was sent back again to Rome, and was there retained in bonds, having been both king and high-priest for three years and six months; and was indeed an eminent person, and one of a great soul. However, the senate let his children go, upon Gabinius's writing to them, that he had promised their mother so much when she delivered up the fortresses to him; and accordingly they then returned into Judea. 2. Now, when Gabinius was making an expedition against the Parthians, and had already passed over Euphrates, he changed his mind, and resolved to return into Egypt, in order to restore Ptolemy to his kingdom. This hath also been related elsewhere. However, Antipater supplied his army, which he sent against Archelaus, with corn, and weapons, and money. He also made those Jews, who were above Pelusium, his friends and confederates, and had been the guardians of the passes that led into Egypt. But when he came back out of Egypt, he found Syria in disorder with seditions and troubles; for Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, having seized on the government a second time by force, made many of the Jews revolt to him, and so he marched over the country with a great army, and slew all the Romans he could light upon, and proceeded to besiege the mountain called Gerizzim, whither they had retreated. 3. But when Gabinius found Syria in such a state, he sent Antipater, who was a prudent man, to those that were seditious, to try whether he could cure them of their madness, and persuade them to return to a better mind; and when he came to them, he brought many of them to a sound mind, and induced them to do what they ought to do, hut he could not restrain Alexander, for he had an army of thirty thousand Jews, and met Gabinius, and joining battle with him was beaten, and lost ten thousand of his men about mount Tabor. 4. So Gabinius settled the affairs which belonged to the city Jerusalem as was agreeable to Antipater's inclination, and went against the Nabateans, and overcame them in battle. He also sent away in a friendly manner Mithridates and Orsanes, who were Parthian deserters, and came to him, though the report went abroad that they had run away *This history is best illustrated by Dr. Hudson out of Livy, who says, That A. Gabinius, the proconsul, restored Ptolemy to his kingdom of Egypt, and ejected Archelaus, whom they had set up for king," &c. See Prid, at the years 64 and 65. from him. And when Gabinius had performed great and glorious actions, in his management of the affairs of war, he returned to Rome, and delivered the government to Crassus, Now, Nicolaus of Damascus, and Strabo of Cappadocia, both describe the expeditions of Pompey and Gabinius against the Jews, while neither of them say any thing new which is not in the other. -*-** CHAP. VII. How Crassus came into Judea, and pillaged the temple; and then marched against the Parthians, and perished, with his army. Also how Cassius obtained Syria, and put a stop to the Parthians, and then went up to Judea. 1. Now Crassus, as he was going upon his expedition against the Parthians, came into Judea, and carried off the money that was in the temple, which Pompey had left; being two thousand talents, and was disposed to spoil it of all. the gold belonging to it, which was eight thousand talents. He also took a beam, which was made of solid beaten gold, of the weight of three hundred minae; each of which weighed two pounds and an half. It was the priest who was guardian of the sacred treasures, and whose name was. Eleazar, that gave him this beam, not out of a wicked design, for he was a good and a righteous man: but being intrusted with the custody of the veils belonging to the temple, which were of admirable beauty, and of very costly workmanship, and hung down from this beam, when he saw that Crassus was busy in gathering money, and was in fear for the entire ornaments of the temple, he gave him this. beam of gold, as a ransom for the whole, but this not till. he had given his oath that he would remove nothing else out of the temple, but be satisfied with this only which he should give him, being worth many ten thousand [shekels]: Now this beam was contained in a wooden beam that was hollow, but was known to no others, but. Eleazar alone knew it; yet did Crassus take away this beam, upon the condition of touching nothing else that belonged to the tem ple, and then brake his oath, and carried away all the gold that was in the temple. 2. And let no one wonder that there was so much wealth in our temple, since all the Jews throughout the habitable earth, and those that worshipped God, nay, even those of Asia and Europe, sent their contributions to it, and this from very ancient times; nor is the largeness of these sums without its attestation; nor is that greatness owing to our vanity, as raising it without ground to so great a height: but there are many witnesses to it, and particularly Strabo of Cappadocia, who says thus: "Mithridates sent to Cos, and took the money which queen Cleopatra had deposited there, as also eight hundred talents belonging to the Jews." Now, we have no public money but only what appertains to God; and, it is evident, that the Asian Jews removed this money out of fear of Mithridates, for it is not probable that those of Judea, who had a strong city and temple, should send their money to Cos; nor is it likely that the Jews, who are inhabitants of Alexandria, should do so either, since they were in no fear of Mithridates. And Strabo himself bears witness to the same thing in another place, that, at the same time that Sylla passed over into Greece, in order to fight against Mithridates, he sent Lucullus to put an end to a sedition that our nation, of whom the habitable earth is full, had raised in Cyrene; where he speaks thus: "There were four classes of men among those of Cyrene, that of citizens, that of husbandmen, the