuaded [by en-treaties] to
join with them, and got together in great numbers in the temple, and
appointed a great many generals for the war. Joseph also, the son of
Gorion, 31 and Ananus the high priest, were chosen as governors of all
affairs within the city, and with a particular charge to repair the
walls of the city; for they did not ordain Eleazar the son of Simon to
that office, although he had gotten into his possession the prey they
had taken from the Romans, and the money they had taken from Cestius,
together with a great part of the public treasures, because they saw
he was of a tyrannical temper, and that his followers were, in their
behavior, like guards about him. However, the want they were in of
Eleazar's money, and the subtle tricks used by him, brought all so
about, that the people were circumvented, and submitted themselves to
his authority in all public affairs.
4. They also chose other generals for Idumea; Jesus, the son of
Sapphias, one of the high priests; and Eleazar, the son of Ananias, the
high priest; they also enjoined Niger, the then governor of Idumea,
32 who was of a family that belonged to Perea, beyond Jordan, and
was thence called the Peraite, that he should be obedient to those
fore-named commanders. Nor did they neglect the care of other parts of
the country; but Joseph the son of Simon was sent as general to Jericho,
as was Manasseh to Perea, and John, the Esscue, to the toparchy of
Thamna; Lydda was also added to his portion, and Joppa, and Emmaus.
But John, the son of Matthias, was made governor of the toparchies of
Gophnitica and Acrabattene; as was Josephus, the son of Matthias, of
both the Galilees. Gamala also, which was the strongest city in those
parts, was put under his command.
5. So every one of the other commanders administered the affairs of his
portion with that alacrity and prudence they were masters of; but as
to Josephus, when he came into Galilee, his first care was to gain the
good-will of the people of that country, as sensible that he should
thereby have in general good success, although he should fail in other
points. And being conscious to himself that if he communicated part of
his power to the great men, he should make them his fast friends; and
that he should gain the same favor from the multitude, if he executed
his commands by persons of their own country, and with whom they were
well acquainted; he chose out seventy of the most prudent men, and those
elders in age, and appointed them to be rulers of all Galilee, as he
chose seven judges in every city to hear the lesser quarrels; for as to
the greater causes, and those wherein life and death were concerned, he
enjoined they should be brought to him and the seventy 33 elders.
6. Josephus also, when he had settled these rules for determining causes
by the law, with regard to the people's dealings one with another,
betook himself to make provisions for their safety against external
violence; and as he knew the Romans would fall upon Galilee, he built
walls in proper places about Jotapata, and Bersabee, and Selamis; and
besides these, about Caphareccho, and Japha, and Sigo, and what they
call Mount Tabor, and Taricheae, and Tiberias. Moreover, he built walls
about the caves near the lake of Gennesar, which places lay in the Lower
Galilee; the same he did to the places of Upper Galilee, as well as to
the rock called the Rock of the Achabari, and to Seph, and Jamnith, and
Meroth; and in Gaulonitis he fortified Seleucia, and Sogane, and Gamala;
but as to those of Sepphoris, they were the only people to whom he gave
leave to build their own walls, and this because he perceived they were
rich and wealthy, and ready to go to war, without standing in need of
any injunctions for that purpose. The case was the same with Gischala,
which had a wall built about it by John the son of Levi himself, but
with the consent of Josephus; but for the building of the rest of the
fortresses, he labored together with all the other builders, and was
present to give all the necessary orders for that purpose. He also got
together an army out of Galilee, of more than a hundred thousand young
men, all of which he armed with the old weapons which he had collected
together and prepared for them.
7. And when he had considered that the Roman power became invincible,
chiefly by their readiness in obeying orders, and the constant exercise
of their arms, he despaired of teaching these his men the use of their
arms, which was to be obtained by experience; but observing that
their readiness in obeying orders was owing to the multitude of their
officers, he made his partitions in his army more after the Roman
manner, and appointed a great many subalterns. He also distributed the
soldiers into various classes, whom he put under captains of tens, and
captains of hundreds, and then under captains of thousands; and besides
these, he had commanders of larger bodies of men. He also taught them to
give the signals one to another, and to call and recall the soldiers by
the trumpets, how to expand the wings of an army, and make them wheel
about; and when one wing hath had success, to turn again and assist
those that were hard set, and to join in the defense of what had most
suffered. He also continually instructed them in what concerned the
courage of the soul, and the hardiness of the body; and, above all, he
exercised them for war, by declaring to them distinctly the good order
of the Romans, and that they were to fight with men who, both by the
strength of their bodies and courage of their souls, had conquered in a
manner the whole habitable earth. He told them that he should make trial
of the good order they would observe in war, even before it came to any
battle, in case they would abstain from the crimes they used to
indulge themselves in, such as theft, and robbery, and rapine, and from
defrauding their own countrymen, and never to esteem the harm done
to those that were so near of kin to them to be any advantage to
themselves; for that wars are then managed the best when the warriors
preserve a good conscience; but that such as are ill men in private life
will not only have those for enemies which attack them, but God himself
also for their antagonist.
8. And thus did he continue to admonish them. Now he chose for the war
such an army as was sufficient, i.e. sixty thousand footmen, and two
hundred and fifty horsemen; 34 and besides these, on which he put the
greatest trust, there were about four thousand five hundred mercenaries;
he had also six hundred men as guards of his body. Now the cities easily
maintained the rest of his army, excepting the mercenaries, for every
one of the cities enumerated above sent out half their men to the army,
and retained the other half at home, in order to get provisions for
them; insomuch that the one part went to the war, and the other part to
their work, and so those that sent out their corn were paid for it by
those that were in arms, by that security which they enjoyed from them.
CHAPTER 21.
Concerning John Of Gichala. Josephus Uses Stratagems Against
The Plots John Laid Against Him And Recovers Certain Cities
Which Had Revolted From Him.
1. Now as Josephus was thus engaged in the administration of the affairs
of Galilee, there arose a treacherous person, a man of Gischala, the son
of Levi, whose name was John. His character was that of a very cunning
and very knavish person, beyond the ordinary rate of the other men
of eminence there, and for wicked practices he had not his fellow
any where. Poor he was at first, and for a long time his wants were a
hinderance to him in his wicked designs. He was a ready liar, and yet
very sharp in gaining credit to his fictions: he thought it a point of
virtue to delude people, and would delude even such as were the dearest
to him. He was a hypocritical pretender to humanity, but where he had
hopes of gain, he spared not the shedding of blood: his desires were
ever carried to great things, and he encouraged his hopes from those
mean wicked tricks which he was the author of. He had a peculiar knack
at thieving; but in some time he got certain companions in his impudent
practices; at first they were but few, but as he proceeded on in his
evil course, they became still more and more numerous. He took care that
none of his partners should be easily caught in their rogueries, but
chose such out of the rest as had the strongest constitutions of body,
and the greatest courage of soul, together with great skill in martial
affairs; as he got together a band of four hundred men, who came
principally out of the country of Tyre, and were vagabonds that had
run away from its villages; and by the means of these he laid waste
all Galilee, and irritated a considerable number, who were in great
expectation of a war then suddenly to arise among them.
2. However, John's want of money had hitherto restrained him in his
ambition after command, and in his attempts to advance himself. But when
he saw that Josephus was highly pleased with the activity of his temper,
he persuaded him, in the first place, to intrust him with the repairing
of the walls of his native city, [Gischala,] in which work he got a
great deal of money from the rich citizens. He after that contrived a
very shrewd trick, and pretending that the Jews who dwelt in Syria were
obliged to make use of oil that was made by others than those of their
own nation, he desired leave of Josephus to send oil to their borders;
so he bought four amphorae with such Tyrian money as was of the value of
four Attic drachmae, and sold every half-amphora at the same price. And
as Galilee was very fruitful in oil, and was peculiarly so at that time,
by sending away great quantities, and having the sole privilege so
to do, he gathered an immense sum of money together, which money he
immediately used to the disadvantage of him who gave him that privilege;
and, as he supposed, that if he could once overthrow Josephus, he should
himself obtain the government of Galilee; so he gave orders to the
robbers that were under his command to be more zealous in their thievish
expeditions, that by the rise of many that desired innovations in the
country, he might either catch their general in his snares, as he came
to the country's assistance, and then kill him; or if he should overlook
the robbers, he might accuse him for his negligence to the people of the
country. He also spread abroad a report far and near that Josephus was
delivering up the administration of affairs to the Romans; and many such
plots did he lay, in order to ruin him.
3. Now at the same time that certain young men of the village Dabaritta,
who kept guard in the Great Plain laid snares for Ptolemy, who was
Agrippa's and Bernice's steward, and took from him all that he had with
him; among which things there were a great many costly garments, and no
small number of silver cups, and six hundred pieces of gold; yet were
they not able to conceal what they had stolen, but brought it all to
Josephus, to Taricheae. Hereupon he blamed them for the violence they
had offered to the king and queen, and deposited what they brought to
him with Eneas, the most potent man of Taricheae, with an intention of
sending the things back to the owners at a proper time; which act of
Josephus brought him into the greatest danger; for those that had stolen
the things had an indignation at him, both because they gained no share
of it for themselves, and because they perceived beforehand what was
Josephus's intention, and that he would freely deliver up what had cost
them so much pains to the king and queen. These ran away by night to
their several villages, and declared to all men that Josephus was going
to betray them: they also raised great disorders in all the neighboring
cities, insomuch that in the morning a hundred thousand armed men came
running together; which multitude was crowded together in the hippodrome
at Taricheae, and made a very peevish clamor against him; while some
cried out, that they should depose the traitor; and others, that they
should burn him. Now John irritated a great many, as did also one Jesus,
the son of Sapphias, who was then governor of Tiberias. Then it was that
Josephus's friends, and the guards of his body, were so affrighted at
this violent assault of the multitude, that they all fled away but four;
and as he was asleep, they awaked him, as the people were going to
set fire to the house. And although those four that remained with him
persuaded him to run away, he was neither surprised at his being himself
deserted, nor at the great multitude that came against him, but leaped
out to them with his clothes rent, and ashes sprinkled on his head, with
his hands behind him, and his sword hanging at his neck. At this sight
his friends, especially those of Taricheae, commiserated his condition;
but those that came out of the country, and those in their neighborhood,
to whom his government seemed burdensome, reproached him, and bid him
produce the money which belonged to them all immediately, and to confess
the agreement he had made to betray them; for they imagined, from the
habit in which he appeared, that he would deny nothing of what they
suspected concerning him, and that it was in order to obtain pardon that
he had put himself entirely into so pitiable a posture. But this humble
appearance was only designed as preparatory to a stratagem of his, who
thereby contrived to set those that were so angry at him at variance one
with another about the things they were angry at. However, he promised
he would confess all: hereupon he was permitted to speak, when he said,
"I did neither intend to send this money back to Agrippa, nor to gain it
myself; for I did never esteem one that was your enemy to be my friend,
nor did I look upon what would tend to your disadvantage to be my
advantage. But, O you people of Tarieheae, I saw that your city stood in
more need than others of fortifications for your security, and that it
wanted money in order for the building it a wall. I was also afraid lest
the people of Tiberias and other cities should lay a plot to seize upon
these spoils, and therefore it was that I intended to retain this money
privately, that I might encompass you with a wall. But if this does not
please you, I will produce what was brought me, and leave it to you to
plunder it; but if I have conducted myself so well as to please you, you
may if you please punish your benefactor."
4. Hereupon the people of Taricheae loudly commended him; but those
of Tiberias, with the rest of the company, gave him hard names, and
threatened what they would do to him; so both sides left off quarrelling
with Josephus, and fell on quarrelling with one another. So he grew
bold upon the dependence he had on his friends, which were the people of
Taricheae, and about forty thousand in number, and spake more freely to
the whole multitude, and reproached them greatly for their rashness; and
told them, that with this money he would build walls about Taricheae,
and would put the other cities in a state of security also; for that
they should not want money, if they would but agree for whose benefit
it was to be procured, and would not suffer themselves to be irritated
against him who procured it for them.
5. Hereupon the rest of the multitude that had been deluded retired;
but yet so that they went away angry, and two thousand of them made an
assault upon him in their armor; and as he was already gone to his own
house, they stood without and threatened him. On which occasion Josephus
again used a second stratagem to escape them; for he got upon the top of
his house, and with his right hand desired them to be silent, and said
to them, "I cannot tell what you would have, nor can hear what you say,
for the confused noise you make;" but he said that he would comply with
all their demands, in case they would but send some of their number
in to him that might talk with him about it. And when the principal of
them, with their leaders, heard this, they came into the house. He then
drew them to the most retired part of the house, and shut the door of
that hall where he put them, and then had them whipped till every one of
their inward parts appeared naked. In the mean time the multitude stood
round the house, and supposed that he had a long discourse with those
that were gone in about what they claimed of him. He had then the doors
set open immediately, and sent the men out all bloody, which so terribly
affrighted those that had before threatened him, that they threw away
their arms and ran away.
6. But as for John, his envy grew greater [upon this escape of
Josephus], and he framed a new plot against him; he pretended to be
sick, and by a letter desired that Josephus would give him leave to use
the hot baths that were at Tiberias, for the recovery of his health.
Hereupon Josephus, who hitherto suspected nothing of John's plots
against him, wrote to the governors of the city, that they would provide
a lodging and necessaries for John; which favors, when he had made use
of, in two days' time he did what he came about; some he corrupted with
delusive frauds, and others with money, and so persuaded them to revolt
from Josephus. This Silas, who was appointed guardian of the city by
Josephus, wrote to him immediately, and informed him of the plot against
him; which epistle when Josephus had received, he marched with great
diligence all night, and came early in the morning to Tiberias; at which
time the rest of the multitude met him. But John, who suspected that his
coming was not for his advantage, sent however one of his friends, and
pretended that he was sick, and that being confined to his bed, he could
not come to pay him his respects. But as soon as Josephus had got the
people of Tiberias together in the stadium, and tried to discourse with
them about the letters that he had received, John privately sent some
armed men, and gave them orders to slay him. But when the people saw
that the armed men were about to draw their swords, they cried out; at
which cry Josephus turned himself about, and when he saw that the
swords were just at his throat, he marched away in great haste to the
sea-shore, and left off that speech which he was going to make to the
people, upon an elevation of six cubits high. He then seized on a ship
which lay in the haven, and leaped into it, with two of his guards, and
fled away into the midst of the lake.
7. But now the soldiers he had with him took up their arms immediately,
and marched against the plotters; but Josephus was afraid lest a civil
war should be raised by the envy of a few men, and bring the city to
ruin; so he sent some of his party to tell them, that they should do no
more than provide for their own safety; that they should not kill any
body, nor accuse any for the occasion they had afforded [of disorder].
Accordingly, these men obeyed his orders, and were quiet; but the people
of the neighboring country, when they were informed of this plot, and of
the plotter, they got together in great multitudes to oppose John. But
he prevented their attempt, and fled away to Gischala, his native
city, while the Galileans came running out of their several cities to
Josephus; and as they were now become many ten thousands of armed men,
they cried out, that they were come against John the common plotter
against their interest, and would at the same time burn him, and that
city which had received him. Hereupon Josephus told them that he took
their good-will to him kindly, but still he restrained their fury,
and intended to subdue his enemies by prudent conduct, rather than by
slaying them; so he excepted those of every city which had joined in
this revolt with John, by name, who had readily been shown him by these
that came from every city, and caused public proclamation to be made,
that he would seize upon the effects of those that did not forsake
John within five days' time, and would burn both their houses and their
families with fire. Whereupon three thousand of John's party left him
immediately, who came to Josephus, and threw their arms down at his
feet. John then betook himself, together with his two thousand Syrian
runagates, from open attempts, to more secret ways of treachery.
Accordingly, he privately sent messengers to Jerusalem, to accuse
Josephus, as having to great power, and to let them know that he would
soon come as a tyrant to their metropolis, unless they prevented him.
This accusation the people were aware of beforehand, but had no regard
to it. However, some of the grandees, out of envy, and some of the
rulers also, sent money to John privately, that he might be able to get
together mercenary soldiers, in order to fight Josephus; they also made
a decree of themselves, and this for recalling him from his government,
yet did they not think that decree sufficient; so they sent withal two
thousand five hundred armed men, and four persons of the highest rank
amongst them; Joazar the son of Nomicus, and Ananias the son of Sadduk,
as also Simon and Judas the sons of Jonathan, all very able men in
speaking, that these persons might withdraw the good-will of the people
from Josephus. These had it in charge, that if he would voluntarily
come away, they should permit him to [come and] give an account of
his conduct; but if he obstinately insisted upon continuing in his
government, they should treat him as an enemy. Now Josephus's friends
had sent him word that an army was coming against him, but they gave
him no notice beforehand what the reason of their coming was, that being
only known among some secret councils of his enemies; and by this means
it was that four cities revolted from him immediately, Sepphoris, and
Gamala, and Gischala, and Tiberias. Yet did he recover these cities
without war; and when he had routed those four commanders by stratagems,
and had taken the most potent of their warriors, he sent them to
Jerusalem; and the people [of Galilee] had great indignation at them,
and were in a zealous disposition to slay, not only these forces, but
those that sent them also, had not these forces prevented it by running
away.
8. Now John was detained afterward within the walls of Gischala, by
the fear he was in of Josephus; but within a few days Tiberias revolted
again, the people within it inviting king Agrippa [to return to the
exercise of his authority there]. And when he did not come at the
time appointed, and when a few Roman horsemen appeared that day,
they expelled Josephus out of the city. Now this revolt of theirs was
presently known at Taricheae; and as Josephus had sent out all the
soldiers that were with him to gather corn, he knew not how either to
march out alone against the revolters, or to stay where he was, because
he was afraid the king's soldiers might prevent him if he tarried, and
might get into the city; for he did not intend to do any thing on
the next day, because it was the sabbath day, and would hinder his
proceeding. So he contrived to circumvent the revolters by a stratagem;
and in the first place he ordered the gates of Taricheae to be shut,
that nobody might go out and inform [those of Tiberias], for whom it
was intended, what stratagem he was about; he then got together all the
ships that were upon the lake, which were found to be two hundred and
thirty, and in each of them he put no more than four mariners. So he
sailed to Tiberias with haste, and kept at such a distance from the
city, that it was not easy for the people to see the vessels, and
ordered that the empty vessels should float up and down there, while
himself, who had but seven of his guards with him, and those unarmed
also, went so near as to be seen; but when his adversaries, who were
still reproaching him, saw him from the walls, they were so astonished
that they supposed all the ships were full of armed men, and threw down
their arms, and by signals of intercession they besought him to spare
the city.
9. Upon this Josephus threatened them terribly, and reproached them,
that when they were the first that took up arms against the Romans, they
should spend their force beforehand in civil dissensions, and do what
their enemies desired above all things; and that besides they should
endeavor so hastily to seize upon him, who took care of their safety,
and had not been ashamed to shut the gates of their city against
him that built their walls; that, however, he would admit of any
intercessors from them that might make some excuse for them, and with
whom he would make such agreements as might be for the city's security.
Hereupon ten of the most potent men of Tiberias came down to him
presently; and when he had taken them into one of his vessels, he
ordered them to be carried a great way off from the city. He then
commanded that fifty others of their senate, such as were men of the
greatest eminence, should come to him, that they also might give him
some security on their behalf. After which, under one new pretense or
another, he called forth others, one after another, to make the leagues
between them. He then gave order to the masters of those vessels which
he had thus filled to sail away immediately for Taricheae, and to
confine those men in the prison there; till at length he took all their
senate, consisting of six hundred persons, and about two thousand of the
populace, and carried them away to Taricheae. 35
10. And when the rest of the people cried out, that it was one Clitus
that was the chief author of this revolt, they desired him to spend
his anger upon him [only]; but Josephus, whose intention it was to slay
nobody, commanded one Levius, belonging to his guards, to go out of the
vessel, in order to cut off both Clitus's hands; yet was Levius afraid
to go out by himself alone to such a large body of enemies, and refused
to go. Now Clitus saw that Josephus was in a great passion in the ship,
and ready to leap out of it, in order to execute the punishment himself;
he begged therefore from the shore, that he would leave him one of his
hands; which Josephus agreed to, upon condition that he would himself
cutoff the other hand; accordingly he drew his sword, and with his
right hand cut off his left, so great was the fear he was in of
Josephus himself. And thus he took the people of Tiberias prisoners,
and recovered the city again with empty ships and seven of his guard.
Moreover, a few days afterward he retook Gischala, which had revolted
with the people of Sepphoris, and gave his soldiers leave to plunder
it; yet did he get all the plunder together, and restored it to the
inhabitants; and the like he did to the inhabitants of Sepphoris and
Tiberias. For when he had subdued those cities, he had a mind, by
letting them be plundered, to give them some good instruction, while at
the same time he regained their good-will by restoring them their money
again.
CHAPTER 22.
The Jews Make All Ready For The War; And Simon, The Son Of
Gioras, Falls To Plundering.
1. And thus were the disturbances of Galilee quieted, when, upon their
ceasing to prosecute their civil dissensions, they betook themselves to
make preparations for the war with the Romans. Now in Jerusalem the
high priest Artanus, and as many of the men of power as were not in the
interest of the Romans, both repaired the walls, and made a great many
warlike instruments, insomuch that in all parts of the city darts and
all sorts of armor were upon the anvil. Although the multitude of the
young men were engaged in exercises, without any regularity, and all
places were full of tumultuous doings; yet the moderate sort were
exceedingly sad; and a great many there were who, out of the prospect
they had of the calamities that were coming upon them, made great
lamentations. There were also such omens observed as were understood to
be forerunners of evils by such as loved peace, but were by those that
kindled the war interpreted so as to suit their own inclinations; and
the very state of the city, even before the Romans came against it, was
that of a place doomed to destruction. However, Ananus's concern was
this, to lay aside, for a while, the preparations for the war, and to
persuade the seditious to consult their own interest, and to restrain
the madness of those that had the name of zealots; but their violence
was too hard for him; and what end he came to we shall relate hereafter.
2. But as for the Acrabbene toparchy, Simon, the son of Gioras, got a
great number of those that were fond of innovations together, and betook
himself to ravage the country; nor did he only harass the rich men's
houses, but tormented their bodies, and appeared openly and beforehand
to affect tyranny in his government. And when an army was sent against
him by Artanus, and the other rulers, he and his band retired to the
robbers that were at Masada, and staid there, and plundered the country
of Idumea with them, till both Ananus and his other adversaries were
slain; and until the rulers of that country were so afflicted with the
multitude of those that were slain, and with the continual ravage of
what they had, that they raised an army, and put garrisons into the
villages, to secure them from those insults. And in this state were the
affairs of Judea at that time.
WAR BOOK 2 FOOTNOTES
1 (return) [ Hear Dean Aldrich's note on this place: "The law or Custom
of the Jews [says he] requires seven days' mourning for the dead,"
Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 8. sect. 4; whence the author of the Book of
Ecclesiasticus, ch. 22:12, assigns seven days as the proper time of
mourning for the dead, and, ch. 38:17, enjoins men to mourn for the
dead, that they may not be evil spoken of; for, as Josephus says
presently, if any one omits this mourning [funeral feast], he is not
esteemed a holy person. How it is certain that such a seven days'
mourning has been customary from times of the greatest antiquity,
Genesis 1:10. Funeral feasts are also mentioned as of considerable
antiquity, Ezekiel 24:17; Jeremiah 16:7; Prey. 31:6; Deuteronomy 26:14;
Josephus, Of the War B. III. ch. 9. sect. 5.]
2 (return) [ This holding a council in the temple of Apollo, in the
emperor's palace at Rome, by Augustus, and even the building of this
temple magnificently by himself in that palace, are exactly agreeable
to Augustus, in his elder years, as Aldrich and from Suttonius and
Propertius.]
3 (return) [ Here we have a strong confirmation that it was Xerxes, and
not Artaxerxes, under whom the main part of the Jews returned out of the
Babylonian captivity, i.e. in the days of Ezra and Nehemiah. The same
thing is in the Antiquities, B. XI. ch.6]
4 (return) [ This practice of the Essens, in refusing to swear,
and esteeming swearing in ordinary occasions worse than perjury, is
delivered here in general words, as are the parallel injunctions of our
Savior, Matthew 6:34; 23:16; and of St. James, 5:12; but all admit of
particular exceptions for solemn causes, and on great and necessary
occasions. Thus these very Essens, who here do so zealously avoid
swearing, are related, in the very next section, to admit none till they
take tremendous oaths to perform their several duties to God, and to
their neighbor, without supposing they thereby break this rule, Not to
swear at all. The case is the same in Christianity, as we learn from the
Apostolical Constitutions, which although they agree with Christ and St.
James, in forbidding to swear in general, ch. 5:12; 6:2, 3; yet do they
explain it elsewhere, by avoiding to swear falsely, and to swear often
and in vain, ch. 2:36; and again, by "not swearing at all," but withal
adding, that "if that cannot be avoided, to swear truly," ch. 7:3; which
abundantly explain to us the nature of the measures of this general
injunction.]
5 (return) [ This mention of the "names of angels," so particularly
preserved by the Essens, [if it means more than those "messengers" which
were employed to bring, them the peculiar books of their Sect,] looks
like a prelude to that "worshipping of angels," blamed by St. Paul, as
superstitious and unlawful, in some such sort of people as these Essens
were, Colossians 2:8; as is the prayer to or towards the sun for his
rising every morning, mentioned before, sect. 5, very like those not
much later observances made mention of in the preaching of Peter,
Authent. Rec. Part II. p. 669, and regarding a kind of worship of
angels, of the month, and of the moon, and not celebrating the new
moons, or other festivals, unless the moon appeared. Which, indeed,
seems to me the earliest mention of any regard to the phases in fixing
the Jewish calendar, of which the Talmud and later Rabbins talk so much,
and upon so very little ancient foundation.]
6 (return) [ Of these Jewish or Essene [and indeed Christian] doctrines
concerning souls, both good and bad, in Hades, see that excellent
discourse, or homily, of our Josephus concerning Hades, at the end of
the volume.]
7 (return) [ Dean Aldrich reckons up three examples of this gift of
prophecy in several of these Essens out of Josephus himself, viz. in the
History of the War, B. I. ch. 3. sect. 5, Judas foretold the death of
Antigonus at Strato's Tower; B. II. ch. 7. sect. 3, Simon foretold that
Archelaus should reign but nine or ten years; and Antiq. B. XV. ch. 10.
sect. 4, 5, Menuhem foretold that Herod should be king, and should reign
tyrannically, and that for more than twenty or even thirty years. All
which came to pass accordingly.]
8 (return) [ There is so much more here about the Essens than is cited
from Josephus in Porphyry and Eusebius, and yet so much less about
the Pharisees and Sadducees, the two other Jewish sects, than would
naturally be expected in proportion to the Essens or third sect, nay,
than seems to be referred to by himself elsewhere, that one is tempted
to suppose Josephus had at first written less of the one, and more of
the two others, than his present copies afford us; as also, that, by
some unknown accident, our present copies are here made up of the larger
edition in the first case, and of the smaller in the second. See the
note in Havercamp's edition. However, what Josephus says in the name of
the Pharisees, that only the souls of good men go out of one body into
another, although all souls be immortal, and still the souls of the
bad are liable to eternal punishment; as also what he says afterwards,
Antiq. B. XVIII. ch. 1. sect. 3, that the soul's vigor is immortal, and
that under the earth they receive rewards or punishments according as
their lives have been virtuous or vicious in the present world; that to
the bad is allotted an eternal prison, but that the good are permitted
to live again in this world; are nearly agreeable to the doctrines of
Christianity. Only Josephus's rejection of the return of the wicked into
other bodies, or into this world, which he grants to the good, looks
somewhat like a contradiction to St. Paul's account of the doctrine
of the Jews, that they "themselves allowed that there should be a
resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust," Acts 24:15. Yet
because Josephus's account is that of the Pharisees, and St. Patti's
that of the Jews in general, and of himself the contradiction is not
very certain.]
9 (return) [ We have here, in that Greek MS. which was once Alexander
Petavius's, but is now in the library at Leyden, two most remarkable
additions to the common copies, though declared worth little remark by
the editor; which, upon the mention of Tiberius's coming to the empire,
inserts first the famous testimony of Josephus concerning Jesus Christ,
as it stands verbatim in the Antiquities, B. XVIII. ch. 3. sect. 3, with
some parts of that excellent discourse or homily of Josephus concerning
Hades, annexed to the work. But what is here principally to be noted
is this, that in this homily, Josephus having just mentioned Christ,
as "God the Word, and the Judge of the world, appointed by the Father,"
etc., adds, that "he had himself elsewhere spoken about him more nicely
or particularly."]
10 (return) [ This use of corban, or oblation, as here applied to the
sacred money dedicated to God in the treasury of the temple, illustrates
our Savior's words, Mark 7:11, 12.]
11 (return) [ Tacitus owns that Caius commanded the Jews to place his
effigies in their temple, though he be mistaken when he adds that the
Jews thereupon took arms.]
12 (return) [ This account of a place near the mouth of the river Belus
in Phoenicia, whence came that sand out of which the ancients made their
glass, is a known thing in history, particularly in Tacitus and Strabo,
and more largely in Pliny.]
13 (return) [ This Memnon had several monuments, and one of them
appears, both by Strabo and Diodorus, to have been in Syria, and not
improbably in this very place.]
14 (return) [ Reland notes here, that the Talmud in recounting ten sad
accidents for which the Jews ought to rend their garments, reckons this
for one, "When they hear that the law of God is burnt."]
15 (return) [ This Ummidius, or Numidius, or, as Tacitus calls him,
Vinidius Quadratus, is mentioned in an ancient inscription, still
preserved, as Spanhelm here informs us, which calls him Urnmidius
Quadratus.]
16 (return) [ Take the character of this Felix [who is well known from
the Acts of the Apostles, particularly from his trembling when St. Paul
discoursed of "righteousness, chastity, and judgment to come,"] Acts
24:5; and no wonder, when we have elsewhere seen that he lived in
adultery with Drusilla, another man's wife, [Antiq. B. XX. ch. 7.
sect. 1: in the words of Tacitus, produced here by Dean Aldrich: "Felix
exercised," says Tacitas, "the authority of a king, with the disposition
of a slave, and relying upon the great power of his brother Pallas
at court, thought he might safely be guilty of all kinds of wicked
practices." Observe also the time when he was made procurator, A.D. 52;
that when St. Paul pleaded his cause before him, A.D. 58, he might have
been "many years a judge unto that nation," as St. Paul says he had
then been, Acts 24:10. But as to what Tacitus here says, that before the
death of Cumanus, Felix was procurator over Samaria only, does not well
agree with St. Paul's words, who would hardly have called Samaria a
Jewish nation. In short, since what Tacitus here says is about countries
very remote from Rome, where he lived; since what he says of two Roman
procurators, the one over Galilee, the other over Samaria at the same
time, is without example elsewhere; and since Josephus, who lived
at that very time in Judea, appears to have known nothing of this
procuratorship of Felix, before the death of Cumanus; I much suspect
the story itself as nothing better than a mistake of Tacitus, especially
when it seems not only omitted, but contradicted by Josephus; as any one
may find that compares their histories together. Possibly Felix might
have been a subordinate judge among the Jews some time before under
Cumanus, but that he was in earnest a procurator of Samaria before I
do not believe. Bishop Pearson, as well as Bishop Lloyd, quote this
account, but with a doubtful clause: confides Tacito, "If we may believe
Tacitus." Pears. Anhal. Paulin. p. 8; Marshall's Tables, at A.D. 49.]
17 (return) [ i.e. Herod king of Chalcis.]
18 (return) [ Not long after this beginning of Florus, the wickedest of
all the Roman procurators of Judea, and the immediate occasion of the
Jewish war, at the twelfth year of Nero, and the seventeenth of Agrippa,
or A.D. 66, the history in the twenty books of Josephus's Antiquities
ends, although Josephus did not finish these books till the thirteenth
of Domitian, or A.D. 93, twenty-seven years afterward; as he did not
finish their Appendix, containing an account of his own life, till
Agrippa was dead, which happened in the third year of Trajan, or A. D.
100, as I have several times observed before.]
19 (return) [ Here we may note, that three millions of the Jews were
present at the passover, A.D. 65; which confirms what Josephus elsewhere
informs us of, that at a passover a little later they counted two
hundred and fifty-six thousand five hundred paschal lambs, which, at
twelve to each lamb, which is no immoderate calculation, come to three
millions and seventy-eight thousand. See B. VI. ch. 9. sect. 3.]
20 (return) [ Take here Dr. Hudson's very pertinent note. "By this
action," says he, "the killing of a bird over an earthen vessel, the
Jews were exposed as a leprous people; for that was to be done by the
law in the cleansing of a leper, Leviticus 14. It is also known that
the Gentiles reproached the Jews as subject to the leprosy, and believed
that they were driven out of Egypt on that account. This that eminent
person Mr. Reland suggested to me."]
21 (return) [ Here we have examples of native Jews who were of the
equestrian order among the Romans, and so ought never to have been
whipped or crucified, according to the Roman laws. See almost the like
case in St. Paul himself, Acts 22:25-29.]
22 (return) [ This vow which Bernice [here and elsewhere called queen,
not only as daughter and sister to two kings, Agrippa the Great, and
Agrippa junior, but the widow of Herod king of Chalcis] came now to
accomplish at Jerusalem was not that of a Nazarite, but such a one as
religious Jews used to make, in hopes of any deliverance from a disease,
or other danger, as Josephus here intimates. However, these thirty days'
abode at Jerusalem, for fasting and preparation against the oblation
of a proper sacrifice, seems to be too long, unless it were wholly
voluntary in this great lady. It is not required in the law of Moses
relating to Nazarites, Numbers 6., and is very different from St. Paul's
time for such preparation, which was but one day, Acts 21:26. So we want
already the continuation of the Antiquities to afford us light here, as
they have hitherto done on so many occasions elsewhere. Perhaps in this
age the traditions of the Pharisees had obliged the Jews to this degree
of rigor, not only as to these thirty days' preparation, but as to the
going barefoot all that time, which here Bernice submitted to also. For
we know that as God's and our Savior's yoke is usually easy, and his
burden comparatively light, in such positive injunctions, Matthew 11:30,
so did the scribes and Pharisees sometimes "bind upon men heavy burdens,
and grievous to be borne," even when they themselves "would not touch
them with one of their fingers," Matthew 23:4; Luke 11:46. However,
Noldius well observes, De Herod. No. 404, 414, that Juvenal, in his
sixth satire, alludes to this remarkable penance or submission of this
Bernice to Jewish discipline, and jests upon her for it; as do Tacitus,
Dio, Suetonius, and Sextus Aurelius mention her as one well known at
Rome.--Ibid.]
23 (return) [ I take this Bezetha to be that small hill adjoining to the
north side of the temple, whereon was the hospital with five porticoes
or cloisters, and beneath which was the sheep pool of Bethesda; into
which an angel or messenger, at a certain season, descended, and where
he or they who were the "first put into the pool" were cured, John 5:1
etc. This situation of Bezetha, in Josephus, on the north side of the
temple, and not far off the tower Antonia, exactly agrees to the place
of the same pool at this day; only the remaining cloisters are but
three. See Maundrel, p. 106. The entire buildings seem to have been
called the New City, and this part, where was the hospital, peculiarly
Bezetha or Bethesda. See ch. 19. sect. 4.]
24 (return) [ In this speech of king Agrippa we have an authentic
account of the extent and strength of the Roman empire when the Jewish
war began. And this speech with other circumstances in Josephus,
demonstrate how wise and how great a person Agrippa was, and why
Josephus elsewhere calls him a most wonderful or admirable man,
Contr. Ap. I. 9. He is the same Agrippa who said to Paul, "Almost thou
persuadest me to be a Christian," Acts 26;28; and of whom St. Paul said,
"He was expert in all the customs and questions of the Jews," yet. 3.
See another intimation of the limits of the same Roman empire, Of the
War, B. III. ch. 5. sect. 7. But what seems to me very remarkable here
is this, that when Josephus, in imitation of the Greeks and Romans, for
whose use he wrote his Antiquities, did himself frequently he into their
they appear, by the politeness of their composition, and their flights
of oratory, to be not the real speeches of the persons concerned, who
usually were no orators, but of his own elegant composure, the speech
before us is of another nature, full of undeniable facts, and composed
in a plain and unartful, but moving way; so it appears to be king
Agrippa's own speech, and to have been given Josephus by Agrippa
himself, with whom Josephus had the greatest friendship. Nor may we omit
Agrippa's constant doctrine here, that this vast Roman empire was raised
and supported by Divine Providence, and that therefore it was in vain
for the Jews, or any others, to think of destroying it. Nor may we
neglect to take notice of Agrippa's solemn appeal to the angels here
used; the like appeals to which we have in St. Paul, 1 Timothy 5:22, and
by the apostles in general, in the form of the ordination of bishops,
Constitut. Apost. VIII. 4.]
25 (return) [ Julius Caesar had decreed that the Jews of Jerusalem
should pay an annual tribute to the Romans, excepting the city Joppa,
and for the sabbatical year; as Spanheim observes from the Antiq. B.
XIV. ch. 10. sect. 6.]
26 (return) [ Of this Sohemus we have mention made by Tacitus. We also
learn from Dio that his father was king of the Arabians of Iturea,
[which Iturea is mentioned by St. Luke, ch. 3:1.] both whose testimonies
are quoted here by Dr. Hudson. See Noldius, No. 371.]
27 (return) [ Spanheim notes on the place, that this later Antiochus,
who was called Epiphaues, is mentioned by Dio, LIX. p. 645, and that he
is mentioned by Josephus elsewhere twice also, B.V. ch. 11. sect. 3; and
Antiq. B. XIX. ch. 8. sect. I.]
28 (return) [ Here we have an eminent example of that Jewish language,
which Dr. Wail truly observes, we several times find used in the sacred
writings; I mean, where the words "all" or "whole multitude," etc. are
used for much the greatest part only; but not so as to include every
person, without exception; for when Josephus had said that "the whole
multitude" [Footnote all the males] of Lydda were gone to the feast of
tabernacles, he immediately adds, that, however, no fewer than fifty
of them appeared, and were slain by the Romans. Other examples somewhat
like this I have observed elsewhere in Josephus, but, as I think, none
so remarkable as this. See Wall's Critical Observations on the Old
Testament, p. 49, 50.]
29 (return) [ We have also, in this and the next section, two eminent
facts to be observed, viz. the first example, that I remember, in
Josephus, of the onset of the Jews' enemies upon their country when
their males were gone up to Jerusalem to one of their three sacred
festivals; which, during the theocracy, God had promised to preserve
them from, Exodus 34:24. The second fact is this, the breach of the
sabbath by the seditions Jews in an offensive fight, contrary to the
universal doctrine and practice of their nation in these ages, and even
contrary to what they themselves afterward practiced in the rest of this
war. See the note on Antiq. B. XVI. ch. 2. sect. 4.]
30 (return) [ There may another very important, and very providential,
reason be here assigned for this strange and foolish retreat of Cestius;
which, if Josephus had been now a Christian, he might probably have
taken notice of also; and that is, the affording the Jewish Christians
in the city an opportunity of calling to mind the prediction and caution
given them by Christ about thirty-three years and a half before, that
"when they should see the abomination of desolation" [the idolatrous
Roman armies, with the images of their idols in their ensigns, ready
to lay Jerusalem desolate] "stand where it ought not;" or, "in the holy
place;" or, "when they should see Jerusalem any one instance of a more
unpolitic, but more providential, compassed with armies;" they should
then "flee to the mound conduct than this retreat of Cestius visible
during this whole rains." By complying with which those Jewish
Christians fled I siege of Jerusalem; which yet was providentially such
a "great to the mountains of Perea, and escaped this destruction. See
tribulation, as had not been from the beginning of the world to that
time; no, Lit. Accompl. of Proph. p. 69, 70. Nor was there, perhaps, nor
ever should be."--Ibid. p. 70, 71.]
31 (return) [ From this name of Joseph the son of Gorion, or Gorion
the son of Joseph, as B. IV. ch. 3. sect. 9, one of the governors of
Jerusalem, who was slain at the beginning of the tumults by the zealots,
B. IV. ch. 6. sect. 1, the much later Jewish author of a history of that
nation takes his title, and yet personates our true Josephus, the son of
Matthias; but the cheat is too gross to be put upon the learned world.]
32 (return) [ We may observe here, that the Idumeans, as having been
proselytes of justice since the days of John Hyrcanus, during about one
hundred and ninety-five years, were now esteemed as part of the Jewish
nation, and these provided of a Jewish commander accordingly. See the
note upon Antiq. B. XIII.. ch. 9. sect. 1.]
33 (return) [ We see here, and in Josephus's account of his own life,
sect. 14, how exactly he imitated his legislator Moses, or perhaps only
obeyed what he took to be his perpetual law, in appointing seven lesser
judges, for smaller causes, in particular cities, and perhaps for
the first hearing of greater causes, with the liberty of an appeal to
seventy-one supreme judges, especially in those causes where life and
death were concerned; as Antiq. B. IV. ch. 8. sect. 14; and of his Life,
sect. 14. See also Of the War, B. IV. ch. 5. sect. 4. Moreover, we find,
sect. 7, that he imitated Moses, as well as the Romans, in the number
and distribution of the subaltern officers of his army, as Exodus 18:25;
Deuteronomy 1:15; and in his charge against the offenses common among
soldiers, as Denteronomy 13:9; in all which he showed his great wisdom
and piety, and skillful conduct in martial affairs. Yet may we discern
in his very high character of Artanus the high priest, B. IV. ch. 5.
sect. 2, who seems to have been the same who condemned St. James, bishop
of Jerusalem, to be stoned, under Albinus the procurator, that when
he wrote these books of the War, he was not so much as an Ebionite
Christian; otherwise he would not have failed, according to his usual
custom, to have reckoned this his barbarous murder as a just punishment
upon him for that his cruelty to the chief, or rather only Christian
bishop of the circumcision. Nor, had he been then a Christian, could he
immediately have spoken so movingly of the causes of the destruction
of Jerusalem, without one word of either the condemnation of James,
or crucifixion of Christ, as he did when he was become a Christian
afterward.]
34 (return) [ I should think that an army of sixty thousand footmen
should require many more than two hundred and fifty horsemen; and we
find Josephus had more horsemen under his command than two hundred and
fifty in his future history. I suppose the number of the thousands is
dropped in our present copies.]
35 (return) [ I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus, which is
related both here and in his Life, sect. 32, 33, to be one of the finest
that ever was invented and executed by any warrior whatsoever.]
BOOK III.
Containing The Interval Of About One Year.
From Vespasian's Coming To Subdue The Jews To The Taking Of
Gamala.
CHAPTER 1.
Vespasian Is Sent Into Syria By Nero In Order To Make War
With The Jews.
1. When Nero was informed of the Romans' ill success in Judea, a
concealed consternation and terror, as is usual in such cases, fell upon
him; although he openly looked very big, and was very angry, and
said that what had happened was rather owing to the negligence of the
commander, than to any valor of the enemy: and as he thought it fit
for him, who bare the burden of the whole empire, to despise such
misfortunes, he now pretended so to do, and to have a soul superior to
all such sad accidents whatsoever. Yet did the disturbance that was in
his soul plainly appear by the solicitude he was in [how to recover his
affairs again].
2. And as he was deliberating to whom he should commit the care of the
East, now it was in so great a commotion, and who might be best able
to punish the Jews for their rebellion, and might prevent the same
distemper from seizing upon the neighboring nations also,--he found
no one but Vespasian equal to the task, and able to undergo the great
burden of so mighty a war, seeing he was growing an old man already in
the camp, and from his youth had been exercised in warlike exploits: he
was also a man that had long ago pacified the west, and made it subject
to the Romans, when it had been put into disorder by the Germans; he had
also recovered to them Britain by his arms, which had been little known
before 1 whereby he procured to his father Claudius to have a triumph
bestowed on him without any sweat or labor of his own.
3. So Nero esteemed these circumstances as favorable omens, and saw that
Vespasian's age gave him sure experience, and great skill, and that
he had his sons as hostages for his fidelity to himself, and that the
flourishing age they were in would make them fit instruments under
their father's prudence. Perhaps also there was some interposition
of Providence, which was paving the way for Vespasian's being himself
emperor afterwards. Upon the whole, he sent this man to take upon him
the command of the armies that were in Syria; but this not without great
encomiums and flattering compellations, such as necessity required, and
such as might mollify him into complaisance. So Vespasian sent his son
Titus from Achaia, where he had been with Nero, to Alexandria, to bring
back with him from thence the fifth and the tenth legions, while he
himself, when he had passed over the Hellespont, came by land into
Syria, where he gathered together the Roman forces, with a considerable
number of auxiliaries from the kings in that neighborhood.
CHAPTER 2.
A Great Slaughter About Ascalon. Vespasian Comes To
Ptolemais.
1. Now the Jews, after they had beaten Cestius, were so much elevated
with their unexpected success, that they could not govern their zeal,
but, like people blown up into a flame by their good fortune, carried
the war to remoter places. Accordingly, they presently got together a
great multitude of all their most hardy soldiers, and marched away for
Ascalon. This is an ancient city that is distant from Jerusalem five
hundred and twenty furlongs, and was always an enemy to the Jews; on
which account they determined to make their first effort against it, and
to make their approaches to it as near as possible. This excursion was
led on by three men, who were the chief of them all, both for strength
and sagacity; Niger, called the Persite, Silas of Babylon, and besides
them John the Essene. Now Ascalon was strongly walled about, but had
almost no assistance to be relied on [near them], for the garrison
consisted of one cohort of footmen, and one troop of horsemen, whose
captain was Antonius.
2. These Jews, therefore, out of their anger, marched faster than
ordinary, and, as if they had come but a little way, approached very
near the city, and were come even to it; but Antonius, who was not
unapprized of the attack they were going to make upon the city, drew out
his horsemen beforehand, and being neither daunted at the multitude,
nor at the courage of the enemy, received their first attacks with great
bravery; and when they crowded to the very walls, he beat them off. Now
the Jews were unskillful in war, but were to fight with those who were
skillful therein; they were footmen to fight with horsemen; they were
in disorder, to fight those that were united together; they were poorly
armed, to fight those that were completely so; they were to fight more
by their rage than by sober counsel, and were exposed to soldiers that
were exactly obedient; and did every thing they were bidden upon the
least intimation. So they were easily beaten; for as soon as ever
their first ranks were once in disorder, they were put to flight by the
enemy's cavalry, and those of them that came behind such as crowded to
the wall fell upon their own party's weapons, and became one another's
enemies; and this so long till they were all forced to give way to the
attacks of the horsemen, and were dispersed all the plain over, which
plain was wide, and all fit for the horsemen; which circumstance was
very commodious for the Romans, and occasioned the slaughter of the
greatest number of the Jews; for such as ran away, they could overrun
them, and make them turn back; and when they had brought them back after
their flight, and driven them together, they ran them through, and slew
a vast number of them, insomuch that others encompassed others of them,
and drove them before them whithersoever they turned themselves, and
slew them easily with their arrows; and the great number there were of
the Jews seemed a solitude to themselves, by reason of the distress they
were in, while the Romans had such good success with their small number,
that they seemed to themselves to be the greater multitude. And as the
former strove zealously under their misfortunes, out of the shame of
a sudden flight, and hopes of the change in their success, so did the
latter feel no weariness by reason of their good fortune; insomuch that
the fight lasted till the evening, till ten thousand men of the Jews'
side lay dead, with two of their generals, John and Silas, and the
greater part of the remainder were wounded, with Niger, their remaining
general, who fled away together to a small city of Idumea, called
Sallis. Some few also of the Romans were wounded in this battle.
3. Yet were not the spirits of the Jews broken by so great a calamity,
but the losses they had sustained rather quickened their resolution for
other attempts; for, overlooking the dead bodies which lay under their
feet, they were enticed by their former glorious actions to venture on
a second destruction; so when they had lain still so little a while that
their wounds were not yet thoroughly cured, they got together all their
forces, and came with greater fury, and in much greater numbers, to
Ascalon. But their former ill fortune followed them, as the consequence
of their unskilfulness, and other deficiencies in war; for Antonius laid
ambushes for them in the passages they were to go through, where they
fell into snares unexpectedly, and where they were encompassed about
with horsemen, before they could form themselves into a regular body for
fighting, and were above eight thousand of them slain; so all the rest
of them ran away, and with them Niger, who still did a great many bold
exploits in his flight. However, they were driven along together by the
enemy, who pressed hard upon them, into a certain strong tower belonging
to a village called Bezedeh However, Antonius and his party, that they
might neither spend any considerable time about this tower, which was
hard to be taken, nor suffer their commander, and the most courageous
man of them all, to escape from them, they set the wall on fire; and as
the tower was burning, the Romans went away rejoicing, as taking it for
granted that Niger was destroyed; but he leaped out of the tower into a
subterraneous cave, in the innermost part of it, and was preserved; and
on the third day afterward he spake out of the ground to those that with
great lamentation were searching for him, in order to give him a decent
funeral; and when he was come out, he filled all the Jews with an
unexpected joy, as though he were preserved by God's providence to be
their commander for the time to come.
4. And now Vespasian took along with him his army from Antioch, [which
is the metropolis of Syria, and without dispute deserves the place of
the third city in the habitable earth that was under the Roman empire,
2 both in magnitude, and other marks of prosperity,] where he found king
Agrippa, with all his forces, waiting for his coming, and marched to
Ptolemais. At this city also the inhabitants of Sepphoris of Galilee met
him, who were for peace with the Romans. These citizens had beforehand
taken care of their own safety, and being sensible of the power of the
Romans, they had been with Cestius Gallus before Vespasian came, and had
given their faith to him, and received the security of his right hand,
and had received a Roman garrison; and at this time withal they received
Vespasian, the Roman general, very kindly, and readily promised that
they would assist him against their own countrymen. Now the general
delivered them, at their desire, as many horsemen and footmen as he
thought sufficient to oppose the incursions of the Jews, if they should
come against them. And indeed the danger of losing Sepphoris would be no
small one, in this war that was now beginning, seeing it was the largest
city of Galilee, and built in a place by nature very strong, and might
be a security of the whole nation's [fidelity to the Romans].
CHAPTER 3.
A Description Of Galilee, Samaria, And Judea.
1. Now Phoenicia and Syria encompass about the Galilees, which are two,
and called the Upper Galilee and the Lower. They are bounded toward the
sun-setting, with the borders of the territory belonging to Ptolemais,
and by Carmel; which mountain had formerly belonged to the Galileans,
but now belonged to the Tyrians; to which mountain adjoins Gaba,
which is called the City of Horsemen, because those horsemen that were
dismissed by Herod the king dwelt therein; they are bounded on the south
with Samaria and Scythopolis, as far as the river Jordan; on the east
with Hippeae and Gadaris, and also with Ganlonitis, and the borders of
the kingdom of Agrippa; its northern parts are bounded by Tyre, and the
country of the Tyrians. As for that Galilee which is called the Lower,
it, extends in length from Tiberias to Zabulon, and of the maritime
places Ptolemais is its neighbor; its breadth is from the village called
Xaloth, which lies in the great plain, as far as Bersabe, from which
beginning also is taken the breadth of the Upper Galilee, as far as the
village Baca, which divides the land of the Tyrians from it; its length
is also from Meloth to Thella, a village near to Jordan.
2. These two Galilees, of so great largeness, and encompassed with
so many nations of foreigners, have been always able to make a strong
resistance on all occasions of war; for the Galileans are inured to war
from their infancy, and have been always very numerous; nor hath the
country been ever destitute of men of courage, or wanted a numerous set
of them; for their soil is universally rich and fruitful, and full of
the plantations of trees of all sorts, insomuch that it invites the
most slothful to take pains in its cultivation, by its fruitfulness;
accordingly, it is all cultivated by its inhabitants, and no part of it
lies idle. Moreover, the cities lie here very thick, and the very
many villages there are here are every where so full of people, by
the richness of their soil, that the very least of them contain above
fifteen thousand inhabitants.
3. In short, if any one will suppose that Galilee is inferior to Perea
in magnitude, he will be obliged to prefer it before it in its strength;
for this is all capable of cultivation, and is every where fruitful; but
for Perea, which is indeed much larger in extent, the greater part of
it is desert and rough, and much less disposed for the production of the
milder kinds of fruits; yet hath it a moist soil [in other parts], and
produces all kinds of fruits, and its plains are planted with trees of
all sorts, while yet the olive tree, the vine, and the palm tree are
chiefly cultivated there. It is also sufficiently watered with torrents,
which issue out of the mountains, and with springs that never fail to
run, even when the torrents fail them, as they do in the dog-days. Now
the length of Perea is from Machaerus to Pella, and its breadth from
Philadelphia to Jordan; its northern parts are bounded by Pella, as we
have already said, as well as its Western with Jordan; the land of Moab
is its southern border, and its eastern limits reach to Arabia, and
Silbonitis, and besides to Philadelphene and Gerasa.
4. Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee;
it begins at a village that is in the great plain called Ginea, and
ends at the Acrabbene toparchy, and is entirely of the same nature with
Judea; for both countries are made up of hills and valleys, and are
moist enough for agriculture, and are very fruitful. They have abundance
of trees, and are full of autumnal fruit, both that which grows wild,
and that which is the effect of cultivation. They are not naturally
watered by many rivers, but derive their chief moisture from rain-water,
of which they have no want; and for those rivers which they have, all
their waters are exceeding sweet: by reason also of the excellent grass
they have, their cattle yield more milk than do those in other places;
and, what is the greatest sign of excellency and of abundance, they each
of them are very full of people.
5. In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anuath, which is
also named Borceos. This is the northern boundary of Judea. The southern
parts of Judea, if they be measured lengthways, are bounded by a Village
adjoining to the confines of Arabia; the Jews that dwell there call it
Jordan. However, its breadth is extended from the river Jordan to Joppa.
The city Jerusalem is situated in the very middle; on which account some
have, with sagacity enough, called that city the Navel of the country.
Nor indeed is Judea destitute of such delights as come from the sea,
since its maritime places extend as far as Ptolemais: it was parted into
eleven portions, of which the royal city Jerusalem was the supreme, and
presided over all the neighboring country, as the head does over the
body. As to the other cities that were inferior to it, they presided
over their several toparchies; Gophna was the second of those cities,
and next to that Acrabatta, after them Thamna, and Lydda, and Emmaus,
and Pella, and Idumea, and Engaddi, and Herodium, and Jericho; and after
them came Jamnia and Joppa, as presiding over the neighboring people;
and besides these there was the region of Gamala, and Gaulonitis,
and Batanea, and Trachonitis, which are also parts of the kingdom of
Agrippa. This [last] country begins at Mount Libanus, and the fountains
of Jordan, and reaches breadthways to the lake of Tiberias; and in
length is extended from a village called Arpha, as far as Julias. Its
inhabitants are a mixture of Jews and Syrians. And thus have I, with
all possible brevity, described the country of Judea, and those that lie
round about it.
CHAPTER 4.
Josephus Makes An Attempt Upon Sepphoris But Is Repelled.
Titus Comes With A Great Army To Ptolemais.
1. Now the auxiliaries which were sent to assist the people of
Sepphoris, being a thousand horsemen, and six thousand footmen, under
Placidus the tribune, pitched their camp in two bodies in the great
plain. The foot were put into the city to be a guard to it, but the
horse lodged abroad in the camp. These last, by marching continually one
way or other, and overrunning the parts of the adjoining country, were
very troublesome to Josephus and his men; they also plundered all the
places that were out of the city's liberty, and intercepted such as
durst go abroad. On this account it was that Josephus marched against
the city, as hoping to take what he had lately encompassed with so
strong a wall, before they revolted from the rest of the Galileans, that
the Romans would have much ado to take it; by which means he proved too
weak, and failed of his hopes, both as to the forcing the place, and as
to his prevailing with the people of Sepphoris to deliver it up to him.
By this means he provoked the Romans to treat the country according to
the law of war; nor did the Romans, out of the anger they bore at this
attempt, leave off, either by night or by day, burning the places in
the plain, and stealing away the cattle that were in the country, and
killing whatsoever appeared capable of fighting perpetually, and leading
the weaker people as slaves into captivity; so that Galilee was all over
filled with fire and blood; nor was it exempted from any kind of misery
or calamity, for the only refuge they had was this, that when they were
pursued, they could retire to the cities which had walls built them by
Josephus.
2. But as to Titus, he sailed over from Achaia to Alexandria, and that
sooner than the winter season did usually permit; so he took with him
those forces he was sent for, and marching with great expedition, he
came suddenly to Ptolemais, and there finding his father, together with
the two legions, the fifth and the tenth, which were the most eminent
legions of all, he joined them to that fifteenth legion which was with
his father; eighteen cohorts followed these legions; there came also
five cohorts from Cesarea, with one troop of horsemen, and five other
troops of horsemen from Syria. Now these ten cohorts had severally a
thousand footmen, but the other thirteen cohorts had no more than six
hundred footmen apiece, with a hundred and twenty horsemen. There were
also a considerable number of auxiliaries got together, that came from
the kings Antiochus, and Agrippa, and Sohemus, each of them contributing
one thousand footmen that were archers, and a thousand horsemen.
Malchus also, the king of Arabia, sent a thousand horsemen, besides five
thousand footmen, the greatest part of which were archers; so that
the whole army, including the auxiliaries sent by the kings, as well
horsemen as footmen, when all were united together, amounted to sixty
thousand, besides the servants, who, as they followed in vast numbers,
so because they had been trained up in war with the rest, ought not
to be distinguished from the fighting men; for as they were in their
masters' service in times of peace, so did they undergo the like dangers
with them in times of war, insomuch that they were inferior to none,
either in skill or in strength, only they were subject to their masters.
CHAPTER 5.
A Description Of The Roman Armies And Roman Camps And Of
Other Particulars For Which The Romans Are Commended.
1. Now here one cannot but admire at the precaution of the Romans, in
providing themselves of such household servants, as might not only serve
at other times for the common offices of life, but might also be of
advantage to them in their wars. And, indeed, if any one does but attend
to the other parts of their military discipline, he will be forced
to confess that their obtaining so large a dominion hath been the
acquisition of their valor, and not the bare gift of fortune; for they
do not begin to use their weapons first in time of war, nor do they then
put their hands first into motion, while they avoided so to do in times
of peace; but, as if their weapons did always cling to them, they have
never any truce from warlike exercises; nor do they stay till times of
war admonish them to use them; for their military exercises differ not
at all from the real use of their arms, but every soldier is every day
exercised, and that with great diligence, as if it were in time of war,
which is the reason why they bear the fatigue of battles so easily; for
neither can any disorder remove them from their usual regularity,
nor can fear affright them out of it, nor can labor tire them; which
firmness of conduct makes them always to overcome those that have not
the same firmness; nor would he be mistaken that should call those their
exercises unbloody battles, and their battles bloody exercises. Nor
can their enemies easily surprise them with the suddenness of their
incursions; for as soon as they have marched into an enemy's land, they
do not begin to fight till they have walled their camp about; nor is the
fence they raise rashly made, or uneven; nor do they all abide in it,
nor do those that are in it take their places at random; but if it
happens that the ground is uneven, it is first leveled: their camp is
also four-square by measure, and carpenters are ready, in great numbers,
with their tools, to erect their buildings for them. 3
2. As for what is within the camp, it is set apart for tents, but the
outward circumference hath the resemblance to a wall, and is adorned
with towers at equal distances, where between the towers stand the
engines for throwing arrows and darts, and for slinging stones, and
where they lay all other engines that can annoy the enemy, all ready for
their several operations. They also erect four gates, one at every side
of the circumference, and those large enough for the entrance of the
beasts, and wide enough for making excursions, if occasion should
require. They divide the camp within into streets, very conveniently,
and place the tents of the commanders in the middle; but in the very
midst of all is the general's own tent, in the nature of a temple,
insomuch, that it appears to be a city built on the sudden, with its
market-place, and place for handicraft trades, and with seats for the
officers superior and inferior, where, if any differences arise, their
causes are heard and determined. The camp, and all that is in it, is
encompassed with a wall round about, and that sooner than one would
imagine, and this by the multitude and the skill of the laborers; and,
if occasion require, a trench is drawn round the whole, whose depth is
four cubits, and its breadth equal.
3. When they have thus secured themselves, they live together by
companies, with quietness and decency, as are all their other affairs
managed with good order and security. Each company hath also their wood,
and their corn, and their water brought them, when they stand in need
of them; for they neither sup nor dine as they please themselves singly,
but all together. Their times also for sleeping, and watching, and
rising are notified beforehand by the sound of trumpets, nor is any
thing done without such a signal; and in the morning the soldiery go
every one to their centurions, and these centurions to their tribunes,
to salute them; with whom all the superior officers go to the general
of the whole army, who then gives them of course the watchword and other
orders, to be by them carried to all that are under their command; which
is also observed when they go to fight, and thereby they turn themselves
about on the sudden, when there is occasion for making sallies, as they
come back when they are recalled in crowds also.
4. Now when they are to go out of their camp, the trumpet gives a sound,
at which time nobody lies still, but at the first intimation they take
down their tents, and all is made ready for their going out; then do the
trumpets sound again, to order them to get ready for the march; then do
they lay their baggage suddenly upon their mules, and other beasts of
burden, and stand, as at the place of starting, ready to march; when
also they set fire to their camp, and this they do because it will be
easy for them to erect another camp, and that it may not ever be of use
to their enemies. Then do the trumpets give a sound the third time, that
they are to go out, in order to excite those that on any account are
a little tardy, that so no one may be out of his rank when the army
marches. Then does the crier stand at the general's right hand, and asks
them thrice, in their own tongue, whether they be now ready to go out
to war or not? To which they reply as often, with a loud and cheerful
voice, saying, "We are ready." And this they do almost before the
question is asked them: they do this as filled with a kind of martial
fury, and at the same time that they so cry out, they lift up their
right hands also.
5. When, after this, they are gone out of their camp, they all march
without noise, and in a decent manner, and every one keeps his own rank,
as if they were going to war. The footmen are armed with breastplates
and head-pieces, and have swords on each side; but the sword which is
upon their left side is much longer than the other, for that on the
right side is not longer than a span. Those foot-men also that are
chosen out from the rest to be about the general himself have a lance
and a buckler, but the rest of the foot soldiers have a spear and a long
buckler, besides a saw and a basket, a pick-axe and an axe, a thong of
leather and a hook, with provisions for three days, so that a footman
hath no great need of a mule to carry his burdens. The horsemen have
a long sword on their right sides, axed a long pole in their hand; a
shield also lies by them obliquely on one side of their horses, with
three or more darts that are borne in their quiver, having broad
points, and not smaller than spears. They have also head-pieces and
breastplates, in like manner as have all the footmen. And for those that
are chosen to be about the general, their armor no way differs from
that of the horsemen belonging to other troops; and he always leads the
legions forth to whom the lot assigns that employment.
6. This is the manner of the marching and resting of the Romans, as also
these are the several sorts of weapons they use. But when they are to
fight, they leave nothing without forecast, nor to be done off-hand, but
counsel is ever first taken before any work is begun, and what hath been
there resolved upon is put in execution presently; for which reason they
seldom commit any errors; and if they have been mistaken at any time,
they easily correct those mistakes. They also esteem any errors they
commit upon taking counsel beforehand to be better than such rash
success as is owing to fortune only; because such a fortuitous advantage
tempts them to be inconsiderate, while consultation, though it may
sometimes fail of success, hath this good in it, that it makes men more
careful hereafter; but for the advantages that arise from chance,
they are not owing to him that gains them; and as to what melancholy
accidents happen unexpectedly, there is this comfort in them, that they
had however taken the best consultations they could to prevent them.
7. Now they so manage their preparatory exercises of their weapons, that
not the bodies of the soldiers only, but their souls may also become
stronger: they are moreover hardened for war by fear; for their laws
inflict capital punishments, not only for soldiers running away from the
ranks, but for slothfulness and inactivity, though it be but in a lesser
degree; as are their generals more severe than their laws, for they
prevent any imputation of cruelty toward those under condemnation, by
the great rewards they bestow on the valiant soldiers; and the readiness
of obeying their commanders is so great, that it is very ornamental in
peace; but when they come to a battle, the whole army is but one body,
so well coupled together are their ranks, so sudden are their turnings
about, so sharp their hearing as to what orders are given them, so quick
their sight of the ensigns, and so nimble are their hands when they set
to work; whereby it comes to pass that what they do is done quickly, and
what they suffer they bear with the greatest patience. Nor can we find
any examples where they have been conquered in battle, when they came
to a close fight, either by the multitude of the enemies, or by their
stratagems, or by the difficulties in the places they were in; no, nor
by fortune neither, for their victories have been surer to them than
fortune could have granted them. In a case, therefore, where counsel
still goes before action, and where, after taking the best advice,
that advice is followed by so active an army, what wonder is it that
Euphrates on the east, the ocean on the west, the most fertile regions
of Libya on the south, and the Danube and the Rhine on the north, are
the limits of this empire? One might well say that the Roman possessions
are not inferior to the Romans themselves.
8. This account I have given the reader, not so much with the intention
of commending the Romans, as of comforting those that have been
conquered by them, and for the deterring others from attempting
innovations under their government. This discourse of the Roman military
conduct may also perhaps be of use to such of the curious as are
ignorant of it, and yet have a mind to know it. I return now from this
digression.
CHAPTER 6.
Placidus Attempts To Take Jotapata And Is Beaten Off.
Vespasian Marches Into Galilee.
1. And now Vespasian, with his son Titus, had tarried some time at
Ptolemais, and had put his army in order. But when Placidus, who had
overrun Galilee, and had besides slain a number of those whom he had
caught, [which were only the weaker part of the Galileans, and such
as were of timorous souls,] saw that the warriors ran always to those
cities whose walls had been built by Josephus, he marched furiously
against Jotapata, which was of them all the strongest, as supposing he
should easily take it by a sudden surprise, and that he should thereby
obtain great honor to himself among the commanders, and bring a great
advantage to them in their future campaign; because if this strongest
place of them all were once taken, the rest would be so affrighted as to
surrender themselves. But he was mightily mistaken in his undertaking;
for the men of Jotapata were apprized of his coming to attack them, and
came out of the city, and expected him there. So they fought the Romans
briskly when they least expected it, being both many in number, and
prepared for fighting, and of great alacrity, as esteeming their
country, their wives, and their children to be in danger, and easily put
the Romans to flight, and wounded many of them, and slew seven of them;
4 because their retreat was not made in a disorderly manner, because
the strokes only touched the surface of their bodies, which were covered
with their armor in all parts, and because the Jews did rather throw
their weapons upon them from a great distance, than venture to come hand
to hand with them, and had only light armor on, while the others were
completely armed. However, three men of the Jews' side were slain, and
a few wounded; so Placidus, finding himself unable to assault the city,
ran away.
2. But as Vespasian had a great mind to fall upon Galilee, he marched
out of Ptolemais, having put his army into that order wherein the Romans
used to march. He ordered those auxiliaries which were lightly armed,
and the archers, to march first, that they might prevent any sudden
insults from the enemy, and might search out the woods that looked
suspiciously, and were capable of ambuscades. Next to these followed
that part of the Romans which was completely armed, both footmen and
horsemen. Next to these followed ten out of every hundred, carrying
along with them their arms, and what was necessary to measure out a camp
withal; and after them, such as were to make the road even and straight,
and if it were any where rough and hard to be passed over, to plane it,
and to cut down the woods that hindered their march, that the army might
not be in distress, or tired with their march. Behind these he set
such carriages of the army as belonged both to himself and to the other
commanders, with a considerable number of their horsemen for their
security. After these he marched himself, having with him a select body
of footmen, and horsemen, and pikemen. After these came the peculiar
cavalry of his own legion, for there were a hundred and twenty horsemen
that peculiarly belonged to every legion. Next to these came the mules
that carried the engines for sieges, and the other warlike machines
of that nature. After these came the commanders of the cohorts and
tribunes, having about them soldiers chosen out of the rest. Then came
the ensigns encompassing the eagle, which is at the head of every Roman
legion, the king, and the strongest of all birds, which seems to them a
signal of dominion, and an omen that they shall conquer all against whom
they march; these sacred ensigns are followed by the trumpeters. Then
came the main army in their squadrons and battalions, with six men in
depth, which were followed at last by a centurion, who, according to
custom, observed the rest. As for the servants of every legion, they
all followed the footmen, and led the baggage of the soldiers, which
was borne by the mules and other beasts of burden. But behind all the
legions came the whole multitude of the mercenaries; and those that
brought up the rear came last of all for the security of the whole army,
being both footmen, and those in their armor also, with a great number
of horsemen.
3. And thus did Vespasian march with his army, and came to the bounds of
Galilee, where he pitched his camp and restrained his soldiers, who
were eager for war; he also showed his army to the enemy, in order
to affright them, and to afford them a season for repentance, to see
whether they would change their minds before it came to a battle, and at
the same time he got things ready for besieging their strong minds. And
indeed this sight of the general brought many to repent of their revolt,
and put them all into a consternation; for those that were in Josephus's
camp, which was at the city called Garis, not far from Sepphoris, when
they heard that the war was come near them, and that the Romans would
suddenly fight them hand to hand, dispersed themselves and fled, not
only before they came to a battle, but before the enemy ever came in
sight, while Josephus and a few others were left behind; and as he saw
that he had not an army sufficient to engage the enemy, that the spirits
of the Jews were sunk, and that the greater part would willingly come to
terms, if they might be credited, he already despaired of the success of
the whole war, and determined to get as far as he possibly could out
of danger; so he took those that staid along with him, and fled to
Tiberias.
CHAPTER 7.
Vespasian, When He Had Taken The City Gadaea Marches To
Jotapata. After A Long Siege The City Is Betrayed By A
Deserter, And Taken By Vespasian.
1. So Vespasian marched to the city Gadara, and took it upon the first
onset, because he found it destitute of any considerable number of men
grown up and fit for war. He came then into it, and slew all the youth,
the Romans having no mercy on any age whatsoever; and this was done out
of the hatred they bore the nation, and because of the iniquity they had
been guilty of in the affair of Cestius. He also set fire not only to
the city itself, but to all the villas and small cities that were round
about it; some of them were quite destitute of inhabitants, and out of
some of them he carried the inhabitants as slaves into captivity.
2. As to Josephus, his retiring to that city which he chose as the most
fit for his security, put it into great fear; for the people of Tiberias
did not imagine that he would have run away, unless he had entirely
despaired of the success of the war. And indeed, as to that point, they
were not mistaken about his opinion; for he saw whither the affairs of
the Jews would tend at last, and was sensible that they had but one way
of escaping, and that was by repentance. However, although he expected
that the Romans would forgive him, yet did he choose to die many times
over, rather than to betray his country, and to dishonor that supreme
command of the army which had been intrusted with him, or to live
happily under those against whom he was sent to fight. He determined,
therefore, to give an exact account of affairs to the principal men at
Jerusalem by a letter, that he might not, by too much aggrandizing the
power of the enemy, make them too timorous; nor, by relating that their
power beneath the truth, might encourage them to stand out when they
were perhaps disposed to repentance. He also sent them word, that if
they thought of coming to terms, they must suddenly write him an answer;
or if they resolved upon war, they must send him an army sufficient
to fight the Romans. Accordingly, he wrote these things, and sent
messengers immediately to carry his letter to Jerusalem.
3. Now Vespasian was very desirous of demolishing Jotapata, for he had
gotten intelligence that the greatest part of the enemy had retired
thither, and that it was, on other accounts, a place of great security
to them. Accordingly, he sent both foot-men and horsemen to level the
road, which was mountainous and rocky, not without difficulty to be
traveled over by footmen, but absolutely impracticable for horsemen. Now
these workmen accomplished what they were about in four days' time,
and opened a broad way for the army. On the fifth day, which was the
twenty-first of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] Josephus prevented him,
and came from Tiberias, and went into Jotapata, and raised the drooping
spirits of the Jews. And a certain deserter told this good news to
Vespasian, that Josephus had removed himself thither, which made him
make haste to the city, as supposing that with taking that he should
take all Judea, in case he could but withal get Josephus under his
power. So he took this news to be of the vastest advantage to him, and
believed it to be brought about by the providence of God, that he who
appeared to be the most prudent man of all their enemies, had, of his
own accord, shut himself up in a place of sure custody. Accordingly, he
sent Placidus with a thousand horsemen, and Ebutius a decurion, a person
that was of eminency both in council and in action, to encompass the
city round, that Josephus might not escape away privately.
4. Vespasian also, the very next day, took his whole army and followed
them, and by marching till late in the evening, arrived then at
Jotapata; and bringing his army to the northern side of the city, he
pitched his camp on a certain small hill which was seven furlongs from
the city, and still greatly endeavored to be well seen by the enemy, to
put them into a consternation; which was indeed so terrible to the Jews
immediately, that no one of them durst go out beyond the wall. Yet did
the Romans put off the attack at that time, because they had marched all
the day, although they placed a double row of battalions round the
city, with a third row beyond them round the whole, which consisted of
cavalry, in order to stop up every way for an exit; which thing making
the Jews despair of escaping, excited them to act more boldly; for
nothing makes men fight so desperately in war as necessity.
5. Now when the next day an assault was made by the Romans, the Jews at
first staid out of the walls and opposed them, and met them, as having
formed themselves a camp before the city walls. But when Vespasian had
set against them the archers and slingers, and the whole multitude that
could throw to a great distance, he permitted them to go to work, while
he himself, with the footmen, got upon an acclivity, whence the city
might easily be taken. Josephus was then in fear for the city, and
leaped out, and all the Jewish multitude with him; these fell together
upon the Romans in great numbers, and drove them away from the wall, and
performed a great many glorious and bold actions. Yet did they suffer
as much as they made the enemy suffer; for as despair of deliverance
encouraged the Jews, so did a sense of shame equally encourage the
Romans. These last had skill as well as strength; the other had only
courage, which armed them, and made them fight furiously. And when the
fight had lasted all day, it was put an end to by the coming on of the
night. They had wounded a great many of the Romans, and killed of them
thirteen men; of the Jews' side seventeen were slain, and six hundred
wounded.
6. On the next day the Jews made another attack upon the Romans, and
went out of the walls and fought a much more desperate battle with them
than before. For they were now become more courageous than formerly, and
that on account of the unexpected good opposition they had made the day
before, as they found the Romans also to fight more desperately; for a
sense of shame inflamed these into a passion, as esteeming their failure
of a sudden victory to be a kind of defeat. Thus did the Romans try to
make an impression upon the Jews till the fifth day continually, while
the people of Jotapata made sallies out, and fought at the walls most
desperately; nor were the Jews affrighted at the strength of the enemy,
nor were the Romans discouraged at the difficulties they met with in
taking the city.
7. Now Jotapata is almost all of it built on a precipice, having on
all the other sides of it every way valleys immensely deep and steep,
insomuch that those who would look down would have their sight fail them
before it reaches to the bottom. It is only to be come at on the north
side, where the utmost part of the city is built on the mountain, as it
ends obliquely at a plain. This mountain Josephus had encompassed with
a wall when he fortified the city, that its top might not be capable
of being seized upon by the enemies. The city is covered all round with
other mountains, and can no way be seen till a man comes just upon it.
And this was the strong situation of Jotapata.
8. Vespasian, therefore, in order to try how he might overcome the
natural strength of the place, as well as the bold defense of the Jews,
made a resolution to prosecute the siege with vigor. To that end he
called the commanders that were under him to a council of war, and
consulted with them which way the assault might be managed to the best
advantage. And when the resolution was there taken to raise a bank
against that part of the wall which was practicable, he sent his whole
army abroad to get the materials together. So when they had cut down
all the trees on the mountains that adjoined to the city, and had gotten
together a vast heap of stones, besides the wood they had cut down, some
of them brought hurdles, in order to avoid the effects of the darts that
were shot from above them. These hurdles they spread over their banks,
under cover whereof they formed their bank, and so were little or
nothing hurt by the darts that were thrown upon them from the wall,
while others pulled the neighboring hillocks to pieces, and perpetually
brought earth to them; so that while they were busy three sorts of ways,
nobody was idle. However, the Jews cast great stones from the walls upon
the hurdles which protected the men, with all sorts of darts also; and
the noise of what could not reach them was yet so terrible, that it was
some impediment to the workmen.
9. Vespasian then set the engines for throwing stones and darts round
about the city. The number of the engines was in all a hundred and
sixty, and bid them fall to work, and dislodge those that were upon the
wall. At the same time such engines as were intended for that purpose
threw at once lances upon them with a great noise, and stones of the
weight of a talent were thrown by the engines that were prepared for
that purpose, together with fire, and a vast multitude of arrows, which
made the wall so dangerous, that the Jews durst not only not come
upon it, but durst not come to those parts within the walls which were
reached by the engines; for the multitude of the Arabian archers, as
well also as all those that threw darts and slung stones, fell to work
at the same time with the engines. Yet did not the others lie still,
when they could not throw at the Romans from a higher place; for they
then made sallies out of the city, like private robbers, by parties, and
pulled away the hurdles that covered the workmen, and killed them when
they were thus naked; and when those workmen gave way, these cast away
the earth that composed the bank, and burnt the wooden parts of it,
together with the hurdles, till at length Vespasian perceived that the
intervals there were between the works were of disadvantage to him;
for those spaces of ground afforded the Jews a place for assaulting the
Romans. So he united the hurdles, and at the same time joined one part
of the army to the other, which prevented the private excursions of the
Jews.
