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History of the Destruction of Jerusalem or The Wars of the Jews ...............................................................1

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

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,

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, daring

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

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 lawsuits, 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

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

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

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;

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

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

(1) 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 thirtyeight 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

(2) 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

(3) That these calamities of the Jews, who were our Savior's murderers, were to be the greatest that had ever

been s nee 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.

(5) These seven, or rather five, degrees of purity, or purification, are enumerated hereafter, B. V. ch. 5. sect.

Containing The Interval Of One Hundred And SixtySeven Years. From The Taking Of Jerusalem By

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 soninlaw 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

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

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 god 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 thirtythree 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.

How Aristobulus Was The First That Put A Diadem About His Head; And After He Had Put His Mother And

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

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

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

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 w{s called Strato's Tower, he was slain by the body guards, and became an eminent instance

how calumny destroys all goodwill and natural affection, and how none of our good affections are strong

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 hare 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 seaside; 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 allseeing 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.

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,

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 Theodopus 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

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

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

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

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

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 Seleucidse. (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

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

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 goodwill 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

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. low

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

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

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

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

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 he 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,

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

handwriting. Accordingly he did what he was ordered to do; but had still an indignation at what was done,

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 aftrighted 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

How Pompey Had The City Of Jerusalem Delivered Up To Him But Took The Temple By Force. How He

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

2. Now as be 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

3. But Pompey himself filled up the ditch that was oil 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

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 drinkofferings, 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

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 fatherinlaw

was taken, who was also his uncle: so those that were the most guilty he punished with decollatlon; but

rewarded Faustus, and those with him that had fought so bravely, with glorious presents, and laid a tribute

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 freedmen. 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

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

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 Machorus, that lay upon the mountains of

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 Oabinius 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 encamped, 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

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 Macherus,

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

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 Macherus. 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 Macherus; 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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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 goodwill to him, but out of the fear they were in from former quarrels, and in

2. Hereupon Antipater threw away his garments, and showed the multitude of the wounds he had, and said,

that as to his goodwill 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

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

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

goodwill 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 goodwill 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

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

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 evildisposed 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 goodwill which the nation bore him,

but by the power he himself had; insomuch that Hyrcanus fell into the utmost degree of terror, and expected

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

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 goodwill

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

Herod Is Made Procurator Of All Syria; Malichus Is Afraid Of Him, And Takes Antipater Off By Poison;

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

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

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

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 premised 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 cupbearers 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

5. However, Malichus, when lie was suspected ef 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

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

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 seashore, where they encompassed Malichus round

about, and killed him with many wounds. Upon which Hyrcanus was immediately aftrighted, 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

Phasaelus Is Too Hard For Felix; Herod Also Overcomes Antigonus In Rattle; And The Jews Accuse Both

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 Maliehus, and

for overlooking Malichus's brother, when he possessed himself of the fortresses; for he had gotten a great

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 goodwill 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

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

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

seashore, 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

The Parthians Bring Antigonus Back Into Judea, And Cast Hyrcanus And Phasaelus Into Prison. The Flight

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 seacoast, 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 cupbearer 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

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 marketplace, 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

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

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 cupbearer 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

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

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

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,

When Herod Is Rejected In Arabia, He Makes Haste To Rome Where Antony And Caesar Join Their Interest

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

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 aftrighted at the height of that storm which. then happened, nor at the

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 threedecked 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

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 goodwill 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 goodwill 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

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

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

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

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, be 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

Herod Takes Sepphoris And Subdues The Robbers That Were In The Caves ; He After That Avenges

Himself Upon Macheras, 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 aftrighted 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

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 Macheras, 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 Macheras 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

7. Hereupon Herod was very angry at him, and was going to fight against Macheras as his enemy; but he

restrained his indignation, and marched to Antony to accuse Macheras of maladministration. But Macheras

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

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 Macheras 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 Macheras 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

newraised men, gathered out of Syria, and here was no mixture of those called veteran soldiers among them,

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 Macheras 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

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 aftrighted at his power, and left

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

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

Macheras; 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 aftrighted 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 covenantbreakers. 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 battlearray 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 footmen 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

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 spike 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

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

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

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.

