Matthew 24:7 Nation rise up against nation kingdom against
kingdom....
These wars between nations and kingdoms happened from the reign
of Caligula through the reign of Nero. These were besides all the warring and
commotion in the Judean region.
Antiquities of the Jews
Book XVIII
CHAPTER 9
WHAT BEFELL THE JEWS THAT WERE IN
BABYLON ON OCCASION OF ASINEUS AND ANILEUS, TWO BRETHREN,
1. A VERY sad calamity now befell the Jews that
were in Mesopotamia, and especially those that dwelt in Babylonia.
Inferior it was to none of the calamities which had gone before, and
came together with a great slaughter of them, and that greater than any
upon record before; concerning all which I shall speak accurately, and
shall explain the occasions whence these miseries came upon them. There
was a city of Babylonia called Neerda; not only a very populous one, but
one that had a good and a large territory about it, and, besides its
other advantages, full of men also. It was, besides, not easily to be
assaulted by enemies, from the river Euphrates encompassing it all
round, and from the wails that were built about it. There was also the
city Nisibis, situate on the same current of the river. For which reason
the Jews, depending on the natural strength of these places, deposited
in them that half shekel which every one, by the custom of our country,
offers unto God, as well as they did other things devoted to him; for
they made use of these cities as a treasury, whence, at a proper time,
they were transmitted to Jerusalem; and many ten thousand men undertook
the carriage of those donations, out of fear of the ravages of the
Parthians, to whom the Babylonians were then subject. Now there were two
men, Asineus and Anileus, of the city Neerda by birth, and brethren to
one another. They were destitute of a father, and their mother put them
to learn the art of weaving curtains, it not being esteemed ,disgrace
among them for men to be weavers of cloth. Now he that taught them that
art, and was set over them, complained that they came too late to their
work, and punished them with stripes; but they took this just punishment
as an affront, and carried off all the weapons which were kept in that
house, which were not a few, and went into a certain place where was a
partition of the rivers, and was a place naturally very fit for the
feeding of cattle, and for preserving such fruits as were usually laid
up against winter. The poorest sort of the young men also resorted to
them, whom they armed with the weapons they had gotten, and became their
captains; and nothing hindered them from being their leaders into
mischief; for as soon as they were become invincible, and had built them
a citadel, they sent to such as fed cattle, and ordered them to pay them
so much tribute out of them as might be sufficient for their
maintenance, proposing also that they would be their friends, if they
would submit to them, and that they would defend them from all their
other enemies on every side, but that they would kill the cattle of
those that refused to obey them. So they hearkened to their proposals,
(for they could do nothing else,) and sent them as many sheep as were
required of them; whereby their forces grew greater, and they became
lords over all they pleased, because they marched suddenly, and did them
a mischief, insomuch that every body who had to do with them chose to
pay them respect; and they became formidable to such as came to assault
them, till the report about them came to the ears of the king of Parthia
himself.
2. But when the governor of Babylonia understood
this, and had a mind to put a stop to them before they grew greater, and
before greater mischiefs should arise from them, he got together as
great an army as he could, both of Parthians and Babylonians, and
marched against them, thinking to attack them and destroy them before
any one should carry them the news that he had got an army together. He
then encamped at a lake, and lay still; but on the next day (it was the
sabbath, which is among the Jews a day of rest from all sorts of work)
he supposed that the enemy would not dare to fight him thereon, but that
he would take them and carry them away prisoners, without fighting. He
therefore proceeded gradually, and thought to fall upon them on the
sudden. Now Asineus was sitting with the rest, and their weapons lay by
them; upon which he said, "Sirs, I hear a neighing of horses; not of
such as are feeding, but such as have men on their backs; I also hear
such a noise of their bridles, that I am afraid that some enemies are
coming upon us to encompass us round. However, let somebody go to look
about, and make report of what reality there is in the present state of
things; and may what I have said prove a false alarm." And when he had
said this, some of them went out to spy out what was the matter; and
they came again immediately, and said to him, that "neither hast thou
been mistaken in telling us what our enemies were doing, nor will those
enemies permit us to be injurious to people any longer. We are caught by
their intrigues like brute beasts, and there is a large body of cavalry
marching upon us, while we are destitute of hands to defend ourselves
withal, because we are restrained from doing it by the prohibition of
our law, which obliges us to rest [on this day]." But Asiueus did not by
any means agree with the opinion of his spy as to what was to be done,
but thought it more agreeable to the law to pluck up their spirits in
this necessity they were fallen into, and break their law by avenging
themselves, although they should die in the action, than by doing
nothing to please their enemies in submitting to be slain by them.
Accordingly, he took up his weapons, and infused courage into those that
were with him to act as courageously as himself. So they fell upon their
enemies, and slew a great many of them, because they despised them and
came as to a certain victory, and put the rest to flight.