10. And when the bank was now raised, and brought nearer than ever to
the battlements that belonged to the walls, Josephus thought it would be
entirely wrong in him if he could make no contrivances in opposition
to theirs, and that might be for the city's preservation; so he got
together his workmen, and ordered them to build the wall higher; and
while they said that this was impossible to be done while so many darts
were thrown at them, he invented this sort of cover for them: He bid
them fix piles, and expand before them the raw hides of oxen newly
killed, that these hides by yielding and hollowing themselves when the
stones were thrown at them might receive them, for that the other darts
would slide off them, and the fire that was thrown would be quenched by
the moisture that was in them. And these he set before the workmen, and
under them these workmen went on with their works in safety, and raised
the wall higher, and that both by day and by night, till it was twenty
cubits high. He also built a good number of towers upon the wall, and
fitted it to strong battlements. This greatly discouraged the Romans,
who in their own opinions were already gotten within the walls, while
they were now at once astonished at Josephus's contrivance, and at the
fortitude of the citizens that were in the city.
11. And now Vespasian was plainly irritated at the great subtlety of
this stratagem, and at the boldness of the citizens of Jotapata; for
taking heart again upon the building of this wall, they made fresh
sallies upon the Romans, and had every day conflicts with them by
parties, together with all such contrivances, as robbers make use of,
and with the plundering of all that came to hand, as also with the
setting fire to all the other works; and this till Vespasian made his
army leave off fighting them, and resolved to lie round the city, and
to starve them into a surrender, as supposing that either they would
be forced to petition him for mercy by want of provisions, or if they
should have the courage to hold out till the last, they should perish
by famine: and he concluded he should conquer them the more easily in
fighting, if he gave them an interval, and then fell upon them when they
were weakened by famine; but still he gave orders that they should guard
against their coming out of the city.
12. Now the besieged had plenty of corn within the city, and indeed of
all necessaries, but they wanted water, because there was no fountain in
the city, the people being there usually satisfied with rain water; yet
is it a rare thing in that country to have rain in summer, and at
this season, during the siege, they were in great distress for some
contrivance to satisfy their thirst; and they were very sad at this time
particularly, as if they were already in want of water entirely, for
Josephus seeing that the city abounded with other necessaries, and that
the men were of good courage, and being desirous to protract the siege
to the Romans longer than they expected, ordered their drink to be given
them by measure; but this scanty distribution of water by measure was
deemed by them as a thing more hard upon them than the want of it;
and their not being able to drink as much as they would made them more
desirous of drinking than they otherwise had been; nay, they were as
much disheartened hereby as if they were come to the last degree of
thirst. Nor were the Romans unacquainted with the state they were in,
for when they stood over against them, beyond the wall, they could see
them running together, and taking their water by measure, which made
them throw their javelins thither the place being within their reach,
and kill a great many of them.
13. Hereupon Vespasian hoped that their receptacles of water would in
no long time be emptied, and that they would be forced to deliver up
the city to him; but Josephus being minded to break such his hope, gave
command that they should wet a great many of their clothes, and hang
them out about the battlements, till the entire wall was of a sudden all
wet with the running down of the water. At this sight the Romans were
discouraged, and under consternation, when they saw them able to throw
away in sport so much water, when they supposed them not to have enough
to drink themselves. This made the Roman general despair of taking the
city by their want of necessaries, and to betake himself again to arms,
and to try to force them to surrender, which was what the Jews greatly
desired; for as they despaired of either themselves or their city being
able to escape, they preferred a death in battle before one by hunger
and thirst.
14. However, Josephus contrived another stratagem besides the foregoing,
to get plenty of what they wanted. There was a certain rough and uneven
place that could hardly be ascended, and on that account was not guarded
by the soldiers; so Josephus sent out certain persons along the western
parts of the valley, and by them sent letters to whom he pleased of the
Jews that were out of the city, and procured from them what necessaries
soever they wanted in the city in abundance; he enjoined them also to
creep generally along by the watch as they came into the city, and to
cover their backs with such sheep-skins as had their wool upon them,
that if any one should spy them out in the night time, they might
be believed to be dogs. This was done till the watch perceived their
contrivance, and encompassed that rough place about themselves.
15. And now it was that Josephus perceived that the city could not hold
out long, and that his own life would be in doubt if he continued in it;
so he consulted how he and the most potent men of the city might fly
out of it. When the multitude understood this, they came all round about
him, and begged of him not to overlook them while they entirely depended
on him, and him alone; for that there was still hope of the city's
deliverance, if he would stay with them, because every body would
undertake any pains with great cheerfulness on his account, and in that
case there would be some comfort for them also, though they should be
taken: that it became him neither to fly from his enemies, nor to desert
his friends, nor to leap out of that city, as out of a ship that was
sinking in a storm, into which he came when it was quiet and in a calm;
for that by going away he would be the cause of drowning the city,
because nobody would then venture to oppose the enemy when he was once
gone, upon whom they wholly confided. 16. Hereupon Josephus avoided
letting them know that he was to go away to provide for his own safety,
but told them that he would go out of the city for their sakes; for that
if he staid with them, he should be able to do them little good while
they were in a safe condition; and that if they were once taken, he
should only perish with them to no purpose; but that if he were once
gotten free from this siege, he should be able to bring them very great
relief; for that he would then immediately get the Galileans together,
out of the country, in great multitudes, and draw the Romans off their
city by another war. That he did not see what advantage he could bring
to them now, by staying among them, but only provoke the Romans to
besiege them more closely, as esteeming it a most valuable thing to take
him; but that if they were once informed that he was fled out of the
city, they would greatly remit of their eagerness against it. Yet did
not this plea move the people, but inflamed them the more to hang about
him. Accordingly, both the children and the old men, and the women with
their infants, came mourning to him, and fell down before him, and all
of them caught hold of his feet, and held him fast, and besought him,
with great lamentations, that he would take his share with them in
their fortune; and I think they did this, not that they envied his
deliverance, but that they hoped for their own; for they could not think
they should suffer any great misfortune, provided Josephus would but
stay with them.
17. Now Josephus thought, that if he resolved to stay, it would be
ascribed to their entreaties; and if he resolved to go away by force, he
should be put into custody. His commiseration also of the people under
their lamentations had much broken that his eagerness to leave them; so
he resolved to stay, and arming himself with the common despair of
the citizens, he said to them, "Now is the time to begin to fight in
earnest, when there is no hope of deliverance left. It is a brave
thing to prefer glory before life, and to set about some such noble
undertaking as may be remembered by late posterity." Having said
this, he fell to work immediately, and made a sally, and dispersed the
enemies' out-guards, and ran as far as the Roman camp itself, and pulled
the coverings of their tents to pieces, that were upon their banks, and
set fire to their works. And this was the manner in which he never left
off fighting, neither the next day, nor the day after it, but went on
with it for a considerable number of both days and nights.
18. Upon this, Vespasian, when he saw the Romans distressed by these
sallies, [though they were ashamed to be made to run away by the Jews;
and when at any time they made the Jews run away, their heavy armor
would not let them pursue them far; while the Jews, when they had
performed any action, and before they could be hurt themselves, still
retired into the city,] ordered his armed men to avoid their onset,
and not fight it out with men under desperation, while nothing is more
courageous than despair; but that their violence would be quenched when
they saw they failed of their purposes, as fire is quenched when
it wants fuel; and that it was proper for the Romans to gain their
victories as cheap as they could, since they are not forced to fight,
but only to enlarge their own dominions. So he repelled the Jews in
great measure by the Arabian archers, and the Syrian slingers, and by
those that threw stones at them, nor was there any intermission of the
great number of their offensive engines. Now the Jews suffered greatly
by these engines, without being able to escape from them; and when these
engines threw their stones or javelins a great way, and the Jews were
within their reach, they pressed hard upon the Romans, and fought
desperately, without sparing either soul or body, one part succoring
another by turns, when it was tired down.
19. When, therefore, Vespasian looked upon himself as in a manner
besieged by these sallies of the Jews, and when his banks were now not
far from the walls, he determined to make use of his battering ram.
This battering ram is a vast beam of wood like the mast of a ship, its
forepart is armed with a thick piece of iron at the head of it, which
is so carved as to be like the head of a ram, whence its name is taken.
This ram is slung in the air by ropes passing over its middle, and is
hung like the balance in a pair of scales from another beam, and braced
by strong beams that pass on both sides of it, in the nature of a cross.
When this ram is pulled backward by a great number of men with united
force, and then thrust forward by the same men, with a mighty noise, it
batters the walls with that iron part which is prominent. Nor is there
any tower so strong, or walls so broad, that can resist any more than
its first batteries, but all are forced to yield to it at last. This was
the experiment which the Roman general betook himself to, when he was
eagerly bent upon taking the city; but found lying in the field so
long to be to his disadvantage, because the Jews would never let him be
quiet. So these Romans brought the several engines for galling an enemy
nearer to the walls, that they might reach such as were upon the wall,
and endeavored to frustrate their attempts; these threw stones and
javelins at them; in the like manner did the archers and slingers come
both together closer to the wall. This brought matters to such a pass
that none of the Jews durst mount the walls, and then it was that the
other Romans brought the battering ram that was cased with hurdles all
over, and in the tipper part was secured by skins that covered it, and
this both for the security of themselves and of the engine. Now, at the
very first stroke of this engine, the wall was shaken, and a terrible
clamor was raised by the people within the city, as if they were already
taken.
20. And now, when Josephus saw this ram still battering the same place,
and that the wall would quickly be thrown down by it, he resolved to
elude for a while the force of the engine. With this design he gave
orders to fill sacks with chaff, and to hang them down before that place
where they saw the ram always battering, that the stroke might be turned
aside, or that the place might feel less of the strokes by the yielding
nature of the chaff. This contrivance very much delayed the attempts
of the Romans, because, let them remove their engine to what part they
pleased, those that were above it removed their sacks, and placed them
over against the strokes it made, insomuch that the wall was no way
hurt, and this by diversion of the strokes, till the Romans made an
opposite contrivance of long poles, and by tying hooks at their ends,
cut off the sacks. Now when the battering ram thus recovered its force,
and the wall having been but newly built, was giving way, Josephus and
those about him had afterward immediate recourse to fire, to defend
themselves withal; whereupon they took what materials soever they had
that were but dry, and made a sally three ways, and set fire to the
machines, and the hurdles, and the banks of the Romans themselves; nor
did the Romans well know how to come to their assistance, being at once
under a consternation at the Jews' boldness, and being prevented by the
flames from coming to their assistance; for the materials being dry with
the bitumen and pitch that were among them, as was brimstone also, the
fire caught hold of every thing immediately, and what cost the Romans a
great deal of pains was in one hour consumed.
21. And here a certain Jew appeared worthy of our relation and
commendation; he was the son of Sameas, and was called Eleazar, and was
born at Saab, in Galilee. This man took up a stone of a vast bigness,
and threw it down from the wall upon the ram, and this with so great a
force, that it broke off the head of the engine. He also leaped down,
and took up the head of the ram from the midst of them, and without any
concern carried it to the top of the wall, and this while he stood as a
fit mark to be pelted by all his enemies. Accordingly, he received the
strokes upon his naked body, and was wounded with five darts; nor did he
mind any of them while he went up to the top of the wall, where he stood
in the sight of them all, as an instance of the greatest boldness; after
which he drew himself on a heap with his wounds upon him, and fell down
together with the head of the ram. Next to him, two brothers showed
their courage; their names were Netir and Philip, both of them of the
village Ruma, and both of them Galileans also; these men leaped upon the
soldiers of the tenth legion, and fell upon the Romans with such a noise
and force as to disorder their ranks, and to put to flight all upon
whomsoever they made their assaults.
22. After these men's performances, Josephus, and the rest of the
multitude with him, took a great deal of fire, and burnt both the
machines and their coverings, with the works belonging to the fifth and
to the tenth legion, which they put to flight; when others followed them
immediately, and buried those instruments and all their materials under
ground. However, about the evening, the Romans erected the battering ram
again, against that part of the wall which had suffered before; where a
certain Jew that defended the city from the Romans hit Vespasian with a
dart in his foot, and wounded him a little, the distance being so great,
that no mighty impression could be made by the dart thrown so far off.
However, this caused the greatest disorder among the Romans; for when
those who stood near him saw his blood, they were disturbed at it, and
a report went abroad, through the whole army, that the general was
wounded, while the greatest part left the siege, and came running
together with surprise and fear to the general; and before them all
came Titus, out of the concern he had for his father, insomuch that the
multitude were in great confusion, and this out of the regard they had
for their general, and by reason of the agony that the son was in. Yet
did the father soon put an end to the son's fear, and to the disorder
the army was under, for being superior to his pains, and endeavoring
soon to be seen by all that had been in a fright about him, he excited
them to fight the Jews more briskly; for now every body was willing to
expose himself to danger immediately, in order to avenge their general;
and then they encouraged one another with loud voices, and ran hastily
to the walls.
23. But still Josephus and those with him, although they fell down dead
one upon another by the darts and stones which the engines threw upon
them, yet did not they desert the wall, but fell upon those who managed
the ram, under the protection of the hurdles, with fire, and iron
weapons, and stones; and these could do little or nothing, but fell
themselves perpetually, while they were seen by those whom they could
not see, for the light of their own flame shone about them, and made
them a most visible mark to the enemy, as they were in the day time,
while the engines could not be seen at a great distance, and so what was
thrown at them was hard to be avoided; for the force with which these
engines threw stones and darts made them hurt several at a time, and the
violent noise of the stones that were cast by the engines was so great,
that they carried away the pinnacles of the wall, and broke off the
corners of the towers; for no body of men could be so strong as not to
be overthrown to the last rank by the largeness of the stones. And any
one may learn the force of the engines by what happened this very night;
for as one of those that stood round about Josephus was near the wall,
his head was carried away by such a stone, and his skull was flung as
far as three furlongs. In the day time also, a woman with child had her
belly so violently struck, as she was just come out of her house, that
the infant was carried to the distance of half a furlong, so great was
the force of that engine. The noise of the instruments themselves was
very terrible, the sound of the darts and stones that were thrown by
them was so also; of the same sort was that noise the dead bodies made,
when they were dashed against the wall; and indeed dreadful was the
clamor which these things raised in the women within the city, which was
echoed back at the same time by the cries of such as were slain; while
the whole space of ground whereon they fought ran with blood, and the
wall might have been ascended over by the bodies of the dead carcasses;
the mountains also contributed to increase the noise by their echoes;
nor was there on that night any thing of terror wanting that could
either affect the hearing or the sight: yet did a great part of those
that fought so hard for Jotapata fall manfully, as were a great part of
them wounded. However, the morning watch was come ere the wall yielded
to the machines employed against it, though it had been battered without
intermission. However, those within covered their bodies with their
armor, and raised works over against that part which was thrown down,
before those machines were laid by which the Romans were to ascend into
the city.
24. In the morning Vespasian got his army together, in order to take the
city [by storm], after a little recreation upon the hard pains they had
been at the night before; and as he was desirous to draw off those that
opposed him from the places where the wall had been thrown down, he made
the most courageous of the horsemen get off their horses, and placed
them in three ranks over against those ruins of the wall, but covered
with their armor on every side, and with poles in their hands, that
so these might begin their ascent as soon as the instruments for such
ascent were laid; behind them he placed the flower of the footmen; but
for the rest of the horse, he ordered them to extend themselves over
against the wall, upon the whole hilly country, in order to prevent any
from escaping out of the city when it should be taken; and behind these
he placed the archers round about, and commanded them to have their
darts ready to shoot. The same command he gave to the slingers, and to
those that managed the engines, and bid them to take up other ladders,
and have them ready to lay upon those parts of the wall which were yet
untouched, that the besieged might be engaged in trying to hinder their
ascent by them, and leave the guard of the parts that were thrown down,
while the rest of them should be overborne by the darts cast at them,
and might afford his men an entrance into the city.
25. But Josephus, understanding the meaning of Vespasian's contrivance,
set the old men, together with those that were tired out, at the sound
parts of the wall, as expecting no harm from those quarters, but set the
strongest of his men at the place where the wall was broken down, and
before them all six men by themselves, among whom he took his share
of the first and greatest danger. He also gave orders, that when the
legions made a shout, they should stop their ears, that they might not
be affrighted at it, and that, to avoid the multitude of the enemy's
darts, they should bend down on their knees, and cover themselves with
their shields, and that they should retreat a little backward for a
while, till the archers should have emptied their quivers; but that When
the Romans should lay their instruments for ascending the walls, they
should leap out on the sudden, and with their own instruments should
meet the enemy, and that every one should strive to do his best,
in order not to defend his own city, as if it were possible to be
preserved, but in order to revenge it, when it was already destroyed;
and that they should set before their eyes how their old men were to be
slain, and their children and wives were to be killed immediately by the
enemy; and that they would beforehand spend all their fury, on account
of the calamities just coming upon them, and pour it out on the actors.
26. And thus did Josephus dispose of both his bodies of men; but then
for the useless part of the citizens, the women and children, when they
saw their city encompassed by a threefold army, [for none of the usual
guards that had been fighting before were removed,] when they also saw,
not only the walls thrown down, but their enemies with swords in their
hands, as also the hilly country above them shining with their weapons,
and the darts in the hands of the Arabian archers, they made a final
and lamentable outcry of the destruction, as if the misery were not only
threatened, but actually come upon them already. But Josephus ordered
the women to be shut up in their houses, lest they should render the
warlike actions of the men too effeminate, by making them commiserate
their condition, and commanded them to hold their peace, and threatened
them if they did not, while he came himself before the breach, where his
allotment was; for all those who brought ladders to the other places,
he took no notice of them, but earnestly waited for the shower of arrows
that was coming.
27. And now the trumpetersAnd now the trumpeters of the several Roman legions sounded
together, and the army made a terrible shout; and the darts, as
by order, flew so fast, that they intercepted the light. However,
Josephus's men remembered the charges he had given them, they stopped
their ears at the sounds, and covered their bodies against the darts;
and as to the engines that were set ready to go to work, the Jews ran
out upon them, before those that should have used them were gotten
upon them. And now, on the ascending of the soldiers, there was a great
conflict, and many actions of the hands and of the soul were exhibited;
while the Jews did earnestly endeavor, in the extreme danger they were
in, not to show less courage than those who, without being in danger,
fought so stoutly against them; nor did they leave struggling with
the Romans till they either fell down dead themselves, or killed
their antagonists. But the Jews grew weary with defending themselves
continually, and had not enough to come in their places, and succor
them; while, on the side of the Romans, fresh men still succeeded
those that were tired; and still new men soon got upon the machines for
ascent, in the room of those that were thrust down; those encouraging
one another, and joining side to side with their shields, which were a
protection to them, they became a body of men not to be broken; and as
this band thrust away the Jews, as though they were themselves but one
body, they began already to get upon the wall.
28. Then did Josephus take necessity for his counselor in this utmost
distress, [which necessity is very sagacious in invention when it is
irritated by despair,] and gave orders to pour scalding oil upon those
whose shields protected them. Whereupon they soon got it ready, being
many that brought it, and what they brought being a great quantity also,
and poured it on all sides upon the Romans, and threw down upon them
their vessels as they were still hissing from the heat of the fire: this
so burnt the Romans, that it dispersed that united band, who now tumbled
clown from the wall with horrid pains, for the oil did easily run down
the whole body from head to foot, under their entire armor, and fed upon
their flesh like flame itself, its fat and unctuous nature rendering it
soon heated and slowly cooled; and as the men were cooped up in their
head-pieces and breastplates, they could no way get free from this
burning oil; they could only leap and roll about in their pains, as they
fell down from the bridges they had laid. And as they thus were beaten
back, and retired to their own party, who still pressed them forward,
they were easily wounded by those that were behind them.
29. However, in this ill success of the Romans, their courage did
not fail them, nor did the Jews want prudence to oppose them; for the
Romans, although they saw their own men thrown down, and in a miserable
condition, yet were they vehemently bent against those that poured
the oil upon them; while every one reproached the man before him as a
coward, and one that hindered him from exerting himself; and while the
Jews made use of another stratagem to prevent their ascent, and poured
boiling fenugreek upon the boards, in order to make them slip and fall
down; by which means neither could those that were coming up, nor
those that were going down, stand on their feet; but some of them fell
backward upon the machines on which they ascended, and were trodden
upon; many of them fell down upon the bank they had raised, and when
they were fallen upon it were slain by the Jews; for when the Romans
could not keep their feet, the Jews being freed from fighting hand to
hand, had leisure to throw their darts at them. So the general called
off those soldiers in the evening that had suffered so sorely, of whom
the number of the slain was not a few, while that of the wounded was
still greater; but of the people of Jotapata no more than six men were
killed, although more than three hundred were carried off wounded. This
fight happened on the twentieth day of the month Desius [Sivan]. 30.
Hereupon Vespasian comforted his army on occasion of what happened, and
as he found them angry indeed, but rather wanting somewhat to do than
any further exhortations, he gave orders to raise the banks still
higher, and to erect three towers, each fifty feet high, and that they
should cover them with plates of iron on every side, that they might
be both firm by their weight, and not easily liable to be set on fire.
These towers he set upon the banks, and placed upon them such as could
shoot darts and arrows, with the lighter engines for throwing stones and
darts also; and besides these, he set upon them the stoutest men among
the slingers, who not being to be seen by reason of the height they
stood upon, and the battlements that protected them, might throw their
weapons at those that were upon the wall, and were easily seen by them.
Hereupon the Jews, not being easily able to escape those darts that were
thrown down upon their heads, nor to avenge themselves on those whom
they could not see, and perceiving that the height of the towers was so
great, that a dart which they threw with their hand could hardly reach
it, and that the iron plates about them made it very hard to come at
them by fire, they ran away from the walls, and fled hastily out of the
city, and fell upon those that shot at them. And thus did the people of
Jotapata resist the Romans, while a great number of them were every day
killed, without their being able to retort the evil upon their enemies;
nor could they keep them out of the city without danger to themselves.
31. About this time it was that Vespasian sent out Trajan against a city
called Japha, that lay near to Jotapata, and that desired innovations,
and was puffed up with the unexpected length of the opposition of
Jotapata. This Trajan was the commander of the tenth legion, and to him
Vespasian committed one thousand horsemen, and two thousand footmen.
When Trajan came to the city, he found it hard to be taken, for besides
the natural strength of its situation, it was also secured by a double
wall; but when he saw the people of this city coming out of it, and
ready to fight him, he joined battle with them, and after a short
resistance which they made, he pursued after them; and as they fled to
their first wall, the Romans followed them so closely, that they fell
in together with them: but when the Jews were endeavoring to get again
within their second wall, their fellow citizens shut them out, as being
afraid that the Romans would force themselves in with them. It was
certainly God therefore who brought the Romans to punish the Galileans,
and did then expose the people of the city every one of them manifestly
to be destroyed by their bloody enemies; for they fell upon the gates in
great crowds, and earnestly calling to those that kept them, and that
by their names also, yet had they their throats cut in the very midst of
their supplications; for the enemy shut the gates of the first wall, and
their own citizens shut the gates of the second, so they were enclosed
between two walls, and were slain in great numbers together; many of
them were run through by swords of their own men, and many by their own
swords, besides an immense number that were slain by the Romans. Nor
had they any courage to revenge themselves; for there was added to the
consternation they were in from the enemy, their being betrayed by their
own friends, which quite broke their spirits; and at last they died,
cursing not the Romans, but their own citizens, till they were all
destroyed, being in number twelve thousand. So Trajan gathered that the
city was empty of people that could fight, and although there should a
few of them be therein, he supposed that they would be too timorous to
venture upon any opposition; so he reserved the taking of the city to
the general. Accordingly, he sent messengers to Vespasian, and desired
him to send his son Titus to finish the victory he had gained. Vespasian
hereupon imagining there might be some pains still necessary, sent his
son with an army of five hundred horsemen, and one thousand footmen. So
he came quickly to the city, and put his army in order, and set Trajan
over the left wing, while he had the right himself, and led them to the
siege: and when the soldiers brought ladders to be laid against the wall
on every side, the Galileans opposed them from above for a while; but
soon afterward they left the walls. Then did Titus's men leap into the
city, and seized upon it presently; but when those that were in it were
gotten together, there was a fierce battle between them; for the men of
power fell upon the Romans in the narrow streets, and the women threw
whatsoever came next to hand at them, and sustained a fight with them
for six hours' time; but when the fighting men were spent, the rest of
the multitude had their throats cut, partly in the open air, and partly
in their own houses, both young and old together. So there were no males
now remaining, besides infants, which, with the women, were carried as
slaves into captivity; so that the number of the slain, both now in the
city and at the former fight, was fifteen thousand, and the captives
were two thousand one hundred and thirty. This calamity befell the
Galileans on the twenty-fifth day of the month Desius [Sivan.] 32. Nor
did the Samaritans escape their share of misfortunes at this time; for
they assembled themselves together upon the mountain called Gerizzim,
which is with them a holy mountain, and there they remained; which
collection of theirs, as well as the courageous minds they showed, could
not but threaten somewhat of war; nor were they rendered wiser by
the miseries that had come upon their neighboring cities. They also,
notwithstanding the great success the Romans had, marched on in an
unreasonable manner, depending on their own weakness, and were disposed
for any tumult upon its first appearance. Vespasian therefore thought
it best to prevent their motions, and to cut off the foundation of their
attempts. For although all Samaria had ever garrisons settled among
them, yet did the number of those that were come to Mount Gerizzim, and
their conspiracy together, give ground for fear what they would be at;
he therefore sent thither Cerealis, the commander of the fifth legion,
with six hundred horsemen, and three thousand footmen, who did not think
it safe to go up to the mountain, and give them battle, because many of
the enemy were on the higher part of the ground; so he encompassed all
the lower part of the mountain with his army, and watched them all that
day. Now it happened that the Samaritans, who were now destitute of
water, were inflamed with a violent heat, [for it was summer time, and
the multitude had not provided themselves with necessaries,] insomuch
that some of them died that very day with heat, while others of them
preferred slavery before such a death as that was, and fled to the
Romans; by whom Cerealis understood that those which still staid
there were very much broken by their misfortunes. So he went up to the
mountain, and having placed his forces round about the enemy, he, in the
first place, exhorted them to take the security of his right hand, and
come to terms with him, and thereby save themselves; and assured them,
that if they would lay down their arms, he would secure them from any
harm; but when he could not prevail with them, he fell upon them and
slew them all, being in number eleven thousand and six hundred. This was
done on the twenty-seventh day of the month Desius [Sivan]. And these
were the calamities that befell the Samaritans at this time.
33. But as the people of Jotapata still held out manfully, and bore
up under their miseries beyond all that could be hoped for, on the
forty-seventh day [of the siege] the banks cast up by the Romans were
become higher than the wall; on which day a certain deserter went to
Vespasian, and told him how few were left in the city, and how weak they
were, and that they had been so worn out with perpetual watching, and as
perpetual fighting, that they could not now oppose any force that came
against them, and that they might be taken by stratagem, if any one
would attack them; for that about the last watch of the night, when they
thought they might have some rest from the hardships they were under,
and when a morning sleep used to come upon them, as they were thoroughly
weary, he said the watch used to fall asleep; accordingly his advice
was, that they should make their attack at that hour. But Vespasian had
a suspicion about this deserter, as knowing how faithful the Jews were
to one another, and how much they despised any punishments that could be
inflicted on them; this last because one of the people of Jotapata had
undergone all sorts of torments, and though they made him pass through a
fiery trial of his enemies in his examination, yet would he inform them
nothing of the affairs within the city, and as he was crucified, smiled
at them. However, the probability there was in the relation itself
did partly confirm the truth of what the deserter told them, and they
thought he might probably speak truth. However, Vespasian thought they
should be no great sufferers if the report was a sham; so he commanded
them to keep the man in custody, and prepared the army for taking the
city.
34. According to which resolution they marched without noise, at the
hour that had been told them, to the wall; and it was Titus himself that
first got upon it, with one of his tribunes, Domitius Sabinus, and had
a few of the fifteenth legion along with him. So they cut the throats of
the watch, and entered the city very quietly. After these came Cerealis
the tribune, and Placidus, and led on those that were tinder them. Now
when the citadel was taken, and the enemy were in the very midst of the
city, and when it was already day, yet was not the taking of the city
known by those that held it; for a great many of them were fast asleep,
and a great mist, which then by chance fell upon the city, hindered
those that got up from distinctly seeing the case they were in, till the
whole Roman army was gotten in, and they were raised up only to find the
miseries they were under; and as they were slaying, they perceived the
city was taken. And for the Romans, they so well remembered what they
had suffered during the siege, that they spared none, nor pitied any,
but drove the people down the precipice from the citadel, and slew them
as they drove them down; at which time the difficulties of the place
hindered those that were still able to fight from defending themselves;
for as they were distressed in the narrow streets, and could not keep
their feet sure along the precipice, they were overpowered with the
crowd of those that came fighting them down from the citadel. This
provoked a great many, even of those chosen men that were about
Josephus, to kill themselves with their own hands; for when they saw
that they could kill none of the Romans, they resolved to prevent being
killed by the Romans, and got together in great numbers in the utmost
parts of the city, and killed themselves.
35. However, such of the watch as at the first perceived they were
taken, and ran away as fast as they could, went up into one of
the towers on the north side of the city, and for a while defended
themselves there; but as they were encompassed with a multitude of
enemies, they tried to use their right hands when it was too late, and
at length they cheerfully offered their necks to be cut off by those
that stood over them. And the Romans might have boasted that the
conclusion of that siege was without blood [on their side] if there had
not been a centurion, Antonius, who was slain at the taking of the city.
His death was occasioned by the following treachery; for there was one
of those that were fled into the caverns, which were a great number,
who desired that this Antonius would reach him his right hand for his
security, and would assure him that he would preserve him, and give
him his assistance in getting up out of the cavern; accordingly, he
incautiously reached him his right hand, when the other man prevented
him, and stabbed him under his loins with a spear, and killed him
immediately.
36. And on this day it was that the Romans slew all the multitude
that appeared openly; but on the following days they searched the
hiding-places, and fell upon those that were under ground, and in the
caverns, and went thus through every age, excepting the infants and
the women, and of these there were gathered together as captives twelve
hundred; and as for those that were slain at the taking of the city,
and in the former fights, they were numbered to be forty thousand. So
Vespasian gave order that the city should be entirely demolished, and
all the fortifications burnt down. And thus was Jotapata taken, in the
thirteenth year of the reign of Nero, on the first day of the month
Panemus [Tamuz].
CHAPTER 8.
How Josephus Was Discovered By A Woman, And Was Willing To
Deliver Himself Up To The Romans; And What Discourse He Had
With His Own Men, When They Endeavored To Hinder Him; And
What He Said To Vespasian, When He Was Brought To Him; And
After What Manner Vespasian Used Him Afterward.
1. And now the Romans searched for Josephus, both out of the hatred they
bore him, and because their general was very desirous to have him taken;
for he reckoned that if he were once taken, the greatest part of the war
would be over. They then searched among the dead, and looked into the
most concealed recesses of the city; but as the city was first taken,
he was assisted by a certain supernatural providence; for he withdrew
himself from the enemy when he was in the midst of them, and leaped into
a certain deep pit, whereto there adjoined a large den at one side of
it, which den could not be seen by those that were above ground;
and there he met with forty persons of eminency that had concealed
themselves, and with provisions enough to satisfy them for not a few
days. So in the day time he hid himself from the enemy, who had seized
upon all places, and in the night time he got up out of the den and
looked about for some way of escaping, and took exact notice of the
watch; but as all places were guarded every where on his account, that
there was no way of getting off unseen, he went down again into the den.
Thus he concealed himself two days; but on the third day, when they
had taken a woman who had been with them, he was discovered. Whereupon
Vespasian sent immediately and zealously two tribunes, Paulinus and
Gallicanus, and ordered them to give Josephus their right hands as a
security for his life, and to exhort him to come up.
2. So they came and invited the man to come up, and gave him assurances
that his life should be preserved: but they did not prevail with him;
for he gathered suspicions from the probability there was that one who
had done so many things against the Romans must suffer for it, though
not from the mild temper of those that invited him. However, he was
afraid that he was invited to come up in order to be punished, until
Vespasian sent besides these a third tribune, Nicanor, to him; he
was one that was well known to Josephus, and had been his familiar
acquaintance in old time. When he was come, he enlarged upon the natural
mildness of the Romans towards those they have once conquered; and told
him that he had behaved himself so valiantly, that the commanders rather
admired than hated him; that the general was very desirous to have him
brought to him, not in order to punish him, for that he could do though
he should not come voluntarily, but that he was determined to preserve a
man of his courage. He moreover added this, that Vespasian, had he been
resolved to impose upon him, would not have sent to him a friend of his
own, nor put the fairest color upon the vilest action, by pretending
friendship and meaning perfidiousness; nor would he have himself
acquiesced, or come to him, had it been to deceive him.
3. Now as Josephus began to hesitate with himself about Nicanor's
proposal, the soldiery were so angry, that they ran hastily to set fire
to the den; but the tribune would not permit them so to do, as being
very desirous to take the man alive. And now, as Nicanor lay hard at
Josephus to comply, and he understood how the multitude of the enemies
threatened him, he called to mind the dreams which he had dreamed in the
night time, whereby God had signified to him beforehand both the
future calamities of the Jews, and the events that concerned the Roman
emperors. Now Josephus was able to give shrewd conjectures about the
interpretation of such dreams as have been ambiguously delivered by God.
Moreover, he was not unacquainted with the prophecies contained in
the sacred books, as being a priest himself, and of the posterity of
priests: and just then was he in an ecstasy; and setting before him the
tremendous images of the dreams he had lately had, he put up a secret
prayer to God, and said, "Since it pleaseth thee, who hast created the
Jewish nation, to depress the same, and since all their good fortune is
gone over to the Romans, and since thou hast made choice of this soul
of mine to foretell what is to come to pass hereafter, I willingly give
them my hands, and am content to live. And I protest openly that I do
not go over to the Romans as a deserter of the Jews, but as a minister
from thee."
4. When he had said this, he complied with Nicanor's invitation. But
when those Jews who had fled with him understood that he yielded to
those that invited him to come up, they came about him in a body, and
cried out, "Nay, indeed, now may the laws of our forefathers, which
God ordained himself, well groan to purpose; that God we mean who hath
created the souls of the Jews of such a temper, that they despise death.
O Josephus! art thou still fond of life? and canst thou bear to see the
light in a state of slavery? How soon hast thou forgotten thyself! How
many hast thou persuaded to lose their lives for liberty! Thou
hast therefore had a false reputation for manhood, and a like false
reputation for wisdom, if thou canst hope for preservation from those
against whom thou hast fought so zealously, and art however willing
to be preserved by them, if they be in earnest. But although the good
fortune of the Romans hath made thee forget thyself, we ought to take
care that the glory of our forefathers may not be tarnished. We will
lend thee our right hand and a sword; and if thou wilt die willingly,
thou wilt die as general of the Jews; but if unwillingly, thou wilt die
as a traitor to them." As soon as they said this, they began to thrust
their swords at him, and threatened they would kill him, if he thought
of yielding himself to the Romans.
5. Upon this Josephus was afraid of their attacking him, and yet thought
he should be a betrayer of the commands of God, if he died before they
were delivered. So he began to talk like a philosopher to them in the
distress he was then in, when he said thus to them: "O my friends, why
are we so earnest to kill ourselves? and why do we set our soul and
body, which are such dear companions, at such variance? Can any one
pretend that I am not the man I was formerly? Nay, the Romans are
sensible how that matter stands well enough. It is a brave thing to die
in war; but so that it be according to the law of war, by the hand of
conquerors. If, therefore, I avoid death from the sword of the Romans,
I am truly worthy to be killed by my own sword, and my own hand; but if
they admit of mercy, and would spare their enemy, how much more ought
we to have mercy upon ourselves, and to spare ourselves? For it is
certainly a foolish thing to do that to ourselves which we quarrel with
them for doing to us. I confess freely that it is a brave thing to die
for liberty; but still so that it be in war, and done by those who take
that liberty from us; but in the present case our enemies do neither
meet us in battle, nor do they kill us. Now he is equally a coward who
will not die when he is obliged to die, and he who will die when he is
not obliged so to do. What are we afraid of, when we will not go up
to the Romans? Is it death? If so, what we are afraid of, when we
but suspect our enemies will inflict it on us, shall we inflict it on
ourselves for certain? But it may be said we must be slaves. And are we
then in a clear state of liberty at present? It may also be said that
it is a manly act for one to kill himself. No, certainly, but a most
unmanly one; as I should esteem that pilot to be an arrant coward, who,
out of fear of a storm, should sink his ship of his own accord. Now
self-murder is a crime most remote from the common nature of all
animals, and an instance of impiety against God our Creator; nor indeed
is there any animal that dies by its own contrivance, or by its own
means, for the desire of life is a law engraven in them all; on which
account we deem those that openly take it away from us to be our
enemies, and those that do it by treachery are punished for so doing.
And do not you think that God is very angry when a man does injury to
what he hath bestowed on him? For from him it is that we have received
our being, and we ought to leave it to his disposal to take that being
away from us. The bodies of all men are indeed mortal, and are created
out of corruptible matter; but the soul is ever immortal, and is a
portion of the divinity that inhabits our bodies. Besides, if any one
destroys or abuses a depositum he hath received from a mere man, he is
esteemed a wicked and perfidious person; but then if any one cast out
of his body this Divine depositum, can we imagine that he who is thereby
affronted does not know of it? Moreover, our law justly ordains that
slaves which run away from their master shall be punished, though the
masters they run away from may have been wicked masters to them. And
shall we endeavor to run away from God, who is the best of all masters,
and not guilty of impeity? Do not you know that those who depart out of
this life according to the law of nature, and pay that debt which was
received from God, when he that lent it us is pleased to require it back
again, enjoy eternal fame; that their houses and their posterity are
sure, that their souls are pure and obedient, and obtain a most holy
place in heaven, from whence, in the revolutions of ages, they are again
sent into pure bodies; while the souls of those whose hands have acted
madly against themselves are received by the darkest place in Hades,
and while God, who is their Father, punishes those that offend against
either of them in their posterity? for which reason God hates such
doings, and the crime is punished by our most wise legislator.
Accordingly, our laws determine that the bodies of such as kill
themselves should be exposed till the sun be set, without burial,
although at the same time it be allowed by them to be lawful to bury our
enemies [sooner]. The laws of other nations also enjoin such men's
hands to be cut off when they are dead, which had been made use of in
destroying themselves when alive, while they reckoned that as the
body is alien from the soul, so is the hand alien from the body. It is
therefore, my friends, a right thing to reason justly, and not add to
the calamities which men bring upon us impiety towards our Creator. If
we have a mind to preserve ourselves, let us do it; for to be preserved
by those our enemies, to whom we have given so many demonstrations of
our courage, is no way inglorious; but if we have a mind to die, it is
good to die by the hand of those that have conquered us. For my part, I
will not run over to our enemies' quarters, in order to be a traitor to
myself; for certainly I should then be much more foolish than those that
deserted to the enemy, since they did it in order to save themselves,
and I should do it for destruction, for my own destruction. However, I
heartily wish the Romans may prove treacherous in this matter; for if,
after their offer of their right hand for security, I be slain by
them, I shall die cheerfully, and carry away with me the sense of their
perfidiousness, as a consolation greater than victory itself."
6. Now these and many the like motives did Josephus use to these men to
prevent their murdering themselves; but desperation had shut their ears,
as having long ago devoted themselves to die, and they were irritated at
Josephus. They then ran upon him with their swords in their hands, one
from one quarter, and another from another, and called him a coward, and
everyone of them appeared openly as if he were ready to smite him;
but he calling to one of them by name, and looking like a general to
another, and taking a third by the hand, and making a fourth ashamed
of himself, by praying him to forbear, and being in this condition
distracted with various passions, [as he well might in the great
distress he was then in,] he kept off every one of their swords
from killing him, and was forced to do like such wild beasts as are
encompassed about on every side, who always turn themselves against
those that last touched them. Nay, some of their right hands were
debilitated by the reverence they bare to their general in these his
fatal calamities, and their swords dropped out of their hands; and not
a few of them there were, who, when they aimed to smite him with their
swords, they were not thoroughly either willing or able to do it.
7. However, in this extreme distress, he was not destitute of his usual
sagacity; but trusting himself to the providence of God, he put his life
into hazard [in the manner following]: "And now," said he, "since it is
resolved among you that you will die, come on, let us commit our mutual
deaths to determination by lot. He whom the lot falls to first, let him
be killed by him that hath the second lot, and thus fortune shall make
its progress through us all; nor shall any of us perish by his own right
hand, for it would be unfair if, when the rest are gone, somebody should
repent and save himself." This proposal appeared to them to be very
just; and when he had prevailed with them to determine this matter by
lots, he drew one of the lots for himself also. He who had the first
lot laid his neck bare to him that had the next, as supposing that the
general would die among them immediately; for they thought death, if
Josephus might but die with them, was sweeter than life; yet was he with
another left to the last, whether we must say it happened so by chance,
or whether by the providence of God. And as he was very desirous neither
to be condemned by the lot, nor, if he had been left to the last, to
imbrue his right hand in the blood of his countrymen, he persuaded him
to trust his fidelity to him, and to live as well as himself.
8. Thus Josephus escaped in the war with the Romans, and in this his own
war with his friends, and was led by Nicanor to Vespasian. But now all
the Romans ran together to see him; and as the multitude pressed one
upon another about their general, there was a tumult of a various kind;
while some rejoiced that Josephus was taken, and some threatened him,
and some crowded to see him very near; but those that were more remote
cried out to have this their enemy put to death, while those that were
near called to mind the actions he had done, and a deep concern
appeared at the change of his fortune. Nor were there any of the Roman
commanders, how much soever they had been enraged at him before, but
relented when they came to the sight of him. Above all the rest, Titus's
own valor, and Josephus's own patience under his afflictions, made him
pity him, as did also the commiseration of his age, when he recalled
to mind that but a little while ago he was fighting, but lay now in the
hands of his enemies, which made him consider the power of fortune,
and how quick is the turn of affairs in war, and how no state of men is
sure; for which reason he then made a great many more to be of the same
pitiful temper with himself, and induced them to commiserate Josephus.
He was also of great weight in persuading his father to preserve him.
However, Vespasian gave strict orders that he should be kept with great
caution, as though he would in a very little time send him to Nero. 5
9. When Josephus heard him give those orders, he said that he had
somewhat in his mind that he would willingly say to himself alone. When
therefore they were all ordered to withdraw, excepting Titus and two of
their friends, he said, "Thou, O Vespasian, thinkest no more than
that thou hast taken Josephus himself captive; but I come to thee as a
messenger of greater tidings; for had not I been sent by God to thee,
I knew what was the law of the Jews in this case? and how it becomes
generals to die. Dost thou send me to Nero? For why? Are Nero's
successors till they come to thee still alive? Thou, O Vespasian, art
Caesar and emperor, thou, and this thy son. Bind me now still faster,
and keep me for thyself, for thou, O Caesar, are not only lord over me,
but over the land and the sea, and all mankind; and certainly I deserve
to be kept in closer custody than I now am in, in order to be punished,
if I rashly affirm any thing of God." When he had said this, Vespasian
at present did not believe him, but supposed that Josephus said this as
a cunning trick, in order to his own preservation; but in a little time
he was convinced, and believed what he said to be true, God himself
erecting his expectations, so as to think of obtaining the empire, and
by other signs fore-showing his advancement. He also found Josephus to
have spoken truth on other occasions; for one of those friends that were
present at that secret conference said to Josephus, "I cannot but wonder
how thou couldst not foretell to the people of Jotapata that they should
be taken, nor couldst foretell this captivity which hath happened to
thyself, unless what thou now sayest be a vain thing, in order to avoid
the rage that is risen against thyself." To which Josephus replied, "I
did foretell to the people of Jotapata that they would be taken on the
forty-seventh day, and that I should be caught alive by the Romans."
Now when Vespasian had inquired of the captives privately about these
predictions, he found them to be true, and then he began to believe
those that concerned himself. Yet did he not set Josephus at liberty
from his hands, but bestowed on him suits of clothes, and other precious
gifts; he treated him also in a very obliging manner, and continued so
to do, Titus still joining his interest in the honors that were done
him.
CHAPTER 9.
How Joppa Was Taken, And Tiberias Delivered Up.
1. Now Vespasian returned to Ptolemais on the fourth day of the month
Panemus, [Tamus] and from thence he came to Cesarea, which lay by the
sea-side. This was a very great city of Judea, and for the greatest part
inhabited by Greeks: the citizens here received both the Roman army and
its general, with all sorts of acclamations and rejoicings, and this
partly out of the good-will they bore to the Romans, but principally out
of the hatred they bore to those that were conquered by them; on which
account they came clamoring against Josephus in crowds, and desired
he might be put to death. But Vespasian passed over this petition
concerning him, as offered by the injudicious multitude, with a bare
silence. Two of the legions also he placed at Cesarea, that they might
there take their winter-quarters, as perceiving the city very fit for
such a purpose; but he placed the tenth and the fifth at Scythopolis,
that he might not distress Cesarea with the entire army. This place was
warm even in winter, as it was suffocating hot in the summer time, by
reason of its situation in a plain, and near to the sea [of Galilee].
2. In the mean time, there were gathered together as well such as had
seditiously got out from among their enemies, as those that had escaped
out of the demolished cities, which were in all a great number, and
repaired Joppa, which had been left desolate by Cestius, that it might
serve them for a place of refuge; and because the adjoining region had
been laid waste in the war, and was not capable of supporting them, they
determined to go off to sea. They also built themselves a great many
piratical ships, and turned pirates upon the seas near to Syria, and
Phoenicia, and Egypt, and made those seas unnavigable to all men. Now
as soon as Vespasian knew of their conspiracy, he sent both footmen and
horsemen to Joppa, which was unguarded in the night time; however, those
that were in it perceived that they should be attacked, and were afraid
of it; yet did they not endeavor to keep the Romans out, but fled to
their ships, and lay at sea all night, out of the reach of their darts.
3. Now Joppa is not naturally a haven, for it ends in a rough shore,
where all the rest of it is straight, but the two ends bend towards each
other, where there are deep precipices, and great stones that jut out
into the sea, and where the chains wherewith Andromeda was bound have
left their footsteps, which attest to the antiquity of that fable. But
the north wind opposes and beats upon the shore, and dashes mighty
waves against the rocks which receive them, and renders the haven more
dangerous than the country they had deserted. Now as those people of
Joppa were floating about in this sea, in the morning there fell a
violent wind upon them; it is called by those that sail there "the
black north wind," and there dashed their ships one against another,
and dashed some of them against the rocks, and carried many of them by
force, while they strove against the opposite waves, into the main sea;
for the shore was so rocky, and had so many of the enemy upon it, that
they were afraid to come to land; nay, the waves rose so very high, that
they drowned them; nor was there any place whither they could fly, nor
any way to save themselves; while they were thrust out of the sea, by
the violence of the wind, if they staid where they were, and out of the
city by the violence of the Romans. And much lamentation there was when
the ships were dashed against one another, and a terrible noise when
they were broken to pieces; and some of the multitude that were in
them were covered with waves, and so perished, and a great many were
embarrassed with shipwrecks. But some of them thought that to die
by their own swords was lighter than by the sea, and so they killed
themselves before they were drowned; although the greatest part of them
were carried by the waves, and dashed to pieces against the abrupt
parts of the rocks, insomuch that the sea was bloody a long way, and the
maritime parts were full of dead bodies; for the Romans came upon those
that were carried to the shore, and destroyed them; and the number of
the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was four thousand and
two hundred. The Romans also took the city without opposition, and
utterly demolished it.
4. And thus was Joppa taken twice by the Romans in a little time; but
Vespasian, in order to prevent these pirates from coming thither any
more, erected a camp there, where the citadel of Joppa had been, and
left a body of horse in it, with a few footmen, that these last might
stay there and guard the camp, and the horsemen might spoil the country
that lay round it, and might destroy the neighboring villages and
smaller cities. So these troops overran the country, as they were
ordered to do, and every day cut to pieces and laid desolate the whole
region.
5. But now, when the fate of Jotapata was related at Jerusalem, a great
many at the first disbelieved it, on account of the vastness of the
calamity, and because they had no eye-witness to attest the truth
of what was related about it; for not one person was saved to be a
messenger of that news, but a fame was spread abroad at random that the
city was taken, as such fame usually spreads bad news about. However,
the truth was known by degrees, from the places near Jotapata, and
appeared to all to be too true. Yet were there fictitious stories added
to what was really done; for it was reported that Josephus was slain
at the taking of the city, which piece of news filled Jerusalem full of
sorrow. In every house also, and among all to whom any of the slain
were allied, there was a lamentation for them; but the mourning for the
commander was a public one; and some mourned for those that had lived
with them, others for their kindred, others for their friends, and
others for their brethren, but all mourned for Josephus; insomuch that
the lamentation did not cease in the city before the thirtieth day;
and a great many hired mourners, with their pipes, who should begin the
melancholy ditties for them.
6. But as the truth came out in time, it appeared how the affairs of
Jotapata really stood; yet was it found that the death of Josephus was
a fiction; and when they understood that he was alive, and was among the
Romans, and that the commanders treated him at another rate than they
treated captives, they were as vehemently angry at him now as they had
showed their good-will before, when he appeared to have been dead. He
was also abused by some as having been a coward, and by others as a
deserter; and the city was full of indignation at him, and of reproaches
cast upon him; their rage was also aggravated by their afflictions, and
more inflamed by their ill success; and what usually becomes an occasion
of caution to wise men, I mean affliction, became a spur to them to
venture on further calamities, and the end of one misery became still
the beginning of another; they therefore resolved to fall on the Romans
the more vehemently, as resolving to be revenged on him in revenging
themselves on the Romans. And this was the state of Jerusalem as to the
troubles which now came upon it.
7. But Vespasian, in order to see the kingdom of Agrippa, while the king
persuaded himself so to do, [partly in order to his treating the general
and his army in the best and most splendid manner his private affairs
would enable him to do, and partly that he might, by their means,
correct such things as were amiss in his government,] he removed from
that Cesarea which was by the sea-side, and went to that which is called
Cesarea Philippi 6 and there he refreshed his army for twenty days,
and was himself feasted by king Agrippa, where he also returned public
thanks to God for the good success he had had in his undertakings. But
as soon as he was informed that Tiberias was fond of innovations, and
that Taricheae had revolted, both which cities were parts of the kingdom
of Agrippa, and was satisfied within himself that the Jews were every
where perverted [from their obedience to their governors], he thought it
seasonable to make an expedition against these cities, and that for the
sake of Agrippa, and in order to bring his cities to reason. So he sent
away his son Titus to [the other] Cesarea, that he might bring the army
that lay there to Seythopous, which is the largest city of Decapolis,
and in the neighborhood of Tiberias, whither he came, and where he
waited for his son. He then came with three legions, and pitched his
camp thirty furlongs off Tiberias, at a certain station easily seen
by the innovators; it is named Sennabris. He also sent Valerian, a
decurion, with fifty horsemen, to speak peaceably to those that were in
the city, and to exhort them to give him assurances of their fidelity;
for he had heard that the people were desirous of peace, but were
obliged by some of the seditious part to join with them, and so were
forced to fight for them. When Valerian had marched up to the place, and
was near the wall, he alighted off his horse, and made those that were
with him to do the same, that they might not be thought to come to
skirmish with them; but before they could come to a discourse one with
another, the most potent men among the seditious made a sally upon them
armed; their leader was one whose name was Jesus, the son of Shaphat,
the principal head of a band of robbers. Now Valerian, neither thinking
it safe to fight contrary to the commands of the general, though he
were secure of a victory, and knowing that it was a very hazardous
undertaking for a few to fight with many, for those that were unprovided
to fight those that were ready, and being on other accounts surprised at
this unexpected onset of the Jews, he ran away on foot, as did five of
the rest in like manner, and left their horses behind them; which horses
Jesus led away into the city, and rejoiced as if they had taken them in
battle, and not by treachery.
8. Now the seniors of the people, and such as were of principal
authority among them, fearing what would be the issue of this matter,
fled to the camp of the Romans; they then took their king along with
them, and fell down before Vespasian, to supplicate his favor, and
besought him not to overlook them, nor to impute the madness of a few to
the whole city, to spare a people that have been ever civil and
obliging to the Romans; but to bring the authors of this revolt to due
punishment, who had hitherto so watched them, that though they were
zealous to give them the security of their right hands of a long time,
yet could they not accomplish the same. With these supplications the
general complied, although he were very angry at the whole city about
the carrying off his horses, and this because he saw that Agrippa
was under a great concern for them. So when Vespasian and Agrippa had
accepted of their right hands by way of security, Jesus and his party
thought it not safe for them to continue at Tiberias, so they ran
away to Taricheae. The next day Vespasian sent Trajan before with some
horsemen to the citadel, to make trial of the multitude, whether they
were all disposed for peace; and as soon as he knew that the people were
of the same mind with the petitioner, he took his army, and went to the
city; upon which the citizens opened to him their gates, and met him
with acclamations of joy, and called him their savior and benefactor.
But as the army was a great while in getting in at the gates, they were
so narrow, Vespasian commanded the south wall to be broken down, and
so made a broad passage for their entrance. However, he charged them to
abstain from rapine and injustice, in order to gratify the king; and on
his account spared the rest of the wall, while the king undertook for
them that they should continue [faithful to the Romans] for the time to
come. And thus did he restore this city to a quiet state, after it had
been grievously afflicted by the sedition.
CHAPTER 10.
How Taricheae Was Taken. A Description Of The River Jordan,
And Of The Country Of Gennesareth.
1. And now Vespasian pitched his camp between this city and Taricheae,
but fortified his camp more strongly, as suspecting that he should be
forced to stay there, and have a long war; for all the innovators had
gotten together at Taricheae, as relying upon the strength of the city,
and on the lake that lay by it. This lake is called by the people of
the country the Lake of Gennesareth. The city itself is situated like
Tiberias, at the bottom of a mountain, and on those sides which are not
washed by the sea, had been strongly fortified by Josephus, though not
so strongly as Tiberias; for the wall of Tiberias had been built at the
beginning of the Jews' revolt, when he had great plenty of money, and
great power, but Taricheae partook only the remains of that liberality,
Yet had they a great number of ships gotten ready upon the lake, that,
in case they were beaten at land, they might retire to them; and they
were so fitted up, that they might undertake a Sea-fight also. But as
the Romans were building a wall about their camp, Jesus and his party
were neither affrighted at their number, nor at the good order they were
in, but made a sally upon them; and at the very first onset the builders
of the wall were dispersed; and these pulled what little they had before
built to pieces; but as soon as they saw the armed men getting together,
and before they had suffered any thing themselves, they retired to their
own men. But then the Romans pursued them, and drove them into their
ships, where they launched out as far as might give them the opportunity
of reaching the Romans with what they threw at them, and then cast
anchor, and brought their ships close, as in a line of battle, and
thence fought the enemy from the sea, who were themselves at land. But
Vespasian hearing that a great multitude of them were gotten together in
the plain that was before the city, he thereupon sent his son, with six
hundred chosen horsemen, to disperse them.
2. But when Titus perceived that the enemy was very numerous, he sent to
his father, and informed him that he should want more forces. But as
he saw a great many of the horsemen eager to fight, and that before any
succors could come to them, and that yet some of them were privately
under a sort of consternation at the multitude of the Jews, he stood in
a place whence he might be heard, and said to them, "My brave Romans!
for it is right for me to put you in mind of what nation you are, in the
beginning of my speech, that so you may not be ignorant who you are, and
who they are against whom we are going to fight. For as to us, Romans,
no part of the habitable earth hath been able to escape our hands
hitherto; but as for the Jews, that I may speak of them too, though they
have been already beaten, yet do they not give up the cause; and a sad
thing it would be for us to grow wealthy under good success, when they
bear up under their misfortunes. As to the alacrity which you show
publicly, I see it, and rejoice at it; yet am I afraid lest the
multitude of the enemy should bring a concealed fright upon some of you:
let such a one consider again, who we are that are to fight, and who
those are against whom we are to fight. Now these Jews, though they be
very bold and great despisers of death, are but a disorderly body, and
unskillful in war, and may rather be called a rout than an army; while I
need say nothing of our skill and our good order; for this is the reason
why we Romans alone are exercised for war in time of peace, that we may
not think of number for number when we come to fight with our enemies:
for what advantage should we reap by our continual sort of warfare, if
we must still be equal in number to such as have not been used to war.
Consider further, that you are to have a conflict with men in effect
unarmed, while you are well armed; with footmen, while you are horsemen;
with those that have no good general, while you have one; and as these
advantages make you in effect manifold more than you are, so do
their disadvantages mightily diminish their number. Now it is not
the multitude of men, though they be soldiers, that manages wars with
success, but it is their bravery that does it, though they be but a
few; for a few are easily set in battle-array, and can easily assist one
another, while over-numerous armies are more hurt by themselves than by
their enemies. It is boldness and rashness, the effects of madness, that
conduct the Jews. Those passions indeed make a great figure when they
succeed, but are quite extinguished upon the least ill success; but we
are led on by courage, and obedience, and fortitude, which shows itself
indeed in our good fortune, but still does not for ever desert us in our
ill fortune. Nay, indeed, your fighting is to be on greater motives than
those of the Jews; for although they run the hazard of war for liberty,
and for their country, yet what can be a greater motive to us than
glory? and that it may never be said, that after we have got dominion
of the habitable earth, the Jews are able to confront us. We must also
reflect upon this, that there is no fear of our suffering any incurable
disaster in the present case; for those that are ready to assist us
are many, and at hand also; yet it is in our power to seize upon this
victory ourselves; and I think we ought to prevent the coming of those
my father is sending to us for our assistance, that our success may be
peculiar to ourselves, and of greater reputation to us. And I cannot but
think this an opportunity wherein my father, and I, and you shall be
all put to the trial, whether he be worthy of his former glorious
performances, whether I be his son in reality, and whether you be really
my soldiers; for it is usual for my father to conquer; and for myself, I
should not bear the thoughts of returning to him if I were once taken
by the enemy. And how will you be able to avoid being ashamed, if you do
not show equal courage with your commander, when he goes before you into
danger? For you know very well that I shall go into the danger first,
and make the first attack upon the enemy. Do not you therefore desert
me, but persuade yourselves that God will be assisting to my onset. Know
this also before we begin, that we shall now have better success than we
should have, if we were to fight at a distance."
3. As Titus was saying this, an extraordinary fury fell upon the men;
and as Trajan was already come before the fight began, with four hundred
horsemen, they were uneasy at it, because the reputation of the victory
would be diminished by being common to so many. Vespasian had also sent
both Antonius and Silo, with two thousand archers, and had given it them
in charge to seize upon the mountain that was over against the city,
and repel those that were upon the wall; which archers did as they were
commanded, and prevented those that attempted to assist them that way;
And now Titus made his own horse march first against the enemy, as did
the others with a great noise after him, and extended themselves upon
the plain as wide as the enemy which confronted them; by which means
they appeared much more numerous than they really were. Now the Jews,
although they were surprised at their onset, and at their good order,
made resistance against their attacks for a little while; but when they
were pricked with their long poles, and overborne by the violent noise
of the horsemen, they came to be trampled under their feet; many also of
them were slain on every side, which made them disperse themselves,
and run to the city, as fast as every one of them were able. So Titus
pressed upon the hindmost, and slew them; and of the rest, some he fell
upon as they stood on heaps, and some he prevented, and met them in the
mouth, and run them through; many also he leaped upon as they fell one
upon another, and trod them down, and cut off all the retreat they had
to the wall, and turned them back into the plain, till at last they
forced a passage by their multitude, and got away, and ran into the
city.
4. But now there fell out a terrible sedition among them within the
city; for the inhabitants themselves, who had possessions there, and
to whom the city belonged, were not disposed to fight from the very
beginning; and now the less so, because they had been beaten; but the
foreigners, which were very numerous, would force them to fight so much
the more, insomuch that there was a clamor and a tumult among them, as
all mutually angry one at another. And when Titus heard this tumult, for
he was not far from the wall, he cried out, "Fellow soldiers, now is the
time; and why do we make any delay, when God is giving up the Jews to
us? Take the victory which is given you: do not you hear what a noise
they make? Those that have escaped our hands are in an uproar against
one another. We have the city if we make haste; but besides haste, we
must undergo some labor, and use some courage; for no great thing uses
to be accomplished without danger: accordingly, we must not only prevent
their uniting again, which necessity will soon compel them to do, but we
must also prevent the coming of our own men to our assistance, that, as
few as we are, we may conquer so great a multitude, and may ourselves
alone take the city."
5. As soon as ever Titus had said this, he leaped upon his horse, and
rode apace down to the lake; by which lake he marched, and entered
into the city the first of them all, as did the others soon after him.
Hereupon those that were upon the walls were seized with a terror at the
boldness of the attempt, nor durst any one venture to fight with him,
or to hinder him; so they left guarding the city, and some of those that
were about Jesus fled over the country, while others of them ran down
to the lake, and met the enemy in the teeth, and some were slain as they
were getting up into the ships, but others of them as they attempted
to overtake those that were already gone aboard. There was also a great
slaughter made in the city, while those foreigners that had not fled
away already made opposition; but the natural inhabitants were killed
without fighting: for in hopes of Titus's giving them his right hand for
their security, and out of a consciousness that they had not given any
consent to the war, they avoided fighting, till Titus had slain the
authors of this revolt, and then put a stop to any further slaughters,
out of commiseration of these inhabitants of the place. But for those
that had fled to the lake, upon seeing the city taken, they sailed as
far as they possibly could from the enemy.
6. Hereupon Titus sent one of his horsemen to his father, and let him
know the good news of what he had done; at which, as was natural, he was
very joyful, both on account of the courage and glorious actions of his
son; for he thought that now the greatest part of the war was over. He
then came thither himself, and set men to guard the city, and gave them
command to take care that nobody got privately out of it, but to kill
such as attempted so to do. And on the next day he went down to the
lake, and commanded that vessels should be fitted up, in order to pursue
those that had escaped in the ships. These vessels were quickly gotten
ready accordingly, because there was great plenty of materials, and a
great number of artificers also.
7. Now this lake of Gennesareth is so called from the country adjoining
to it. Its breadth is forty furlongs, and its length one hundred and
forty; its waters are sweet, and very agreeable for drinking, for they
are finer than the thick waters of other fens; the lake is also pure,
and on every side ends directly at the shores, and at the sand; it is
also of a temperate nature when you draw it up, and of a more gentle
nature than river or fountain water, and yet always cooler than one
could expect in so diffuse a place as this is. Now when this water
is kept in the open air, it is as cold as that snow which the country
people are accustomed to make by night in summer. There are several
kinds of fish in it, different both to the taste and the sight from
those elsewhere. It is divided into two parts by the river Jordan. Now
Panium is thought to be the fountain of Jordan, but in reality it is
carried thither after an occult manner from the place called Phiala:
this place lies as you go up to Trachonitis, and is a hundred and twenty
furlongs from Cesarea, and is not far out of the road on the right hand;
and indeed it hath its name of Phiala [vial or bowl] very justly, from
the roundness of its circumference, as being round like a wheel; its
water continues always up to its edges, without either sinking or
running over. And as this origin of Jordan was formerly not known, it
was discovered so to be when Philip was tetrarch of Trachonitis; for
he had chaff thrown into Phiala, and it was found at Paninto, where the
ancients thought the fountain-head of the river was, whither it had been
therefore carried [by the waters]. As for Panium itself, its natural
beauty had been improved by the royal liberality of Agrippa, and adorned
at his expenses. Now Jordan's visible stream arises from this cavern,
and divides the marshes and fens of the lake Semechonitis; when it hath
run another hundred and twenty furlongs, it first passes by the city
Julias, and then passes through the middle of the lake Gennesareth;
after which it runs a long way over a desert, and then makes its exit
into the lake Asphaltites.
8. The country also that lies over against this lake hath the same name
of Gennesareth; its nature is wonderful as well as its beauty; its
soil is so fruitful that all sorts of trees can grow upon it, and the
inhabitants accordingly plant all sorts of trees there; for the temper
of the air is so well mixed, that it agrees very well with those several
sorts, particularly walnuts, which require the coldest air, flourish
there in vast plenty; there are palm trees also, which grow best in hot
air; fig trees also and olives grow near them, which yet require an air
that is more temperate. One may call this place the ambition of nature,
where it forces those plants that are naturally enemies to one another
to agree together; it is a happy contention of the seasons, as if
every one of them laid claim to this country; for it not only nourishes
different sorts of autumnal fruit beyond men's expectation, but
preserves them a great while; it supplies men with the principal fruits,
with grapes and figs continually, during ten months of the year 7 and
the rest of the fruits as they become ripe together through the whole
year; for besides the good temperature of the air, it is also watered
from a most fertile fountain. The people of the country call it
Capharnaum. Some have thought it to be a vein of the Nile, because it
produces the Coracin fish as well as that lake does which is near to
Alexandria. The length of this country extends itself along the banks
of this lake that bears the same name for thirty furlongs, and is in
breadth twenty, And this is the nature of that place.
9. But now, when the vessels were gotten ready, Vespasian put upon
ship-board as many of his forces as he thought sufficient to be too hard
for those that were upon the lake, and set sail after them. Now these
which were driven into the lake could neither fly to the land, where
all was in their enemies' hand, and in war against them; nor could they
fight upon the level by sea, for their ships were small and fitted only
for piracy; they were too weak to fight with Vespasian's vessels, and
the mariners that were in them were so few, that they were afraid to
come near the Romans, who attacked them in great numbers. However, as
they sailed round about the vessels, and sometimes as they came near
them, they threw stones at the Romans when they were a good way off,
or came closer and fought them; yet did they receive the greatest harm
themselves in both cases. As for the stones they threw at the Romans,
they only made a sound one after another, for they threw them against
such as were in their armor, while the Roman darts could reach the Jews
themselves; and when they ventured to come near the Romans, they became
sufferers themselves before they could do any harm to the ether,
and were drowned, they and their ships together. As for those that
endeavored to come to an actual fight, the Romans ran many of them
through with their long poles. Sometimes the Romans leaped into their
ships, with swords in their hands, and slew them; but when some of them
met the vessels, the Romans caught them by the middle, and destroyed at
once their ships and themselves who were taken in them. And for such as
were drowning in the sea, if they lifted their heads up above the water,
they were either killed by darts, or caught by the vessels; but if,
in the desperate case they were in, they attempted to swim to their
enemies, the Romans cut off either their heads or their hands; and
indeed they were destroyed after various manners every where, till the
rest being put to flight, were forced to get upon the land, while the
vessels encompassed them about [on the sea]: but as many of these were
repulsed when they were getting ashore, they were killed by the darts
upon the lake; and the Romans leaped out of their vessels, and destroyed
a great many more upon the land: one might then see the lake all bloody,
and full of dead bodies, for not one of them escaped. And a terrible
stink, and a very sad sight there was on the following days over that
country; for as for the shores, they were full of shipwrecks, and of
dead bodies all swelled; and as the dead bodies were inflamed by the
sun, and putrefied, they corrupted the air, insomuch that the misery
was not only the object of commiseration to the Jews, but to those that
hated them, and had been the authors of that misery. This was the upshot
of the sea-fight. The number of the slain, including those that were
killed in the city before, was six thousand and five hundred.
10. After this fight was over, Vespasian sat upon his tribunal
at Taricheae, in order to distinguish the foreigners from the old
inhabitants; for those foreigners appear to have begun the war. So he
deliberated with the other commanders, whether he ought to save those
old inhabitants or not. And when those commanders alleged that the
dismission of them would be to his own disadvantage, because, when they
were once set at liberty, they would not be at rest, since they would be
people destitute of proper habitations, and would be able to compel such
as they fled to fight against us, Vespasian acknowledged that they did
not deserve to be saved, and that if they had leave given them to fly
away, they would make use of it against those that gave them that leave.
But still he considered with himself after what manner they should be
slain 8 for if he had them slain there, he suspected the people of the
country would thereby become his enemies; for that to be sure they would
never bear it, that so many that had been supplicants to him should
be killed; and to offer violence to them, after he had given them
assurances of their lives, he could not himself bear to do it. However,
his friends were too hard for him, and pretended that nothing against
Jews could be any impiety, and that he ought to prefer what was
profitable before what was fit to be done, where both could not be made
consistent. So he gave them an ambiguous liberty to do as they advised,
and permitted the prisoners to go along no other road than that which
led to Tiberias only. So they readily believed what they desired to be
true, and went along securely, with their effects, the way which was
allowed them, while the Romans seized upon all the road that led to
Tiberias, that none of them might go out of it, and shut them up in the
city. Then came Vespasian, and ordered them all to stand in the stadium,
and commanded them to kill the old men, together with the others that
were useless, which were in number a thousand and two hundred. Out of
the young men he chose six thousand of the strongest, and sent them to
Nero, to dig through the Isthmus, and sold the remainder for slaves,
being thirty thousand and four hundred, besides such as he made a
present of to Agrippa; for as to those that belonged to his kingdom, he
gave him leave to do what he pleased with them; however, the king sold
these also for slaves; but for the rest of the multitude, who were
Trachonites, and Gaulanites, and of Hippos, and some of Gadara, the
greatest part of them were seditious persons and fugitives, who were of
such shameful characters, that they preferred war before peace. These
prisoners were taken on the eighth day of the month Gorpieus [Elul].
WAR BOOK 3 FOOTNOTES
1 (return) [ Take the confirmation of this in the words of Suetonius,
here produced by Dr. Hudson: "In the reign of Claudius," says he,
"Vespasian, for the sake of Narcissus, was sent as a lieutenant of a
legion into Germany. Thence he removed into Britain battles with the
enemy." In Vesp. sect. 4. We may also here note from Josephus, that
Claudius the emperor, who triumphed for the conquest of Britain, was
enabled so to do by Vespasian's conduct and bravery, and that he is here
styled "the father of Vespasian."]
2 (return) [ Spanheim and Reland both agree, that the two cities here
esteemed greater than Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, were Rome and
Alexandria; nor is there any occasion for doubt in so plain a case.]
3 (return) [ This description of the exact symmetry and regularity of
the Roman army, and of the Roman encampments, with the sounding their
trumpets, etc. and order of war, described in this and the next chapter,
is so very like to the symmetry and regularity of the people of Israel
in the wilderness, [see Description of the Temples, ch. 9.,] that one
cannot well avoid the supposal, that the one was the ultimate pattern
of the other, and that the tactics of the ancients were taken from the
rules given by God to Moses. And it is thought by some skillful in
these matters, that these accounts of Josephus, as to the Roman camp and
armor, and conduct in war, are preferable to those in the Roman authors
themselves.]
4 (return) [ I cannot but here observe an Eastern way of speaking,
frequent among them, but not usual among us, where the word "only"
or "alone" is not set down, but perhaps some way supplied in the
pronunciation. Thus Josephus here says, that those of Jotapata slew
seven of the Romans as they were marching off, because the Romans'
retreat was regular, their bodies were covered over with their armor,
and the Jews fought at some distance; his meaning is clear, that these
were the reasons why they slew only, or no more than seven. I have met
with many the like examples in the Scriptures, in Josephus, etc.; but
did not note down the particular places. This observation ought to be
borne in mind upon many occasions.]
5 (return) [ These public mourners, hired upon the supposed death of
Josephus, and the real death of many more, illustrate some passages in
the Bible, which suppose the same custom, as Matthew 11:17, where the
reader may consult the notes of Grotius.]
6 (return) [ Of this Cesarea Philippi [twice mentioned in our New
Testament, Matthew 16:13; Mark 8;27: there are coins still extant,
Spanheim here informs us.]
7 (return) [ I do not know where to find the law of Moses here mentioned
by Josephus, and afterwards by Eleazar, 13. VII. ch. 8. sect. 7, and
almost implied in B. I. ch. 13. sect. 10, by Josephus's commendation of
Phasaelus for doing so; I mean, whereby Jewish generals and people were
obliged to kill themselves, rather than go into slavery under heathens.
I doubt this would have been no better than "self-murder;" and I believe
it was rather some vain doctrine, or interpretation, of the rigid
Pharisees, or Essens, or Herodiaus, than a just consequence from any law
of God delivered by Moses.
(It may be worth our while to observe here, that near this lake of
Gennesareth grapes and figs hang on the trees ten months of the year.
We may observe also, that in Cyril of Jerusalem, Cateehes. 18. sect. 3,
which was delivered not long before Easter, there were no fresh leaves
of fig trees, nor bunches of fresh grapes in Judea; so that when St.
Mark says, ch. 11. ver. 13, that our Savior, soon after the same time of
the year, came and "found leaves" on a fig tree near Jerusalem, but "no
figs, because the time of" new "figs" ripening "was not yet," he says
very true; nor were they therefore other than old leaves which our
Savior saw, and old figs which he expected, and which even with us
commonly hang on the trees all winter long.)]
8 (return) [ This is the most cruel and barbarous action that Vespasian
ever did in this whole war, as he did it with great reluctance also.
It was done both after public assurance given of sparing the prisoners'
lives, and when all knew and confessed that these prisoners were no way
guilty of any sedition against the Romans. Nor indeed did Titus now give
his consent, so far as appears, nor ever act of himself so barbarously;
nay, soon after this, Titus grew quite weary of shedding blood, and of
punishing the innocent with the guilty, and gave the people of Gischala
leave to keep the Jewish sabbath, B. IV. ch. 2. sect. 3, 5, in the midst
of their siege. Nor was Vespasian disposed to do what he did, till his
officers persuaded him, and that from two principal topics, viz. that
nothing could be unjust that was done against Jews; and that when both
cannot be consistent, advantage must prevail over justice. Admirable
court doctrines these!]
BOOK IV.
Containing The Interval Of About One Year.
From The Siege Of Gamala To The Coming Of Titus To Besiege
Jerusalem.
CHAPTER 1.
The Siege And Taking Of Gamala.
1. Now all those Galileans who, after the taking of Jotapata, had
revolted from the Romans, did, upon the conquest of Taricheae, deliver
themselves up to them again. And the Romans received all the fortresses
and the cities, excepting Gischala and those that had seized upon Mount
Tabor; Gamala also, which is a city over against Taricheae, but on the
other side of the lake, conspired with them. This city lay upon the
borders of Agrippa's kingdom, as also did Sogana and Seleucia. And these
were both parts of Gaulanitis; for Sogana was a part of that called
the Upper Gaulanitis, as was Gamala of the Lower; while Seleucia was
situated at the lake Semechouitis, which lake is thirty furlongs in
breadth, and sixty in length; its marshes reach as far as the place
Daphne, which in other respects is a delicious place, and hath such
fountains as supply water to what is called Little Jordan, under the
temple of the golden calf, 1 where it is sent into Great Jordan. Now
Agrippa had united Sogana and Seleucia by leagues to himself, at the
very beginning of the revolt from the Romans; yet did not Gamala accede
to them, but relied upon the difficulty of the place, which was greater
than that of Jotapata, for it was situated upon a rough ridge of a high
mountain, with a kind of neck in the middle: where it begins to ascend,
it lengthens itself, and declines as much downward before as behind,
insomuch that it is like a camel in figure, from whence it is so named,
although the people of the country do not pronounce it accurately. Both
on the side and the face there are abrupt parts divided from the rest,
and ending in vast deep valleys; yet are the parts behind, where they
are joined to the mountain, somewhat easier of ascent than the other;
but then the people belonging to the place have cut an oblique ditch
there, and made that hard to be ascended also. On its acclivity, which
is straight, houses are built, and those very thick and close to one
another. The city also hangs so strangely, that it looks as if it would
fall down upon itself, so sharp is it at the top. It is exposed to the
south, and its southern mount, which reaches to an immense height, was
in the nature of a citadel to the city; and above that was a precipice,
not walled about, but extending itself to an immense depth. There was
also a spring of water within the wall, at the utmost limits of the
city.
2. As this city was naturally hard to be taken, so had Josephus, by
building a wall about it, made it still stronger, as also by ditches and
mines under ground. The people that were in it were made more bold by
the nature of the place than the people of Jotapata had been, but it
had much fewer fighting men in it; and they had such a confidence in
the situation of the place, that they thought the enemy could not be too
many for them; for the city had been filled with those that had fled
to it for safety, on account of its strength; on which account they
had been able to resist those whom Agrippa sent to besiege it for seven
months together.
3. But Vespasian removed from Emmaus, where he had last pitched his
camp before the city Tiberias, [now Emmaus, if it be interpreted, may
be rendered "a warm bath," for therein is a spring of warm water, useful
for healing,] and came to Gamala; yet was its situation such that he was
not able to encompass it all round with soldiers to watch it; but where
the places were practicable, he set men to watch it, and seized upon the
mountain which was over it. And as the legions, according to their usual
custom, were fortifying their camp upon that mountain, he began to cast
up banks at the bottom, at the part towards the east, where the highest
tower of the whole city was, and where the fifteenth legion pitched
their camp; while the fifth legion did duty over against the midst of
the city, and whilst the tenth legion filled up the ditches and the
valleys. Now at this time it was that as king Agrippa was come nigh
the walls, and was endeavoring to speak to those that were on the walls
about a surrender, he was hit with a stone on his right elbow by one of
the slingers; he was then immediately surrounded with his own men. But
the Romans were excited to set about the siege, by their indignation
on the king's account, and by their fear on their own account, as
concluding that those men would omit no kinds of barbarity against
foreigners and enemies, who where so enraged against one of their own
nation, and one that advised them to nothing but what was for their own
advantage.