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

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

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 seaside 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 seashore 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 soninlaw 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 landingplace] 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

8. He also built the other edifices, the amphitheater, and theater, and marketplace, 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 ninetysecond 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

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 marketplaces at Berytus and Tyre, with theatres at Sidon and

Damascus. He also built aqueducts for those Laodiceans who lived by the seaside; 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

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 fifthyear 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 vas betrayed by some, or the rashness of his own

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 lierod, he had not perished:

but the marriage of his granddaughter [to Herod] was his temptation; for as he relied upon him, and was

overfond 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

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

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 goodwill 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."

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

Calumnies Against The Sons Of Mariamne. Antipateris Preferred Before Them. They Are Accused Before

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 Archclaus, 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 soninlaw to Archelaus, relying upon his fatherinlaw,

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

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

fountainhead 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 Archclaus treated them

in the most obliging manner, and gave him thanks for the deliverance of his soninlaw, 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

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 illintended 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.

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

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 firstborn 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 stepmother, and one that hated the queen's sons more than is usual to hate

sonsinlaw. 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 motherinlaw, 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 soninlaw 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

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

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 maidservant.

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

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

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

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 soninlaw 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 soninlaw 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

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 Archclaus 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 he 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

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

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

6. Thus a period was put to Archelaus's stratagem, whereby he delivered his soninlaw 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

How Eurycles (40) Calumniated The Sons Of Mariamne; And How Euaratus Of Costs Apology For Them

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 fatherinlaw 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

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

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

motherinlaw 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 fatherinlaw. 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

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,

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

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

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

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

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 goodwill 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

3. While he spake these words he wept, and joined the children's fight 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

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

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;

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.

Antipater Becomes Intolerable. He Is Sent To Rome, And Carries Herod's Testament With Him; Pheroras

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

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 Mariarmne, the high priest's

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 lawsuit 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 Syllcus, 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

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

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

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 freedmen 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 maidservants 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 manservant or maidservant, to be there; while one of the free women

3. Upon this Herod tortured the maidservants every on 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

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

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

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 treament, who had been before named therein as successor to Antipater.

Antipater Is Convicted By Bathyllus ; But He Still Returns From Rome Without Knowing It. Herod Brings

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 freedman. 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

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 lawsuit 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 maidservant 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 goodwill 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

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 Archclaus 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 freedmen 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

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 Mattbias, 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 meanspirited, and those

that were not wise enough to show a right love of their souls, preferred a death by a disease, before that which

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

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 Asphaltitis, 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 apiece, and that his commanders and friends should have great

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 Archclaus, his eldest son, and the brother of

8. So Herod, having survived the slaughter of his son five days, died, having reigned thirtyfour years since

he had caused Antigonus to be slain, and obtained his kingdom; but thirtyseven 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 goodwill 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

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 goodwill, 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 secptre 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 freedmen 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

(1) 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. 13, and Of the War, B. VII. ch. 10. sect. 8.

(2) 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

(3) 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

(4) 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

(5) 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

(6) 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

(7) 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) 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

(9) The coin of this Gadara, still extant, with its date from this era, is a certain evidence of this its rebuilding

(10) 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."

(12) 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

(13) Or twentyfive 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

(14) 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) 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

(16) 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.

(18) 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

(19) 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 freemen, perfectly agree with Trogus Pompeius, in

(21) This Brentesium or Brundusium has coin still preserved, on which is written, as Spanheim informs us.

(22) This Dellius is famous, or rather infamous, in the history of Mark Antony, as Spanheim and Aldrich here

(23) This Sepphoris, the metropolis of Galilee, so often mentioned by Josephus, has coins still remaining, as

(24) 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

(25) 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

(27) This death of Antigonus is confirmed by Plutarch and. Straho; the latter of whom is cited for it by

(28) 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

(29) 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 thirtyfirst 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 thirtyfirst before the

Christian era, contained the latter part of a Sabbatic year, on which Sabbatic year, therefore, it is plain this

(30) 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

(31) 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

(32) 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) 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) 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) 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

(36) Here seems to be a small defect in the copies, which describe the wild beasts which were hunted in a

(37) 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

(38) That this island Eleusa, afterward called Sebaste, near Cilicia, had in it the royal palace of this

Archclaus, 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.

