"Pharisees before them, they still insisted that she would "place them every one in her fortresses; for if some fatal "demon hath a constant, spite against Alexander's house, "they would be willing to bear their part, and to live in a "private station there." 3. As these men said thus, and called upon Alexander's ghost for commiseration of those already slain, and those in danger of it, all the bystanders brake out into tears: But Aristobulus chiefly made manifest what were his sentiments, and used many reproachful expressions to his mother, [saying] "Nay indeed, the case is this, that they have been "themselves the authors of their own calamities, who have "permitted a woman who, against reason, was mad with am"bition, to reign over them, when there were sons in the "flower of their age fitter for it." So Alexandra, not knowing what to do with any decency, committed the fortresses to them, all but Hyrcania and Alexandrium, and Macherus, where her principal treasures were. After a little while also, she sent her son Aristobulus with an army to Damascus against Ptolemy, who was called Menneus, who was such a bad neighbour to the city; but he did nothing considerable there, and so returned home. 4. About this time news was brought that Tigranes, the king of Armenia, had made an irruption into Syria with * five hundred thousand soldiers, and was coming against Judea. This news, as may well be supposed, terrified the queen and the nation. Accordingly they sent him many and very valuable presents, as also ambassadors, and that as he was besieging Ptolemais; for Selene the queen, the same that was also called Cleopatra, ruled then over Syria, who had persuaded the inhabitants to exclude Tigranes. So the Jewish ambassadors interceded with him, and entreated him that he would determine nothing that was severe about their queen or nation. He commended them for the respects they paid him at so great a distance: and gave them good hopes of his favour. But as soon as Ptolemais was taken, came to Tigranes, that Lucullus, in his pursuit of Mithridates, could not light upon him, who was fled into Iberia, but was laying waste Armenia, and besieging its cities. Now, when Tigranes knew this, he returned home. news 5. After this, when the queen was fallen into a dangerous * The number of 500,000, or even 300,000, as one Greek copy, with the Latin copies, have it, for Tigranes's army, that came out of Armenia, into Syria and Judea, seems much too large. We have had already several such extravagant numbers in Josephus's present copies, which are not to be at all ascribed to him. Accordingly I incline to Dr. Hudson's emendation here, which supp♦ses them but 40,000. distemper, Aristobulus resolved to attempt the seizing of the government; so he stole away secretly by night, with only one of his servants, and went to the fortresses, wherein his friends, that were such from the days of his father, were settled for as he had been a great while displeased at his mother's conduct, so he was now much more afraid, lest, upon her death, their whole family should be under the power of the Pharisees, for he saw the inability of his brother who was to succeed in the government : nor was any one conscious of what he was doing but only his wife, whom he left at Jerusalem with their children. He first of all came to Agaba, where was Galestes, one of the potent men before-mentioned, and was received by him. When it was day, the queen perceived that Aristobulus was fled; and for some time she supposed that his departure was not in order to make any innovation, but when messengers came one after another, with the news that he had secured the first place, the second place, and all the places, for as soon as one had begun, they all submitted to his disposal, then it was that the queen and the nation were in the greatest disorder, for they were aware that it would not be long ere Aristobulus would be able to settle himself firmly in the government. What they were principally afraid of was this, that he would inflict punishment upon them for the mad treatment his house had had from them: So they resolved to take his wife and children into custody, and keep them in the fortress that was over the temple. Now there was a mighty conflux of people that came to Aristobulus from all parts, insomuch that he had a kind of royal attendants about him; for in a little more than fifteen days, he got twenty-two strong places, which gave him the oppor tunity of raising an army from Libanus and Trachonitis, and the monarchs; for men are easily led by the greater num ber, and easily submit to them. And besides this, that by affording him their assistance, when he could not expect it, they, as well as he, should have the advantages that would come by his being king, because they had been the occasion of his gaining the kingdom. Now the elders of the Jews, and Hyrcanus with them, went in unto the queen, and desired, "That she would give them her sentiments about the present posture of affairs, for that Aristobulus was in ef"fect lord of almost all the kingdom, by possessing of so many strong holds, and that it was absurd for them to take any counsel by themselves, how ill soever she were, while *This fortress, castle, citadel, or tower, whither the wife and children of Aristobulus were now sent, and which overlooked the temple, could be no other than what Hyrcanus I, built, Antiq. B. XVIII. ch. iv. § 3. Vol. II. and Herod. the Great rebuilt, and called the Tower of Antonia, Antiq. B. XV. ch. xi. § 5. "she was alive, and that the danger would be upon them in "no long time." But she "bid them do what they thought proper to be done: that they had many circumstances in "their favour still remaining, a nation in good heart, an ar66 my, and money in their several treasuries, for that she had "small concern about public affairs now, when the strength "of her body already failed her." 6. Now a little while after she had said this to them, she died, when she had reigned nine years, and had in all lived seventy-three. A woman she was who shewed no signs of the weakness of her sex, for she was sagacious to the greatest degree in her ambition of governing; and demonstrated by her doings