4. Now when the banks were finished, which was done on the sudden, both
by the multitude of hands, and by their being accustomed to such work,
they brought the machines; but Chares and Joseph, who were the most
potent men in the city, set their armed men in order, though already
in a fright, because they did not suppose that the city could hold out
long, since they had not a sufficient quantity either of water, or of
other necessaries. However, these their leaders encouraged them, and
brought them out upon the wall, and for a while indeed they drove away
those that were bringing the machines; but when those machines threw
darts and stones at them, they retired into the city; then did the
Romans bring battering rams to three several places, and made the wall
shake [and fall]. They then poured in over the parts of the wall that
were thrown down, with a mighty sound of trumpets and noise of armor,
and with a shout of the soldiers, and brake in by force upon those that
were in the city; but these men fell upon the Romans for some time, at
their first entrance, and prevented their going any further, and with
great courage beat them back; and the Romans were so overpowered by the
greater multitude of the people, who beat them on every side, that they
were obliged to run into the upper parts of the city. Whereupon the
people turned about, and fell upon their enemies, who had attacked them,
and thrust them down to the lower parts, and as they were distressed
by the narrowness and difficulty of the place, slew them; and as these
Romans could neither beat those back that were above them, nor escape
the force of their own men that were forcing their way forward, they
were compelled to fly into their enemies' houses, which were low; but
these houses being thus full, of soldiers, whose weight they could not
bear, fell down suddenly; and when one house fell, it shook down a great
many of those that were under it, as did those do to such as were under
them. By this means a vast number of the Romans perished; for they were
so terribly distressed, that although they saw the houses subsiding,
they were compelled to leap upon the tops of them; so that a great many
were ground to powder by these ruins, and a great many of those that
got from under them lost some of their limbs, but still a greater number
were suffocated by the dust that arose from those ruins. The people
of Gamala supposed this to be an assistance afforded them by God, and
without regarding what damage they suffered themselves, they pressed
forward, and thrust the enemy upon the tops of their houses; and when
they stumbled in the sharp and narrow streets, and were perpetually
falling down, they threw their stones or darts at them, and slew them.
Now the very ruins afforded them stones enow; and for iron weapons,
the dead men of the enemies' side afforded them what they wanted; for
drawing the swords of those that were dead, they made use of them to
despatch such as were only half dead; nay, there were a great number
who, upon their falling down from the tops of the houses, stabbed
themselves, and died after that manner; nor indeed was it easy for those
that were beaten back to fly away; for they were so unacquainted with
the ways, and the dust was so thick, that they wandered about without
knowing one another, and fell down dead among the crowd.
5. Those therefore that were able to find the ways out of the city
retired. But now Vespasian always staid among those that were hard set;
for he was deeply affected with seeing the ruins of the city falling
upon his army, and forgot to take care of his own preservation. He went
up gradually towards the highest parts of the city before he was aware,
and was left in the midst of dangers, having only a very few with him;
for even his son Titus was not with him at that time, having been then
sent into Syria to Mucianus. However, he thought it not safe to fly,
nor did he esteem it a fit thing for him to do; but calling to mind the
actions he had done from his youth, and recollecting his courage, as if
he had been excited by a divine fury, he covered himself and those that
were with him with their shields, and formed a testudo over both their
bodies and their armor, and bore up against the enemy's attacks, who
came running down from the top of the city; and without showing any
dread at the multitude of the men or of their darts, he endured all,
until the enemy took notice of that divine courage that was within him,
and remitted of their attacks; and when they pressed less zealously upon
him, he retired, though without showing his back to them till he was
gotten out of the walls of the city. Now a great number of the Romans
fell in this battle, among whom was Ebutius, the decurion, a man who
appeared not only in this engagement, wherein he fell, but every where,
and in former engagements, to be of the truest courage, and one that had
done very great mischief to the Jews. But there was a centurion whose
name was Gallus, who, during this disorder, being encompassed about,
he and ten other soldiers privately crept into the house of a certain
person, where he heard them talking at supper, what the people intended
to do against the Romans, or about themselves [for both the man himself
and those with him were Syrians]. So he got up in the night time, and
cut all their throats, and escaped, together with his soldiers, to the
Romans.
6. And now Vespasian comforted his army, which was much dejected by
reflecting on their ill success, and because they had never before
fallen into such a calamity, and besides this, because they were greatly
ashamed that they had left their general alone in great dangers. As to
what concerned himself, he avoided to say any thing, that he might by
no means seem to complain of it; but he said that "we ought to bear
manfully what usually falls out in war, and this, by considering what
the nature of war is, and how it can never be that we must conquer
without bloodshed on our own side; for there stands about us that
fortune which is of its own nature mutable; that while they had killed
so many ten thousands of the Jews, they had now paid their small share
of the reckoning to fate; and as it is the part of weak people to be too
much puffed up with good success, so is it the part of cowards to be too
much affrighted at that which is ill; for the change from the one to the
other is sudden on both sides; and he is the best warrior who is of a
sober mind under misfortunes, that he may continue in that temper, and
cheerfully recover what had been lost formerly; and as for what had now
happened, it was neither owing to their own effeminacy, nor to the valor
of the Jews, but the difficulty of the place was the occasion of their
advantage, and of our disappointment. Upon reflecting on which matter
one might blame your zeal as perfectly ungovernable; for when the enemy
had retired to their highest fastnesses, you ought to have restrained
yourselves, and not, by presenting yourselves at the top of the city, to
be exposed to dangers; but upon your having obtained the lower parts of
the city, you ought to have provoked those that had retired thither to
a safe and settled battle; whereas, in rushing so hastily upon victory,
you took no care of your safety. But this incautiousness in war, and
this madness of zeal, is not a Roman maxim. While we perform all that
we attempt by skill and good order, that procedure is the part of
barbarians, and is what the Jews chiefly support themselves by. We ought
therefore to return to our own virtue, and to be rather angry than any
longer dejected at this unlucky misfortune, and let every one seek for
his own consolation from his own hand; for by this means he will avenge
those that have been destroyed, and punish those that have killed them.
For myself, I will endeavor, as I have now done, to go first before
you against your enemies in every engagement, and to be the last that
retires from it."
7. So Vespasian encouraged his army by this speech; but for the people
of Gamala, it happened that they took courage for a little while, upon
such great and unaccountable success as they had had. But when they
considered with themselves that they had now no hopes of any terms of
accommodation, and reflecting upon it that they could not get away, and
that their provisions began already to be short, they were exceedingly
cast down, and their courage failed them; yet did they not neglect what
might be for their preservation, so far as they were able, but the most
courageous among them guarded those parts of the wall that were beaten
down, while the more infirm did the same to the rest of the wall that
still remained round the city. And as the Romans raised their banks, and
attempted to get into the city a second time, a great many of them fled
out of the city through impracticable valleys, where no guards were
placed, as also through subterraneous caverns; while those that were
afraid of being caught, and for that reason staid in the city, perished
for want of food; for what food they had was brought together from all
quarters, and reserved for the fighting men.
8. And these were the hard circumstances that the people of Gamala
were in. But now Vespasian went about other work by the by, during this
siege, and that was to subdue those that had seized upon Mount Tabor, a
place that lies in the middle between the great plain and Scythopolis,
whose top is elevated as high as thirty furlongs 2 and is hardly to be
ascended on its north side; its top is a plain of twenty-six furlongs,
and all encompassed with a wall. Now Josephus erected this so long a
wall in forty days' time, and furnished it with other materials, and
with water from below, for the inhabitants only made use of rain water.
As therefore there was a great multitude of people gotten together
upon this mountain, Vespasian sent Placidus with six hundred horsemen
thither. Now, as it was impossible for him to ascend the mountain, he
invited many of them to peace, by the offer of his right hand for their
security, and of his intercession for them. Accordingly they came down,
but with a treacherous design, as well as he had the like treacherous
design upon them on the other side; for Placidus spoke mildly to them,
as aiming to take them, when he got them into the plain; they also came
down, as complying with his proposals, but it was in order to fall upon
him when he was not aware of it: however, Placidus's stratagem was too
hard for theirs; for when the Jews began to fight, he pretended to run
away, and when they were in pursuit of the Romans, he enticed them
a great way along the plain, and then made his horsemen turn back;
whereupon he beat them, and slew a great number of them, and cut off the
retreat of the rest of the multitude, and hindered their return. So they
left Tabor, and fled to Jerusalem, while the people of the country came
to terms with him, for their water failed them, and so they delivered up
the mountain and themselves to Placidus.
9. But of the people of Gamala, those that were of the bolder sort fled
away and hid themselves, while the more infirm perished by famine; but
the men of war sustained the siege till the two and twentieth day of
the month Hyperbereteus, [Tisri,] when three soldiers of the fifteenth
legion, about the morning watch, got under a high tower that was near
them, and undermined it, without making any noise; nor when they either
came to it, which was in the night time, nor when they were under it,
did those that guarded it perceive them. These soldiers then upon their
coming avoided making a noise, and when they had rolled away five of its
strongest stones, they went away hastily; whereupon the tower fell down
on a sudden, with a very great noise, and its guard fell headlong
with it; so that those that kept guard at other places were under such
disturbance, that they ran away; the Romans also slew many of those that
ventured to oppose them, among whom was Joseph, who was slain by a dart,
as he was running away over that part of the wall that was broken down:
but as those that were in the city were greatly affrighted at the noise,
they ran hither and thither, and a great consternation fell upon them,
as though all the enemy had fallen in at once upon them. Then it was
that Chares, who was ill, and under the physician's hands, gave up the
ghost, the fear he was in greatly contributing to make his distemper
fatal to him. But the Romans so well remembered their former ill
success, that they did not enter the city till the three and twentieth
day of the forementioned month.
10. At which time Titus, who was now returned, out of the indignation
he had at the destruction the Romans had undergone while he was absent,
took two hundred chosen horsemen and some footmen with him, and entered
without noise into the city. Now as the watch perceived that he was
coming, they made a noise, and betook themselves to their arms; and as
that his entrance was presently known to those that were in the city,
some of them caught hold of their children and their wives, and drew
them after them, and fled away to the citadel, with lamentations
and cries, while others of them went to meet Titus, and were killed
perpetually; but so many of them as were hindered from running up to
the citadel, not knowing what in the world to do, fell among the Roman
guards, while the groans of those that were killed were prodigiously
great every where, and blood ran down over all the lower parts of the
city, from the upper. But then Vespasian himself came to his assistance
against those that had fled to the citadel, and brought his whole army
with him; now this upper part of the city was every way rocky, and
difficult of ascent, and elevated to a vast altitude, and very full of
people on all sides, and encompassed with precipices, whereby the Jews
cut off those that came up to them, and did much mischief to others
by their darts, and the large stones which they rolled down upon them,
while they were themselves so high that the enemy's darts could hardly
reach them. However, there arose such a Divine storm against them as
was instrumental to their destruction; this carried the Roman darts
upon them, and made those which they threw return back, and drove them
obliquely away from them; nor could the Jews indeed stand upon their
precipices, by reason of the violence of the wind, having nothing that
was stable to stand upon, nor could they see those that were ascending
up to them; so the Romans got up and surrounded them, and some they slew
before they could defend themselves, and others as they were delivering
up themselves; and the remembrance of those that were slain at their
former entrance into the city increased their rage against them now;
a great number also of those that were surrounded on every side,
and despaired of escaping, threw their children and their wives, and
themselves also, down the precipices, into the valley beneath, which,
near the citadel, had been dug hollow to a vast depth; but so it
happened, that the anger of the Romans appeared not to be so extravagant
as was the madness of those that were now taken, while the Romans
slew but four thousand, whereas the number of those that had thrown
themselves down was found to be five thousand: nor did any one escape
except two women, who were the daughters of Philip, and Philip himself
was the son of a certain eminent man called Jacimus, who had been
general of king Agrippa's army; and these did therefore escape, because
they lay concealed from the rage of the Romans when the city was taken;
for otherwise they spared not so much as the infants, of which many were
flung down by them from the citadel. And thus was Gamala taken on the
three and twentieth day of the month Hyperbereteus, [Tisri,] whereas
the city had first revolted on the four and twentieth day of the month
Gorpieus [Elul].
CHAPTER 2.
The Surrender Of Gischala; While John Flies Away From It To
Jerusalem.
1. Now no place of Galilee remained to be taken but the small city of
Gischala, whose multitude yet were desirous of peace; for they were
generally husbandmen, and always applied themselves to cultivate the
fruits of the earth. However, there were a great number that belonged to
a band of robbers, that were already corrupted, and had crept in among
them, and some of the governing part of the citizens were sick of the
same distemper. It was John, the son of a certain man whose name was
Levi, that drew them into this rebellion, and encouraged them in it. He
was a cunning knave, and of a temper that could put on various shapes;
very rash in expecting great things, and very sagacious in bringing
about what he hoped for. It was known to every body that he was fond of
war, in order to thrust himself into authority; and the seditious part
of the people of Gischala were under his management, by whose means the
populace, who seemed ready to send ambassadors in order to surrender,
waited for the coming of the Romans in battle-array. Vespasian sent
against them Titus, with a thousand horsemen, but withdrew the tenth
legion to Scythopolis, while he returned to Cesarea with the two other
legions, that he might allow them to refresh themselves after their long
and hard campaign, thinking withal that the plenty which was in those
cities would improve their bodies and their spirits, against the
difficulties they were to go through afterwards; for he saw there would
be occasion for great pains about Jerusalem, which was not yet taken,
because it was the royal city, and the principal city of the whole
nation, and because those that had run away from the war in other places
got all together thither. It was also naturally strong, and the walls
that were built round it made him not a little concerned about it.
Moreover, he esteemed the men that were in it to be so courageous and
bold, that even without the consideration of the walls, it would be
hard to subdue them; for which reason he took care of and exercised his
soldiers beforehand for the work, as they do wrestlers before they begin
their undertaking.
2. Now Titus, as he rode out to Gischala, found it would be easy for him
to take the city upon the first onset; but knew withal, that if he took
it by force, the multitude would be destroyed by the soldiers without
mercy. [Now he was already satiated with the shedding of blood, and
pitied the major part, who would then perish, without distinction,
together with the guilty.] So he was rather desirous the city might be
surrendered up to him on terms. Accordingly, when he saw the wall full
of those men that were of the corrupted party, he said to them, That he
could not but wonder what it was they depended on, when they alone
staid to fight the Romans, after every other city was taken by them,
especially when they have seen cities much better fortified than theirs
is overthrown by a single attack upon them; while as many as have
intrusted themselves to the security of the Romans' right hands, which
he now offers to them, without regarding their former insolence, do
enjoy their own possessions in safety; for that while they had hopes
of recovering their liberty, they might be pardoned; but that their
continuance still in their opposition, when they saw that to be
impossible, was inexcusable; for that if they will not comply with such
humane offers, and right hands for security, they should have experience
of such a war as would spare nobody, and should soon be made sensible
that their wall would be but a trifle, when battered by the Roman
machines; in depending on which they demonstrate themselves to be the
only Galileans that were no better than arrogant slaves and captives.
3. Now none of the populace durst not only make a reply, but durst not
so much as get upon the wall, for it was all taken up by the robbers,
who were also the guard at the gates, in order to prevent any of the
rest from going out, in order to propose terms of submission, and from
receiving any of the horsemen into the city. But John returned
Titus this answer: That for himself he was content to hearken to his
proposals, and that he would either persuade or force those that refused
them. Yet he said that Titus ought to have such regard to the Jewish
law, as to grant them leave to celebrate that day, which was the seventh
day of the week, on which it was unlawful not only to remove their
arms, but even to treat of peace also; and that even the Romans were not
ignorant how the period of the seventh day was among them a cessation
from all labors; and that he who should compel them to transgress
the law about that day would be equally guilty with those that
were compelled to transgress it: and that this delay could be of no
disadvantage to him; for why should any body think of doing any thing in
the night, unless it was to fly away? which he might prevent by placing
his camp round about them; and that they should think it a great point
gained, if they might not be obliged to transgress the laws of their
country; and that it would be a right thing for him, who designed to
grant them peace, without their expectation of such a favor, to preserve
the laws of those they saved inviolable. Thus did this man put a trick
upon Titus, not so much out of regard to the seventh day as to his own
preservation, for he was afraid lest he should be quite deserted if the
city should be taken, and had his hopes of life in that night, and
in his flight therein. Now this was the work of God, who therefore
preserved this John, that he might bring on the destruction of
Jerusalem; as also it was his work that Titus was prevailed with by this
pretense for a delay, and that he pitched his camp further off the
city at Cydessa. This Cydessa was a strong Mediterranean village of the
Tyrians, which always hated and made war against the Jews; it had also
a great number of inhabitants, and was well fortified, which made it a
proper place for such as were enemies to the Jewish nation.
4. Now, in the night time, when John saw that there was no Roman guard
about the city, he seized the opportunity directly, and, taking with him
not only the armed men that were about him, but a considerable number
of those that had little to do, together with their families, he fled to
Jerusalem. And indeed, though the man was making haste to get away, and
was tormented with fears of being a captive, or of losing his life, yet
did he prevail with himself to take out of the city along with him a
multitude of women and children, as far as twenty furlongs; but there he
left them as he proceeded further on his journey, where those that were
left behind made sad lamentations; for the farther every one of them was
come from his own people, the nearer they thought themselves to be to
their enemies. They also affrighted themselves with this thought, that
those who would carry them into captivity were just at hand, and still
turned themselves back at the mere noise they made themselves in this
their hasty flight, as if those from whom they fled were just upon them.
Many also of them missed their ways, and the earnestness of such as
aimed to outgo the rest threw down many of them. And indeed there was a
miserable destruction made of the women and children; while some of them
took courage to call their husbands and kinsmen back, and to beseech
them, with the bitterest lamentations, to stay for them; but John's
exhortation, who cried out to them to save themselves, and fly away,
prevailed. He said also, that if the Romans should seize upon those
whom they left behind, they would be revenged on them for it. So this
multitude that run thus away was dispersed abroad, according as each of
them was able to run, one faster or slower than another.
5. Now on the next day Titus came to the wall, to make the agreement;
whereupon the people opened their gates to him, and came out to him,
with their children and wives, and made acclamations of joy to him, as
to one that had been their benefactor, and had delivered the city out
of custody; they also informed him of John's flight, and besought him
to spare them, and to come in, and bring the rest of those that were
for innovations to punishment. But Titus, not so much regarding the
supplications of the people, sent part of his horsemen to pursue after
John, but they could not overtake him, for he was gotten to Jerusalem
before; they also slew six thousand of the women and children who went
out with him, but returned back, and brought with them almost three
thousand. However, Titus was greatly displeased that he had not been
able to bring this John, who had deluded him, to punishment; yet he had
captives enough, as well as the corrupted part of the city, to satisfy
his anger, when it missed of John. So he entered the city in the midst
of acclamations of joy; and when he had given orders to the soldiers
to pull down a small part of the wall, as of a city taken in war, he
repressed those that had disturbed the city rather by threatenings than
by executions; for he thought that many would accuse innocent persons,
out of their own private animosities and quarrels, if he should attempt
to distinguish those that were worthy of punishment from the rest; and
that it was better to let a guilty person alone in his fears, that to
destroy with him any one that did not deserve it; for that probably such
a one might be taught prudence, by the fear of the punishment he had
deserved, and have a shame upon him for his former offenses, when he had
been forgiven; but that the punishment of such as have been once put
to death could never be retrieved. However, he placed a garrison in the
city for its security, by which means he should restrain those that were
for innovations, and should leave those that were peaceably disposed
in greater security. And thus was all Galilee taken, but this not till
after it had cost the Romans much pains before it could be taken by
them.
CHAPTER 3.
Concerning John Of Gischala. Concerning The Zealots And The
High Priest Ananus; As Also How The Jews Raise Seditions One
Against Another [In Jerusalem].
1. Now upon John's entry into Jerusalem, the whole body of the people
were in an uproar, and ten thousand of them crowded about every one of
the fugitives that were come to them, and inquired of them what miseries
had happened abroad, when their breath was so short, and hot, and quick,
that of itself it declared the great distress they were in; yet did they
talk big under their misfortunes, and pretended to say that they had not
fled away from the Romans, but came thither in order to fight them with
less hazard; for that it would be an unreasonable and a fruitless thing
for them to expose themselves to desperate hazards about Gischala, and
such weak cities, whereas they ought to lay up their weapons and their
zeal, and reserve it for their metropolis. But when they related to them
the taking of Gischala, and their decent departure, as they pretended,
from that place, many of the people understood it to be no better than a
flight; and especially when the people were told of those that were made
captives, they were in great confusion, and guessed those things to be
plain indications that they should be taken also. But for John, he was
very little concerned for those whom he had left behind him, but went
about among all the people, and persuaded them to go to war, by the
hopes he gave them. He affirmed that the affairs of the Romans were in
a weak condition, and extolled his own power. He also jested upon the
ignorance of the unskillful, as if those Romans, although they should
take to themselves wings, could never fly over the wall of Jerusalem,
who found such great difficulties in taking the villages of Galilee, and
had broken their engines of war against their walls.
2. These harangues of John's corrupted a great part of the young men,
and puffed them up for the war; but as to the more prudent part, and
those in years, there was not a man of them but foresaw what was coming,
and made lamentation on that account, as if the city was already undone;
and in this confusion were the people. But then it must be observed,
that the multitude that came out of the country were at discord before
the Jerusalem sedition began; for Titus went from Gischala to Cesates,
and Vespasian from Cesarea to Jamnia and Azotus, and took them both; and
when he had put garrisons into them, he came back with a great number
of the people, who were come over to him, upon his giving them his right
hand for their preservation. There were besides disorders and civil wars
in every city; and all those that were at quiet from the Romans turned
their hands one against another. There was also a bitter contest between
those that were fond of war, and those that were desirous for peace. At
the first this quarrelsome temper caught hold of private families, who
could not agree among themselves; after which those people that were the
dearest to one another brake through all restraints with regard to each
other, and every one associated with those of his own opinion, and began
already to stand in opposition one to another; so that seditions arose
every where, while those that were for innovations, and were desirous of
war, by their youth and boldness, were too hard for the aged and prudent
men. And, in the first place, all the people of every place betook
themselves to rapine; after which they got together in bodies, in
order to rob the people of the country, insomuch that for barbarity and
iniquity those of the same nation did no way differ from the Romans;
nay, it seemed to be a much lighter thing to be ruined by the Romans
than by themselves.
3. Now the Roman garrisons, which guarded the cities, partly out of
their uneasiness to take such trouble upon them, and partly out of the
hatred they bare to the Jewish nation, did little or nothing towards
relieving the miserable, till the captains of these troops of robbers,
being satiated with rapines in the country, got all together from all
parts, and became a band of wickedness, and all together crept into
Jerusalem, which was now become a city without a governor, and, as the
ancient custom was, received without distinction all that belonged to
their nation; and these they then received, because all men supposed
that those who came so fast into the city came out of kindness, and for
their assistance, although these very men, besides the seditions they
raised, were otherwise the direct cause of the city's destruction also;
for as they were an unprofitable and a useless multitude, they spent
those provisions beforehand which might otherwise have been sufficient
for the fighting men. Moreover, besides the bringing on of the war, they
were the occasions of sedition and famine therein.
4. There were besides these other robbers that came out of the country,
and came into the city, and joining to them those that were worse than
themselves, omitted no kind of barbarity; for they did not measure their
courage by their rapines and plunderings only, but preceded as far as
murdering men; and this not in the night time or privately, or with
regard to ordinary men, but did it openly in the day time, and began
with the most eminent persons in the city; for the first man they
meddled with was Antipas, one of the royal lineage, and the most potent
man in the whole city, insomuch that the public treasures were committed
to his care; him they took and confined; as they did in the next place
to Levias, a person of great note, with Sophas, the son of Raguel, both
which were of royal lineage also. And besides these, they did the
same to the principal men of the country. This caused a terrible
consternation among the people, and everyone contented himself with
taking care of his own safety, as they would do if the city had been
taken in war.
5. But these were not satisfied with the bonds into which they had put
the men forementioned; nor did they think it safe for them to keep
them thus in custody long, since they were men very powerful, and had
numerous families of their own that were able to avenge them. Nay,
they thought the very people would perhaps be so moved at these unjust
proceedings, as to rise in a body against them; it was therefore
resolved to have them slain accordingly, they sent one John, who was the
most bloody-minded of them all, to do that execution: this man was also
called "the son of Dorcas," 3 in the language of our country. Ten more
men went along with him into the prison, with their swords drawn, and
so they cut the throats of those that were in custody there. The grand
lying pretence these men made for so flagrant an enormity was this,
that these men had had conferences with the Romans for a surrender of
Jerusalem to them; and so they said they had slain only such as were
traitors to their common liberty. Upon the whole, they grew the more
insolent upon this bold prank of theirs, as though they had been the
benefactors and saviors of the city.
6. Now the people were come to that degree of meanness and fear, and
these robbers to that degree of madness, that these last took upon them
to appoint high priests. 4 So when they had disannulled the succession,
according to those families out of which the high priests used to be
made, they ordained certain unknown and ignoble persons for that office,
that they might have their assistance in their wicked undertakings; for
such as obtained this highest of all honors, without any desert, were
forced to comply with those that bestowed it on them. They also set
the principal men at variance one with another, by several sorts of
contrivances and tricks, and gained the opportunity of doing what they
pleased, by the mutual quarrels of those who might have obstructed
their measures; till at length, when they were satiated with the unjust
actions they had done towards men, they transferred their contumelious
behavior to God himself, and came into the sanctuary with polluted feet.
7. And now the multitude were going to rise against them already; for
Ananus, the ancientest of the high priests, persuaded them to it. He was
a very prudent man, and had perhaps saved the city if he could but have
escaped the hands of those that plotted against him. These men made the
temple of God a strong hold for them, and a place whither they might
resort, in order to avoid the troubles they feared from the people;
the sanctuary was now become a refuge, and a shop of tyranny. They
also mixed jesting among the miseries they introduced, which was more
intolerable than what they did; for in order to try what surprise
the people would be under, and how far their own power extended, they
undertook to dispose of the high priesthood by casting lots for it,
whereas, as we have said already, it was to descend by succession in a
family. The pretense they made for this strange attempt was an ancient
practice, while they said that of old it was determined by lot; but in
truth, it was no better than a dissolution of an undeniable law, and
a cunning contrivance to seize upon the government, derived from those
that presumed to appoint governors as they themselves pleased.
8. Hereupon they sent for one of the pontifical tribes, which is called
Eniachim, 5 and cast lots which of it should be the high priest. By
fortune the lot so fell as to demonstrate their iniquity after the
plainest manner, for it fell upon one whose name was Phannias, the son
of Samuel, of the village Aphtha. He was a man not only unworthy of the
high priesthood, but that did not well know what the high priesthood
was, such a mere rustic was he! yet did they hail this man, without his
own consent, out of the country, as if they were acting a play upon the
stage, and adorned him with a counterfeit tree; they also put upon him
the sacred garments, and upon every occasion instructed him what he was
to do. This horrid piece of wickedness was sport and pastime with them,
but occasioned the other priests, who at a distance saw their law made
a jest of, to shed tears, and sorely lament the dissolution of such a
sacred dignity.
9. And now the people could no longer bear the insolence of this
procedure, but did all together run zealously, in order to overthrow
that tyranny; and indeed they were Gorion the son of Josephus, and
Symeon the son of Gamaliel, 6 who encouraged them, by going up and down
when they were assembled together in crowds, and as they saw them
alone, to bear no longer, but to inflict punishment upon these pests
and plagues of their freedom, and to purge the temple of these bloody
polluters of it. The best esteemed also of the high priests, Jesus the
son of Gamalas, and Ananus the son of Ananus when they were at their
assemblies, bitterly reproached the people for their sloth, and excited
them against the zealots; for that was the name they went by, as if they
were zealous in good undertakings, and were not rather zealous in the
worst actions, and extravagant in them beyond the example of others.
10. And now, when the multitude were gotten together to an assembly, and
every one was in indignation at these men's seizing upon the sanctuary,
at their rapine and murders, but had not yet begun their attacks upon
them, [the reason of which was this, that they imagined it to be a
difficult thing to suppress these zealots, as indeed the case was,]
Ananus stood in the midst of them, and casting his eyes frequently at
the temple, and having a flood of tears in his eyes, he said, "Certainly
it had been good for me to die before I had seen the house of God full
of so many abominations, or these sacred places, that ought not to be
trodden upon at random, filled with the feet of these blood-shedding
villains; yet do I, who am clothed with the vestments of the high
priesthood, and am called by that most venerable name [of high priest],
still live, and am but too fond of living, and cannot endure to undergo
a death which would be the glory of my old age; and if I were the only
person concerned, and as it were in a desert, I would give up my life,
and that alone for God's sake; for to what purpose is it to live among
a people insensible of their calamities, and where there is no notion
remaining of any remedy for the miseries that are upon them? for when
you are seized upon, you bear it! and when you are beaten, you are
silent! and when the people are murdered, nobody dare so much as send
out a groan openly! O bitter tyranny that we are under! But why do I
complain of the tyrants? Was it not you, and your sufferance of them,
that have nourished them? Was it not you that overlooked those that
first of all got together, for they were then but a few, and by your
silence made them grow to be many; and by conniving at them when they
took arms, in effect armed them against yourselves? You ought to have
then prevented their first attempts, when they fell a reproaching your
relations; but by neglecting that care in time, you have encouraged
these wretches to plunder men. When houses were pillaged, nobody said
a word, which was the occasion why they carried off the owners of those
houses; and when they were drawn through the midst of the city, nobody
came to their assistance. They then proceeded to put those whom you have
betrayed into their hands into bonds. I do not say how many and of what
characters those men were whom they thus served; but certainly they were
such as were accused by none, and condemned by none; and since nobody
succored them when they were put into bonds, the consequence was, that
you saw the same persons slain. We have seen this also; so that still
the best of the herd of brute animals, as it were, have been still led
to be sacrificed, when yet nobody said one word, or moved his right hand
for their preservation. Will you bear, therefore, will you bear to see
your sanctuary trampled on? and will you lay steps for these profane
wretches, upon which they may mount to higher degrees of insolence? Will
not you pluck them down from their exaltation? for even by this time
they had proceeded to higher enormities, if they had been able to
overthrow any thing greater than the sanctuary. They have seized upon
the strongest place of the whole city; you may call it the temple, if
you please, though it be like a citadel or fortress. Now, while you have
tyranny in so great a degree walled in, and see your enemies over your
heads, to what purpose is it to take counsel? and what have you to
support your minds withal? Perhaps you wait for the Romans, that they
may protect our holy places: are our matters then brought to that pass?
and are we come to that degree of misery, that our enemies themselves
are expected to pity us? O wretched creatures! will not you rise up and
turn upon those that strike you? which you may observe in wild beasts
themselves, that they will avenge themselves on those that strike
them. Will you not call to mind, every one of you, the calamities you
yourselves have suffered? nor lay before your eyes what afflictions you
yourselves have undergone? and will not such things sharpen your souls
to revenge? Is therefore that most honorable and most natural of our
passions utterly lost, I mean the desire of liberty? Truly we are in
love with slavery, and in love with those that lord it over us, as if
we had received that principle of subjection from our ancestors; yet did
they undergo many and great wars for the sake of liberty, nor were they
so far overcome by the power of the Egyptians, or the Medes, but that
still they did what they thought fit, notwithstanding their commands to
the contrary. And what occasion is there now for a war with the Romans?
[I meddle not with determining whether it be an advantageous and
profitable war or not.] What pretense is there for it? Is it not that
we may enjoy our liberty? Besides, shall we not bear the lords of the
habitable earth to be lords over us, and yet bear tyrants of our own
country? Although I must say that submission to foreigners may be borne,
because fortune hath already doomed us to it, while submission to wicked
people of our own nation is too unmanly, and brought upon us by our own
consent. However, since I have had occasion to mention the Romans, I
will not conceal a thing that, as I am speaking, comes into my mind, and
affects me considerably; it is this, that though we should be taken by
them, [God forbid the event should be so!] yet can we undergo nothing
that will be harder to be borne than what these men have already brought
upon us. How then can we avoid shedding of tears, when we see the Roman
donations in our temple, while we withal see those of our own nation
taking our spoils, and plundering our glorious metropolis, and
slaughtering our men, from which enormities those Romans themselves
would have abstained? to see those Romans never going beyond the bounds
allotted to profane persons, nor venturing to break in upon any of our
sacred customs; nay, having a horror on their minds when they view at a
distance those sacred walls; while some that have been born in this very
country, and brought up in our customs, and called Jews, do walk about
in the midst of the holy places, at the very time when their hands are
still warm with the slaughter of their own countrymen. Besides, can
any one be afraid of a war abroad, and that with such as will have
comparatively much greater moderation than our own people have? For
truly, if we may suit our words to the things they represent, it is
probable one may hereafter find the Romans to be the supporters of our
laws, and those within ourselves the subverters of them. And now I am
persuaded that every one of you here comes satisfied before I speak that
these overthrowers of our liberties deserve to be destroyed, and that
nobody can so much as devise a punishment that they have not deserved by
what they have done, and that you are all provoked against them by those
their wicked actions, whence you have suffered so greatly. But perhaps
many of you are affrighted at the multitude of those zealots, and at
their audaciousness, as well as at the advantage they have over us in
their being higher in place than we are; for these circumstances, as
they have been occasioned by your negligence, so will they become still
greater by being still longer neglected; for their multitude is every
day augmented, by every ill man's running away to those that are like to
themselves, and their audaciousness is therefore inflamed, because they
meet with no obstruction to their designs. And for their higher place,
they will make use of it for engines also, if we give them time to do
so; but be assured of this, that if we go up to fight them, they will
be made tamer by their own consciences, and what advantages they have in
the height of their situation they will lose by the opposition of their
reason; perhaps also God himself, who hath been affronted by them, will
make what they throw at us return against themselves, and these
impious wretches will be killed by their own darts: let us but make our
appearance before them, and they will come to nothing. However, it is a
right thing, if there should be any danger in the attempt, to die before
these holy gates, and to spend our very lives, if not for the sake of
our children and wives, yet for God's sake, and for the sake of his
sanctuary. I will assist you both with my counsel and with my hand; nor
shall any sagacity of ours be wanting for your support; nor shall you
see that I will be sparing of my body neither."
11. By these motives Ananus encouraged the multitude to go against the
zealots, although he knew how difficult it would be to disperse them,
because of their multitude, and their youth, and the courage of their
souls; but chiefly because of their consciousness of what they had done,
since they would not yield, as not so much as hoping for pardon at the
last for those their enormities. However, Ananus resolved to undergo
whatever sufferings might come upon him, rather than overlook things,
now they were in such great confusion. So the multitude cried out
to him, to lead them on against those whom he had described in his
exhortation to them, and every one of them was most readily disposed to
run any hazard whatsoever on that account.
12. Now while Ananus was choosing out his men, and putting those that
were proper for his purpose in array for fighting, the zealots got
information of his undertaking, [for there were some who went to them,
and told them all that the people were doing,] and were irritated at
it, and leaping out of the temple in crowds, and by parties, spared none
whom they met with. Upon this Ananus got the populace together on the
sudden, who were more numerous indeed than the zealots, but inferior
to them in arms, because they had not been regularly put into array for
fighting; but the alacrity that every body showed supplied all their
defects on both sides, the citizens taking up so great a passion as was
stronger than arms, and deriving a degree of courage from the temple
more forcible than any multitude whatsoever; and indeed these citizens
thought it was not possible for them to dwell in the city, unless they
could cut off the robbers that were in it. The zealots also thought that
unless they prevailed, there would be no punishment so bad but it
would be inflicted on them. So their conflicts were conducted by their
passions; and at the first they only cast stones at each other in the
city, and before the temple, and threw their javelins at a distance; but
when either of them were too hard for the other, they made use of their
swords; and great slaughter was made on both sides, and a great number
were wounded. As for the dead bodies of the people, their relations
carried them out to their own houses; but when any of the zealots were
wounded, he went up into the temple, and defiled that sacred floor
with his blood, insomuch that one may say it was their blood alone
that polluted our sanctuary. Now in these conflicts the robbers always
sallied out of the temple, and were too hard for their enemies; but
the populace grew very angry, and became more and more numerous, and
reproached those that gave back, and those behind would not afford room
to those that were going off, but forced them on again, till at length
they made their whole body to turn against their adversaries, and the
robbers could no longer oppose them, but were forced gradually to retire
into the temple; when Ananus and his party fell into it at the same time
together with them. 7 This horribly affrighted the robbers, because
it deprived them of the first court; so they fled into the inner court
immediately, and shut the gates. Now Ananus did not think fit to make
any attack against the holy gates, although the other threw their stones
and darts at them from above. He also deemed it unlawful to introduce
the multitude into that court before they were purified; he therefore
chose out of them all by lot six thousand armed men, and placed them as
guards in the cloisters; so there was a succession of such guards
one after another, and every one was forced to attend in his course;
although many of the chief of the city were dismissed by those that then
took on them the government, upon their hiring some of the poorer sort,
and sending them to keep the guard in their stead.
13. Now it was John who, as we told you, ran away from Gischala, and was
the occasion of all these being destroyed. He was a man of great craft,
and bore about him in his soul a strong passion after tyranny, and at
a distance was the adviser in these actions; and indeed at this time he
pretended to be of the people's opinion, and went all about with Ananus
when he consulted the great men every day, and in the night time also
when he went round the watch; but he divulged their secrets to the
zealots, and every thing that the people deliberated about was by his
means known to their enemies, even before it had been well agreed upon
by themselves. And by way of contrivance how he might not be brought
into suspicion, he cultivated the greatest friendship possible with
Ananus, and with the chief of the people; yet did this overdoing of his
turn against him, for he flattered them so extravagantly, that he was
but the more suspected; and his constant attendance every where, even
when he was not invited to be present, made him strongly suspected of
betraying their secrets to the enemy; for they plainly perceived
that they understood all the resolutions taken against them at their
consultations. Nor was there any one whom they had so much reason to
suspect of that discovery as this John; yet was it not easy to get quit
of him, so potent was he grown by his wicked practices. He was also
supported by many of those eminent men, who were to be consulted upon
all considerable affairs; it was therefore thought reasonable to oblige
him to give them assurance of his good-will upon oath; accordingly John
took such an oath readily, that he would be on the people's side, and
would not betray any of their counsels or practices to their enemies,
and would assist them in overthrowing those that attacked them, and that
both by his hand and his advice. So Ananus and his party believed his
oath, and did now receive him to their consultations without further
suspicion; nay, so far did they believe him, that they sent him as
their ambassador into the temple to the zealots, with proposals of
accommodation; for they were very desirous to avoid the pollution of the
temple as much as they possibly could, and that no one of their nation
should be slain therein.
14. But now this John, as if his oath had been made to the zealots, and
for confirmation of his good-will to them, and not against them, went
into the temple, and stood in the midst of them, and spake as follows:
That he had run many hazards on their accounts, and in order to let them
know of every thing that was secretly contrived against them by Ananus
and his party; but that both he and they should be cast into the most
imminent danger, unless some providential assistance were afforded them;
for that Ananus made no longer delay, but had prevailed with the people
to send ambassadors to Vespasian, to invite him to come presently and
take the city; and that he had appointed a fast for the next day against
them, that they might obtain admission into the temple on a religious
account, or gain it by force, and fight with them there; that he did not
see how long they could either endure a siege, or how they could fight
against so many enemies. He added further, that it was by the
providence of God he was himself sent as an ambassador to them for an
accommodation; for that Artanus did therefore offer them such proposals,
that he might come upon them when they were unarmed; that they ought
to choose one of these two methods, either to intercede with those that
guarded them, to save their lives, or to provide some foreign assistance
for themselves; that if they fostered themselves with the hopes of
pardon, in case they were subdued, they had forgotten what desperate
things they had done, or could suppose, that as soon as the actors
repented, those that had suffered by them must be presently reconciled
to them; while those that have done injuries, though they pretend to
repent of them, are frequently hated by the others for that sort of
repentance; and that the sufferers, when they get the power into their
hands, are usually still more severe upon the actors; that the friends
and kindred of those that had been destroyed would always be laying
plots against them; and that a large body of people were very angry
on account of their gross breaches of their laws, and [illegal]
judicatures, insomuch that although some part might commiserate them,
those would be quite overborne by the majority.
CHAPTER 4.
The Idumeans Being Sent For By The Zealots, Came Immediately
To Jerusalem; And When They Were Excluded Out Of The City,
They Lay All Night There. Jesus One Of The High Priests
Makes A Speech To Them; And Simon The Idumean Makes A Reply
To It.
1. Now, by this crafty speech, John made the zealots afraid; yet durst
he not directly name what foreign assistance he meant, but in a covert
way only intimated at the Idumeans. But now, that he might particularly
irritate the leaders of the zealots, he calumniated Ananus, that he was
about a piece of barbarity, and did in a special manner threaten them.
These leaders were Eleazar, the son of Simon, who seemed the most
plausible man of them all, both in considering what was fit to be done,
and in the execution of what he had determined upon, and Zacharias, the
son of Phalek; both of whom derived their families from the priests.
Now when these two men had heard, not only the common threatenings which
belonged to them all, but those peculiarly leveled against themselves;
and besides, how Artanus and his party, in order to secure their own
dominion, had invited the Romans to come to them, for that also was
part of John's lie; they hesitated a great while what they should do,
considering the shortness of the time by which they were straitened;
because the people were prepared to attack them very soon, and because
the suddenness of the plot laid against them had almost cut off all
their hopes of getting any foreign assistance; for they might be under
the height of their afflictions before any of their confederates could
be informed of it. However, it was resolved to call in the Idumeans; so
they wrote a short letter to this effect: That Ananus had imposed on
the people, and was betraying their metropolis to the Romans; that
they themselves had revolted from the rest, and were in custody in the
temple, on account of the preservation of their liberty; that there was
but a small time left wherein they might hope for their deliverance; and
that unless they would come immediately to their assistance, they should
themselves be soon in the power of Artanus, and the city would be in the
power of the Romans. They also charged the messengers to tell many more
circumstances to the rulers of the Idumeans. Now there were two active
men proposed for the carrying this message, and such as were able to
speak, and to persuade them that things were in this posture, and, what
was a qualification still more necessary than the former, they were very
swift of foot; for they knew well enough that these would immediately
comply with their desires, as being ever a tumultuous and disorderly
nation, always on the watch upon every motion, delighting in mutations;
and upon your flattering them ever so little, and petitioning them, they
soon take their arms, and put themselves into motion, and make haste to
a battle, as if it were to a feast. There was indeed occasion for quick
despatch in the carrying of this message, in which point the messengers
were no way defective. Both their names were Ananias; and they soon came
to the rulers of the Idumeans.
2. Now these rulers were greatly surprised at the contents of the
letter, and at what those that came with it further told them; whereupon
they ran about the nation like madmen, and made proclamation that the
people should come to war; so a multitude was suddenly got together,
sooner indeed than the time appointed in the proclamation, and every
body caught up their arms, in order to maintain the liberty of their
metropolis; and twenty thousand of them were put into battle-array, and
came to Jerusalem, under four commanders, John, and Jacob the son of
Sosas; and besides these were Simon, the son of Cathlas, and Phineas,
the son of Clusothus.
3. Now this exit of the messengers was not known either to Ananus or to
the guards, but the approach of the Idumeans was known to him; for as
he knew of it before they came, he ordered the gates to be shut against
them, and that the walls should be guarded. Yet did not he by any means
think of fighting against them, but, before they came to blows, to try
what persuasions would do. Accordingly, Jesus, the eldest of the high
priests next to Artanus, stood upon the tower that was over against
them, and said thus: "Many troubles indeed, and those of various kinds,
have fallen upon this city, yet in none of them have I so much wondered
at her fortune as now, when you are come to assist wicked men, and
this after a manner very extraordinary; for I see that you are come to
support the vilest of men against us, and this with so great alacrity,
as you could hardly put on the like, in case our metropolis had called
you to her assistance against barbarians. And if I had perceived that
your army was composed of men like unto those who invited them, I had
not deemed your attempt so absurd; for nothing does so much cement the
minds of men together as the alliance there is between their manners.
But now for these men who have invited you, if you were to examine
them one by one, every one of them would be found to have deserved ten
thousand deaths; for the very rascality and offscouring of the whole
country, who have spent in debauchery their own substance, and, by way
of trial beforehand, have madly plundered the neighboring villages and
cities, in the upshot of all, have privately run together into this holy
city. They are robbers, who by their prodigious wickedness have profaned
this most sacred floor, and who are to be now seen drinking themselves
drunk in the sanctuary, and expending the spoils of those whom they have
slaughtered upon their unsatiable bellies. As for the multitude that
is with you, one may see them so decently adorned in their armor, as
it would become them to be had their metropolis called them to her
assistance against foreigners. What can a man call this procedure of
yours but the sport of fortune, when he sees a whole nation coming to
protect a sink of wicked wretches? I have for a good while been in doubt
what it could possibly be that should move you to do this so suddenly;
because certainly you would not take on your armor on the behalf of
robbers, and against a people of kin to you, without some very great
cause for your so doing. But we have an item that the Romans are
pretended, and that we are supposed to be going to betray this city
to them; for some of your men have lately made a clamor about those
matters, and have said they are come to set their metropolis free. Now
we cannot but admire at these wretches in their devising such a lie
as this against us; for they knew there was no other way to irritate
against us men that were naturally desirous of liberty, and on that
account the best disposed to fight against foreign enemies, but by
framing a tale as if we were going to betray that most desirable thing,
liberty. But you ought to consider what sort of people they are that
raise this calumny, and against what sort of people that calumny is
raised, and to gather the truth of things, not by fictitious speeches,
but out of the actions of both parties; for what occasion is there for
us to sell ourselves to the Romans, while it was in our power not to
have revolted from them at the first, or when we had once revolted, to
have returned under their dominion again, and this while the neighboring
countries were not yet laid waste? whereas it is not an easy thing to
be reconciled to the Romans, if we were desirous of it, now they have
subdued Galilee, and are thereby become proud and insolent; and to
endeavor to please them at the time when they are so near us, would
bring such a reproach upon us as were worse than death. As for myself,
indeed, I should have preferred peace with them before death; but now we
have once made war upon them, and fought with them, I prefer death, with
reputation, before living in captivity under them. But further, whether
do they pretend that we, who are the rulers of the people, have sent
thus privately to the Romans, or hath it been done by the common
suffrages of the people? If it be ourselves only that have done it, let
them name those friends of ours that have been sent, as our servants, to
manage this treachery. Hath any one been caught as he went out on this
errand, or seized upon as he came back? Are they in possession of our
letters? How could we be concealed from such a vast number of our fellow
citizens, among whom we are conversant every hour, while what is done
privately in the country is, it seems, known by the zealots, who are but
few in number, and under confinement also, and are not able to come out
of the temple into the city. Is this the first time that they are become
sensible how they ought to be punished for their insolent actions? For
while these men were free from the fear they are now under, there was
no suspicion raised that any of us were traitors. But if they lay
this charge against the people, this must have been done at a public
consultation, and not one of the people must have dissented from the
rest of the assembly; in which case the public fame of this matter would
have come to you sooner than any particular indication. But how could
that be? Must there not then have been ambassadors sent to confirm
the agreements? And let them tell us who this ambassador was that was
ordained for that purpose. But this is no other than a pretense of such
men as are loath to die, and are laboring to escape those punishments
that hang over them; for if fate had determined that this city was to be
betrayed into its enemies' hands, no other than these men that accuse
us falsely could have the impudence to do it, there being no wickedness
wanting to complete their impudent practices but this only, that they
become traitors. And now you Idumeans are come hither already with
your arms, it is your duty, in the first place, to be assisting to your
metropolis, and to join with us in cutting off those tyrants that have
infringed the rules of our regular tribunals, that have trampled upon
our laws, and made their swords the arbitrators of right and wrong; for
they have seized upon men of great eminence, and under no accusation,
as they stood in the midst of the market-place, and tortured them with
putting them into bonds, and, without bearing to hear what they had to
say, or what supplications they made, they destroyed them. You may, if
you please, come into the city, though not in the way of war, and take
a view of the marks still remaining of what I now say, and may see the
houses that have been depopulated by their rapacious hands, with those
wives and families that are in black, mourning for their slaughtered
relations; as also you may hear their groans and lamentations all the
city over; for there is nobody but hath tasted of the incursions of
these profane wretches, who have proceeded to that degree of madness,
as not only to have transferred their impudent robberies out of the
country, and the remote cities, into this city, the very face and head
of the whole nation, but out of the city into the temple also; for that
is now made their receptacle and refuge, and the fountain-head whence
their preparations are made against us. And this place, which is adored
by the habitable world, and honored by such as only know it by report,
as far as the ends of the earth, is trampled upon by these wild beasts
born among ourselves. They now triumph in the desperate condition they
are already in, when they hear that one people is going to fight against
another people, and one city against another city, and that your nation
hath gotten an army together against its own bowels. Instead of which
procedure, it were highly fit and reasonable, as I said before, for you
to join with us in cutting off these wretches, and in particular to
be revenged on them for putting this very cheat upon you; I mean, for
having the impudence to invite you to assist them, of whom they ought to
have stood in fear, as ready to punish them. But if you have some regard
to these men's invitation of you, yet may you lay aside your arms, and
come into the city under the notion of our kindred, and take upon you
a middle name between that of auxiliaries and of enemies, and so become
judges in this case. However, consider what these men will gain by being
called into judgment before you, for such undeniable and such flagrant
crimes, who would not vouchsafe to hear such as had no accusations laid
against them to speak a word for themselves. However, let them gain this
advantage by your coming. But still, if you will neither take our part
in that indignation we have at these men, nor judge between us, the
third thing I have to propose is this, that you let us both alone,
and neither insult upon our calamities, nor abide with these plotters
against their metropolis; for though you should have ever so great a
suspicion that some of us have discoursed with the Romans, it is in your
power to watch the passages into the city; and in case any thing that we
have been accused of is brought to light, then to come and defend your
metropolis, and to inflict punishment on those that are found guilty;
for the enemy cannot prevent you who are so near to the city. But if,
after all, none of these proposals seem acceptable and moderate, do not
you wonder that the gates are shut against you, while you bear your arms
about you."
4. Thus spake Jesus; yet did not the multitude of the Idumeans give any
attention to what he said, but were in a rage, because they did not meet
with a ready entrance into the city. The generals also had indignation
at the offer of laying down their arms, and looked upon it as equal to
a captivity, to throw them away at any man's injunction whomsoever.
But Simon, the son of Cathlas, one of their commanders, with much ado
quieted the tumult of his own men, and stood so that the high priests
might hear him, and said as follows: "I can no longer wonder that the
patrons of liberty are under custody in the temple, since there are
those that shut the gates of our common city 8 to their own nation, and
at the same time are prepared to admit the Romans into it; nay, perhaps
are disposed to crown the gates with garlands at their coming, while
they speak to the Idumeans from their own towers, and enjoin them to
throw down their arms which they have taken up for the preservation of
its liberty. And while they will not intrust the guard of our metropolis
to their kindred, profess to make them judges of the differences that
are among them; nay, while they accuse some men of having slain others
without a legal trial, they do themselves condemn a whole nation after
an ignominious manner, and have now walled up that city from their
own nation, which used to be open to even all foreigners that came to
worship there. We have indeed come in great haste to you, and to a war
against our own countrymen; and the reason why we have made such haste
is this, that we may preserve that freedom which you are so unhappy
as to betray. You have probably been guilty of the like crimes against
those whom you keep in custody, and have, I suppose, collected together
the like plausible pretenses against them also that you make use of
against us; after which you have gotten the mastery of those within the
temple, and keep them in custody, while they are only taking care of
the public affairs. You have also shut the gates of the city in general
against nations that are the most nearly related to you; and while you
give such injurious commands to others, you complain that you have been
tyrannized over by them, and fix the name of unjust governors upon such
as are tyrannized over by yourselves. Who can bear this your abuse of
words, while they have a regard to the contrariety of your actions,
unless you mean this, that those Idumeans do now exclude you out of
your metropolis, whom you exclude from the sacred offices of your own
country? One may indeed justly complain of those that are besieged in
the temple, that when they had courage enough to punish those tyrants
whom you call eminent men, and free from any accusations, because of
their being your companions in wickedness, they did not begin with you,
and thereby cut off beforehand the most dangerous parts of this treason.
But if these men have been more merciful than the public necessity
required, we that are Idumeans will preserve this house of God, and will
fight for our common country, and will oppose by war as well those that
attack them from abroad, as those that betray them from within. Here
will we abide before the walls in our armor, until either the Romans
grow weary in waiting for you, or you become friends to liberty, and
repent of what you have done against it."
5. And now did the Idumeans make an acclamation to what Simon had said;
but Jesus went away sorrowful, as seeing that the Idumeans were against
all moderate counsels, and that the city was besieged on both sides. Nor
indeed were the minds of the Idumeans at rest; for they were in a rage
at the injury that had been offered them by their exclusion out of the
city; and when they thought the zealots had been strong, but saw nothing
of theirs to support them, they were in doubt about the matter, and many
of them repented that they had come thither. But the shame that would
attend them in case they returned without doing any thing at all, so far
overcame that their repentance, that they lay all night before the wall,
though in a very bad encampment; for there broke out a prodigious storm
in the night, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with
the largest showers of rain, with continued lightnings, terrible
thunderings, and amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth, that
was in an earthquake. These things were a manifest indication that some
destruction was coming upon men, when the system of the world was
put into this disorder; and any one would guess that these wonders
foreshowed some grand calamities that were coming.
6. Now the opinion of the Idumeans and of the citizens was one and the
same. The Idumeans thought that God was angry at their taking arms, and
that they would not escape punishment for their making war upon their
metropolis. Ananus and his party thought that they had conquered without
fighting, and that God acted as a general for them; but truly they
proved both ill conjectures at what was to come, and made those events
to be ominous to their enemies, while they were themselves to undergo
the ill effects of them; for the Idumeans fenced one another by uniting
their bodies into one band, and thereby kept themselves warm, and
connecting their shields over their heads, were not so much hurt by the
rain. But the zealots were more deeply concerned for the danger these
men were in than they were for themselves, and got together, and looked
about them to see whether they could devise any means of assisting them.
The hotter sort of them thought it best to force their guards with their
arms, and after that to fall into the midst of the city, and publicly
open the gates to those that came to their assistance; as supposing the
guards would be in disorder, and give way at such an unexpected attempt
of theirs, especially as the greater part of them were unarmed and
unskilled in the affairs of war; and that besides the multitude of the
citizens would not be easily gathered together, but confined to
their houses by the storm: and that if there were any hazard in their
undertaking, it became them to suffer any thing whatsoever themselves,
rather than to overlook so great a multitude as were miserably perishing
on their account. But the more prudent part of them disapproved of this
forcible method, because they saw not only the guards about them very
numerous, but the walls of the city itself carefully watched, by reason
of the Idumeans. They also supposed that Ananus would be every where,
and visit the guards every hour; which indeed was done upon other
nights, but was omitted that night, not by reason of any slothfulness
of Ananus, but by the overbearing appointment of fate, that so both he
might himself perish, and the multitude of the guards might perish with
him; for truly, as the night was far gone, and the storm very terrible,
Ananus gave the guards in the cloisters leave to go to sleep; while it
came into the heads of the zealots to make use of the saws belonging to
the temple, and to cut the bars of the gates to pieces. The noise of the
wind, and that not inferior sound of the thunder, did here also conspire
with their designs, that the noise of the saws was not heard by the
others.
7. So they secretly went out of the temple to the wall of the city, and
made use of their saws, and opened that gate which was over against the
Idumeans. Now at first there came a fear upon the Idumeans themselves,
which disturbed them, as imagining that Ananus and his party were coming
to attack them, so that every one of them had his right hand upon his
sword, in order to defend himself; but they soon came to know who they
were that came to them, and were entered the city. And had the Idumeans
then fallen upon the city, nothing could have hindered them from
destroying the people every man of them, such was the rage they were in
at that time; but as they first of all made haste to get the zealots out
of custody, which those that brought them in earnestly desired them to
do, and not to overlook those for whose sakes they were come, in the
midst of their distresses, nor to bring them into a still greater
danger; for that when they had once seized upon the guards, it would
be easy for them to fall upon the city; but that if the city were once
alarmed, they would not then be able to overcome those guards, because
as soon as they should perceive they were there, they would put
themselves in order to fight them, and would hinder their coming into
the temple.
CHAPTER V.
The Cruelty Of The Idumeans When They Were Gotten Into The
Temple During The Storm; And Of The Zealots. Concerning The
Slaughter Of Ananus, And Jesus, And Zacharias; And How The
Idumeans Retired Home.
1. This advice pleased the Idumeans, and they ascended through the
city to the temple. The zealots were also in great expectation of
their coming, and earnestly waited for them. When therefore these were
entering, they also came boldly out of the inner temple, and mixing
themselves among the Idumeans, they attacked the guards; and some of
those that were upon the watch, but were fallen asleep, they killed as
they were asleep; but as those that were now awakened made a cry, the
whole multitude arose, and in the amazement they were in caught hold of
their arms immediately, and betook themselves to their own defense; and
so long as they thought they were only the zealots who attacked them,
they went on boldly, as hoping to overpower them by their numbers; but
when they saw others pressing in upon them also, they perceived the
Idumeans were got in; and the greatest part of them laid aside
their arms, together with their courage, and betook themselves to
lamentations. But some few of the younger sort covered themselves
with their armor, and valiantly received the Idumeans, and for a while
protected the multitude of old men. Others, indeed, gave a signal to
those that were in the city of the calamities they were in; but when
these were also made sensible that the Idumeans were come in, none of
them durst come to their assistance, only they returned the terrible
echo of wailing, and lamented their misfortunes. A great howling of the
women was excited also, and every one of the guards were in danger
of being killed. The zealots also joined in the shouts raised by the
Idumeans; and the storm itself rendered the cry more terrible; nor did
the Idumeans spare any body; for as they are naturally a most barbarous
and bloody nation, and had been distressed by the tempest, they made use
of their weapons against those that had shut the gates against them, and
acted in the same manner as to those that supplicated for their lives,
and to those that fought them, insomuch that they ran through those with
their swords who desired them to remember the relation there was between
them, and begged of them to have regard to their common temple. Now
there was at present neither any place for flight, nor any hope of
preservation; but as they were driven one upon another in heaps, so
were they slain. Thus the greater part were driven together by force, as
there was now no place of retirement, and the murderers were upon them;
and, having no other way, threw themselves down headlong into the city;
whereby, in my opinion, they underwent a more miserable destruction than
that which they avoided, because that was a voluntary one. And now the
outer temple was all of it overflowed with blood; and that day, as it
came on, they saw eight thousand five hundred dead bodies there.
2. But the rage of the Idumeans was not satiated by these slaughters;
but they now betook themselves to the city, and plundered every house,
and slew every one they met; and for the other multitude, they esteemed
it needless to go on with killing them, but they sought for the high
priests, and the generality went with the greatest zeal against them;
and as soon as they caught them they slew them, and then standing upon
their dead bodies, in way of jest, upbraided Ananus with his kindness to
the people, and Jesus with his speech made to them from the wall. Nay,
they proceeded to that degree of impiety, as to cast away their dead
bodies without burial, although the Jews used to take so much care of
the burial of men, that they took down those that were condemned and
crucified, and buried them before the going down of the sun. I should
not mistake if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the
destruction of the city, and that from this very day may be dated the
overthrow of her wall, and the ruin of her affairs, whereon they saw
their high priest, and the procurer of their preservation, slain in the
midst of their city. He was on other accounts also a venerable, and a
very just man; and besides the grandeur of that nobility, and dignity,
and honor of which he was possessed, he had been a lover of a kind
of parity, even with regard to the meanest of the people; he was
a prodigious lover of liberty, and an admirer of a democracy in
government; and did ever prefer the public welfare before his own
advantage, and preferred peace above all things; for he was thoroughly
sensible that the Romans were not to be conquered. He also foresaw
that of necessity a war would follow, and that unless the Jews made up
matters with them very dexterously, they would be destroyed; to say
all in a word, if Ananus had survived, they had certainly compounded
matters; for he was a shrewd man in speaking and persuading the people,
and had already gotten the mastery of those that opposed his designs, or
were for the war. And the Jews had then put abundance of delays in the
way of the Romans, if they had had such a general as he was. Jesus
was also joined with him; and although he was inferior to him upon the
comparison, he was superior to the rest; and I cannot but think that it
was because God had doomed this city to destruction, as a polluted city,
and was resolved to purge his sanctuary by fire, that he cut off these
their great defenders and well-wishers, while those that a little before
had worn the sacred garments, and had presided over the public worship;
and had been esteemed venerable by those that dwelt on the whole
habitable earth when they came into our city, were cast out naked, and
seen to be the food of dogs and wild beasts. And I cannot but imagine
that virtue itself groaned at these men's case, and lamented that she
was here so terribly conquered by wickedness. And this at last was the
end of Ananus and Jesus.
3. Now after these were slain, the zealots and the multitude of the
Idumeans fell upon the people as upon a flock of profane animals, and
cut their throats; and for the ordinary sort, they were destroyed in
what place soever they caught them. But for the noblemen and the youth,
they first caught them and bound them, and shut them up in prison, and
put off their slaughter, in hopes that some of them would turn over to
their party; but not one of them would comply with their desires, but
all of them preferred death before being enrolled among such wicked
wretches as acted against their own country. But this refusal of theirs
brought upon them terrible torments; for they were so scourged and
tortured, that their bodies were not able to sustain their torments,
till at length, and with difficulty, they had the favor to be slain.
Those whom they caught in the day time were slain in the night, and then
their bodies were carried out and thrown away, that there might be room
for other prisoners; and the terror that was upon the people was so
great, that no one had courage enough either to weep openly for the dead
man that was related to him, or to bury him; but those that were shut up
in their own houses could only shed tears in secret, and durst not even
groan without great caution, lest any of their enemies should hear them;
for if they did, those that mourned for others soon underwent the same
death with those whom they mourned for. Only in the night time they
would take up a little dust, and throw it upon their bodies; and even
some that were the most ready to expose themselves to danger would do it
in the day time: and there were twelve thousand of the better sort who
perished in this manner.
4. And now these zealots and Idumeans were quite weary of barely killing
men, so they had the impudence of setting up fictitious tribunals and
judicatures for that purpose; and as they intended to have Zacharias 9
the son of Baruch, one of the most eminent of the citizens, slain, so
what provoked them against him was, that hatred of wickedness and love
of liberty which were so eminent in him: he was also a rich man, so that
by taking him off, they did not only hope to seize his effects, but
also to get rid of a mall that had great power to destroy them. So they
called together, by a public proclamation, seventy of the principal men
of the populace, for a show, as if they were real judges, while they had
no proper authority. Before these was Zacharias accused of a design
to betray their polity to the Romans, and having traitorously sent to
Vespasian for that purpose. Now there appeared no proof or sign of
what he was accused; but they affirmed themselves that they were well
persuaded that so it was, and desired that such their affirmation might
be taken for sufficient evidence. Now when Zacharias clearly saw that
there was no way remaining for his escape from them, as having been
treacherously called before them, and then put in prison, but not with
any intention of a legal trial, he took great liberty of speech in that
despair of his life he was under. Accordingly he stood up, and laughed
at their pretended accusation, and in a few words confuted the crimes
laid to his charge; after which he turned his speech to his accusers,
and went over distinctly all their transgressions of the law, and made
heavy lamentation upon the confusion they had brought public affairs
to: in the mean time, the zealots grew tumultuous, and had much ado to
abstain from drawing their swords, although they designed to preserve
the appearance and show of judicature to the end. They were also
desirous, on other accounts, to try the judges, whether they would be
mindful of what was just at their own peril. Now the seventy judges
brought in their verdict that the person accused was not guilty, as
choosing rather to die themselves with him, than to have his death laid
at their doors; hereupon there arose a great clamor of the zealots
upon his acquittal, and they all had indignation at the judges for not
understanding that the authority that was given them was but in jest.
So two of the boldest of them fell upon Zacharias in the middle of the
temple, and slew him; and as he fell down dead, they bantered him,
and said, "Thou hast also our verdict, and this will prove a more sure
acquittal to thee than the other." They also threw him down from the
temple immediately into the valley beneath it. Moreover, they struck the
judges with the backs of their swords, by way of abuse, and thrust them
out of the court of the temple, and spared their lives with no other
design than that, when they were dispersed among the people in the city,
they might become their messengers, to let them know they were no better
than slaves.
5. But by this time the Idumeans repented of their coming, and were
displeased at what had been done; and when they were assembled together
by one of the zealots, who had come privately to them, he declared
to them what a number of wicked pranks they had themselves done in
conjunction with those that invited them, and gave a particular account
of what mischiefs had been done against their metropolis. He said that
they had taken arms, as though the high priests were betraying their
metropolis to the Romans, but had found no indication of any such
treachery; but that they had succored those that had pretended to
believe such a thing, while they did themselves the works of war and
tyranny, after an insolent manner. It had been indeed their business to
have hindered them from such their proceedings at the first, but seeing
they had once been partners with them in shedding the blood of their
own countrymen, it was high time to put a stop to such crimes, and not
continue to afford any more assistance to such as are subverting the
laws of their forefathers; for that if any had taken it ill that the
gates had been shut against them, and they had not been permitted to
come into the city, yet that those who had excluded them have been
punished, and Ananus is dead, and that almost all those people had been
destroyed in one night's time. That one may perceive many of themselves
now repenting for what they had done, and might see the horrid barbarity
of those that had invited them, and that they had no regard to such as
had saved them; that they were so impudent as to perpetrate the vilest
things, under the eyes of those that had supported them, and that their
wicked actions would be laid to the charge of the Idumeans, and would
be so laid to their charge till somebody obstructs their proceedings, or
separates himself from the same wicked action; that they therefore ought
to retire home, since the imputation of treason appears to be a Calumny,
and that there was no expectation of the coming of the Romans at this
time, and that the government of the city was secured by such walls as
cannot easily be thrown down; and, by avoiding any further fellowship
with these bad men, to make some excuse for themselves, as to what they
had been so far deluded, as to have been partners with them hitherto.
CHAPTER 6.
How The Zealots When They Were Freed From The Idumeans, Slew
A Great Many More Of The Citizens; And How Vespasian
Dissuaded The Romans When They Were Very Earnest To March
Against The Jews From Proceeding In The War At That Time.
1. The Idumeans complied with these persuasions; and, in the first
place, they set those that were in the prisons at liberty, being about
two thousand of the populace, who thereupon fled away immediately to
Simon, one whom we shall speak of presently. After which these Idumeans
retired from Jerusalem, and went home; which departure of theirs was
a great surprise to both parties; for the people, not knowing of their
repentance, pulled up their courage for a while, as eased of so many of
their enemies, while the zealots grew more insolent not as deserted by
their confederates, but as freed from such men as might hinder their
designs, and plot some stop to their wickedness. Accordingly, they
made no longer any delay, nor took any deliberation in their enormous
practices, but made use of the shortest methods for all their executions
and what they had once resolved upon, they put in practice sooner than
any one could imagine. But their thirst was chiefly after the blood
of valiant men, and men of good families; the one sort of which they
destroyed out of envy, the other out of fear; for they thought their
whole security lay in leaving no potent men alive; on which account they
slew Gorion, a person eminent in dignity, and on account of his family
also; he was also for democracy, and of as great boldness and freedom
of spirit as were any of the Jews whosoever; the principal thing that
ruined him, added to his other advantages, was his free speaking. Nor
did Niger of Peres escape their hands; he had been a man of great valor
in their war with the Romans, but was now drawn through the middle of
the city, and, as he went, he frequently cried out, and showed the scars
of his wounds; and when he was drawn out of the gates, and despaired of
his preservation, he besought them to grant him a burial; but as they
had threatened him beforehand not to grant him any spot of earth for a
grave, which he chiefly desired of them, so did they slay him [without
permitting him to be buried]. Now when they were slaying him, he made
this imprecation upon them, that they might undergo both famine and
pestilence in this war, and besides all that, they might come to the
mutual slaughter of one another; all which imprecations God confirmed
against these impious men, and was what came most justly upon them,
when not long afterward they tasted of their own madness in their mutual
seditions one against another. So when this Niger was killed, their
fears of being overturned were diminished; and indeed there was no part
of the people but they found out some pretense to destroy them; for
some were therefore slain, because they had had differences with some of
them; and as to those that had not opposed them in times of peace, they
watched seasonable opportunities to gain some accusation against
them; and if any one did not come near them at all, he was under their
suspicion as a proud man; if any one came with boldness, he was esteemed
a contemner of them; and if any one came as aiming to oblige them, he
was supposed to have some treacherous plot against them; while the only
punishment of crimes, whether they were of the greatest or smallest
sort, was death. Nor could any one escape, unless he were very
inconsiderable, either on account of the meanness of his birth, or on
account of his fortune.
2. And now all the rest of the commanders of the Romans deemed this
sedition among their enemies to be of great advantage to them, and were
very earnest to march to the city, and they urged Vespasian, as their
lord and general in all cases, to make haste, and said to him, that "the
providence of God is on our side, by setting our enemies at variance
against one another; that still the change in such cases may be sudden,
and the Jews may quickly be at one again, either because they may be
tired out with their civil miseries, or repent them of such doings." But
Vespasian replied, that they were greatly mistaken in what they thought
fit to be done, as those that, upon the theater, love to make a show
of their hands, and of their weapons, but do it at their own hazard,
without considering, what was for their advantage, and for their
security; for that if they now go and attack the city immediately, "they
shall but occasion their enemies to unite together, and shall convert
their force, now it is in its height, against themselves. But if they
stay a while, they shall have fewer enemies, because they will be
consumed in this sedition: that God acts as a general of the Romans
better than he can do, and is giving the Jews up to them without any
pains of their own, and granting their army a victory without any
danger; that therefore it is their best way, while their enemies
are destroying each other with their own hands, and falling into the
greatest of misfortunes, which is that of sedition, to sit still as
spectators of the dangers they run into, rather than to fight hand to
hand with men that love murdering, and are mad one against another. But
if any one imagines that the glory of victory, when it is gotten without
fighting, will be more insipid, let him know this much, that a glorious
success, quietly obtained, is more profitable than the dangers of
a battle; for we ought to esteem these that do what is agreeable to
temperance and prudence no less glorious than those that have gained
great reputation by their actions in war: that he shall lead on his army
with greater force when their enemies are diminished, and his own army
refreshed after the continual labors they had undergone. However, that
this is not a proper time to propose to ourselves the glory of victory;
for that the Jews are not now employed in making of armor or building of
walls, nor indeed in getting together auxiliaries, while the advantage
will be on their side who give them such opportunity of delay; but
that the Jews are vexed to pieces every day by their civil wars and
dissensions, and are under greater miseries than, if they were once
taken, could be inflicted on them by us. Whether therefore any one
hath regard to what is for our safety, he ought to suffer these Jews to
destroy one another; or whether he hath regard to the greater glory of
the action, we ought by no means to meddle with those men, now they are
afflicted with a distemper at home; for should we now conquer them, it
would be said the conquest was not owing to our bravery, but to their
sedition." 10
3. And now the commanders joined in their approbation of what Vespasian
had said, and it was soon discovered how wise an opinion he had given.
And indeed many there were of the Jews that deserted every day, and fled
away from the zealots, although their flight was very difficult, since
they had guarded every passage out of the city, and slew every one that
was caught at them, as taking it for granted they were going over to the
Romans; yet did he who gave them money get clear off, while he only that
gave them none was voted a traitor. So the upshot was this, that the
rich purchased their flight by money, while none but the poor were
slain. Along all the roads also vast numbers of dead bodies lay in
heaps, and even many of those that were so zealous in deserting at
length chose rather to perish within the city; for the hopes of burial
made death in their own city appear of the two less terrible to them.
But these zealots came at last to that degree of barbarity, as not to
bestow a burial either on those slain in the city, or on those that lay
along the roads; but as if they had made an agreement to cancel both the
laws of their country and the laws of nature, and, at the same time
that they defiled men with their wicked actions, they would pollute the
Divinity itself also, they left the dead bodies to putrefy under the
sun; and the same punishment was allotted to such as buried any as
to those that deserted, which was no other than death; while he that
granted the favor of a grave to another would presently stand in need
of a grave himself. To say all in a word, no other gentle passion was so
entirely lost among them as mercy; for what were the greatest objects of
pity did most of all irritate these wretches, and they transferred their
rage from the living to those that had been slain, and from the dead
to the living. Nay, the terror was so very great, that he who survived
called them that were first dead happy, as being at rest already; as did
those that were under torture in the prisons, declare, that, upon
this comparison, those that lay unburied were the happiest. These men,
therefore, trampled upon all the laws of men, and laughed at the laws
of God; and for the oracles of the prophets, they ridiculed them as
the tricks of jugglers; yet did these prophets foretell many things
concerning [the rewards of] virtue, and [punishments of] vice, which
when these zealots violated, they occasioned the fulfilling of those
very prophecies belonging to their own country; for there was a certain
ancient oracle of those men, that the city should then be taken and
the sanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a sedition should invade the
Jews, and their own hand should pollute the temple of God. Now while
these zealots did not [quite] disbelieve these predictions, they made
themselves the instruments of their accomplishment.
CHAPTER 7.
How John Tyrannized Over The Rest; And What Mischiefs The
Zealots Did At Masada. How Also Vespasian Took Gadara; And
What Actions Were Performed By Placidus.
1. By this time John was beginning to tyrannize, and thought it beneath
him to accept of barely the same honors that others had; and joining to
himself by degrees a party of the wickedest of them all, he broke
off from the rest of the faction. This was brought about by his still
disagreeing with the opinions of others, and giving out injunctions
of his own, in a very imperious manner; so that it was evident he was
setting up a monarchical power. Now some submitted to him out of their
fear of him, and others out of their good-will to him; for he was a
shrewd man to entice men to him, both by deluding them and putting
cheats upon them. Nay, many there were that thought they should be safer
themselves, if the causes of their past insolent actions should now be
reduced to one head, and not to a great many. His activity was so great,
and that both in action and in counsel, that he had not a few guards
about him; yet was there a great party of his antagonists that left him;
among whom envy at him weighed a great deal, while they thought it a
very heavy thing to be in subjection to one that was formerly their
equal. But the main reason that moved men against him was the dread of
monarchy, for they could not hope easily to put an end to his power,
if he had once obtained it; and yet they knew that he would have this
pretense always against them, that they had opposed him when he was
first advanced; while every one chose rather to suffer any thing
whatsoever in war, than that, when they had been in a voluntary slavery
for some time, they should afterward perish. So the sedition was divided
into two parts, and John reigned in opposition to his adversaries over
one of them: but for their leaders, they watched one another, nor
did they at all, or at least very little, meddle with arms in their
quarrels; but they fought earnestly against the people, and contended
one with another which of them should bring home the greatest prey. But
because the city had to struggle with three of the greatest misfortunes,
war, and tyranny, and sedition, it appeared, upon the comparison,
that the war was the least troublesome to the populace of them all.
Accordingly, they ran away from their own houses to foreigners, and
obtained that preservation from the Romans which they despaired to
obtain among their own people.
2. And now a fourth misfortune arose, in order to bring our nation to
destruction. There was a fortress of very great strength not far
from Jerusalem, which had been built by our ancient kings, both as
a repository for their effects in the hazards of war, and for the
preservation of their bodies at the same time. It was called Masada.
Those that were called Sicarii had taken possession of it formerly,
but at this time they overran the neighboring countries, aiming only
to procure to themselves necessaries; for the fear they were then in
prevented their further ravages. But when once they were informed
that the Roman army lay still, and that the Jews were divided between
sedition and tyranny, they boldly undertook greater matters; and at the
feast of unleavened bread, which the Jews celebrate in memory of their
deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, when they were sent back into
the country of their forefathers, they came down by night, without
being discovered by those that could have prevented them, and overran a
certain small city called Engaddi:--in which expedition they prevented
those citizens that could have stopped them, before they could arm
themselves, and fight them. They also dispersed them, and cast them
out of the city. As for such as could not run away, being women and
children, they slew of them above seven hundred. Afterward, when they
had carried every thing out of their houses, and had seized upon all
the fruits that were in a flourishing condition, they brought them into
Masada. And indeed these men laid all the villages that were about the
fortress waste, and made the whole country desolate; while there came to
them every day, from all parts, not a few men as corrupt as themselves.
At that time all the other regions of Judea that had hitherto been at
rest were in motion, by means of the robbers. Now as it is in a human
body, if the principal part be inflamed, all the members are subject to
the same distemper; so, by means of the sedition and disorder that
was in the metropolis,. had the wicked men that were in the country
opportunity to ravage the same. Accordingly, when every one of them had
plundered their own villages, they then retired into the desert; yet
were these men that now got together, and joined in the conspiracy by
parties, too small for an army, and too many for a gang of thieves: and
thus did they fall upon the holy places 11 and the cities; yet did it
now so happen that they were sometimes very ill treated by those upon
whom they fell with such violence, and were taken by them as men are
taken in war: but still they prevented any further punishment as do
robbers, who, as soon as their ravages [are discovered], run their
way. Nor was there now any part of Judea that was not in a miserable
condition, as well as its most eminent city also.
3. These things were told Vespasian by deserters; for although the
seditious watched all the passages out of the city, and destroyed all,
whosoever they were, that came thither, yet were there some that had
concealed themselves, and when they had fled to the Romans, persuaded
their general to come to their city's assistance, and save the remainder
of the people; informing him withal, that it was upon account of the
people's good-will to the Romans that many of them were already slain,
and the survivors in danger of the same treatment. Vespasian did indeed
already pity the calamities these men were in, and arose, in appearance,
as though he was going to besiege Jerusalem, but in reality to deliver
them from a [worse] siege they were already under. However, he was
obliged first to overthrow what remained elsewhere, and to leave nothing
out of Jerusalem behind him that might interrupt him in that siege.