(39) 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,

(40) This vile fellow, Eurycles the Lacedemonian, seems to have been the same who is mentioned by

Plutarch, as (twentylive 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.

(42) 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

(43) 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

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) 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) 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) This Tarentum has coins still extant, as Reland informs us here in his note.

(48) 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. 214.

Nor does St. Paul himself reason to Gentiles at Athens, Acts 17:1634, as he does to Jews in his Epistles.

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

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 goodwill 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 goodwill 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

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 he 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

Archclaus was aftrighted, 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.

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

1. Archelaus went down now to the seaside, 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 sonsinlaw. 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

Archclaus 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

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

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

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

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

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 he 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 aftrighted, 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

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 mastere 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 w now deserted, and plundered about four hundred talents, Of

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.

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 archrobber 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

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

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 bloodshed,

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 seaside. 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

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

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

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 be 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

The History Of The Spurious Alexander. Archelaus Is Banished And Glaphyra Dies, After What Was To

1. In the meantime, there was a man, who was by birth a Jew, but brought up at Sidon with one of the Roman

freedmen, 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

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

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

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."

Archelaus's Ethnarchy Is Reduced Into A [Roman] Province. The Sedition Of Judas Of Galilee. The Three

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

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

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

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 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

5. And as for their piety towards God, it is very extraordinary; for before sunrising 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 diningroom, 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

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 freewill, 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 forementioned 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

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

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

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 longlived 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 neverceasing 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 demigods; 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

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;

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

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 cooperate 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.

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

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 fiftyseven 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

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 among 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

3. On the next day Pilate sat upon his tribunal, in the open marketplace, 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

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 illtreated in

the prison for six months, until Tiberius died, after he had reigned twentytwo years, six months, and three

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

Caius Commands That His Statue Should Be Set Up In The Temple Itself; And What Petronius Did

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

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,

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

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 he 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 violentway, 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

Concerning The Government Of Claudius, And The Reign Of Agrippa. Concerning The Deaths Of Agrippa

1. Now when Caius had reigned three year's 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 Saturninns, and Pomponins 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

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

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 thankofferings 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

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

Many Tumults Under Cumanus, Which Were Composed By Quadratus. Felix Is Procurator Of Judea.

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 Cureanus 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

2. Now there followed after this another calamity, which arose from a tumult made by robbers; for at the

public road at Bethboron, one Stephen, a servant of Caesar, carried some furniture, which the robbers fell

upon and seized. Upon this Cureanus 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

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,

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 ill 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 Cureanus [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

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 Color 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,

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

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 archrobber, 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

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

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

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

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 marketplace, 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.

Festus Succeeds Felix Who Is Succeeded By Albinus As He Is By Florus; Who By The Barbarity Of His

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 archrobber, 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

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 pompons 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

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

Artemisins [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 workingshops 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

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

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

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

Marketplace, 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.

Concerning Bernice's Petition To Florus, To Spare The Jews, But In Vain; As Also How, After The Seditious

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

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 Marketplace, 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 aftrighted, 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

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

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, an 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

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 illwill 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

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

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

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 marketplace 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

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

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 arc 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, if eat 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 all 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, [Akica,] 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 foreseeing 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

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."

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

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 sunrising. 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]

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

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

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 breastworks 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

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

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

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

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 battlearray 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 nine 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

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

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 Machorus 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

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

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 betaken 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

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 seaside, 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

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

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

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

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 twentytwo, 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 carded 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 watchtower,] 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

mustermaster 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

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

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

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

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

hindermost 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

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

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

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

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 entreaties] 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 forenamed 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

goodwill 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

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 Tarichee, 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

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 ill 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

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

Concerning John Of Gichala. Josephus Uses Stratagems Against The Plots John Laid Against Him And

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

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

halfamphora 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

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 Tarichee. 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 Tarichae,

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

Tariehete, 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 aftrighted those that had before threatened him, that they threw away their arms and

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 seashore, 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

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 goodwill 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 goodwill 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

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,

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

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

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 do 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

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.

