" crimes, and a testimony of my courage to my commenda❝tion, 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 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 eutire 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 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 Askalon slew two thousand five hundred, and those of Ptolemais two thousand, and put not a few in bonds; those of Tyre also put a great number to death, but kept a great 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 not 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 Antiochians, the Sidonians 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 favour 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 himself was 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

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THE JEWISH WAR.

Book II. 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 pecple; 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 Macherus 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 farther privilege, that they should be called Macedonians. Nay, when the Romans got pos

* 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 iii. 1.] both whose testi

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session of Egypt, neither the first Cæsar, nor any one that came after him, thought of diminishing the honours 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 theatre; 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 theatre, 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 bad, 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 resistance for a great while, but when once they gave back they were destroyed unmercifully; and this their destruction was com

plete, 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 shewn 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 recal them, and it was an hard thing to make them leave their dead bodies.

9. And this was the miserable calamity which at this time befel the Jews at Alexandria. Hereupon Cestius thought fit no longer to lie still, while the Jews were every where 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 num ber 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 had not indeed 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 divided 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

* Spanheim notes on the place, that this later Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, is mentioned by Dio, lix. page 645, and that

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 Cæsarea; 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 up 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 aforehand 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 Cæsarea, 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 moun, tain 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