to Rome, it proved too narrow to contain the|| * Tanis. His second station was Heramultitude that then came to it. So upon this cleopolis; and his third Pelusium. He then confirmation of Vespasian's entire government, refreshed his army at that place, for two days. which was now settled; and upon the unex- And on the third passed over the mouths of pected deliverance of the public affairs of the the Nile at Pelusium. He then proceeded Romans from ruin; Vespasian turned his one station over the desert, and pitched his thoughts to what remained unsubdued in Ju- | camp at the temple of the † Casian Jupiter; dea. However, he himself made haste to go || and on the next day at Ostracine. This stato Rome, as the winter was now almost over; tion had no water; but the people of the counand soon set the affairs of Alexandria in order: try make use of water brought from other but he sent his son Titus, with a select part of places. After this he rested at Rhinocolura ; his army, to destroy Jerusalem. So Titus and from thence he went to Raphia, which was marched on foot as far as Nicopolis; which is his fourth station: this city is the beginning of distant twenty furlongs from Alexandria. Syria, For his fifth station he pitched his There he put his army on board some long camp at Gaza. After which he came to Asships, and sailed upon the river along the Mon-calon, and thence to Jamnia, and after that desian Nomus, as far as the city Thmuis. to Joppa, and from Joppa to Cæsarea having There he got out of the ships, and walked on taken a resolution to gather all his other forces foot, and lodged all night at a small city called together at that place.

BOOK V.

Containing an Interval of Six Months.

FROM THE COMING OF TITUS TO BESIEGE JERUSALEM, TO THE GREAT EXTREMITY TO WHICH THE JEWS were REDUCED.

СНАР. І.

CONCERNING THE EDITIOUS AT JERUSALEM; AND THE

TERRIBLE MISERIES WHICH AFFLICTED THE CITY
THEIR MEANS.

vernment 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 HEN Titus had marched over the the attack of zealots made upon the people, desert which lies between Egypt and and which I esteem the beginning of the city's Syria, in the manner before mentioned, he destruction, it hath been already explained came to Cæsarea: having resolved to set his after an accurate manner; as also whence it forces in order at that place, before he began arose, and to how great a mischief it was inthe war. Nay, indeed, while he was assisting creased. But for the present sedition, one his father at Alexandria, in settling that go- should not mistake if he called it a sedition

WHEN Titus had marched over

Zoan in the Old Testament.

There are coins of this Casian Jupiter still extant, as Spanheim here informs us.

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.

I But 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 For Eleazar, the son of Simon, who made the upper city, and a great part of the lower, the first separation of the zealots from the peo- did now make more vehement assaults upon ple, and made them retire into the temple, John, and his party : because these were appeared very angry at John's insolent at- fought against from above also. Yet was he tempts, which he made every day upon the beneath their situation, when he attacked people. For this man never left off murder-them: as were they beneath the attacks of ing. But the truth was, that he could not the others above them. Whereby it came to bear to submit to a tyrant, who set up after pass, that John did both receive and inflict him. So he, being desirous of gaining the great damage, and that easily; as he was entire power and dominion to himself, revolt- fought against on both sides. And the same ed from John; and took to his assistance John advantage that Eleazar and his party had over the son of Chelcias, and Simon the son of Ez-him, since he was beneath them; the same adron, who were among the men of greatest vantage had he, by his higher situation, over power. There were also with him Hezekiah Simon. On which account he easily repelled the son of Chobar, a person of eminence. the attacks that were made from beneath, by Each of these were followed by a great many the weapons thrown with their hands only: of the zealots. These seized upon the inner but was obliged to repel those that threw their † court of the temple, and laid their arms darts from the temple above him, by his enupon the holy gates, and over the holy fronts gines of war. For he had such engines as of that court. And because they had plenty of threw darts, javelins, and stones; and that in provisions they were of good courage. For no small number. By which he did not only there was great abundance of what was con- defend himself from such as fought against secrated to sacred uses, and they scrupled not him, but also slew many of the priests, as they the making use of them. Yet were they were about their sacred ministrations. For afraid on account of their small number. And notwithstanding these men were mad with all when they had laid up their arms there, they sorts of impiety, yet did they still admit those did not stir from the place they were in. Now that desired to offer their sacrifices: although as to John, what advantage he had above they took care to search the people of their Eleazar in the multitude of his followers, the own country beforehand; and both suspected like disadvantage he had in the situation he and watched them. While they were not so was in since he had his enemies over his much afraid of strangers: who although they head. And as he could not make any as- had gotten leave of them, how cruel soever sault upon them without some terror, so was they were, to come into that court, were yet his anger too great to let him be at rest. Nay, often destroyed by this sedition. For those although he suffered more mischief from Elea- darts that were thrown by the engines came zar and his party than he could inflict upon with such force, that they went over all the them, yet would he not leave off assaulting buildings, and reached as far as the altar, and them. Insomuch, that there were continual the temple itself:. and fell upon the priests, sallies made one against another; as well and those that were about the sacred offices. as darts thrown at one another, and the Insomuch that many persons who came thitemple was defiled every where with murders.ther with great zeal from the ends of the

*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, IV. 5, as if he were slain there by these zealots, is groundless : as I have noted on that place already.