(1) 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

(2) 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

(3) 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

(4) 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

(5) 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) 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) 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) 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) 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

(10) This use of corban, or oblation, as here applied to the sacred money dedicated to God in the treasury of

(11) Tacitus owns that Caius commanded the Jews to place his effigies in their temple, though he be mistaken

(12) 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

(13) This Memnon had several monuments, and one of them appears, both by Strabo and Diodorus, to have

(14) Reland notes here, that the Talmud in recounting ten sad accidents for which the Jews ought to rend their

(15) 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) 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 Cureanus; 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 Cureanus, 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.

(18) 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, twentyseven 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

(19) 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 fiftysix

thousand five hundred paschal lambs, which, at twelve to each lamb, which is no immoderate calculation,

(20) 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

(21) 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.

(22) 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

(23) 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) 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

(25) 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.

(26) 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

(27) 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.

(28) 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" [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

(29) 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.

(30) 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 thirtythree 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,

(31) 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) We may observe here, that the Idumeans, as having been proselytes of justice since the days of John

Hyrcanus, during about one hundred and ninetyfive 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) 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 seventyone 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) 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) 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.

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.

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

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

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

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 sunsetting, 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 hounded 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

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,

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 dogdays. Now the

length of Perea is from Macherus 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

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

rainwater, 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

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

Josephus Makes An Attempt Upon Sepphoris But Is Repelled. Titus Comes With A Great Army To

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.

A Description Of The Roman Armies And Roman Camps And Of Other Particulars For Which The Romans

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 ill 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 foursquare 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 marketplace, 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 cared 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

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

headpieces, 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 footmen 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 pickaxe 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 headpieces 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

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 offhand,

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

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.

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

aftrighted 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

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 carne 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

3. And thus did Vespasian march with his army, and came to the bounds of Galileo, 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.

Vespasian, When He Had Taken The City Gadaea Marches To Jotapata. After A Long Siege The City Is

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 chose

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 footmen 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 twentyfirst 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

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

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

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 titan 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

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

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

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 otters 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

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, fill 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

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

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

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 sheepskins 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 advantge 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

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' outguards, 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

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

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

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

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 he 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,

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

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, d

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 trumpeters of the several Roman legions sounded together, and the army made a terrible

shout; and the darts, as by order, flew so last, 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

headpieces 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

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

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 twentyfifth 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 file

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 I 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 twentyseventh day of the month Desius [Sivan]. And these

33. But as the people of Jotapata still held out manfully, and bore up tinder their miseries beyond all that

could be hoped for, on the fortyseventh 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 he

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,

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 hidingplaces, 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

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

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

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

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

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

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 thin 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 selfmurder 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 nay 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

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

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 foreshowing 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

fortyseventh 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

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 seaside. 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 goodwill 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 winterquarters, 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

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

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

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

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 eyewitness 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,(5) with their pipes, who should begin the

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 goodwill 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

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 seaside, 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 Tarichere 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,

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 Tarichete. 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

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 Tarichese 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 Seafight also. But

as the Romans were building a wall about their camp, Jesu 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 battlearray, and can easily assist one another, while overnumerous 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

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 ill 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

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 fountainhead 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

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

9. But now, when the vessels were gotten ready, Vespasian put upon shipboard 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 seafight. The number of the slain, including those that were killed in the city

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 he

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

(1) 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) 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) 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

(4) 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

(5) 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

(6) Of this Cesarea Philippi (twice mentioned in our New Testament, Matthew 16:13; Mark 8;27) there are

(7) 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 "selfmurder;" and I believe it was rather

some vain doctrine, or interpretation, of the rigid Pharisees, or Essens, or Herodiaus, than a just consequence

(7) 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) 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,

1. Now all those Galileans who, after the taking of Jotapata, had revolted from the Romans, did, upon the

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 ever against

Tarichem, 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 Scleucia. 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 Selcucia 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

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 aftrighted 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

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 twentysix 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

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 Hyperberetmus, [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 aftrighted 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

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 Hyperberetens, [Tisri,]

whereas the city had first revolted on the four and twentieth day of the month Gorpieus [Elul].