third of strangers, and the fourth of Jews. Now, these Jews are already gotten into all cities, and it is hard to find a place in the habitable earth that hath not admitted this tribe of men, and is not possessed by it: and, it hath come to pass, that Egypt and Cyrene, as having the same governors, and a great number of other nations, imitate their way of living, and maintain great bodies of these Jews in a peculiar manner, and grow up to greater prosperity with them, and make use of the same laws with that nation also. Accordingly, the Jews have places assigned them in Egypt wherein they inhabit, besides what is peculiarly allotted to this nation at Alexandria, which is a large part of that city. There is also an ethnarch allowed them, who governs the nation, and distributes justice to them, and takes care of their contracts, and of the laws to them belonging, as if he were the ruler of a free republic. In Egypt, therefore, this nation is powerful, because the Jews were originally Egyptians, and because the land wherein they inhabit, since they went thence, is near to Egypt. They also removed into Cyrene, because that this land adjoined to the government of Egypt, as well A as does Judeá, or rather was formerly under the same government." And this is what Strabo says. 3. So when Crassus had settled all things as he himself pleased, he marched into Parthia, where both he himself, and all his army, perished, as hath been related elsewhere. But Cassius, as he fled from Rome to Syria, took possession of it, and was an impediment to the Parthians, who, by reason of their victory over Crassus, made incursions upon it :and as he came back to Tyre, he went up into Judea also, and, fell upon Taricheae, and presently took it, and carried about thirty thousand Jews captives; and slew Pitholaus, who succeeded Aristobulus in his seditious practices, and that by the persuasion of Antipater, who proved to have great interest in him, and was at that time in great repute with the Idumeans also: out of which nation he married a wife, who was the daughter of one of their eminent men, and her name was * Cypros, by whom he had four sons, Phasael and Herod, who was afterward made king, and Joseph and Pheroras; and a daughter, named Salome. This Antipater cultivated also a friendship and mutual kindness with other potentates, but especially with the king of Arabia, to whom he committed his children, while he fought against Aristobulus. So Cassius removed his camp, and marched to Euphrates, to meet those that were coming to attack him, as hath been related by others. 4. But some time afterward Cæsar, when he had taken Rome, and after Pompey and the senate were fled beyond the Ionian sea, freed Aristobulus from his bonds, and resolved to send him into Syria, and delivered two legions to him, that he might see matters right, as being a potent man in that country: but Aristobulus had no enjoyment of what he hoped for from the power that was given him by Cæsar, for those of Pompey's party prevented it, and destroyed him by poison; and those of Cæsar's party buried him. His dead body also lay for a good while embalmed in honey, till Antony afterward sent it to Judea, and caused him to be buried in the royal sepulchre. But Scipio, upon Pompey's sending to him to slay Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, because the young man was accused of what offences he had at first been guilty of against the Romans, cut off his * Dr. Hudson observes, that the name of this wife of Antipater's in Josephus was Cyprus, as an Hebrew termination, but not Cypris, the Greek name for Venus, as some critics were ready to correct it. head; and thus did he die at Antioch. But Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, who was the ruler of Chalcis, under mount Libanus, took his brethren to him, and sent his son Philippion to Askelon, to Aristobulus's wife, and desired her to send back with him her son Antigonus, and her daughters: the one of which, whose name was Alexandra, Philippion fell in love with, and married her, though afterward his father Ptolemy slew him, and married Alexandra, and continued to take care of her brethren. CHAP. VIII. The Jews become confederates with Cæsar when he fought against Egypt. The glorious actions of Antipater, and his friendship with Cæsar. The honours which the Jews received from the Romans and Athenians. 1. Now, after Pompey was dead, and after that victory Cæsar had gained over him, Antipater, who managed the Jewish affairs, became very useful to Cæsar when he made war against Egypt, and that by the order of Hyrcanus; for when Mithridates of Pergamus was bringing his auxiliaries, and was not able to continue his march through Pelusium, but obliged to stay at Askelon, Antipater came to him, conducting three thousand of the Jews, armed men: he had also taken care that the principal men of the Arabians should come to his assistance; and on his account it was that all the Syrians assisted him also, as not willing to appear behindhand in their alacrity for Cæsar, viz. Jamblicus the ruler, and Ptolemy his son, and Tholomy, the son of Sohemus, who dwelt at mount Libanus, and almost all the cities. So Mithridates marched out of Syria and came to Pelusium; and when its inhabitants would not admit him, he besieged the city. Now, Antipater signalized himself here, and was the first who plucked down a part of the wall, and so opened a way to the rest, whereby they might enter the city, and by this means Pelusium was taken: but it happened that the Egyptian Jews, who dwelt in the country called Onion, would not let Antipater and Mithridates, with their soldiers, pass to Cæsar, but Antipater persuaded them to come over to their party, because he was of the same people with them, and that chiefly by showing them the epistles of Hyrcanus, the high-priest, wherein he exhorted them to cultivate |