3. But when the news of this fight came to the
king of Parthia, he was surprised at the boldness of these brethren, and
was desirous to see them, and speak with them. He therefore sent the
most trusty of all his guards to say thus to them: "That king Artsbanus,
although he had been unjustly treated by you, who have made an attempt
against his government, yet hath he more regard to your courageous
behavior, than to the anger he bears to you, and hath sent me to give
you his right hand and security; and he permits you to come to him
safely, and without any violence upon the road; and he wants to have you
address yourselves to him as friends, without meaning any guile or
deceit to you. He also promises to make you presents, and to pay you
those respects which will make an addition of his power to your courage,
and thereby be of advantage to you." Yet did Asineus himself put off his
journey thither, but sent his brother Anileus with all such presents as
he could procure. So he went, and was admitted to the king's presence;
and when Artabanus saw Anileus coming alone, he inquired into the reason
why Asineus avoided to come along with him; and when he understood that
he was afraid, and staid by the lake, he took an oath, by the gods of
his country, that he would do them no harm, if they came to him upon the
assurances he gave them, and gave him his right hand. This is of the
greatest force there with all these barbarians, and affords a firm
security to those who converse with them; for none of them will deceive
you when once they have given you their right hands, nor will any one
doubt of their fidelity, when that is once given, even though they were
before suspected of injustice. When Artabanus had done this, he sent
away Anileus to persuade his brother to come to him. Now this the king
did, because he wanted to curb his own governors of provinces by the
courage of these Jewish brethren, lest they should make a league with
them; for they were ready for a revolt, and were disposed to rebel, had
they been sent on an expedition against them. He was also afraid, lest
when he was engaged in a war, in order to subdue those governors of
provinces that had revolted, the party of Asineus, and those in
Babylonia, should be augmented, and either make war upon him, when they
should hear of that revolt, or if they should be disappointed in that
case, they would not fail of doing further mischief to him.
4. When the king had these intentions, he sent
away Anileus, and Anileus prevailed on his brother [to come to the
king], when he had related to him the king's good-will, and the oath
that he had taken. Accordingly, they made haste to go to Artsbanus, who
received them when they were come with pleasure, and admired Asineus's
courage in the actions he had done, and this because he was a little man
to see to, and at first sight appeared contemptible also, and such as
one might deem a person of no value at all. He also said to his friends,
how, upon the comparison, he showed his soul to be in all respects
superior to his body; and when, as they were drinking together, he once
showed Asineus to Abdagases, one of the generals of his army, and told
him his name, and described the great courage he was of in war, and
Abdagases had desired leave to kill him, and thereby to inflict on him a
punishment for those injuries he had done to the Parthian government,
the king replied, "I will never give thee leave to kill a man who hath
depended on my faith, especially not after I have sent him my right
hand, and endeavored to gain his belief by oaths made by the gods. But
if thou be a truly warlike man, thou standest not in need of my perjury.
Go thou then, and avenge the Parthian government; attack this man, when
he is returned back, and conquer him by the forces that are under thy
command, without my privity." Hereupon the king called for Asineus, and
said to him, "It is time for thee, O thou young man! to return home, and
not provoke the indignation of my generals in this place any further,
lest they attempt to murder thee, and that without my approbation. I
commit to thee the country of Babylonia in trust, that it may, by thy
care, be preserved free from robbers, and from other mischiefs. I have
kept my faith inviolable to thee, and that not in trifling affairs, but
in those that concerned thy safety, and do therefore deserve thou
shouldst be kind to me." When he had said this, and given Asineus some
presents, he sent him away immediately; who, when he was come home,
built fortresses, and became great in a little time, and managed things
with such courage and success, as no other person, that had no higher a
beginning, ever did before him. Those Parthian governors also, who were
sent that way, paid him great respect; and the honor that was paid him
by the Babylonians seemed to them too small, and beneath his deserts,
although he were in no small dignity and power there; nay, indeed, all
the affairs of Mesopotamia depended upon him, and he more and more
flourished in this happy condition of his for fifteen years.
5. But as their affairs were in so flourishing a
state, there sprang up a calamity among them on the following occasion.
When once they had deviated from that course of virtue whereby they had
gained so great power, they affronted and transgressed the laws of their
forefathers, and fell under the dominion of their lusts and pleasures. A
certain Parthian, who came as general of an army into those parts, had a
wife following him, who had a vast reputation for other accomplishments,
and particularly was admired above all other women for her beauty.
Anileus, the brother of Asineus, either heard of that her beauty from
others, or perhaps saw her himself also, and so became at once her lover
and her enemy; partly because he could not hope to enjoy this woman but
by obtaining power over her as a captive, and partly because he thought
he could not conquer his inclinations for her. As soon therefore as her
husband had been declared an enemy to them, and was fallen in the
battle, the widow of the deceased was married to this her lover.