+ The court of the priests.
The Levites.

A

earth, to offer sacrifices, at this celebrated from those that were above him, which happlace, which was, esteemed holy by all man-pened frequently, from their being tired or kind, fell down before their own sacrifices, inebriated, he sallied out with a greater num and sprinkled that altar which was venerable ber upon Simon and his party. And this he among all men, both Greeks and Barbarians, did always in such parts of the city as he with their own blood, till the dead bodies of could come at, till he set on fire those houses strangers were mingled together with those of that were full of † corn, and of all other protheir own country; and those of profane per- visions. The same thing was done by Simon, sons with those of priests: and the blood of when, upon the others' retreat, he attacked, all sorts of dead carcasses stood in lakes in the the city also as if they had on purpose done holy courts themselves. And now, O most it to serve the Romans, by destroying what wretched city! what misery so great as this the city had laid up against the siege; and didst thou suffer from the Romans, when they by thus cutting off the nerves of their own came to purify thee from thy intestine hatred? power. Accordingly, it came to pass, that For thou couldst be no longer a place fit for all the places that were about the temple God; nor couldst thou long continue in being, were burnt down; and were become an interafter thou hadst been a sepulchre for the bodies mediate desert space, ready for fighting on of thy own people; and hadst made the holy both sides of it and almost all that corn house itself a burying place in this civil war. was burnt, which would have been sufficient Yet* mayest thou again grow better, if per- for a siege of many years. So they were chance thou wilt hereafter appease the anger taken by means of the famine: which it was of that God who is the author of thy destruc- impossible they should have been, unless they tion. But I must refrain myself from these had thus prepared the way for it by this propassions by the rules of history: since this is cedure. not a proper time for domestic lamentations, but for historical narrations; I, therefore, return to the operations that follow in this sedition.

Now there were three treacherous factions in the city, the one parted from the other. Eleazar and his party, that kept the sacred first-fruits, came against John in their cups. Those that were with John plundered the populace, and went out with zeal against Simon. This Simon bad 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 darts upon those citizens that came up against him, from the cloisters he had in his possessión; while he opposed those that attacked him from the temple, by his engines of war. And if at any time he was freed

ance.

* This is an excellent reflection of Josephus: including his hopes of the restoration of the Jews, upon their repentSee Antiq. IV. 8. Which is the grand Hope of Israel, as Manasseh ben Israel, the famous Jewish Rabbi, styles it, in his small but remarkable treatise on that subject; of which the Jewish prophets are every where full.

This destruction of such a vast quantity of corn 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 domestic 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

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."

He

with the Romans; or were suspected of an || cut, and prepared for building him towers, he inclination to desert to them, as their common finding them long enough, to oppose from enemies. They agreed in nothing but this, them those his adversaries that fought him to kill those that were innocent. The noise from the temple that was above him. also of those that were fighting was incessant also had them brought, and erected behind both by day and by night: but the lamenta- the inner court, over against the west end of tion of those that mourned exceeded the other. the cloisters; where + alone he could erect Nor was there ever any occasion for them to them. Whereas the other sides of that court leave off their lamentations; because their ca- had so many steps as would not let them lamities came perpetually one upon another: come nigh enough to the cloisters. although the deep consternation they were in prevented their outward wailing. But being constrained by their fear to conceal their in-ward 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, 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; 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 raised 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

*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. XV. 11.

+ There being no gate on the west, and only on the

Thus did John hope to overcome 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 Cæsarea. bad 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 their 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 which 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 those soldiers that came out of Egypt with Titus: which 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 good will to him, and for his prudence. He had formerly

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 end ways, though upon the floor of the court

of Israel.

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 enjoined himself to him, with great fide-own tongue, call The Valley of Thorns, near a lity, when things. were uncertain, and fortune had not yet declared for him. He also followed Titus, as a counsellor; very useful to him in this war, both by his age, and skill in such affairs.