upon them, into a certain strong tower, belonging to a village called Bezedel. However, Antonius and his party, that they might neither spend any considerable time about this tower, which was hard to be taken; nor suffer their commander, and the most courageous man of them all, to escape from them, they set the wall on fire. And as the tower was burning, the Romans went away rejoicing; as taking it for granted that Niger was destroyed. But he leaped out of the tower in a subterraneous cave, in the innermost part of it, and was preserved. And on the third day afterward he spake out of the ground to those that, with great lamentation, were searching for him, in order to give him a decent funeral. And when he was come out, he filled all the Jews with an unexpected joy; as though he were preserved by God's providence, to be their commander for the time to come.

Now Vespasian took along with him his army from Antioch, (which is the metropolis of Syria, and, without dispute, deserves the place of the third city in the habitable earth that was under the Roman empire, both in magnitude and other marks of prosperity,) where he found king Agrippa, with all his forces, waiting for his coming; and marched to Ptolemais. At this city also the inhabitants of Sepphoris of Galilee met him, who were for peace with the Romans. These citizens had beforehand taken care of their own safety and being sensible of the power of the Romans, they had been with Cestius Gallus, before Vespasian came; and had given their faith to him, and received the security of his right hand and had received a Roman garrison. And at this time they received Vespasian, the Roman general, very kindly; and readily promised that they would assist him against their own countrymen. Now the general delivered them, at their desire, as many horsemen and footmen as he thought sufficient to oppose the incursions of the Jews, if they should come against them. And, indeed, the danger of losing Sepphoris would be no small one, in this war, that was now beginning; seeing it was the largest city of Galilee, and built in a place by nature very strong; and might be a security of the whole nation's fidelity to the Romans.

* Spanheim and Reland both agree, that the two cities here esteemed greater than Antioch, the metropolis of Syria, were Rome and Alexandria. Nor is there any occasion for doubt in so plain a case.

CHAP. III.

CONTAINING A DESCRIPTION OF GALILEE, SAMARIA, AND JUDEA.

NOW Phoenicia and Syria encompass about the Galilees; which are two, and called the Upper Galilee, and the Lower. They are bounded towards the sun-setting with the borders of the territory belonging to Ptolemais, and by Carmel: which mountain had formerly belonged to the Galileans, but now belonged to the Tyrians. To this mountain adjoins Gaba, which is called the city of horsemen : because those horsemen that were dismissed by Herod the king dwelt therein. They are bounded on the south with Samaria, and Scythopolis; as far as the river Jordan. On the east with Hippene, and Gadaris: and also with Gaulanitis, and the borders of the kingdom of Agrippa. Its northern parts are bounded by Tyre, and the country of the Tyrians. As for that Galilee which is called the Lower, it extends in length from Tiberias to Zebulon; and of the maritime places *Ptolemais is its neighbour. Its breadth is from the village called Xaloth, which lies in the great plain, as far as Bersabe. From which beginning also is taken the breadth of the Upper Galilee, as far as the village Baca: which divides the land of the Tyrians from it. Its length is also from Meroth to Thella, a village near to Jordan.

These two Galilees, of so great largeness, and encompassed with so many nations of foreigners, have been always able to make a strong resistance on all occasions of war. For the Galileans are inured to war from their infancy; and have been always very numerous. Nor has the country been ever destitute of men of courage; or wanted a numerous set of them. For their soil is universally rich, and fruitful, and full of plantations of trees of all sorts. Insomuch that it invites the most slothful to take pains in its cultivation, by its fruitfulness. Accordingly it is all cultivated by its inhabitants; and no part of it lies waste. The cities also lie here very thick; and the many villages there are here, are every where so full of people, by the richness of their soil, that

* Once belonging to the tribe of Aser; but afterward a sort of Gentile eity,

the very least of them contained above fifteen thousand inhabit

ants.

In short, if any one will suppose that Galilee is inferior to Perea in magnitude, he will be obliged to prefer it before it in its strength. For this is all capable of cultivation; and is every where fruitful. But for Perea, which is indeed much larger in extent, the greater part of it is desert, rough, and less disposed for the production of the milder kinds of fruits. Yet it has a moist soil, in other parts, and produces all kinds of fruits; and its plains are planted with trees of various sorts, but the olive-tree, the vine, and the palm-tree, are chiefly cultivated there. It is also sufficiently watered with torrents, which issue out of the mountains; and with springs that never fail to run, even when the torrents fail as they do in the dog-days. Now the length of Perea is from Macherus to Pella; and its breadth from Philadelphia to Jordan. Its northern parts are bounded by Pella, as we have already said; as well as its western by Jordan. The land of Moab is its southern border; and its eastern limits reach to Arabia, and Silbonitis; and besides to Philadelphine, and Gerasa.

of hills

Now as to the country of Samaria, it lies between Judea and Galilee. It begins at a village that is in the great plain, called Ginea; and ends at the Acrabene toparchy: and is entirely of the same nature with Judea. For both countries are made up and vallies; and are moist enough for agriculture; and are very fruitful. They have abundance of trees, and are full of autumnal fruit, both that which grows wild, and that which is the effect of cultivation. They are not naturally watered by many rivers; but derive their chief moisture from rain-water, of which they have And for those rivers which they have, all their waters are exceeding sweet. By reason also of the excellent grass they have, their cattle yield more milk than do those in other places. And what is the greatest sign of excellency, and of abundance, they each of them are very full of people.

no want.