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 a surrender,

waited for the coming of the Romans in battlearray. 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

2. Now Titus, as he rode ut 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

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 where 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

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

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

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

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 bloodyminded 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

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

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 thee; 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

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

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 bloodshedding 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 aftrighted 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

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

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

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 goodwill 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

14. But now this John, as if his oath had been made to the zealots, and for confirmation of his goodwill 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 o, 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

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

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 battlearray, 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 marketplace, 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 fountainhead 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

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

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.

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

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

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

wellwishers, 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

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 he 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

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

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

plat 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

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

How John Tyrannized Over The Rest; And What Mischiefs The Zealots Did At Masada. How Also

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 goodwill 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

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

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

goodwill 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

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 riverside, 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

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 Asphaltiris 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 Asphaltitis, 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

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 Asphaltitis.

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 Neapoils, (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

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 Asphaltiris, 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 Asphaltitis; 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 Asphaltitis, 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 drinkoffering, 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 he 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 sunrising, 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 linenonly, 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 Asphaltitis lies lower indeed,

though it be equally desert and barren. But so much shall suffice to have said about Jericho, and of the great

4. The nature of the lake Asphaltitis 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.

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. Bnt 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 freedmen; 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

freedmen, 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 marketplace 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

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 hidingplace; 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

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

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

twentyfive 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

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 Idumen, 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

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 marketplace; 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 Deasius, [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 Macherus, which were in the possession of the robbers, so Jerusalem was what the Romans 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 brothelhouse, 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

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 ill 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

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 northeast 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.

How The Soldiers, Both In Judea And Egypt, Proclaimed Vespasian Emperor;And How Vespasian Released

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

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,

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

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

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, froth 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

That Upon The Conquest And Slaughter Of Vitellius Vespasian Hastened His Journey To Rome; But Titus

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

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

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

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

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

(1) Here we have the exact situation of 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) 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 twentysix 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 eyewitness, 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 twentysix,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 twentysix 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) 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

(4) 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

(5) 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) 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,

(7) 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 marketplace, nay, a "den of thieves," without scruple, Matthew 21:12, 13; Mark 11:1517.

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) 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

(9) 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

thirtyfour 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

(10) 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. 104112. 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

(11) 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 seaside, Antiq.

B. XIV. ch. 10. sect. 23. So did the seventytwo interpreters go to pray every morning by the seaside before

(13) 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

(14) 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) 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

(17) 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

(18) Puetonius differs hardly three days from Josephus, and says Otho perished on the ninetyfifth day of his

(19) 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) 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

(21) This brother of Vespasian was Flavius Sabinus, as Suetonius informs us, in Vitell. sect. 15, and in

(22) 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) Here we have an authentic description of the bounds and circumstances of Egypt, in the days of

(24) 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 40:17; 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 suchlike 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,

(25) 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

(26) 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 newyear'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.

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

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 must

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 buryingplace 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 firstfruits, 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

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

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 goodwill 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.

How Titus Marched To Jerusalem, And How He Was In Danger As He Was Taking A View O The City Of

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

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 headpiece 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 illgrounded hope; and this short inclination of fortune, on their side,

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

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 hem 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 fight, 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

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,

How The Sedition Was Again Revived Within Jerusalem And Yet The Jews Contrived Snares For The

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 cut 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

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 bad 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

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 footmen 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

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 Marketplace." 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

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 councilhouse, 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 newbuilt 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 twentyfive 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

rainwater. 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 thirtythree furlongs. Now the third wall was all of it wonderful; yet was the tower

Psephinus elevated above it at the northwest corner, and there Titus pitched his own tent; for being seventy

cubits high it both afforded a prospect of Arabia at sunrising, 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 twentyfive 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 twentyfive 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

breastworks 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

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 bedchambers, that would contain beds for a hundred guests apiece, 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

dovecourts (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

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,

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 twentyfive 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 foursquare, 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 twentyfive 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

apiece, 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,

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

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

twentyfive 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 fiftyfive 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

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 shewbread], 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 sweetsmelling 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

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 fortyfive 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

beforementioned; 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

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

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

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,

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 aftrighted, 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

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

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 eyewitness 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 breastworks, 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 coining 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.