Accordingly, he marched against Gadara, the metropolis of Perea, which
was a place of strength, and entered that city on the fourth day of the
month Dystrus [Adar]; for the men of power had sent an embassage to
him, without the knowledge of the seditious, to treat about a surrender;
which they did out of the desire they had of peace, and for saving their
effects, because many of the citizens of Gadara were rich men. This
embassy the opposite party knew nothing of, but discovered it as
Vespasian was approaching near the city. However, they despaired of
keeping possession of the city, as being inferior in number to their
enemies who were within the city, and seeing the Romans very near to
the city; so they resolved to fly, but thought it dishonorable to do it
without shedding some blood, and revenging themselves on the authors
of this surrender; so they seized upon Dolesus, [a person not only the
first in rank and family in that city, but one that seemed the occasion
of sending such an embassy,] and slew him, and treated his dead body
after a barbarous manner, so very violent was their anger at him, and
then ran out of the city. And as now the Roman army was just upon them,
the people of Gadara admitted Vespasian with joyful acclamations, and
received from him the security of his right hand, as also a garrison
of horsemen and footmen, to guard them against the excursions of the
runagates; for as to their wall, they had pulled it down before
the Romans desired them so to do, that they might thereby give them
assurance that they were lovers of peace, and that, if they had a mind,
they could not now make war against them.
4. And now Vespasian sent Placidus against those that had fled from
Gadara, with five hundred horsemen, and three thousand footmen, while he
returned himself to Cesarea, with the rest of the army. But as soon
as these fugitives saw the horsemen that pursued them just upon their
backs, and before they came to a close fight, they ran together to a
certain village, which was called Bethennabris, where finding a great
multitude of young men, and arming them, partly by their own consent,
partly by force, they rashly and suddenly assaulted Placidus and the
troops that were with him. These horsemen at the first onset gave way a
little, as contriving to entice them further off the wall; and when they
had drawn them into a place fit for their purpose, they made their horse
encompass them round, and threw their darts at them. So the horsemen cut
off the flight of the fugitives, while the foot terribly destroyed those
that fought against them; for those Jews did no more than show their
courage, and then were destroyed; for as they fell upon the Romans when
they were joined close together, and, as it were, walled about with
their entire armor, they were not able to find any place where the darts
could enter, nor were they any way able to break their ranks, while they
were themselves run through by the Roman darts, and, like the wildest
of wild beasts, rushed upon the point of others' swords; so some of them
were destroyed, as cut with their enemies' swords upon their faces, and
others were dispersed by the horsemen.
5. Now Placidus's concern was to exclude them in their flight from
getting into the village; and causing his horse to march continually on
that side of them, he then turned short upon them, and at the same time
his men made use of their darts, and easily took their aim at those that
were the nearest to them, as they made those that were further off turn
back by the terror they were in, till at last the most courageous of
them brake through those horsemen and fled to the wall of the village.
And now those that guarded the wall were in great doubt what to do;
for they could not bear the thoughts of excluding those that came from
Gadara, because of their own people that were among them; and yet, if
they should admit them, they expected to perish with them, which came
to pass accordingly; for as they were crowding together at the wall, the
Roman horsemen were just ready to fall in with them. However, the guards
prevented them, and shut the gates, when Placidus made an assault upon
them, and fighting courageously till it was dark, he got possession
of the wall, and of the people that were in the city, when the useless
multitude were destroyed; but those that were more potent ran away, and
the soldiers plundered the houses, and set the village on fire. As for
those that ran out of the village, they stirred up such as were in the
country, and exaggerating their own calamities, and telling them that
the whole army of the Romans were upon them, they put them into great
fear on every side; so they got in great numbers together, and fled to
Jericho, for they knew no other place that could afford them any hope of
escaping, it being a city that had a strong wall, and a great multitude
of inhabitants. But Placidus, relying much upon his horsemen, and his
former good success, followed them, and slew all that he overtook,
as far as Jordan; and when he had driven the whole multitude to the
river-side, where they were stopped by the current, [for it had been
augmented lately by rains, and was not fordable,] he put his soldiers
in array over against them; so the necessity the others were in provoked
them to hazard a battle, because there was no place whither they could
flee. They then extended themselves a very great way along the banks of
the river, and sustained the darts that were thrown at them, as well as
the attacks of the horsemen, who beat many of them, and pushed them into
the current. At which fight, hand to hand, fifteen thousand of them were
slain, while the number of those that were unwillingly forced to leap
into Jordan was prodigious. There were besides two thousand and two
hundred taken prisoners. A mighty prey was taken also, consisting of
asses, and sheep, and camels, and oxen.
6. Now this destruction that fell upon the Jews, as it was not inferior
to any of the rest in itself, so did it still appear greater than it
really was; and this, because not only the whole country through which
they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could not be passed
over, by reason of the dead bodies that were in it, but because the lake
Asphaltites was also full of dead bodies, that were carried down into
it by the river. And now Placidus, after this good success that he had,
fell violently upon the neighboring smaller cities and villages; when he
took Abila, and Julias, and Bezemoth, and all those that lay as far as
the lake Asphaltites, and put such of the deserters into each of them as
he thought proper. He then put his soldiers on board the ships, and
slew such as had fled to the lake, insomuch that all Perea had
either surrendered themselves, or were taken by the Romans, as far as
Machaerus.
CHAPTER 8.
How Vespasian Upon Hearing Of Some Commotions In Gall, 12
Made Haste To Finish The Jewish War. A Description Of
Jericho, And Of The Great Plain; With An Account Besides Of
The Lake Asphaltites.
1. In the mean time, an account came that there were commotions in Gall,
and that Vindex, together with the men of power in that country, had
revolted from Nero; which affair is more accurately described elsewhere.
This report, thus related to Vespasian, excited him to go on briskly
with the war; for he foresaw already the civil wars which were coming
upon them, nay, that the very government was in danger; and he thought,
if he could first reduce the eastern parts of the empire to peace, he
should make the fears for Italy the lighter; while therefore the winter
was his hinderance [from going into the field], he put garrisons into
the villages and smaller cities for their security; he put decurions
also into the villages, and centurions into the cities: he besides
this rebuilt many of the cities that had been laid waste; but at the
beginning of the spring he took the greatest part of his army, and led
it from Cesarea to Antipatris, where he spent two days in settling the
affairs of that city, and then, on the third day, he marched on, laying
waste and burning all the neighboring villages. And when he had laid
waste all the places about the toparchy of Thamnas, he passed on to
Lydda and Jamnia; and when both these cities had come over to him,
he placed a great many of those that had come over to him [from other
places] as inhabitants therein, and then came to Emmaus, where he seized
upon the passage which led thence to their metropolis, and fortified his
camp, and leaving the fifth legion therein, he came to the toparchy of
Bethletephon. He then destroyed that place, and the neighboring places,
by fire, and fortified, at proper places, the strong holds all about
Idumea; and when he had seized upon two villages, which were in the very
midst of Idumea, Betaris and Caphartobas, he slew above ten thousand of
the people, and carried into captivity above a thousand, and drove away
the rest of the multitude, and placed no small part of his own forces
in them, who overran and laid waste the whole mountainous country; while
he, with the rest of his forces, returned to Emmaus, whence he came down
through the country of Samaria, and hard by the city, by others called
Neapolis, [or Sichem,] but by the people of that country Mabortha, to
Corea, where he pitched his camp, on the second day of the month Desius
[Sivan]; and on the day following he came to Jericho; on which day
Trajan, one of his commanders, joined him with the forces he brought out
of Perea, all the places beyond Jordan being subdued already.
2. Hereupon a great multitude prevented their approach, and came out
of Jericho, and fled to those mountainous parts that lay over against
Jerusalem, while that part which was left behind was in a great measure
destroyed; they also found the city desolate. It is situated in a plain;
but a naked and barren mountain, of a very great length, hangs over it,
which extends itself to the land about Scythopolis northward, but as far
as the country of Sodom, and the utmost limits of the lake Asphaltites,
southward. This mountain is all of it very uneven and uninhabited, by
reason of its barrenness: there is an opposite mountain that is situated
over against it, on the other side of Jordan; this last begins at
Julias, and the northern quarters, and extends itself southward as far
as Somorrhon, 13 which is the bounds of Petra, in Arabia. In this ridge
of mountains there is one called the Iron Mountain, that runs in length
as far as Moab. Now the region that lies in the middle between these
ridges of mountains is called the Great Plain; it reaches from the
village Ginnabris, as far as the lake Asphaltites; its length is two
hundred and thirty furlongs, and its breadth a hundred and twenty, and
it is divided in the midst by Jordan. It hath two lakes in it, that of
Asphaltites, and that of Tiberias, whose natures are opposite to each
other; for the former is salt and unfruitful, but that of Tiberias is
sweet and fruitful. This plain is much burnt up in summer time, and, by
reason of the extraordinary heat, contains a very unwholesome air; it is
all destitute of water excepting the river Jordan, which water of Jordan
is the occasion why those plantations of palm trees that are near its
banks are more flourishing, and much more fruitful, as are those that
are remote from it not so flourishing, or fruitful.
3. Notwithstanding which, there is a fountain by Jericho, that runs
plentifully, and is very fit for watering the ground; it arises near
the old city, which Joshua, the son of Naue, the general of the Hebrews,
took the first of all the cities of the land of Canaan, by right of war.
The report is, that this fountain, at the beginning, caused not only the
blasting of the earth and the trees, but of the children born of women,
and that it was entirely of a sickly and corruptive nature to all
things whatsoever; but that it was made gentle, and very wholesome and
fruitful, by the prophet Elisha. This prophet was familiar with Elijah,
and was his successor, who, when he once was the guest of the people at
Jericho, and the men of the place had treated him very kindly, he both
made them amends as well as the country, by a lasting favor; for he went
out of the city to this fountain, and threw into the current an earthen
vessel full of salt; after which he stretched out his righteous hand
unto heaven, and, pouring out a mild drink-offering, he made this
supplication, That the current might be mollified, and that the veins of
fresh water might be opened; that God also would bring into the place
a more temperate and fertile air for the current, and would bestow upon
the people of that country plenty of the fruits of the earth, and a
succession of children; and that this prolific water might never fail
them, while they continued to be righteous. To these prayers Elisha
14 joined proper operations of his hands, after a skillful manner, and
changed the fountain; and that water, which had been the occasion of
barrenness and famine before, from that time did supply a numerous
posterity, and afforded great abundance to the country. Accordingly, the
power of it is so great in watering the ground, that if it do but once
touch a country, it affords a sweeter nourishment than other waters do,
when they lie so long upon them, till they are satiated with them. For
which reason, the advantage gained from other waters, when they flow in
great plenty, is but small, while that of this water is great when it
flows even in little quantities. Accordingly, it waters a larger space
of ground than any other waters do, and passes along a plain of seventy
furlongs long, and twenty broad; wherein it affords nourishment to those
most excellent gardens that are thick set with trees. There are in it
many sorts of palm trees that are watered by it, different from each
other in taste and name; the better sort of them, when they are pressed,
yield an excellent kind of honey, not much inferior in sweetness to
other honey. This country withal produces honey from bees; it also bears
that balsam which is the most precious of all the fruits in that place,
cypress trees also, and those that bear myrobalanum; so that he who
should pronounce this place to be divine would not be mistaken, wherein
is such plenty of trees produced as are very rare, and of the must
excellent sort. And indeed, if we speak of those other fruits, it will
not be easy to light on any climate in the habitable earth that can
well be compared to it, what is here sown comes up in such clusters;
the cause of which seems to me to be the warmth of the air, and the
fertility of the waters; the warmth calling forth the sprouts, and
making them spread, and the moisture making every one of them take root
firmly, and supplying that virtue which it stands in need of in summer
time. Now this country is then so sadly burnt up, that nobody cares to
come at it; and if the water be drawn up before sun-rising, and after
that exposed to the air, it becomes exceeding cold, and becomes of a
nature quite contrary to the ambient air; as in winter again it becomes
warm; and if you go into it, it appears very gentle. The ambient air is
here also of so good a temperature, that the people of the country are
clothed in linen-only, even when snow covers the rest of Judea. This
place is one hundred and fifty furlongs from Jerusalem, and sixty from
Jordan. The country, as far as Jerusalem, is desert and stony; but that
as far as Jordan and the lake Asphaltites lies lower indeed, though it
be equally desert and barren. But so much shall suffice to have said
about Jericho, and of the great happiness of its situation.
4. The nature of the lake Asphaltites is also worth describing. It is,
as I have said already, bitter and unfruitful. It is so light [or thick]
that it bears up the heaviest things that are thrown into it; nor is it
easy for any one to make things sink therein to the bottom, if he had a
mind so to do. Accordingly, when Vespasian went to see it, he commanded
that some who could not swim should have their hands tied behind them,
and be thrown into the deep, when it so happened that they all swam as
if a wind had forced them upwards. Moreover, the change of the color of
this lake is wonderful, for it changes its appearance thrice every
day; and as the rays of the sun fall differently upon it, the light is
variously reflected. However, it casts up black clods of bitumen in many
parts of it; these swim at the top of the water, and resemble both in
shape and bigness headless bulls; and when the laborers that belong to
the lake come to it, and catch hold of it as it hangs together, they
draw it into their ships; but when the ship is full, it is not easy to
cut off the rest, for it is so tenacious as to make the ship hang upon
its clods till they set it loose with the menstrual blood of women, and
with urine, to which alone it yields. This bitumen is not only
useful for the caulking of ships, but for the cure of men's bodies;
accordingly, it is mixed in a great many medicines. The length of this
lake is five hundred and eighty furlongs, where it is extended as far as
Zoar in Arabia; and its breadth is a hundred and fifty. The country of
Sodom borders upon it. It was of old a most happy land, both for the
fruits it bore and the riches of its cities, although it be now all
burnt up. It is related how, for the impiety of its inhabitants, it
was burnt by lightning; in consequence of which there are still the
remainders of that Divine fire, and the traces [or shadows] of the
five cities are still to be seen, as well as the ashes growing in their
fruits; which fruits have a color as if they were fit to be eaten, but
if you pluck them with your hands, they dissolve into smoke and ashes.
And thus what is related of this land of Sodom hath these marks of
credibility which our very sight affords us.
CHAPTER 9.
That Vespasian, After He Had Taken Gadara Made Preparation
For The Siege Of Jerusalem; But That, Upon His Hearing Of
The Death Of Nero, He Changed His Intentions. As Also
Concerning Simon Of Geras.
1. And now Vespasian had fortified all the places round about Jerusalem,
and erected citadels at Jericho and Adida, and placed garrisons in them
both, partly out of his own Romans, and partly out of the body of his
auxiliaries. He also sent Lucius Annius to Gerasa, and delivered to him
a body of horsemen, and a considerable number of footmen. So when he had
taken the city, which he did at the first onset, he slew a thousand of
those young men who had not prevented him by flying away; but he took
their families captive, and permitted his soldiers to plunder them of
their effects; after which he set fire to their houses, and went away to
the adjoining villages, while the men of power fled away, and the weaker
part were destroyed, and what was remaining was all burnt down. And now
the war having gone through all the mountainous country, and all the
plain country also, those that were at Jerusalem were deprived of
the liberty of going out of the city; for as to such as had a mind to
desert, they were watched by the zealots; and as to such as were not yet
on the side of the Romans, their army kept them in, by encompassing the
city round about on all sides.
2. Now as Vespasian was returned to Cesarea, and was getting ready with
all his army to march directly to Jerusalem, he was informed that Nero
was dead, after he had reigned thirteen years and eight days. But as to
any narration after what manner he abused his power in the government,
and committed the management of affairs to those vile wretches,
Nymphidius and Tigellinus, his unworthy freed-men; and how he had a plot
laid against him by them, and was deserted by all his guards, and ran
away with four of his most trusty freed-men, and slew himself in the
suburbs of Rome; and how those that occasioned his death were in no long
time brought themselves to punishment; how also the war in Gall ended;
and how Galba was made emperor 16 and returned out of Spain to Rome; and
how he was accused by the soldiers as a pusillanimous person, and slain
by treachery in the middle of the market-place at Rome, and Otho was
made emperor; with his expedition against the commanders of Vitellius,
and his destruction thereupon; and besides what troubles there were
under Vitellius, and the fight that was about the capitol; as also how
Antonius Primus and Mucianus slew Vitellius, and his German legions, and
thereby put an end to that civil war; I have omitted to give an exact
account of them, because they are well known by all, and they are
described by a great number of Greek and Roman authors; yet for the sake
of the connexion of matters, and that my history may not be incoherent,
I have just touched upon every thing briefly. Wherefore Vespasian put
off at first his expedition against Jerusalem, and stood waiting whither
the empire would be transferred after the death of Nero. Moreover, when
he heard that Galba was made emperor, he attempted nothing till he also
should send him some directions about the war: however, he sent his son
Titus to him, to salute him, and to receive his commands about the Jews.
Upon the very same errand did king Agrippa sail along with Titus to
Galba; but as they were sailing in their long ships by the coasts of
Achaia, for it was winter time, they heard that Galba was slain, before
they could get to him, after he had reigned seven months and as many
days. After whom Otho took the government, and undertook the management
of public affairs. So Agrippa resolved to go on to Rome without any
terror; on account of the change in the government; but Titus, by a
Divine impulse, sailed back from Greece to Syria, and came in great
haste to Cesarea, to his father. And now they were both in suspense
about the public affairs, the Roman empire being then in a fluctuating
condition, and did not go on with their expedition against the Jews, but
thought that to make any attack upon foreigners was now unseasonable, on
account of the solicitude they were in for their own country.
3. And now there arose another war at Jerusalem. There was a son of
Giora, one Simon, by birth of Gerasa, a young man, not so cunning
indeed as John [of Gisehala], who had already seized upon the city, but
superior in strength of body and courage; on which account, when he had
been driven away from that Acrabattene toparchy, which he once had, by
Ananus the high priest, he came to those robbers who had seized upon
Masada. At the first they suspected him, and only permitted him to come
with the women he brought with him into the lower part of the fortress,
while they dwelt in the upper part of it themselves. However, his manner
so well agreed with theirs, and he seemed so trusty a man, that he went
out with them, and ravaged and destroyed the country with them about
Masada; yet when he persuaded them to undertake greater things, he could
not prevail with them so to do; for as they were accustomed to dwell in
that citadel, they were afraid of going far from that which was
their hiding-place; but he affecting to tyrannize, and being fond of
greatness, when he had heard of the death of Ananus, he left them, and
went into the mountainous part of the country. So he proclaimed liberty
to those in slavery, and a reward to those already free, and got
together a set of wicked men from all quarters.
4. And as he had now a strong body of men about him, he overran the
villages that lay in the mountainous country, and when there were still
more and more that came to him, he ventured to go down into the lower
parts of the country, and since he was now become formidable to the
cities, many of the men of power were corrupted by him; so that his army
was no longer composed of slaves and robbers, but a great many of the
populace were obedient to him as to their king. He then overran the
Acrabattene toparchy, and the places that reached as far as the Great
Idumea; for he built a wall at a certain village called Nain, and made
use of that as a fortress for his own party's security; and at the
valley called Paran, he enlarged many of the caves, and many others he
found ready for his purpose; these he made use of as repositories for
his treasures, and receptacles for his prey, and therein he laid up the
fruits that he had got by rapine; and many of his partizans had their
dwelling in them; and he made no secret of it that he was exercising his
men beforehand, and making preparations for the assault of Jerusalem.
5. Whereupon the zealots, out of the dread they were in of his attacking
them, and being willing to prevent one that was growing up to oppose
them, went out against him with their weapons. Simon met them, and
joining battle with them, slew a considerable number of them, and drove
the rest before him into the city, but durst not trust so much upon his
forces as to make an assault upon the walls; but he resolved first to
subdue Idumea, and as he had now twenty thousand armed men, he marched
to the borders of their country. Hereupon the rulers of the Idumeans
got together on the sudden the most warlike part of their people, about
twenty-five thousand in number, and permitted the rest to be a guard
to their own country, by reason of the incursions that were made by the
Sicarii that were at Masada. Thus they received Simon at their borders,
where they fought him, and continued the battle all that day; and the
dispute lay whether they had conquered him, or been conquered by him. So
he went back to Nain, as did the Idumeans return home. Nor was it long
ere Simon came violently again upon their country; when he pitched his
camp at a certain village called Thecoe, and sent Eleazar, one of his
companions, to those that kept garrison at Herodium, and in order to
persuade them to surrender that fortress to him. The garrison received
this man readily, while they knew nothing of what he came about; but as
soon as he talked of the surrender of the place, they fell upon him with
their drawn swords, till he found that he had no place for flight, when
he threw himself down from the wall into the valley beneath; so he died
immediately: but the Idumeans, who were already much afraid of Simon's
power, thought fit to take a view of the enemy's army before they
hazarded a battle with them.
6. Now there was one of their commanders named Jacob, who offered to
serve them readily upon that occasion, but had it in his mind to betray
them. He went therefore from the village Alurus, wherein the army of the
Idumeans were gotten together, and came to Simon, and at the very first
he agreed to betray his country to him, and took assurances upon oath
from him that he should always have him in esteem, and then promised him
that he would assist him in subduing all Idumea under him; upon which
account he was feasted after an obliging manner by Simon, and elevated
by his mighty promises; and when he was returned to his own men, he at
first belied the army of Simon, and said it was manifold more in number
than what it was; after which, he dexterously persuaded the commanders,
and by degrees the whole multitude, to receive Simon, and to surrender
the whole government up to him without fighting. And as he was doing
this, he invited Simon by his messengers, and promised him to disperse
the Idumeans, which he performed also; for as soon as their army was
nigh them, he first of all got upon his horse, and fled, together with
those whom he had corrupted; hereupon a terror fell upon the whole
multitude; and before it came to a close fight, they broke their ranks,
and every one retired to his own home.
7. Thus did Simon unexpectedly march into Idumea, without bloodshed, and
made a sudden attack upon the city Hebron, and took it; wherein he got
possession of a great deal of prey, and plundered it of a vast quantity
of fruit. Now the people of the country say that it is an ancienter
city, not only than any in that country, but than Memphis in Egypt, and
accordingly its age is reckoned at two thousand and three hundred
years. They also relate that it had been the habitation of Abram, the
progenitor of the Jews, after he had removed out of Mesopotamia; and
they say that his posterity descended from thence into Egypt, whose
monuments are to this very time showed in that small city; the fabric of
which monuments are of the most excellent marble, and wrought after the
most elegant manner. There is also there showed, at the distance of six
furlongs from the city, a very large turpentine tree 17 and the report
goes, that this tree has continued ever since the creation of the world.
Thence did Simon make his progress over all Idumea, and did not only
ravage the cities and villages, but lay waste the whole country; for,
besides those that were completely armed, he had forty thousand men that
followed him, insomuch that he had not provisions enough to suffice such
a multitude. Now, besides this want of provisions that he was in, he
was of a barbarous disposition, and bore great anger at this nation, by
which means it came to pass that Idumea was greatly depopulated; and as
one may see all the woods behind despoiled of their leaves by locusts,
after they have been there, so was there nothing left behind Simon's
army but a desert. Some places they burnt down, some they utterly
demolished, and whatsoever grew in the country, they either trod it
down or fed upon it, and by their marches they made the ground that was
cultivated harder and more untractable than that which was barren. In
short, there was no sign remaining of those places that had been laid
waste, that ever they had had a being.
8. This success of Simon excited the zealots afresh; and though they
were afraid to fight him openly in a fair battle, yet did they lay
ambushes in the passes, and seized upon his wife, with a considerable
number of her attendants; whereupon they came back to the city
rejoicing, as if they had taken Simon himself captive, and were
in present expectation that he would lay down his arms, and make
supplication to them for his wife; but instead of indulging any merciful
affection, he grew very angry at them for seizing his beloved wife; so
he came to the wall of Jerusalem, and, like wild beasts when they are
wounded, and cannot overtake those that wounded them, he vented his
spleen upon all persons that he met with. Accordingly, he caught all
those that were come out of the city gates, either to gather herbs
or sticks, who were unarmed and in years; he then tormented them and
destroyed them, out of the immense rage he was in, and was almost ready
to taste the very flesh of their dead bodies. He also cut off the hands
of a great many, and sent them into the city to astonish his enemies,
and in order to make the people fall into a sedition, and desert those
that had been the authors of his wife's seizure. He also enjoined them
to tell the people that Simon swore by the God of the universe, who sees
all things, that unless they will restore him his wife, he will break
down their wall, and inflict the like punishment upon all the citizens,
without sparing any age, and without making any distinction between the
guilty and the innocent. These threatenings so greatly affrighted, not
the people only, but the zealots themselves also, that they sent his
wife back to him; when he became a little milder, and left off his
perpetual blood-shedding.
9. But now sedition and civil war prevailed, not only over Judea, but
in Italy also; for now Galba was slain in the midst of the Roman
market-place; then was Otho made emperor, and fought against Vitellius,
who set up for emperor also; for the legions in Germany had chosen him.
But when he gave battle to Valens and Cecinna, who were Vitellius's
generals, at Betriacum, in Gaul, Otho gained the advantage on the first
day, but on the second day Vitellius's soldiers had the victory; and
after much slaughter Otho slew himself, when he had heard of this defeat
at Brixia, and after he had managed the public affairs three months and
two days. 18 Otho's army also came over to Vitellius's generals, and he
came himself down to Rome with his army. But in the mean time Vespasian
removed from Cesarea, on the fifth day of the month Desius, [Sivan,] and
marched against those places of Judea which were not yet overthrown.
So he went up to the mountainous country, and took those two toparchies
that were called the Gophnitick and Acrabattene toparchies. After
which he took Bethel and Ephraim, two small cities; and when he had put
garrisons into them, he rode as far as Jerusalem, in which march he took
many prisoners, and many captives; but Cerealis, one of his commanders,
took a body of horsemen and footmen, and laid waste that part of
Idumea which was called the Upper Idumea, and attacked Caphethra, which
pretended to be a small city, and took it at the first onset, and burnt
it down. He also attacked Caphatabira, and laid siege to it, for it had
a very strong wall; and when he expected to spend a long time in that
siege, those that were within opened their gates on the sudden, and came
to beg pardon, and surrendered themselves up to him. When Cerealis had
conquered them, he went to Hebron, another very ancient city. I have
told you already that this city is situated in a mountainous country not
far off Jerusalem; and when he had broken into the city by force, what
multitude and young men were left therein he slew, and burnt down the
city; so that as now all the places were taken, excepting Herodlum, and
Masada, and Machaerus, which were in the possession of the robbers, so
Jerusalem was what the Romans at present aimed at.
10. And now, as soon as Simon had set his wife free, and recovered her
from the zealots, he returned back to the remainders of Idumea, and
driving the nation all before him from all quarters, he compelled a
great number of them to retire to Jerusalem; he followed them himself
also to the city, and encompassed the wall all round again; and when he
lighted upon any laborers that were coming thither out of the country,
he slew them. Now this Simon, who was without the wall, was a greater
terror to the people than the Romans themselves, as were the zealots who
were within it more heavy upon them than both of the other; and during
this time did the mischievous contrivances and courage [of John] corrupt
the body of the Galileans; for these Galileans had advanced this John,
and made him very potent, who made them suitable requital from the
authority he had obtained by their means; for he permitted them to do
all things that any of them desired to do, while their inclination to
plunder was insatiable, as was their zeal in searching the houses of the
rich; and for the murdering of the men, and abusing of the women, it was
sport to them. They also devoured what spoils they had taken, together
with their blood, and indulged themselves in feminine wantonness,
without any disturbance, till they were satiated therewith; while they
decked their hair, and put on women's garments, and were besmeared over
with ointments; and that they might appear very comely, they had paints
under their eyes, and imitated not only the ornaments, but also the
lusts of women, and were guilty of such intolerable uncleanness, that
they invented unlawful pleasures of that sort. And thus did they roll
themselves up and down the city, as in a brothel-house, and defiled it
entirely with their impure actions; nay, while their faces looked like
the faces of women, they killed with their right hands; and when their
gait was effeminate, they presently attacked men, and became warriors,
and drew their swords from under their finely dyed cloaks, and ran every
body through whom they alighted upon. However, Simon waited for such as
ran away from John, and was the more bloody of the two; and he who had
escaped the tyrant within the wall was destroyed by the other that lay
before the gates, so that all attempts of flying and deserting to the
Romans were cut off, as to those that had a mind so to do.
11. Yet did the army that was under John raise a sedition against him,
and all the Idumeans separated themselves from the tyrant, and attempted
to destroy him, and this out of their envy at his power, and hatred of
his cruelty; so they got together, and slew many of the zealots, and
drove the rest before them into that royal palace that was built by
Grapte, who was a relation of Izates, the king of Adiabene; the Idumeans
fell in with them, and drove the zealots out thence into the temple, and
betook themselves to plunder John's effects; for both he himself was in
that palace, and therein had he laid up the spoils he had acquired by
his tyranny. In the mean time, the multitude of those zealots that were
dispersed over the city ran together to the temple unto those that fled
thither, and John prepared to bring them down against the people and the
Idumeans, who were not so much afraid of being attacked by them [because
they were themselves better soldiers than they] as at their madness,
lest they should privately sally out of the temple and get among them,
and not only destroy them, but set the city on fire also. So they
assembled themselves together, and the high priests with them, and took
counsel after what manner they should avoid their assault. Now it was
God who turned their opinions to the worst advice, and thence they
devised such a remedy to get themselves free as was worse than the
disease itself. Accordingly, in order to overthrow John, they determined
to admit Simon, and earnestly to desire the introduction of a second
tyrant into the city; which resolution they brought to perfection, and
sent Matthias, the high priest, to beseech this Simon to come in to
them, of whom they had so often been afraid. Those also that had fled
from the zealots in Jerusalem joined in this request to him, out of
the desire they had of preserving their houses and their effects.
Accordingly he, in an arrogant manner, granted them his lordly
protection, and came into the city, in order to deliver it from the
zealots. The people also made joyful acclamations to him, as their
savior and their preserver; but when he was come in, with his army, he
took care to secure his own authority, and looked upon those that had
invited him in to be no less his enemies than those against whom the
invitation was intended.
12. And thus did Simon get possession of Jerusalem, in the third year
of the war, in the month Xanthicus [Nisan]; whereupon John, with his
multitude of zealots, as being both prohibited from coming out of the
temple, and having lost their power in the city, [for Simon and
his party had plundered them of what they had,] were in despair of
deliverance. Simon also made an assault upon the temple, with the
assistance of the people, while the others stood upon the cloisters and
the battlements, and defended themselves from their assaults. However,
a considerable number of Simon's party fell, and many were carried off
wounded; for the zealots threw their darts easily from a superior place,
and seldom failed of hitting their enemies; but having the advantage of
situation, and having withal erected four very large towers aforehand,
that their darts might come from higher places, one at the north-east
corner of the court, one above the Xystus, the third at another corner
over against the lower city, and the last was erected above the top of
the Pastophoria, where one of the priests stood of course, and gave a
signal beforehand, with a trumpet 19 at the beginning of every seventh
day, in the evening twilight, as also at the evening when that day was
finished, as giving notice to the people when they were to leave off
work, and when they were to go to work again. These men also set their
engines to cast darts and stones withal, upon those towers, with their
archers and slingers. And now Simon made his assault upon the temple
more faintly, by reason that the greatest part of his men grew weary of
that work; yet did he not leave off his opposition, because his army
was superior to the others, although the darts which were thrown by the
engines were carried a great way, and slew many of those that fought for
him.
CHAPTER 10.
How The Soldiers, Both In Judea And Egypt, Proclaimed
Vespasian Emperor; And How Vespasian Released Josephus From
His Bonds.
1. Now about this very time it was that heavy calamities came about Rome
on all sides; for Vitellius was come from Germany with his soldiery, and
drew along with him a great multitude of other men besides. And when the
spaces allotted for soldiers could not contain them, he made all Rome
itself his camp, and filled all the houses with his armed men; which
men, when they saw the riches of Rome with those eyes which had never
seen such riches before, and found themselves shone round about on all
sides with silver and gold, they had much ado to contain their covetous
desires, and were ready to betake themselves to plunder, and to the
slaughter of such as should stand in their way. And this was the state
of affairs in Italy at that time.
2. But when Vespasian had overthrown all the places that were near to
Jerusalem, he returned to Cesarea, and heard of the troubles that were
at Rome, and that Vitellius was emperor. This produced indignation in
him, although he well knew how to be governed as well as to govern,
and could not, with any satisfaction, own him for his lord who acted so
madly, and seized upon the government as if it were absolutely destitute
of a governor. And as this sorrow of his was violent, he was not able to
support the torments he was under, nor to apply himself further in other
wars, when his native country was laid waste; but then, as much as his
passion excited him to avenge his country, so much was he restrained
by the consideration of his distance therefrom; because fortune might
prevent him, and do a world of mischief before he could himself sail
over the sea to Italy, especially as it was still the winter season; so
he restrained his anger, how vehement soever it was at this time.
3. But now his commanders and soldiers met in several companies, and
consulted openly about changing the public affairs; and, out of their
indignation, cried out, how "at Rome there are soldiers that live
delicately, and when they have not ventured so much as to hear the fame
of war, they ordain whom they please for our governors, and in hopes
of gain make them emperors; while you, who have gone through so many
labors, and are grown into years under your helmets, give leave to
others to use such a power, when yet you have among yourselves one
more worthy to rule than any whom they have set up. Now what juster
opportunity shall they ever have of requiting their generals, if they
do not make use of this that is now before them? while there is so much
juster reasons for Vespasian's being emperor than for Vitellius; as they
are themselves more deserving than those that made the other emperors;
for that they have undergone as great wars as have the troops that come
from Germany; nor are they inferior in war to those that have brought
that tyrant to Rome, nor have they undergone smaller labors than
they; for that neither will the Roman senate, nor people, bear such a
lascivious emperor as Vitellius, if he be compared with their chaste
Vespasian; nor will they endure a most barbarous tyrant, instead of
a good governor, nor choose one that hath no child 20 to preside over
them, instead of him that is a father; because the advancement of men's
own children to dignities is certainly the greatest security kings can
have for themselves. Whether, therefore, we estimate the capacity
of governing from the skill of a person in years, we ought to have
Vespasian, or whether from the strength of a young man, we ought to have
Titus; for by this means we shall have the advantage of both their ages,
for that they will afford strength to those that shall be made emperors,
they having already three legions, besides other auxiliaries from the
neighboring kings, and will have further all the armies in the east to
support them, as also those in Europe, so they as they are out of the
distance and dread of Vitellius, besides such auxiliaries as they may
have in Italy itself; that is, Vespasian's brother, 21 and his other son
[Domitian]; the one of whom will bring in a great many of those
young men that are of dignity, while the other is intrusted with the
government of the city, which office of his will be no small means of
Vespasian's obtaining the government. Upon the whole, the case may be
such, that if we ourselves make further delays, the senate may choose an
emperor, whom the soldiers, who are the saviors of the empire, will have
in contempt."
4. These were the discourses the soldiers had in their several
companies; after which they got together in a great body, and,
encouraging one another, they declared Vespasian emperor, 22 and
exhorted him to save the government, which was now in danger. Now
Vespasian's concern had been for a considerable time about the public,
yet did he not intend to set up for governor himself, though his actions
showed him to deserve it, while he preferred that safety which is in a
private life before the dangers in a state of such dignity; but when he
refused the empire, the commanders insisted the more earnestly upon his
acceptance; and the soldiers came about him, with their drawn swords
in their hands, and threatened to kill him, unless he would now live
according to his dignity. And when he had shown his reluctance a great
while, and had endeavored to thrust away this dominion from him, he at
length, being not able to persuade them, yielded to their solicitations
that would salute him emperor.
5. So upon the exhortations of Mucianus, and the other commanders, that
he would accept of the empire, and upon that of the rest of the army,
who cried out that they were willing to be led against all his opposers,
he was in the first place intent upon gaining the dominion over
Alexandria, as knowing that Egypt was of the greatest consequence, in
order to obtain the entire government, because of its supplying of corn
[to Rome]; which corn, if he could be master of, he hoped to dethrone
Vitellius, supposing he should aim to keep the empire by force [for he
would not be able to support himself, if the multitude at Rome should
once be in want of food]; and because he was desirous to join the two
legions that were at Alexandria to the other legions that were with him.
He also considered with himself, that he should then have that country
for a defense to himself against the uncertainty of fortune; for Egypt
23 is hard to be entered by land, and hath no good havens by sea. It
hath on the west the dry deserts of Libya; and on the south Siene, that
divides it from Ethiopia, as well as the cataracts of the Nile, that
cannot be sailed over; and on the east the Red Sea extended as far as
Coptus; and it is fortified on the north by the land that reaches to
Syria, together with that called the Egyptian Sea, having no havens in
it for ships. And thus is Egypt walled about on every side. Its length
between Pelusium and Siene is two thousand furlongs, and the passage by
sea from Plinthine to Pelusium is three thousand six hundred furlongs.
Its river Nile is navigable as far as the city called Elephantine, the
forenamed cataracts hindering ships from going any farther, The haven
also of Alexandria is not entered by the mariners without difficulty,
even in times of peace; for the passage inward is narrow, and full of
rocks that lie under the water, which oblige the mariners to turn from
a straight direction: its left side is blocked up by works made by men's
hands on both sides; on its right side lies the island called Pharus,
which is situated just before the entrance, and supports a very great
tower, that affords the sight of a fire to such as sail within three
hundred furlongs of it, that ships may cast anchor a great way off in
the night time, by reason of the difficulty of sailing nearer. About
this island are built very great piers, the handiwork of men, against
which, when the sea dashes itself, and its waves are broken against
those boundaries, the navigation becomes very troublesome, and the
entrance through so narrow a passage is rendered dangerous; yet is the
haven itself, when you are got into it, a very safe one, and of thirty
furlongs in largeness; into which is brought what the country wants in
order to its happiness, as also what abundance the country affords more
than it wants itself is hence distributed into all the habitable earth.
6. Justly, therefore, did Vespasian desire to obtain that government,
in order to corroborate his attempts upon the whole empire; so he
immediately sent to Tiberius Alexander, who was then governor of Egypt
and of Alexandria, and informed him what the army had put upon him,
and how he, being forced to accept of the burden of the government, was
desirous to have him for his confederate and supporter. Now as soon as
ever Alexander had read this letter, he readily obliged the legions
and the multitude to take the oath of fidelity to Vespasian, both which
willingly complied with him, as already acquainted with the courage
of the man, from that his conduct in their neighborhood. Accordingly
Vespasian, looking upon himself as already intrusted with the
government, got all things ready for his journey [to Rome]. Now fame
carried this news abroad more suddenly than one could have thought, that
he was emperor over the east, upon which every city kept festivals, and
celebrated sacrifices and oblations for such good news; the legions
also that were in Mysia and Pannonia, who had been in commotion a little
before, on account of this insolent attempt of Vitellius, were very
glad to take the oath of fidelity to Vespasian, upon his coming to
the empire. Vespasian then removed from Cesarea to Berytus, where
many embassages came to him from Syria, and many from other provinces,
bringing with them from every city crowns, and the congratulations of
the people. Mucianus came also, who was the president of the province,
and told him with what alacrity the people [received the news of his
advancement], and how the people of every city had taken the oath of
fidelity to him.
7. So Vespasian's good fortune succeeded to his wishes every where, and
the public affairs were, for the greatest part, already in his hands;
upon which he considered that he had not arrived at the government
without Divine Providence, but that a righteous kind of fate had brought
the empire under his power; for as he called to mind the other signals,
which had been a great many every where, that foretold he should obtain
the government, so did he remember what Josephus had said to him when he
ventured to foretell his coming to the empire while Nero was alive; so
he was much concerned that this man was still in bonds with him. He then
called for Mucianus, together with his other commanders and friends,
and, in the first place, he informed them what a valiant man Josephus
had been, and what great hardships he had made him undergo in the siege
of Jotapata. After that he related those predictions of his 24 which he
had then suspected as fictions, suggested out of the fear he was in,
but which had by time been demonstrated to be Divine. "It is a shameful
thing [said he] that this man, who hath foretold my coming to the empire
beforehand, and been the minister of a Divine message to me, should
still be retained in the condition of a captive or prisoner." So he
called for Josephus, and commanded that he should be set at liberty;
whereupon the commanders promised themselves glorious things, from this
requital Vespasian made to a stranger. Titus was then present with
his father, and said, "O father, it is but just that the scandal [of a
prisoner] should be taken off Josephus, together with his iron chain.
For if we do not barely loose his bonds, but cut them to pieces, he will
be like a man that had never been bound at all." For that is the usual
method as to such as have been bound without a cause. This advice was
agreed to by Vespasian also; so there came a man in, and cut the chain
to pieces; while Josephus received this testimony of his integrity for
a reward, and was moreover esteemed a person of credit as to futurities
also.
CHAPTER 11.
That Upon The Conquest And Slaughter Of Vitellius Vespasian
Hastened His Journey To Rome; But Titus His Son Returned To
Jerusalem.
1. And now, when Vespasian had given answers to the embassages, and had
disposed of the places of power justly, 25 and according to every one's
deserts, he came to Antioch, and consulting which way he had best take,
he preferred to go for Rome, rather than to march to Alexandria, because
he saw that Alexandria was sure to him already, but that the affairs at
Rome were put into disorder by Vitellius; so he sent Mucianus to Italy,
and committed a considerable army both of horsemen and footmen to him;
yet was Mucianus afraid of going by sea, because it was the middle of
winter, and so he led his army on foot through Cappadocia and Phrygia.
2. In the mean time, Antonius Primus took the third of the legions that
were in Mysia, for he was president of that province, and made haste, in
order to fight Vitellius; whereupon Vitellius sent away Cecinna, with
a great army, having a mighty confidence in him, because of his having
beaten Otho. This Cecinna marched out of Rome in great haste, and found
Antonius about Cremona in Gall, which city is in the borders of Italy;
but when he saw there that the enemy were numerous and in good order, he
durst not fight them; and as he thought a retreat dangerous, so he began
to think of betraying his army to Antonius. Accordingly, he assembled
the centurions and tribunes that were under his command, and persuaded
them to go over to Antonius, and this by diminishing the reputation of
Vitellius, and by exaggerating the power of Vespasian. He also told them
that with the one there was no more than the bare name of dominion, but
with the other was the power of it; and that it was better for them to
prevent necessity, and gain favor, and, while they were likely to be
overcome in battle, to avoid the danger beforehand, and go over to
Antonius willingly; that Vespasian was able of himself to subdue what
had not yet submitted without their assistance, while Vitellius could
not preserve what he had already with it.
3. Cecinna said this, and much more to the same purpose, and persuaded
them to comply with him; and both he and his army deserted; but still
the very same night the soldiers repented of what they had done, and a
fear seized on them, lest perhaps Vitellius who sent them should get the
better; and drawing their swords, they assaulted Cecinna, in order to
kill him; and the thing had been done by them, if the tribunes had not
fallen upon their knees, and besought them not to do it; so the soldiers
did not kill him, but put him in bonds, as a traitor, and were about to
send him to Vitellius. When [Antonius] Primus heard of this, he raised
up his men immediately, and made them put on their armor, and led them
against those that had revolted; hereupon they put themselves in order
of battle, and made a resistance for a while, but were soon beaten, and
fled to Cremona; then did Primus take his horsemen, and cut off their
entrance into the city, and encompassed and destroyed a great multitude
of them before the city, and fell into the city together with the rest,
and gave leave to his soldiers to plunder it. And here it was that many
strangers, who were merchants, as well as many of the people of that
country, perished, and among them Vitellius's whole army, being thirty
thousand and two hundred, while Antonius lost no more of those that came
with him from Mysia than four thousand and five hundred: he then loosed
Cecinna, and sent him to Vespasian to tell him the good news. So he
came, and was received by him, and covered the scandal of his treachery
by the unexpected honors he received from Vespasian.
4. And now, upon the news that Antonius was approaching, Sabinus took
courage at Rome, and assembled those cohorts of soldiers that kept watch
by night, and in the night time seized upon the capitol; and, as the
day came on, many men of character came over to him, with Domitian,
his brother's son, whose encouragement was of very great weight for the
compassing the government. Now Vitellius was not much concerned at this
Primus, but was very angry with those that had revolted with Sabinus;
and thirsting, out of his own natural barbarity, after noble blood,
he sent out that part of the army which came along with him to fight
against the capitol; and many bold actions were done on this side, and
on the side of those that held the temple. But at last, the soldiers
that came from Germany, being too numerous for the others, got the hill
into their possession, where Domitian, with many other of the principal
Romans, providentially escaped, while the rest of the multitude were
entirely cut to pieces, and Sabinus himself was brought to Vitellius,
and then slain; the soldiers also plundered the temple of its ornaments,
and set it on fire. But now within a day's time came Antonius, with his
army, and were met by Vitellius and his army; and having had a battle
in three several places, the last were all destroyed. Then did Vitellius
come out of the palace, in his cups, and satiated with an extravagant
and luxurious meal, as in the last extremity, and being drawn along
through the multitude, and abused with all sorts of torments, had his
head cut off in the midst of Rome, having retained the government eight
months and five days 26 and had he lived much longer, I cannot but think
the empire would not have been sufficient for his lust. Of the others
that were slain, were numbered above fifty thousand. This battle was
fought on the third day of the month Apelleus [Casleu]; on the next day
Mucianus came into the city with his army, and ordered Antonius and his
men to leave off killing; for they were still searching the houses,
and killed many of Vitellius's soldiers, and many of the populace, as
supposing them to be of his party, preventing by their rage any accurate
distinction between them and others. He then produced Domitian, and
recommended him to the multitude, until his father should come himself;
so the people being now freed from their fears, made acclamations of
joy for Vespasian, as for their emperor, and kept festival days for his
confirmation, and for the destruction of Vitellius.
5. And now, as Vespasian was come to Alexandria, this good news
came from Rome, and at the same time came embassies from all his own
habitable earth, to congratulate him upon his advancement; and though
this Alexandria was the greatest of all cities next to Rome, it proved
too narrow to contain the multitude that then came to it. So upon this
confirmation of Vespasian's entire government, which was now settled,
and upon the unexpected deliverance of the public affairs of the Romans
from ruin, Vespasian turned his thoughts to what remained unsubdued in
Judea. However, he himself made haste to go to Rome, as the winter was
now almost over, and soon set the affairs of Alexandria in order,
but sent his son Titus, with a select part of his army, to destroy
Jerusalem. So Titus marched on foot as far as Nicopolis, which is
distant twenty furlongs from Alexandria; there he put his army on board
some long ships, and sailed upon the river along the Mendesian Nomus,
as far as the city Tumuis; there he got out of the ships, and walked
on foot, and lodged all night at a small city called Tanis. His second
station was Heracleopolis, and his third Pelusium; he then refreshed his
army at that place for two days, and on the third passed over the mouths
of the Nile at Pelusium; he then proceeded one station over the desert,
and pitched his camp at the temple of the Casian Jupiter, 27 and on the
next day at Ostracine. This station had no water, but the people of
the country make use of water brought from other places. After this he
rested at Rhinocolura, and from thence he went to Raphia, which was
his fourth station. This city is the beginning of Syria. For his fifth
station he pitched his camp at Gaza; after which he came to Ascalon, and
thence to Jamnia, and after that to Joppa, and from Joppa to Cesarea,
having taken a resolution to gather all his other forces together at
that place.
WAR BOOK 4 FOOTNOTES
1 (return) [ Here we have the exact situation of Jeroboam's "at the exit
of Little Jordan into Great Jordan, near the place called Daphne," but
of old Dan. See the note in Antiq. B. VIII. ch. 8. sect. 4. But Reland
suspects flint here we should read Dan instead of there being no where
else mention of a place called Daphne.]
2 (return) [ These numbers in Josephus of thirty furlongs' ascent to the
top of Mount Tabor, whether we estimate it by winding and gradual, or
by the perpendicular altitude, and of twenty-six furlongs' circumference
upon the top, as also fifteen furlongs for this ascent in Polybius, with
Geminus's perpendicular altitude of almost fourteen furlongs, here noted
by Dr. Hudson, do none of' them agree with the authentic testimony of
Mr. Maundrell, an eye-witness, p. 112, who says he was not an hour in
getting up to the top of this Mount Tabor, and that the area of the top
is an oval of about two furlongs in length, and one in breadth. So I
rather suppose Josephus wrote three furlongs for the ascent or altitude,
instead of thirty; and six furlongs for the circumference at the
top, instead of twenty-six,--since a mountain of only three furlongs
perpendicular altitude may easily require near an hour's ascent, and the
circumference of an oval of the foregoing quantity is near six furlongs.
Nor certainly could such a vast circumference as twenty-six furlongs,
or three miles and a quarter, at that height be encompassed with a
wall, including a trench and other fortifications, [perhaps those still
remaining, ibid.] in the small interval of forty days, as Josephus here
says they were by himself.]
3 (return) [ This name Dorcas in Greek, was Tabitha in Hebrew or Syriac,
as Acts 9:36. Accordingly, some of the manuscripts set it down here
Tabetha or Tabeta. Nor can the context in Josephus be made out by
supposing the reading to have been this: "The son of Tabitha; which, in
the language of our country, denotes Dorcas" [or a doe].]
4 (return) [ Here we may discover the utter disgrace and ruin of the
high priesthood among the Jews, when undeserving, ignoble, and vile
persons were advanced to that holy office by the seditious; which sort
of high priests, as Josephus well remarks here, were thereupon obliged
to comply with and assist those that advanced them in their impious
practices. The names of these high priests, or rather ridiculous
and profane persons, were Jesus the son of Damneus, Jesus the son of
Gamaliel, Matthias the son of Theophilus, and that prodigious ignoramus
Phannias, the son of Samuel; all whom we shall meet with in Josephus's
future history of this war; nor do we meet with any other so much as
pretended high priest after Phannias, till Jerusalem was taken and
destroyed.]
5 (return) [ This tribe or course of the high priests, or priests, here
called Eniachim, seems to the learned Mr. Lowth, one well versed in
Josephus, to be that 1 Chronicles 24:12, "the course of Jakim," where
some copies have "the course of Eliakim;" and I think this to be by no
means an improbable conjecture.]
6 (return) [ This Symeon, the son of Gamaliel, is mentioned as the
president of the Jewish sanhedrim, and one that perished in the
destruction of Jerusalem, by the Jewish Rabbins, as Reland observes on
this place. He also tells us that those Rabbins mention one Jesus
the son of Gamala, as once a high priest, but this long before the
destruction of Jerusalem; so that if he were the same person with this
Jesus the son of Gamala, Josephus, he must have lived to be very old, or
they have been very bad chronologers.]
7 (return) [ It is worth noting here, that this Ananus, the best of the
Jews at this time, and the high priest, who was so very uneasy at the
profanation of the Jewish courts of the temple by the zealots, did not
however scruple the profanation of the "court of the Gentiles;" as in
our Savior's days it was very much profaned by the Jews; and made a
market-place, nay, a "den of thieves," without scruple, Matthew 21:12,
13; Mark 11:15-17. Accordingly Josephus himself, when he speaks of the
two inner courts, calls them both hagia or holy places; but, so far as
I remember, never gives that character of the court of the Gentiles. See
B. V. ch. 9. sect. 2.]
8 (return) [ This appellation of Jerusalem given it here by Simon, the
general of the Idumeans, "the common city" of the Idumeans, who were
proselytes of justice, as well as of the original native Jews, greatly
confirms that maxim of the Rabbins, here set down by Reland, that
"Jerusalem was not assigned, or appropriated, to the tribe of Benjamin
or Judah, but every tribe had equal right to it [at their coming to
worship there at the several festivals]." See a little before, ch. 3.
sect. 3, or "worldly worship," as the author to the Hebrews calls the
sanctuary, "a worldly sanctuary."]
9 (return) [ Some commentators are ready to suppose that this
"Zacharias, the son of Baruch," here most unjustly slain by the Jews
in the temple, was the very same person with "Zacharias, the son of
Barachias," whom our Savior says the Jews "slew between the temple and
the altar," Matthew 23:35. This is a somewhat strange exposition; since
Zechariah the prophet was really "the son of Barachiah," and "grandson
of Iddo, Zechariah 1:1; and how he died, we have no other account than
that before us in St. Matthew: while this "Zacharias" was "the son of
Baruch." Since the slaughter was past when our Savior spake these
words, the Jews had then already slain him; whereas this slaughter of
"Zacharias, the son of Baruch," in Josephus, was then about thirty-four
years future. And since the slaughter was "between the temple and the
altar," in the court of the priests, one of the most sacred and remote
parts of the whole temple; while this was, in Josephus's own words, in
the middle of the temple, and much the most probably in the court of
Israel only [for we have had no intimation that the zealots had at this
time profaned the court of the priests. See B. V. ch. 1. sect. 2].
Nor do I believe that our Josephus, who always insists on the peculiar
sacredness of the inmost court, and of the holy house that was in it,
would have omitted so material an aggravation of this barbarous murder,
as perpetrated in. a place so very holy, had that been the true place of
it. See Antiq. B. XI. ch. 7. sect. 1, and the note here on B. V. ch. 1.
sect. 2.]
10 (return) [ This prediction, that the city [Jerusalem] should then "be
taken, and the sanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a sedition should
invade Jews, and their own hands should pollute that temple;" or, as
it is B. VI. ch. 2. sect. 1, "when any one should begin to slay his
countrymen in the city;" is wanting in our present copies of the Old
Testament. See Essay on the Old Test. p. 104--112. But this prediction,
as Josephus well remarks here, though, with the other predictions of
the prophets, it was now laughed at by the seditious, was by their very
means soon exactly fulfilled. However, I cannot but here take notice
of Grotius's positive assertion upon Matthew 26:9, here quoted by Dr.
Hudson, that "it ought to be taken for granted, as a certain truth, that
many predictions of the Jewish prophets were preserved, not in writing,
but by memory." Whereas, it seems to me so far from certain, that I
think it has no evidence nor probability at all.]
11 (return) [ By these hiera, or "holy places," as distinct from cities,
must be meant "proseuchae," or "houses of prayer," out of cities; of
which we find mention made in the New Testament and other authors. See
Luke 6:12; Acts 16:13, 16; Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 10. sect. 23; his Life,
sect. 51. "In qua te quero proseucha?" Juvenal Sat. III. yet. 296. They
were situated sometimes by the sides of rivers, Acts 16:13, or by
the sea-side, Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 10. sect. 23. So did the seventy-two
interpreters go to pray every morning by the sea-side before they went
to their work, B. XII. ch. 2. sect. 12.]
12 (return) [ Gr. Galatia, and so everywhere.]
13 (return) [ Whether this Somorrhon, or Somorrha, ought not to be here
written Gomorrha, as some MSS. in a manner have it, [for the place meant
by Josephus seems to be near Segor, or Zoar, at the very south of
the Dead Sea, hard by which stood Sodom and Gomorrha,] cannot now be
certainly determined, but seems by no means improbable.]
14 (return) [ This excellent prayer of Elisha is wanting in our copies,
2 Kings 2:21, 22, though it be referred to also in the Apostolical
Constitutions, B. VII. ch. 37., and the success of it is mentioned in
them all.]
16 (return) [ Of these Roman affairs and tumults under Galba, Otho, and
Vitellius, here only touched upon by Josephus, see Tacitus, Suelonius,
and Dio, more largely. However, we may observe with Ottius, that
Josephus writes the name of the second of them not Otto, with many
others, but Otho, with the coins. See also the note on ch. 11. sect. 4.]
17 (return) [ Some of the ancients call this famous tree, or grove, an
oak others, a turpentine tree, or grove. It has been very famous in all
the past ages, and is so, I suppose, at this day; and that particularly
for an eminent mart or meeting of merchants there every year, as the
travelers inform us.]
18 (return) [ Puetonius differs hardly three days from Josephus, and
says Otho perished on the ninety-fifth day of his reign. In Anthon. See
the note on ch. 11. sect. 4.]
19 (return) [ This beginning and ending the observation of the Jewish
seventh day, or sabbath, with a priest's blowing of a trumpet, is
remarkable, and no where else mentioned, that I know of. Nor is Reland's
conjecture here improbable, that this was the very place that has
puzzled our commentators so long, called "Musach Sabbati," the "Covert
of the Sabbath," if that be the true reading, 2 Kings 16:18, because
here the proper priest stood dry, under a "covering," to proclaim the
beginning and ending of every Jewish sabbath.]
20 (return) [ The Roman authors that now remain say Vitellius had
children, whereas Josephus introduces here the Roman soldiers in Judea
saying he had none. Which of these assertions was the truth I know not.
Spanheim thinks he hath given a peculiar reason for calling Vitellius
"childless," though he really had children, Diss. de Num. p. 649, 650;
to which it appears very difficult to give our assent.]
21 (return) [ This brother of Vespasian was Flavius Sabinus, as
Suetonius informs us, in Vitell. sect. 15, and in Vespas. sect. 2. He is
also named by Josephus presently ch. 11. sect; 4.]
22 (return) [ It is plain by the nature of the thing, as well as by
Josephus and Eutropius, that Vespasian was first of all saluted emperor
in Judea, and not till some time afterward in Egypt. Whence Tacitus's
and Suetonius's present copies must be correct text, when they both say
that he was first proclaimed in Egypt, and that on the calends of July,
while they still say it was the fifth of the Nones or Ides of the same
July before he was proclaimed in Judea. I suppose the month they there
intended was June, and not July, as the copies now have it; nor does
Tacitus's coherence imply less. See Essay on the Revelation, p. 136.]
23 (return) [ Here we have an authentic description of the bounds and
circumstances of Egypt, in the days of Vespasian and Titus.]
24 (return) [ As Daniel was preferred by Darius and Cyrus, on account of
his having foretold the destruction of the Babylonian monarchy by their
means, and the consequent exaltation of the Medes and Persians, Daniel
5:6 or rather, as Jeremiah, when he was a prisoner, was set at liberty,
and honorably treated by Nebuzaradan, at the command of Nebuchadnezzar,
on account of his having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem by the
Babylonians, Jeremiah 40:1-7; so was our Josephus set at liberty, and
honorably treated, on account of his having foretold the advancement
of Vespasian and Titus to the Roman empire. All these are most eminent
instances of the interposition of Divine Providence, and of the
certainty of Divine predictions in the great revolutions of the four
monarchies. Several such-like examples there are, both in the sacred and
other histories, as in the case of Joseph in Egypt. and of Jaddua the
high priest, in the days of Alexander the Great, etc.]
25 (return) [ This is well observed by Josephus, that Vespasian, in
order to secure his success, and establish his government at first,
distributed his offices and places upon the foot of justice, and
bestowed them on such as best deserved them, and were best fit for
them. Which wise conduct in a mere heathen ought to put those rulers
and ministers of state to shame, who, professing Christianity, act
otherwise, and thereby expose themselves and their kingdoms to vice and
destruction.]
26 (return) [ The numbers in Josephus, ch. 9. sect. 2, 9, for Galba
seven months seven days, for Otho three months two days, and here
for Vitellius eight months five days, do not agree with any Roman
historians, who also disagree among themselves. And, indeed, Sealiger
justly complains, as Dr. Hudson observes on ch. 9. sect. 2, that this
period is very confused and uncertain in the ancient authors. They were
probably some of them contemporary together for some time; one of the
best evidences we have, I mean Ptolemy's Canon, omits them all, as if
they did not all together reign one whole year, nor had a single Thoth,
or new-year's day, [which then fell upon August 6,] in their entire
reigns. Dio also, who says that Vitellius reigned a year within ten
days, does yet estimate all their reigns together at no more than one
year, one month, and two days.]
27 (return) [ There are coins of this Casian Jupiter still extant.]
BOOK V.
Containing The Interval Of Near Six Months.
From The Coming Of Titus To Besiege Jerusalem, To The Great
Extremity To Which The Jews Were Reduced.
CHAPTER 1.
Concerning The Seditions At Jerusalem And What Terrible
Miseries Afflicted The City By Their Means.
1. When therefore Titus had marched over that desert which lies between
Egypt and Syria, in the manner forementioned, he came to Cesarea, having
resolved to set his forces in order at that place, before he began the
war. Nay, indeed, while he was assisting his father at Alexandria, in
settling that government which had been newly conferred upon them by
God, it so happened that the sedition at Jerusalem was revived, and
parted into three factions, and that one faction fought against the
other; which partition in such evil cases may be said to be a good
thing, and the effect of Divine justice. Now as to the attack the
zealots made upon the people, and which I esteem the beginning of the
city's destruction, it hath been already explained after an accurate
manner; as also whence it arose, and to how great a mischief it was
increased. But for the present sedition, one should not mistake if he
called it a sedition begotten by another sedition, and to be like a
wild beast grown mad, which, for want of food from abroad, fell now upon
eating its own flesh.
2. For Eleazar, the son of Simon, who made the first separation of the
zealots from the people, and made them retire into the temple, appeared
very angry at John's insolent attempts, which he made everyday upon the
people; for this man never left off murdering; but the truth was, that
he could not bear to submit to a tyrant who set up after him. So he
being desirous of gaining the entire power and dominion to himself,
revolted from John, and took to his assistance Judas the son of
Chelcias, and Simon the son of Ezron, who were among the men of greatest
power. There was also with him Hezekiah, the son of Chobar, a person of
eminence. Each of these were followed by a great many of the zealots;
these seized upon the inner court of the temple 1 and laid their arms
upon the holy gates, and over the holy fronts of that court. And because
they had plenty of provisions, they were of good courage, for there
was a great abundance of what was consecrated to sacred uses, and they
scrupled not the making use of them; yet were they afraid, on account of
their small number; and when they had laid up their arms there, they did
not stir from the place they were in. Now as to John, what advantage
he had above Eleazar in the multitude of his followers, the like
disadvantage he had in the situation he was in, since he had his enemies
over his head; and as he could not make any assault upon them without
some terror, so was his anger too great to let them be at rest; nay,
although he suffered more mischief from Eleazar and his party than he
could inflict upon them, yet would he not leave off assaulting them,
insomuch that there were continual sallies made one against another, as
well as darts thrown at one another, and the temple was defiled every
where with murders.
3. But now the tyrant Simon, the son of Gioras, whom the people had
invited in, out of the hopes they had of his assistance in the great
distresses they were in, having in his power the upper city, and a great
part of the lower, did now make more vehement assaults upon John and
his party, because they were fought against from above also; yet was he
beneath their situation when he attacked them, as they were beneath the
attacks of the others above them. Whereby it came to pass that John did
both receive and inflict great damage, and that easily, as he was fought
against on both sides; and the same advantage that Eleazar and his party
had over him, since he was beneath them, the same advantage had he, by
his higher situation, over Simon. On which account he easily repelled
the attacks that were made from beneath, by the weapons thrown from
their hands only; but was obliged to repel those that threw their
darts from the temple above him, by his engines of war; for he had such
engines as threw darts, and javelins, and stones, and that in no small
number, by which he did not only defend himself from such as fought
against him, but slew moreover many of the priests, as they were about
their sacred ministrations. For notwithstanding these men were mad with
all sorts of impiety, yet did they still admit those that desired to
offer their sacrifices, although they took care to search the people of
their own country beforehand, and both suspected and watched them; while
they were not so much afraid of strangers, who, although they had gotten
leave of them, how cruel soever they were, to come into that court, were
yet often destroyed by this sedition; for those darts that were thrown
by the engines came with that force, that they went over all the
buildings, and reached as far as the altar, and the temple itself, and
fell upon the priests, and those 2 that were about the sacred offices;
insomuch that many persons who came thither with great zeal from the
ends of the earth, to offer sacrifices at this celebrated place, which
was esteemed holy by all mankind, fell down before their own sacrifices
themselves, and sprinkled that altar which was venerable among all men,
both Greeks and Barbarians, with their own blood; till the dead bodies
of strangers were mingled together with those of their own country, and
those of profane persons with those of the priests, and the blood of all
sorts of dead carcasses stood in lakes in the holy courts themselves.
And now, "O most wretched city, what misery so great as this didst thou
suffer from the Romans, when they came to purify thee from thy intestine
hatred! 'For thou couldst be no longer a place fit for God, nor couldst
thou long continue in being, after thou hadst been a sepulcher for
the bodies of thy own people, and hadst made the holy house itself a
burying-place in this civil war of thine. Yet mayst thou again grow
better, if perchance thou wilt hereafter appease the anger of that God
who is the author of thy destruction." But I must restrain myself from
these passions by the rules of history, since this is not a proper time
for domestical lamentations, but for historical narrations; I therefore
return to the operations that follow in this sedition. 3
4. And now there were three treacherous factions in the city, the one
parted from the other. Eleazar and his party, that kept the sacred
first-fruits, came against John in their cups. Those that were with John
plundered the populace, and went out with zeal against Simon. This
Simon had his supply of provisions from the city, in opposition to the
seditious. When, therefore, John was assaulted on both sides, he made
his men turn about, throwing his darts upon those citizens that came
up against him, from the cloisters he had in his possession, while he
opposed those that attacked him from the temple by his engines of war.
And if at any time he was freed from those that were above him, which
happened frequently, from their being drunk and tired, he sallied out
with a great number upon Simon and his party; and this he did always in
such parts of the city as he could come at, till he set on fire those
houses that were full of corn, and of all other provisions. 4 The same
thing was done by Simon, when, upon the other's retreat, he attacked the
city also; as if they had, on purpose, done it to serve the Romans,
by destroying what the city had laid up against the siege, and by thus
cutting off the nerves of their own power. Accordingly, it so came to
pass, that all the places that were about the temple were burnt down,
and were become an intermediate desert space, ready for fighting on both
sides of it; and that almost all that corn was burnt, which would have
been sufficient for a siege of many years. So they were taken by the
means of the famine, which it was impossible they should have been,
unless they had thus prepared the way for it by this procedure.
5. And now, as the city was engaged in a war on all sides, from these
treacherous crowds of wicked men, the people of the city, between them,
were like a great body torn in pieces. The aged men and the women were
in such distress by their internal calamities, that they wished for
the Romans, and earnestly hoped for an external war, in order to their
delivery from their domestical miseries. The citizens themselves were
under a terrible consternation and fear; nor had they any opportunity of
taking counsel, and of changing their conduct; nor were there any hopes
of coming to an agreement with their enemies; nor could such as had a
mind flee away; for guards were set at all places, and the heads of
the robbers, although they were seditious one against another in other
respects, yet did they agree in killing those that were for peace with
the Romans, or were suspected of an inclination to desert them, as their
common enemies. They agreed in nothing but this, to kill those that were
innocent. The noise also of those that were fighting was incessant, both
by day and by night; but the lamentations of those that mourned exceeded
the other; nor was there ever any occasion for them to leave off
their lamentations, because their calamities came perpetually one upon
another, although the deep consternation they were in prevented their
outward wailing; but being constrained by their fear to conceal their
inward passions, they were inwardly tormented, without daring to open
their lips in groans. Nor was any regard paid to those that were still
alive, by their relations; nor was there any care taken of burial for
those that were dead; the occasion of both which was this, that every
one despaired of himself; for those that were not among the seditious
had no great desires of any thing, as expecting for certain that they
should very soon be destroyed; but for the seditious themselves, they
fought against each other, while they trod upon the dead bodies as they
lay heaped one upon another, and taking up a mad rage from those dead
bodies that were under their feet, became the fiercer thereupon. They,
moreover, were still inventing somewhat or other that was pernicious
against themselves; and when they had resolved upon any thing, they
executed it without mercy, and omitted no method of torment or of
barbarity. Nay, John abused the sacred materials, 5 and employed them in
the construction of his engines of war; for the people and the priests
had formerly determined to support the temple, and raise the holy house
twenty cubits higher; for king Agrippa had at a very great expense, and
with very great pains, brought thither such materials as were proper for
that purpose, being pieces of timber very well worth seeing, both for
their straightness and their largeness; but the war coming on, and
interrupting the work, John had them cut, and prepared for the building
him towers, he finding them long enough to oppose from them those his
adversaries that thought him from the temple that was above him. He also
had them brought and erected behind the inner court over against the
west end of the cloisters, where alone he could erect them; whereas the
other sides of that court had so many steps as would not let them come
nigh enough the cloisters.
6. Thus did John hope to be too hard for his enemies by these engines
constructed by his impiety; but God himself demonstrated that his pains
would prove of no use to him, by bringing the Romans upon him, before
he had reared any of his towers; for Titus, when he had gotten together
part of his forces about him, and had ordered the rest to meet him at
Jerusalem, marched out of Cesarea. He had with him those three legions
that had accompanied his father when he laid Judea waste, together with
that twelfth legion which had been formerly beaten with Cestius; which
legion, as it was otherwise remarkable for its valor, so did it march
on now with greater alacrity to avenge themselves on the Jews, as
remembering what they had formerly suffered from them. Of these legions
he ordered the fifth to meet him, by going through Emmaus, and the tenth
to go up by Jericho; he also moved himself, together with the rest;
besides whom, marched those auxiliaries that came from the kings, being
now more in number than before, together with a considerable number that
came to his assistance from Syria. Those also that had been selected out
of these four legions, and sent with Mucianus to Italy, had their places
filled up out of these soldiers that came out of Egypt with Titus; who
were two thousand men, chosen out of the armies at Alexandria. There
followed him also three thousand drawn from those that guarded the river
Euphrates; as also there came Tiberius Alexander, who was a friend of
his, most valuable, both for his good-will to him, and for his prudence.
He had formerly been governor of Alexandria, but was now thought worthy
to be general of the army [under Titus]. The reason of this was, that he
had been the first who encouraged Vespasian very lately to accept this
his new dominion, and joined himself to him with great fidelity, when
things were uncertain, and fortune had not yet declared for him. He also
followed Titus as a counselor, very useful to him in this war, both by
his age and skill in such affairs.
CHAPTER 2.
How Titus Marched To Jerusalem, And How He Was In Danger As
He Was Taking A View Of The City Of The Place Also Where He
Pitched His Camp
1. Now, as Titus was upon his march into the enemy's country, the
auxiliaries that were sent by the kings marched first, having all the
other auxiliaries with them; after whom followed those that were to
prepare the roads and measure out the camp; then came the commander's
baggage, and after that the other soldiers, who were completely armed
to support them; then came Titus himself, having with him another select
body; and then came the pikemen; after whom came the horse belonging to
that legion. All these came before the engines; and after these engines
came the tribunes and the leaders of the cohorts, with their select
bodies; after these came the ensigns, with the eagle; and before those
ensigns came the trumpeters belonging to them; next these came the main
body of the army in their ranks, every rank being six deep; the servants
belonging to every legion came after these; and before these last their
baggage; the mercenaries came last, and those that guarded them brought
up the rear. Now Titus, according to the Roman usage, went in the
front of the army after a decent manner, and marched through Samaria to
Gophna, a city that had been formerly taken by his father, and was then
garrisoned by Roman soldiers; and when he had lodged there one night, he
marched on in the morning; and when he had gone as far as a day's march,
he pitched his camp at that valley which the Jews, in their own tongue,
call "the Valley of Thorns," near a certain village called Gabaothsath,
which signifies "the Hill of Saul," being distant from Jerusalem about
thirty furlongs. 6 There it was that he chose out six hundred select
horsemen, and went to take a view of the city, to observe what strength
it was of, and how courageous the Jews were; whether, when they saw him,
and before they came to a direct battle, they would be affrighted and
submit; for he had been informed what was really true, that the people
who were fallen under the power of the seditious and the robbers were
greatly desirous of peace; but being too weak to rise up against the
rest, they lay still.
2. Now, so long as he rode along the straight road which led to the wall
of the city, nobody appeared out of the gates; but when he went out of
that road, and declined towards the tower Psephinus, and led the band of
horsemen obliquely, an immense number of the Jews leaped out suddenly at
the towers called the "Women's Towers," through that gate which was over
against the monuments of queen Helena, and intercepted his horse; and
standing directly opposite to those that still ran along the road,
hindered them from joining those that had declined out of it. They
intercepted Titus also, with a few other. Now it was here impossible for
him to go forward, because all the places had trenches dug in them from
the wall, to preserve the gardens round about, and were full of gardens
obliquely situated, and of many hedges; and to return back to his own
men, he saw it was also impossible, by reason of the multitude of the
enemies that lay between them; many of whom did not so much as know that
the king was in any danger, but supposed him still among them. So he
perceived that his preservation must be wholly owing to his own courage,
and turned his horse about, and cried out aloud to those that were about
him to follow him, and ran with violence into the midst of his enemies,
in order to force his way through them to his own men. And hence we may
principally learn, that both the success of wars, and the dangers that
kings 7 are in, are under the providence of God; for while such a number
of darts were thrown at Titus, when he had neither his head-piece on,
nor his breastplate, [for, as I told you, he went out not to fight, but
to view the city,] none of them touched his body, but went aside without
hurting him; as if all of them missed him on purpose, and only made a
noise as they passed by him. So he diverted those perpetually with his
sword that came on his side, and overturned many of those that directly
met him, and made his horse ride over those that were overthrown. The
enemy indeed made a shout at the boldness of Caesar, and exhorted one
another to rush upon him. Yet did these against whom he marched fly
away, and go off from him in great numbers; while those that were in the
same danger with him kept up close to him, though they were wounded both
on their backs and on their sides; for they had each of them but this
one hope of escaping, if they could assist Titus in opening himself a
way, that he might not be encompassed round by his enemies before he got
away from them. Now there were two of those that were with him, but at
some distance; the one of which the enemy compassed round, and slew
him with their darts, and his horse also; but the other they slew as
he leaped down from his horse, and carried off his horse with them. But
Titus escaped with the rest, and came safe to the camp. So this
success of the Jews' first attack raised their minds, and gave them an
ill-grounded hope; and this short inclination of fortune, on their side,
made them very courageous for the future.
3. But now, as soon as that legion that had been at Emmaus was joined to
Caesar at night, he removed thence, when it was day, and came to a place
called Seopus; from whence the city began already to be seen, and a
plain view might be taken of the great temple. Accordingly, this place,
on the north quarter of the city, and joining thereto, was a plain, and
very properly named Scopus, [the prospect,] and was no more than seven
furlongs distant from it. And here it was that Titus ordered a camp
to be fortified for two legions that were to be together; but ordered
another camp to be fortified, at three furlongs farther distance behind
them, for the fifth legion; for he thought that, by marching in the
night, they might be tired, and might deserve to be covered from the
enemy, and with less fear might fortify themselves; and as these were
now beginning to build, the tenth legion, who came through Jericho,
was already come to the place, where a certain party of armed men had
formerly lain, to guard that pass into the city, and had been taken
before by Vespasian. These legions had orders to encamp at the distance
of six furlongs from Jerusalem, at the mount called the Mount of Olives
8 which lies over against the city on the east side, and is parted from
it by a deep valley, interposed between them, which is named Cedron.
4. Now when hitherto the several parties in the city had been dashing
one against another perpetually, this foreign war, now suddenly
come upon them after a violent manner, put the first stop to their
contentions one against another; and as the seditious now saw with
astonishment the Romans pitching three several camps, they began to
think of an awkward sort of concord, and said one to another, "What do
we here, and what do we mean, when we suffer three fortified walls to be
built to coop us in, that we shall not be able to breathe freely? while
the enemy is securely building a kind of city in opposition to us, and
while we sit still within our own walls, and become spectators only of
what they are doing, with our hands idle, and our armor laid by, as if
they were about somewhat that was for our good and advantage. We are, it
seems, [so did they cry out,] only courageous against ourselves,
while the Romans are likely to gain the city without bloodshed by our
sedition." Thus did they encourage one another when they were gotten
together, and took their armor immediately, and ran out upon the tenth
legion, and fell upon the Romans with great eagerness, and with a
prodigious shout, as they were fortifying their camp. These Romans were
caught in different parties, and this in order to perform their several
works, and on that account had in great measure laid aside their arms;
for they thought the Jews would not have ventured to make a sally upon
them; and had they been disposed so to do, they supposed their sedition
would have distracted them. So they were put into disorder unexpectedly;
when some of them left their works they were about, and immediately
marched off, while many ran to their arms, but were smitten and slain
before they could turn back upon the enemy. The Jews became still more
and more in number, as encouraged by the good success of those that
first made the attack; and while they had such good fortune, they seemed
both to themselves and to the enemy to be many more than they really
were. The disorderly way of their fighting at first put the Romans also
to a stand, who had been constantly used to fight skillfully in good
order, and with keeping their ranks, and obeying the orders that were
given them; for which reason the Romans were caught unexpectedly, and
were obliged to give way to the assaults that were made upon them. Now
when these Romans were overtaken, and turned back upon the Jews, they
put a stop to their career; yet when they did not take care enough of
themselves through the vehemency of their pursuit, they were wounded
by them; but as still more and more Jews sallied out of the city, the
Romans were at length brought into confusion, and put to flight, and
ran away from their camp. Nay, things looked as though the entire legion
would have been in danger, unless Titus had been informed of the case
they were in, and had sent them succors immediately. So he reproached
them for their cowardice, and brought those back that were running away,
and fell himself upon the Jews on their flank, with those select troops
that were with him, and slew a considerable number, and wounded more of
them, and put them all to flight, and made them run away hastily down
the valley. Now as these Jews suffered greatly in the declivity of the
valley, so when they were gotten over it, they turned about, and stood
over against the Romans, having the valley between them, and there
fought with them. Thus did they continue the fight till noon; but when
it was already a little after noon, Titus set those that came to the
assistance of the Romans with him, and those that belonged to the
cohorts, to prevent the Jews from making any more sallies, and then sent
the rest of the legion to the upper part of the mountain, to fortify
their camp.