However, this woman did not come into their house without producing
great misfortunes, both to Anileus himself, and to Asineus also; but
brought great mischiefs upon them on the occasion following. Since she
was led away captive, upon the death of her husband, she concealed the
images of those gods which were their country gods, common to her
husband and to herself: now it was the custom of that country for all to
have the idols they worship in their own houses, and to carry them along
with them when they go into a foreign land; agreeable to which custom of
theirs she carried her idols with her. Now at first she performed her
worship to them privately; but when she was become Anileus's married
wife, she worshipped them in her accustomed manner, and with the same
appointed ceremonies which she used in her former husband's days; upon
which their most esteemed friends blamed him at first, that he did not
act after the manner of the Hebrews, nor perform what was agreeable to
their laws, in marrying a foreign wife, and one that transgressed the
accurate appointments of their sacrifices and religious ceremonies; that
he ought to consider, lest, by allowing himself in many pleasures of the
body, he might lose his principality, on account of the beauty of a
wife, and that high authority which, by God's blessing, he had arrived
at. But when they prevailed not at all upon him, he slew one of them for
whom he had the greatest respect, because of the liberty he took with
him; who, when he was dying, out of regard to the laws, imprecated a
punishment upon his murderer Anileus, and upon Asineus also, and that
all their companions might come to a like end from their enemies; upon
the two first as the principal actors of this wickedness, and upon the
rest as those that would not assist him when he suffered in the defense
of their laws. Now these latter were sorely grieved, yet did they
tolerate these doings, because they remembered that they had arrived at
their present happy state by no other means than their fortitude. But
when they also heard of the worship of those gods whom the Parthians
adore, they thought the injury that Anileus offered to their laws was to
be borne no longer; and a greater number of them came to Asineus, and
loudly complained of Aniteus, and told him that it had been well that he
had of himself seen what was advantageous to them; but that however it
was now high time to correct what had been done amiss, before the crime
that had been committed proved the ruin of himself and all the rest of
them. They added, that the marriage of this woman was made without their
consent, and without a regard to their old laws; and that the worship
which this woman paid [to her gods] was a reproach to the God whom they
worshipped. Now Asineus was sensible of his brother's offense, that it
had been already the cause of great mischiefs, and would be so for the
time to come; yet did he tolerate the same from the good-will he had to
so near a relation, and forgiving it to him, on account that his brother
was quite overborne by his wicked inclinations. But as more and more
still came about him every day, and the clamors about it became greater,
he at length spake to Anileus about these clamors, reproving him for his
former actions, and desiring him for the future to leave them off, and
send the woman back to her relations. But nothing was gained by these
reproofs; for as the woman perceived what a tumult was made among the
people on her account, and was afraid for Anileus, lest he should come
to any harm for his love to her, she infused poison into Asineus's food,
and thereby took him off, and was now secure of prevailing, when her
lover was to be judge of what should be done about her.
6. So Anileus took the government upon himself
alone, and led his army against the villages of Mithridates, who was a
man of principal authority in Parthin, and had married king Artabanus's
daughter; he also plundered them, and among that prey was found much
money, and many slaves, as also a great number of sheep, and many other
things, which, when gained, make men's condition happy. Now when
Mithridates, who was there at this time, heard that his villages were
taken, he was very much displeased to find that Anileus had first begun
to injure him, and to affront him in his present dignity, when he had
not offered any injury to him beforehand; and he got together the
greatest body of horsemen he was able, and those out of that number
which were of an age fit for war, and came to fight Anileus; and when he
was arrived at a certain village of his own, he lay still there, as
intending to fight him on the day following, because it was the sabbath,
the day on which the Jews rest. And when Anileus was informed of this by
a Syrian stranger of another village, who not only gave him an exact
account of other circumstances, but told him where Mithridates would
have a feast, he took his supper at a proper time, and marched by night,
with an intent of falling upon the Parthians while they were unaprrized
what they should do; so he fell upon them about the fourth watch of the
night, and some of them he slew while they were asleep, and others he
put to flight, and took Mithridates alive, and set him naked upon an ass
which, among the Parthians, is esteemed the greatest reproach possible.