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 aftrighted,

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 lakes, 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,

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

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 battlearray, 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 subsistencemoney 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 stiffer 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

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, (17) when they were used tyrannically, and were fallen under the power of

foreign kings for four hundred ears 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 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 hardhearted 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

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

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, halfbaked, and ate it very

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 barleymeal 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

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.

How The Jews Were Crucified Before The Walls Of The City Concerning Antiochus Epiphanes; And How

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

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 twentyninth 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

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 saying 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

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 east 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

Titus Thought Fit To Encompass The City Round With A Wall; After Which The Famine Consumed The

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, be 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 marketplaces 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

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 he 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.

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

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 maidservants 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 twentyfive. 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

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

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 burntofferings, 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

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 Xanthieus, [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

(1) 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

(3) 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 ManassehbenIsrael,

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

(4) 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) 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) 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 endways, though upon the floor of the court of Israel. See the scheme of that

(7) 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

(8) 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) 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

(10) Perhaps, says Dr. Hudson, here was that gate, called the "Gate of the Corner," in 2 Chronicles 26:9. See

(11) These dovecourts 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) 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

(13) 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 twentyfive 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.

(14) These three guards that lay in the tower of Antonia must be those that guarded the city, the temple, and

(15) 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) 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) 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

(18) 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

(19) 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) Josephus, both here and before, B. IV. ch. 8. sect. 4, esteems the land of Sodom, not as part of the lake

Asphaltiris, 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. 254258; though I rather suppose part of that region of Pentapolis to be now under the waters of the south

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 battlearray, 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

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

cooperated 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 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, no 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 newbuilt 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

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 sheild over his head with his left hand, and hill, 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. be 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

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 standardbearer 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

8. But there was one Julian, a centurion, that came from Eithynia, 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 ill 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 all 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

How Titus Gave Orders To Demolish The Tower Of Antonia And Then Persuaded Josephus To Exhort The

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 (5)of 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 discontinuned 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

ally 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

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

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 buryingground, 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

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 partitionwall 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

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 goodwill 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 commanderinchief, 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 eyewitness,

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

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 watchword; 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 battlearray 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

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 northwest 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 overgreat 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

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 northwest

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

twentyfourth 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

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 flame was Jonathan. He went out at the high

priest John's monument, and uttered many other insolent things to the Romans, a 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

Concerning A Stratagem That Was Devised By The Jews, By Which They Burnt Many Of The Romans;

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 twentyseventh 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

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 east 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 byword 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 aftrighted 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 he 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.

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 thirtynine years and

The Great Distress The Jews Were In Upon The Conflagration Of The Holy House. Concerning A False

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: Pera (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

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

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 sunsetting, 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

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 foursquare, 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 foursquare." 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

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

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

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 bad 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 fountainhead, 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,

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 councilhouse, 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

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

What Afterward Befell The Seditious When They Had Done A Great Deal Of Mischief, And Suffered Many

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,

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 underground 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 freedmen, 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

3. Now the number (32) of those that were carried captive during this whole war was collected to be

ninetyseven 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 fiftysix 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, fill 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.

That Whereas The City Of Jerusalem Had Been Five Times Taken Formerly, This Was The Second Time Of

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 sixtyeight 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], and called the city Jerusalem, which was formerly called Salem. However, David, the king

of the Jews, ejected the Canaanites, and settied his own people therein. It was demolished entirely by the

Babylonians, four hundred and seventyseven 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 seventynine years; but from its first building, till this last destruction, were two thousand one hundred

and seventyseven 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.

