own people, but to the 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 doue that, they set fire on 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 beseiged 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 de pend 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 slow 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 onthe sixth day of the month Gorpieus, [Elul.]

9. But on the next day the high-priest was caught, where he had concealed himself in an aqueduct; he was slain, together with Hezekiah, his brother, by the robbers hereupon the seditious besieged the towers, and kept them guarded, lest any one of the soldiers should escape. Now the overthrow of the places of strength, and the death of the highpriest 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, 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 armour. 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 to 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 forward, and this till Metellius, 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 Metellius 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 Metellius: for when he entreated for mercy, and promised that he would turn Jew, and be circumcised, they saved him alive, and 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 seemed to be a prelude to the Jews own destruction, while men made publick 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 reverence 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 whole works on account of divine worship.

CHAP. XVIIL

The calamities and slaughters that came upon the Jews.

1. Now the people of Cæsarea 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 Cæsarea was emptied of its Jewish inhabitants; for Florus eaught such as ran away and sent them in bonds to the gal Jeys. Upon which stroke that the Jews received at Cæsarea, the whole nation was greatly enraged; so they divided them, selves into several parties, and laid waste the villages of the Syrians, and their neighbouring cities, Philadelphia, and Seho

nitis, and Gerassa, and Pella, and Scythopolis, and after them Gadara, and Hippos; and falling upon Gaulanitis, 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 Cæsarea, 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 dan ger 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 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 Syriaus thought they had ruined the Jews they had Judaiz ers 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 of old as had 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 honour 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, were every where greater than what had been already perpetrated.

4. And thus far the conflict had been between Jews and foreigners, but when they made excursions to Scythopolis,

they found Jews 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 neighbouring 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 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 fidel"ity to you, by slaying so many of those that were related Wherefore we very justly experience the perfid"iousness of foreigners, while we acted after a most "wicked manner against our own nation. I will therefore die, polluted wretch as I am, by mine own hands; for it is "not fit I should die by the hand of our enemies; and let *the same action be to me both a punishment for my great

"to me.

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