And when he had brought him into a wood with such a resolution, and his
friends desired him to kill Mithridates, he soon told them his own mind
to the contrary, and said that it was not right to kill a man who was of
one of the principal families among the Parthians, and greatly honored
with matching into the royal family; that so far as they had hitherto
gone was tolerable; for although they had injured Mithridates, yet if
they preserved his life, this benefit would be remembered by him to the
advantage of those that gave it him; but that if be were once put to
death, the king would not be at rest till he had made a great slaughter
of the Jews that dwelt at Babylon; "to whose safety we ought to have a
regard, both on account of our relation to them, and because if any
misfortune befall us, we have no other place to retire to, since he hath
gotten the flower of their youth under him." By this thought, and this
speech of his made in council, he persuaded them to act accordingly; so
Mithridates was let go. But when he was got away, his wife reproached
him, that although he was son-in-law to the king, he neglected to avenge
himself on those that had injured him, while he took no care about it,
but was contented to have been made a captive by the Jews, and to have
escaped them; and she bid him either to go back like a man of courage,
or else she sware by the gods of their royal family that she would
certainly dissolve her marriage with him. Upon which, partly because he
could not bear the daily trouble of her taunts, and partly because he
was afraid of her insolence, lest she should in earnest dissolve their
marriage, he unwillingly, and against his inclinations, got together
again as great an army as he could, and marched along with them, as
himself thinking it a thing not to be borne any longer, that he, a
Parthian, should owe his preservation to the Jews, when they had been
too hard for him in the war.
7. But as soon as Anileus understood that
Mithridates was marching with a great army against him, he thought it
too ignominious a thing to tarry about the lakes, and not to take the
first opportunity of meeting his enemies, and he hoped to have the same
success, and to beat their enemies as they did before; as also he
ventured boldly upon the like attempts. Accordingly, he led out his
army, and a great many more joined themselves to that army, in order to
betake themselves to plunder the people, and in order to terrify the
enemy again by their numbers. But when they had marched ninety furlongs,
while the road had been through dry [and sandy] places, and about the
midst of the day, they were become very thirsty; and Mithridates
appeared, and fell upon them, as they were in distress for want of
water, on which account, and on account of the time of the day, they
were not able to bear their weapons. So Anileus and his men were put to
an ignominious rout, while men in despair were to attack those that were
fresh and in good plight; so a great slaughter was made, and many ten
thousand men fell. Now Anileus, and all that stood firm about him, ran
away as fast as they were able into a wood, and afforded Mithridates the
pleasure of having gained a great victory over them. But there now came
in to Anileus a conflux of bad men, who regarded their own lives very
little, if they might but gain some present ease, insomuch that they, by
thus coming to him, compensated the multitude of those that perished in
the fight. Yet were not these men like to those that fell, because they
were rash, and unexercised in war; however, with these he came upon the
villages of the Babylonians, and a mighty devastation of all things was
made there by the injuries that Anileus did them. So the Babylonians,
and those that had already been in the war, sent to Neerda to the Jews
there, and demanded Anileus. But although they did not agree to their
demands, (for if they had been willing to deliver him up, it was not in
their power so to do,) yet did they desire to make peace with them. To
which the other replied, that they also wanted to settle conditions of
peace with them, and sent men together with the Babylonians, who
discoursed with Anileus about them. But the Babylonians, upon taking a
view of his situation, and having learned where Anileus and his men lay,
fell secretly upon them as they were drunk and fallen asleep, and slew
all that they caught of them, without any fear, and killed Anileus
himself also.
8. The Babylonians were now freed from Anileus's
heavy incursions, which had been a great restraint to the effects of
that hatred they bore to the Jews; for they were almost always at
variance, by reason of the contrariety of their laws; and which party
soever grew boldest before the other, they assaulted the other: and at
this time in particular it was, that upon the ruin of Anileus's party,
the Babylonians attacked the Jews, which made those Jews so, vehemently
to resent the injuries they received from the Babylonians, that being
neither able to fight them, nor bearing to live with them, they went to
Seleucia, the principal city of those parts, which was built by Seleucus
Nicator. It was inhabited by many of the Macedonians, but by more of the
Grecians; not a few of the Syrians also dwelt there; and thither did the
Jews fly, and lived there five years, without any misfortunes. But on
the sixth year, a pestilence came upon these at Babylon, which
occasioned new removals of men's habitations out of that city; and
because they came to Seleucia, it happened that a still heavier calamity
came upon them on that account which I am going to relate immediately.
9. Now the way of living of the people of
Seleucia, which were Greeks and Syrians, was commonly quarrelsome, and
full of discords, though the Greeks were too hard for the Syrians. When,
therefore, the Jews were come thither, and dwelt among them, there arose
a sedition, and the Syrians were too hard for the other, by the
assistance of the Jews, who are men that despise dangers, and very ready
to fight upon any occasion. Now when the Greeks had the worst in this
sedition, and saw that they had but one way of recovering their former
authority, and that was, if they could prevent the agreement between the
Jews and the Syrians, they every one discoursed with such of the Syrians
as were formerly their acquaintance, and promised they would be at peace
and friendship with them. Accordingly, they gladly agreed so to do; and
when this was done by the principal men of both nations, they soon
agreed to a reconciliation; and when they were so agreed, they both knew
that the great design of such their union would be their common hatred
to the Jews. Accordingly, they fell upon them, and slew about fifty
thousand of them; nay, the Jews were all destroyed, excepting a few who
escaped, either by the compassion which their friends or neighbors
afforded them, in order to let them fly away. These retired to
Ctesiphon, a Grecian city, and situate near to Seleucia, where the king
[of Parthia] lives in winter every year, and where the greatest part of
his riches are reposited; but the Jews had here no certain settlement,
those of Seleucia having little concern for the king's honor. Now the
whole nation of the Jews were in fear both of the Babylonians and of the
Seleucians, because all the Syrians that live in those places agreed
with the Seleucians in the war against the Jews; so the most of them
gathered themselves together, and went to Neerda and Nisibis, and
obtained security there by the strength of those cities; besides which
their inhabitants, who were a great many, were all warlike men. And this
was the state of the Jews at this time in Babylonia.