(1) 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

(2) 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

(4) No wonder that this Julian, who had so many nails in his shoes, slipped upon the pavement of the temple,

(5) This was a remarkable day indeed, the seventeenth of Paneruns. [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

(6) The same that in the New Testament is always so called, and was then the common language of the Jews

(7) Our present copies of the Old Testament want this encomium upon king Jechoniah or Jehoiachim, which

(8) 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.

(9) 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

(10) Of this partitionwall separating Jews and Gentiles, with its pillars and inscription, see the description of

(11) 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

(15) 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. 210214,) 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 shipboard, 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 rubbers, 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

(16) These steps to the altar of burntoffering 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

(17) 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) Reland I think here judges well, when he interprets these spikes (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.

(19) Reland here takes notice, that these Jews, who had despised the true Prophet, were deservedly abused

(20) 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) Since Josephus still uses the SyroMacedonian 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.

(23) 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) 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

(25) 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

(26) The Jews of later times agree with Josephus, that there were hidingplaces 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) 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) 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 bondmen and bondwomen," 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) What became of these spoils of the temple that escaped the fire, see Josephus himself hereafter, B. VII.

(30) 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) 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 15:1013; with Authentic Records, Part I. p. 49, 121; and Reland Painest And,

(32) 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

(33)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,(D0, by Josephus's own reasoning; whereas it is, in his

present copies, no less than 2,700,(D0, 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

(34) 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.

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

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

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 arrmy in the manner following: That he returned them abundance of thanks for their goodwill

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

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 thankofferings [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 seaside, and there laid up the rest of his spoils in great quantities,

and gave order that the captives should he kept there; for the winter season hindered him then from sailing

How Titus Exhibited All Sorts Of Shows At Cesarea Philippi. Concerning Simon The Tyrant How He Was

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 seaside, 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 stonecutters, 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.

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

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

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

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

Ailtiochus 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,

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 foursquare marketplace 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

illwill 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 marketplace, 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

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

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 goodwill 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 goodwill 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 drinkofferings 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

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 couldd 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 battlearray, 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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

piecemeal 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 ouches, 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

Concerning Macherus, 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 Macherus; 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 he 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 Asphaltitis; on the same side it was also

that Macherus 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 Macherus, with

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

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

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 lard 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 lame 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,

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 Macherus 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

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.

Concerning The Calamity That Befell Antiochus, King Of Commagene. As Also Concerning The Alans And

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

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 Parthie, 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

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

Concerning Masada And Those Sicarii Who Kept It; And How Silva Betook Himself To Form The Siege Of

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 freemen 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 Asphaltiris, towards

the sunrising, 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 thirtyeight 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

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 ofthose 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 east 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

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 selfcontradiction, 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 fall 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

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 clown 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

fellowcitizens 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 he 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 goodwill and fidelity to them profiled 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 vas 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 eneimies, 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

How The People That Were In The Fortress Were Prevailed On By The Words Of Eleazar, Two Women And

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

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 underground 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

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

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 goodwill; and that, by

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 Hellopolls, 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

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, Paulinns 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

Concerning Jonathan, One Of The Sicarii, That Stirred Up A Sedition In Cyrene, And Was A False Accuser

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

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,

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

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

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

(1) 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

(2) 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.

(4) This Berytus was certainly a Roman colony, and has coins extant that witness the same, as Hudson and

(5) 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

(6) 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

(7) 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.

(9) 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 25:3136. (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 eyewitness, assures us that it was carried in this procession. All which

(10) Spanheim observes here, that in Graceia Major and Sicily they had rue prodigiously great and durable,

(11) 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

(12) 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

(13) 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

(14) Pliny and others confirm this strange paradox, that provisions laid up against sieges will continue good

(15) The speeches in this and the next section, as introduced under the person of this Eleazar, are exceeding

remarkable, and oil 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

(17) Reland here sets down a parallel aphorism of one of the Jewish Rabbins, "We are born that we may die,

(18) 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.

(19) 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

(20) 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.