5. This march of the Romans seemed to the Jews to be a flight; and as
the watchman who was placed upon the wall gave a signal by shaking his
garment, there came out a fresh multitude of Jews, and that with such
mighty violence, that one might compare it to the running of the most
terrible wild beasts. To say the truth, none of those that opposed them
could sustain the fury with which they made their attacks; but, as if
they had been cast out of an engine, they brake the enemies' ranks to
pieces, who were put to flight, and ran away to the mountain; none but
Titus himself, and a few others with him, being left in the midst of the
acclivity. Now these others, who were his friends, despised the danger
they were in, and were ashamed to leave their general, earnestly
exhorting him to give way to these Jews that are fond of dying, and not
to run into such dangers before those that ought to stay before him;
to consider what his fortune was, and not, by supplying the place of a
common soldier, to venture to turn back upon the enemy so suddenly; and
this because he was general in the war, and lord of the habitable
earth, on whose preservation the public affairs do all depend. These
persuasions Titus seemed not so much as to hear, but opposed those that
ran upon him, and smote them on the face; and when he had forced them to
go back, he slew them: he also fell upon great numbers as they marched
down the hill, and thrust them forward; while those men were so amazed
at his courage and his strength, that they could not fly directly to the
city, but declined from him on both sides, and pressed after those that
fled up the hill; yet did he still fall upon their flank, and put a stop
to their fury. In the mean time, a disorder and a terror fell again upon
those that were fortifying their camp at the top of the hill, upon their
seeing those beneath them running away; insomuch that the whole legion
was dispersed, while they thought that the sallies of the Jews upon them
were plainly insupportable, and that Titus was himself put to flight;
because they took it for granted, that, if he had staid, the rest would
never have fled for it. Thus were they encompassed on every side by
a kind of panic fear, and some dispersed themselves one way, and some
another, till certain of them saw their general in the very midst of an
action, and being under great concern for him, they loudly proclaimed
the danger he was in to the entire legion; and now shame made them turn
back, and they reproached one another that they did worse than run away,
by deserting Caesar. So they used their utmost force against the Jews,
and declining from the straight declivity, they drove them on heaps into
the bottom of the valley. Then did the Jews turn about and fight them;
but as they were themselves retiring, and now, because the Romans had
the advantage of the ground, and were above the Jews, they drove them
all into the valley. Titus also pressed upon those that were near him,
and sent the legion again to fortify their camp; while he, and those
that were with him before, opposed the enemy, and kept them from doing
further mischief; insomuch that, if I may be allowed neither to add any
thing out of flattery, nor to diminish any thing out of envy, but to
speak the plain truth, Caesar did twice deliver that entire legion when
it was in jeopardy, and gave them a quiet opportunity of fortifying
their camp.
CHAPTER 3.
How The Sedition Was Again Revived Within Jerusalem And Yet
The Jews Contrived Snares For The Romans. How Titus Also
Threatened His Soldiers For Their Ungovernable Rashness.
1. As now the war abroad ceased for a while, the sedition within was
revived; and on the feast of unleavened bread, which was now come, it
being the fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus, [Nisan,] when it is
believed the Jews were first freed from the Egyptians, Eleazar and
his party opened the gates of this [inmost court of the] temple, and
admitted such of the people as were desirous to worship God into it.
9 But John made use of this festival as a cloak for his treacherous
designs, and armed the most inconsiderable of his own party, the greater
part of whom were not purified, with weapons concealed under their
garments, and sent them with great zeal into the temple, in order to
seize upon it; which armed men, when they were gotten in, threw their
garments away, and presently appeared in their armor. Upon which there
was a very great disorder and disturbance about the holy house; while
the people, who had no concern in the sedition, supposed that this
assault was made against all without distinction, as the zealots thought
it was made against themselves only. So these left off guarding the
gates any longer, and leaped down from their battlements before they
came to an engagement, and fled away into the subterranean caverns of
the temple; while the people that stood trembling at the altar, and
about the holy house, were rolled on heaps together, and trampled upon,
and were beaten both with wooden and with iron weapons without mercy.
Such also as had differences with others slew many persons that were
quiet, out of their own private enmity and hatred, as if they were
opposite to the seditious; and all those that had formerly offended
any of these plotters were now known, and were now led away to the
slaughter; and when they had done abundance of horrid mischief to the
guiltless, they granted a truce to the guilty, and let those go off that
came out of the caverns. These followers of John also did now seize upon
this inner temple, and upon all the warlike engines therein, and then
ventured to oppose Simon. And thus that sedition, which had been divided
into three factions, was now reduced to two.
2. But Titus, intending to pitch his camp nearer to the city than
Scopus, placed as many of his choice horsemen and footmen as he thought
sufficient opposite to the Jews, to prevent their sallying out upon
them, while he gave orders for the whole army to level the distance, as
far as the wall of the city. So they threw down all the hedges and walls
which the inhabitants had made about their gardens and groves of trees,
and cut down all the fruit trees that lay between them and the wall
of the city, and filled up all the hollow places and the chasms, and
demolished the rocky precipices with iron instruments; and thereby made
all the place level from Scopus to Herod's monuments, which adjoined to
the pool called the Serpent's Pool.
3. Now at this very time the Jews contrived the following stratagem
against the Romans. The bolder sort of the seditious went out at the
towers, called the Women's Towers, as if they had been ejected out of
the city by those who were for peace, and rambled about as if they
were afraid of being assaulted by the Romans, and were in fear of one
another; while those that stood upon the wall, and seemed to be of the
people's side, cried out aloud for peace, and entreated they might
have security for their lives given them, and called for the Romans,
promising to open the gates to them; and as they cried out after that
manner, they threw stones at their own people, as though they would
drive them away from the gates. These also pretended that they were
excluded by force, and that they petitioned those that were within to
let them in; and rushing upon the Romans perpetually, with violence,
they then came back, and seemed to be in great disorder. Now the Roman
soldiers thought this cunning stratagem of theirs was to be believed
real, and thinking they had the one party under their power, and could
punish them as they pleased, and hoping that the other party would open
their gates to them, set to the execution of their designs accordingly.
But for Titus himself, he had this surprising conduct of the Jews
in suspicion; for whereas he had invited them to come to terms of
accommodation, by Josephus, but one day before, he could then receive
no civil answer from them; so he ordered the soldiers to stay where
they were. However, some of them that were set in the front of the works
prevented him, and catching up their arms ran to the gates; whereupon
those that seemed to have been ejected at the first retired; but as soon
as the soldiers were gotten between the towers on each side of the gate,
the Jews ran out and encompassed them round, and fell upon them behind,
while that multitude which stood upon the wall threw a heap of stones
and darts of all kinds at them, insomuch that they slew a considerable
number, and wounded many more; for it was not easy for the Romans to
escape, by reason those behind them pressed them forward; besides which,
the shame they were under for being mistaken, and the fear they were
in of their commanders, engaged them to persevere in their mistake;
wherefore they fought with their spears a great while, and received many
blows from the Jews, though indeed they gave them as many blows again,
and at last repelled those that had encompassed them about, while the
Jews pursued them as they retired, and followed them, and threw darts at
them as far as the monuments of queen Helena.
4. After this these Jews, without keeping any decorum, grew insolent
upon their good fortune, and jested upon the Romans for being deluded by
the trick they had put upon them, and making a noise with beating their
shields, leaped for gladness, and made joyful exclamations; while these
soldiers were received with threatenings by their officers, and with
indignation by Caesar himself, [who spake to them thus]: These Jews,
who are only conducted by their madness, do every thing with care and
circumspection; they contrive stratagems, and lay ambushes, and fortune
gives success to their stratagems, because they are obedient, and
preserve their goodwill and fidelity to one another; while the Romans,
to whom fortune uses to be ever subservient, by reason of their good
order, and ready submission to their commanders, have now had ill
success by their contrary behavior, and by not being able to restrain
their hands from action, they have been caught; and that which is the
most to their reproach, they have gone on without their commanders,
in the very presence of Caesar. "Truly," says Titus, "the laws of war
cannot but groan heavily, as will my father also himself, when he shall
be informed of this wound that hath been given us, since he who is grown
old in wars did never make so great a mistake. Our laws of war do also
ever inflict capital punishment on those that in the least break into
good order, while at this time they have seen an entire army run into
disorder. However, those that have been so insolent shall be made
immediately sensible, that even they who conquer among the Romans
without orders for fighting are to be under disgrace." When Titus had
enlarged upon this matter before the commanders, it appeared evident
that he would execute the law against all those that were concerned; so
these soldiers' minds sunk down in despair, as expecting to be put to
death, and that justly and quickly. However, the other legions came
round about Titus, and entreated his favor to these their fellow
soldiers, and made supplication to him, that he would pardon the
rashness of a few, on account of the better obedience of all the rest;
and promised for them that they should make amends for their present
fault, by their more virtuous behavior for the time to come.
5. So Caesar complied with their desires, and with what prudence
dictated to him also; for he esteemed it fit to punish single persons
by real executions, but that the punishment of great multitudes should
proceed no further than reproofs; so he was reconciled to the soldiers,
but gave them a special charge to act more wisely for the future; and
he considered with himself how he might be even with the Jews for their
stratagem. And now when the space between the Romans and the wall had
been leveled, which was done in four days, and as he was desirous to
bring the baggage of the army, with the rest of the multitude that
followed him, safely to the camp, he set the strongest part of his army
over against that wall which lay on the north quarter of the city, and
over against the western part of it, and made his army seven deep, with
the foot-men placed before them, and the horsemen behind them, each of
the last in three ranks, whilst the archers stood in the midst in seven
ranks. And now as the Jews were prohibited, by so great a body of men,
from making sallies upon the Romans, both the beasts that bare the
burdens, and belonged to the three legions, and the rest of the
multitude, marched on without any fear. But as for Titus himself, he was
but about two furlongs distant from the wall, at that part of it
where was the corner 10 and over against that tower which was called
Psephinus, at which tower the compass of the wall belonging to the north
bended, and extended itself over against the west; but the other part of
the army fortified itself at the tower called Hippicus, and was distant,
in like manner, by two furlongs from the city. However, the tenth legion
continued in its own place, upon the Mount of Olives.
CHAPTER 4.
The Description Of Jerusalem.
1. The city of Jerusalem was fortified with three walls, on such parts
as were not encompassed with unpassable valleys; for in such places it
had but one wall. The city was built upon two hills, which are opposite
to one another, and have a valley to divide them asunder; at which
valley the corresponding rows of houses on both hills end. Of these
hills, that which contains the upper city is much higher, and in length
more direct. Accordingly, it was called the "Citadel," by king David; he
was the father of that Solomon who built this temple at the first; but
it is by us called the "Upper Market-place." But the other hill, which
was called "Acra," and sustains the lower city, is of the shape of a
moon when she is horned; over against this there was a third hill, but
naturally lower than Acra, and parted formerly from the other by a broad
valley. However, in those times when the Asamoneans reigned, they
filled up that valley with earth, and had a mind to join the city to the
temple. They then took off part of the height of Acra, and reduced it
to be of less elevation than it was before, that the temple might be
superior to it. Now the Valley of the Cheesemongers, as it was called,
and was that which we told you before distinguished the hill of the
upper city from that of the lower, extended as far as Siloam; for that
is the name of a fountain which hath sweet water in it, and this in
great plenty also. But on the outsides, these hills are surrounded by
deep valleys, and by reason of the precipices to them belonging on both
sides they are every where unpassable.
2. Now, of these three walls, the old one was hard to be taken, both by
reason of the valleys, and of that hill on which it was built, and which
was above them. But besides that great advantage, as to the place where
they were situated, it was also built very strong; because David and
Solomon, and the following kings, were very zealous about this work.
Now that wall began on the north, at the tower called "Hippicus," and
extended as far as the "Xistus," a place so called, and then, joining to
the council-house, ended at the west cloister of the temple. But if
we go the other way westward, it began at the same place, and extended
through a place called "Bethso," to the gate of the Essens; and after
that it went southward, having its bending above the fountain Siloam,
where it also bends again towards the east at Solomon's pool, and
reaches as far as a certain place which they called "Ophlas," where it
was joined to the eastern cloister of the temple. The second wall took
its beginning from that gate which they called "Gennath," which belonged
to the first wall; it only encompassed the northern quarter of the city,
and reached as far as the tower Antonia. The beginning of the third wall
was at the tower Hippicus, whence it reached as far as the north quarter
of the city, and the tower Psephinus, and then was so far extended till
it came over against the monuments of Helena, which Helena was queen of
Adiabene, the daughter of Izates; it then extended further to a great
length, and passed by the sepulchral caverns of the kings, and bent
again at the tower of the corner, at the monument which is called the
"Monument of the Fuller," and joined to the old wall at the valley
called the "Valley of Cedron." It was Agrippa who encompassed the parts
added to the old city with this wall, which had been all naked before;
for as the city grew more populous, it gradually crept beyond its old
limits, and those parts of it that stood northward of the temple,
and joined that hill to the city, made it considerably larger, and
occasioned that hill, which is in number the fourth, and is called
"Bezetha," to be inhabited also. It lies over against the tower Antonia,
but is divided from it by a deep valley, which was dug on purpose, and
that in order to hinder the foundations of the tower of Antonia from
joining to this hill, and thereby affording an opportunity for getting
to it with ease, and hindering the security that arose from its superior
elevation; for which reason also that depth of the ditch made the
elevation of the towers more remarkable. This new-built part of the
city was called "Bezetha," in our language, which, if interpreted in the
Grecian language, may be called "the New City." Since, therefore, its
inhabitants stood in need of a covering, the father of the present king,
and of the same name with him, Agrippa, began that wall we spoke of; but
he left off building it when he had only laid the foundations, out of
the fear he was in of Claudius Caesar, lest he should suspect that
so strong a wall was built in order to make some innovation in public
affairs; for the city could no way have been taken if that wall had
been finished in the manner it was begun; as its parts were connected
together by stones twenty cubits long, and ten cubits broad, which could
never have been either easily undermined by any iron tools, or shaken
by any engines. The wall was, however, ten cubits wide, and it would
probably have had a height greater than that, had not his zeal who began
it been hindered from exerting itself. After this, it was erected with
great diligence by the Jews, as high as twenty cubits, above which it
had battlements of two cubits, and turrets of three cubits altitude,
insomuch that the entire altitude extended as far as twenty-five cubits.
3. Now the towers that were upon it were twenty cubits in breadth, and
twenty cubits in height; they were square and solid, as was the wall
itself, wherein the niceness of the joints, and the beauty of the
stones, were no way inferior to those of the holy house itself. Above
this solid altitude of the towers, which was twenty cubits, there were
rooms of great magnificence, and over them upper rooms, and cisterns to
receive rain-water. They were many in number, and the steps by which you
ascended up to them were every one broad: of these towers then the
third wall had ninety, and the spaces between them were each two hundred
cubits; but in the middle wall were forty towers, and the old wall was
parted into sixty, while the whole compass of the city was thirty-three
furlongs. Now the third wall was all of it wonderful; yet was the tower
Psephinus elevated above it at the north-west corner, and there Titus
pitched his own tent; for being seventy cubits high it both afforded a
prospect of Arabia at sun-rising, as well as it did of the utmost limits
of the Hebrew possessions at the sea westward. Moreover, it was an
octagon, and over against it was the tower Hipplicus, and hard by two
others were erected by king Herod, in the old wall. These were for
largeness, beauty, and strength beyond all that were in the habitable
earth; for besides the magnanimity of his nature, and his magnificence
towards the city on other occasions, he built these after such an
extraordinary manner, to gratify his own private affections, and
dedicated these towers to the memory of those three persons who had been
the dearest to him, and from whom he named them. They were his brother,
his friend, and his wife. This wife he had slain, out of his love [and
jealousy], as we have already related; the other two he lost in war, as
they were courageously fighting. Hippicus, so named from his friend,
was square; its length and breadth were each twenty-five cubits, and its
height thirty, and it had no vacuity in it. Over this solid building,
which was composed of great stones united together, there was a
reservoir twenty cubits deep, over which there was a house of two
stories, whose height was twenty-five cubits, and divided into several
parts; over which were battlements of two cubits, and turrets all round
of three cubits high, insomuch that the entire height added together
amounted to fourscore cubits. The second tower, which he named from his
brother Phasaelus, had its breadth and its height equal, each of them
forty cubits; over which was its solid height of forty cubits; over
which a cloister went round about, whose height was ten cubits, and it
was covered from enemies by breast-works and bulwarks. There was also
built over that cloister another tower, parted into magnificent rooms,
and a place for bathing; so that this tower wanted nothing that
might make it appear to be a royal palace. It was also adorned with
battlements and turrets, more than was the foregoing, and the entire
altitude was about ninety cubits; the appearance of it resembled the
tower of Pharus, which exhibited a fire to such as sailed to Alexandria,
but was much larger than it in compass. This was now converted to a
house, wherein Simon exercised his tyrannical authority. The third tower
was Mariamne, for that was his queen's name; it was solid as high as
twenty cubits; its breadth and its length were twenty cubits, and were
equal to each other; its upper buildings were more magnificent, and had
greater variety, than the other towers had; for the king thought it most
proper for him to adorn that which was denominated from his wife, better
than those denominated from men, as those were built stronger than this
that bore his wife's name. The entire height of this tower was fifty
cubits.
4. Now as these towers were so very tall, they appeared much taller by
the place on which they stood; for that very old wall wherein they were
was built on a high hill, and was itself a kind of elevation that was
still thirty cubits taller; over which were the towers situated, and
thereby were made much higher to appearance. The largeness also of the
stones was wonderful; for they were not made of common small stones,
nor of such large ones only as men could carry, but they were of white
marble, cut out of the rock; each stone was twenty cubits in length, and
ten in breadth, and five in depth. They were so exactly united to
one another, that each tower looked like one entire rock of stone, so
growing naturally, and afterward cut by the hand of the artificers into
their present shape and corners; so little, or not at all, did their
joints or connexion appear low as these towers were themselves on the
north side of the wall, the king had a palace inwardly thereto adjoined,
which exceeds all my ability to describe it; for it was so very curious
as to want no cost nor skill in its construction, but was entirely
walled about to the height of thirty cubits, and was adorned with towers
at equal distances, and with large bed-chambers, that would contain beds
for a hundred guests a-piece, in which the variety of the stones is not
to be expressed; for a large quantity of those that were rare of that
kind was collected together. Their roofs were also wonderful, both for
the length of the beams, and the splendor of their ornaments. The number
of the rooms was also very great, and the variety of the figures that
were about them was prodigious; their furniture was complete, and the
greatest part of the vessels that were put in them was of silver and
gold. There were besides many porticoes, one beyond another, round
about, and in each of those porticoes curious pillars; yet were all
the courts that were exposed to the air every where green. There were,
moreover, several groves of trees, and long walks through them, with
deep canals, and cisterns, that in several parts were filled with
brazen statues, through which the water ran out. There were withal many
dove-courts 11 of tame pigeons about the canals. But indeed it is not
possible to give a complete description of these palaces; and the very
remembrance of them is a torment to one, as putting one in mind what
vastly rich buildings that fire which was kindled by the robbers hath
consumed; for these were not burnt by the Romans, but by these internal
plotters, as we have already related, in the beginning of their
rebellion. That fire began at the tower of Antonia, and went on to the
palaces, and consumed the upper parts of the three towers themselves.
CHAPTER 5.
A Description Of The Temple.
1. Now this temple, as I have already said, was built upon a strong
hill. At first the plain at the top was hardly sufficient for the holy
house and the altar, for the ground about it was very uneven, and like
a precipice; but when king Solomon, who was the person that built the
temple, had built a wall to it on its east side, there was then added
one cloister founded on a bank cast up for it, and on the other parts
the holy house stood naked. But in future ages the people added new
banks, 12 and the hill became a larger plain. They then broke down the
wall on the north side, and took in as much as sufficed afterward for
the compass of the entire temple. And when they had built walls on three
sides of the temple round about, from the bottom of the hill, and had
performed a work that was greater than could be hoped for, [in which
work long ages were spent by them, as well as all their sacred treasures
were exhausted, which were still replenished by those tributes which
were sent to God from the whole habitable earth,] they then encompassed
their upper courts with cloisters, as well as they [afterward] did the
lowest [court of the] temple. The lowest part of this was erected to the
height of three hundred cubits, and in some places more; yet did not
the entire depth of the foundations appear, for they brought earth, and
filled up the valleys, as being desirous to make them on a level with
the narrow streets of the city; wherein they made use of stones of forty
cubits in magnitude; for the great plenty of money they then had, and
the liberality of the people, made this attempt of theirs to succeed to
an incredible degree; and what could not be so much as hoped for as ever
to be accomplished, was, by perseverance and length of time, brought to
perfection.
2. Now for the works that were above these foundations, these were not
unworthy of such foundations; for all the cloisters were double, and
the pillars to them belonging were twenty-five cubits in height, and
supported the cloisters. These pillars were of one entire stone each of
them, and that stone was white marble; and the roofs were adorned with
cedar, curiously graven. The natural magnificence, and excellent polish,
and the harmony of the joints in these cloisters, afforded a prospect
that was very remarkable; nor was it on the outside adorned with any
work of the painter or engraver. The cloisters [of the outmost court]
were in breadth thirty cubits, while the entire compass of it was by
measure six furlongs, including the tower of Antonia; those entire
courts that were exposed to the air were laid with stones of all sorts.
When you go through these [first] cloisters, unto the second [court of
the] temple, there was a partition made of stone all round, whose height
was three cubits: its construction was very elegant; upon it stood
pillars, at equal distances from one another, declaring the law of
purity, some in Greek, and some in Roman letters, that "no foreigner
should go within that sanctuary" for that second [court of the] temple
was called "the Sanctuary," and was ascended to by fourteen steps from
the first court. This court was four-square, and had a wall about it
peculiar to itself; the height of its buildings, although it were on the
outside forty cubits, 13 was hidden by the steps, and on the inside that
height was but twenty-five cubits; for it being built over against a
higher part of the hill with steps, it was no further to be entirely
discerned within, being covered by the hill itself. Beyond these
thirteen steps there was the distance of ten cubits; this was all plain;
whence there were other steps, each of five cubits a-piece, that led to
the gates, which gates on the north and south sides were eight, on each
of those sides four, and of necessity two on the east. For since there
was a partition built for the women on that side, as the proper place
wherein they were to worship, there was a necessity for a second gate
for them: this gate was cut out of its wall, over against the first
gate. There was also on the other sides one southern and one northern
gate, through which was a passage into the court of the women; for as
to the other gates, the women were not allowed to pass through them;
nor when they went through their own gate could they go beyond their own
wall. This place was allotted to the women of our own country, and
of other countries, provided they were of the same nation, and that
equally. The western part of this court had no gate at all, but the wall
was built entire on that side. But then the cloisters which were betwixt
the gates extended from the wall inward, before the chambers; for they
were supported by very fine and large pillars. These cloisters were
single, and, excepting their magnitude, were no way inferior to those of
the lower court.
3. Now nine of these gates were on every side covered over with gold and
silver, as were the jambs of their doors and their lintels; but there
was one gate that was without the [inward court of the] holy house,
which was of Corinthian brass, and greatly excelled those that were only
covered over with silver and gold. Each gate had two doors, whose height
was severally thirty cubits, and their breadth fifteen. However, they
had large spaces within of thirty cubits, and had on each side rooms,
and those, both in breadth and in length, built like towers, and their
height was above forty cubits. Two pillars did also support these rooms,
and were in circumference twelve cubits. Now the magnitudes of the other
gates were equal one to another; but that over the Corinthian gate,
which opened on the east over against the gate of the holy house itself,
was much larger; for its height was fifty cubits; and its doors were
forty cubits; and it was adorned after a most costly manner, as having
much richer and thicker plates of silver and gold upon them than the
other. These nine gates had that silver and gold poured upon them by
Alexander, the father of Tiberius. Now there were fifteen steps, which
led away from the wall of the court of the women to this greater gate;
whereas those that led thither from the other gates were five steps
shorter.
4. As to the holy house itself, which was placed in the midst [of the
inmost court], that most sacred part of the temple, it was ascended to
by twelve steps; and in front its height and its breadth were equal, and
each a hundred cubits, though it was behind forty cubits narrower; for
on its front it had what may be styled shoulders on each side, that
passed twenty cubits further. Its first gate was seventy cubits high,
and twenty-five cubits broad; but this gate had no doors; for it
represented the universal visibility of heaven, and that it cannot be
excluded from any place. Its front was covered with gold all over, and
through it the first part of the house, that was more inward, did all of
it appear; which, as it was very large, so did all the parts about the
more inward gate appear to shine to those that saw them; but then, as
the entire house was divided into two parts within, it was only the
first part of it that was open to our view. Its height extended all
along to ninety cubits in height, and its length was fifty cubits, and
its breadth twenty. But that gate which was at this end of the first
part of the house was, as we have already observed, all over covered
with gold, as was its whole wall about it; it had also golden vines
above it, from which clusters of grapes hung as tall as a man's height.
But then this house, as it was divided into two parts, the inner part
was lower than the appearance of the outer, and had golden doors of
fifty-five cubits altitude, and sixteen in breadth; but before these
doors there was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a
Babylonian curtain, embroidered with blue, and fine linen, and scarlet,
and purple, and of a contexture that was truly wonderful. Nor was this
mixture of colors without its mystical interpretation, but was a kind
of image of the universe; for by the scarlet there seemed to be
enigmatically signified fire, by the fine flax the earth, by the blue
the air, and by the purple the sea; two of them having their colors the
foundation of this resemblance; but the fine flax and the purple have
their own origin for that foundation, the earth producing the one, and
the sea the other. This curtain had also embroidered upon it all that
was mystical in the heavens, excepting that of the [twelve] signs,
representing living creatures.
5. When any persons entered into the temple, its floor received them.
This part of the temple therefore was in height sixty cubits, and its
length the same; whereas its breadth was but twenty cubits: but still
that sixty cubits in length was divided again, and the first part of it
was cut off at forty cubits, and had in it three things that were very
wonderful and famous among all mankind, the candlestick, the table [of
shew-bread], and the altar of incense. Now the seven lamps signified the
seven planets; for so many there were springing out of the candlestick.
Now the twelve loaves that were upon the table signified the circle of
the zodiac and the year; but the altar of incense, by its thirteen kinds
of sweet-smelling spices with which the sea replenished it, signified
that God is the possessor of all things that are both in the
uninhabitable and habitable parts of the earth, and that they are all to
be dedicated to his use. But the inmost part of the temple of all was of
twenty cubits. This was also separated from the outer part by a veil. In
this there was nothing at all. It was inaccessible and inviolable, and
not to be seen by any; and was called the Holy of Holies. Now, about the
sides of the lower part of the temple, there were little houses, with
passages out of one into another; there were a great many of them, and
they were of three stories high; there were also entrances on each side
into them from the gate of the temple. But the superior part of the
temple had no such little houses any further, because the temple was
there narrower, and forty cubits higher, and of a smaller body than the
lower parts of it. Thus we collect that the whole height, including the
sixty cubits from the floor, amounted to a hundred cubits.
6. Now the outward face of the temple in its front wanted nothing that
was likely to surprise either men's minds or their eyes; for it was
covered all over with plates of gold of great weight, and, at the first
rising of the sun, reflected back a very fiery splendor, and made those
who forced themselves to look upon it to turn their eyes away, just as
they would have done at the sun's own rays. But this temple appeared to
strangers, when they were coming to it at a distance, like a mountain
covered with snow; for as to those parts of it that were not gilt, they
were exceeding white. On its top it had spikes with sharp points, to
prevent any pollution of it by birds sitting upon it. Of its stones,
some of them were forty-five cubits in length, five in height, and six
in breadth. Before this temple stood the altar, fifteen cubits high,
and equal both in length and breadth; each of which dimensions was fifty
cubits. The figure it was built in was a square, and it had corners like
horns; and the passage up to it was by an insensible acclivity. It was
formed without any iron tool, nor did any such iron tool so much as
touch it at any time. There was also a wall of partition, about a cubit
in height, made of fine stones, and so as to be grateful to the sight;
this encompassed the holy house and the altar, and kept the people that
were on the outside off from the priests. Moreover, those that had the
gonorrhea and the leprosy were excluded out of the city entirely; women
also, when their courses were upon them, were shut out of the temple;
nor when they were free from that impurity, were they allowed to go
beyond the limit before-mentioned; men also, that were not thoroughly
pure, were prohibited to come into the inner [court of the] temple; nay,
the priests themselves that were not pure were prohibited to come into
it also.
7. Now all those of the stock of the priests that could not minister
by reason of some defect in their bodies, came within the partition,
together with those that had no such imperfection, and had their share
with them by reason of their stock, but still made use of none except
their own private garments; for nobody but he that officiated had on his
sacred garments; but then those priests that were without any blemish
upon them went up to the altar clothed in fine linen. They abstained
chiefly from wine, out of this fear, lest otherwise they should
transgress some rules of their ministration. The high priest did also go
up with them; not always indeed, but on the seventh days and new moons,
and if any festivals belonging to our nation, which we celebrate every
year, happened. When he officiated, he had on a pair of breeches that
reached beneath his privy parts to his thighs, and had on an inner
garment of linen, together with a blue garment, round, without seam,
with fringe work, and reaching to the feet. There were also golden bells
that hung upon the fringes, and pomegranates intermixed among them. The
bells signified thunder, and the pomegranates lightning. But that girdle
that tied the garment to the breast was embroidered with five rows of
various colors, of gold, and purple, and scarlet, as also of fine linen
and blue, with which colors we told you before the veils of the temple
were embroidered also. The like embroidery was upon the ephod; but the
quantity of gold therein was greater. Its figure was that of a stomacher
for the breast. There were upon it two golden buttons like small
shields, which buttoned the ephod to the garment; in these buttons were
enclosed two very large and very excellent sardonyxes, having the names
of the tribes of that nation engraved upon them: on the other part there
hung twelve stones, three in a row one way, and four in the other; a
sardius, a topaz, and an emerald; a carbuncle, a jasper, and a sapphire;
an agate, an amethyst, and a ligure; an onyx, a beryl, and a chrysolite;
upon every one of which was again engraved one of the forementioned
names of the tribes. A mitre also of fine linen encompassed his head,
which was tied by a blue ribbon, about which there was another golden
crown, in which was engraven the sacred name [of God]: it consists of
four vowels. However, the high priest did not wear these garments at
other times, but a more plain habit; he only did it when he went into
the most sacred part of the temple, which he did but once in a year,
on that day when our custom is for all of us to keep a fast to God. And
thus much concerning the city and the temple; but for the customs and
laws hereto relating, we shall speak more accurately another time; for
there remain a great many things thereto relating which have not been
here touched upon.
8. Now as to the tower of Antonia, it was situated at the corner of two
cloisters of the court of the temple; of that on the west, and that on
the north; it was erected upon a rock of fifty cubits in height, and
was on a great precipice; it was the work of king Herod, wherein he
demonstrated his natural magnanimity. In the first place, the
rock itself was covered over with smooth pieces of stone, from its
foundation, both for ornament, and that any one who would either try to
get up or to go down it might not be able to hold his feet upon it. Next
to this, and before you come to the edifice of the tower itself, there
was a wall three cubits high; but within that wall all the space of the
tower of Antonia itself was built upon, to the height of forty cubits.
The inward parts had the largeness and form of a palace, it being parted
into all kinds of rooms and other conveniences, such as courts, and
places for bathing, and broad spaces for camps; insomuch that, by having
all conveniences that cities wanted, it might seem to be composed of
several cities, but by its magnificence it seemed a palace. And as the
entire structure resembled that of a tower, it contained also four other
distinct towers at its four corners; whereof the others were but fifty
cubits high; whereas that which lay upon the southeast corner was
seventy cubits high, that from thence the whole temple might be viewed;
but on the corner where it joined to the two cloisters of the temple,
it had passages down to them both, through which the guard [for there
always lay in this tower a Roman legion] went several ways among the
cloisters, with their arms, on the Jewish festivals, in order to watch
the people, that they might not there attempt to make any innovations;
for the temple was a fortress that guarded the city, as was the tower
of Antonia a guard to the temple; and in that tower were the guards
of those three 14. There was also a peculiar fortress belonging to the
upper city, which was Herod's palace; but for the hill Bezetha, it was
divided from the tower Antonia, as we have already told you; and as that
hill on which the tower of Antonia stood was the highest of these three,
so did it adjoin to the new city, and was the only place that hindered
the sight of the temple on the north. And this shall suffice at present
to have spoken about the city and the walls about it, because I have
proposed to myself to make a more accurate description of it elsewhere.
CHAPTER 6.
Concerning The Tyrants Simon And John. How Also As Titus Was
Going Round The Wall Of This City Nicanor Was Wounded By A
Dart; Which Accident Provoked Titus To Press On The Siege.
1. Now the warlike men that were in the city, and the multitude of the
seditious that were with Simon, were ten thousand, besides the Idumeans.
Those ten thousand had fifty commanders, over whom this Simon was
supreme. The Idumeans that paid him homage were five thousand, and had
eight commanders, among whom those of greatest fame were Jacob the son
of Sosas, and Simon the son of Cathlas. Jotre, who had seized upon the
temple, had six thousand armed men under twenty commanders; the zealots
also that had come over to him, and left off their opposition, were
two thousand four hundred, and had the same commander that they had
formerly, Eleazar, together with Simon the son of Arinus. Now, while
these factions fought one against another, the people were their prey
on both sides, as we have said already; and that part of the people who
would not join with them in their wicked practices were plundered by
both factions. Simon held the upper city, and the great wall as far as
Cedron, and as much of the old wall as bent from Siloam to the east,
and which went down to the palace of Monobazus, who was king of the
Adiabeni, beyond Euphrates; he also held that fountain, and the Acra,
which was no other than the lower city; he also held all that reached to
the palace of queen Helena, the mother of Monobazus. But John held the
temple, and the parts thereto adjoining, for a great way, as also Ophla,
and the valley called "the Valley of Cedron;" and when the parts that
were interposed between their possessions were burnt by them, they left
a space wherein they might fight with each other; for this internal
sedition did not cease even when the Romans were encamped near their
very wall. But although they had grown wiser at the first onset the
Romans made upon them, this lasted but a while; for they returned to
their former madness, and separated one from another, and fought it out,
and did everything that the besiegers could desire them to do; for they
never suffered any thing that was worse from the Romans than they made
each other suffer; nor was there any misery endured by the city after
these men's actions that could be esteemed new. But it was most of all
unhappy before it was overthrown, while those that took it did it a
greater kindness for I venture to affirm that the sedition destroyed the
city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition, which it was a much harder
thing to do than to destroy the walls; so that we may justly ascribe our
misfortunes to our own people, and the just vengeance taken on them to
the Romans; as to which matter let every one determine by the actions on
both sides.
2. Now when affairs within the city were in this posture, Titus went
round the city on the outside with some chosen horsemen, and looked
about for a proper place where he might make an impression upon the
walls; but as he was in doubt where he could possibly make an attack on
any side, [for the place was no way accessible where the valleys were,
and on the other side the first wall appeared too strong to be shaken by
the engines,] he thereupon thought it best to make his assault upon
the monument of John the high priest; for there it was that the first
fortification was lower, and the second was not joined to it, the
builders neglecting to build strong where the new city was not much
inhabited; here also was an easy passage to the third wall, through
which he thought to take the upper city, and, through the tower of
Antonia, the temple itself But at this time, as he was going round about
the city, one of his friends, whose name was Nicanor, was wounded with a
dart on his left shoulder, as he approached, together with Josephus, too
near the wall, and attempted to discourse to those that were upon the
wall, about terms of peace; for he was a person known by them. On this
account it was that Caesar, as soon as he knew their vehemence, that
they would not hear even such as approached them to persuade them to
what tended to their own preservation, was provoked to press on the
siege. He also at the same time gave his soldiers leave to set the
suburbs on fire, and ordered that they should bring timber together, and
raise banks against the city; and when he had parted his army into three
parts, in order to set about those works, he placed those that shot
darts and the archers in the midst of the banks that were then raising;
before whom he placed those engines that threw javelins, and darts, and
stones, that he might prevent the enemy from sallying out upon their
works, and might hinder those that were upon the wall from being able
to obstruct them. So the trees were now cut down immediately, and the
suburbs left naked. But now while the timber was carrying to raise the
banks, and the whole army was earnestly engaged in their works, the Jews
were not, however, quiet; and it happened that the people of Jerusalem,
who had been hitherto plundered and murdered, were now of good courage,
and supposed they should have a breathing time, while the others were
very busy in opposing their enemies without the city, and that they
should now be avenged on those that had been the authors of their
miseries, in case the Romans did but get the victory.
3. However, John staid behind, out of his fear of Simon, even while his
own men were earnest in making a sally upon their enemies without. Yet
did not Simon lie still, for he lay near the place of the siege; he
brought his engines of war, and disposed of them at due distances upon
the wall, both those which they took from Cestius formerly, and those
which they got when they seized the garrison that lay in the tower
Antonia. But though they had these engines in their possession, they had
so little skill in using them, that they were in great measure useless
to them; but a few there were who had been taught by deserters how to
use them, which they did use, though after an awkward manner. So they
cast stones and arrows at those that were making the banks; they also
ran out upon them by companies, and fought with them. Now those that
were at work covered themselves with hurdles spread over their banks,
and their engines were opposed to them when they made their excursions.
The engines, that all the legions had ready prepared for them, were
admirably contrived; but still more extraordinary ones belonged to the
tenth legion: those that threw darts and those that threw stones were
more forcible and larger than the rest, by which they not only repelled
the excursions of the Jews, but drove those away that were upon the
walls also. Now the stones that were cast were of the weight of a
talent, and were carried two furlongs and further. The blow they gave
was no way to be sustained, not only by those that stood first in the
way, but by those that were beyond them for a great space. As for the
Jews, they at first watched the coming of the stone, for it was of a
white color, and could therefore not only be perceived by the great
noise it made, but could be seen also before it came by its brightness;
accordingly the watchmen that sat upon the towers gave them notice when
the engine was let go, and the stone came from it, and cried out aloud,
in their own country language, The Stone Cometh 15 so those that were in
its way stood off, and threw themselves down upon the ground; by which
means, and by their thus guarding themselves, the stone fell down
and did them no harm. But the Romans contrived how to prevent that by
blacking the stone, who then could aim at them with success, when the
stone was not discerned beforehand, as it had been till then; and so
they destroyed many of them at one blow. Yet did not the Jews, under all
this distress, permit the Romans to raise their banks in quiet; but they
shrewdly and boldly exerted themselves, and repelled them both by night
and by day.
4. And now, upon the finishing the Roman works, the workmen measured
the distance there was from the wall, and this by lead and a line, which
they threw to it from their banks; for they could not measure it any
otherwise, because the Jews would shoot at them, if they came to measure
it themselves; and when they found that the engines could reach the
wall, they brought them thither. Then did Titus set his engines at
proper distances, so much nearer to the wall, that the Jews might not
be able to repel them, and gave orders they should go to work; and when
thereupon a prodigious noise echoed round about from three places, and
that on the sudden there was a great noise made by the citizens that
were within the city, and no less a terror fell upon the seditious
themselves; whereupon both sorts, seeing the common danger they were in,
contrived to make a like defense. So those of different factions cried
out one to another, that they acted entirely as in concert with their
enemies; whereas they ought however, notwithstanding God did not grant
them a lasting concord, in their present circumstances, to lay aside
their enmities one against another, and to unite together against the
Romans. Accordingly, Simon gave those that came from the temple leave,
by proclamation, to go upon the wall; John also himself, though he could
not believe Simon was in earnest, gave them the same leave. So on both
sides they laid aside their hatred and their peculiar quarrels, and
formed themselves into one body; they then ran round the walls, and
having a vast number of torches with them, they threw them at the
machines, and shot darts perpetually upon those that impelled those
engines which battered the wall; nay, the bolder sort leaped out by
troops upon the hurdles that covered the machines, and pulled them to
pieces, and fell upon those that belonged to them, and beat them, not
so much by any skill they had, as principally by the boldness of their
attacks. However, Titus himself still sent assistance to those that were
the hardest set, and placed both horsemen and archers on the several
sides of the engines, and thereby beat off those that brought the fire
to them; he also thereby repelled those that shot stones or darts from
the towers, and then set the engines to work in good earnest; yet did
not the wall yield to these blows, excepting where the battering ram of
the fifteenth legion moved the corner of a tower, while the wall itself
continued unhurt; for the wall was not presently in the same danger with
the tower, which was extant far above it; nor could the fall of that
part of the tower easily break down any part of the wall itself together
with it.
5. And now the Jews intermitted their sallies for a while; but when they
observed the Romans dispersed all abroad at their works, and in their
several camps, [for they thought the Jews had retired out of weariness
and fear,] they all at once made a sally at the tower Hippicus, through
an obscure gate, and at the same time brought fire to burn the works,
and went boldly up to the Romans, and to their very fortifications
themselves, where, at the cry they made, those that were near them came
presently to their assistance, and those farther off came running after
them; and here the boldness of the Jews was too hard for the good order
of the Romans; and as they beat those whom they first fell upon, so they
pressed upon those that were now gotten together. So this fight about
the machines was very hot, while the one side tried hard to set them
on fire, and the other side to prevent it; on both sides there was a
confused cry made, and many of those in the forefront of the battle
were slain. However, the Jews were now too hard for the Romans, by the
furious assaults they made like madmen; and the fire caught hold of the
works, and both all those works, and the engines themselves, had been in
danger of being burnt, had not many of these select soldiers that came
from Alexandria opposed themselves to prevent it, and had they not
behaved themselves with greater courage than they themselves supposed
they could have done; for they outdid those in this fight that had
greater reputation than themselves before. This was the state of things
till Caesar took the stoutest of his horsemen, and attacked the enemy,
while he himself slew twelve of those that were in the forefront of the
Jews; which death of these men, when the rest of the multitude saw, they
gave way, and he pursued them, and drove them all into the city, and
saved the works from the fire. Now it happened at this fight that a
certain Jew was taken alive, who, by Titus's order, was crucified before
the wall, to see whether the rest of them would be affrighted, and
abate of their obstinacy. But after the Jews were retired, John, who was
commander of the Idumeans, and was talking to a certain soldier of his
acquaintance before the wall, was wounded by a dart shot at him by an
Arabian, and died immediately, leaving the greatest lamentation to the
Jews, and sorrow to the seditious. For he was a man of great eminence,
both for his actions and his conduct also.
CHAPTER 7.
How One Of The Towers Erected By The Romans Fell Down Of Its
Own Accord; And How The Romans After Great Slaughter Had
Been Made Got Possession Of The First Wall. How Also Titus
Made His Assaults Upon The Second Wall; As Also Concerning
Longinus The Roman, And Castor The Jew.
1. Now, on the next night, a surprising disturbance fell upon the
Romans; for whereas Titus had given orders for the erection of three
towers of fifty cubits high, that by setting men upon them at every
bank, he might from thence drive those away who were upon the wall, it
so happened that one of these towers fell down about midnight; and as
its fall made a very great noise, fear fell upon the army, and they,
supposing that the enemy was coming to attack them, ran all to their
arms. Whereupon a disturbance and a tumult arose among the legions,
and as nobody could tell what had happened, they went on after a
disconsolate manner; and seeing no enemy appear, they were afraid one of
another, and every one demanded of his neighbor the watchword with great
earnestness, as though the Jews had invaded their camp. And now were
they like people under a panic fear, till Titus was informed of what
had happened, and gave orders that all should be acquainted with it;
and then, though with some difficulty, they got clear of the disturbance
they had been under.
2. Now these towers were very troublesome to the Jews, who otherwise
opposed the Romans very courageously; for they shot at them out of their
lighter engines from those towers, as they did also by those that threw
darts, and the archers, and those that flung stones. For neither could
the Jews reach those that were over them, by reason of their height; and
it was not practicable to take them, nor to overturn them, they were so
heavy, nor to set them on fire, because they were covered with plates of
iron. So they retired out of the reach of the darts, and did no longer
endeavor to hinder the impression of their rams, which, by continually
beating upon the wall, did gradually prevail against it; so that
the wall already gave way to the Nico, for by that name did the Jews
themselves call the greatest of their engines, because it conquered all
things. And now they were for a long while grown weary of fighting,
and of keeping guards, and were retired to lodge in the night time at a
distance from the wall. It was on other accounts also thought by them
to be superfluous to guard the wall, there being besides that two other
fortifications still remaining, and they being slothful, and their
counsels having been ill concerted on all occasions; so a great many
grew lazy and retired. Then the Romans mounted the breach, where
Nico had made one, and all the Jews left the guarding that wall, and
retreated to the second wall; so those that had gotten over that wall
opened the gates, and received all the army within it. And thus did the
Romans get possession of this first wall, on the fifteenth day of the
siege, which was the seventh day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] when
they demolished a great part of it, as well as they did of the northern
parts of the city, which had been demolished also by Cestius formerly.
3. And now Titus pitched his camp within the city, at that place which
was called "the Camp of the Assyrians," having seized upon all that
lay as far as Cedron, but took care to be out of the reach of the Jews'
darts. He then presently began his attacks, upon which the Jews divided
themselves into several bodies, and courageously defended that wall;
while John and his faction did it from the tower of Antonia, and from
the northern cloister of the temple, and fought the Romans before the
monuments of king Alexander; and Sireoh's army also took for their share
the spot of ground that was near John's monument, and fortified it as
far as to that gate where water was brought in to the tower Hippicus.
However, the Jews made violent sallies, and that frequently also, and in
bodies together out of the gates, and there fought the Romans; and when
they were pursued all together to the wall, they were beaten in those
fights, as wanting the skill of the Romans. But when they fought them
from the walls, they were too hard for them; the Romans being encouraged
by their power, joined to their skill, as were the Jews by their
boldness, which was nourished by the fear they were in, and that
hardiness which is natural to our nation under calamities; they were
also encouraged still by the hope of deliverance, as were the Romans by
their hopes of subduing them in a little time. Nor did either side grow
weary; but attacks and rightings upon the wall, and perpetual sallies
out in bodies, were there all the day long; nor were there any sort of
warlike engagements that were not then put in use. And the night itself
had much ado to part them, when they began to fight in the morning; nay,
the night itself was passed without sleep on both sides, and was more
uneasy than the day to them, while the one was afraid lest the wall
should be taken, and the other lest the Jews should make sallies upon
their camps; both sides also lay in their armor during the night time,
and thereby were ready at the first appearance of light to go to the
battle. Now among the Jews the ambition was who should undergo the first
dangers, and thereby gratify their commanders. Above all, they had a
great veneration and dread of Simon; and to that degree was he regarded
by every one of those that were under him, that at his command they were
very ready to kill themselves with their own hands. What made the Romans
so courageous was their usual custom of conquering and disuse of being
defeated, their constant wars, and perpetual warlike exercises, and
the grandeur of their dominion; and what was now their chief
encouragement--Titus who was present every where with them all; for
it appeared a terrible thing to grow weary while Caesar was there,
and fought bravely as well as they did, and was himself at once an
eye-witness of such as behaved themselves valiantly, and he who was to
reward them also. It was, besides, esteemed an advantage at present
to have any one's valor known by Caesar; on which account many of them
appeared to have more alacrity than strength to answer it. And now, as
the Jews were about this time standing in array before the wall, and
that in a strong body, and while both parties were throwing their darts
at each other, Longinus, one of the equestrian order, leaped out of the
army of the Romans, and leaped into the very midst of the army of the
Jews; and as they dispersed themselves upon the attack, he slew two of
their men of the greatest courage; one of them he struck in his mouth as
he was coming to meet him, the other was slain by him by that very dart
which he drew out of the body of the other, with which he ran this man
through his side as he was running away from him; and when he had done
this, he first of all ran out of the midst of his enemies to his own
side. So this man signalized himself for his valor, and many there were
who were ambitious of gaining the like reputation. And now the Jews were
unconcerned at what they suffered themselves from the Romans, and were
only solicitous about what mischief they could do them; and death itself
seemed a small matter to them, if at the same time they could but kill
any one of their enemies. But Titus took care to secure his own soldiers
from harm, as well as to have them overcome their enemies. He also said
that inconsiderate violence was madness, and that this alone was the
true courage that was joined with good conduct. He therefore commanded
his men to take care, when they fought their enemies, that they received
no harm from them at the same time, and thereby show themselves to be
truly valiant men.
4. And now Titus brought one of his engines to the middle tower of the
north part of the wall, in which a certain crafty Jew, whose name was
Castor, lay in ambush, with ten others like himself, the rest being fled
away by reason of the archers. These men lay still for a while, as in
great fear, under their breastplates; but when the tower was shaken,
they arose, and Castor did then stretch out his hand, as a petitioner,
and called for Caesar, and by his voice moved his compassion, and begged
of him to have mercy upon them; and Titus, in the innocency of his
heart, believing him to be in earnest, and hoping that the Jews did now
repent, stopped the working of the battering ram, and forbade them to
shoot at the petitioners, and bid Castor say what he had a mind to say
to him. He said that he would come down, if he would give him his right
hand for his security. To which Titus replied, that he was well pleased
with such his agreeable conduct, and would be well pleased if all
the Jews would be of his mind, and that he was ready to give the like
security to the city. Now five of the ten dissembled with him, and
pretended to beg for mercy, while the rest cried out aloud that they
would never be slaves to the Romans, while it was in their power to die
in a state of freedom. Now while these men were quarrelling for a long
while, the attack was delayed; Castor also sent to Simon, and told him
that they might take some time for consultation about what was to be
done, because he would elude the power of the Romans for a considerable
time. And at the same time that he sent thus to him, he appeared openly
to exhort those that were obstinate to accept of Titus's hand for their
security; but they seemed very angry at it, and brandished their naked
swords upon the breast-works, and struck themselves upon their breast,
and fell down as if they had been slain. Hereupon Titus, and those with
him, were amazed at the courage of the men; and as they were not able
to see exactly what was done, they admired at their great fortitude,
and pitied their calamity. During this interval, a certain person shot
a dart at Castor, and wounded him in his nose; whereupon he presently
pulled out the dart, and showed it to Titus, and complained that this
was unfair treatment; so Caesar reproved him that shot the dart, and
sent Josephus, who then stood by him, to give his right hand to Castor.
But Josephus said that he would not go to him, because these pretended
petitioners meant nothing that was good; he also restrained those
friends of his who were zealous to go to him. But still there was one
Eneas, a deserter, who said he would go to him. Castor also called to
them, that somebody should come and receive the money which he had with
him; this made Eneas the more earnestly to run to him with his bosom
open. Then did Castor take up a great stone, and threw it at him, which
missed him, because he guarded himself against it; but still it wounded
another soldier that was coming to him. When Caesar understood that this
was a delusion, he perceived that mercy in war is a pernicious thing,
because such cunning tricks have less place under the exercise of
greater severity. So he caused the engine to work more strongly than
before, on account of his anger at the deceit put upon him. But Castor
and his companions set the tower on fire when it began to give way, and
leaped through the flame into a hidden vault that was under it, which
made the Romans further suppose that they were men of great courage, as
having cast themselves into the fire.
CHAPTER 8.
How The Romans Took The Second Wall Twice, And Got All Ready
For Taking The Third Wall.
1. Now Caesar took this wall there on the fifth day after he had taken
the first; and when the Jews had fled from him, he entered into it with
a thousand armed men, and those of his choice troops, and this at a
place where were the merchants of wool, the braziers, and the market
for cloth, and where the narrow streets led obliquely to the wall.
Wherefore, if Titus had either demolished a larger part of the wall
immediately, or had come in, and, according to the law of war, had laid
waste what was left, his victory would not, I suppose, have been mixed
with any loss to himself. But now, out of the hope he had that he should
make the Jews ashamed of their obstinacy, by not being willing, when he
was able, to afflict them more than he needed to do, he did not widen
the breach of the wall, in order to make a safer retreat upon occasion;
for he did not think they would lay snares for him that did them such a
kindness. When therefore he came in, he did not permit his soldiers to
kill any of those they caught, nor to set fire to their houses neither;
nay, he gave leave to the seditious, if they had a mind, to fight
without any harm to the people, and promised to restore the people's
effects to them; for he was very desirous to preserve the city for his
own sake, and the temple for the sake of the city. As to the people, he
had them of a long time ready to comply with his proposals; but as to
the fighting men, this humanity of his seemed a mark of his weakness,
and they imagined that he made these proposals because he was not able
to take the rest of the city. They also threatened death to the people,
if they should any one of them say a word about a surrender. They
moreover cut the throats of such as talked of a peace, and then attacked
those Romans that were come within the wall. Some of them they met in
the narrow streets, and some they fought against from their houses,
while they made a sudden sally out at the upper gates, and assaulted
such Romans as were beyond the wall, till those that guarded the wall
were so affrighted, that they leaped down from their towers, and retired
to their several camps: upon which a great noise was made by the Romans
that were within, because they were encompassed round on every side by
their enemies; as also by them that were without, because they were in
fear for those that were left in the city. Thus did the Jews grow more
numerous perpetually, and had great advantages over the Romans, by their
full knowledge of those narrow lanes; and they wounded a great many
of them, and fell upon them, and drove them out of the city. Now these
Romans were at present forced to make the best resistance they could;
for they were not able, in great numbers, to get out at the breach in
the wall, it was so narrow. It is also probable that all those that
were gotten within had been cut to pieces, if Titus had not sent them
succors; for he ordered the archers to stand at the upper ends of these
narrow lanes, and he stood himself where was the greatest multitude of
his enemies, and with his darts he put a stop to them; as with him
did Domitius Sabinus also, a valiant man, and one that in this battle
appeared so to be. Thus did Caesar continue to shoot darts at the Jews
continually, and to hinder them from coming upon his men, and this until
all his soldiers had retreated out of the city.
2. And thus were the Romans driven out, after they had possessed
themselves of the second wall. Whereupon the fighting men that were
in the city were lifted up in their minds, and were elevated upon this
their good success, and began to think that the Romans would never
venture to come into the city any more; and that if they kept within it
themselves, they should not be any more conquered. For God had blinded
their minds for the transgressions they had been guilty of, nor could
they see how much greater forces the Romans had than those that were now
expelled, no more than they could discern how a famine was creeping upon
them; for hitherto they had fed themselves out of the public miseries,
and drank the blood of the city. But now poverty had for a long time
seized upon the better part, and a great many had died already for want
of necessaries; although the seditious indeed supposed the destruction
of the people to be an easement to themselves; for they desired that
none others might be preserved but such as were against a peace with the
Romans, and were resolved to live in opposition to them, and they were
pleased when the multitude of those of a contrary opinion were consumed,
as being then freed from a heavy burden. And this was their disposition
of mind with regard to those that were within the city, while they
covered themselves with their armor, and prevented the Romans, when they
were trying to get into the city again, and made a wall of their own
bodies over against that part of the wall that was cast down. Thus did
they valiantly defend themselves for three days; but on the fourth day
they could not support themselves against the vehement assaults of Titus
but were compelled by force to fly whither they had fled before; so
he quietly possessed himself again of that wall, and demolished it
entirely. And when he had put a garrison into the towers that were on
the south parts of the city, he contrived how he might assault the third
wall.
CHAPTER 9.
Titus When The Jews Were Not At All Mollified By His Leaving
Off The Siege For A While, Set Himself Again To Prosecute
The Same; But Soon Sent Josephus To Discourse With His Own
Countrymen About Peace.
1. A Resolution was now taken by Titus to relax the siege for a little
while, and to afford the seditious an interval for consideration, and to
see whether the demolishing of their second wall would not make them
a little more compliant, or whether they were not somewhat afraid of
a famine, because the spoils they had gotten by rapine would not be
sufficient for them long; so he made use of this relaxation in order to
compass his own designs. Accordingly, as the usual appointed time when
he must distribute subsistence money to the soldiers was now come, he
gave orders that the commanders should put the army into battle-array,
in the face of the enemy, and then give every one of the soldiers their
pay. So the soldiers, according to custom, opened the cases wherein
their arms before lay covered, and marched with their breastplates on,
as did the horsemen lead their horses in their fine trappings. Then did
the places that were before the city shine very splendidly for a great
way; nor was there any thing so grateful to Titus's own men, or so
terrible to the enemy, as that sight. For the whole old wall, and the
north side of the temple, were full of spectators, and one might see
the houses full of such as looked at them; nor was there any part of the
city which was not covered over with their multitudes; nay, a very great
consternation seized upon the hardiest of the Jews themselves, when they
saw all the army in the same place, together with the fineness of their
arms, and the good order of their men. And I cannot but think that
the seditious would have changed their minds at that sight, unless the
crimes they had committed against the people had been so horrid, that
they despaired of forgiveness from the Romans; but as they believed
death with torments must be their punishment, if they did not go on in
the defense of the city, they thought it much better to die in war. Fate
also prevailed so far over them, that the innocent were to perish with
the guilty, and the city was to be destroyed with the seditious that
were in it.
2. Thus did the Romans spend four days in bringing this
subsistence-money to the several legions. But on the fifth day, when
no signs of peace appeared to come from the Jews, Titus divided his
legions, and began to raise banks, both at the tower of Antonia and at
John's monument. Now his designs were to take the upper city at that
monument, and the temple at the tower of Antonia; for if the temple were
not taken, it would be dangerous to keep the city itself; so at each of
these parts he raised him banks, each legion raising one. As for those
that wrought at John's monument, the Idumeans, and those that were in
arms with Simon, made sallies upon them, and put some stop to them;
while John's party, and the multitude of zealots with them, did the like
to those that were before the tower of Antonia. These Jews were now too
hard for the Romans, not only in direct fighting, because they stood
upon the higher ground, but because they had now learned to use their
own engines; for their continual use of them one day after another did
by degrees improve their skill about them; for of one sort of engines
for darts they had three hundred, and forty for stones; by the means of
which they made it more tedious for the Romans to raise their banks. But
then Titus, knowing that the city would be either saved or destroyed for
himself, did not only proceed earnestly in the siege, but did not omit
to have the Jews exhorted to repentance; so he mixed good counsel
with his works for the siege. And being sensible that exhortations are
frequently more effectual than arms, he persuaded them to surrender the
city, now in a manner already taken, and thereby to save themselves, and
sent Josephus to speak to them in their own language; for he imagined
they might yield to the persuasion of a countryman of their own.
3. So Josephus went round about the wall, and tried to find a place that
was out of the reach of their darts, and yet within their hearing,
and besought them, in many words, to spare themselves, to spare their
country and their temple, and not to be more obdurate in these cases
than foreigners themselves; for that the Romans, who had no relation
to those things, had a reverence for their sacred rites and places,
although they belonged to their enemies, and had till now kept their
hands off from meddling with them; while such as were brought up under
them, and, if they be preserved, will be the only people that will reap
the benefit of them, hurry on to have them destroyed. That certainly
they have seen their strongest walls demolished, and that the wall still
remaining was weaker than those that were already taken. That they must
know the Roman power was invincible, and that they had been used to
serve them; for, that in case it be allowed a right thing to fight for
liberty, that ought to have been done at first; but for them that have
once fallen under the power of the Romans, and have now submitted
to them for so many long years, to pretend to shake off that yoke
afterward, was the work of such as had a mind to die miserably, not of
such as were lovers of liberty. Besides, men may well enough grudge at
the dishonor of owning ignoble masters over them, but ought not to do so
to those who have all things under their command; for what part of the
world is there that hath escaped the Romans, unless it be such as are
of no use for violent heat, or for violent cold? And evident it is that
fortune is on all hands gone over to them; and that God, when he had
gone round the nations with this dominion, is now settled in Italy.
That, moreover, it is a strong and fixed law, even among brute beasts,
as well as among men, to yield to those that are too strong for them;
and to suffer those to have the dominion who are too hard for the rest
in war; for which reason it was that their forefathers, who were far
superior to them, both in their souls and bodies, and other advantages,
did yet submit to the Romans, which they would not have suffered, had
they not known that God was with them. As for themselves, what can they
depend on in this their opposition, when the greatest part of their city
is already taken? and when those that are within it are under greater
miseries than if they were taken, although their walls be still
standing? For that the Romans are not unacquainted with that famine
which is in the city, whereby the people are already consumed, and the
fighting men will in a little time be so too; for although the Romans
should leave off the siege, and not fall upon the city with their swords
in their hands, yet was there an insuperable war that beset them within,
and was augmented every hour, unless they were able to wage war with
famine, and fight against it, or could alone conquer their natural
appetites. He added this further, how right a thing it was to change
their conduct before their calamities were become incurable, and to have
recourse to such advice as might preserve them, while opportunity was
offered them for so doing; for that the Romans would not be mindful
of their past actions to their disadvantage, unless they persevered in
their insolent behavior to the end; because they were naturally mild in
their conquests, and preferred what was profitable, before what their
passions dictated to them; which profit of theirs lay not in leaving the
city empty of inhabitants, nor the country a desert; on which account
Caesar did now offer them his right hand for their security. Whereas,
if he took the city by force, he would not save any of them, and
this especially, if they rejected his offers in these their utmost
distresses; for the walls that were already taken could not but assure
them that the third wall would quickly be taken also. And though their
fortifications should prove too strong for the Romans to break through
them, yet would the famine fight for the Romans against them.
4. While Josephus was making this exhortation to the Jews, many of them
jested upon him from the wall, and many reproached him; nay, some threw
their darts at him: but when he could not himself persuade them by such
open good advice, he betook himself to the histories belonging to their
own nation, and cried out aloud, "O miserable creatures! are you so
unmindful of those that used to assist you, that you will fight by your
weapons and by your hands against the Romans? When did we ever conquer
any other nation by such means? and when was it that God, who is the
Creator of the Jewish people, did not avenge them when they had been
injured? Will not you turn again, and look back, and consider whence it
is that you fight with such violence, and how great a Supporter you have
profanely abused? Will not you recall to mind the prodigious things done
for your forefathers and this holy place, and how great enemies of yours
were by him subdued under you? I even tremble myself in declaring the
works of God before your ears, that are unworthy to hear them; however,
hearken to me, that you may be informed how you fight not only against
the Romans, but against God himself. In old times there was one Necao,
king of Egypt, who was also called Pharaoh; he came with a prodigious
army of soldiers, and seized queen Sarah, the mother of our nation.
What did Abraham our progenitor then do? Did he defend himself from
this injurious person by war, although he had three hundred and eighteen
captains under him, and an immense army under each of them? Indeed he
deemed them to be no number at all without God's assistance, and only
spread out his hands towards this holy place, 16 which you have now
polluted, and reckoned upon him as upon his invincible supporter,
instead of his own army. Was not our queen sent back, without any
defilement, to her husband, the very next evening?--while the king of
Egypt fled away, adoring this place which you have defiled by shedding
thereon the blood of your own countrymen; and he also trembled at those
visions which he saw in the night season, and bestowed both silver and
gold on the Hebrews, as on a people beloved by God. Shall I say nothing,
or shall I mention the removal of our fathers into Egypt, who, when they
were used tyrannically, and were fallen under the power of foreign kings
for four hundred years together, and might have defended themselves by
war and by fighting, did yet do nothing but commit themselves to God!
Who is there that does not know that Egypt was overrun with all sorts of
wild beasts, and consumed by all sorts of distempers? how their land
did not bring forth its fruit? how the Nile failed of water? how the ten
plagues of Egypt followed one upon another? and how by those means our
fathers were sent away under a guard, without any bloodshed, and
without running any dangers, because God conducted them as his peculiar
servants? Moreover, did not Palestine groan 17 under the ravage the
Assyrians made, when they carried away our sacred ark? as did their idol
Dagon, and as also did that entire nation of those that carried it away,
how they were smitten with a loathsome distemper in the secret parts of
their bodies, when their very bowels came down together with what they
had eaten, till those hands that stole it away were obliged to bring it
back again, and that with the sound of cymbals and timbrels, and other
oblations, in order to appease the anger of God for their violation of
his holy ark. It was God who then became our General, and accomplished
these great things for our fathers, and this because they did not meddle
with war and fighting, but committed it to him to judge about their
affairs. When Sennacherib, king of Assyria, brought along with him all
Asia, and encompassed this city round with his army, did he fall by the
hands of men? were not those hands lifted up to God in prayers, without
meddling with their arms, when an angel of God destroyed that prodigious
army in one night? when the Assyrian king, as he rose the next day,
found a hundred fourscore and five thousand dead bodies, and when he,
with the remainder of his army, fled away from the Hebrews, though they
were unarmed, and did not pursue them. You are also acquainted with the
slavery we were under at Babylon, where the people were captives for
seventy years; yet were they not delivered into freedom again before
God made Cyrus his gracious instrument in bringing it about; accordingly
they were set free by him, and did again restore the worship of their
Deliverer at his temple. And, to speak in general, we can produce no
example wherein our fathers got any success by war, or failed of success
when without war they committed themselves to God. When they staid at
home, they conquered, as pleased their Judge; but when they went out
to fight, they were always disappointed: for example, when the king of
Babylon besieged this very city, and our king Zedekiah fought against
him, contrary to what predictions were made to him by Jeremiah the
prophet, he was at once taken prisoner, and saw the city and the temple
demolished. Yet how much greater was the moderation of that king, than
is that of your present governors, and that of the people then under
him, than is that of you at this time! for when Jeremiah cried out
aloud, how very angry God was at them, because of their transgressions,
and told them they should be taken prisoners, unless they would
surrender up their city, neither did the king nor the people put him to
death; but for you, [to pass over what you have done within the city,
which I am not able to describe as your wickedness deserves,] you abuse
me, and throw darts at me, who only exhort you to save yourselves, as
being provoked when you are put in mind of your sins, and cannot bear
the very mention of those crimes which you every day perpetrate. For
another example, when Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, lay before
this city, and had been guilty of many indignities against God, and our
forefathers met him in arms, they then were slain in the battle, this
city was plundered by our enemies, and our sanctuary made desolate for
three years and six months. And what need I bring any more examples?
Indeed what can it be that hath stirred up an army of the Romans against
our nation? Is it not the impiety of the inhabitants? Whence did our
servitude commence? Was it not derived from the seditions that were
among our forefathers, when the madness of Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, and
our mutual quarrels, brought Pompey upon this city, and when God reduced
those under subjection to the Romans who were unworthy of the liberty
they had enjoyed? After a siege, therefore, of three months, they were
forced to surrender themselves, although they had not been guilty of
such offenses, with regard to our sanctuary and our laws, as you have;
and this while they had much greater advantages to go to war than you
have. Do not we know what end Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, came
to, under whose reign God provided that this city should be taken again
upon account of the people's offenses? When Herod, the son of Antipater,
brought upon us Sosius, and Sosius brought upon us the Roman army, they
were then encompassed and besieged for six months, till, as a punishment
for their sins, they were taken, and the city was plundered by the
enemy. Thus it appears that arms were never given to our nation, but
that we are always given up to be fought against, and to be taken; for
I suppose that such as inhabit this holy place ought to commit the
disposal of all things to God, and then only to disregard the assistance
of men when they resign themselves up to their Arbitrator, who is above.
As for you, what have you done of those things that are recommended by
our legislator? and what have you not done of those things that he hath
condemned? How much more impious are you than those who were so quickly
taken! You have not avoided so much as those sins that are usually
done in secret; I mean thefts, and treacherous plots against men, and
adulteries. You are quarrelling about rapines and murders, and invent
strange ways of wickedness. Nay, the temple itself is become the
receptacle of all, and this Divine place is polluted by the hands of
those of our own country; which place hath yet been reverenced by the
Romans when it was at a distance from them, when they have suffered many
of their own customs to give place to our law. And, after all this, do
you expect Him whom you have so impiously abused to be your supporter?
To be sure then you have a right to be petitioners, and to call upon Him
to assist you, so pure are your hands! Did your king [Hezekiah] lift
up such hands in prayer to God against the king of Assyria, when he
destroyed that great army in one night? And do the Romans commit such
wickedness as did the king of Assyria, that you may have reason to hope
for the like vengeance upon them? Did not that king accept of money from
our king on this condition, that he should not destroy the city, and
yet, contrary to the oath he had taken, he came down to burn the temple?
while the Romans do demand no more than that accustomed tribute which
our fathers paid to their fathers; and if they may but once obtain that,
they neither aim to destroy this city, nor to touch this sanctuary; nay,
they will grant you besides, that your posterity shall be free, and your
possessions secured to you, and will preserve our holy laws inviolate
to you. And it is plain madness to expect that God should appear as well
disposed towards the wicked as towards the righteous, since he knows
when it is proper to punish men for their sins immediately; accordingly
he brake the power of the Assyrians the very first night that they
pitched their camp. Wherefore, had he judged that our nation was worthy
of freedom, or the Romans of punishment, he had immediately inflicted
punishment upon those Romans, as he did upon the Assyrians, when Pompey
began to meddle with our nation, or when after him Sosius came up
against us, or when Vespasian laid waste Galilee, or, lastly, when Titus
came first of all near to this city; although Magnus and Sosius did not
only suffer nothing, but took the city by force; as did Vespasian go
from the war he made against you to receive the empire; and as for
Titus, those springs that were formerly almost dried up when they were
under your power 18 since he is come, run more plentifully than they
did before; accordingly, you know that Siloam, as well as all the other
springs that were without the city, did so far fail, that water was sold
by distinct measures; whereas they now have such a great quantity of
water for your enemies, as is sufficient not only for drink both for
themselves and their cattle, but for watering their gardens also.
The same wonderful sign you had also experience of formerly, when the
forementioned king of Babylon made war against us, and when he took the
city, and burnt the temple; while yet I believe the Jews of that age
were not so impious as you are. Wherefore I cannot but suppose that God
is fled out of his sanctuary, and stands on the side of those against
whom you fight. Now even a man, if he be but a good man, will fly from
an impure house, and will hate those that are in it; and do you persuade
yourselves that God will abide with you in your iniquities, who sees all
secret things, and hears what is kept most private? Now what crime
is there, I pray you, that is so much as kept secret among you, or
is concealed by you? nay, what is there that is not open to your very
enemies? for you show your transgressions after a pompous manner, and
contend one with another which of you shall be more wicked than another;
and you make a public demonstration of your injustice, as if it were
virtue. However, there is a place left for your preservation, if you
be willing to accept of it; and God is easily reconciled to those that
confess their faults, and repent of them. O hard-hearted wretches as
you are! cast away all your arms, and take pity of your country already
going to ruin; return from your wicked ways, and have regard to the
excellency of that city which you are going to betray, to that excellent
temple with the donations of so many countries in it. Who could bear to
be the first that should set that temple on fire? who could be willing
that these things should be no more? and what is there that can better
deserve to be preserved? O insensible creatures, and more stupid than
are the stones themselves! And if you cannot look at these things with
discerning eyes, yet, however, have pity upon your families, and set
before every one of your eyes your children, and wives, and parents,
who will be gradually consumed either by famine or by war. I am sensible
that this danger will extend to my mother, and wife, and to that family
of mine who have been by no means ignoble, and indeed to one that hath
been very eminent in old time; and perhaps you may imagine that it is
on their account only that I give you this advice; if that be all, kill
them; nay, take my own blood as a reward, if it may but procure your
preservation; for I am ready to die, in case you will but return to a
sound mind after my death."
CHAPTER 10.
How A Great Many Of The People Earnestly Endeavored To
Desert To The Romans; As Also What Intolerable Things Those
That Staid Behind Suffered By Famine, And The Sad
Consequences Thereof.
1. As Josephus was speaking thus with a loud voice, the seditious would
neither yield to what he said, nor did they deem it safe for them to
alter their conduct; but as for the people, they had a great inclination
to desert to the Romans; accordingly, some of them sold what they had,
and even the most precious things that had been laid up as treasures by
them, for every small matter, and swallowed down pieces of gold, that
they might not be found out by the robbers; and when they had escaped
to the Romans, went to stool, and had wherewithal to provide plentifully
for themselves; for Titus let a great number of them go away into the
country, whither they pleased. And the main reasons why they were so
ready to desert were these: That now they should be freed from those
miseries which they had endured in that city, and yet should not be in
slavery to the Romans: however, John and Simon, with their factions, did
more carefully watch these men's going out than they did the coming
in of the Romans; and if any one did but afford the least shadow of
suspicion of such an intention, his throat was cut immediately.
2. But as for the richer sort, it proved all one to them whether they
staid in the city, or attempted to get out of it; for they were equally
destroyed in both cases; for every such person was put to death under
this pretense, that they were going to desert, but in reality that the
robbers might get what they had. The madness of the seditious did also
increase together with their famine, and both those miseries were
every day inflamed more and more; for there was no corn which any where
appeared publicly, but the robbers came running into, and searched
men's private houses; and then, if they found any, they tormented them,
because they had denied they had any; and if they found none, they
tormented them worse, because they supposed they had more carefully
concealed it. The indication they made use of whether they had any or
not was taken from the bodies of these miserable wretches; which, if
they were in good case, they supposed they were in no want at all of
food; but if they were wasted away, they walked off without searching
any further; nor did they think it proper to kill such as these, because
they saw they would very soon die of themselves for want of food. Many
there were indeed who sold what they had for one measure; it was of
wheat, if they were of the richer sort; but of barley, if they were
poorer. When these had so done, they shut themselves up in the inmost
rooms of their houses, and ate the corn they had gotten; some did it
without grinding it, by reason of the extremity of the want they were
in, and others baked bread of it, according as necessity and fear
dictated to them: a table was no where laid for a distinct meal, but
they snatched the bread out of the fire, half-baked, and ate it very
hastily.
3. It was now a miserable case, and a sight that would justly bring
tears into our eyes, how men stood as to their food, while the more
powerful had more than enough, and the weaker were lamenting [for want
of it.] But the famine was too hard for all other passions, and it is
destructive to nothing so much as to modesty; for what was otherwise
worthy of reverence was in this case despised; insomuch that children
pulled the very morsels that their fathers were eating out of their very
mouths, and what was still more to be pitied, so did the mothers do
as to their infants; and when those that were most dear were perishing
under their hands, they were not ashamed to take from them the very last
drops that might preserve their lives: and while they ate after this
manner, yet were they not concealed in so doing; but the seditious every
where came upon them immediately, and snatched away from them what they
had gotten from others; for when they saw any house shut up, this was
to them a signal that the people within had gotten some food; whereupon
they broke open the doors, and ran in, and took pieces of what they were
eating almost up out of their very throats, and this by force: the old
men, who held their food fast, were beaten; and if the women hid what
they had within their hands, their hair was torn for so doing; nor was
there any commiseration shown either to the aged or to the infants, but
they lifted up children from the ground as they hung upon the morsels
they had gotten, and shook them down upon the floor. But still they were
more barbarously cruel to those that had prevented their coming in, and
had actually swallowed down what they were going to seize upon, as if
they had been unjustly defrauded of their right. They also invented
terrible methods of torments to discover where any food was, and they
were these to stop up the passages of the privy parts of the miserable
wretches, and to drive sharp stakes up their fundaments; and a man was
forced to bear what it is terrible even to hear, in order to make him
confess that he had but one loaf of bread, or that he might discover a
handful of barley-meal that was concealed; and this was done when these
tormentors were not themselves hungry; for the thing had been less
barbarous had necessity forced them to it; but this was done to keep
their madness in exercise, and as making preparation of provisions for
themselves for the following days. These men went also to meet those
that had crept out of the city by night, as far as the Roman guards,
to gather some plants and herbs that grew wild; and when those people
thought they had got clear of the enemy, they snatched from them what
they had brought with them, even while they had frequently entreated
them, and that by calling upon the tremendous name of God, to give them
back some part of what they had brought; though these would not give
them the least crumb, and they were to be well contented that they were
only spoiled, and not slain at the same time.
4. These were the afflictions which the lower sort of people suffered
from these tyrants' guards; but for the men that were in dignity, and
withal were rich, they were carried before the tyrants themselves; some
of whom were falsely accused of laying treacherous plots, and so were
destroyed; others of them were charged with designs of betraying the
city to the Romans; but the readiest way of all was this, to suborn
somebody to affirm that they were resolved to desert to the enemy. And
he who was utterly despoiled of what he had by Simon was sent back again
to John, as of those who had been already plundered by Jotre, Simon got
what remained; insomuch that they drank the blood of the populace to one
another, and divided the dead bodies of the poor creatures between them;
so that although, on account of their ambition after dominion, they
contended with each other, yet did they very well agree in their wicked
practices; for he that did not communicate what he got by the miseries
of others to the other tyrant seemed to be too little guilty, and in one
respect only; and he that did not partake of what was so communicated to
him grieved at this, as at the loss of what was a valuable thing, that
he had no share in such barbarity.
5. It is therefore impossible to go distinctly over every instance
of these men's iniquity. I shall therefore speak my mind here at once
briefly:--That neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries,
nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than
this was, from the beginning of the world. Finally, they brought
the Hebrew nation into contempt, that they might themselves appear
comparatively less impious with regard to strangers. They confessed
what was true, that they were the slaves, the scum, and the spurious
and abortive offspring of our nation, while they overthrew the city
themselves, and forced the Romans, whether they would or no, to gain a
melancholy reputation, by acting gloriously against them, and did almost
draw that fire upon the temple, which they seemed to think came too
slowly; and indeed when they saw that temple burning from the upper
city, they were neither troubled at it, nor did they shed any tears on
that account, while yet these passions were discovered among the Romans
themselves; which circumstances we shall speak of hereafter in their
proper place, when we come to treat of such matters.
CHAPTER 11.
How The Jews Were Crucified Before The Walls Of The City
Concerning Antiochus Epiphanes; And How The Jews Overthrew
The Banks That Had Been Raised By The Romans.