Antiquities of the Jews
Book XX
CHAPTER 4
HOW IZATES WAS BETRAYED BY HIS OWN
SUBJECTS, AND FOUGHT AGAINST BY THE ARABIANS AND HOW IZATES, BY THE
PROVIDENCE OF GOD, WAS DELIVERED OUT OF THEIR HANDS.
1. NOW when the king's brother, Monobazus, and
his other kindred, saw how Izates, by his piety to God, was become
greatly esteemed by all men, they also had a desire to leave the
religion of their country, and to embrace the customs of the Jews; but
that act of theirs was discovered by Izates's subjects. Whereupon the
grandees were much displeased, and could not contain their anger at
them; but had an intention, when they should find a proper opportunity,
to inflict a punishment upon them. Accordingly, they wrote to Abia, king
of the Arabians, and promised him great sums of money, if he would make
an expedition against their king; and they further promised him, that,
on the first onset, they would desert their king, because they were
desirous to punish him, by reason of the hatred he had to their
religious worship; then they obliged themselves, by oaths, to be
faithful to each other, and desired that he would make haste in this
design. The king of Arabia complied with their desires, and brought a
great army into the field, and marched against Izates; and, in the
beginning of the first onset, and before they came to a close fight,
those Handees, as if they had a panic terror upon them, all deserted
Izates, as they had agreed to do, and, turning their backs upon their
enemies, ran away. Yet was not Izates dismayed at this; but when he
understood that the grandees had betrayed him, he also retired into his
camp, and made inquiry into the matter; and as soon as he knew who they
were that made this conspiracy with the king of Arabia, he cut off those
that were found guilty; and renewing the fight on the next day, he slew
the greatest part of his enemies, and forced all the rest to betake
themselves to flight. He also pursued their king, and drove him into a
fortress called Arsamus, and following on the siege vigorously, he took
that fortress. And when he had plundered it of all the prey that was in
it, which was not small, he returned to Adiabene; yet did not he take
Abia alive, because, when he found himself encompassed on every side, he
slew himself.
2. But although the grandees of Adiabene had
failed in their first attempt, as being delivered up by God into their
king's hands, yet would they not even then be quiet, but wrote again to
Vologases, who was then king of Parthia, and desired that he would kill
Izates, and set over them some other potentate, who should be of a
Parthian family; for they said that they hated their own king for
abrogating the laws of their forefathers, and embracing foreign customs.
When the king of Parthia heard this, he boldly made war upon Izates; and
as he had no just pretense for this war, he sent to him, and demanded
back those honorable privileges which had been bestowed on him by his
father, and threatened, on his refusal, to make war upon him. Upon
hearing of this, Izates was under no small trouble of mind, as thinking
it would be a reproach upon him to appear to resign those privileges
that had been bestowed upon him out of cowardice; yet because he knew,
that though the king of Parthia should receive back those honors, yet
would he not be quiet, he resolved to commit himself to God, his
Protector, in the present danger he was in of his life; and as he
esteemed him to be his principal assistant, he intrusted his children
and his wives to a very strong fortress, and laid up his corn in his
citadels, and set the hay and the grass on fire. And when he had thus
put things in order, as well as he could, he awaited the coming of the
enemy. And when the king of Parthia was come, with a great army of
footmen and horsemen, which he did sooner than was expected, (for he
marched in great haste,) and had cast up a bank at the river that parted
Adiabene from Media, - Izates also pitched his camp not far off, having
with him six thousand horsemen. But there came a messenger to Izates,
sent by the king of Parthia, who told him how large his dominions were,
as reaching from the river Euphrates to Bactria, and enumerated that
king's subjects; he also threatened him that he should be punished, as a
person ungrateful to his lords; and said that the God whom he worshipped
could not deliver him out of the king's hands. When the messenger had
delivered this his message, Izates replied that he knew the king of
Parthia's power was much greater than his own; but that he knew also
that God was much more powerful than all men. And when he had returned
him this answer, he betook himself to make supplication to God, and
threw himself upon the ground, and put ashes upon his head, in testimony
of his confusion, and fasted, together with his wives and children.Then
he called upon God, and said, "O Lord and Governor, if I have not in
vain committed myself to thy goodness, but have justly determined that
thou only art the Lord and principal of all beings, come now to my
assistance, and defend me from my enemies, not only on my own account,
but on account of their insolent behavior with regard to thy power,
while they have not feared to lift up their proud and arrogant tongue
against thee." Thus did he lament and bemoan himself, with tears in his
eyes; whereupon God heard his prayer. And immediately that very night
Vologases received letters, the contents of which were these, that a
great band of Dahe and Sacse, despising him, now he was gone so long a
journey from home, had made an expedition, and laid Parthis waste; so
that he [was forced to] retire back, without doing any thing. And thus
it was that Izates escaped the threatenings of the Parthians, by the
providence of God.
