make them too timorous; nor by relating their power beneath the truth, 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.

Now Vespasian was very desirous of demolishing Jotapata: for he had received intelligence, that the greatest part of the enemy had retired thither, and that it was, on other ac

he found it destitute of any considerable num-counts, a place of great security to them. Acber of men grown up, and fit for war. He cordingly he sent both footmen and horsemen came then into it, and slew all the youth; the to level the road, which was mountainous, and Romans having no mercy on any age whatso- rocky: not without difficulty to be travelled ever. And this was done out of the hatred over by footmen, but absolutely impracticable, they bore the nation; and because of the ini- for horsemen. Now these workmen accomquity they had been guilty of in the affair plished what they were about in four days' of Cestius. He also set fire not only to the time, and opened a broad way for the army. city itself, but to all the villages, and small On the fifth day, † which was the twenty-first cities that were round about it. Some of which of the month Artemisius, or Jyar, Josephus were quite destitute of inhabitants; and out of prevented him, and came from Tiberias, and some of them he carried the inhabitants into went into Jotapata, and raised the drooping captivity. spirits of the Jews. And a certain deserter told this good news to Vespasian, that Josephus had removed himself thither: which made him hasten to the city as supposing that, with taking that, he should take all Judea, in case he could but get Josephus under his power. So he took this news to be of the greatest 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 Eburius, a decurion, a person that was of eminence both in counsel and in action, to encompass the city round; that Josephus might not escape away privately.

As to Josephus, his retiring to that city which he chose for his security, put it into great fear. For the people of Tiberias did not imagine that he would have run away, unless he had entirely despaired of the success of the war. And, indeed, as to that point, they were not mistaken about his opinion. For he saw whither the affairs of the Jews would tend at last and was sensible that they had but one way of escaping, and that was by repentance. However, although he expected that the Romans would forgive him, yet did he choose to die many times over rather than to betray his country, and to dishonor that supreme command of the army which had been intrusted with him: or to live happily under those, against whom he was sent to fight. He determined, therefore, to give an exact account of affairs to the principal men at Jerusalem, by a letter, that he might not by too much aggrandizing the power of the enemy

* See Book II. chap. 19.

Vespasian also, the very next day, took his whole army, and followed them and by marching till late in the evening, arrived at Jotapata. And bringing his army to the

† A. D. 67.

northern side of the city, he pitched his camp || opposition they had made the day before: as on a certain small bill, which was seven fur- they found the Romans also to fight more deslongs from the city, and still greatly endea- perately. For a sense of shame inflamed vored to be well seen by the enemy, to put these into a passion, as esteeming their failure them into a consternation. Which was, in- of a sudden victory to be a kind of defeat. deed, so terrible to the Jews immediately, that Thus did the Romans try to make an impres not one of them durst go out beyond the wall. sion upon the Jews till the fifth day continualYet did the Romans put off the attack at that ly: while the people of Jotapata made sallies, time, because they had marched all the day. and fought at the walls most desperately. Although they placed a double row of batta- Nor were the Jews affrighted at the strength of lions round the city, with a third row beyond the enemy; nor were the Romans discouraged them round the whole, which consisted of ca- atthe difficulties they met with in taking the city. valry in order to stop up every way for an exit. Which thing making the Jews despair of escaping, excited them to act more boldly. For nothing makes men fight so desperately in war as necessity.

Now Jotapata is almost entirely 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 Now when, the next day, an assault was reaches to the bottom. It is only to be come made by the Romans, the Jews at first staid at on the north side: where the utmost part out of the walls, and opposed them, as having of the city is built on the mountain, as it ends formed themselves a camp before the city obliquely at a plain. This mountain Josephus walls. But when Vespasian had set against had encompassed with a wall, when he fortithem the archers, and slingers, and the whole fied the city; that its top might not be capamultitude that could throw to a great distance, ble of being seized upon by enemies. The he permitted them to go to work. While he city is covered all round with other mounhimself, with the footmen, got upon an accli-tains, and can no way be seen, till a man comes vity, whence the city might easily be taken. just upon it. And this was the strong situaJosephus was then in fear for the city, and tion of Jotapata. 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 thirteen men: while of the Jews' side seventeen were slain and six hundred wounded.

On the next day the Jews made another attack upon the Romans, and went out of the walls, and fought a much more desperate battle with them than before. For they were now become more courageous than formerly, and that on account of the unexpected good

Vespasian, therefore, in order to try how he might overcome the natural strength of the place, as well as the bold defence 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 upon 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 neighbour

ing hills to pieces, and perpetually brought || earth to them. So that while they were busy three sorts of ways, nobody was idle. However, the Jews cast great stones from the walls upon the hurdles which protected the men, with all sorts of darts also. And the noise of what could not reach them was yet so terrible, that it was some impediment to the workmen.

ordered them to build the wall higher. And when 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 bade them fix piles, and expand before them the raw hides of oxen, newly killed: that these hides by yielding and hollowing themselves when the stones were thrown at them, might receive them. For that the other darts would slide off them; and the fire that was thrown would be quenched by the moisture that was in them. And these he set before the workmen. And under them these workmen went on with their works in safety, and raised the wall higher, and that both by day, and by night, till it was twenty cubits high. He also built a good number of towers upon the wall, and fitted to it strong battlements. This greatly discouraged the Romans, who in their own opinions were already gotten within the walls: while they were now at once astonished at Josephus's contrivance, and at the fortitude of the citizens that were in the city.

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 he bade 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 wall which were reached by the engines. For And now Vespasian was plainly irritated the multitude of the Arabian archers, as well at the great subtilty of this stratagem, and at as all those that threw darts, and slung stones, the boldness of the citizens of Jotapata. For fell to work at the same time with the en- taking heart again, upon the building of this gines. Yet did not the others lie still, when wall, they made fresh sallies upon the Rothey could not throw at the Romans from a mans, and had every day conflicts with them higher place. For they then made sallies out by parties: together with all such contrivof the city, like private robbers, by parties, ances as robbers make use of, and with the and pulled away the hurdles that covered the plundering of all that came to hand, as also workmen, and killed them, when they were with the setting fire to all the other works. thus naked. And when those workmen gave And this till Vespasian made his army leave way, these cast away the earth that composed off fighting them; and resolved to lie round the bank, and burnt the wooden parts of it, to- the city, and to starve them into a surrender. gether with the hurdles: till at length Vespa- As supposing that either they would be forced sian perceived that the intervals there were be- to petition him for mercy, by want of provitween the works were of disadvantage to him.sions: or if they should have the courage to For those spaces of ground afforded the Jews a place for assaulting the Romans. So he united the hurdles; and at the same time joined one part of the army to the other: which prevented the private excursions of the Jews. 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 preservation of the city. So he got together his workmen, and

hold out to the last, they would perish by famine. And he concluded he should conquer them the more easily in fighting, if he gave them an interval, and then fell upon them when they were weakened by famine. But still he gave orders that they should guard against their coming out of the city.

Now the besieged had plenty of corn within the city, and indeed of all other 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