1. So now Titus's banks were advanced a great way, notwithstanding his
soldiers had been very much distressed from the wall. He then sent a
party of horsemen, and ordered they should lay ambushes for those that
went out into the valleys to gather food. Some of these were indeed
fighting men, who were not contented with what they got by rapine;
but the greater part of them were poor people, who were deterred from
deserting by the concern they were under for their own relations;
for they could not hope to escape away, together with their wives and
children, without the knowledge of the seditious; nor could they think
of leaving these relations to be slain by the robbers on their account;
nay, the severity of the famine made them bold in thus going out; so
nothing remained but that, when they were concealed from the robbers,
they should be taken by the enemy; and when they were going to be taken,
they were forced to defend themselves for fear of being punished;
as after they had fought, they thought it too late to make any
supplications for mercy; so they were first whipped, and then tormented
with all sorts of tortures, before they died, and were then crucified
before the wall of the city. This miserable procedure made Titus greatly
to pity them, while they caught every day five hundred Jews; nay, some
days they caught more: yet it did not appear to be safe for him to let
those that were taken by force go their way, and to set a guard over so
many he saw would be to make such as great deal them useless to him. The
main reason why he did not forbid that cruelty was this, that he hoped
the Jews might perhaps yield at that sight, out of fear lest they might
themselves afterwards be liable to the same cruel treatment. So the
soldiers, out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those
they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the
crosses, by way of jest, when their multitude was so great, that room
was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies. 19
2. But so far were the seditious from repenting at this sad sight, that,
on the contrary, they made the rest of the multitude believe otherwise;
for they brought the relations of those that had deserted upon the
wall, with such of the populace as were very eager to go over upon the
security offered them, and showed them what miseries those underwent
who fled to the Romans; and told them that those who were caught were
supplicants to them, and not such as were taken prisoners. This sight
kept many of those within the city who were so eager to desert, till
the truth was known; yet did some of them run away immediately as unto
certain punishment, esteeming death from their enemies to be a quiet
departure, if compared with that by famine. So Titus commanded that the
hands of many of those that were caught should be cut off, that they
might not be thought deserters, and might be credited on account of the
calamity they were under, and sent them in to John and Simon, with this
exhortation, that they would now at length leave off [their madness],
and not force him to destroy the city, whereby they would have those
advantages of repentance, even in their utmost distress, that they would
preserve their own lives, and so find a city of their own, and that
temple which was their peculiar. He then went round about the banks that
were cast up, and hastened them, in order to show that his words
should in no long time be followed by his deeds. In answer to which the
seditious cast reproaches upon Caesar himself, and upon his father also,
and cried out, with a loud voice, that they contemned death, and
did well in preferring it before slavery; that they would do all the
mischief to the Romans they could while they had breath in them; and
that for their own city, since they were, as he said, to be destroyed,
they had no concern about it, and that the world itself was a better
temple to God than this. That yet this temple would be preserved by him
that inhabited therein, whom they still had for their assistant in this
war, and did therefore laugh at all his threatenings, which would come
to nothing, because the conclusion of the whole depended upon God only.
These words were mixed with reproaches, and with them they made a mighty
clamor.
3. In the mean time Antiochus Epiphanes came to the city, having with
him a considerable number of other armed men, and a band called the
Macedonian band about him, all of the same age, tall, and just past
their childhood, armed, and instructed after the Macedonian manner,
whence it was that they took that name. Yet were many of them unworthy
of so famous a nation; for it had so happened, that the king of
Commagene had flourished more than any other kings that were under the
power of the Romans, till a change happened in his condition; and when
he was become an old man, he declared plainly that we ought not to call
any man happy before he is dead. But this son of his, who was then
come thither before his father was decaying, said that he could not but
wonder what made the Romans so tardy in making their attacks upon the
wall. Now he was a warlike man, and naturally bold in exposing himself
to dangers; he was also so strong a man, that his boldness seldom failed
of having success. Upon this Titus smiled, and said he would share the
pains of an attack with him. However, Antiochus went as he then was, and
with his Macedonians made a sudden assault upon the wall; and, indeed,
for his own part, his strength and skill were so great, that he guarded
himself from the Jewish darts, and yet shot his darts at them, while yet
the young men with him were almost all sorely galled; for they had so
great a regard to the promises that had been made of their courage, that
they would needs persevere in their fighting, and at length many of them
retired, but not till they were wounded; and then they perceived that
true Macedonians, if they were to be conquerors, must have Alexander's
good fortune also.
4. Now as the Romans began to raise their banks on the twelfth day of
the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] so had they much ado to finish them by
the twenty-ninth day of the same month, after they had labored hard for
seventeen days continually. For there were now four great banks raised,
one of which was at the tower Antonia; this was raised by the fifth
legion, over against the middle of that pool which was called Struthius.
Another was cast up by the twelfth legion, at the distance of about
twenty cubits from the other. But the labors of the tenth legion, which
lay a great way off these, were on the north quarter, and at the pool
called Amygdalon; as was that of the fifteenth legion about thirty
cubits from it, and at the high priest's monument. And now, when the
engines were brought, John had from within undermined the space that was
over against the tower of Antonia, as far as the banks themselves,
and had supported the ground over the mine with beams laid across one
another, whereby the Roman works stood upon an uncertain foundation.
Then did he order such materials to be brought in as were daubed over
with pitch and bitumen, and set them on fire; and as the cross beams
that supported the banks were burning, the ditch yielded on the
sudden, and the banks were shaken down, and fell into the ditch with a
prodigious noise. Now at the first there arose a very thick smoke and
dust, as the fire was choked with the fall of the bank; but as the
suffocated materials were now gradually consumed, a plain flame brake
out; on which sudden appearance of the flame a consternation fell upon
the Romans, and the shrewdness of the contrivance discouraged them; and
indeed this accident coming upon them at a time when they thought they
had already gained their point, cooled their hopes for the time to
come. They also thought it would be to no purpose to take the pains
to extinguish the fire, since if it were extinguished, the banks were
swallowed up already [and become useless to them].
5. Two days after this, Simon and his party made an attempt to destroy
the other banks; for the Romans had brought their engines to bear there,
and began already to make the wall shake. And here one Tephtheus, of
Garsis, a city of Galilee, and Megassarus, one who was derived from some
of queen Mariamne's servants, and with them one from Adiabene, he was
the son of Nabateus, and called by the name of Chagiras, from the ill
fortune he had, the word signifying "a lame man," snatched some torches,
and ran suddenly upon the engines. Nor were there during this war any
men that ever sallied out of the city who were their superiors, either
in their boldness, or in the terror they struck into their enemies. For
they ran out upon the Romans, not as if they were enemies, but friends,
without fear or delay; nor did they leave their enemies till they had
rushed violently through the midst of them, and set their machines on
fire. And though they had darts thrown at them on every side, and were
on every side assaulted with their enemies' swords, yet did they not
withdraw themselves out of the dangers they were in, till the fire had
caught hold of the instruments; but when the flame went up, the Romans
came running from their camp to save their engines. Then did the
Jews hinder their succors from the wall, and fought with those that
endeavored to quench the fire, without any regard to the danger their
bodies were in. So the Romans pulled the engines out of the fire, while
the hurdles that covered them were on fire; but the Jews caught hold
of the battering rams through the flame itself, and held them fast,
although the iron upon them was become red hot; and now the fire spread
itself from the engines to the banks, and prevented those that came to
defend them; and all this while the Romans were encompassed round about
with the flame; and, despairing of saving their works from it, they
retired to their camp. Then did the Jews become still more and more
in number by the coming of those that were within the city to their
assistance; and as they were very bold upon the good success they
had had, their violent assaults were almost irresistible; nay, they
proceeded as far as the fortifications of the enemies' camp, and fought
with their guards. Now there stood a body of soldiers in array before
that camp, which succeeded one another by turns in their armor; and as
to those, the law of the Romans was terrible, that he who left his post
there, let the occasion be whatsoever it might be, he was to die for
it; so that body of soldiers, preferring rather to die in fighting
courageously, than as a punishment for their cowardice, stood firm; and
at the necessity these men were in of standing to it, many of the others
that had run away, out of shame, turned back again; and when they had
set the engines against the wall, they put the multitude from coming
more of them out of the city, [which they could the more easily do]
because they had made no provision for preserving or guarding their
bodies at this time; for the Jews fought now hand to hand with all that
came in their way, and, without any caution, fell against the points of
their enemies' spears, and attacked them bodies against bodies; for they
were now too hard for the Romans, not so much by their other warlike
actions, as by these courageous assaults they made upon them; and the
Romans gave way more to their boldness than they did to the sense of the
harm they had received from them.
6. And now Titus was come from the tower of Antonia, whither he was
gone to look out for a place for raising other banks, and reproached the
soldiers greatly for permitting their own walls to be in danger, when
they had taken the wails of their enemies, and sustained the fortune
of men besieged, while the Jews were allowed to sally out against them,
though they were already in a sort of prison. He then went round about
the enemy with some chosen troops, and fell upon their flank himself; so
the Jews, who had been before assaulted in their faces, wheeled about to
Titus, and continued the fight. The armies also were now mixed one among
another, and the dust that was raised so far hindered them from seeing
one another, and the noise that was made so far hindered them from
hearing one another, that neither side could discern an enemy from a
friend. However, the Jews did not flinch, though not so much from their
real strength, as from their despair of deliverance. The Romans also
would not yield, by reason of the regard they had to glory, and to
their reputation in war, and because Caesar himself went into the danger
before them; insomuch that I cannot but think the Romans would in the
conclusion have now taken even the whole multitude of the Jews, so
very angry were they at them, had these not prevented the upshot of
the battle, and retired into the city. However, seeing the banks of the
Romans were demolished, these Romans were very much cast down upon the
loss of what had cost them so long pains, and this in one hour's time.
And many indeed despaired of taking the city with their usual engines of
war only.
CHAPTER 12.
Titus Thought Fit To Encompass The City Round With A Wall;
After Which The Famine Consumed The People By Whole Houses
And Families Together.
1. And now did Titus consult with his commanders what was to be done.
Those that were of the warmest tempers thought he should bring the whole
army against the city and storm the wall; for that hitherto no more
than a part of their army had fought with the Jews; but that in case the
entire army was to come at once, they would not be able to sustain their
attacks, but would be overwhelmed by their darts. But of those that were
for a more cautious management, some were for raising their banks again;
and others advised to let the banks alone, but to lie still before the
city, to guard against the coming out of the Jews, and against their
carrying provisions into the city, and so to leave the enemy to the
famine, and this without direct fighting with them; for that despair was
not to be conquered, especially as to those who are desirous to die by
the sword, while a more terrible misery than that is reserved for them.
However, Titus did not think it fit for so great an army to lie entirely
idle, and that yet it was in vain to fight with those that would be
destroyed one by another; he also showed them how impracticable it was
to cast up any more banks, for want of materials, and to guard against
the Jews coming out still more impracticable; as also, that to encompass
the whole city round with his army was not very easy, by reason of its
magnitude, and the difficulty of the situation, and on other accounts
dangerous, upon the sallies the Jews might make out of the city. For
although they might guard the known passages out of the place, yet would
they, when they found themselves under the greatest distress, contrive
secret passages out, as being well acquainted with all such places; and
if any provisions were carried in by stealth, the siege would thereby be
longer delayed. He also owned that he was afraid that the length of time
thus to be spent would diminish the glory of his success; for though
it be true that length of time will perfect every thing, yet that to
do what we do in a little time is still necessary to the gaining
reputation. That therefore his opinion was, that if they aimed at
quickness joined with security, they must build a wall round about the
whole city; which was, he thought, the only way to prevent the Jews from
coming out any way, and that then they would either entirely despair of
saving the city, and so would surrender it up to him, or be still the
more easily conquered when the famine had further weakened them; for
that besides this wall, he would not lie entirely at rest afterward, but
would take care then to have banks raised again, when those that would
oppose them were become weaker. But that if any one should think such a
work to be too great, and not to be finished without much difficulty, he
ought to consider that it is not fit for Romans to undertake any small
work, and that none but God himself could with ease accomplish any great
thing whatsoever.
2. These arguments prevailed with the commanders. So Titus gave orders
that the army should be distributed to their several shares of this
work; and indeed there now came upon the soldiers a certain divine fury,
so that they did not only part the whole wall that was to be built
among them, nor did only one legion strive with another, but the lesser
divisions of the army did the same; insomuch that each soldier was
ambitious to please his decurion, each decurion his centurion, each
centurion his tribune, and the ambition of the tribunes was to please
their superior commanders, while Caesar himself took notice of and
rewarded the like contention in those commanders; for he went round
about the works many times every day, and took a view of what was done.
Titus began the wall from the camp of the Assyrians, where his own camp
was pitched, and drew it down to the lower parts of Cenopolis; thence
it went along the valley of Cedron, to the Mount of Olives; it then
bent towards the south, and encompassed the mountain as far as the rock
called Peristereon, and that other hill which lies next it, and is over
the valley which reaches to Siloam; whence it bended again to the west,
and went down to the valley of the Fountain, beyond which it went up
again at the monument of Ananus the high priest, and encompassing that
mountain where Pompey had formerly pitched his camp, it returned back
to the north side of the city, and was carried on as far as a certain
village called "The House of the Erebinthi;" after which it encompassed
Herod's monument, and there, on the east, was joined to Titus's own
camp, where it began. Now the length of this wall was forty furlongs,
one only abated. Now at this wall without were erected thirteen places
to keep garrison in, whose circumferences, put together, amounted to
ten furlongs; the whole was completed in three days; so that what would
naturally have required some months was done in so short an interval as
is incredible. When Titus had therefore encompassed the city with this
wall, and put garrisons into proper places, he went round the wall, at
the first watch of the night, and observed how the guard was kept; the
second watch he allotted to Alexander; the commanders of legions took
the third watch. They also cast lots among themselves who should be upon
the watch in the night time, and who should go all night long round the
spaces that were interposed between the garrisons.
3. So all hope of escaping was now cut off from the Jews, together with
their liberty of going out of the city. Then did the famine widen its
progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and families; the
upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine,
and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged; the
children also and the young men wandered about the market-places like
shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead, wheresoever
their misery seized them. As for burying them, those that were sick
themselves were not able to do it; and those that were hearty and well
were deterred from doing it by the great multitude of those dead bodies,
and by the uncertainty there was how soon they should die themselves;
for many died as they were burying others, and many went to their
coffins before that fatal hour was come. Nor was there any lamentations
made under these calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints;
but the famine confounded all natural passions; for those who were just
going to die looked upon those that were gone to rest before them with
dry eyes and open mouths. A deep silence also, and a kind of deadly
night, had seized upon the city; while yet the robbers were still more
terrible than these miseries were themselves; for they brake open those
houses which were no other than graves of dead bodies, and plundered
them of what they had; and carrying off the coverings of their bodies,
went out laughing, and tried the points of their swords in their dead
bodies; and, in order to prove what metal they were made of they thrust
some of those through that still lay alive upon the ground; but for
those that entreated them to lend them their right hand and their sword
to despatch them, they were too proud to grant their requests, and left
them to be consumed by the famine. Now every one of these died with
their eyes fixed upon the temple, and left the seditious alive behind
them. Now the seditious at first gave orders that the dead should be
buried out of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their
dead bodies. But afterwards, when they could not do that, they had them
cast down from the walls into the valleys beneath.
4. However, when Titus, in going his rounds along those valleys, saw
them full of dead bodies, and the thick putrefaction running about them,
he gave a groan; and, spreading out his hands to heaven, called God to
witness that this was not his doing; and such was the sad case of
the city itself. But the Romans were very joyful, since none of the
seditious could now make sallies out of the city, because they were
themselves disconsolate, and the famine already touched them also. These
Romans besides had great plenty of corn and other necessaries out of
Syria, and out of the neighboring provinces; many of whom would stand
near to the wall of the city, and show the people what great quantities
of provisions they had, and so make the enemy more sensible of their
famine, by the great plenty, even to satiety, which they had themselves.
However, when the seditious still showed no inclinations of yielding,
Titus, out of his commiseration of the people that remained, and out
of his earnest desire of rescuing what was still left out of these
miseries, began to raise his banks again, although materials for them
were hard to be come at; for all the trees that were about the city had
been already cut down for the making of the former banks. Yet did the
soldiers bring with them other materials from the distance of ninety
furlongs, and thereby raised banks in four parts, much greater than the
former, though this was done only at the tower of Antonia. So Caesar
went his rounds through the legions, and hastened on the works, and
showed the robbers that they were now in his hands. But these men, and
these only, were incapable of repenting of the wickednesses they had
been guilty of; and separating their souls from their bodies, they used
them both as if they belonged to other folks, and not to themselves. For
no gentle affection could touch their souls, nor could any pain affect
their bodies, since they could still tear the dead bodies of the people
as dogs do, and fill the prisons with those that were sick.
CHAPTER 13.
The Great Slaughters And Sacrilege That Were In Jerusalem.
1. Accordingly Simon would not suffer Matthias, by whose means he got
possession of the city, to go off without torment. This Matthias was the
son of Boethus, and was one of the high priests, one that had been very
faithful to the people, and in great esteem with them; he, when the
multitude were distressed by the zealots, among whom John was numbered,
persuaded the people to admit this Simon to come in to assist them,
while he had made no terms with him, nor expected any thing that was
evil from him. But when Simon was come in, and had gotten the city under
his power, he esteemed him that had advised them to admit him as his
enemy equally with the rest, as looking upon that advice as a piece
of his simplicity only; so he had him then brought before him, and
condemned to die for being on the side of the Romans, without giving him
leave to make his defense. He condemned also his three sons to die with
him; for as to the fourth, he prevented him by running away to Titus
before. And when he begged for this, that he might be slain before his
sons, and that as a favor, on account that he had procured the gates of
the city to be opened to him, he gave order that he should be slain the
last of them all; so he was not slain till he had seen his sons slain
before his eyes, and that by being produced over against the Romans; for
such a charge had Simon given to Artanus, the son of Bamadus, who was
the most barbarous of all his guards. He also jested upon him, and told
him that he might now see whether those to whom he intended to go over
would send him any succors or not; but still he forbade their dead
bodies should be buried. After the slaughter of these, a certain priest,
Ananias, the son of Masambalus, a person of eminency, as also Aristens,
the scribe of the sanhedrim, and born at Emmaus, and with them fifteen
men of figure among the people, were slain. They also kept Josephus's
father in prison, and made public proclamation, that no citizen
whosoever should either speak to him himself, or go into his company
among others, for fear he should betray them. They also slew such as
joined in lamenting these men, without any further examination.
2. Now when Judas, the son of Judas, who was one of Simon's under
officers, and a person intrusted by him to keep one of the towers, saw
this procedure of Simon, he called together ten of those under him, that
were most faithful to him, [perhaps this was done partly out of pity
to those that had so barbarously been put to death, but principally in
order to provide for his own safety,] and spoke thus to them: "How long
shall we bear these miseries? or what hopes have we of deliverance by
thus continuing faithful to such wicked wretches? Is not the famine
already come against us? Are not the Romans in a manner gotten within
the city? Is not Simon become unfaithful to his benefactors? and
is there not reason to fear he will very soon bring us to the like
punishment, while the security the Romans offer us is sure? Come on,
let us surrender up this wall, and save ourselves and the city. Nor
will Simon be very much hurt, if, now he despairs of deliverance, he
be brought to justice a little sooner than he thinks on." Now these ten
were prevailed upon by those arguments; so he sent the rest of those
that were under him, some one way, and some another, that no discovery
might be made of what they had resolved upon. Accordingly, he called to
the Romans from the tower about the third hour; but they, some of them
out of pride, despised what he said, and others of them did not believe
him to be in earnest, though the greatest number delayed the matter,
as believing they should get possession of the city in a little time,
without any hazard. But when Titus was just coming thither with his
armed men, Simon was acquainted with the matter before he came,
and presently took the tower into his own custody, before it was
surrendered, and seized upon these men, and put them to death in the
sight of the Romans themselves; and when he had mangled their dead
bodies, he threw them down before the wall of the city.
3. In the mean time, Josephus, as he was going round the city, had his
head wounded by a stone that was thrown at him; upon which he fell down
as giddy. Upon which fall of his the Jews made a sally, and he had been
hurried away into the city, if Caesar had not sent men to protect him
immediately; and as these men were fighting, Josephus was taken up,
though he heard little of what was done. So the seditious supposed they
had now slain that man whom they were the most desirous of killing, and
made thereupon a great noise, in way of rejoicing. This accident
was told in the city, and the multitude that remained became very
disconsolate at the news, as being persuaded that he was really dead, on
whose account alone they could venture to desert to the Romans. But when
Josephus's mother heard in prison that her son was dead, she said to
those that watched about her, That she had always been of opinion, since
the siege of Jotapata, [that he would be slain,] and she should never
enjoy him alive any more. She also made great lamentation privately to
the maid-servants that were about her, and said, That this was all the
advantage she had of bringing so extraordinary a person as this son into
the world; that she should not be able even to bury that son of hers,
by whom she expected to have been buried herself. However, this false
report did not put his mother to pain, nor afford merriment to the
robbers, long; for Josephus soon recovered of his wound, and came
out, and cried out aloud, That it would not be long ere they should
be punished for this wound they had given him. He also made a fresh
exhortation to the people to come out upon the security that would be
given them. This sight of Josephus encouraged the people greatly, and
brought a great consternation upon the seditious.
4. Hereupon some of the deserters, having no other way, leaped down from
the wall immediately, while others of them went out of the city with
stones, as if they would fight them; but thereupon they fled away to the
Romans. But here a worse fate accompanied these than what they had found
within the city; and they met with a quicker despatch from the too great
abundance they had among the Romans, than they could have done from the
famine among the Jews; for when they came first to the Romans, they were
puffed up by the famine, and swelled like men in a dropsy; after which
they all on the sudden overfilled those bodies that were before empty,
and so burst asunder, excepting such only as were skillful enough to
restrain their appetites, and by degrees took in their food into bodies
unaccustomed thereto. Yet did another plague seize upon those that were
thus preserved; for there was found among the Syrian deserters a certain
person who was caught gathering pieces of gold out of the excrements
of the Jews' bellies; for the deserters used to swallow such pieces of
gold, as we told you before, when they came out, and for these did the
seditious search them all; for there was a great quantity of gold in the
city, insomuch that as much was now sold [in the Roman camp] for
twelve Attic [drams], as was sold before for twenty-five. But when this
contrivance was discovered in one instance, the fame of it filled their
several camps, that the deserters came to them full of gold. So the
multitude of the Arabians, with the Syrians, cut up those that came as
supplicants, and searched their bellies. Nor does it seem to me that any
misery befell the Jews that was more terrible than this, since in one
night's time about two thousand of these deserters were thus dissected.
5. When Titus came to the knowledge of this wicked practice, he had like
to have surrounded those that had been guilty of it with his horse, and
have shot them dead; and he had done it, had not their number been so
very great, and those that were liable to this punishment would have
been manifold more than those whom they had slain. However, he called
together the commanders of the auxiliary troops he had with him, as well
as the commanders of the Roman legions, [for some of his own soldiers
had been also guilty herein, as he had been informed,] and had great
indignation against both sorts of them, and said to them, "What! have
any of my own soldiers done such things as this out of the uncertain
hope of gain, without regarding their own weapons, which are made of
silver and gold? Moreover, do the Arabians and Syrians now first of
all begin to govern themselves as they please, and to indulge their
appetites in a foreign war, and then, out of their barbarity in
murdering men, and out of their hatred to the Jews, get it ascribed to
the Romans?" for this infamous practice was said to be spread among some
of his own soldiers also. Titus then threatened that he would put such
men to death, if any of them were discovered to be so insolent as to
do so again; moreover, he gave it in charge to the legions, that they
should make a search after such as were suspected, and should bring
them to him. But it appeared that the love of money was too hard for all
their dread of punishment, and a vehement desire of gain is natural to
men, and no passion is so venturesome as covetousness; otherwise such
passions have certain bounds, and are subordinate to fear. But in
reality it was God who condemned the whole nation, and turned every
course that was taken for their preservation to their destruction. This,
therefore, which was forbidden by Caesar under such a threatening, was
ventured upon privately against the deserters, and these barbarians
would go out still, and meet those that ran away before any saw them,
and looking about them to see that no Roman spied them, they dissected
them, and pulled this polluted money out of their bowels; which money
was still found in a few of them, while yet a great many were destroyed
by the bare hope there was of thus getting by them, which miserable
treatment made many that were deserting to return back again into the
city.
6. But as for John, when he could no longer plunder the people,
he betook himself to sacrilege, and melted down many of the sacred
utensils, which had been given to the temple; as also many of those
vessels which were necessary for such as ministered about holy things,
the caldrons, the dishes, and the tables; nay, he did not abstain from
those pouring vessels that were sent them by Augustus and his wife; for
the Roman emperors did ever both honor and adorn this temple; whereas
this man, who was a Jew, seized upon what were the donations of
foreigners, and said to those that were with him, that it was proper for
them to use Divine things, while they were fighting for the Divinity,
without fear, and that such whose warfare is for the temple should live
of the temple; on which account he emptied the vessels of that
sacred wine and oil, which the priests kept to be poured on the
burnt-offerings, and which lay in the inner court of the temple, and
distributed it among the multitude, who, in their anointing themselves
and drinking, used [each of them] above an hin of them. And here I
cannot but speak my mind, and what the concern I am under dictates to
me, and it is this: I suppose, that had the Romans made any longer delay
in coming against these villains, that the city would either have been
swallowed up by the ground opening upon them, or been overflowed by
water, or else been destroyed by such thunder as the country of Sodom
20 perished by, for it had brought forth a generation of men much more
atheistical than were those that suffered such punishments; for by their
madness it was that all the people came to be destroyed.
7. And, indeed, why do I relate these particular calamities? while
Manneus, the son of Lazarus, came running to Titus at this very time,
and told him that there had been carried out through that one gate,
which was intrusted to his care, no fewer than a hundred and fifteen
thousand eight hundred and eighty dead bodies, in the interval between
the fourteenth day of the month Xanthicus, [Nisan,] when the Romans
pitched their camp by the city, and the first day of the month Panemus
[Tamuz]. This was itself a prodigious multitude; and though this man was
not himself set as a governor at that gate, yet was he appointed to pay
the public stipend for carrying these bodies out, and so was obliged of
necessity to number them, while the rest were buried by their relations;
though all their burial was but this, to bring them away, and cast them
out of the city. After this man there ran away to Titus many of the
eminent citizens, and told him the entire number of the poor that were
dead, and that no fewer than six hundred thousand were thrown out at the
gates, though still the number of the rest could not be discovered; and
they told him further, that when they were no longer able to carry out
the dead bodies of the poor, they laid their corpses on heaps in very
large houses, and shut them up therein; as also that a medimnus of wheat
was sold for a talent; and that when, a while afterward, it was not
possible to gather herbs, by reason the city was all walled about, some
persons were driven to that terrible distress as to search the common
sewers and old dunghills of cattle, and to eat the dung which they got
there; and what they of old could not endure so much as to see they now
used for food. When the Romans barely heard all this, they commiserated
their case; while the seditious, who saw it also, did not repent,
but suffered the same distress to come upon themselves; for they were
blinded by that fate which was already coming upon the city, and upon
themselves also.
WAR BOOK 5 FOOTNOTES
1 (return) [ This appears to be the first time that the zealots ventured
to pollute this most sacred court of the temple, which was the court of
the priests, wherein the temple itself and the altar stood. So that the
conjecture of those that would interpret that Zacharias, who was slain
"between the temple and the altar" several months before, B. IV. ch. 5.
sect. 4, as if he were slain there by these zealots, is groundless, as I
have noted on that place already.]
2 (return) [ The Levites.]
3 (return) [ This is an excellent reflection of Josephus, including his
hopes of the restoration of the Jews upon their repentance, See
Antiq. B. IV. ch. 8. sect. 46, which is the grand "Hope of Israel," as
Manasseh-ben-Israel, the famous Jewish Rabbi, styles it, in his small
but remarkable treatise on that subject, of which the Jewish prophets
are every where full. See the principal of those prophecies collected
together at the end of the Essay on the Revelation, p. 822, etc.]
4 (return) [ This destruction of such a vast quantity of corn and other
provisions, as was sufficient for many years was the direct occasion
of that terrible famine, which consumed incredible numbers of Jews in
Jerusalem during its siege. Nor probably could the Romans have taken
this city, after all, had not these seditious Jews been so infatuated as
thus madly to destroy, what Josephus here justly styles, "The nerves of
their power."]
5 (return) [ This timber, we see, was designed for the rebuilding those
twenty additional cubits of the holy house above the hundred, which had
fallen down some years before. See the note on Antiq. B. XV. ch. 11.
sect. 3.]
6 (return) [ There being no gate on the west, and only on the west, side
of the court of the priests, and so no steps there, this was the only
side that the seditious, under this John of Gischala, could bring their
engines close to the cloisters of that court end-ways, though upon the
floor of the court of Israel. See the scheme of that temple, in the
description of the temples hereto belonging.]
7 (return) [ We may here note, that Titus is here called "a king," and
"Caesar," by Josephus, even while he was no more than the emperor's son,
and general of the Roman army, and his father Vespasian was still alive;
just as the New Testament says "Archelaus reigned," or "was king,"
Matthew 2:22, though he was properly no more than ethnarch, as Josephus
assures us, Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 11. sect. 4; Of the War, B. II. ch. 6.
sect. 3. Thus also the Jews called the Roman emperors "kings," though
they never took that title to themselves: "We have no king but Caesar,"
John 19:15. "Submit to the king as supreme," 1 Peter 2:13, 17; which is
also the language of the Apostolical Constitutions, II. II, 31; IV.
13; V. 19; VI. 2, 25; VII. 16; VIII. 2, 13; and elsewhere in the New
Testament, Matthew 10:18; 17:25; 1 Timothy 2:2; and in Josephus also;
though I suspect Josephus particularly esteemed Titus as joint king with
his father ever since his divine dreams that declared them both such, B.
III. ch. 8. sect. 9.]
8 (return) [ This situation of the Mount of Olives, on the east of
Jerusalem, at about the distance of five or six furlongs, with the
valley of Cedron interposed between that mountain and the city, are
things well known both in the Old and New Testament, in Josephus
elsewhere, and in all the descriptions of Palestine.]
9 (return) [ Here we see the true occasion of those vast numbers of Jews
that were in Jerusalem during this siege by Titus, and perished therein;
that the siege began at the feast of the passover, when such prodigious
multitudes of Jews and proselytes of the gate were come from all parts
of Judea, and from other countries, in order to celebrate that great
festival. See the note B. VI. ch. 9. sect. 3. Tacitus himself informs
us, that the number of men, women, and children in Jerusalem, when it
was besieged by the Romans, as he had been informed. This information
must have been taken from the Romans: for Josephus never recounts the
numbers of those that were besieged, only he lets us know, that of the
vulgar, carried dead out of the gates, and buried at the public charges,
was the like number of 600,000, ch. viii. sect. 7. However, when
Cestius Gallus came first to the siege, that sum in Tacitus is no way
disagreeable to Josephus's history, though they were become much more
numerous when Titus encompassed the city at the passover. As to the
number that perished during this siege, Josephus assures us, as we
shall see hereafter, they were 1,100,000, besides 97,000 captives. But
Tacitus's history of the last part of this siege is not now extant; so
we cannot compare his parallel numbers with those of Josephus.]
10 (return) [ Perhaps, says Dr. Hudson, here was that gate, called the
"Gate of the Corner," in 2 Chronicles 26:9. See ch. 4. sect. 2]
11 (return) [ These dove-courts in Josephus, built by Herod the Great,
are, in the opinion of Reland, the very same that are mentioned by the
Talmudists, and named by them "Herod's dove courts." Nor is there any
reason to suppose otherwise, since in both accounts they were expressly
tame pigeons which were kept in them.]
12 (return) [ See the description of the temples hereto belonging, ch.
15. But note, that what Josephus here says of the original scantiness of
this Mount Moriah, that it was quite too little for the temple, and that
at first it held only one cloister or court of Solomon's building, and
that the foundations were forced to be added long afterwards by degrees,
to render it capable of the cloisters for the other courts, etc., is
without all foundation in the Scriptures, and not at all confirmed by
his exacter account in the Antiquities. All that is or can be true here
is this, that when the court of the Gentiles was long afterward to be
encompassed with cloisters, the southern foundation for these cloisters
was found not to be large or firm enough, and was raised, and that
additional foundation supported by great pillars and arches under
ground, which Josephus speaks of elsewhere, Antiq. B. XV. ch. 11. sect.
3, and which Mr. Maundrel saw, and describes, p. 100, as extant under
ground at this day.]
13 (return) [ What Josephus seems here to mean is this: that these
pillars, supporting the cloisters in the second court, had their
foundations or lowest parts as deep as the floor of the first or lowest
court; but that so far of those lowest parts as were equal to the
elevation of the upper floor above the lowest were, and must be, hidden
on the inside by the ground or rock itself, on which that upper
court was built; so that forty cubits visible below were reduced to
twenty-five visible above, and implies the difference of their heights
to be fifteen cubits. The main difficulty lies here, how fourteen or
fifteen steps should give an ascent of fifteen cubits, half a cubit
seeming sufficient for a single step. Possibly there were fourteen or
fifteen steps at the partition wall, and fourteen or fifteen more thence
into the court itself, which would bring the whole near to the just
proportion. See sect. 3, infra. But I determine nothing.]
14 (return) [ These three guards that lay in the tower of Antonia must
be those that guarded the city, the temple, and the tower of Antonia.]
15 (return) [ What should be the meaning of this signal or watchword,
when the watchmen saw a stone coming from the engine, "The Stone
Cometh," or what mistake there is in the reading, I cannot tell. The
MSS., both Greek and Latin, all agree in this reading; and I cannot
approve of any groundless conjectural alteration of the text from ro to
lop, that not the son or a stone, but that the arrow or dart cometh;
as hath been made by Dr. Hudson, and not corrected by Havercamp. Had
Josephus written even his first edition of these books of the war in
pure Hebrew, or had the Jews then used the pure Hebrew at Jerusalem, the
Hebrew word for a son is so like that for a stone, ben and eben, that
such a correction might have been more easily admitted. But Josephus
wrote his former edition for the use of the Jews beyond Euphrates, and
so in the Chaldee language, as he did this second edition in the Greek
language; and bar was the Chaldee word for son, instead of the Hebrew
ben, and was used not only in Chaldea, etc. but in Judea also, as the
New Testament informs us. Dio lets us know that the very Romans at Rome
pronounced the name of Simon the son of Giora, Bar Poras for Bar Gioras,
as we learn from Xiphiline, p. 217. Reland takes notice, "that many will
here look for a mystery, as though the meaning were, that the Son of God
came now to take vengeance on the sins of the Jewish nation;" which is
indeed the truth of the fact, but hardly what the Jews could now mean;
unless possibly by way of derision of Christ's threatening so often
made, that he would come at the head of the Roman army for their
destruction. But even this interpretation has but a very small degree of
probability. If I were to make an emendation by mere conjecture, I would
read instead of, though the likeness be not so great as in lo; because
that is the word used by Josephus just before, as has been already noted
on this very occasion, while, an arrow or dart, is only a poetical word,
and never used by Josephus elsewhere, and is indeed no way suitable
to the occasion, this engine not throwing arrows or darts, but great
stones, at this time.]
16 (return) [ Josephus supposes, in this his admirable speech to the
Jews, that not Abraham only, but Pharaoh king of Egypt, prayed towards
a temple at Jerusalem, or towards Jerusalem itself, in which were Mount
Sion and Mount Moriah, on which the tabernacle and temple did afterwards
stand; and this long before either the Jewish tabernacle or temple were
built. Nor is the famous command given by God to Abraham, to go two
or three days' journey, on purpose to offer up his son Isaac there,
unfavorable to such a notion.]
17 (return) [ Note here, that Josephus, in this his same admirable
speech, calls the Syrians, nay, even the Philistines, on the most south
part of Syria, Assyrians; which Reland observes as what was common among
the ancient writers. Note also, that Josephus might well put the Jews
in mind, as he does here more than once, of their wonderful and truly
miraculous deliverance from Sennacherib, king of Assyria, while the
Roman army, and himself with them, were now encamped upon and beyond
that very spot of ground where the Assyrian army lay seven hundred and
eighty years before, and which retained the very name of the Camp of the
Assyrians to that very day. See chap. 7. sect. 3, and chap. 12. sect.
2.]
18 (return) [ This drying up of the Jerusalem fountain of Siloam when
the Jews wanted it, and its flowing abundantly when the enemies of the
Jews wanted it, and these both in the days of Zedekiah and of Titus,
[and this last as a certain event well known by the Jews at that time,
as Josephus here tells them openly to their faces,] are very remarkable
instances of a Divine Providence for the punishment of the Jewish
nation, when they were grown very wicked, at both those times of the
destruction of Jerusalem.]
19 (return) [ Reland very properly takes notice here, how justly this
judgment came upon the Jews, when they were crucified in such multitudes
together, that the Romans wanted room for the crosses, and crosses
for the bodies of these Jews, since they had brought this judgment on
themselves by the crucifixion of their Messiah.]
20 (return) [ Josephus, both here and before, B. IV. ch. 8. sect. 4,
esteems the land of Sodom, not as part of the lake Asphaltites, or under
its waters, but near it only, as Tacitus also took the same notion from
him, Hist. V. ch. 6. 7, which the great Reland takes to be the very
truth, both in his note on this place, and in his Palestina, tom. I. p.
254-258; though I rather suppose part of that region of Pentapolis to be
now under the waters of the south part of that sea, but perhaps not the
whole country.]
BOOK VI.
Containing The Interval Of About One Month.
From The Great Extremity To Which The Jews Were Reduced To
The Taking Of Jerusalem By Titus.
CHAPTER 1.
That The Miseries Still Grew Worse; And How The Romans Made
An Assault Upon The Tower Of Antonia.
1. Thus did the miseries of Jerusalem grow worse and worse every day,
and the seditious were still more irritated by the calamities they were
under, even while the famine preyed upon themselves, after it had preyed
upon the people. And indeed the multitude of carcasses that lay in
heaps one upon another was a horrible sight, and produced a pestilential
stench, which was a hinderance to those that would make sallies out of
the city, and fight the enemy: but as those were to go in battle-array,
who had been already used to ten thousand murders, and must tread upon
those dead bodies as they marched along, so were not they terrified,
nor did they pity men as they marched over them; nor did they deem this
affront offered to the deceased to be any ill omen to themselves; but
as they had their right hands already polluted with the murders of their
own countrymen, and in that condition ran out to fight with foreigners,
they seem to me to have cast a reproach upon God himself, as if he were
too slow in punishing them; for the war was not now gone on with as if
they had any hope of victory; for they gloried after a brutish manner
in that despair of deliverance they were already in. And now the
Romans, although they were greatly distressed in getting together their
materials, raised their banks in one and twenty days, after they had cut
down all the trees that were in the country that adjoined to the city,
and that for ninety furlongs round about, as I have already related. And
truly the very view itself of the country was a melancholy thing; for
those places which were before adorned with trees and pleasant gardens
were now become a desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut
down: nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judea and the most
beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament
and mourn sadly at so great a change: for the war had laid all the signs
of beauty quite waste: nor if any one that had known the place before,
had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again; but
though he were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it
notwithstanding.
2. And now the banks were finished, they afforded a foundation for fear
both to the Romans and to the Jews; for the Jews expected that the city
would be taken, unless they could burn those banks, as did the Romans
expect that, if these were once burnt down, they should never be able to
take it; for there was a mighty scarcity of materials, and the bodies
of the soldiers began to fail with such hard labors, as did their souls
faint with so many instances of ill success; nay, the very calamities
themselves that were in the city proved a greater discouragement to the
Romans than those within the city; for they found the fighting men of
the Jews to be not at all mollified among such their sore afflictions,
while they had themselves perpetually less and less hopes of success,
and their banks were forced to yield to the stratagems of the enemy,
their engines to the firmness of their wall, and their closest fights
to the boldness of their attack; and, what was their greatest
discouragement of all, they found the Jews' courageous souls to be
superior to the multitude of the miseries they were under, by their
sedition, their famine, and the war itself; insomuch that they were
ready to imagine that the violence of their attacks was invincible,
and that the alacrity they showed would not be discouraged by their
calamities; for what would not those be able to bear if they should be
fortunate, who turned their very misfortunes to the improvement of their
valor! These considerations made the Romans to keep a stronger guard
about their banks than they formerly had done.
3. But now John and his party took care for securing themselves
afterward, even in case this wall should be thrown down, and fell to
their work before the battering rams were brought against them. Yet did
they not compass what they endeavored to do, but as they were gone out
with their torches, they came back under great discouragement before
they came near to the banks; and the reasons were these: that, in the
first place, their conduct did not seem to be unanimous, but they went
out in distinct parties, and at distinct intervals, and after a slow
manner, and timorously, and, to say all in a word, without a Jewish
courage; for they were now defective in what is peculiar to our nation,
that is, in boldness, in violence of assault, and in running upon the
enemy all together, and in persevering in what they go about, though
they do not at first succeed in it; but they now went out in a more
languid manner than usual, and at the same time found the Romans set in
array, and more courageous than ordinary, and that they guarded their
banks both with their bodies and their entire armor, and this to such
a degree on all sides, that they left no room for the fire to get among
them, and that every one of their souls was in such good courage, that
they would sooner die than desert their ranks; for besides their notion
that all their hopes were cut off, in case these their works were once
burnt, the soldiers were greatly ashamed that subtlety should quite be
too hard for courage, madness for armor, multitude for skill, and Jews
for Romans. The Romans had now also another advantage, in that their
engines for sieges co-operated with them in throwing darts and stones as
far as the Jews, when they were coming out of the city; whereby the man
that fell became an impediment to him that was next to him, as did the
danger of going farther make them less zealous in their attempts; and
for those that had run under the darts, some of them were terrified by
the good order and closeness of the enemies' ranks before they came to a
close fight, and others were pricked with their spears, and turned back
again; at length they reproached one another for their cowardice, and
retired without doing any thing. This attack was made upon the first
day of the month Panemus [Tamuz.] So when the Jews were retreated, the
Romans brought their engines, although they had all the while stones
thrown at them from the tower of Antonia, and were assaulted by fire and
sword, and by all sorts of darts, which necessity afforded the Jews to
make use of; for although these had great dependence on their own wall,
and a contempt of the Roman engines, yet did they endeavor to hinder
the Romans from bringing them. Now these Romans struggled hard, on the
contrary, to bring them, as deeming that this zeal of the Jews was
in order to avoid any impression to be made on the tower of Antonia,
because its wall was but weak, and its foundations rotten. However, that
tower did not yield to the blows given it from the engines; yet did
the Romans bear the impressions made by the enemies' darts which were
perpetually cast at them, and did not give way to any of those dangers
that came upon them from above, and so they brought their engines to
bear. But then, as they were beneath the other, and were sadly wounded
by the stones thrown down upon them, some of them threw their shields
over their bodies, and partly with their hands, and partly with their
bodies, and partly with crows, they undermined its foundations, and with
great pains they removed four of its stones. Then night came upon both
sides, and put an end to this struggle for the present; however, that
night the wall was so shaken by the battering rams in that place where
John had used his stratagem before, and had undermined their banks, that
the ground then gave way, and the wall fell down suddenly.
4. When this accident had unexpectedly happened, the minds of both
parties were variously affected; for though one would expect that
the Jews would be discouraged, because this fall of their wall was
unexpected by them, and they had made no provision in that case, yet
did they pull up their courage, because the tower of Antonia itself was
still standing; as was the unexpected joy of the Romans at this fall of
the wall soon quenched by the sight they had of another wall, which John
and his party had built within it. However, the attack of this second
wall appeared to be easier than that of the former, because it seemed
a thing of greater facility to get up to it through the parts of the
former wall that were now thrown down. This new wall appeared also to
be much weaker than the tower of Antonia, and accordingly the Romans
imagined that it had been erected so much on the sudden, that they
should soon overthrow it: yet did not any body venture now to go up to
this wall; for that such as first ventured so to do must certainly be
killed.
5. And now Titus, upon consideration that the alacrity of soldiers in
war is chiefly excited by hopes and by good words, and that exhortations
and promises do frequently make men to forget the hazards they run, nay,
sometimes to despise death itself, got together the most courageous part
of his army, and tried what he could do with his men by these methods.
"O fellow soldiers," said he, "to make an exhortation to men to do what
hath no peril in it, is on that very account inglorious to such to whom
that exhortation is made; and indeed so it is in him that makes the
exhortation, an argument of his own cowardice also. I therefore think
that such exhortations ought then only to be made use of when affairs
are in a dangerous condition, and yet are worthy of being attempted by
every one themselves; accordingly, I am fully of the same opinion with
you, that it is a difficult task to go up this wall; but that it is
proper for those that desire reputation for their valor to struggle with
difficulties in such cases as will then appear, when I have particularly
shown that it is a brave thing to die with glory, and that the courage
here necessary shall not go unrewarded in those that first begin the
attempt. And let my first argument to move you to it be taken from
what probably some would think reasonable to dissuade you, I mean the
constancy and patience of these Jews, even under their ill successes;
for it is unbecoming you, who are Romans and my soldiers, who have
in peace been taught how to make wars, and who have also been used to
conquer in those wars, to be inferior to Jews, either in action of the
hand, or in courage of the soul, and this especially when you are at the
conclusion of your victory, and are assisted by God himself; for as to
our misfortunes, they have been owing to the madness of the Jews, while
their sufferings have been owing to your valor, and to the assistance
God hath afforded you; for as to the seditions they have been in, and
the famine they are under, and the siege they now endure, and the
fall of their walls without our engines, what can they all be but
demonstrations of God's anger against them, and of his assistance
afforded us? It will not therefore be proper for you, either to show
yourselves inferior to those to whom you are really superior, or to
betray that Divine assistance which is afforded you. And, indeed, how
can it be esteemed otherwise than a base and unworthy thing, that while
the Jews, who need not be much ashamed if they be deserted, because they
have long learned to be slaves to others, do yet despise death, that
they may be so no longer; and do make sallies into the very midst of
us frequently, not in hopes of conquering us, but merely for a
demonstration of their courage; we, who have gotten possession of almost
all the world that belongs to either land or sea, to whom it will be a
great shame if we do not conquer them, do not once undertake any attempt
against our enemies wherein there is much danger, but sit still idle,
with such brave arms as we have, and only wait till the famine and
fortune do our business themselves, and this when we have it in our
power, with some small hazard, to gain all that we desire! For if we go
up to this tower of Antonia, we gain the city; for if there should be
any more occasion for fighting against those within the city, which I do
not suppose there will, since we shall then be upon the top of the
hill 1 and be upon our enemies before they can have taken breath, these
advantages promise us no less than a certain and sudden victory. As for
myself, I shall at present wave any commendation of those who die in
war, 2 and omit to speak of the immortality of those men who are slain
in the midst of their martial bravery; yet cannot I forbear to imprecate
upon those who are of a contrary disposition, that they may die in time
of peace, by some distemper or other, since their souls are condemned to
the grave, together with their bodies. For what man of virtue is there
who does not know, that those souls which are severed from their fleshly
bodies in battles by the sword are received by the ether, that purest of
elements, and joined to that company which are placed among the stars;
that they become good demons, and propitious heroes, and show themselves
as such to their posterity afterwards? while upon those souls that wear
away in and with their distempered bodies comes a subterranean night
to dissolve them to nothing, and a deep oblivion to take away all the
remembrance of them, and this notwithstanding they be clean from all
spots and defilements of this world; so that, in this ease, the soul at
the same time comes to the utmost bounds of its life, and of its body,
and of its memorial also. But since he hath determined that death is to
come of necessity upon all men, a sword is a better instrument for that
purpose than any disease whatsoever. Why is it not then a very mean
thing for us not to yield up that to the public benefit which we must
yield up to fate? And this discourse have I made, upon the supposition
that those who at first attempt to go upon this wall must needs be
killed in the attempt, though still men of true courage have a chance to
escape even in the most hazardous undertakings. For, in the first
place, that part of the former wall that is thrown down is easily to be
ascended; and for the new-built wall, it is easily destroyed. Do you,
therefore, many of you, pull up your courage, and set about this work,
and do you mutually encourage and assist one another; and this your
bravery will soon break the hearts of your enemies; and perhaps such a
glorious undertaking as yours is may be accomplished without bloodshed.
For although it be justly to be supposed that the Jews will try to
hinder you at your first beginning to go up to them; yet when you have
once concealed yourselves from them, and driven them away by force, they
will not be able to sustain your efforts against them any longer, though
but a few of you prevent them, and get over the wall. As for that person
who first mounts the wall, I should blush for shame if I did not make
him to be envied of others, by those rewards I would bestow upon him.
If such a one escape with his life, he shall have the command of others
that are now but his equals; although it be true also that the greatest
rewards will accrue to such as die in the attempt." 3
6. Upon this speech of Titus, the rest of the multitude were afrighted
at so great a danger. But there was one, whose name was Sabinus, a
soldier that served among the cohorts, and a Syrian by birth, who
appeared to be of very great fortitude, both in the actions he had done,
and the courage of his soul he had shown; although any body would
have thought, before he came to his work, that he was of such a weak
constitution of body, that he was not fit to be a soldier; for his color
was black, his flesh was lean and thin, and lay close together; but
there was a certain heroic soul that dwelt in this small body, which
body was indeed much too narrow for that peculiar courage which was in
him. Accordingly he was the first that rose up, when he thus spake: "I
readily surrender up myself to thee, O Caesar; I first ascend the
wall, and I heartily wish that my fortune may follow my courage and
my resolution And if some ill fortune grudge me the success of my
undertaking, take notice that my ill success will not be unexpected, but
that I choose death voluntarily for thy sake." When he had said this,
and had spread out his shield over his head with his left hand, and had,
with his right hand, drawn his sword, he marched up to the wall, just
about the sixth hour of the day. There followed him eleven others, and
no more, that resolved to imitate his bravery; but still this was the
principal person of them all, and went first, as excited by a divine
fury. Now those that guarded the wall shot at them from thence, and cast
innumerable darts upon them from every side; they also rolled very large
stones upon them, which overthrew some of those eleven that were with
him. But as for Sabinus himself, he met the darts that were cast at him
and though he was overwhelmed with them, yet did he not leave off the
violence of his attack before he had gotten up on the top of the wall,
and had put the enemy to flight. For as the Jews were astonished at
his great strength, and the bravery of his soul, and as, withal, they
imagined more of them had got upon the wall than really had, they were
put to flight. And now one cannot but complain here of fortune, as still
envious at virtue, and always hindering the performance of glorious
achievements: this was the case of the man before us, when he had just
obtained his purpose; for he then stumbled at a certain large stone, and
fell down upon it headlong, with a very great noise. Upon which the Jews
turned back, and when they saw him to be alone, and fallen down also,
they threw darts at him from every side. However, he got upon his knee,
and covered himself with his shield, and at the first defended himself
against them, and wounded many of those that came near him; but he was
soon forced to relax his right hand, by the multitude of the wounds that
had been given him, till at length he was quite covered over with darts
before he gave up the ghost. He was one who deserved a better fate, by
reason of his bravery; but, as might be expected, he fell under so vast
an attempt. As for the rest of his partners, the Jews dashed three of
them to pieces with stones, and slew them as they were gotten up to the
top of the wall; the other eight being wounded, were pulled down, and
carried back to the camp. These things were done upon the third day of
the month Panemus [Tamuz].
7. Now two days afterward twelve of those men that were on the
forefront, and kept watch upon the banks, got together, and called to
them the standard-bearer of the fifth legion, and two others of a troop
of horsemen, and one trumpeter; these went without noise, about the
ninth hour of the night, through the ruins, to the tower of Antonia; and
when they had cut the throats of the first guards of the place, as they
were asleep, they got possession of the wall, and ordered the trumpeter
to sound his trumpet. Upon which the rest of the guard got up on the
sudden, and ran away, before any body could see how many they were that
were gotten up; for, partly from the fear they were in, and partly from
the sound of the trumpet which they heard, they imagined a great number
of the enemy were gotten up. But as soon as Caesar heard the signal,
he ordered the army to put on their armor immediately, and came thither
with his commanders, and first of all ascended, as did the chosen men
that were with him. And as the Jews were flying away to the temple, they
fell into that mine which John had dug under the Roman banks. Then
did the seditious of both the bodies of the Jewish army, as well that
belonging to John as that belonging to Simon, drive them away; and
indeed were no way wanting as to the highest degree of force and
alacrity; for they esteemed themselves entirely ruined if once the
Romans got into the temple, as did the Romans look upon the same thing
as the beginning of their entire conquest. So a terrible battle was
fought at the entrance of the temple, while the Romans were forcing
their way, in order to get possession of that temple, and the Jews were
driving them back to the tower of Antonia; in which battle the darts
were on both sides useless, as well as the spears, and both sides drew
their swords, and fought it out hand to hand. Now during this struggle
the positions of the men were undistinguished on both sides, and
they fought at random, the men being intermixed one with another, and
confounded, by reason of the narrowness of the place; while the noise
that was made fell on the ear after an indistinct manner, because it
was so very loud. Great slaughter was now made on both sides, and the
combatants trod upon the bodies and the armor of those that were dead,
and dashed them to pieces. Accordingly, to which side soever the battle
inclined, those that had the advantage exhorted one another to go on, as
did those that were beaten make great lamentation. But still there was
no room for flight, nor for pursuit, but disorderly revolutions and
retreats, while the armies were intermixed one with another; but those
that were in the first ranks were under the necessity of killing or
being killed, without any way for escaping; for those on both sides that
came behind forced those before them to go on, without leaving any space
between the armies. At length the Jews' violent zeal was too hard for
the Romans' skill, and the battle already inclined entirely that way;
for the fight had lasted from the ninth hour of the night till the
seventh hour of the day, While the Jews came on in crowds, and had the
danger the temple was in for their motive; the Romans having no more
here than a part of their army; for those legions, on which the soldiers
on that side depended, were not come up to them. So it was at present
thought sufficient by the Romans to take possession of the tower of
Antonia.
8. But there was one Julian, a centurion, that came from Bithynia, a man
he was of great reputation, whom I had formerly seen in that war, and
one of the highest fame, both for his skill in war, his strength of
body, and the courage of his soul. This man, seeing the Romans giving
ground, and in a sad condition, [for he stood by Titus at the tower of
Antonia,] leaped out, and of himself alone put the Jews to flight, when
they were already conquerors, and made them retire as far as the corner
of the inner court of the temple; from him the multitude fled away in
crowds, as supposing that neither his strength nor his violent attacks
could be those of a mere man. Accordingly, he rushed through the midst
of the Jews, as they were dispersed all abroad, and killed those that he
caught. Nor, indeed, was there any sight that appeared more wonderful in
the eyes of Caesar, or more terrible to others, than this. However, he
was himself pursued by fate, which it was not possible that he, who was
but a mortal man, should escape; for as he had shoes all full of thick
and sharp nails 4 as had every one of the other soldiers, so when he ran
on the pavement of the temple, he slipped, and fell down upon his back
with a very great noise, which was made by his armor. This made those
that were running away to turn back; whereupon those Romans that were in
the tower of Antonia set up a great shout, as they were in fear for the
man. But the Jews got about him in crowds, and struck at him with their
spears and with their swords on all sides. Now he received a great
many of the strokes of these iron weapons upon his shield, and often
attempted to get up again, but was thrown down by those that struck at
him; yet did he, as he lay along, stab many of them with his sword. Nor
was he soon killed, as being covered with his helmet and his breastplate
in all those parts of his body where he might be mortally wounded; he
also pulled his neck close to his body, till all his other limbs were
shattered, and nobody durst come to defend him, and then he yielded to
his fate. Now Caesar was deeply affected on account of this man of so
great fortitude, and especially as he was killed in the sight of so many
people; he was desirous himself to come to his assistance, but the place
would not give him leave, while such as could have done it were too much
terrified to attempt it. Thus when Julian had struggled with death a
great while, and had let but few of those that had given him his mortal
wound go off unhurt, he had at last his throat cut, though not without
some difficulty, and left behind him a very great fame, not only among
the Romans, and with Caesar himself, but among his enemies also; then
did the Jews catch up his dead body, and put the Romans to flight again,
and shut them up in the tower of Antonia. Now those that most signalized
themselves, and fought most zealously in this battle of the Jewish side,
were one Alexas and Gyphtheus, of John's party, and of Simon's party
were Malachias, and Judas the son of Merto, and James the son of Sosas,
the commander of the Idumeans; and of the zealots, two brethren, Simon
and Judas, the sons of Jairus.
CHAPTER 2.
How Titus Gave Orders To Demolish The Tower Of Antonia And
Then Persuaded Josephus To Exhort The Jews Again [To A
Surrender].
1. And now Titus gave orders to his soldiers that were with him to dig
up the foundations of the tower of Antonia, and make him a ready passage
for his army to come up; while he himself had Josephus brought to
him, [for he had been informed that on that very day, which was the
seventeenth day 5of Panemus, [Tamuz,] the sacrifice called "the Daily
Sacrifice" had failed, and had not been offered to God, for want of men
to offer it, and that the people were grievously troubled at it,] and
commanded him to say the same things to John that he had said before,
that if he had any malicious inclination for fighting, he might come out
with as many of his men as he pleased, in order to fight, without the
danger of destroying either his city or temple; but that he desired he
would not defile the temple, nor thereby offend against God. That he
might, if he pleased, offer the sacrifices which were now discontinued
by any of the Jews whom he should pitch upon. Upon this Josephus stood
in such a place where he might be heard, not by John only, but by many
more, and then declared to them what Caesar had given him in charge,
and this in the Hebrew language. 6 So he earnestly prayed them to spare
their own city, and to prevent that fire which was just ready to seize
upon the temple, and to offer their usual sacrifices to God therein. At
these words of his a great sadness and silence were observed among the
people. But the tyrant himself cast many reproaches upon Josephus, with
imprecations besides; and at last added this withal, that he did never
fear the taking of the city, because it was God's own city. In answer to
which Josephus said thus with a loud voice: "To be sure thou hast kept
this city wonderfully pure for God's sake; the temple also continues
entirely unpolluted! Nor hast thou been guilty of any impiety against
him for whose assistance thou hopest! He still receives his accustomed
sacrifices! Vile wretch that thou art! if any one should deprive thee of
thy daily food, thou wouldst esteem him to be an enemy to thee; but thou
hopest to have that God for thy supporter in this war whom thou hast
deprived of his everlasting worship; and thou imputest those sins to the
Romans, who to this very time take care to have our laws observed, and
almost compel these sacrifices to be still offered to God, which have
by thy means been intermitted! Who is there that can avoid groans and
lamentations at the amazing change that is made in this city? since
very foreigners and enemies do now correct that impiety which thou hast
occasioned; while thou, who art a Jew, and wast educated in our laws,
art become a greater enemy to them than the others. But still, John, it
is never dishonorable to repent, and amend what hath been done amiss,
even at the last extremity. Thou hast an instance before thee in
Jechoniah, 7 the king of the Jews, if thou hast a mind to save the
city, who, when the king of Babylon made war against him, did of his
own accord go out of this city before it was taken, and did undergo a
voluntary captivity with his family, that the sanctuary might not be
delivered up to the enemy, and that he might not see the house of God
set on fire; on which account he is celebrated among all the Jews, in
their sacred memorials, and his memory is become immortal, and will be
conveyed fresh down to our posterity through all ages. This, John, is
an excellent example in such a time of danger, and I dare venture to
promise that the Romans shall still forgive thee. And take notice that
I, who make this exhortation to thee, am one of thine own nation; I,
who am a Jew, do make this promise to thee. And it will become thee to
consider who I am that give thee this counsel, and whence I am derived;
for while I am alive I shall never be in such slavery, as to forego
my own kindred, or forget the laws of our forefathers. Thou hast
indignation at me again, and makest a clamor at me, and reproachest me;
indeed I cannot deny but I am worthy of worse treatment than all this
amounts to, because, in opposition to fate, I make this kind invitation
to thee, and endeavor to force deliverance upon those whom God hath
condemned. And who is there that does not know what the writings of the
ancient prophets contain in them,--and particularly that oracle which
is just now going to be fulfilled upon this miserable city? For they
foretold that this city should be then taken when somebody shall begin
the slaughter of his own countrymen. And are not both the city and the
entire temple now full of the dead bodies of your countrymen? It is God,
therefore, it is God himself who is bringing on this fire, to purge that
city and temple by means of the Romans, 8 and is going to pluck up this
city, which is full of your pollutions."
2. As Josephus spoke these words, with groans and tears in his eyes, his
voice was intercepted by sobs. However, the Romans could not but pity
the affliction he was under, and wonder at his conduct. But for John,
and those that were with him, they were but the more exasperated against
the Romans on this account, and were desirous to get Josephus also into
their power: yet did that discourse influence a great many of the better
sort; and truly some of them were so afraid of the guards set by the
seditious, that they tarried where they were, but still were satisfied
that both they and the city were doomed to destruction. Some also there
were who, watching a proper opportunity when they might quietly get
away, fled to the Romans, of whom were the high priests Joseph and
Jesus, and of the sons of high priests three, whose father was Ishmael,
who was beheaded in Cyrene, and four sons of Matthias, as also one son
of the other Matthias, who ran away after his father's death, 9 and
whose father was slain by Simon the son of Gioras, with three of his
sons, as I have already related; many also of the other nobility went
over to the Romans, together with the high priests. Now Caesar not only
received these men very kindly in other respects, but, knowing they
would not willingly live after the customs of other nations, he sent
them to Gophna, and desired them to remain there for the present, and
told them, that when he was gotten clear of this war, he would restore
each of them to their possessions again; so they cheerfully retired to
that small city which was allotted them, without fear of any danger.
But as they did not appear, the seditious gave out again that these
deserters were slain by the Romans, which was done in order to deter
the rest from running away, by fear of the like treatment. This trick of
theirs succeeded now for a while, as did the like trick before; for the
rest were hereby deterred from deserting, by fear of the like treatment.
3. However, when Titus had recalled those men from Gophna, he gave
orders that they should go round the wall, together with Josephus,
and show themselves to the people; upon which a great many fled to the
Romans. These men also got in a great number together, and stood before
the Romans, and besought the seditious, with groans and tears in their
eyes, in the first place to receive the Romans entirely into the city,
and save that their own place of residence again; but that, if they
would not agree to such a proposal, they would at least depart out of
the temple, and save the holy house for their own use; for that the
Romans would not venture to set the sanctuary on fire but under the most
pressing necessity. Yet did the seditious still more and more contradict
them; and while they cast loud and bitter reproaches upon these
deserters, they also set their engines for throwing of darts, and
javelins, and stones upon the sacred gates of the temple, at due
distances from one another, insomuch that all the space round about
within the temple might be compared to a burying-ground, so great was
the number of the dead bodies therein; as might the holy house itself
be compared to a citadel. Accordingly, these men rushed upon these holy
places in their armor, that were otherwise unapproachable, and that
while their hands were yet warm with the blood of their own people which
they had shed; nay, they proceeded to such great transgressions, that
the very same indignation which Jews would naturally have against
Romans, had they been guilty of such abuses against them, the Romans
now had against Jews, for their impiety in regard to their own religious
customs. Nay, indeed, there were none of the Roman soldiers who did not
look with a sacred horror upon the holy house, and adored it, and wished
that the robbers would repent before their miseries became incurable.
4. Now Titus was deeply affected with this state of things, and
reproached John and his party, and said to them, "Have not you, vile
wretches that you are, by our permission, put up this partition-wall
before your sanctuary? Have not you been allowed to put up the pillars
thereto belonging, at due distances, and on it to engrave in Greek,
and in your own letters, this prohibition, that no foreigner should
go beyond that wall. 10 Have not we given you leave to kill such as
go beyond it, though he were a Roman? And what do you do now, you
pernicious villains? Why do you trample upon dead bodies in this temple?
and why do you pollute this holy house with the blood of both foreigners
and Jews themselves? I appeal to the gods of my own country, and to
every god that ever had any regard to this place; [for I do not suppose
it to be now regarded by any of them;] I also appeal to my own army, and
to those Jews that are now with me, and even to yourselves, that I do
not force you to defile this your sanctuary; and if you will but change
the place whereon you will fight, no Roman shall either come near your
sanctuary, or offer any affront to it; nay, I will endeavor to preserve
you your holy house, whether you will or not." 11
5. As Josephus explained these things from the mouth of Caesar, both the
robbers and the tyrant thought that these exhortations proceeded from
Titus's fear, and not from his good-will to them, and grew insolent
upon it. But when Titus saw that these men were neither to be moved by
commiseration towards themselves, nor had any concern upon them to have
the holy house spared, he proceeded unwillingly to go on again with the
war against them. He could not indeed bring all his army against them,
the place was so narrow; but choosing thirty soldiers of the most
valiant out of every hundred, and committing a thousand to each tribune,
and making Cerealis their commander-in-chief, he gave orders that they
should attack the guards of the temple about the ninth hour of that
night. But as he was now in his armor, and preparing to go down with
them, his friends would not let him go, by reason of the greatness of
the danger, and what the commanders suggested to them; for they said
that he would do more by sitting above in the tower of Antonia, as a
dispenser of rewards to those soldiers that signalized themselves in the
fight, than by coming down and hazarding his own person in the forefront
of them; for that they would all fight stoutly while Caesar looked upon
them. With this advice Caesar complied, and said that the only reason
he had for such compliance with the soldiers was this, that he might be
able to judge of their courageous actions, and that no valiant soldier
might lie concealed, and miss of his reward, and no cowardly soldier
might go unpunished; but that he might himself be an eye-witness, and
able to give evidence of all that was done, who was to be the disposer
of punishments and rewards to them. So he sent the soldiers about their
work at the hour forementioned, while he went out himself to a higher
place in the tower of Antonia, whence he might see what was done, and
there waited with impatience to see the event.
6. However, the soldiers that were sent did not find the guards of the
temple asleep, as they hoped to have done; but were obliged to fight
with them immediately hand to hand, as they rushed with violence upon
them with a great shout. Now as soon as the rest within the temple heard
that shout of those that were upon the watch, they ran out in troops
upon them. Then did the Romans receive the onset of those that came
first upon them; but those that followed them fell upon their own
troops, and many of them treated their own soldiers as if they had
been enemies; for the great confused noise that was made on both sides
hindered them from distinguishing one another's voices, as did the
darkness of the night hinder them from the like distinction by the
sight, besides that blindness which arose otherwise also from the
passion and the fear they were in at the same time; for which reason
it was all one to the soldiers who it was they struck at. However, this
ignorance did less harm to the Romans than to the Jews, because they
were joined together under their shields, and made their sallies
more regularly than the others did, and each of them remembered their
watch-word; while the Jews were perpetually dispersed abroad, and made
their attacks and retreats at random, and so did frequently seem to one
another to be enemies; for every one of them received those of their own
men that came back in the dark as Romans, and made an assault upon them;
so that more of them were wounded by their own men than by the enemy,
till, upon the coming on of the day, the nature of the right was
discerned by the eye afterward. Then did they stand in battle-array in
distinct bodies, and cast their darts regularly, and regularly defended
themselves; nor did either side yield or grow weary. The Romans
contended with each other who should fight the most strenuously, both
single men and entire regiments, as being under the eye of Titus; and
every one concluded that this day would begin his promotion if he
fought bravely. What were the great encouragements of the Jews to act
vigorously were, their fear for themselves and for the temple, and the
presence of their tyrant, who exhorted some, and beat and threatened
others, to act courageously. Now, it so happened, that this fight was
for the most part a stationary one, wherein the soldiers went on and
came back in a short time, and suddenly; for there was no long space of
ground for either of their flights or pursuits. But still there was a
tumultuous noise among the Romans from the tower of Antonia, who loudly
cried out upon all occasions to their own men to press on courageously,
when they were too hard for the Jews, and to stay when they were
retiring backward; so that here was a kind of theater of war; for what
was done in this fight could not be concealed either from Titus, or from
those that were about him. At length it appeared that this fight, which
began at the ninth hour of the night, was not over till past the fifth
hour of the day; and that, in the same place where the battle began,
neither party could say they had made the other to retire; but both
the armies left the victory almost in uncertainty between them; wherein
those that signalized themselves on the Roman side were a great many,
but on the Jewish side, and of those that were with Simon, Judas the son
of Merto, and Simon the son of Josas; of the Idumeans, James and Simon,
the latter of whom was the son of Cathlas, and James was the son of
Sosas; of those that were with John, Gyphtheus and Alexas; and of the
zealots, Simon the son of Jairus.
7. In the mean time, the rest of the Roman army had, in seven days'
time, overthrown [some] foundations of the tower of Antonia, and had
made a ready and broad way to the temple. Then did the legions come near
the first court, 12 and began to raise their banks. The one bank was
over against the north-west corner of the inner temple 13 another was at
that northern edifice which was between the two gates; and of the other
two, one was at the western cloister of the outer court of the temple;
the other against its northern cloister. However, these works were thus
far advanced by the Romans, not without great pains and difficulty, and
particularly by being obliged to bring their materials from the distance
of a hundred furlongs. They had further difficulties also upon them;
sometimes by their over-great security they were in that they should
overcome the Jewish snares laid for them, and by that boldness of the
Jews which their despair of escaping had inspired them withal; for some
of their horsemen, when they went out to gather wood or hay, let their
horses feed without having their bridles on during the time of foraging;
upon which horses the Jews sallied out in whole bodies, and seized them.
And when this was continually done, and Caesar believed what the truth
was, that the horses were stolen more by the negligence of his own men
than by the valor of the Jews, he determined to use greater severity to
oblige the rest to take care of their horses; so he commanded that
one of those soldiers who had lost their horses should be capitally
punished; whereby he so terrified the rest, that they preserved their
horses for the time to come; for they did not any longer let them go
from them to feed by themselves, but, as if they had grown to them, they
went always along with them when they wanted necessaries. Thus did the
Romans still continue to make war against the temple, and to raise their
banks against it.
8. Now after one day had been interposed since the Romans ascended the
breach, many of the seditious were so pressed by the famine, upon the
present failure of their ravages, that they got together, and made an
attack on those Roman guards that were upon the Mount of Olives, and
this about the eleventh hour of the day, as supposing, first, that they
would not expect such an onset, and, in the next place, that they were
then taking care of their bodies, and that therefore they should easily
beat them. But the Romans were apprized of their coming to attack them
beforehand, and, running together from the neighboring camps on the
sudden, prevented them from getting over their fortification, or forcing
the wall that was built about them. Upon this came on a sharp fight, and
here many great actions were performed on both sides; while the Romans
showed both their courage and their skill in war, as did the Jews come
on them with immoderate violence and intolerable passion. The one part
were urged on by shame, and the other by necessity; for it seemed a very
shameful thing to the Romans to let the Jews go, now they were taken in
a kind of net; while the Jews had but one hope of saving themselves, and
that was in case they could by violence break through the Roman wall;
and one whose name was Pedanius, belonging to a party of horsemen, when
the Jews were already beaten and forced down into the valley together,
spurred his horse on their flank with great vehemence, and caught up a
certain young man belonging to the enemy by his ankle, as he was running
away; the man was, however, of a robust body, and in his armor; so
low did Pedanius bend himself downward from his horse, even as he was
galloping away, and so great was the strength of his right hand, and of
the rest of his body, as also such skill had he in horsemanship. So this
man seized upon that his prey, as upon a precious treasure, and carried
him as his captive to Caesar; whereupon Titus admired the man that had
seized the other for his great strength, and ordered the man that was
caught to be punished [with death] for his attempt against the Roman
wall, but betook himself to the siege of the temple, and to pressing on
the raising of the banks.
9. In the mean time, the Jews were so distressed by the fights they had
been in, as the war advanced higher and higher, and creeping up to the
holy house itself, that they, as it were, cut off those limbs of their
body which were infected, in order to prevent the distemper's spreading
further; for they set the north-west cloister, which was joined to the
tower of Antonia, on fire, and after that brake off about twenty cubits
of that cloister, and thereby made a beginning in burning the sanctuary;
two days after which, or on the twenty-fourth day of the forenamed
month, [Panemus or Tamuz,] the Romans set fire to the cloister that
joined to the other, when the fire went fifteen cubits farther. The
Jews, in like manner, cut off its roof; nor did they entirely leave
off what they were about till the tower of Antonia was parted from the
temple, even when it was in their power to have stopped the fire; nay,
they lay still while the temple was first set on fire, and deemed this
spreading of the fire to be for their own advantage. However, the armies
were still fighting one against another about the temple, and the war
was managed by continual sallies of particular parties against one
another.
10. Now there was at this time a man among the Jews, low of stature he
was, and of a despicable appearance; of no character either as to his
family, or in other respects: his name was Jonathan. He went out at the
high priest John's monument, and uttered many other insolent things to
the Romans, and challenged the best of them all to a single combat. But
many of those that stood there in the army huffed him, and many of them
[as they might well be] were afraid of him. Some of them also reasoned
thus, and that justly enough: that it was not fit to fight with a man
that desired to die, because those that utterly despaired of deliverance
had, besides other passions, a violence in attacking men that could not
be opposed, and had no regard to God himself; and that to hazard oneself
with a person, whom, if you overcome, you do no great matter, and
by whom it is hazardous that you may be taken prisoner, would be an
instance, not of manly courage, but of unmanly rashness. So there being
nobody that came out to accept the man's challenge, and the Jew cutting
them with a great number of reproaches, as cowards, [for he was a very
haughty man in himself, and a great despiser of the Romans,] one whose
name was Pudens, of the body of horsemen, out of his abomination of
the other's words, and of his impudence withal, and perhaps out of an
inconsiderate arrogance, on account of the other's lowness of stature,
ran out to him, and was too hard for him in other respects, but was
betrayed by his ill fortune; for he fell down, and as he was down,
Jonathan came running to him, and cut his throat, and then, standing
upon his dead body, he brandished his sword, bloody as it was, and shook
his shield with his left hand, and made many acclamations to the Roman
army, and exulted over the dead man, and jested upon the Romans; till
at length one Priscus, a centurion, shot a dart at him as he was leaping
and playing the fool with himself, and thereby pierced him through;
upon which a shout was set up both by the Jews and the Romans, though
on different accounts. So Jonathan grew giddy by the pain of his wounds,
and fell down upon the body of his adversary, as a plain instance how
suddenly vengeance may come upon men that have success in war, without
any just deserving the same.
CHAPTER 3.
Concerning A Stratagem That Was Devised By The Jews, By
Which They Burnt Many Of The Romans; With Another
Description Of The Terrible Famine That Was In The City.
1. But now the seditious that were in the temple did every day openly
endeavor to beat off the soldiers that were upon the banks, and on the
twenty-seventh day of the forenamed month [Panemus or Tamuz] contrived
such a stratagem as this: They filled that part of the western cloister
14 which was between the beams, and the roof under them, with dry
materials, as also with bitumen and pitch, and then retired from that
place, as though they were tired with the pains they had taken; at which
procedure of theirs, many of the most inconsiderate among the Romans,
who were carried away with violent passions, followed hard after them as
they were retiring, and applied ladders to the cloister, and got up to
it suddenly; but the prudent part of them, when they understood this
unaccountable retreat of the Jews, stood still where they were before.
However, the cloister was full of those that were gone up the ladders;
at which time the Jews set it all on fire; and as the flame burst out
every where on the sudden, the Romans that were out of the danger were
seized with a very great consternation, as were those that were in
the midst of the danger in the utmost distress. So when they perceived
themselves surrounded with the flames, some of them threw themselves
down backwards into the city, and some among their enemies [in the
temple]; as did many leap down to their own men, and broke their limbs
to pieces; but a great number of those that were going to take these
violent methods were prevented by the fire; though some prevented the
fire by their own swords. However, the fire was on the sudden carried
so far as to surround those who would have otherwise perished. As for
Caesar himself, he could not, however, but commiserate those that thus
perished, although they got up thither without any order for so doing,
since there was no way of giving the many relief. Yet was this some
comfort to those that were destroyed, that every body might see that
person grieve, for whose sake they came to their end; for he cried out
openly to them, and leaped up, and exhorted those that were about him to
do their utmost to relieve them; So every one of them died cheerfully,
as carrying along with him these words and this intention of Caesar as a
sepulchral monument. Some there were indeed who retired into the wall of
the cloister, which was broad, and were preserved out of the fire, but
were then surrounded by the Jews; and although they made resistance
against the Jews for a long time, yet were they wounded by them, and at
length they all fell down dead.
2. At the last a young man among them, whose name was Longus, became a
decoration to this sad affair, and while every one of them that perished
were worthy of a memorial, this man appeared to deserve it beyond
all the rest. Now the Jews admired this man for his courage, and were
further desirous of having him slain; so they persuaded him to come down
to them, upon security given him for his life. But Cornelius his brother
persuaded him on the contrary, not to tarnish his own glory, nor that
of the Roman army. He complied with this last advice, and lifting up his
sword before both armies, he slew himself. Yet there was one Artorius
among those surrounded by the fire who escaped by his subtlety; for
when he had with a loud voice called to him Lucius, one of his fellow
soldiers that lay with him in the same tent, and said to him, "I do
leave thee heir of all I have, if thou wilt come and receive me." Upon
this he came running to receive him readily; Artorius then threw himself
down upon him, and saved his own life, while he that received him was
dashed so vehemently against the stone pavement by the other's weight,
that he died immediately. This melancholy accident made the Romans
sad for a while, but still it made them more upon their guard for the
future, and was of advantage to them against the delusions of the Jews,
by which they were greatly damaged through their unacquaintedness with
the places, and with the nature of the inhabitants. Now this cloister
was burnt down as far as John's tower, which he built in the war he made
against Simon over the gates that led to the Xystus. The Jews also cut
off the rest of that cloister from the temple, after they had destroyed
those that got up to it. But the next day the Romans burnt down the
northern cloister entirely, as far as the east cloister, whose common
angle joined to the valley that was called Cedron, and was built over
it; on which account the depth was frightful. And this was the state of
the temple at that time.