3. It was not long ere Izates died, when he had
completed fifty-five years of his life, and had ruled his kingdom
twenty-four years. He left behind him twenty-four sons and twenty-four
daughters. However, he gave order that his brother Monobazus should
succeed in the government, thereby requiting him, because, while he was
himself absent after their father's death, he had faithfully preserved
the government for him. But when Helena, his mother, heard of her son's
death, she was in great heaviness, as was but natural, upon her loss of
such a most dutiful son; yet was it a comfort to her that she heard the
succession came to her eldest son. Accordingly, she went to him in
haste; and when she was come into Adiabene, she did not long outlive her
son Izates. But Monobazus sent her bones, as well as those of Izates,
his brother, to Jerusalem, and gave order that they should be buried at
the pyramids which their mother had erected; they were three in
number, and distant no more than three furlongs from the city Jerusalem.
But for the actions of Monobazus the king, which he did during the rest
of his life. we will relate them hereafter.
This account happened after the Jewish nation
stopped the daily sacrifice for Rome and Caesar but before Cestius
surrounded Jerusalem with his army and then removed his army out of
Judea.
Wars of the Jews
Book II
CHAPTER 18
THE CALAMITIES AND SLAUGHTERS THAT CAME
UPON THE JEWS.
1. NOW the people of Cesarea had slain the Jews
that were among them on the very same day and hour [when the soldiers
were slain], which one would think must have come to pass by the
direction of Providence; insomuch that in one hour's time above twenty
thousand Jews were killed, and all Cesarea was emptied of its Jewish
inhabitants; for Florus caught such as ran away, and sent them in bonds
to the galleys. Upon which stroke that the Jews received at Cesarea, the
whole nation was greatly enraged; so they divided themselves into
several parties, and laid waste the villages of the Syrians, and their
neighboring cities, Philadelphia, and Sebonitis, and Gerasa, and Pella,
and Scythopolis, and after them Gadara, and Hippos; and falling upon
Gaulonitis, some cities they destroyed there, and some they set on fire,
and then went to Kedasa, belonging to the Tyrians, and to Ptolemais, and
to Gaba, and to Cesarea; nor was either Sebaste [Samaria] or Askelon
able to oppose the violence with which they were attacked; and when they
had burnt these to the ground; they entirely demolished Anthedon and
Gaza; many also of the villages that were about every one of those
cities were plundered, and an immense slaughter was made of the men who
were caught in them.
2. However, the Syrians were even with the Jews
in the multitude of the men whom they slew; for they killed those whom
they caught in their cities, and that not only out of the hatred they
bare them, as formerly, but to prevent the danger under which they were
from them; so that the disorders in all Syria were terrible, and every
city was divided into two armies, encamped one against another, and the
preservation of the one party was in the destruction of the other; so
the day time was spent in shedding of blood, and the night in fear,
which was of the two the more terrible; for when the Syrians thought
they had ruined the Jews, they had the Judaizers in suspicion also; and
as each side did not care to slay those whom they only suspected on the
other, so did they greatly fear them when they were mingled with the
other, as if they were certainly foreigners. Moreover, greediness of
gain was a provocation to kill the opposite party, even to such as had
of old appeared very mild and gentle towards them; for they without fear
plundered the effects of the slain, and carried off the spoils of those
whom they slew to their own houses, as if they had been gained in a set
battle; and he was esteemed a man of honor who got the greatest share,
as having prevailed over the greatest number of his enemies. It was then
common to see cities filled with dead bodies, still lying unburied, and
those of old men, mixed with infants, all dead, and scattered about
together; women also lay amongst them, without any covering for their
nakedness: you might then see the whole province full of inexpressible
calamities, while the dread of still more barbarous practices which were
threatened was every where greater than what had been already
perpetrated.
3. And thus far the conflict had been between
Jews and foreigners; but when they made excursions to Scythopolis, they
found Jew that acted as enemies; for as they stood in battle-array with
those of Scythopolis, and preferred their own safety before their
relation to us, they fought against their own countrymen; nay, their
alacrity was so very great, that those of Scythopolis suspected them.