In the limits of Samaria and Judea lies the village Anauth, which is also named Borceos. This is the northern boundary of Judea. The southern parts of Judea, if they be measured length

1 *These were most probably the cities, not the villages.

ways, are bounded by a village adjoining to the confines of Arabia. The Jews that dwell there call it Jordan. However, its breadth is extended from the river Jordan, to Joppa. The city Jerusalem is situate in the very middle. On which account some have, with sagacity enough, called that city the navel of the country. Nor, indeed, is Judea destitute of such delights as come from the sea since its maritime places extend as far as Ptolemais. It was parted into eleven portions. Of which the royal city Jerusalem was the supreme; and presided over all the neighbouring country, as the head does over the body. As to the other cities that were inferior to it, they presided over their several toparchies. Gophna was the second of those cities; and next to that Acrabatta after them Thamna, Lydda, Emmaus, Pella, Idumea, Engaddi, Herodium, and Jericho and after them came Jamnia, and Joppa as presiding over the neighbouring people. And besides these there were the region of Gamala, and Gaulanitis, Batanea, and Trachonitis; which are also parts of the kingdom of Agrippa. This last country begins at mount Libanus, and the fountains of Jordan; and reaches breadthways to the lake of Tiberias; and in length is extended from a village called Arpha, as far as Julias. Its inhabitants are a mixture of Jews and Syrians. And thus have I, with all possible brevity, described the country of Judea, and those that lie round about it.

CHAPTER. IV.

JOSEPHUS MAKES AN ATTEMPT UPON SEPPHORIS, BUT IS REPELLED. TITUS COMES WITH A GREAT ARMY TO PTOLEMAIS.

NOW the auxiliaries which were sent to assist the people of Sepphoris, being a thousand horsemen, and six thousand footmen, under Placidus the tribune, pitched their camp in two bodies, in the great plain. The foot were put into the city, to be a guard to it; but the horse lodged abroad in the camp. These last, by marching continually one way or other, and overrunning the parts of the adjoining country, were very troublesome to Josephus, and

* A. D. 67.

+ There were too great plains in Judea. See Reland, tom. 1. chap. 55

his men. They also plundered all the places that were out of the liberties of the city, and intercepted such as durst go abroad. On this account it was that Josephus marched against the city; as hoping to take what he had lately encompassed with so strong a wall, before they revolted from the rest of the Galileans, that the Romans would have had much ado to take it. By which means he proved too weak, and failed of his hopes; both as to the foreing the place, and as to his prevailing with the people of Sepphoris, to deliver it up to him. But by this means he provoked the Romans to treat the country according to the laws of war. Nor did the Romans, out of the anger they bore at this attempt, leave off either by night, or by day, burning the places in the plain; and stealing away the cattle that were in the country; and killing whatsoever appeared capable of fighting perpetually; and leading the weaker people as slaves into captivity. So that Galilee was completely filled with fire and blood. Nor was it exempted from any kind of misery or calamity. For the only refuge they had was, that when they were pursued, they could retire to the cities which had been walled by Josephus.

But as to Titus, he sailed over from Achaia to Alexandria, and that sooner than the winter season did usually permit. So he took with him those forces he was sent for; and, marching with great expedition, he came suddenly to Ptolemais: and there finding his father, together with the two legions, the fifth and the tenth, which were the most eminent legions of all, he joined them to that fifteenth legion which was with his father. Eighteen cohorts followed these legions. There came also five cohorts from Cæsarea, with one troop of horsemen and five other troops of horsemen from Syria. Now these ten cohorts had severally a thousand footmen, but the other thirteen cohorts had no more than six hundred footmen apiece, with a hundred and twenty horsemen. There were also a considerable number of auxiliaries got together, that came from the kings *Antiochus, Agrippa, and Sohemus:

*This Antiochus was king of Commagene. Agrippa's kingdom has just been described, chap. 3. It contained, as Reland distinctly observes, only the tetrarchy of Philip given him by Claudius, and part of Galilee given him by Nero, i. e. that part which contained Tiberias, Taricheæ, and Julias, with fourteen villages thereto belonging; and Sohemus was king of Emesa in Syria.