3. Now of those that perished by famine in the city, the number was
prodigious, and the miseries they underwent were unspeakable; for if so
much as the shadow of any kind of food did any where appear, a war was
commenced presently, and the dearest friends fell a fighting one with
another about it, snatching from each other the most miserable supports
of life. Nor would men believe that those who were dying had no food,
but the robbers would search them when they were expiring, lest any one
should have concealed food in their bosoms, and counterfeited dying;
nay, these robbers gaped for want, and ran about stumbling and
staggering along like mad dogs, and reeling against the doors of the
houses like drunken men; they would also, in the great distress they
were in, rush into the very same houses two or three times in one and
the same day. Moreover, their hunger was so intolerable, that it obliged
them to chew every thing, while they gathered such things as the most
sordid animals would not touch, and endured to eat them; nor did they
at length abstain from girdles and shoes; and the very leather which
belonged to their shields they pulled off and gnawed: the very wisps
of old hay became food to some; and some gathered up fibres, and sold
a very small weight of them for four Attic [drachmae]. But why do I
describe the shameless impudence that the famine brought on men in their
eating inanimate things, while I am going to relate a matter of fact,
the like to which no history relates, 15 either among the Greeks or
Barbarians? It is horrible to speak of it, and incredible when heard.
I had indeed willingly omitted this calamity of ours, that I might not
seem to deliver what is so portentous to posterity, but that I have
innumerable witnesses to it in my own age; and besides, my country would
have had little reason to thank me for suppressing the miseries that she
underwent at this time.
4. There was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, her name was
Mary; her father was Eleazar, of the village Bethezob, which signifies
the house of Hyssop. She was eminent for her family and her wealth, and
had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude, and was with
them besieged therein at this time. The other effects of this woman had
been already seized upon, such I mean as she had brought with her out
of Perea, and removed to the city. What she had treasured up besides, as
also what food she had contrived to save, had been also carried off by
the rapacious guards, who came every day running into her house for that
purpose. This put the poor woman into a very great passion, and by
the frequent reproaches and imprecations she cast at these rapacious
villains, she had provoked them to anger against her; but none of them,
either out of the indignation she had raised against herself, or out of
commiseration of her case, would take away her life; and if she found
any food, she perceived her labors were for others, and not for herself;
and it was now become impossible for her any way to find any more food,
while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also
her passion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itself; nor did she
consult with any thing but with her passion and the necessity she was
in. She then attempted a most unnatural thing; and snatching up her
son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, "O thou miserable
infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine, and
this sedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our
lives, we must be slaves. This famine also will destroy us, even before
that slavery comes upon us. Yet are these seditious rogues more terrible
than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to
these seditious varlets, and a by-word to the world, which is all that
is now wanting to complete the calamities of us Jews." As soon as she
had said this, she slew her son, and then roasted him, and eat the one
half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed. Upon this the
seditious came in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food,
they threatened her that they would cut her throat immediately if she
did not show them what food she had gotten ready. She replied that she
had saved a very fine portion of it for them, and withal uncovered
what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized with a horror and
amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight, when she said to
them, "This is mine own son, and what hath been done was mine own
doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself! Do not
you pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compassionate
than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my
sacrifice, as I have eaten the one half, let the rest be reserved for
me also." After which those men went out trembling, being never so much
affrighted at any thing as they were at this, and with some difficulty
they left the rest of that meat to the mother. Upon which the whole city
was full of this horrid action immediately; and while every body laid
this miserable case before their own eyes, they trembled, as if this
unheard of action had been done by themselves. So those that were thus
distressed by the famine were very desirous to die, and those already
dead were esteemed happy, because they had not lived long enough either
to hear or to see such miseries.
5. This sad instance was quickly told to the Romans, some of whom could
not believe it, and others pitied the distress which the Jews were
under; but there were many of them who were hereby induced to a more
bitter hatred than ordinary against our nation. But for Caesar, he
excused himself before God as to this matter, and said that he had
proposed peace and liberty to the Jews, as well as an oblivion of all
their former insolent practices; but that they, instead of concord,
had chosen sedition; instead of peace, war; and before satiety and
abundance, a famine. That they had begun with their own hands to burn
down that temple which we have preserved hitherto; and that therefore
they deserved to eat such food as this was. That, however, this horrid
action of eating an own child ought to be covered with the overthrow of
their very country itself, and men ought not to leave such a city upon
the habitable earth to be seen by the sun, wherein mothers are thus fed,
although such food be fitter for the fathers than for the mothers to eat
of, since it is they that continue still in a state of war against us,
after they have undergone such miseries as these. And at the same time
that he said this, he reflected on the desperate condition these men
must be in; nor could he expect that such men could be recovered to
sobriety of mind, after they had endured those very sufferings, for the
avoiding whereof it only was probable they might have repented.
CHAPTER 4.
When The Banks Were Completed And The Battering Rams
Brought, And Could Do Nothing, Titus Gave Orders To Set Fire
To The Gates Of The Temple; In No Long Time After Which The
Holy House Itself Was Burnt Down, Even Against His Consent.
1. And now two of the legions had completed their banks on the eighth
day of the month Lous [Ab]. Whereupon Titus gave orders that the
battering rams should be brought, and set over against the western
edifice of the inner temple; for before these were brought, the firmest
of all the other engines had battered the wall for six days together
without ceasing, without making any impression upon it; but the vast
largeness and strong connexion of the stones were superior to that
engine, and to the other battering rams also. Other Romans did indeed
undermine the foundations of the northern gate, and after a world of
pains removed the outermost stones, yet was the gate still upheld by the
inner stones, and stood still unhurt; till the workmen, despairing of
all such attempts by engines and crows, brought their ladders to the
cloisters. Now the Jews did not interrupt them in so doing; but when
they were gotten up, they fell upon them, and fought with them; some of
them they thrust down, and threw them backwards headlong; others of
them they met and slew; they also beat many of those that went down the
ladders again, and slew them with their swords before they could bring
their shields to protect them; nay, some of the ladders they threw down
from above when they were full of armed men; a great slaughter was made
of the Jews also at the same time, while those that bare the ensigns
fought hard for them, as deeming it a terrible thing, and what would
tend to their great shame, if they permitted them to be stolen away. Yet
did the Jews at length get possession of these engines, and destroyed
those that had gone up the ladders, while the rest were so intimidated
by what those suffered who were slain, that they retired; although none
of the Romans died without having done good service before his death. Of
the seditious, those that had fought bravely in the former battles did
the like now, as besides them did Eleazar, the brother's son of Simon
the tyrant. But when Titus perceived that his endeavors to spare a
foreign temple turned to the damage of his soldiers, and then be killed,
he gave order to set the gates on fire.
2. In the mean time, there deserted to him Ananus, who came from
Emmaus, the most bloody of all Simon's guards, and Archelaus, the son of
Magadatus, they hoping to be still forgiven, because they left the Jews
at a time when they were the conquerors. Titus objected this to these
men, as a cunning trick of theirs; and as he had been informed of their
other barbarities towards the Jews, he was going in all haste to
have them both slain. He told them that they were only driven to this
desertion because of the utmost distress they were in, and did not come
away of their own good disposition; and that those did not deserve to be
preserved, by whom their own city was already set on fire, out of which
fire they now hurried themselves away. However, the security he had
promised deserters overcame his resentments, and he dismissed them
accordingly, though he did not give them the same privileges that he
had afforded to others. And now the soldiers had already put fire to the
gates, and the silver that was over them quickly carried the flames to
the wood that was within it, whence it spread itself all on the sudden,
and caught hold on the cloisters. Upon the Jews seeing this fire all
about them, their spirits sunk together with their bodies, and they were
under such astonishment, that not one of them made any haste, either to
defend himself or to quench the fire, but they stood as mute spectators
of it only. However, they did not so grieve at the loss of what was now
burning, as to grow wiser thereby for the time to come; but as though
the holy house itself had been on fire already, they whetted their
passions against the Romans. This fire prevailed during that day and the
next also; for the soldiers were not able to burn all the cloisters that
were round about together at one time, but only by pieces.
3. But then, on the next day, Titus commanded part of his army to
quench the fire, and to make a road for the more easy marching up of
the legions, while he himself gathered the commanders together. Of those
there were assembled the six principal persons: Tiberius Alexander, the
commander [under the general] of the whole army; with Sextus Cerealis,
the commander of the fifth legion; and Larcius Lepidus, the commander
of the tenth legion; and Titus Frigius, the commander of the fifteenth
legion: there was also with them Eternius, the leader of the two legions
that came from Alexandria; and Marcus Antonius Julianus, procurator of
Judea: after these came together all the rest of the procurators and
tribunes. Titus proposed to these that they should give him their advice
what should be done about the holy house. Now some of these thought
it would be the best way to act according to the rules of war, [and
demolish it,] because the Jews would never leave off rebelling while
that house was standing; at which house it was that they used to get all
together. Others of them were of opinion, that in case the Jews would
leave it, and none of them would lay their arms up in it, he might save
it; but that in case they got upon it, and fought any more, he might
burn it; because it must then be looked upon not as a holy house, but as
a citadel; and that the impiety of burning it would then belong to
those that forced this to be done, and not to them. But Titus said, that
"although the Jews should get upon that holy house, and fight us thence,
yet ought we not to revenge ourselves on things that are inanimate,
instead of the men themselves;" and that he was not in any case for
burning down so vast a work as that was, because this would be a
mischief to the Romans themselves, as it would be an ornament to their
government while it continued. So Fronto, and Alexander, and Cerealis
grew bold upon that declaration, and agreed to the opinion of Titus.
Then was this assembly dissolved, when Titus had given orders to the
commanders that the rest of their forces should lie still; but that they
should make use of such as were most courageous in this attack. So he
commanded that the chosen men that were taken out of the cohorts should
make their way through the ruins, and quench the fire.
4. Now it is true that on this day the Jews were so weary, and under
such consternation, that they refrained from any attacks. But on the
next day they gathered their whole force together, and ran upon those
that guarded the outward court of the temple very boldly, through the
east gate, and this about the second hour of the day. These guards
received that their attack with great bravery, and by covering
themselves with their shields before, as if it were with a wall, they
drew their squadron close together; yet was it evident that they could
not abide there very long, but would be overborne by the multitude of
those that sallied out upon them, and by the heat of their passion.
However, Caesar seeing, from the tower of Antonia, that this squadron
was likely to give way, he sent some chosen horsemen to support them.
Hereupon the Jews found themselves not able to sustain their onset, and
upon the slaughter of those in the forefront, many of the rest were put
to flight. But as the Romans were going off, the Jews turned upon them,
and fought them; and as those Romans came back upon them, they retreated
again, until about the fifth hour of the day they were overborne, and
shut themselves up in the inner [court of the] temple.
5. So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia, and resolved to storm the
temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to
encamp round about the holy house. But as for that house, God had, for
certain, long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was
come, according to the revolution of ages; it was the tenth day of
the month Lous, [Ab,] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of
Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves,
and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus's retiring, the seditious
lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when
those that guarded the holy house fought with those that quenched the
fire that was burning the inner [court of the] temple; but these Romans
put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the holy house itself.
At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and
without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and
being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the
materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he
set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the
rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. As
the flames went upward, the Jews made a great clamor, such as so mighty
an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they
spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered any thing to restrain
their force, since that holy house was perishing, for whose sake it was
that they kept such a guard about it.
6. And now a certain person came running to Titus, and told him of
this fire, as he was resting himself in his tent after the last battle;
whereupon he rose up in great haste, and, as he was, ran to the holy
house, in order to have a stop put to the fire; after him followed all
his commanders, and after them followed the several legions, in great
astonishment; so there was a great clamor and tumult raised, as was
natural upon the disorderly motion of so great an army. Then did Caesar,
both by calling to the soldiers that were fighting, with a loud voice,
and by giving a signal to them with his right hand, order them to quench
the fire. But they did not hear what he said, though he spake so loud,
having their ears already dimmed by a greater noise another way; nor did
they attend to the signal he made with his hand neither, as still some
of them were distracted with fighting, and others with passion. But as
for the legions that came running thither, neither any persuasions
nor any threatenings could restrain their violence, but each one's own
passion was his commander at this time; and as they were crowding into
the temple together, many of them were trampled on by one another, while
a great number fell among the ruins of the cloisters, which were still
hot and smoking, and were destroyed in the same miserable way with those
whom they had conquered; and when they were come near the holy house,
they made as if they did not so much as hear Caesar's orders to the
contrary; but they encouraged those that were before them to set it on
fire. As for the seditious, they were in too great distress already to
afford their assistance [towards quenching the fire]; they were every
where slain, and every where beaten; and as for a great part of the
people, they were weak and without arms, and had their throats cut
wherever they were caught. Now round about the altar lay dead bodies
heaped one upon another, as at the steps 16 going up to it ran a great
quantity of their blood, whither also the dead bodies that were slain
above [on the altar] fell down.
7. And now, since Caesar was no way able to restrain the enthusiastic
fury of the soldiers, and the fire proceeded on more and more, he went
into the holy place of the temple, with his commanders, and saw it, with
what was in it, which he found to be far superior to what the relations
of foreigners contained, and not inferior to what we ourselves boasted
of and believed about it. But as the flame had not as yet reached to its
inward parts, but was still consuming the rooms that were about the
holy house, and Titus supposing what the fact was, that the house itself
might yet be saved, he came in haste and endeavored to persuade the
soldiers to quench the fire, and gave order to Liberalius the centurion,
and one of those spearmen that were about him, to beat the soldiers that
were refractory with their staves, and to restrain them; yet were their
passions too hard for the regards they had for Caesar, and the dread
they had of him who forbade them, as was their hatred of the Jews, and
a certain vehement inclination to fight them, too hard for them also.
Moreover, the hope of plunder induced many to go on, as having this
opinion, that all the places within were full of money, and as seeing
that all round about it was made of gold. And besides, one of those
that went into the place prevented Caesar, when he ran so hastily out to
restrain the soldiers, and threw the fire upon the hinges of the gate,
in the dark; whereby the flame burst out from within the holy house
itself immediately, when the commanders retired, and Caesar with them,
and when nobody any longer forbade those that were without to set
fire to it. And thus was the holy house burnt down, without Caesar's
approbation.
8. Now although any one would justly lament the destruction of such a
work as this was, since it was the most admirable of all the works
that we have seen or heard of, both for its curious structure and its
magnitude, and also for the vast wealth bestowed upon it, as well as for
the glorious reputation it had for its holiness; yet might such a one
comfort himself with this thought, that it was fate that decreed it so
to be, which is inevitable, both as to living creatures, and as to works
and places also. However, one cannot but wonder at the accuracy of this
period thereto relating; for the same month and day were now observed,
as I said before, wherein the holy house was burnt formerly by the
Babylonians. Now the number of years that passed from its first
foundation, which was laid by king Solomon, till this its destruction,
which happened in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, are
collected to be one thousand one hundred and thirty, besides seven
months and fifteen days; and from the second building of it, which
was done by Haggai, in the second year of Cyrus the king, till its
destruction under Vespasian, there were six hundred and thirty-nine
years and forty-five days.
CHAPTER 5.
The Great Distress The Jews Were In Upon The Conflagration
Of The Holy House. Concerning A False Prophet, And The Signs
That Preceded This Destruction.
1. While the holy house was on fire, every thing was plundered that came
to hand, and ten thousand of those that were caught were slain; nor
was there a commiseration of any age, or any reverence of gravity, but
children, and old men, and profane persons, and priests were all slain
in the same manner; so that this war went round all sorts of men, and
brought them to destruction, and as well those that made supplication
for their lives, as those that defended themselves by fighting. The
flame was also carried a long way, and made an echo, together with the
groans of those that were slain; and because this hill was high, and the
works at the temple were very great, one would have thought the whole
city had been on fire. Nor can one imagine any thing either greater
or more terrible than this noise; for there was at once a shout of the
Roman legions, who were marching all together, and a sad clamor of the
seditious, who were now surrounded with fire and sword. The people also
that were left above were beaten back upon the enemy, and under a great
consternation, and made sad moans at the calamity they were under; the
multitude also that was in the city joined in this outcry with those
that were upon the hill. And besides, many of those that were worn away
by the famine, and their mouths almost closed, when they saw the fire of
the holy house, they exerted their utmost strength, and brake out into
groans and outcries again: Perea 17 did also return the echo, as well
as the mountains round about [the city,] and augmented the force of
the entire noise. Yet was the misery itself more terrible than this
disorder; for one would have thought that the hill itself, on which the
temple stood, was seething hot, as full of fire on every part of it,
that the blood was larger in quantity than the fire, and those that were
slain more in number than those that slew them; for the ground did
no where appear visible, for the dead bodies that lay on it; but the
soldiers went over heaps of those bodies, as they ran upon such as fled
from them. And now it was that the multitude of the robbers were thrust
out [of the inner court of the temple by the Romans,] and had much ado
to get into the outward court, and from thence into the city, while the
remainder of the populace fled into the cloister of that outer court. As
for the priests, some of them plucked up from the holy house the spikes
18 that were upon it, with their bases, which were made of lead, and
shot them at the Romans instead of darts. But then as they gained
nothing by so doing, and as the fire burst out upon them, they retired
to the wall that was eight cubits broad, and there they tarried; yet did
two of these of eminence among them, who might have saved themselves by
going over to the Romans, or have borne up with courage, and taken their
fortune with the others, throw themselves into the fire, and were burnt
together with the holy house; their names were Meirus the son of Belgas,
and Joseph the son of Daleus.
2. And now the Romans, judging that it was in vain to spare what was
round about the holy house, burnt all those places, as also the remains
of the cloisters and the gates, two excepted; the one on the east side,
and the other on the south; both which, however, they burnt afterward.
They also burnt down the treasury chambers, in which was an immense
quantity of money, and an immense number of garments, and other precious
goods there reposited; and, to speak all in a few words, there it was
that the entire riches of the Jews were heaped up together, while
the rich people had there built themselves chambers [to contain such
furniture]. The soldiers also came to the rest of the cloisters that
were in the outer [court of the] temple, whither the women and children,
and a great mixed multitude of the people, fled, in number about six
thousand. But before Caesar had determined any thing about these people,
or given the commanders any orders relating to them, the soldiers were
in such a rage, that they set that cloister on fire; by which means it
came to pass that some of these were destroyed by throwing themselves
down headlong, and some were burnt in the cloisters themselves. Nor
did any one of them escape with his life. A false prophet 19 was
the occasion of these people's destruction, who had made a public
proclamation in the city that very day, that God commanded them to get
upon the temple, and that there they should receive miraculous signs of
their deliverance. Now there was then a great number of false prophets
suborned by the tyrants to impose on the people, who denounced this to
them, that they should wait for deliverance from God; and this was in
order to keep them from deserting, and that they might be buoyed up
above fear and care by such hopes. Now a man that is in adversity does
easily comply with such promises; for when such a seducer makes him
believe that he shall be delivered from those miseries which oppress
him, then it is that the patient is full of hopes of such his
deliverance.
3. Thus were the miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such
as belied God himself; while they did not attend nor give credit to the
signs that were so evident, and did so plainly foretell their future
desolation, but, like men infatuated, without either eyes to see or
minds to consider, did not regard the denunciations that God made to
them. Thus there was a star 20 resembling a sword, which stood over the
city, and a comet, that continued a whole year. Thus also before the
Jews' rebellion, and before those commotions which preceded the war,
when the people were come in great crowds to the feast of unleavened
bread, on the eighth day of the month Xanthicus, 21 [Nisan,] and at the
ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone round the altar and the
holy house, that it appeared to be bright day time; which lasted for
half an hour. This light seemed to be a good sign to the unskillful,
but was so interpreted by the sacred scribes, as to portend those events
that followed immediately upon it. At the same festival also, a heifer,
as she was led by the high priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb
in the midst of the temple. Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner 22
[court of the] temple, which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had
been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and rested upon a basis armed
with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which
was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own
accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now those that kept watch in
the temple came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told
him of it; who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty
was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to
be a very happy prodigy, as if God did thereby open them the gate of
happiness. But the men of learning understood it, that the security of
their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was
opened for the advantage of their enemies. So these publicly declared
that the signal foreshowed the desolation that was coming upon them.
Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth
day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar,] a certain prodigious and incredible
phenomenon appeared: I suppose the account of it would seem to be a
fable, were it not related by those that saw it, and were not the events
that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such signals;
for, before sun-setting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor
were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities.
Moreover, at that feast which we call Pentecost, as the priests were
going by night into the inner [court of the temple,] as their custom
was, to perform their sacred ministrations, they said that, in the first
place, they felt a quaking, and heard a great noise, and after that they
heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, "Let us remove hence."
But, what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the son of
Ananus, a plebeian and a husbandman, who, four years before the
war began, and at a time when the city was in very great peace and
prosperity, came to that feast whereon it is our custom for every one
to make tabernacles to God in the temple, 23 began on a sudden to cry
aloud, "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from
the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice
against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this whole
people!" This was his cry, as he went about by day and by night, in all
the lanes of the city. However, certain of the most eminent among the
populace had great indignation at this dire cry of his, and took up
the man, and gave him a great number of severe stripes; yet did not he
either say any thing for himself, or any thing peculiar to those that
chastised him, but still went on with the same words which he cried
before. Hereupon our rulers, supposing, as the case proved to be, that
this was a sort of divine fury in the man, brought him to the Roman
procurator, where he was whipped till his bones were laid bare; yet
he did not make any supplication for himself, nor shed any tears, but
turning his voice to the most lamentable tone possible, at every stroke
of the whip his answer was, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" And when Albinus
[for he was then our procurator] asked him, Who he was? and whence he
came? and why he uttered such words? he made no manner of reply to what
he said, but still did not leave off his melancholy ditty, till Albinus
took him to be a madman, and dismissed him. Now, during all the time
that passed before the war began, this man did not go near any of
the citizens, nor was seen by them while he said so; but he every day
uttered these lamentable words, as if it were his premeditated vow,
"Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" Nor did he give ill words to any of those that
beat him every day, nor good words to those that gave him food; but this
was his reply to all men, and indeed no other than a melancholy presage
of what was to come. This cry of his was the loudest at the festivals;
and he continued this ditty for seven years and five months, without
growing hoarse, or being tired therewith, until the very time that he
saw his presage in earnest fulfilled in our siege, when it ceased; for
as he was going round upon the wall, he cried out with his utmost force,
"Woe, woe to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!"
And just as he added at the last, "Woe, woe to myself also!" there
came a stone out of one of the engines, and smote him, and killed him
immediately; and as he was uttering the very same presages he gave up
the ghost.
4. Now if any one consider these things, he will find that God takes
care of mankind, and by all ways possible foreshows to our race what is
for their preservation; but that men perish by those miseries which
they madly and voluntarily bring upon themselves; for the Jews, by
demolishing the tower of Antonia, had made their temple four-square,
while at the same time they had it written in their sacred oracles,
"That then should their city be taken, as well as their holy house, when
once their temple should become four-square." But now, what did the most
elevate them in undertaking this war, was an ambiguous oracle that was
also found in their sacred writings, how, "about that time, one from
their country should become governor of the habitable earth." The Jews
took this prediction to belong to themselves in particular, and many
of the wise men were thereby deceived in their determination. Now this
oracle certainly denoted the government of Vespasian, who was appointed
emperor in Judea. However, it is not possible for men to avoid fate,
although they see it beforehand. But these men interpreted some of these
signals according to their own pleasure, and some of them they utterly
despised, until their madness was demonstrated, both by the taking of
their city and their own destruction.
CHAPTER 6.
How The Romans Carried Their Ensigns To The Temple, And Made
Joyful Acclamations To Titus. The Speech That Titus Made To
The Jews When They Made Supplication For Mercy. What Reply
They Made Thereto; And How That Reply Moved Titus's
Indignation Against Them.
1. And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city,
and upon the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings
round about it, brought their ensigns to the temple 24 and set them over
against its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to
them, and there did they make Titus imperator 25 with the greatest
acclamations of joy. And now all the soldiers had such vast quantities
of the spoils which they had gotten by plunder, that in Syria a pound
weight of gold was sold for half its former value. But as for those
priests that kept themselves still upon the wall of the holy house,26
there was a boy that, out of the thirst he was in, desired some of the
Roman guards to give him their right hands as a security for his life,
and confessed he was very thirsty. These guards commiserated his age,
and the distress he was in, and gave him their right hands accordingly.
So he came down himself, and drank some water, and filled the vessel
he had with him when he came to them with water, and then went off, and
fled away to his own friends; nor could any of those guards overtake
him; but still they reproached him for his perfidiousness. To which he
made this answer: "I have not broken the agreement; for the security I
had given me was not in order to my staying with you, but only in order
to my coming down safely, and taking up some water; both which things I
have performed, and thereupon think myself to have been faithful to my
engagement." Hereupon those whom the child had imposed upon admired at
his cunning, and that on account of his age. On the fifth day afterward,
the priests that were pined with the famine came down, and when they
were brought to Titus by the guards, they begged for their lives; but he
replied, that the time of pardon was over as to them, and that this
very holy house, on whose account only they could justly hope to be
preserved, was destroyed; and that it was agreeable to their office that
priests should perish with the house itself to which they belonged. So
he ordered them to be put to death.
2. But as for the tyrants themselves, and those that were with them,
when they found that they were encompassed on every side, and, as it
were, walled round, without any method of escaping, they desired to
treat with Titus by word of mouth. Accordingly, such was the kindness
of his nature, and his desire of preserving the city from destruction,
joined to the advice of his friends, who now thought the robbers were
come to a temper, that he placed himself on the western side of the
outer [court of the] temple; for there were gates on that side above the
Xystus, and a bridge that connected the upper city to the temple. This
bridge it was that lay between the tyrants and Caesar, and parted them;
while the multitude stood on each side; those of the Jewish nation
about Sinran and John, with great hopes of pardon; and the Romans about
Caesar, in great expectation how Titus would receive their supplication.
So Titus charged his soldiers to restrain their rage, and to let their
darts alone, and appointed an interpreter between them, which was a sign
that he was the conqueror, and first began the discourse, and said, "I
hope you, sirs, are now satiated with the miseries of your country, who
have not had any just notions, either of our great power, or of your own
great weakness, but have, like madmen, after a violent and inconsiderate
manner, made such attempts, as have brought your people, your city, and
your holy house to destruction. You have been the men that have never
left off rebelling since Pompey first conquered you, and have, since
that time, made open war with the Romans. Have you depended on your
multitude, while a very small part of the Roman soldiery have been
strong enough for you? Have you relied on the fidelity of your
confederates? And what nations are there, out of the limits of our
dominion, that would choose to assist the Jews before the Romans? Are
your bodies stronger than ours? nay, you know that the [strong] Germans
themselves are our servants. Have you stronger walls than we have? Pray,
what greater obstacle is there than the wall of the ocean, with which
the Britons are encompassed, and yet do adore the arms of the Romans.
Do you exceed us in courage of soul, and in the sagacity of your
commanders? Nay, indeed, you cannot but know that the very Carthaginians
have been conquered by us. It can therefore be nothing certainly but
the kindness of us Romans which hath excited you against us; who, in
the first place, have given you this land to possess; and, in the next
place, have set over you kings of your own nation; and, in the third
place, have preserved the laws of your forefathers to you, and have
withal permitted you to live, either by yourselves, or among others, as
it should please you: and, what is our chief favor of all we have given
you leave to gather up that tribute which is paid to God 27 with such
other gifts that are dedicated to him; nor have we called those that
carried these donations to account, nor prohibited them; till at length
you became richer than we ourselves, even when you were our enemies; and
you made preparations for war against us with our own money; nay, after
all, when you were in the enjoyment of all these advantages, you
turned your too great plenty against those that gave it you, and, like
merciless serpents, have thrown out your poison against those that
treated you kindly. I suppose, therefore, that you might despise the
slothfulness of Nero, and, like limbs of the body that are broken or
dislocated, you did then lie quiet, waiting for some other time, though
still with a malicious intention, and have now showed your distemper
to be greater than ever, and have extended your desires as far as your
impudent and immense hopes would enable you to do it. At this time my
father came into this country, not with a design to punish you for what
you had done under Cestius, but to admonish you; for had he come to
overthrow your nation, he had run directly to your fountain-head, and
had immediately laid this city waste; whereas he went and burnt Galilee
and the neighboring parts, and thereby gave you time for repentance;
which instance of humanity you took for an argument of his weakness, and
nourished up your impudence by our mildness. When Nero was gone out
of the world, you did as the wickedest wretches would have done, and
encouraged yourselves to act against us by our civil dissensions, and
abused that time, when both I and my father were gone away to Egypt,
to make preparations for this war. Nor were you ashamed to raise
disturbances against us when we were made emperors, and this while you
had experienced how mild we had been, when we were no more than generals
of the army. But when the government was devolved upon us, and all other
people did thereupon lie quiet, and even foreign nations sent embassies,
and congratulated our access to the government, then did you Jews show
yourselves to be our enemies. You sent embassies to those of your nation
that are beyond Euphrates to assist you in your raising disturbances;
new walls were built by you round your city, seditions arose, and one
tyrant contended against another, and a civil war broke out among you;
such indeed as became none but so wicked a people as you are. I then
came to this city, as unwillingly sent by my father, and received
melancholy injunctions from him. When I heard that the people were
disposed to peace, I rejoiced at it; I exhorted you to leave off these
proceedings before I began this war; I spared you even when you had
fought against me a great while; I gave my right hand as security to the
deserters; I observed what I had promised faithfully. When they fled
to me, I had compassion on many of those that I had taken captive; I
tortured those that were eager for war, in order to restrain them. It
was unwillingly that I brought my engines of war against your walls; I
always prohibited my soldiers, when they were set upon your slaughter,
from their severity against you. After every victory I persuaded you
to peace, as though I had been myself conquered. When I came near your
temple, I again departed from the laws of war, and exhorted you to spare
your own sanctuary, and to preserve your holy house to yourselves. I
allowed you a quiet exit out of it, and security for your preservation;
nay, if you had a mind, I gave you leave to fight in another place. Yet
have you still despised every one of my proposals, and have set fire
to your holy house with your own hands. And now, vile wretches, do you
desire to treat with me by word of mouth? To what purpose is it that you
would save such a holy house as this was, which is now destroyed? What
preservation can you now desire after the destruction of your temple?
Yet do you stand still at this very time in your armor; nor can you
bring yourselves so much as to pretend to be supplicants even in this
your utmost extremity. O miserable creatures! what is it you depend on?
Are not your people dead? is not your holy house gone? is not your city
in my power? and are not your own very lives in my hands? And do you
still deem it a part of valor to die? However, I will not imitate your
madness. If you throw down your arms, and deliver up your bodies to me,
I grant you your lives; and I will act like a mild master of a family;
what cannot be healed shall be punished, and the rest I will preserve
for my own use."
3. To that offer of Titus they made this reply: That they could not
accept of it, because they had sworn never to do so; but they desired
they might have leave to go through the wall that had been made about
them, with their wives and children; for that they would go into the
desert, and leave the city to him. At this Titus had great indignation,
that when they were in the case of men already taken captives, they
should pretend to make their own terms with him, as if they had been
conquerors. So he ordered this proclamation to be made to them, That
they should no more come out to him as deserters, nor hope for any
further security; for that he would henceforth spare nobody, but fight
them with his whole army; and that they must save themselves as well as
they could; for that he would from henceforth treat them according to
the laws of war. So he gave orders to the soldiers both to burn and to
plunder the city; who did nothing indeed that day; but on the next
day they set fire to the repository of the archives, to Acra, to the
council-house, and to the place called Ophlas; at which time the fire
proceeded as far as the palace of queen Helena, which was in the middle
of Acra; the lanes also were burnt down, as were also those houses that
were full of the dead bodies of such as were destroyed by famine.
4. On the same day it was that the sons and brethren of Izates the
king, together with many others of the eminent men of the populace,
got together there, and besought Caesar to give them his right hand for
their security; upon which, though he was very angry at all that were
now remaining, yet did he not lay aside his old moderation, but received
these men. At that time, indeed, he kept them all in custody, but still
bound the king's sons and kinsmen, and led them with him to Rome, in
order to make them hostages for their country's fidelity to the Romans.
CHAPTER 7.
What Afterward Befell The Seditious When They Had Done A
Great Deal Of Mischief, And Suffered Many Misfortunes; As
Also How Caesar Became Master Of The Upper City.
1. And now the seditious rushed into the royal palace, into which many
had put their effects, because it was so strong, and drove the Romans
away from it. They also slew all the people that had crowded into it,
who were in number about eight thousand four hundred, and plundered them
of what they had. They also took two of the Romans alive; the one was
a horseman, and the other a footman. They then cut the throat of the
footman, and immediately had him drawn through the whole city, as
revenging themselves upon the whole body of the Romans by this one
instance. But the horseman said he had somewhat to suggest to them in
order to their preservation; whereupon he was brought before Simon; but
he having nothing to say when he was there, he was delivered to Ardalas,
one of his commanders, to be punished, who bound his hands behind him,
and put a riband over his eyes, and then brought him out over against
the Romans, as intending to cut off his head. But the man prevented
that execution, and ran away to the Romans, and this while the Jewish
executioner was drawing out his sword. Now when he was gotten away from
the enemy, Titus could not think of putting him to death; but because he
deemed him unworthy of being a Roman soldier any longer, on account that
he had been taken alive by the enemy, he took away his arms, and ejected
him out of the legion whereto he had belonged; which, to one that had a
sense of shame, was a penalty severer than death itself.
2. On the next day the Romans drove the robbers out of the lower city,
and set all on fire as far as Siloam. These soldiers were indeed glad
to see the city destroyed. But they missed the plunder, because the
seditious had carried off all their effects, and were retired into the
upper city; for they did not yet at all repent of the mischiefs they had
done, but were insolent, as if they had done well; for, as they saw the
city on fire, they appeared cheerful, and put on joyful countenances, in
expectation, as they said, of death to end their miseries. Accordingly,
as the people were now slain, the holy house was burnt down, and the
city was on fire, there was nothing further left for the enemy to do.
Yet did not Josephus grow weary, even in this utmost extremity, to beg
of them to spare what was left of the city; he spake largely to them
about their barbarity and impiety, and gave them his advice in order to
their escape; though he gained nothing thereby more than to be laughed
at by them; and as they could not think of surrendering themselves up,
because of the oath they had taken, nor were strong enough to fight with
the Romans any longer upon the square, as being surrounded on all sides,
and a kind of prisoners already, yet were they so accustomed to kill
people, that they could not restrain their right hands from acting
accordingly. So they dispersed themselves before the city, and laid
themselves in ambush among its ruins, to catch those that attempted to
desert to the Romans; accordingly many such deserters were caught by
them, and were all slain; for these were too weak, by reason of their
want of food, to fly away from them; so their dead bodies were thrown to
the dogs. Now every other sort of death was thought more tolerable than
the famine, insomuch that, though the Jews despaired now of mercy, yet
would they fly to the Romans, and would themselves, even of their own
accord, fall among the murderous rebels also. Nor was there any place
in the city that had no dead bodies in it, but what was entirely covered
with those that were killed either by the famine or the rebellion; and
all was full of the dead bodies of such as had perished, either by that
sedition or by that famine.
3. So now the last hope which supported the tyrants, and that crew of
robbers who were with them, was in the caves and caverns under ground;
whither, if they could once fly, they did not expect to be searched for;
but endeavored, that after the whole city should be destroyed, and the
Romans gone away, they might come out again, and escape from them. This
was no better than a dream of theirs; for they were not able to lie
hid either from God or from the Romans. However, they depended on these
under-ground subterfuges, and set more places on fire than did the
Romans themselves; and those that fled out of their houses thus set
on fire into the ditches, they killed without mercy, and pillaged them
also; and if they discovered food belonging to any one, they seized upon
it and swallowed it down, together with their blood also; nay, they were
now come to fight one with another about their plunder; and I cannot
but think that, had not their destruction prevented it, their barbarity
would have made them taste of even the dead bodies themselves.
CHAPTER 8.
How Caesar Raised Banks Round About The Upper City [Mount
Zion] And When They Were Completed, Gave Orders That The
Machines Should Be Brought. He Then Possessed Himself Of The
Whole City.
1. Now when Caesar perceived that the upper city was so steep that
it could not possibly be taken without raising banks against it, he
distributed the several parts of that work among his army, and this
on the twentieth day of the month Lous [Ab]. Now the carriage of the
materials was a difficult task, since all the trees, as I have already
told you, that were about the city, within the distance of a hundred
furlongs, had their branches cut off already, in order to make the
former banks. The works that belonged to the four legions were erected
on the west side of the city, over against the royal palace; but the
whole body of the auxiliary troops, with the rest of the multitude that
were with them, [erected their banks] at the Xystus, whence they reached
to the bridge, and that tower of Simon which he had built as a citadel
for himself against John, when they were at war one with another.
2. It was at this time that the commanders of the Idumeans got together
privately, and took counsel about surrendering up themselves to the
Romans. Accordingly, they sent five men to Titus, and entreated him to
give them his right hand for their security. So Titus thinking that the
tyrants would yield, if the Idumeans, upon whom a great part of the
war depended, were once withdrawn from them, after some reluctancy and
delay, complied with them, and gave them security for their lives, and
sent the five men back. But as these Idumeans were preparing to march
out, Simon perceived it, and immediately slew the five men that had gone
to Titus, and took their commanders, and put them in prison, of whom the
most eminent was Jacob, the son of Sosas; but as for the multitude of
the Idumeans, who did not at all know what to do, now their commanders
were taken from them, he had them watched, and secured the walls by a
more numerous garrison, Yet could not that garrison resist those that
were deserting; for although a great number of them were slain, yet were
the deserters many more in number. They were all received by the Romans,
because Titus himself grew negligent as to his former orders for killing
them, and because the very soldiers grew weary of killing them, and
because they hoped to get some money by sparing them; for they left only
the populace, and sold the rest of the multitude, 28 with their wives
and children, and every one of them at a very low price, and that
because such as were sold were very many, and the buyers were few: and
although Titus had made proclamation beforehand, that no deserter should
come alone by himself, that so they might bring out their families with
them, yet did he receive such as these also. However, he set over them
such as were to distinguish some from others, in order to see if any of
them deserved to be punished. And indeed the number of those that were
sold was immense; but of the populace above forty thousand were saved,
whom Caesar let go whither every one of them pleased.
3. But now at this time it was that one of the priests, the son of
Thebuthus, whose name was Jesus, upon his having security given him, by
the oath of Caesar, that he should be preserved, upon condition that
he should deliver to him certain of the precious things that had been
reposited in the temple 29 came out of it, and delivered him from the
wall of the holy house two candlesticks, like to those that lay in the
holy house, with tables, and cisterns, and vials, all made of solid
gold, and very heavy. He also delivered to him the veils and the
garments, with the precious stones, and a great number of other precious
vessels that belonged to their sacred worship. The treasurer of the
temple also, whose name was Phineas, was seized on, and showed Titus the
coats and girdles of the priests, with a great quantity of purple and
scarlet, which were there reposited for the uses of the veil, as also a
great deal of cinnamon and cassia, with a large quantity of other sweet
spices, 30 which used to be mixed together, and offered as incense to
God every day. A great many other treasures were also delivered to
him, with sacred ornaments of the temple not a few; which things thus
delivered to Titus obtained of him for this man the same pardon that he
had allowed to such as deserted of their own accord.
4. And now were the banks finished on the seventh day of the month
Gorpieus, [Elul,] in eighteen days' time, when the Romans brought their
machines against the wall. But for the seditious, some of them, as
despairing of saving the city, retired from the wall to the citadel;
others of them went down into the subterranean vaults, though still a
great many of them defended themselves against those that brought the
engines for the battery; yet did the Romans overcome them by their
number and by their strength; and, what was the principal thing of
all, by going cheerfully about their work, while the Jews were quite
dejected, and become weak. Now as soon as a part of the wall was
battered down, and certain of the towers yielded to the impression of
the battering rams, those that opposed themselves fled away, and such
a terror fell upon the tyrants, as was much greater than the occasion
required; for before the enemy got over the breach they were quite
stunned, and were immediately for flying away. And now one might see
these men, who had hitherto been so insolent and arrogant in their
wicked practices, to be cast down and to tremble, insomuch that it
would pity one's heart to observe the change that was made in those vile
persons. Accordingly, they ran with great violence upon the Roman wall
that encompassed them, in order to force away those that guarded it, and
to break through it, and get away. But when they saw that those who had
formerly been faithful to them had gone away, [as indeed they were fled
whithersoever the great distress they were in persuaded them to flee,]
as also when those that came running before the rest told them that the
western wall was entirely overthrown, while others said the Romans were
gotten in, and others that they were near, and looking out for them,
which were only the dictates of their fear, which imposed upon their
sight, they fell upon their face, and greatly lamented their own mad
conduct; and their nerves were so terribly loosed, that they could
not flee away. And here one may chiefly reflect on the power of God
exercised upon these wicked wretches, and on the good fortune of the
Romans; for these tyrants did now wholly deprive themselves of the
security they had in their own power, and came down from those very
towers of their own accord, wherein they could have never been taken
by force, nor indeed by any other way than by famine. And thus did the
Romans, when they had taken such great pains about weaker walls, get
by good fortune what they could never have gotten by their engines;
for three of these towers were too strong for all mechanical engines
whatsoever, concerning which we have treated above.
5. So they now left these towers of themselves, or rather they were
ejected out of them by God himself, and fled immediately to that valley
which was under Siloam, where they again recovered themselves out of the
dread they were in for a while, and ran violently against that part of
the Roman wall which lay on that side; but as their courage was too much
depressed to make their attacks with sufficient force, and their power
was now broken with fear and affliction, they were repulsed by the
guards, and dispersing themselves at distances from each other, went
down into the subterranean caverns. So the Romans being now become
masters of the walls, they both placed their ensigns upon the towers,
and made joyful acclamations for the victory they had gained, as having
found the end of this war much lighter than its beginning; for when they
had gotten upon the last wall, without any bloodshed, they could hardly
believe what they found to be true; but seeing nobody to oppose them,
they stood in doubt what such an unusual solitude could mean. But when
they went in numbers into the lanes of the city with their swords drawn,
they slew those whom they overtook without and set fire to the houses
whither the Jews were fled, and burnt every soul in them, and laid
waste a great many of the rest; and when they were come to the houses
to plunder them, they found in them entire families of dead men, and
the upper rooms full of dead corpses, that is, of such as died by the
famine; they then stood in a horror at this sight, and went out without
touching any thing. But although they had this commiseration for such as
were destroyed in that manner, yet had they not the same for those that
were still alive, but they ran every one through whom they met with,
and obstructed the very lanes with their dead bodies, and made the whole
city run down with blood, to such a degree indeed that the fire of
many of the houses was quenched with these men's blood. And truly so it
happened, that though the slayers left off at the evening, yet did the
fire greatly prevail in the night; and as all was burning, came that
eighth day of the month Gorpieus [Elul] upon Jerusalem, a city that had
been liable to so many miseries during this siege, that, had it always
enjoyed as much happiness from its first foundation, it would certainly
have been the envy of the world. Nor did it on any other account so much
deserve these sore misfortunes, as by producing such a generation of men
as were the occasions of this its overthrow.
CHAPTER 9.
What Injunctions Caesar Gave When He Was Come Within The
City. The Number Of The Captives And Of Those That Perished
In The Siege; As Also Concerning Those That Had Escaped Into
The Subterranean Caverns, Among Whom Were The Tyrants Simon
And John Themselves.
1. Now when Titus was come into this [upper] city, he admired not only
some other places of strength in it, but particularly those strong
towers which the tyrants in their mad conduct had relinquished; for when
he saw their solid altitude, and the largeness of their several stones,
and the exactness of their joints, as also how great was their breadth,
and how extensive their length, he expressed himself after the manner
following: "We have certainly had God for our assistant in this war,
and it was no other than God who ejected the Jews out of these
fortifications; for what could the hands of men or any machines do
towards overthrowing these towers?" At which time he had many such
discourses to his friends; he also let such go free as had been bound by
the tyrants, and were left in the prisons. To conclude, when he entirely
demolished the rest of the city, and overthrew its walls, he left
these towers as a monument of his good fortune, which had proved his
auxiliaries, and enabled him to take what could not otherwise have been
taken by him.
2. And now, since his soldiers were already quite tired with killing
men, and yet there appeared to be a vast multitude still remaining
alive, Caesar gave orders that they should kill none but those that were
in arms, and opposed them, but should take the rest alive. But, together
with those whom they had orders to slay, they slew the aged and the
infirm; but for those that were in their flourishing age, and who might
be useful to them, they drove them together into the temple, and shut
them up within the walls of the court of the women; over which Caesar
set one of his freed-men, as also Fronto, one of his own friends; which
last was to determine every one's fate, according to his merits. So
this Fronto slew all those that had been seditious and robbers, who were
impeached one by another; but of the young men he chose out the tallest
and most beautiful, and reserved them for the triumph; and as for the
rest of the multitude that were above seventeen years old, he put them
into bonds, and sent them to the Egyptian mines. 31 Titus also sent a
great number into the provinces, as a present to them, that they might
be destroyed upon their theatres, by the sword and by the wild beasts;
but those that were under seventeen years of age were sold for slaves.
Now during the days wherein Fronto was distinguishing these men, there
perished, for want of food, eleven thousand; some of whom did not taste
any food, through the hatred their guards bore to them; and others would
not take in any when it was given them. The multitude also was so very
great, that they were in want even of corn for their sustenance.
3. Now the number 32 of those that were carried captive during this
whole war was collected to be ninety-seven thousand; as was the number
of those that perished during the whole siege eleven hundred thousand,
the greater part of whom were indeed of the same nation [with the
citizens of Jerusalem], but not belonging to the city itself; for they
were come up from all the country to the feast of unleavened bread,
and were on a sudden shut up by an army, which, at the very first,
occasioned so great a straitness among them, that there came a
pestilential destruction upon them, and soon afterward such a famine, as
destroyed them more suddenly. And that this city could contain so many
people in it, is manifest by that number of them which was taken under
Cestius, who being desirous of informing Nero of the power of the city,
who otherwise was disposed to contemn that nation, entreated the high
priests, if the thing were possible, to take the number of their whole
multitude. So these high priests, upon the coming of that feast which
is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the ninth
hour till the eleventh, but so that a company not less than ten 33
belong to every sacrifice, [for it is not lawful for them to feast
singly by themselves,] and many of us are twenty in a company, found
the number of sacrifices was two hundred and fifty-six thousand five
hundred; which, upon the allowance of no more than ten that feast
together, amounts to two millions seven hundred thousand and two hundred
persons that were pure and holy; for as to those that have the leprosy,
or the gonorrhea, or women that have their monthly courses, or such as
are otherwise polluted, it is not lawful for them to be partakers of
this sacrifice; nor indeed for any foreigners neither, who come hither
to worship.
4. Now this vast multitude is indeed collected out of remote places, but
the entire nation was now shut up by fate as in prison, and the
Roman army encompassed the city when it was crowded with inhabitants.
Accordingly, the multitude of those that therein perished exceeded all
the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the world;
for, to speak only of what was publicly known, the Romans slew some
of them, some they carried captives, and others they made a search for
under ground, and when they found where they were, they broke up the
ground and slew all they met with. There were also found slain there
above two thousand persons, partly by their own hands, and partly by one
another, but chiefly destroyed by the famine; but then the ill savor
of the dead bodies was most offensive to those that lighted upon them,
insomuch that some were obliged to get away immediately, while others
were so greedy of gain, that they would go in among the dead bodies
that lay on heaps, and tread upon them; for a great deal of treasure was
found in these caverns, and the hope of gain made every way of getting
it to be esteemed lawful. Many also of those that had been put in prison
by the tyrants were now brought out; for they did not leave off their
barbarous cruelty at the very last: yet did God avenge himself upon them
both, in a manner agreeable to justice. As for John, he wanted food,
together with his brethren, in these caverns, and begged that the Romans
would now give him their right hand for his security, which he had
often proudly rejected before; but for Simon, he struggled hard with
the distress he was in, still he was forced to surrender himself, as we
shall relate hereafter; so he was reserved for the triumph, and to be
then slain; as was John condemned to perpetual imprisonment. And now the
Romans set fire to the extreme parts of the city, and burnt them down,
and entirely demolished its walls.
CHAPTER 10.
That Whereas The City Of Jerusalem Had Been Five Times Taken
Formerly, This Was The Second Time Of Its Desolation. A
Brief Account Of Its History.
1. And thus was Jerusalem taken, in the second year of the reign of
Vespasian, on the eighth day of the month Gorpeius [Elul]. It had been
taken five 34 times before, though this was the second time of its
desolation; for Shishak, the king of Egypt, and after him Antiochus, and
after him Pompey, and after them Sosius and Herod, took the city, but
still preserved it; but before all these, the king of Babylon conquered
it, and made it desolate, one thousand four hundred and sixty-eight
years and six months after it was built. But he who first built it was
a potent man among the Canaanites, and is in our own tongue called
[Melchisedek], the Righteous King, for such he really was; on which
account he was [there] the first priest of God, and first built a temple
[there], 35 and called the city Jerusalem, which was formerly called
Salem. However, David, the king of the Jews, ejected the Canaanites,
and settled his own people therein. It was demolished entirely by the
Babylonians, four hundred and seventy-seven years and six months after
him. And from king David, who was the first of the Jews who reigned
therein, to this destruction under Titus, were one thousand one hundred
and seventy-nine years; but from its first building, till this last
destruction, were two thousand one hundred and seventy-seven years; yet
hath not its great antiquity, nor its vast riches, nor the diffusion
of its nation over all the habitable earth, nor the greatness of
the veneration paid to it on a religious account, been sufficient to
preserve it from being destroyed. And thus ended the siege of Jerusalem.
WAR BOOK 6 FOOTNOTES
1 (return) [ Reland notes here, very pertinently, that the tower of
Antonia stood higher than the floor of the temple or court adjoining
to it; and that accordingly they descended thence into the temple, as
Josephus elsewhere speaks also. See Book VI. ch. 2. sect. 5.]
2 (return) [ In this speech of Titus we may clearly see the notions
which the Romans then had of death, and of the happy state of those who
died bravely in war, and the contrary estate of those who died ignobly
in their beds by sickness. Reland here also produces two parallel
passages, the one out of Atonia Janus Marcellinus, concerning the Alani,
lib. 31, that "they judged that man happy who laid down his life in
battle;" the other of Valerius Maximus, lib. 11. ch. 6, who says, "that
the Cimbri and Celtiberi exulted for joy in the army, as being to go out
of the world gloriously and happily."]
3 (return) [ See the note on p. 809.]
4 (return) [ No wonder that this Julian, who had so many nails in his
shoes, slipped upon the pavement of the temple, which was smooth, and
laid with marble of different colors.]
5 (return) [ This was a remarkable day indeed, the seventeenth of
Panemuns. [Footnote Tamuz,] A.D. 70, when, according to Daniel's
prediction, six hundred and six years before, the Romans "in half a week
caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease," Daniel 9:27. For from the
month of February, A.D. 66, about which time Vespasian entered on this
war, to this very time, was just three years and a half. See Bishop
Lloyd's Tables of Chronology, published by Mr. Marshall, on this year.
Nor is it to be omitted, what year nearly confirms this duration of the
war, that four years before the war begun was somewhat above seven years
five months before the destruction of Jerusalem, ch. 5. sect. 3.]
6 (return) [ The same that in the New Testament is always so called, and
was then the common language of the Jews in Judea, which was the Syriac
dialect.]
7 (return) [ Our present copies of the Old Testament want this encomium
upon king Jechoniah or Jehoiachim, which it seems was in Josephus's
copy.]
8 (return) [ Of this oracle, see the note on B. IV. ch. 6. sect. 3.
Josephus, both here and in many places elsewhere, speaks so, that it is
most evident he was fully satisfied that God was on the Romans' side,
and made use of them now for the destruction of that wicked nation of
the Jews; which was for certain the true state of this matter, as the
prophet Daniel first, and our Savior himself afterwards, had clearly
foretold. See Lit. Accompl. of Proph. p. 64, etc.]
9 (return) [ Josephus had before told us, B. V. ch. 13. sect. 1, that
this fourth son of Matthias ran away to the Romans "before" his father's
and brethren's slaughter, and not "after" it, as here. The former
account is, in all probability, the truest; for had not that fourth
son escaped before the others were caught and put to death, he had been
caught and put to death with them. This last account, therefore, looks
like an instance of a small inadvertence of Josephus in the place before
us.]
10 (return) [ Of this partition-wall separating Jews and Gentiles, with
its pillars and inscription, see the description of the temples, ch.
15.]
11 (return) [ That these seditious Jews were the direct occasions
of their own destruction, and of the conflagration of their city and
temple, and that Titus earnestly and constantly labored to save both, is
here and every where most evident in Josephus.]
12 (return) [ Court of the Gentiles.]
13 (return) [ Court of Israel.]
14 (return) [ Of the court of the Gentiles.]
15 (return) [ What Josephus observes here, that no parallel examples
had been recorded before this time of such sieges, wherein mothers were
forced by extremity of famine to eat their own children, as had been
threatened to the Jews in the law of Moses, upon obstinate disobedience,
and more than once fulfilled, [see my Boyle's Lectures, p. 210-214,]
is by Dr. Hudson supposed to have had two or three parallel examples in
later ages. He might have had more examples, I suppose, of persons on
ship-board, or in a desert island, casting lots for each others' bodies;
but all this was only in cases where they knew of no possible way to
avoid death themselves but by killing and eating others. Whether such
examples come up to the present case may be doubted. The Romans were not
only willing, but very desirous, to grant those Jews in Jerusalem both
their lives and their liberties, and to save both their city and their
temple. But the zealots, the robbers, and the seditious would hearken to
no terms of submission. They voluntarily chose to reduce the citizens to
that extremity, as to force mothers to this unnatural barbarity, which,
in all its circumstances, has not, I still suppose, been hitherto
paralleled among the rest of mankind.]
16 (return) [ These steps to the altar of burnt-offering seem here
either an improper and inaccurate expression of Josephus, since it was
unlawful to make ladder steps; [see description of the temples, ch. 13.,
and note on Antiq. B. IV. ch. 8. sect. 5;] or else those steps or stairs
we now use were invented before the days of Herod the Great, and had
been here built by him; though the later Jews always deny it, and say
that even Herod's altar was ascended to by an acclivity only.]
17 (return) [ This Perea, if the word be not mistaken in the copies,
cannot well be that Perea which was beyond Jordan, whose mountains
were at a considerable distance from Jordan, and much too remote from
Jerusalem to join in this echo at the conflagration of the temple; but
Perea must be rather some mountains beyond the brook Cedron, as was the
Mount of Olives, or some others about such a distance from Jerusalem;
which observation is so obvious, that it is a wonder our commentators
here take no notice of it.]
18 (return) [ Reland I think here judges well, when he interprets these
spikes [Footnote of those that stood on the top of the holy house]
with sharp points; they were fixed into lead, to prevent the birds from
sitting there, and defiling the holy house; for such spikes there were
now upon it, as Josephus himself hath already assured us, B. V. ch. 5.
sect. 6.]
19 (return) [ Reland here takes notice, that these Jews, who had
despised the true Prophet, were deservedly abused and deluded by these
false ones.]
20 (return) [ Whether Josephus means that this star was different from
that comet which lasted a whole year, I cannot certainly determine. His
words most favor their being different one from another.]
21 (return) [ Since Josephus still uses the Syro-Macedonian month
Xanthicus for the Jewish month Nisan, this eighth, or, as Nicephorus
reads it, this ninth of Xanthicus or Nisan was almost a week before the
passover, on the fourteenth; about which time we learn from St.
John that many used to go "out of the country to Jerusalem to purify
themselves," John 11:55, with 12:1; in agreement with Josephus also, B.
V. ch. 3. sect. 1. And it might well be, that in the sight of these this
extraordinary light might appear.]
22 (return) [ This here seems to be the court of the priests.]
23 (return) [ Both Reland and Havercamp in this place alter the natural
punctuation and sense of Josephus, and this contrary to the opinion of
Valesilus and Dr. Hudson, lest Josephus should say that the Jews built
booths or tents within the temple at the feast of tabernacles; which
the later Rabbins will not allow to have been the ancient practice: but
then, since it is expressly told us in Nehemiah, ch. 8:16, that in still
elder times "the Jews made booths in the courts of the house of God"
at that festival, Josephus may well be permitted to say the same.
And indeed the modern Rabbins are of very small authority in all such
matters of remote antiquity.]
24 (return) [ Take Havercamp's note here: "This [says he] is a
remarkable place; and Tertullian truly says in his Apologetic, ch. 16.
p. 162, that the entire religion of the Roman camp almost consisted in
worshipping the ensigns, in swearing by the ensigns, and in preferring
the ensigns before all the [other] gods." See what Havercamp says upon
that place of Tertullian.]
25 (return) [ This declaring Titus imperator by the soldiers, upon such
signal success, and the slaughter of such a vast number of enemies, was
according to the usual practice of the Romans in like cases, as Reland
assures us on this place.]
26 (return) [ The Jews of later times agree with Josephus, that there
were hiding-places or secret chambers about the holy house, as Reland
here informs us, where he thinks he has found these very walls described
by them.]
27 (return) [ Spanheim notes here, that the Romans used to permit the
Jews to collect their sacred tribute, and send it to Jerusalem; of which
we have had abundant evidence in Josephus already on other occasions.]
28 (return) [ This innumerable multitude of Jews that were "sold" by the
Romans was an eminent completion of God's ancient threatening by Moses,
that if they apostatized from the obedience to his laws, they should
be "sold unto their enemies for bond-men and bond-women," Deuteronomy
28;68. See more especially the note on ch. 9. sect. 2. But one thing
is here peculiarly remarkable, that Moses adds, Though they should be
"sold" for slaves, yet "no man should buy them;" i.e. either they should
have none to redeem them from this sale into slavery; or rather, that
the slaves to be sold should be more than were the purchasers for them,
and so they should be sold for little or nothing; which is what Josephus
here affirms to have been the case at this time.]
29 (return) [ What became of these spoils of the temple that escaped the
fire, see Josephus himself hereafter, B. VII. ch. 5. sect. 5, and Reland
de Spoliis Templi, p. 129-138.]
30 (return) [ These various sorts of spices, even more than those four
which Moses prescribed, Exodus 31:34, we see were used in their public
worship under Herod's temple, particularly cinnamon and cassia; which
Reland takes particular notice of, as agreeing with the latter testimony
of the Talmudists.]
31 (return) [ See the several predictions that the Jews, if they became
obstinate in their idolatry and wickedness, should be sent again or sold
into Egypt for their punishment, Deuteronomy 28:68; Jeremiah 44:7; Hosea
8:13; 9:3; 9:4, 5; 2 Samuel 15:10-13; with Authentic Records, Part I. p.
49, 121; and Reland Painest And, tom. II. p. 715.]
32 (return) [ The whole multitude of the Jews that were destroyed during
the entire seven years before this time, in all the countries of and
bordering on Judea, is summed up by Archbishop Usher, from Lipsius, out
of Josephus, at the year of Christ 70, and amounts to 1,337,490. Nor
could there have been that number of Jews in Jerusalem to be destroyed
in this siege, as will be presently set down by Josephus, but that both
Jews and proselytes of justice were just then come up out of the other
countries of Galilee, Samaria, Judea, and Perea and other remoter
regions, to the passover, in vast numbers, and therein cooped up, as in
a prison, by the Roman army, as Josephus himself well observes in this
and the next section, and as is exactly related elsewhere, B. V. ch. 3.
sect. 1 and ch. 13. sect. 7.]
33 (return) [ This number of a company for one paschal lamb, between
ten and twenty, agrees exactly with the number thirteen, at our Savior's
last passover. As to the whole number of the Jews that used to come up
to the passover, and eat of it at Jerusalem, see the note on B. II.
ch. 14. sect. 3. This number ought to be here indeed just ten times the
number of the lambs, or just 2,565,000, by Josephus's own reasoning;
whereas it is, in his present copies, no less than 2,700,000, which last
number is, however, nearest the other number in the place now cited,
which is 3,000,000. But what is here chiefly remarkable is this, that no
foreign nation ever came thus to destroy the Jews at any of their solemn
festivals, from the days of Moses till this time, but came now upon
their apostasy from God, and from obedience to him. Nor is it possible,
in the nature of things, that in any other nation such vast numbers
should be gotten together, and perish in the siege of any one city
whatsoever, as now happened in Jerusalem.]
34 (return) [ This is the proper place for such as have closely
attended to these latter books of the War to peruse, and that with equal
attention, those distinct and plain predictions of Jesus of Nazareth, in
the Gospels thereto relating, as compared with their exact completions
in Josephus's history; upon which completions, as Dr. Whitby well
observes, Annot. on Matthew 24:2, no small part of the evidence for the
truth of the Christian religion does depend; and as I have step by
step compared them together in my Literal Accomplishment of Scripture
Prophecies. The reader is to observe further, that the true reason why I
have so seldom taken notice of those completions in the course of these
notes, notwithstanding their being so very remarkable, and frequently
so very obvious, is this, that I had entirely prevented myself in that
treatise beforehand; to which therefore I must here, once for all,
seriously refer every inquisitive reader. Besides these five here
enumerated, who had taken Jerusalem of old, Josephus, upon further
recollection, reckons a sixth, Antiq. B. XII. ch. 1. sect. 1, who should
have been here inserted in the second place; I mean Ptolemy, the son of
Lagus.]
35 (return) [ Why the great Bochart should say, [De Phoenic. Colon.
B. II. ch. iv.,] that "there are in this clause of Josephus as many
mistakes as words," I do by no means understand. Josephus thought
Melchisedek first built, or rather rebuilt and adorned, this city, and
that it was then called Salem, as Psalm 76:2; afterwards came to be
called Jerusalem; and that Melchisedek, being a priest as well as a
king, built to the true God therein a temple, or place for public Divine
worship and sacrifice; all which things may be very true for aught we
know to the contrary. And for the word, or temple, as if it must needs
belong to the great temple built by Solomon long afterward, Josephus
himself uses, for the small tabernacle of Moses, Antiq. B. III. ch. 6.
sect. 4; see also Antiq. B. lit. ch. 6. sect. 1; as he here presently
uses, for a large and splendid synagogue of the Jews at Antioch, B. VII.
ch. 3. sect. 3.]
BOOK VII.
Containing The Interval Of About Three Years.
From The Taking Of Jerusalem By Titus To The Sedition At
Cyrene
CHAPTER 1.
How The Entire City Of Jerusalem Was Demolished, Excepting
Three Towers; And How Titus Commended His Soldiers In A
Speech Made To Them, And Distributed Rewards To Them And
Then Dismissed Many Of Them.
1. Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder,
because there remained none to be the objects of their fury, [for they
would not have spared any, had there remained any other work to be
done,] Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city
and temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as were of
the greatest eminency; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne;
and so much of the wall as enclosed the city on the west side. This
wall was spared, in order to afford a camp for such as were to lie in
garrison, as were the towers also spared, in order to demonstrate to
posterity what kind of city it was, and how well fortified, which the
Roman valor had subdued; but for all the rest of the wall, it was so
thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the
foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither
believe it had ever been inhabited. This was the end which Jerusalem
came to by the madness of those that were for innovations; a city
otherwise of great magnificence, and of mighty fame among all mankind.
2. But Caesar resolved to leave there, as a guard, the tenth legion,
with certain troops of horsemen, and companies of footmen. So, having
entirely completed this war, he was desirous to commend his whole army,
on account of the great exploits they had performed, and to bestow
proper rewards on such as had signalized themselves therein. He had
therefore a great tribunal made for him in the midst of the place
where he had formerly encamped, and stood upon it with his principal
commanders about him, and spake so as to be heard by the whole army
in the manner following: That he returned them abundance of thanks for
their good-will which they had showed to him: he commended them for that
ready obedience they had exhibited in this whole war, which obedience
had appeared in the many and great dangers which they had courageously
undergone; as also for that courage they had shown, and had thereby
augmented of themselves their country's power, and had made it evident
to all men, that neither the multitude of their enemies, nor the
strength of their places, nor the largeness of their cities, nor the
rash boldness and brutish rage of their antagonists, were sufficient at
any time to get clear of the Roman valor, although some of them may have
fortune in many respects on their side. He said further, that it was
but reasonable for them to put an end to this war, now it had lasted
so long, for that they had nothing better to wish for when they entered
into it; and that this happened more favorably for them, and more for
their glory, that all the Romans had willingly accepted of those for
their governors, and the curators of their dominions, whom they had
chosen for them, and had sent into their own country for that purpose,
which still continued under the management of those whom they had
pitched on, and were thankful to them for pitching upon them. That
accordingly, although he did both admire and tenderly regard them all,
because he knew that every one of them had gone as cheerfully about
their work as their abilities and opportunities would give them leave;
yet, he said, that he would immediately bestow rewards and dignities on
those that had fought the most bravely, and with greater force, and had
signalized their conduct in the most glorious manner, and had made his
army more famous by their noble exploits; and that no one who had
been willing to take more pains than another should miss of a just
retribution for the same; for that he had been exceeding careful about
this matter, and that the more, because he had much rather reward the
virtues of his fellow soldiers than punish such as had offended.
3. Hereupon Titus ordered those whose business it was to read the list
of all that had performed great exploits in this war, whom he called to
him by their names, and commended them before the company, and rejoiced
in them in the same manner as a man would have rejoiced in his own
exploits. He also put on their heads crowns of gold, and golden
ornaments about their necks, and gave them long spears of gold, and
ensigns that were made of silver, and removed every one of them to a
higher rank; and besides this, he plentifully distributed among them,
out of the spoils, and the other prey they had taken, silver, and
gold, and garments. So when they had all these honors bestowed on them,
according to his own appointment made to every one, and he had wished
all sorts of happiness to the whole army, he came down, among the great
acclamations which were made to him, and then betook himself to offer
thank-offerings [to the gods], and at once sacrificed a vast number of
oxen, that stood ready at the altars, and distributed them among the
army to feast on. And when he had staid three days among the principal
commanders, and so long feasted with them, he sent away the rest of his
army to the several places where they would be every one best situated;
but permitted the tenth legion to stay, as a guard at Jerusalem, and did
not send them away beyond Euphrates, where they had been before. And as
he remembered that the twelfth legion had given way to the Jews, under
Cestius their general, he expelled them out of all Syria, for they
had lain formerly at Raphanea, and sent them away to a place called
Meletine, near Euphrates, which is in the limits of Armenia and
Cappadocia; he also thought fit that two of the legions should stay with
him till he should go to Egypt. He then went down with his army to that
Cesarea which lay by the sea-side, and there laid up the rest of his
spoils in great quantities, and gave order that the captives should be
kept there; for the winter season hindered him then from sailing into
Italy.
CHAPTER 2.
How Titus Exhibited All Sorts Of Shows At Cesarea Philippi.
Concerning Simon The Tyrant How He Was Taken, And Reserved
For The Triumph.
1. Now at the same time that Titus Caesar lay at the siege of Jerusalem,
did Vespasian go on board a merchantship and sailed from Alexandria to
Rhodes; whence he sailed away in ships with three rows of oars; and
as he touched at several cities that lay in his road, he was joyfully
received by them all, and so passed over from Ionia into Greece; whence
he set sail from Corcyra to the promontory of Iapyx, whence he took his
journey by land. But as for Titus, he marched from that Cesarea which
lay by the sea-side, and came to that which is named Cesarea Philippi,
and staid there a considerable time, and exhibited all sorts of shows
there. And here a great number of the captives were destroyed, some
being thrown to wild beasts, and others in multitudes forced to kill one
another, as if they were their enemies. And here it was that Titus was
informed of the seizure of Simon the son of Gioras, which was made after
the manner following: This Simon, during the siege of Jerusalem, was in
the upper city; but when the Roman army was gotten within the walls,
and were laying the city waste, he then took the most faithful of his
friends with him, and among them some that were stone-cutters, with
those iron tools which belonged to their occupation, and as great a
quantity of provisions as would suffice them for a long time, and let
himself and all them down into a certain subterraneous cavern that was
not visible above ground. Now, so far as had been digged of old, they
went onward along it without disturbance; but where they met with solid
earth, they dug a mine under ground, and this in hopes that they should
be able to proceed so far as to rise from under ground in a safe place,
and by that means escape. But when they came to make the experiment,
they were disappointed of their hope; for the miners could make but
small progress, and that with difficulty also; insomuch that their
provisions, though they distributed them by measure, began to fail
them. And now Simon, thinking he might be able to astonish and elude the
Romans, put on a white frock, and buttoned upon him a purple cloak, and
appeared out of the ground in the place where the temple had formerly
been. At the first, indeed, those that saw him were greatly astonished,
and stood still where they were; but afterward they came nearer to him,
and asked him who he was. Now Simon would not tell them, but bid them
call for their captain; and when they ran to call him, Terentius Rufus
2 who was left to command the army there, came to Simon, and learned of
him the whole truth, and kept him in bonds, and let Caesar know that he
was taken. Thus did God bring this man to be punished for what bitter
and savage tyranny he had exercised against his countrymen by those who
were his worst enemies; and this while he was not subdued by violence,
but voluntarily delivered himself up to them to be punished, and that
on the very same account that he had laid false accusations against many
Jews, as if they were falling away to the Romans, and had barbarously
slain them; for wicked actions do not escape the Divine anger, nor is
justice too weak to punish offenders, but in time overtakes those that
transgress its laws, and inflicts its punishments upon the wicked in a
manner, so much more severe, as they expected to escape it on account of
their not being punished immediately. 3 Simon was made sensible of this
by falling under the indignation of the Romans. This rise of his out of
the ground did also occasion the discovery of a great number of others
of the seditious at that time, who had hidden themselves under ground.
But for Simon, he was brought to Caesar in bonds, when he was come back
to that Cesarea which was on the seaside, who gave orders that he should
be kept against that triumph which he was to celebrate at Rome upon this
occasion.
CHAPTER 3.
How Titus Upon The Celebration Of His Brothers And Fathers
Birthdays Had Many Of The Jews Slain. Concerning The Danger
The Jews Were In At Antioch, By Means Of The Transgression
And Impiety Of One Antiochus, A Jew.
1. While Titus was at Cesarea, he solemnized the birthday of his brother
[Domitian] after a splendid manner, and inflicted a great deal of the
punishment intended for the Jews in honor of him; for the number of
those that were now slain in fighting with the beasts, and were burnt,
and fought with one another, exceeded two thousand five hundred. Yet did
all this seem to the Romans, when they were thus destroyed ten thousand
several ways, to be a punishment beneath their deserts. After this
Caesar came to Berytus, 4 which is a city of Phoenicia, and a Roman
colony, and staid there a longer time, and exhibited a still more
pompous solemnity about his father's birthday, both in the magnificence
of the shows, and in the other vast expenses he was at in his devices
thereto belonging; so that a great multitude of the captives were here
destroyed after the same manner as before.
2. It happened also about this time, that the Jews who remained at
Antioch were under accusations, and in danger of perishing, from the
disturbances that were raised against them by the Antiochians; and this
both on account of the slanders spread abroad at this time against them,
and on account of what pranks they had played not long before; which
I am obliged to describe without fail, though briefly, that I may the
better connect my narration of future actions with those that went
before.
3. For as the Jewish nation is widely dispersed over all the habitable
earth among its inhabitants, so it is very much intermingled with
Syria by reason of its neighborhood, and had the greatest multitudes in
Antioch by reason of the largeness of the city, wherein the kings, after
Antiochus, had afforded them a habitation with the most undisturbed
tranquillity; for though Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, laid
Jerusalem waste, and spoiled the temple, yet did those that succeeded
him in the kingdom restore all the donations that were made of brass to
the Jews of Antioch, and dedicated them to their synagogue, and granted
them the enjoyment of equal privileges of citizens with the Greeks
themselves; and as the succeeding kings treated them after the same
manner, they both multiplied to a great number, and adorned their temple
gloriously by fine ornaments, and with great magnificence, in the use of
what had been given them. They also made proselytes of a great many of
the Greeks perpetually, and thereby after a sort brought them to be
a portion of their own body. But about this time when the present war
began, and Vespasian was newly sailed to Syria, and all men had taken
up a great hatred against the Jews, then it was that a certain person,
whose name was Antiochus, being one of the Jewish nation, and greatly
respected on account of his father, who was governor of the Jews at
Antioch 5 came upon the theater at a time when the people of Antioch
were assembled together, and became an informer against his father, and
accused both him and others that they had resolved to burn the whole
city in one night; he also delivered up to them some Jews that were
foreigners, as partners in their resolutions. When the people heard
this, they could not refrain their passion, but commanded that those
who were delivered up to them should have fire brought to burn them, who
were accordingly all burnt upon the theater immediately. They did also
fall violently upon the multitude of the Jews, as supposing that
by punishing them suddenly they should save their own city. As for
Antiochus, he aggravated the rage they were in, and thought to give them
a demonstration of his own conversion, arm of his hatred of the Jewish
customs, by sacrificing after the manner of the Greeks; he persuaded
the rest also to compel them to do the same, because they would by that
means discover who they were that had plotted against them, since they
would not do so; and when the people of Antioch tried the experiment,
some few complied, but those that would not do so were slain. As for
Antiochus himself, he obtained soldiers from the Roman commander, and
became a severe master over his own citizens, not permitting them to
rest on the seventh day, but forcing them to do all that they usually
did on other days; and to that degree of distress did he reduce them in
this matter, that the rest of the seventh day was dissolved not only at
Antioch, but the same thing which took thence its rise was done in other
cities also, in like manner, for some small time.
4. Now, after these misfortunes had happened to the Jews at Antioch, a
second calamity befell them, the description of which when we were going
about we premised the account foregoing; for upon this accident, whereby
the four-square market-place was burnt down, as well as the archives,
and the place where the public records were preserved, and the royal
palaces, [and it was not without difficulty that the fire was then put
a stop to, which was likely, by the fury wherewith it was carried along,
to have gone over the whole city,] Antiochus accused the Jews as the
occasion of all the mischief that was done. Now this induced the people
of Antioch, who were now under the immediate persuasion, by reason of
the disorder they were in, that this calumny was true, and would have
been under the same persuasion, even though they had not borne
an ill-will at the Jews before, to believe this man's accusation,
especially when they considered what had been done before, and this
to such a degree, that they all fell violently upon those that were
accused, and this, like madmen, in a very furious rage also, even as if
they had seen the Jews in a manner setting fire themselves to the city;
nor was it without difficulty that one Cneius Collegas, the legate,
could prevail with them to permit the affairs to be laid before Caesar;
for as to Cesennius Petus, the president of Syria, Vespasian had already
sent him away; and so it happened that he was not yet come back thither.
But when Collegas had made a careful inquiry into the matter, he found
out the truth, and that not one of those Jews that were accused by
Antiochus had any hand in it, but that all was done by some vile persons
greatly in debt, who supposed that if they could once set fire to the
market-place, and burn the public records, they should have no further
demands made upon them. So the Jews were under great disorder and
terror, in the uncertain expectations of what would be the upshot of
these accusations against them.
CHAPTER 4.
How Vespasian Was Received At Rome; As Also How The Germans
Revolted From The Romans, But Were Subdued. That The
Sarmatians Overran Mysia, But Were Compelled To Retire To
Their Own Country Again.
1. And now Titus Caesar, upon the news that was brought him concerning
his father, that his coming was much desired by all the Italian cities,
and that Rome especially received him with great alacrity and splendor,
betook himself to rejoicing and pleasures to a great degree, as now
freed from the solicitude he had been under, after the most agreeable
manner. For all men that were in Italy showed their respects to him
in their minds before he came thither, as if he were already come, as
esteeming the very expectation they had of him to be his real presence,
on account of the great desires they had to see him, and because the
good-will they bore him was entirely free and unconstrained; for it was,
desirable thing to the senate, who well remembered the calamities they
had undergone in the late changes of their governors, to receive a
governor who was adorned with the gravity of old age, and with the
highest skill in the actions of war, whose advancement would be, as they
knew, for nothing else but for the preservation of those that were to
be governed. Moreover, the people had been so harassed by their civil
miseries, that they were still more earnest for his coming immediately,
as supposing they should then be firmly delivered from their calamities,
and believed they should then recover their secure tranquillity and
prosperity; and for the soldiery, they had the principal regard to him,
for they were chiefly apprized of his great exploits in war; and since
they had experienced the want of skill and want of courage in other
commanders, they were very desirous to be free from that great shame
they had undergone by their means, and heartily wished to receive such
a prince as might be a security and an ornament to them. And as this
good-will to Vespasian was universal, those that enjoyed any remarkable
dignities could not have patience enough to stay in Rome, but made haste
to meet him at a very great distance from it; nay, indeed, none of the
rest could endure the delay of seeing him, but did all pour out of the
city in such crowds, and were so universally possessed with the opinion
that it was easier and better for them to go out than to stay there,
that this was the very first time that the city joyfully perceived
itself almost empty of its citizens; for those that staid within were
fewer than those that went out. But as soon as the news was come that he
was hard by, and those that had met him at first related with what good
humor he received every one that came to him, then it was that the whole
multitude that had remained in the city, with their wives and children,
came into the road, and waited for him there; and for those whom he
passed by, they made all sorts of acclamations, on account of the joy
they had to see him, and the pleasantness of his countenance, and styled
him their Benefactor and Savior, and the only person who was worthy to
be ruler of the city of Rome. And now the city was like a temple, full
of garlands and sweet odors; nor was it easy for him to come to the
royal palace, for the multitude of the people that stood about him,
where yet at last he performed his sacrifices of thanksgiving to his
household gods for his safe return to the city. The multitude did also
betake themselves to feasting; which feasts and drink-offerings they
celebrated by their tribes, and their families, and their neighborhoods,
and still prayed God to grant that Vespasian, his sons, and all their
posterity, might continue in the Roman government for a very long time,
and that his dominion might be preserved from all opposition. And this
was the manner in which Rome so joyfully received Vespasian, and thence
grew immediately into a state of great prosperity.