These were afraid, therefore, lest they should make an assault upon the
city in the night time, and, to their great misfortune, should thereby
make an apology for themselves to their own people for their revolt from
them. So they commanded them, that in case they would confirm their
agreement and demonstrate their fidelity to them, who were of a
different nation, they should go out of the city, with their families to
a neighboring grove; and when they had done as they were commanded,
without suspecting any thing, the people of Scythopolis lay still for
the interval of two days, to tempt them to be secure; but on the third
night they watched their opportunity, and cut all their throats, some as
they lay unguarded, and some as they lay asleep. The number that was
slain was above thirteen thousand, and then they plundered them of all
that they had.
4. It will deserve our relation what befell
Simon; he was the son of one Saul, a man of reputation among the Jews.
This man was distinguished from the rest by the strength of his body,
and the boldness of his conduct, although he abused them both to the
mischieving of his countrymen; for he came every day and slew a great
many of the Jews of Scythopolis, and he frequently put them to flight,
and became himself alone the cause of his army's conquering. But a just
punishment overtook him for the murders he had committed upon those of
the same nation with him; for when the people of Scythopolis threw their
darts at them in the grove, he drew his sword, but did not attack any of
the enemy; for he saw that he could do nothing against such a multitude;
but he cried out after a very moving manner, and said, "O you people of
Scythopolis, I deservedly suffer for what I have done with relation to
you, when I gave you such security of my fidelity to you, by slaying so
many of those that were related to me. Wherefore we very justly
experience the perfidiousness of foreigners, while we acted after a most
wicked manner against our own nation. I will therefore die, polluted
wretch as I am, by 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
fidelity [against his own countrymen], he suffered deservedly.
5. Besides this murder at Scythopolis, the other
cities rose up against the Jews that were among them; those of Askelon
slew two thousand five hundred, and those of Ptolemais two thousand, and
put not a few into bonds; those of Tyre also put a great number to
death, but kept a greater number in prison; moreover, those of Hippos,
and those of Gadara, did the like while they put to death the boldest of
the Jews, but kept those of whom they were afraid in custody; as did the
rest of the cities of Syria, according as they every one either hated
them or were afraid of them; only the Antiochtans the Sidontans, and
Apamians spared those that dwelt with them, and would not endure either
to kill any of the Jews, or to put them in bonds. And perhaps they
spared them, because their own number was so great that they despised
their attempts. But I think the greatest part of this favor was owing to
their commiseration of those whom they saw to make no innovations. As
for the Gerasans, they did no harm to those that abode with them; and
for those who had a mind to go away, they conducted them as far as their
borders reached.
6. There was also a plot laid against the Jews
in Agrippa's kingdom; for he was himself gone to Cestius Gallus, to
Antioch, but had left one of his companions, whose name was Noarus, to
take care of the public affairs; which Noarus was of kin to king Sohemus.
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
Macherus put a garrison for their own security, and held it in their own
power.
7. But for Alexandria, the sedition of the
people of the place against the Jews was perpetual, and this from that
very time when Alexander [the Great], upon finding the readiness of the
Jews in assisting him against the Egyptians, and as a reward for such
their assistance, gave them equal privileges in this city with the
Grecians themselves; which honorary reward Continued among them under
his successors, who also set apart for them a particular place, that
they might live without being polluted [by the Gentiles], and were
thereby not so much intermixed with foreigners as before; they also gave
them this further privilege, that they should be called Macedonians.
Nay, when the Romans got possession of Egypt, neither the first Caesar,
nor any one that came after him, thought of diminishing the honors which
Alexander had bestowed on the Jews. But still conflicts perpetually
arose with the Grecians; and although the governors did every day punish
many of them, yet did the sedition grow worse; but at this time
especially, when there were tumults in other places also, the disorders
among them were put into a greater flame; for when the Alexandrians had
once a public assembly, to deliberate about an embassage they were
sending to Nero, a great number of Jews came flocking to the theater;
but when their adversaries saw them, they immediately cried out, and
called them their enemies, and said they came as spies upon them; upon
which they rushed out, and laid violent hands upon them; and as for the
rest, they were slain as they ran away; but there were three men whom
they caught, and hauled them along, in order to have them burnt alive;
but all the Jews came in a body to defend them, who at first threw
stones at the Grecians, but after that they took lamps, and rushed with
violence into the theater, and threatened that they would burn the
people to a man; and this they had soon done, unless Tiberius Alexander,
the governor of the city, had restrained their passions. However, this
man did not begin to teach them wisdom by arms, but sent among them
privately some of the principal men, and thereby entreated them to be
quiet, and not provoke the Roman army against them; but the seditious
made a jest of the entreaties of Tiberius, and reproached him for so
doing.