at once, that her mind was fit for action, and that sometimes men themselves shew the little understanding they have by the frequent mistakes they make in point of government; for she always preferred the present to futurity, and preferred the power of an imperious dominion above all things, and in comparison of that had no regard to what was good, or what was right. However, she brought the affairs of her house to such an unfortunate condition, that she was the occasion of the taking away that authority from it, and that in no long time afterward, which she had obtained by a vast number of hazards and misfortunes, and this out of a desire of what does not belong to a woman, and all by a compliance in her sentiments with those that bare ill-will to their family, and by leaving the administration destitute of a proper support of great men and indeed, her management during her administration, while she was alive, was such, as filled the palace after her death with calamities and disturbance. However, although this had been her way of governing, she preserved the nation in peace. And this is the conclusion of the affairs of Alexandra. BOOK XIV. CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF THIRTY-TWO YEARS. FROM THE DEATH OF QUEEN ALEXANDRA TO THE DEATH OF ANTIGONUS. CHAP. I. The war between Aristobulus and Hyrcanus about the kingdom; and how they made an agreement, that Aristobulus should be king, and Hyrcanus live a private life; as also how Hyrcanus a little afterward, was persuaded by Antipater to fly to Aretas. * $ 1. WE have related the affairs of queen Alexandra, and her death in the foregoing book, and will now speak of what followed, and was connected with those histories; declaring before we proceed, that we have nothing so much at heart as this, that we may omit no facts either through ignorance or laziness, for we are upon the history and explication of such things as the greatest part are unacquainted withal, because of their distance from our times; and we aim to do it with a proper beauty of style, so far as that is derived from proper words harmonically disposed, and from such ornaments of speech also as may contribute to the pleasure of our readers, that they may entertain the knowledge of what we write with some agreeable satisfaction and pleasure. But the principal scope that authors ought to aim at above all the rest, is to speak accurately, and to speak truly, for the satisfaction of those that are otherwise unacquainted with such transactions, and obliged to believe what these writers inform them of 2. Hyrcanus then began his high-priesthood on the third year of the hundred seventy-seventh olympiad, when Quintus Hortensius and Quintus Metellus, who was called Metellus of Crete, were consuls at Rome; when presently Aristobulus began to make war against him, and as it came to a battle with Hyrcanus at Jericho, many of his soldiers deserted him, and went over to his brother: upon which Hyrcanus fled * Reland takes notice here, very justly, how Josephus's declaration, that it was his great concern not only to write an agreeable, an accurate, and a true history, but also distinctly not to omit any thing [of consequence,] either through ignorance, or laziness, implies, that he could not, consistently with that resolu tion, omit the mention of [so famous a person as] Jesus Christ. into the citadel, where Aristobulus's wife and children were imprisoned by their mother, as we have said already, and attacked and overcame those his adversaries that had fled thither, and lay within the walls of the temple. So when he had sent a message to his brother about agreeing the matters between them, he laid aside his enmity to him on these conditions, that Aristobulus should be king; that he should live without intermeddling with public affairs, and quietly enjoy the estate he had acquired. When they had agreed upon these terms in the temple, and had confirmed the agreement with oaths, and the giving one another their right hands, and embracing one another in the sight of the whole multitude, they departed, the one, Aristobulus, to the palace, and Hyrcanus as a private man to the former house of Aristobulus. 3. But there was a certain friend of Hyrcanus's, an Idumean, called Antipater, who was very rich, and in his nature an active and a seditious man; who was at enmity with Aristobulus, and had differences with him on account of his goodwill to Hyrcanus. It is true that Nicolaus of Damascus says, that Antipater was of the stock of the principal Jews who came out of Babylon into Judea; but that assertion of his was to gratify Herod, who was his son, and who, by certain revolutions of fortune, came afterward to be king of the Jews, whose history we shall give you in its proper place hereafter. However, this Antipater was at first called * Antipas, and that was his father's name also; of whom they relate this, that king Alexander and his wife made him general of all Idumea, and that he made a league of friendship with those Arabians, and Gazites, and Ascalonites, that were of his own party, and had, by many and large presents, made them his fast friends. But now, this younger Antipater was suspicious of the power of Aristobulus, and was afraid of some mischief he might do him, because of his hatred to him, so he stirred up the most powerful of the Jews and talked against him to them privately; and said, that it was unjust to overlook the conduct of "Aristobulus, who had gotten the government unrighteously, " and had ejected his brother out of it, who was the elder, and "ought to retain what belonged to him by prerogative of his "birth." And the same speeches he perpetually made to Hyrcanus; and told him, that his own life would be in danger, unless he guarded himself, and got shut of Aristobulus; for he said, that the friends of Aristobulus omitted no opportunity of advising him to kill him, as being then, and not before, sure *That the famous Antipater's or Antipas's father was also Antipater or Antipas which two may justly be esteemed one and the same name, the former with a Greek or Gentile, the latter with an Hebrew or Jewish termination, Josephus here assures us, though Eusebius indeed says it was Herod, |