2. But before this time, and while Vespasian was about Alexandria, and
Titus was lying at the siege of Jerusalem, a great multitude of the
Germans were in commotion, and tended to rebellion; and as the Gauls in
their neighborhood joined with them, they conspired together, and had
thereby great hopes of success, and that they should free themselves
from the dominion of the Romans. The motives that induced the Germans to
this attempt for a revolt, and for beginning the war, were these: In
the first place, the nature [of the people], which was destitute of just
reasonings, and ready to throw themselves rashly into danger, upon small
hopes; in the next place, the hatred they bore to those that were their
governors, while their nation had never been conscious of subjection
to any but to the Romans, and that by compulsion only. Besides these
motives, it was the opportunity that now offered itself, which above
all the rest prevailed with them so to do; for when they saw the Roman
government in a great internal disorder, by the continual changes of its
rulers, and understood that every part of the habitable earth under them
was in an unsettled and tottering condition, they thought this was
the best opportunity that could afford itself for themselves to make a
sedition, when the state of the Romans was so ill. Classicus 6 also,
and Vitellius, two of their commanders, puffed them up with such hopes.
These had for a long time been openly desirous of such an innovation,
and were induced by the present opportunity to venture upon the
declaration of their sentiments; the multitude was also ready; and when
these men told them of what they intended to attempt, that news was
gladly received by them. So when a great part of the Germans had agreed
to rebel, and the rest were no better disposed, Vespasian, as guided by
Divine Providence, sent letters to Petilius Cerealis, who had formerly
had the command of Germany, whereby he declared him to have the dignity
of consul, and commanded him to take upon him the government of Britain;
so he went whither he was ordered to go, and when he was informed of
the revolt of the Germans, he fell upon them as soon as they were gotten
together, and put his army in battle-array, and slew a great number of
them in the fight, and forced them to leave off their madness, and to
grow wiser; nay, had he not fallen thus suddenly upon them on the
place, it had not been long ere they would however have been brought
to punishment; for as soon as ever the news of their revolt was come to
Rome, and Caesar Domitian was made acquainted with it, he made no delay,
even at that his age, when he was exceeding young, but undertook this
weighty affair. He had a courageous mind from his father, and had
made greater improvements than belonged to such an age: accordingly
he marched against the barbarians immediately; whereupon their hearts
failed them at the very rumor of his approach, and they submitted
themselves to him with fear, and thought it a happy thing that they
were brought under their old yoke again without suffering any further
mischiefs. When therefore Domitian had settled all the affairs of Gaul
in such good order, that it would not be easily put into disorder any
more, he returned to Rome with honor and glory, as having performed such
exploits as were above his own age, but worthy of so great a father.
3. At the very same time with the forementioned revolt of the Germans
did the bold attempt of the Scythians against the Romans occur; for
those Scythians who are called Sarmatians, being a very numerous
people, transported themselves over the Danube into Mysia, without
being perceived; after which, by their violence, and entirely unexpected
assault, they slew a great many of the Romans that guarded the
frontiers; and as the consular legate Fonteius Agrippa came to meet
them, and fought courageously against them, he was slain by them. They
then overran all the region that had been subject to him, tearing and
rending every thing that fell in their way. But when Vespasian was
informed of what had happened, and how Mysia was laid waste, he sent
away Rubrius Gallus to punish these Sarmatians; by whose means many of
them perished in the battles he fought against them, and that part which
escaped fled with fear to their own country. So when this general
had put an end to the war, he provided for the future security of the
country also; for he placed more and more numerous garrisons in the
place, till he made it altogether impossible for the barbarians to
pass over the river any more. And thus had this war in Mysia a sudden
conclusion.
CHAPTER V.
Concerning The Sabbatic River Which Titus Saw As He Was
Journeying Through Syria; And How The People Of Antioch Came
With A Petition To Titus Against The Jews But Were Rejected
By Him; As Also Concerning Titus's And Vespasian's Triumph.
1. Now Titus Caesar tarried some time at Berytus, as we told you before.
He thence removed, and exhibited magnificent shows in all those cities
of Syria through which he went, and made use of the captive Jews as
public instances of the destruction of that nation. He then saw a
river as he went along, of such a nature as deserves to be recorded in
history; it runs in the middle between Arcea, belonging to Agrippa's
kingdom, and Raphanea. It hath somewhat very peculiar in it; for when
it runs, its current is strong, and has plenty of water; after which its
springs fail for six days together, and leave its channel dry, as any
one may see; after which days it runs on the seventh day as it did
before, and as though it had undergone no change at all; it hath also
been observed to keep this order perpetually and exactly; whence it is
that they call it the Sabbatic River 7 that name being taken from the
sacred seventh day among the Jews.
2. But when the people of Antioch were informed that Titus was
approaching, they were so glad at it, that they could not keep within
their walls, but hasted away to give him the meeting; nay, they
proceeded as far as thirty furlongs, and more, with that intention.
These were not the men only, but a multitude of women also with their
children did the same; and when they saw him coming up to them, they
stood on both sides of the way, and stretched out their right hands,
saluting him, and making all sorts of acclamations to him, and turned
back together with him. They also, among all the acclamations they made
to him, besought him all the way they went to eject the Jews out of
their city; yet did not Titus at all yield to this their petition, but
gave them the bare hearing of it quietly. However, the Jews were in a
great deal of terrible fear, under the uncertainty they were in what
his opinion was, and what he would do to them. For Titus did not stay
at Antioch, but continued his progress immediately to Zeugma, which lies
upon the Euphrates, whither came to him messengers from Vologeses king
of Parthia, and brought him a crown of gold upon the victory he had
gained over the Jews; which he accepted of, and feasted the king's
messengers, and then came back to Antioch. And when the senate and
people of Antioch earnestly entreated him to come upon their theater,
where their whole multitude was assembled, and expected him, he complied
with great humanity; but when they pressed him with much earnestness,
and continually begged of him that he would eject the Jews out of their
city, he gave them this very pertinent answer: "How can this be done,
since that country of theirs, whither the Jews must be obliged then to
retire, is destroyed, and no place will receive them besides?" Whereupon
the people of Antioch, when they had failed of success in this their
first request, made him a second; for they desired that he would order
those tables of brass to be removed on which the Jews' privileges were
engraven. However, Titus would not grant that neither, but permitted the
Jews of Antioch to continue to enjoy the very same privileges in that
city which they had before, and then departed for Egypt; and as he came
to Jerusalem in his progress, and compared the melancholy condition he
saw it then in, with the ancient glory of the city, and called to mind
the greatness of its present ruins, as well as its ancient splendor,
he could not but pity the destruction of the city, so far was he from
boasting that so great and goodly a city as that was had been by him
taken by force; nay, he frequently cursed those that had been the
authors of their revolt, and had brought such a punishment upon the
city; insomuch that it openly appeared that he did not desire that
such a calamity as this punishment of theirs amounted to should be a
demonstration of his courage. Yet was there no small quantity of the
riches that had been in that city still found among its ruins, a great
deal of which the Romans dug up; but the greatest part was discovered
by those who were captives, and so they carried it away; I mean the gold
and the silver, and the rest of that most precious furniture which the
Jews had, and which the owners had treasured up under ground, against
the uncertain fortunes of war.
3. So Titus took the journey he intended into Egypt, and passed over the
desert very suddenly, and came to Alexandria, and took up a resolution
to go to Rome by sea. And as he was accompanied by two legions, he sent
each of them again to the places whence they had before come; the fifth
he sent to Mysia, and the fifteenth to Pannonia: as for the leaders of
the captives, Simon and John, with the other seven hundred men, whom
he had selected out of the rest as being eminently tall and handsome
of body, he gave order that they should be soon carried to Italy,
as resolving to produce them in his triumph. So when he had had a
prosperous voyage to his mind, the city of Rome behaved itself in his
reception, and their meeting him at a distance, as it did in the case
of his father. But what made the most splendid appearance in Titus's
opinion was, when his father met him, and received him; but still the
multitude of the citizens conceived the greatest joy when they saw
them all three together, 8 as they did at this time; nor were many days
overpast when they determined to have but one triumph, that should be
common to both of them, on account of the glorious exploits they had
performed, although the senate had decreed each of them a separate
triumph by himself. So when notice had been given beforehand of the day
appointed for this pompous solemnity to be made, on account of their
victories, not one of the immense multitude was left in the city, but
every body went out so far as to gain only a station where they might
stand, and left only such a passage as was necessary for those that were
to be seen to go along it.
4. Now all the soldiery marched out beforehand by companies, and in
their several ranks, under their several commanders, in the night time,
and were about the gates, not of the upper palaces, but those near
the temple of Isis; for there it was that the emperors had rested the
foregoing night. And as soon as ever it was day, Vespasian and Titus
came out crowned with laurel, and clothed in those ancient purple habits
which were proper to their family, and then went as far as Octavian's
Walks; for there it was that the senate, and the principal rulers, and
those that had been recorded as of the equestrian order, waited for
them. Now a tribunal had been erected before the cloisters, and ivory
chairs had been set upon it, when they came and sat down upon them.
Whereupon the soldiery made an acclamation of joy to them immediately,
and all gave them attestations of their valor; while they were
themselves without their arms, and only in their silken garments, and
crowned with laurel: then Vespasian accepted of these shouts of theirs;
but while they were still disposed to go on in such acclamations, he
gave them a signal of silence. And when every body entirely held their
peace, he stood up, and covering the greatest part of his head with his
cloak, he put up the accustomed solemn prayers; the like prayers did
Titus put up also; after which prayers Vespasian made a short speech to
all the people, and then sent away the soldiers to a dinner prepared for
them by the emperors. Then did he retire to that gate which was called
the Gate of the Pomp, because pompous shows do always go through that
gate; there it was that they tasted some food, and when they had put on
their triumphal garments, and had offered sacrifices to the gods that
were placed at the gate, they sent the triumph forward, and marched
through the theatres, that they might be the more easily seen by the
multitudes.
5. Now it is impossible to describe the multitude of the shows as they
deserve, and the magnificence of them all; such indeed as a man could
not easily think of as performed, either by the labor of workmen, or
the variety of riches, or the rarities of nature; for almost all such
curiosities as the most happy men ever get by piece-meal were here one
heaped on another, and those both admirable and costly in their nature;
and all brought together on that day demonstrated the vastness of the
dominions of the Romans; for there was here to be seen a mighty quantity
of silver, and gold, and ivory, contrived into all sorts of things, and
did not appear as carried along in pompous show only, but, as a man may
say, running along like a river. Some parts were composed of the rarest
purple hangings, and so carried along; and others accurately represented
to the life what was embroidered by the arts of the Babylonians. There
were also precious stones that were transparent, some set in crowns of
gold, and some in other places, as the workmen pleased; and of these
such a vast number were brought, that we could not but thence learn how
vainly we imagined any of them to be rarities. The images of the gods
were also carried, being as well wonderful for their largeness, as made
very artificially, and with great skill of the workmen; nor were any of
these images of any other than very costly materials; and many species
of animals were brought, every one in their own natural ornaments. The
men also who brought every one of these shows were great multitudes, and
adorned with purple garments, all over interwoven with gold; those that
were chosen for carrying these pompous shows having also about them such
magnificent ornaments as were both extraordinary and surprising. Besides
these, one might see that even the great number of the captives was not
unadorned, while the variety that was in their garments, and their fine
texture, concealed from the sight the deformity of their bodies. But
what afforded the greatest surprise of all was the structure of the
pageants that were borne along; for indeed he that met them could
not but be afraid that the bearers would not be able firmly enough to
support them, such was their magnitude; for many of them were so made,
that they were on three or even four stories, one above another. The
magnificence also of their structure afforded one both pleasure and
surprise; for upon many of them were laid carpets of gold. There
was also wrought gold and ivory fastened about them all; and many
resemblances of the war, and those in several ways, and variety of
contrivances, affording a most lively portraiture of itself. For there
was to be seen a happy country laid waste, and entire squadrons of
enemies slain; while some of them ran away, and some were carried into
captivity; with walls of great altitude and magnitude overthrown and
ruined by machines; with the strongest fortifications taken, and the
walls of most populous cities upon the tops of hills seized on, and
an army pouring itself within the walls; as also every place full of
slaughter, and supplications of the enemies, when they were no longer
able to lift up their hands in way of opposition. Fire also sent upon
temples was here represented, and houses overthrown, and falling upon
their owners: rivers also, after they came out of a large and melancholy
desert, ran down, not into a land cultivated, nor as drink for men, or
for cattle, but through a land still on fire upon every side; for the
Jews related that such a thing they had undergone during this war. Now
the workmanship of these representations was so magnificent and lively
in the construction of the things, that it exhibited what had been done
to such as did not see it, as if they had been there really present. On
the top of every one of these pageants was placed the commander of the
city that was taken, and the manner wherein he was taken. Moreover,
there followed those pageants a great number of ships; and for the other
spoils, they were carried in great plenty. But for those that were taken
in the temple of Jerusalem, 9 they made the greatest figure of them
all; that is, the golden table, of the weight of many talents; the
candlestick also, that was made of gold, though its construction were
now changed from that which we made use of; for its middle shaft was
fixed upon a basis, and the small branches were produced out of it to
a great length, having the likeness of a trident in their position, and
had every one a socket made of brass for a lamp at the tops of them.
These lamps were in number seven, and represented the dignity of the
number seven among the Jews; and the last of all the spoils, was carried
the Law of the Jews. After these spoils passed by a great many men,
carrying the images of Victory, whose structure was entirely either of
ivory or of gold. After which Vespasian marched in the first place,
and Titus followed him; Domitian also rode along with them, and made a
glorious appearance, and rode on a horse that was worthy of admiration.
6. Now the last part of this pompous show was at the temple of Jupiter
Capitolinus, whither when they were come, they stood still; for it was
the Romans' ancient custom to stay till somebody brought the news that
the general of the enemy was slain. This general was Simon, the son of
Gioras, who had then been led in this triumph among the captives; a rope
had also been put upon his head, and he had been drawn into a proper
place in the forum, and had withal been tormented by those that drew him
along; and the law of the Romans required that malefactors condemned to
die should be slain there. Accordingly, when it was related that there
was an end of him, and all the people had set up a shout for joy, they
then began to offer those sacrifices which they had consecrated, in the
prayers used in such solemnities; which when they had finished, they
went away to the palace. And as for some of the spectators, the emperors
entertained them at their own feast; and for all the rest there were
noble preparations made for feasting at home; for this was a festival
day to the city of Rome, as celebrated for the victory obtained by their
army over their enemies, for the end that was now put to their civil
miseries, and for the commencement of their hopes of future prosperity
and happiness.
7. After these triumphs were over, and after the affairs of the Romans
were settled on the surest foundations, Vespasian resolved to build
a temple to Peace, which was finished in so short a time, and in so
glorious a manner, as was beyond all human expectation and opinion: for
he having now by Providence a vast quantity of wealth, besides what he
had formerly gained in his other exploits, he had this temple adorned
with pictures and statues; for in this temple were collected and
deposited all such rarities as men aforetime used to wander all over the
habitable world to see, when they had a desire to see one of them after
another; he also laid up therein those golden vessels and instruments
that were taken out of the Jewish temple, as ensigns of his glory. But
still he gave order that they should lay up their Law, and the purple
veils of the holy place, in the royal palace itself, and keep them
there.
CHAPTER 6.
Concerning Machaerus, And How Lucilius Bassus Took That
Citadel, And Other Places.
1. Now Lucilius Bassus was sent as legate into Judea, and there he
received the army from Cerealis Vitellianus, and took that citadel which
was in Herodium, together with the garrison that was in it; after which
he got together all the soldiery that was there, [which was a large
body, but dispersed into several parties,] with the tenth legion, and
resolved to make war upon Machaerus; for it was highly necessary that
this citadel should be demolished, lest it might be a means of drawing
away many into a rebellion, by reason of its strength; for the nature
of the place was very capable of affording the surest hopes of safety to
those that possessed it, as well as delay and fear to those that should
attack it; for what was walled in was itself a very rocky hill, elevated
to a very great height; which circumstance alone made it very hard to be
subdued. It was also so contrived by nature, that it could not be easily
ascended; for it is, as it were, ditched about with such valleys on all
sides, and to such a depth, that the eye cannot reach their bottoms,
and such as are not easily to be passed over, and even such as it is
impossible to fill up with earth. For that valley which cuts it on the
west extends to threescore furlongs, and did not end till it came to the
lake Asphaltites; on the same side it was also that Machaerus had
the tallest top of its hill elevated above the rest. But then for the
valleys that lay on the north and south sides, although they be not
so large as that already described, yet it is in like manner an
impracticable thing to think of getting over them; and for the valley
that lies on the east side, its depth is found to be no less than a
hundred cubits. It extends as far as a mountain that lies over against
Machaerus, with which it is bounded.
2. Now when Alexander [Janneus], the king of the Jews, observed the
nature of this place, he was the first who built a citadel here,
which afterwards was demolished by Gabinius, when he made war against
Aristobulus. But when Herod came to be king, he thought the place to
be worthy of the utmost regard, and of being built upon in the firmest
manner, and this especially because it lay so near to Arabia; for it is
seated in a convenient place on that account, and hath a prospect toward
that country; he therefore surrounded a large space of ground with walls
and towers, and built a city there, out of which city there was a way
that led up to the very citadel itself on the top of the mountain; nay,
more than this, he built a wall round that top of the hill, and erected
towers at the corners, of a hundred and sixty cubits high; in the middle
of which place he built a palace, after a magnificent manner, wherein
were large and beautiful edifices. He also made a great many reservoirs
for the reception of water, that there might be plenty of it ready
for all uses, and those in the properest places that were afforded him
there. Thus did he, as it were, contend with the nature of the place,
that he might exceed its natural strength and security [which yet itself
rendered it hard to be taken] by those fortifications which were made by
the hands of men. Moreover, he put a large quantity of darts and other
machines of war into it, and contrived to get every thing thither that
might any way contribute to its inhabitants' security, under the longest
siege possible.
3. Now within this place there grew a sort of rue 10 that deserves our
wonder on account of its largeness, for it was no way inferior to any
fig tree whatsoever, either in height or in thickness; and the report
is, that it had lasted ever since the times of Herod, and would probably
have lasted much longer, had it not been cut down by those Jews who
took possession of the place afterward. But still in that valley which
encompasses the city on the north side there is a certain place called
Baaras, which produces a root of the same name with itself 11 its
color is like to that of flame, and towards the evenings it sends out a
certain ray like lightning. It is not easily taken by such as would
do it, but recedes from their hands, nor will yield itself to be taken
quietly, until either the urine of a woman, or her menstrual blood, be
poured upon it; nay, even then it is certain death to those that touch
it, unless any one take and hang the root itself down from his hand,
and so carry it away. It may also be taken another way, without danger,
which is this: they dig a trench quite round about it, till the hidden
part of the root be very small, they then tie a dog to it, and when the
dog tries hard to follow him that tied him, this root is easily plucked
up, but the dog dies immediately, as if it were instead of the man that
would take the plant away; nor after this need any one be afraid of
taking it into their hands. Yet, after all this pains in getting, it
is only valuable on account of one virtue it hath, that if it be only
brought to sick persons, it quickly drives away those called demons,
which are no other than the spirits of the wicked, that enter into men
that are alive and kill them, unless they can obtain some help against
them. Here are also fountains of hot water, that flow out of this place,
which have a very different taste one from the other; for some of them
are bitter, and others of them are plainly sweet. Here are also many
eruptions of cold waters, and this not only in the places that lie
lower, and have their fountains near one another, but, what is still
more wonderful, here is to be seen a certain cave hard by, whose cavity
is not deep, but it is covered over by a rock that is prominent; above
this rock there stand up two [hills or] breasts, as it were, but a
little distant one from another, the one of which sends out a fountain
that is very cold, and the other sends out one that is very hot; which
waters, when they are mingled together, compose a most pleasant bath;
they are medicinal indeed for other maladies, but especially good for
strengthening the nerves. This place has in it also mines of sulfur and
alum.
4. Now when Bassus had taken a full view of this place, he resolved to
besiege it, by filling up the valley that lay on the east side; so he
fell hard to work, and took great pains to raise his banks as soon as
possible, and by that means to render the siege easy. As for the Jews
that were caught in this place, they separated themselves from the
strangers that were with them, and they forced those strangers, as an
otherwise useless multitude, to stay in the lower part of the city, and
undergo the principal dangers, while they themselves seized on the upper
citadel, and held it, and this both on account of its strength, and to
provide for their own safety. They also supposed they might obtain their
pardon, in case they should [at last] surrender the citadel. However,
they were willing to make trial, in the first place, whether the
hopes they had of avoiding a siege would come to any thing; with which
intention they made sallies every day, and fought with those that met
them; in which conflicts they were many of them slain, as they therein
slew many of the Romans. But still it was the opportunities that
presented themselves which chiefly gained both sides their victories;
these were gained by the Jews, when they fell upon the Romans as they
were off their guard; but by the Romans, when, upon the others' sallies
against their banks, they foresaw their coming, and were upon their
guard when they received them. But the conclusion of this siege did
not depend upon these bickerings; but a certain surprising accident,
relating to what was done in this siege, forced the Jews to surrender
the citadel. There was a certain young man among the besieged, of great
boldness, and very active of his hand, his name was Eleazar; he greatly
signalized himself in those sallies, and encouraged the Jews to go out
in great numbers, in order to hinder the raising of the banks, and did
the Romans a vast deal of mischief when they came to fighting; he so
managed matters, that those who sallied out made their attacks easily,
and returned back without danger, and this by still bringing up the rear
himself. Now it happened that, on a certain time, when the fight was
over, and both sides were parted, and retired home, he, in way of
contempt of the enemy, and thinking that none of them would begin the
fight again at that time, staid without the gates, and talked with those
that were upon the wall, and his mind was wholly intent upon what they
said. Now a certain person belonging to the Roman camp, whose name was
Rufus, by birth an Egyptian, ran upon him suddenly, when nobody expected
such a thing, and carried him off, with his armor itself; while, in the
mean time, those that saw it from the wall were under such an amazement,
that Rufus prevented their assistance, and carried Eleazar to the Roman
camp. So the general of the Romans ordered that he should be taken up
naked, set before the city to be seen, and sorely whipped before their
eyes. Upon this sad accident that befell the young man, the Jews were
terribly confounded, and the city, with one voice, sorely lamented him,
and the mourning proved greater than could well be supposed upon the
calamity of a single person. When Bassus perceived that, he began
to think of using a stratagem against the enemy, and was desirous to
aggravate their grief, in order to prevail with them to surrender the
city for the preservation of that man. Nor did he fail of his hope; for
he commanded them to set up a cross, as if he were just going to hang
Eleazar upon it immediately; the sight of this occasioned a sore grief
among those that were in the citadel, and they groaned vehemently, and
cried out that they could not bear to see him thus destroyed. Whereupon
Eleazar besought them not to disregard him, now he was going to suffer a
most miserable death, and exhorted them to save themselves, by yielding
to the Roman power and good fortune, since all other people were now
conquered by them. These men were greatly moved with what he said, there
being also many within the city that interceded for him, because he was
of an eminent and very numerous family; so they now yielded to their
passion of commiseration, contrary to their usual custom. Accordingly,
they sent out immediately certain messengers, and treated with the
Romans, in order to a surrender of the citadel to them, and desired that
they might be permitted to go away, and take Eleazar along with them.
Then did the Romans and their general accept of these terms; while the
multitude of strangers that were in the lower part of the city, hearing
of the agreement that was made by the Jews for themselves alone, were
resolved to fly away privately in the night time; but as soon as they
had opened their gates, those that had come to terms with Bassus told
him of it; whether it were that they envied the others' deliverance,
or whether it were done out of fear, lest an occasion should be taken
against them upon their escape, is uncertain. The most courageous,
therefore, of those men that went out prevented the enemy, and got away,
and fled for it; but for those men that were caught within they were
slain to the number of one thousand seven hundred, as were the women and
children made slaves. But as Bassus thought he must perform the covenant
he had made with those that surrendered the citadel, he let them go, and
restored Eleazar to them.
5. When Bassus had settled these affairs, he marched hastily to the
forest of Jarden, as it is called; for he had heard that a great many
of those that had fled from Jerusalem and Machaerus formerly were there
gotten together. When he was therefore come to the place, and understood
that the former news was no mistake, he, in the first place, surrounded
the whole place with his horsemen, that such of the Jews as had boldness
enough to try to break through might have no way possible for escaping,
by reason of the situation of these horsemen; and for the footmen, he
ordered them to cut down the trees that were in the wood whither
they were fled. So the Jews were under a necessity of performing some
glorious exploit, and of greatly exposing themselves in a battle, since
they might perhaps thereby escape. So they made a general attack, and
with a great shout fell upon those that surrounded them, who received
them with great courage; and so while the one side fought desperately,
and the others would not yield, the fight was prolonged on that account.
But the event of the battle did not answer the expectation of the
assailants; for so it happened, that no more than twelve fell on the
Roman side, with a few that were wounded; but not one of the Jews
escaped out of this battle, but they were all killed, being in the whole
not fewer in number than three thousand, together with Judas, the son
of Jairus, their general, concerning whom we have before spoken, that he
had been a captain of a certain band at the siege of Jerusalem, and by
going down into a certain vault under ground, had privately made his
escape.
6. About the same time it was that Caesar sent a letter to Bassus, and
to Liberius Maximus, who was the procurator [of Judea], and gave order
that all Judea should be exposed to sale 12 for he did not found any
city there, but reserved the country for himself. However, he assigned
a place for eight hundred men only, whom he had dismissed from his army,
which he gave them for their habitation; it is called Emmaus, 13 and is
distant from Jerusalem threescore furlongs. He also laid a tribute upon
the Jews wheresoever they were, and enjoined every one of them to bring
two drachmae every year into the Capitol, as they used to pay the same
to the temple at Jerusalem. And this was the state of the Jewish affairs
at this time.
CHAPTER 7.
Concerning The Calamity That Befell Antiochus, King Of
Commagene. As Also Concerning The Alans And What Great
Mischiefs They Did To The Medes And Armenians.
1. And now, in the fourth year of the reign of Vespasian, it came to
pass that Antiochus, the king of Commagene, with all his family, fell
into very great calamities. The occasion was this: Cesennius Petus, who
was president of Syria at this time, whether it were done out of regard
to truth, or whether out of hatred to Antiochus, [for which was the real
motive was never thoroughly discovered,] sent an epistle to Caesar, and
therein told him that Antiochus, with his son Epiphanes, had resolved to
rebel against the Romans, and had made a league with the king of Parthia
to that purpose; that it was therefore fit to prevent them, lest they
prevent us, and begin such a war as may cause a general disturbance in
the Roman empire. Now Caesar was disposed to take some care about the
matter, since this discovery was made; for the neighborhood of the
kingdoms made this affair worthy of greater regard; for Samoseta, the
capital of Commagene, lies upon Euphrates, and upon any such design
could afford an easy passage over it to the Parthians, and could also
afford them a secure reception. Petus was accordingly believed, and had
authority given him of doing what he should think proper in the case; so
he set about it without delay, and fell upon Commagene before Antiochus
and his people had the least expectation of his coming: he had with him
the tenth legion, as also some cohorts and troops of horsemen. These
kings also came to his assistance: Aristobulus, king of the country
called Chalcidene, and Sohemus, who was called king of Emesa. Nor was
there any opposition made to his forces when they entered the kingdom;
for no one of that country would so much as lift up his hand against
them. When Antiochus heard this unexpected news, he could not think in
the least of making war with the Romans, but determined to leave his
whole kingdom in the state wherein it now was, and to retire privately,
with his wife and children, as thinking thereby to demonstrate himself
to the Romans to be innocent as to the accusation laid against him. So
he went away from that city as far as a hundred and twenty furlongs,
into a plain, and there pitched his tents.
2. Petus then sent some of his men to seize upon Samosate, and by their
means took possession of that city, while he went himself to attack
Antiochus with the rest of his army. However, the king was not prevailed
upon by the distress he was in to do any thing in the way of war against
the Romans, but bemoaned his own hard fate, and endured with patience
what he was not able to prevent. But his sons, who were young, and
unexperienced in war, but of strong bodies, were not easily induced
to bear this calamity without fighting. Epiphanes, therefore, and
Callinicus, betook themselves to military force; and as the battle was a
sore one, and lasted all the day long, they showed their own valor in
a remarkable manner, and nothing but the approach of night put a period
thereto, and that without any diminution of their forces; yet would
not Antiochus, upon this conclusion of the fight, continue there by any
means, but took his wife and his daughters, and fled away with them
to Cilicia, and by so doing quite discouraged the minds of his own
soldiers. Accordingly, they revolted, and went over to the Romans, out
of the despair they were in of his keeping the kingdom; and his case was
looked upon by all as quite desperate. It was therefore necessary that
Epiphanes and his soldiers should get clear of their enemies before they
became entirely destitute of any confederates; nor were there any more
than ten horsemen with him, who passed with him over Euphrates, whence
they went undisturbed to Vologeses, the king of Parthia, where they were
not disregarded as fugitives, but had the same respect paid them as if
they had retained their ancient prosperity.
3. Now when Antiochus was come to Tarsus in Cilicia, Petus ordered
a centurion to go to him, and send him in bonds to Rome. However,
Vespasian could not endure to have a king brought to him in that manner,
but thought it fit rather to have a regard to the ancient friendship
that had been between them, than to preserve an inexorable anger upon
pretense of this war. Accordingly, he gave orders that they should take
off his bonds, while he was still upon the road, and that he should not
come to Rome, but should now go and live at Lacedemon; he also gave him
large revenues, that he might not only live in plenty, but like a king
also. When Epiphanes, who before was in great fear for his father, was
informed of this, their minds were freed from that great and almost
incurable concern they had been under. He also hoped that Caesar would
be reconciled to them, upon the intercession of Vologeses; for although
he lived in plenty, he knew not how to bear living out of the Roman
empire. So Caesar gave him leave, after an obliging manner, and he came
to Rome; and as his father came quickly to him from Lacedemon, he had
all sorts of respect paid him there, and there he remained.
4. Now there was a nation of the Alans, which we have formerly mentioned
some where as being Scythians and inhabiting at the lake Meotis. This
nation about this time laid a design of falling upon Media, and the
parts beyond it, in order to plunder them; with which intention they
treated with the king of Hyrcania; for he was master of that passage
which king Alexander [the Great] shut up with iron gates. This king gave
them leave to come through them; so they came in great multitudes, and
fell upon the Medes unexpectedly, and plundered their country, which
they found full of people, and replenished with abundance of cattle,
while nobody durst make any resistance against them; for Paeorus, the
king of the country, had fled away for fear into places where they could
not easily come at him, and had yielded up every thing he had to them,
and had only saved his wife and his concubines from them, and that with
difficulty also, after they had been made captives, by giving them a
hundred talents for their ransom. These Alans therefore plundered the
country without opposition, and with great ease, and proceeded as far
as Armenia, laying all waste before them. Now Tiridates was king of that
country, who met them, and fought them, but had like to have been taken
alive in the battle; for a certain man threw a net over him from a great
distance, and had soon drawn him to him, unless he had immediately cut
the cord with his sword, and ran away, and prevented it. So the Alans,
being still more provoked by this sight, laid waste the country, and
drove a great multitude of the men, and a great quantity of the other
prey they had gotten out of both kingdoms, along with them, and then
retreated back to their own country.
CHAPTER 8.
Concerning Masada And Those Sicarii Who Kept It; And How
Silva Betook Himself To Form The Siege Of That Citadel.
Eleazar's Speeches To The Besieged.
1. When Bassus was dead in Judea, Flavius Silva succeeded him as
procurator there; who, when he saw that all the rest of the country was
subdued in this war, and that there was but one only strong hold
that was still in rebellion, he got all his army together that lay in
different places, and made an expedition against it. This fortress was
called Masada. It was one Eleazar, a potent man, and the commander of
these Sicarii, that had seized upon it. He was a descendant from that
Judas who had persuaded abundance of the Jews, as we have formerly
related, not to submit to the taxation when Cyrenius was sent into Judea
to make one; for then it was that the Sicarii got together against
those that were willing to submit to the Romans, and treated them in all
respects as if they had been their enemies, both by plundering them
of what they had, by driving away their cattle, and by setting fire
to their houses; for they said that they differed not at all from
foreigners, by betraying, in so cowardly a manner, that freedom which
Jews thought worthy to be contended for to the utmost, and by owning
that they preferred slavery under the Romans before such a contention.
Now this was in reality no better than a pretense and a cloak for the
barbarity which was made use of by them, and to color over their own
avarice, which they afterwards made evident by their own actions; for
those that were partners with them in their rebellion joined also with
them in the war against the Romans, and went further lengths with them
in their impudent undertakings against them; and when they were again
convicted of dissembling in such their pretenses, they still more abused
those that justly reproached them for their wickedness. And indeed that
was a time most fertile in all manner of wicked practices, insomuch that
no kind of evil deeds were then left undone; nor could any one so much
as devise any bad thing that was new, so deeply were they all infected,
and strove with one another in their single capacity, and in their
communities, who should run the greatest lengths in impiety towards
God, and in unjust actions towards their neighbors; the men of power
oppressing the multitude, and the multitude earnestly laboring to
destroy the men of power. The one part were desirous of tyrannizing over
others, and the rest of offering violence to others, and of plundering
such as were richer than themselves. They were the Sicarii who first
began these transgressions, and first became barbarous towards those
allied to them, and left no words of reproach unsaid, and no works of
perdition untried, in order to destroy those whom their contrivances
affected. Yet did John demonstrate by his actions that these Sicarii
were more moderate than he was himself, for he not only slew all such
as gave him good counsel to do what was right, but treated them worst of
all, as the most bitter enemies that he had among all the Citizens; nay,
he filled his entire country with ten thousand instances of wickedness,
such as a man who was already hardened sufficiently in his impiety
towards God would naturally do; for the food was unlawful that was set
upon his table, and he rejected those purifications that the law of his
country had ordained; so that it was no longer a wonder if he, who
was so mad in his impiety towards God, did not observe any rules of
gentleness and common affection towards men. Again, therefore, what
mischief was there which Simon the son of Gioras did not do? or what
kind of abuses did he abstain from as to those very free-men who had set
him up for a tyrant? What friendship or kindred were there that did not
make him more bold in his daily murders? for they looked upon the doing
of mischief to strangers only as a work beneath their courage, but
thought their barbarity towards their nearest relations would be a
glorious demonstration thereof. The Idumeans also strove with these
men who should be guilty of the greatest madness! for they [all], vile
wretches as they were, cut the throats of the high priests, that so
no part of a religious regard to God might be preserved; they
thence proceeded to destroy utterly the least remains of a political
government, and introduced the most complete scene of iniquity in all
instances that were practicable; under which scene that sort of people
that were called zealots grew up, and who indeed corresponded to
the name; for they imitated every wicked work; nor, if their memory
suggested any evil thing that had formerly been done, did they avoid
zealously to pursue the same; and although they gave themselves that
name from their zeal for what was good, yet did it agree to them only
by way of irony, on account of those they had unjustly treated by their
wild and brutish disposition, or as thinking the greatest mischiefs to
be the greatest good. Accordingly, they all met with such ends as God
deservedly brought upon them in way of punishment; for all such miseries
have been sent upon them as man's nature is capable of undergoing,
till the utmost period of their lives, and till death came upon them
in various ways of torment; yet might one say justly that they suffered
less than they had done, because it was impossible they could be
punished according to their deserving. But to make a lamentation
according to the deserts of those who fell under these men's barbarity,
this is not a proper place for it;--I therefore now return again to the
remaining part of the present narration.
2. For now it was that the Roman general came, and led his army against
Eleazar and those Sicarii who held the fortress Masada together with
him; and for the whole country adjoining, he presently gained it, and
put garrisons into the most proper places of it; he also built a wall
quite round the entire fortress, that none of the besieged might easily
escape; he also set his men to guard the several parts of it; he also
pitched his camp in such an agreeable place as he had chosen for the
siege, and at which place the rock belonging to the fortress did make
the nearest approach to the neighboring mountain, which yet was a place
of difficulty for getting plenty of provisions; for it was not only food
that was to be brought from a great distance [to the army], and this
with a great deal of pain to those Jews who were appointed for that
purpose, but water was also to be brought to the camp, because the place
afforded no fountain that was near it. When therefore Silva had ordered
these affairs beforehand, he fell to besieging the place; which siege
was likely to stand in need of a great deal of skill and pains, by
reason of the strength of the fortress, the nature of which I will now
describe.
3. There was a rock, not small in circumference, and very high. It was
encompassed with valleys of such vast depth downward, that the eye could
not reach their bottoms; they were abrupt, and such as no animal could
walk upon, excepting at two places of the rock, where it subsides, in
order to afford a passage for ascent, though not without difficulty.
Now, of the ways that lead to it, one is that from the lake Asphaltites,
towards the sun-rising, and another on the west, where the ascent is
easier: the one of these ways is called the Serpent, as resembling that
animal in its narrowness and its perpetual windings; for it is broken
off at the prominent precipices of the rock, and returns frequently into
itself, and lengthening again by little and little, hath much ado to
proceed forward; and he that would walk along it must first go on one
leg, and then on the other; there is also nothing but destruction, in
case your feet slip; for on each side there is a vastly deep chasm and
precipice, sufficient to quell the courage of every body by the terror
it infuses into the mind. When, therefore, a man hath gone along this
way for thirty furlongs, the rest is the top of the hill--not ending at
a small point, but is no other than a plain upon the highest part of the
mountain. Upon this top of the hill, Jonathan the high priest first of
all built a fortress, and called it Masada: after which the rebuilding
of this place employed the care of king Herod to a great degree; he
also built a wall round about the entire top of the hill, seven furlongs
long; it was composed of white stone; its height was twelve, and
its breadth eight cubits; there were also erected upon that wall
thirty-eight towers, each of them fifty cubits high; out of which you
might pass into lesser edifices, which were built on the inside, round
the entire wall; for the king reserved the top of the hill, which was of
a fat soil, and better mould than any valley for agriculture, that such
as committed themselves to this fortress for their preservation might
not even there be quite destitute of food, in case they should ever be
in want of it from abroad. Moreover, he built a palace therein at the
western ascent; it was within and beneath the walls of the citadel, but
inclined to its north side. Now the wall of this palace was very high
and strong, and had at its four corners towers sixty cubits high. The
furniture also of the edifices, and of the cloisters, and of the
baths, was of great variety, and very costly; and these buildings were
supported by pillars of single stones on every side; the walls and also
the floors of the edifices were paved with stones of several colors. He
also had cut many and great pits, as reservoirs for water, out of the
rocks, at every one of the places that were inhabited, both above and
round about the palace, and before the wall; and by this contrivance
he endeavored to have water for several uses, as if there had been
fountains there. Here was also a road digged from the palace, and
leading to the very top of the mountain, which yet could not be seen by
such as were without [the walls]; nor indeed could enemies easily
make use of the plain roads; for the road on the east side, as we have
already taken notice, could not be walked upon, by reason of its nature;
and for the western road, he built a large tower at its narrowest place,
at no less a distance from the top of the hill than a thousand cubits;
which tower could not possibly be passed by, nor could it be easily
taken; nor indeed could those that walked along it without any fear
[such was its contrivance] easily get to the end of it; and after such
a manner was this citadel fortified, both by nature and by the hands of
men, in order to frustrate the attacks of enemies.
4. As for the furniture that was within this fortress, it was still more
wonderful on account of its splendor and long continuance; for here was
laid up corn in large quantities, and such as would subsist men for a
long time; here was also wine and oil in abundance, with all kinds of
pulse and dates heaped up together; all which Eleazar found there, when
he and his Sicarii got possession of the fortress by treachery. These
fruits were also fresh and full ripe, and no way inferior to such fruits
newly laid in, although they were little short of a hundred years 14
from the laying in these provisions [by Herod], till the place was taken
by the Romans; nay, indeed, when the Romans got possession of those
fruits that were left, they found them not corrupted all that while; nor
should we be mistaken, if we supposed that the air was here the cause
of their enduring so long; this fortress being so high, and so free from
the mixture of all terrain and muddy particles of matter. There was also
found here a large quantity of all sorts of weapons of war, which had
been treasured up by that king, and were sufficient for ten thousand
men; there was cast iron, and brass, and tin, which show that he
had taken much pains to have all things here ready for the greatest
occasions; for the report goes how Herod thus prepared this fortress on
his own account, as a refuge against two kinds of danger; the one for
fear of the multitude of the Jews, lest they should depose him, and
restore their former kings to the government; the other danger was
greater and more terrible, which arose from Cleopatra queen of Egypt,
who did not conceal her intentions, but spoke often to Antony, and
desired him to cut off Herod, and entreated him to bestow the kingdom of
Judea upon her. And certainly it is a great wonder that Antony did never
comply with her commands in this point, as he was so miserably enslaved
to his passion for her; nor should any one have been surprised if she
had been gratified in such her request. So the fear of these dangers
made Herod rebuild Masada, and thereby leave it for the finishing stroke
of the Romans in this Jewish war.
5. Since therefore the Roman commander Silva had now built a wall on the
outside, round about this whole place, as we have said already, and
had thereby made a most accurate provision to prevent any one of the
besieged running away, he undertook the siege itself, though he found
but one single place that would admit of the banks he was to raise; for
behind that tower which secured the road that led to the palace, and to
the top of the hill from the west; there was a certain eminency of the
rock, very broad and very prominent, but three hundred cubits beneath
the highest part of Masada; it was called the White Promontory.
Accordingly, he got upon that part of the rock, and ordered the army
to bring earth; and when they fell to that work with alacrity, and
abundance of them together, the bank was raised, and became solid for
two hundred cubits in height. Yet was not this bank thought sufficiently
high for the use of the engines that were to be set upon it; but still
another elevated work of great stones compacted together was raised upon
that bank; this was fifty cubits, both in breadth and height. The other
machines that were now got ready were like to those that had been first
devised by Vespasian, and afterwards by Titus, for sieges. There was
also a tower made of the height of sixty cubits, and all over plated
with iron, out of which the Romans threw darts and stones from the
engines, and soon made those that fought from the walls of the place to
retire, and would not let them lift up their heads above the works. At
the same time Silva ordered that great battering ram which he had made
to be brought thither, and to be set against the wall, and to make
frequent batteries against it, which with some difficulty broke down
a part of the wall, and quite overthrew it. However, the Sicarii made
haste, and presently built another wall within that, which should not be
liable to the same misfortune from the machines with the other; it was
made soft and yielding, and so was capable of avoiding the terrible
blows that affected the other. It was framed after the following manner:
They laid together great beams of wood lengthways, one close to the end
of another, and the same way in which they were cut: there were two of
these rows parallel to one another, and laid at such a distance from
each other as the breadth of the wall required, and earth was put into
the space between those rows. Now, that the earth might not fall away
upon the elevation of this bank to a greater height, they further laid
other beams over cross them, and thereby bound those beams together that
lay lengthways. This work of theirs was like a real edifice; and when
the machines were applied, the blows were weakened by its yielding; and
as the materials by such concussion were shaken closer together, the
pile by that means became firmer than before. When Silva saw this, he
thought it best to endeavor the taking of this wall by setting fire to
it; so he gave order that the soldiers should throw a great number of
burning torches upon it: accordingly, as it was chiefly made of wood,
it soon took fire; and when it was once set on fire, its hollowness made
that fire spread to a mighty flame. Now, at the very beginning of this
fire, a north wind that then blew proved terrible to the Romans; for by
bringing the flame downward, it drove it upon them, and they were almost
in despair of success, as fearing their machines would be burnt: but
after this, on a sudden the wind changed into the south, as if it were
done by Divine Providence, and blew strongly the contrary way, and
carried the flame, and drove it against the wall, which was now on fire
through its entire thickness. So the Romans, having now assistance
from God, returned to their camp with joy, and resolved to attack their
enemies the very next day; on which occasion they set their watch more
carefully that night, lest any of the Jews should run away from them
without being discovered.
6. However, neither did Eleazar once think of flying away, nor would he
permit any one else to do so; but when he saw their wall burned down by
the fire, and could devise no other way of escaping, or room for their
further courage, and setting before their eyes what the Romans would do
to them, their children, and their wives, if they got them into their
power, he consulted about having them all slain. Now as he judged this
to be the best thing they could do in their present circumstances, he
gathered the most courageous of his companions together, and encouraged
them to take that course by a speech 15 which he made to them in the
manner following: "Since we, long ago, my generous friends, resolved
never to be servants to the Romans, nor to any other than to God
himself, who alone is the true and just Lord of mankind, the time is now
come that obliges us to make that resolution true in practice. And
let us not at this time bring a reproach upon ourselves for
self-contradiction, while we formerly would not undergo slavery, though
it were then without danger, but must now, together with slavery,
choose such punishments also as are intolerable; I mean this, upon the
supposition that the Romans once reduce us under their power while we
are alive. We were the very first that revolted from them, and we are
the last that fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor
that God hath granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely,
and in a state of freedom, which hath not been the case of others, who
were conquered unexpectedly. It is very plain that we shall be taken
within a day's time; but it is still an eligible thing to die after a
glorious manner, together with our dearest friends. This is what our
enemies themselves cannot by any means hinder, although they be very
desirous to take us alive. Nor can we propose to ourselves any more
to fight them, and beat them. It had been proper indeed for us to have
conjectured at the purpose of God much sooner, and at the very first,
when we were so desirous of defending our liberty, and when we received
such sore treatment from one another, and worse treatment from our
enemies, and to have been sensible that the same God, who had of old
taken the Jewish nation into his favor, had now condemned them to
destruction; for had he either continued favorable, or been but in a
lesser degree displeased with us, he had not overlooked the destruction
of so many men, or delivered his most holy city to be burnt and
demolished by our enemies. To be sure we weakly hoped to have preserved
ourselves, and ourselves alone, still in a state of freedom, as if we
had been guilty of no sins ourselves against God, nor been partners with
those of others; we also taught other men to preserve their liberty.
Wherefore, consider how God hath convinced us that our hopes were in
vain, by bringing such distress upon us in the desperate state we are
now in, and which is beyond all our expectations; for the nature of this
fortress which was in itself unconquerable, hath not proved a means of
our deliverance; and even while we have still great abundance of food,
and a great quantity of arms, and other necessaries more than we want,
we are openly deprived by God himself of all hope of deliverance; for
that fire which was driven upon our enemies did not of its own accord
turn back upon the wall which we had built; this was the effect of God's
anger against us for our manifold sins, which we have been guilty of
in a most insolent and extravagant manner with regard to our own
countrymen; the punishments of which let us not receive from the Romans,
but from God himself, as executed by our own hands; for these will be
more moderate than the other. Let our wives die before they are abused,
and our children before they have tasted of slavery; and after we
have slain them, let us bestow that glorious benefit upon one another
mutually, and preserve ourselves in freedom, as an excellent funeral
monument for us. But first let us destroy our money and the fortress
by fire; for I am well assured that this will be a great grief to the
Romans, that they shall not be able to seize upon our bodies, and shall
fail of our wealth also; and let us spare nothing but our provisions;
for they will be a testimonial when we are dead that we were not subdued
for want of necessaries, but that, according to our original resolution,
we have preferred death before slavery."
7. This was Eleazar's speech to them. Yet did not the opinions of all
the auditors acquiesce therein; but although some of them were very
zealous to put his advice in practice, and were in a manner filled with
pleasure at it, and thought death to be a good thing, yet had those that
were most effeminate a commiseration for their wives and families;
and when these men were especially moved by the prospect of their own
certain death, they looked wistfully at one another, and by the tears
that were in their eyes declared their dissent from his opinion.
When Eleazar saw these people in such fear, and that their souls were
dejected at so prodigious a proposal, he was afraid lest perhaps these
effeminate persons should, by their lamentations and tears, enfeeble
those that heard what he had said courageously; so he did not leave
off exhorting them, but stirred up himself, and recollecting proper
arguments for raising their courage, he undertook to speak more briskly
and fully to them, and that concerning the immortality of the soul. So
he made a lamentable groan, and fixing his eyes intently on those that
wept, he spake thus: "Truly, I was greatly mistaken when I thought to be
assisting to brave men who struggled hard for their liberty, and to such
as were resolved either to live with honor, or else to die; but I find
that you are such people as are no better than others, either in virtue
or in courage, and are afraid of dying, though you be delivered thereby
from the greatest miseries, while you ought to make no delay in this
matter, nor to await any one to give you good advice; for the laws of
our country, and of God himself, have from ancient times, and as soon as
ever we could use our reason, continually taught us, and our forefathers
have corroborated the same doctrine by their actions, and by their
bravery of mind, that it is life that is a calamity to men, and not
death; for this last affords our souls their liberty, and sends them
by a removal into their own place of purity, where they are to be
insensible of all sorts of misery; for while souls are tied down to a
mortal body, they are partakers of its miseries; and really, to speak
the truth, they are themselves dead; for the union of what is divine
to what is mortal is disagreeable. It is true, the power of the soul
is great, even when it is imprisoned in a mortal body; for by moving it
after a way that is invisible, it makes the body a sensible instrument,
and causes it to advance further in its actions than mortal nature could
otherwise do. However, when it is freed from that weight which draws it
down to the earth and is connected with it, it obtains its own proper
place, and does then become a partaker of that blessed power, and those
abilities, which are then every way incapable of being hindered in their
operations. It continues invisible, indeed, to the eyes of men, as does
God himself; for certainly it is not itself seen while it is in the
body; for it is there after an invisible manner, and when it is freed
from it, it is still not seen. It is this soul which hath one nature,
and that an incorruptible one also; but yet it is the cause of the
change that is made in the body; for whatsoever it be which the soul
touches, that lives and flourishes; and from whatsoever it is removed,
that withers away and dies; such a degree is there in it of immortality.
Let me produce the state of sleep as a most evident demonstration of
the truth of what I say; wherein souls, when the body does not distract
them, have the sweetest rest depending on themselves, and conversing
with God, by their alliance to him; they then go every where, and
foretell many futurities beforehand. And why are we afraid of death,
while we are pleased with the rest that we have in sleep? And how absurd
a thing is it to pursue after liberty while we are alive, and yet to
envy it to ourselves where it will be eternal! We, therefore, who have
been brought up in a discipline of our own, ought to become an example
to others of our readiness to die. Yet, if we do stand in need of
foreigners to support us in this matter, let us regard those Indians
who profess the exercise of philosophy; for these good men do but
unwillingly undergo the time of life, and look upon it as a necessary
servitude, and make haste to let their souls loose from their bodies;
nay, when no misfortune presses them to it, nor drives them upon it,
these have such a desire of a life of immortality, that they tell other
men beforehand that they are about to depart; and nobody hinders them,
but every one thinks them happy men, and gives them letters to be
carried to their familiar friends [that are dead], so firmly and
certainly do they believe that souls converse with one another [in the
other world]. So when these men have heard all such commands that were
to be given them, they deliver their body to the fire; and, in order
to their getting their soul a separation from the body in the greatest
purity, they die in the midst of hymns of commendations made to them;
for their dearest friends conduct them to their death more readily than
do any of the rest of mankind conduct their fellow-citizens when they
are going a very long journey, who at the same time weep on their own
account, but look upon the others as happy persons, as so soon to be
made partakers of the immortal order of beings. Are not we, therefore,
ashamed to have lower notions than the Indians? and by our own cowardice
to lay a base reproach upon the laws of our country, which are so much
desired and imitated by all mankind? But put the case that we had
been brought up under another persuasion, and taught that life is the
greatest good which men are capable of, and that death is a calamity;
however, the circumstances we are now in ought to be an inducement to us
to bear such calamity courageously, since it is by the will of God, and
by necessity, that we are to die; for it now appears that God hath
made such a decree against the whole Jewish nation, that we are to be
deprived of this life which [he knew] we would not make a due use
of. For do not you ascribe the occasion of our present condition to
yourselves, nor think the Romans are the true occasion that this war we
have had with them is become so destructive to us all: these things
have not come to pass by their power, but a more powerful cause hath
intervened, and made us afford them an occasion of their appearing to be
conquerors over us. What Roman weapons, I pray you, were those by which
the Jews at Cesarea were slain? On the contrary, when they were no way
disposed to rebel, but were all the while keeping their seventh day
festival, and did not so much as lift up their hands against the
citizens of Cesarea, yet did those citizens run upon them in great
crowds, and cut their throats, and the throats of their wives and
children, and this without any regard to the Romans themselves, who
never took us for their enemies till we revolted from them. But some may
be ready to say, that truly the people of Cesarea had always a quarrel
against those that lived among them, and that when an opportunity
offered itself, they only satisfied the old rancor they had against
them. What then shall we say to those of Scythopolis, who ventured to
wage war with us on account of the Greeks? Nor did they do it by way of
revenge upon the Romans, when they acted in concert with our countrymen.
Wherefore you see how little our good-will and fidelity to them profited
us, while they were slain, they and their whole families, after the most
inhuman manner, which was all the requital that was made them for the
assistance they had afforded the others; for that very same destruction
which they had prevented from falling upon the others did they suffer
themselves from them, as if they had been ready to be the actors
against them. It would be too long for me to speak at this time of every
destruction brought upon us; for you cannot but know that there was not
any one Syrian city which did not slay their Jewish inhabitants, and
were not more bitter enemies to us than were the Romans themselves; nay,
even those of Damascus, 16 when they were able to allege no tolerable
pretense against us, filled their city with the most barbarous
slaughters of our people, and cut the throats of eighteen thousand Jews,
with their wives and children. And as to the multitude of those that
were slain in Egypt, and that with torments also, we have been informed
they were more than sixty thousand; those indeed being in a foreign
country, and so naturally meeting with nothing to oppose against their
enemies, were killed in the manner forementioned. As for all those of
us who have waged war against the Romans in our own country, had we not
sufficient reason to have sure hopes of victory? For we had arms, and
walls, and fortresses so prepared as not to be easily taken, and courage
not to be moved by any dangers in the cause of liberty, which encouraged
us all to revolt from the Romans. But then these advantages sufficed
us but for a short time, and only raised our hopes, while they really
appeared to be the origin of our miseries; for all we had hath been
taken from us, and all hath fallen under our enemies, as if these
advantages were only to render their victory over us the more glorious,
and were not disposed for the preservation of those by whom these
preparations were made. And as for those that are already dead in the
war, it is reasonable we should esteem them blessed, for they are
dead in defending, and not in betraying their liberty; but as to the
multitude of those that are now under the Romans, who would not pity
their condition? and who would not make haste to die, before he would
suffer the same miseries with them? Some of them have been put upon the
rack, and tortured with fire and whippings, and so died. Some have been
half devoured by wild beasts, and yet have been reserved alive to be
devoured by them a second time, in order to afford laughter and sport to
our enemies; and such of those as are alive still are to be looked on as
the most miserable, who, being so desirous of death, could not come
at it. And where is now that great city, the metropolis of the Jewish
nation, which was fortified by so many walls round about, which had
so many fortresses and large towers to defend it, which could hardly
contain the instruments prepared for the war, and which had so many ten
thousands of men to fight for it? Where is this city that was believed
to have God himself inhabiting therein? It is now demolished to the very
foundations, and hath nothing but that monument of it preserved, I mean
the camp of those that hath destroyed it, which still dwells upon its
ruins; some unfortunate old men also lie upon the ashes of the temple,
and a few women are there preserved alive by the enemy, for our bitter
shame and reproach. Now who is there that revolves these things in his
mind, and yet is able to bear the sight of the sun, though he might live
out of danger? Who is there so much his country's enemy, or so unmanly,
and so desirous of living, as not to repent that he is still alive? And
I cannot but wish that we had all died before we had seen that holy city
demolished by the hands of our enemies, or the foundations of our holy
temple dug up after so profane a manner. But since we had a generous
hope that deluded us, as if we might perhaps have been able to avenge
ourselves on our enemies on that account, though it be now become
vanity, and hath left us alone in this distress, let us make haste to
die bravely. Let us pity ourselves, our children, and our wives while it
is in our own power to show pity to them; for we were born to die, 17 as
well as those were whom we have begotten; nor is it in the power of the
most happy of our race to avoid it. But for abuses, and slavery, and
the sight of our wives led away after an ignominious manner, with their
children, these are not such evils as are natural and necessary among
men; although such as do not prefer death before those miseries, when it
is in their power so to do, must undergo even them, on account of their
own cowardice. We revolted from the Romans with great pretensions
to courage; and when, at the very last, they invited us to preserve
ourselves, we would not comply with them. Who will not, therefore,
believe that they will certainly be in a rage at us, in case they can
take us alive? Miserable will then be the young men who will be strong
enough in their bodies to sustain many torments! miserable also will
be those of elder years, who will not be able to bear those calamities
which young men might sustain! One man will be obliged to hear the voice
of his son implore help of his father, when his hands are bound. But
certainly our hands are still at liberty, and have a sword in them; let
them then be subservient to us in our glorious design; let us die before
we become slaves under our enemies, and let us go out of the world,
together with our children and our wives, in a state of freedom. This
it is that our laws command us to do; this it is that our wives
and children crave at our hands; nay, God himself hath brought this
necessity upon us; while the Romans desire the contrary, and are afraid
lest any of us should die before we are taken. Let us therefore make
haste, and instead of affording them so much pleasure, as they hope
for in getting us under their power, let us leave them an example
which shall at once cause their astonishment at our death, and their
admiration of our hardiness therein."
CHAPTER 9.
How The People That Were In The Fortress Were Prevailed On
By The Words Of Eleazar, Two Women And Five Children Only
Excepted And All Submitted To Be Killed By One Another.
1. Now as Eleazar was proceeding on in this exhortation, they all
cut him off short, and made haste to do the work, as full of an
unconquerable ardor of mind, and moved with a demoniacal fury. So they
went their ways, as one still endeavoring to be before another, and as
thinking that this eagerness would be a demonstration of their courage
and good conduct, if they could avoid appearing in the last class; so
great was the zeal they were in to slay their wives and children, and
themselves also! Nor indeed, when they came to the work itself, did
their courage fail them, as one might imagine it would have done, but
they then held fast the same resolution, without wavering, which they
had upon the hearing of Eleazar's speech, while yet every one of them
still retained the natural passion of love to themselves and their
families, because the reasoning they went upon appeared to them to be
very just, even with regard to those that were dearest to them; for the
husbands tenderly embraced their wives, and took their children into
their arms, and gave the longest parting kisses to them, with tears
in their eyes. Yet at the same time did they complete what they had
resolved on, as if they had been executed by the hands of strangers; and
they had nothing else for their comfort but the necessity they were in
of doing this execution, to avoid that prospect they had of the miseries
they were to suffer from their enemies. Nor was there at length any
one of these men found that scrupled to act their part in this terrible
execution, but every one of them despatched his dearest relations.
Miserable men indeed were they! whose distress forced them to slay their
own wives and children with their own hands, as the lightest of those
evils that were before them. So they being not able to bear the grief
they were under for what they had done any longer, and esteeming it an
injury to those they had slain, to live even the shortest space of time
after them, they presently laid all they had upon a heap, and set fire
to it. They then chose ten men by lot out of them to slay all the rest;
every one of whom laid himself down by his wife and children on the
ground, and threw his arms about them, and they offered their necks to
the stroke of those who by lot executed that melancholy office; and when
these ten had, without fear, slain them all, they made the same rule for
casting lots for themselves, that he whose lot it was should first kill
the other nine, and after all should kill himself. Accordingly, all
these had courage sufficient to be no way behind one another in doing
or suffering; so, for a conclusion, the nine offered their necks to the
executioner, and he who was the last of all took a view of all the
other bodies, lest perchance some or other among so many that were slain
should want his assistance to be quite despatched, and when he perceived
that they were all slain, he set fire to the palace, and with the great
force of his hand ran his sword entirely through himself, and fell
down dead near to his own relations. So these people died with this
intention, that they would not leave so much as one soul among them all
alive to be subject to the Romans. Yet was there an ancient woman,
and another who was of kin to Eleazar, and superior to most women in
prudence and learning, with five children, who had concealed themselves
in caverns under ground, and had carried water thither for their drink,
and were hidden there when the rest were intent upon the slaughter of
one another. Those others were nine hundred and sixty in number, the
women and children being withal included in that computation. This
calamitous slaughter was made on the fifteenth day of the month
Xanthicus [Nisan].
2. Now for the Romans, they expected that they should be fought in the
morning, when, accordingly, they put on their armor, and laid bridges of
planks upon their ladders from their banks, to make an assault upon the
fortress, which they did; but saw nobody as an enemy, but a terrible
solitude on every side, with a fire within the place, as well as a
perfect silence. So they were at a loss to guess at what had happened.
At length they made a shout, as if it had been at a blow given by the
battering ram, to try whether they could bring any one out that was
within; the women heard this noise, and came out of their under-ground
cavern, and informed the Romans what had been done, as it was done; and
the second of them clearly described all both what was said and what
was done, and this manner of it; yet did they not easily give their
attention to such a desperate undertaking, and did not believe it could
be as they said; they also attempted to put the fire out, and quickly
cutting themselves a way through it, they came within the palace, and so
met with the multitude of the slain, but could take no pleasure in the
fact, though it were done to their enemies. Nor could they do other than
wonder at the courage of their resolution, and the immovable contempt of
death which so great a number of them had shown, when they went through
with such an action as that was.
CHAPTER 10.
That Many Of The Sicarii Fled To Alexandria Also And What
Dangers They Were In There; On Which Account That Temple
Which Had Formerly Been Built By Onias The High Priest Was
Destroyed.
1. When Masada was thus taken, the general left a garrison in the
fortress to keep it, and he himself went away to Cesarea; for there were
now no enemies left in the country, but it was all overthrown by so long
a war. Yet did this war afford disturbances and dangerous disorders even
in places very far remote from Judea; for still it came to pass that
many Jews were slain at Alexandria in Egypt; for as many of the Sicarii
as were able to fly thither, out of the seditious wars in Judea, were
not content to have saved themselves, but must needs be undertaking to
make new disturbances, and persuaded many of those that entertained
them to assert their liberty, to esteem the Romans to be no better than
themselves, and to look upon God as their only Lord and Master. But when
part of the Jews of reputation opposed them, they slew some of them, and
with the others they were very pressing in their exhortations to revolt
from the Romans; but when the principal men of the senate saw what
madness they were come to, they thought it no longer safe for themselves
to overlook them. So they got all the Jews together to an assembly, and
accused the madness of the Sicarii, and demonstrated that they had been
the authors of all the evils that had come upon them. They said also
that "these men, now they were run away from Judea, having no sure hope
of escaping, because as soon as ever they shall be known, they will be
soon destroyed by the Romans, they come hither and fill us full of those
calamities which belong to them, while we have not been partakers with
them in any of their sins." Accordingly, they exhorted the multitude to
have a care, lest they should be brought to destruction by their means,
and to make their apology to the Romans for what had been done,
by delivering these men up to them; who being thus apprized of the
greatness of the danger they were in, complied with what was proposed,
and ran with great violence upon the Sicarii, and seized upon them; and
indeed six hundred of them were caught immediately: but as to all those
that fled into Egypt 18 and to the Egyptian Thebes, it was not long ere
they were caught also, and brought back, whose courage, or whether we
ought to call it madness, or hardiness in their opinions, every body was
amazed at. For when all sorts of torments and vexations of their bodies
that could be devised were made use of to them, they could not get any
one of them to comply so far as to confess, or seem to confess, that
Caesar was their lord; but they preserved their own opinion, in spite
of all the distress they were brought to, as if they received these
torments and the fire itself with bodies insensible of pain, and with
a soul that in a manner rejoiced under them. But what was most of all
astonishing to the beholders was the courage of the children; for not
one of these children was so far overcome by these torments, as to name
Caesar for their lord. So far does the strength of the courage [of the
soul] prevail over the weakness of the body.
2. Now Lupus did then govern Alexandria, who presently sent Caesar word
of this commotion; who having in suspicion the restless temper of the
Jews for innovation, and being afraid lest they should get together
again, and persuade some others to join with them, gave orders to Lupus
to demolish that Jewish temple which was in the region called Onion,
19 and was in Egypt, which was built and had its denomination from the
occasion following: Onias, the son of Simon, one of the Jewish high
priests fled from Antiochus the king of Syria, when he made war with the
Jews, and came to Alexandria; and as Ptolemy received him very kindly,
on account of hatred to Antiochus, he assured him, that if he would
comply with his proposal, he would bring all the Jews to his assistance;
and when the king agreed to do it so far as he was able, he desired him
to give him leave to build a temple some where in Egypt, and to worship
God according to the customs of his own country; for that the Jews would
then be so much readier to fight against Antiochus who had laid waste
the temple at Jerusalem, and that they would then come to him with
greater good-will; and that, by granting them liberty of conscience,
very many of them would come over to him.
3. So Ptolemy complied with his proposals, and gave him a place one
hundred and eighty furlongs distant from Memphis. 20 That Nomos was
called the Nomos of Hellopolis, where Onias built a fortress and a
temple, not like to that at Jerusalem, but such as resembled a tower.
He built it of large stones to the height of sixty cubits; he made the
structure of the altar in imitation of that in our own country, and in
like manner adorned with gifts, excepting the make of the candlestick,
for he did not make a candlestick, but had a [single] lamp hammered out
of a piece of gold, which illuminated the place with its rays, and which
he hung by a chain of gold; but the entire temple was encompassed with
a wall of burnt brick, though it had gates of stone. The king also gave
him a large country for a revenue in money, that both the priests might
have a plentiful provision made for them, and that God might have great
abundance of what things were necessary for his worship. Yet did not
Onias do this out of a sober disposition, but he had a mind to contend
with the Jews at Jerusalem, and could not forget the indignation he had
for being banished thence. Accordingly, he thought that by building this
temple he should draw away a great number from them to himself. There
had been also a certain ancient prediction made by [a prophet] whose
name was Isaiah, about six hundred years before, that this temple should
be built by a man that was a Jew in Egypt. And this is the history of
the building of that temple.
4. And now Lupus, the governor of Alexandria, upon the receipt of
Caesar's letter, came to the temple, and carried out of it some of the
donations dedicated thereto, and shut up the temple itself. And as Lupus
died a little afterward, Paulinus succeeded him. This man left none of
those donations there, and threatened the priests severely if they
did not bring them all out; nor did he permit any who were desirous of
worshipping God there so much as to come near the whole sacred place;
but when he had shut up the gates, he made it entirely inaccessible,
insomuch that there remained no longer the least footsteps of any Divine
worship that had been in that place. Now the duration of the time from
the building of this temple till it was shut up again was three hundred
and forty-three years.
CHAPTER 11.
Concerning Jonathan, One Of The Sicarii, That Stirred Up A
Sedition In Cyrene, And Was A False Accuser [Of The
Innocent].
1. And now did the madness of the Sicarii, like a disease, reach as far
as the cities of Cyrene; for one Jonathan, a vile person, and by trade
a weaver, came thither and prevailed with no small number of the
poorer sort to give ear to him; he also led them into the desert, upon
promising them that he would show them signs and apparitions. And as for
the other Jews of Cyrene, he concealed his knavery from them, and put
tricks upon them; but those of the greatest dignity among them informed
Catullus, the governor of the Libyan Pentapolis, of his march into the
desert, and of the preparations he had made for it. So he sent out after
him both horsemen and footmen, and easily overcame them, because they
were unarmed men; of these many were slain in the fight, but some were
taken alive, and brought to Catullus. As for Jonathan, the head of this
plot, he fled away at that time; but upon a great and very diligent
search, which was made all the country over for him, he was at last
taken. And when he was brought to Catullus, he devised a way whereby he
both escaped punishment himself, and afforded an occasion to Catullus
of doing much mischief; for he falsely accused the richest men among the
Jews, and said that they had put him upon what he did.
2. Now Catullus easily admitted of these his calumnies, and aggravated
matters greatly, and made tragical exclamations, that he might also be
supposed to have had a hand in the finishing of the Jewish war. But what
was still harder, he did not only give a too easy belief to his stories,
but he taught the Sicarii to accuse men falsely. He bid this Jonathan,
therefore, to name one Alexander, a Jew [with whom he had formerly had
a quarrel, and openly professed that he hated him]; he also got him to
name his wife Bernice, as concerned with him. These two Catullus ordered
to be slain in the first place; nay, after them he caused all the rich
and wealthy Jews to be slain, being no fewer in all than three thousand.
This he thought he might do safely, because he confiscated their
effects, and added them to Caesar's revenues.
3. Nay, indeed, lest any Jews that lived elsewhere should convict him of
his villainy, he extended his false accusations further, and persuaded
Jonathan, and certain others that were caught with him, to bring an
accusation of attempts for innovation against the Jews that were of the
best character both at Alexandria and at Rome. One of these, against
whom this treacherous accusation was laid, was Josephus, the writer of
these books. However, this plot, thus contrived by Catullus, did not
succeed according to his hopes; for though he came himself to Rome, and
brought Jonathan and his companions along with him in bonds, and thought
he should have had no further inquisition made as to those lies that
were forged under his government, or by his means; yet did Vespasian
suspect the matter and made an inquiry how far it was true. And when he
understood that the accusation laid against the Jews was an unjust one,
he cleared them of the crimes charged upon them, and this on account of
Titus's concern about the matter, and brought a deserved punishment upon
Jonathan; for he was first tormented, and then burnt alive.
4. But as to Catullus, the emperors were so gentle to him, that he
underwent no severe condemnation at this time; yet was it not long
before he fell into a complicated and almost incurable distemper, and
died miserably. He was not only afflicted in body, but the distemper
in his mind was more heavy upon him than the other; for he was terribly
disturbed, and continually cried out that he saw the ghosts of those
whom he had slain standing before him. Where upon he was not able to
contain himself, but leaped out of his bed, as if both torments and fire
were brought to him. This his distemper grew still a great deal worse
and worse continually, and his very entrails were so corroded, that they
fell out of his body, and in that condition he died. Thus he became as
great an instance of Divine Providence as ever was, and demonstrated
that God punishes wicked men.
5. And here we shall put an end to this our history; wherein we formerly
promised to deliver the same with all accuracy, to such as should be
desirous of understanding after what manner this war of the Romans with
the Jews was managed. Of which history, how good the style is, must be
left to the determination of the readers; but as for its agreement with
the facts, I shall not scruple to say, and that boldly, that truth hath
been what I have alone aimed at through its entire composition.
WAR BOOK 7 FOOTNOTES 2 (return) [ This Tereutius Rufus, as Reland in
part observes here, is the same person whom the Talmudists call Turnus
Rufus; of whom they relate, that "he ploughed up Sion as a field, and
made Jerusalem become as heaps, and the mountain of the house as the
high Idaces of a forest;" which was long before foretold by the prophet
Micah, ch. 3:12, and quoted from him in the prophecies of Jeremiah, ch.
26:18.]
3 (return) [ See Ecclesiastes 8:11.]
4 (return) [ This Berytus was certainly a Roman colony, and has coins
extant that witness the same, as Hudson and Spanheim inform us. See the
note on Antiq. B. XVI: ch. 11. sect. 1.]
5 (return) [ The Jews at Antioch and Alexandria, the two principal
cities in all the East, had allowed them, both by the Macedonians, and
afterwards by the Romans, a governor of their own, who was exempt from
the jurisdiction of the other civil governors. He was called sometimes
barely "governor," sometimes "ethnarch," and [at Alexandria] "alabarch,"
as Dr. Hudson takes notice on this place out of Fuller's Miscellanies.
They had the like governor or governors allowed them at Babylon under
their captivity there, as the history of Susanna implies.]
6 (return) [ This Classicus, and Civilis, and Cerealis are names well
known in Tacitus; the two former as moving sedition against the Romans,
and the last as sent to repress them by Vespasian, just as they are here
described in Josephus; which is the case also of Fontellis Agrippa
and Rubrius Gallup, i, sect. 3. But as to the very favorable account
presently given of Domitian, particularly as to his designs in this his
Gallic and German expedition, it is not a little contrary to that in
Suetonius, Vesp. sect. 7. Nor are the reasons unobvious that might
occasion this great diversity: Domitian was one of Josephus's patrons,
and when he published these books of the Jewish war, was very young, and
had hardly begun those wicked practices which rendered him so infamous
afterward; while Suetonius seems to have been too young, and too low
in life, to receive any remarkable favors from him; as Domitian was
certainly very lewd and cruel, and generally hated, when Suetonius wrote
about him.]
7 (return) [ Since in these latter ages this Sabbatic River, once so
famous, which, by Josephus's account here, ran every seventh day,
and rested on six, but according to Pliny, Nat. Hist. 31. II, ran
perpetually on six days, and rested every seventh, [though it no way
appears by either of their accounts that the seventh day of this river
was the Jewish seventh day or sabbath,] is quite vanished, I shall add
no more about it: only see Dr. Hudson's note. In Varenius's Geography,
i, 17, the reader will find several instances of such periodical
fountains and rivers, though none of their periods were that of a just
week as of old this appears to have been.]
8 (return) [ Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian.]
9 (return) [ See the representations of these Jewish vessels as they
still stand on Titus's triumphal arch at Rome, in Reland's very curious
book de Spoliis Ternpli, throughout. But what, things are chiefly to be
noted are these: [1.] That Josephus says the candlestick here carried in
this triumph was not thoroughly like that which was used in the temple,
which appears in the number of the little knobs and flowers in that on
the triumphal arch not well agreeing with Moses's description, Exodus
25:31-36. [2.] The smallness of the branches in Josephus compared with
the thickness of those on that arch. [3.] That the Law or Pentateuch
does not appear on that arch at all, though Josephus, an eye-witness,
assures us that it was carried in this procession. All which things
deserve the consideration of the inquisitive reader.]
10 (return) [ Spanheim observes here, that in Graceia Major and
Sicily they had rue prodigiously great and durable, like this rue at
Machaerus.]
11 (return) [ This strange account of the place and root Baaras seems to
have been taken from the magicians, and the root to have been made use
of in the days of Josephus, in that superstitious way of casting out
demons, supposed by him to have been derived from king Solomon; of which
we have already seen he had a great opinion, Antiq. B. VIII. ch. 2.
sect. 5. We also may hence learn the true notion Josephus had of demons
and demoniacs, exactly like that of the Jews and Christians in the New
Testament, and the first four centuries. See Antiq. B. I. ch. 8. sect.
2; B. XI, ch. 2. sect. 3.]
12 (return) [ It is very remarkable that Titus did not people this now
desolate country of Judea, but ordered it to be all sold; nor indeed is
it properly peopled at this day, but lies ready for its old inhabitants
the Jews, at their future restoration. See Literal Accomplishment of
Prophecies, p. 77.]
13 (return) [ That the city Emmaus, or Areindus, in Josephus and others
which was the place of the government of Julius Africanus were slain,
to the number of one thousand seven hundred, as were the women and the
children made slaves. But as Bassus thought he must perform the covenant
he had made with those that had surrendered the citadel, he let them go,
and restored Eleazar to them, in the beginning of the third century, and
which he then procured to be rebuilt, and after which rebuilding it
was called Nicopolis, is entirely different from that Emmaus which is
mentioned by St. Luke 24;13; see Reland's Paleestina, lib. II. p. 429,
and under the name Ammaus also. But he justly thinks that that in St.
Luke may well be the same with his Ammaus before us, especially since
the Greek copies here usually make it sixty furlongs distant from
Jerusalem, as does St. Luke, though the Latin copies say only thirty.
The place also allotted for these eight hundred soldiers, as for a Roman
garrison, in this place, would most naturally be not so remote from
Jerusalem as was the other Emmaus, or Nicopolis.]
14 (return) [ Pliny and others confirm this strange paradox, that
provisions laid up against sieges will continue good for a hundred
years, as Spanheim notes upon this place.]
15 (return) [ The speeches in this and the next section, as introduced
under the person of this Eleazar, are exceeding remarkable, and of the
noblest subjects, the contempt of death, and the dignity and immortality
of the soul; and that not only among the Jews, but among the Indians
themselves also; and are highly worthy the perusal of all the curious.
It seems as if that philosophic lady who survived, ch. 9. sect. 1, 2,
remembered the substance of these discourses, as spoken by Eleazar, and
so Josephus clothed them in his own words: at the lowest they contain
the Jewish notions on these heads, as understood then by our Josephus,
and cannot but deserve a suitable regard from us.]
16 (return) [ See B. II. ch. 20. sect. 2, where the number of the slain
is but 10,000.]
17 (return) [ Reland here sets down a parallel aphorism of one of
the Jewish Rabbins, "We are born that we may die, and die that we may
live."]
18 (return) [ Since Josephus here informs us that some of these Sicarii,
or ruffians, went from Alexandria [which was itself in Egypt, in a large
sense] into Egypt, and Thebes there situated, Reland well observes, from
Vossius, that Egypt sometimes denotes Proper or Upper Egypt, as distinct
from the Delta, and the lower parts near Palestine. Accordingly, as he
adds, those that say it never rains in Egypt must mean the Proper or
Upper Egypt, because it does sometimes rain in the other parts. See the
note on Antiq. B. II. ch. 7. sect. 7, and B. III. ch. 1. sect. 6.]
19 (return) [ Of this temple of Onias's building in Egypt, see the notes
on Antiq. B. XIII. ch. 3. sect. 1. But whereas it is elsewhere, both
of the War, B. I. ch. 1. sect. 1, and in the Antiquities as now quoted,
said that this temple was like to that at Jerusalem, and here that it
was not like it, but like a tower, sect. 3, there is some reason to
suspect the reading here, and that either the negative particle is here
to be blotted out, or the word entirely added.]
20 (return) [ We must observe, that Josephus here speaks of Antiochus
who profaned the temple as now alive, when Onias had leave given them
by Philometer to build his temple; whereas it seems not to have been
actually built till about fifteen years afterwards. Yet, because it is
said in the Antiquities that Onias went to Philometer, B. XII. ch.
9. sect. 7, during the lifetime of that Antiochus, it is probable he
petitioned, and perhaps obtained his leave then, though it were not
actually built or finished till fifteen years afterward.]
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