8. Now when he perceived that those who were for
innovations would not be pacified till some great calamity should
overtake them, he sent out upon them those two Roman legions that were
in the city, and together with them five thousand other soldiers, who,
by chance, were come together out of Libya, to the ruin of the Jews.
They were also permitted not only to kill them, but to plunder them of
what they had, and to set fire to their houses. These soldiers rushed
violently into that part of the city that was called Delta, where the
Jewish people lived together, and did as they were bidden, though not
without bloodshed on their own side also; for the Jews got together, and
set those that were the best armed among them in the forefront, and made
a resistance for a great while; but when once they gave back, they were
destroyed unmercifully; and this their destruction was complete, some
being caught in the open field, and others forced into their houses,
which houses were first plundered of what was in them, and then set on
fire by the Romans; wherein no mercy was shown to the infants, and no
regard had to the aged; but they went on in the slaughter of persons of
every age, till all the place was overflowed with blood, and fifty
thousand of them lay dead upon heaps; nor had the remainder been
preserved, had they not be-taken themselves to supplication. So
Alexander commiserated their condition, and gave orders to the Romans to
retire; accordingly, these being accustomed to obey orders, left off
killing at the first intimation; but the populace of Alexandria bare so
very great hatred to the Jews, that it was difficult to recall them, and
it was a hard thing to make them leave their dead bodies.
9. And this was the miserable calamity which at
this time befell the Jews at Alexandria. Hereupon Cestius thought fit no
longer to lie still, while the Jews were everywhere up in arms; so he
took out of Antioch the twelfth legion entire, and out of each of the
rest he selected two thousand, with six cohorts of footmen, and four
troops of horsemen, besides those auxiliaries which were sent by the
kings; of which Antiochus sent two thousand horsemen, and three thousand
footmen, with as many archers; and Agrippa sent the same number of
footmen, and one thousand horsemen; Sohemus also followed with four
thousand, a third part whereof were horsemen, but most part were
archers, and thus did he march to Ptolemais. There were also great
numbers of auxiliaries gathered together from the [free] cities, who
indeed had not the same skill in martial affairs, but made up in their
alacrity and in their hatred to the Jews what they wanted in skill.
There came also along with Cestius Agrippa himself, both as a guide in
his march over the country, and a director what was fit to be done; so
Cestius took part of his forces, and marched hastily to Zabulon, a
strong city of Galilee, which was called the City of Men, and divides
the country of Ptolemais from our nation; this he found deserted by its
men, the multitude having fled to the mountains, but full of all sorts
of good things; those he gave leave to the soldiers to plunder, and set
fire to the city, although it was of admirable beauty, and had its
houses built like those in Tyre, and Sidon, and Berytus. After this he
overran all the country, and seized upon whatsoever came in his way, and
set fire to the villages that were round about them, and then returned
to Ptolemais. But when the Syrians, and especially those of Berytus,
were busy in plundering, the Jews pulled up their courage again, for
they knew that Cestius was retired, and fell upon those that were left
behind unexpectedly, and destroyed about two thousand of them.
10. And now Cestius himself marched from
Ptolemais, and came to Cesarea; but he sent part of his army before him
to Joppa, and gave order, that if they could take that city [by
surprise] they should keep it; but that in case the citizens should
perceive they were coming to attack them, that they then should stay for
him, and for the rest of the army. So some of them made a brisk march by
the sea-side, and some by land, and so coming upon them on both sides,
they took the city with ease; and as the inhabitants had made no
provision beforehand for a flight, nor had gotten any thing ready for
fighting, the soldiers fell upon them, and slew them all, with their
families, and then plundered and burnt the city. The number of the slain
was eight thousand four hundred. In like manner, Cestius sent also a
considerable body of horsemen to the toparchy of Narbatene, that
adjoined to Cesarea, who destroyed the country, and slew a great
multitude of its people; they also plundered what they had, and burnt
their villages.
11. But Cestius sent Gallus, the commander of
the twelfth legion, into Galilee, and delivered to him as many of his
forces as he supposed sufficient to subdue that nation. He was received
by the strongest city of Galilee, which was Sepphoris, with acclamations
of joy; which wise conduct of that city occasioned the rest of the
cities to be in quiet; while the seditious part and the robbers ran away
to that mountain which lies in the very middle of Galilee, and is
situated over against Sepphoris; it is called Asamon. So Gallus brought
his forces against them; but while those men were in the superior parts
above the Romans, they easily threw their darts upon the Romans, as they
made their approaches, and slew about two hundred of them. But when the
Romans had gone round the mountains, and were gotten into the parts
above their enemies, the others were soon beaten; nor could they who had
only light armor on sustain the force of them that fought them armed all
over; nor when they were beaten could they escape the enemies' horsemen;
insomuch that only some few concealed themselves in certain places hard
to be come at, among the mountains, while the rest, above two thousand
in number, were slain.
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