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 afterwards 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 set 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 been guilty of at first against the Romans, cut off his 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 bre-thren.

* 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 Ve nus, as some critics were ready to correct it.

CHAP. VIII.

The Jews become confederates with Caesar when he fought against Egypt. The glorious actions of Antipater, and his friendship with Caesar. 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 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 behind hand 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 shewing them the epistles of Hyrcanus the high priest, wherein he exhorted them to cultivate friendship with Cæsar, and to supply his army with money, and all sorts of provisions which they wanted: and accordingly, when they saw Antipater and the high priest of the same sentiments, they did as they were desired. And when the Jews about Memphis heard that these Jews were come over to Cæsar, they also invited Mithridates to come to them; so he came and received them also into his army.

2. And when Mithridates had gone over all Delta, as the place is called, he came to a pitched battle with the enemy, near the place called the Jewish Camp. Now Mithridates had the right wing, and Antipater the left; and when it came to a fight, that wing where Mithridates was, gave way, and was likely to suffer extremely, unless Antipater had come

running to him with his own soldiers along the shore, when he had already beaten the enemy that opposed him: so he delivered Mithridates, and put those Egyptians who had been too hard for him to flight. He also took their camp, and continued in the pursuit of them. He also recalled Mithridates, who had been worsted, and was retired a great way off; of whose soldiers eight hundred fell, but of Antipater's fifty. So Mithridates sent an account of this battle to Cæsar, and openly declared, that Antipater was the author of this victory, and of his own preservation, insomuch that Cæsar commended Antipater then, and made use of him all the rest of that war in the most hazardous undertakings; he happened also to be wounded in one of those engagements.

3. However, when Cæsar, after some time, had finished that war, and was sailed away for Syria, he honoured Antipater greatly, and confirmed Hyrcanus in the high priesthood; and bestowed on Antipater the privilege of a citizen of Rome, and a freedom from taxes every where: and it is reported by many, that Hyrcanus went along with Antipater in this expedition, and came himself into Egypt. And Strabo of Cappadocia bears witness to this, when he says thus, in the name of Asinius: "After Mithridates had invaded Egypt, and with

him Hyrcanus the high priest of the Jews." Nay, the same Strabo says thus again, in another place, in the name of Hypsicrates, That "Mithridates at first went out alone, but "that Antipater, who had the care of the Jewish affairs, was "called by him to Askelon, and that he had gotten ready "three thousand soldiers to go along with him, and encou"raged other governors of the country to go along with him "also; and that Hyrcanus the high-priest, was also present "in this expedition." This is what Strabo says.

4. But Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, came at this time to Cæsar, and lamented his father's fate; and complained, "that it was by Antipater's means that Aristobulus was taken off by poison, and his brother was beheaded by Scipio, ❝ and desired that he would take pity of him who had been "ejected out of that principality which was due to him." He also accused Hyrcanus and Antipater as governing the nation by violence, and offering injuries to himself. Antipater was present, and made his defence as to the accusations that were laid against him. He demonstrated, that "Antigonus and his party were given to innovation, and were "seditious persons. He also put Cæsar in mind what diffi"cult services he had undergone when he assisted him in "his wars, and discoursed about what he was a witness of himself. He added that Aristobulus was justly_carried away to Rome, as one that was an enemy to the Romans,

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"and could never be brought to be a friend to them, and "that his brother had no more than he deserved from

Scipio, as being seized in committing robberies; and that "this punishment was not inflicted on him in a way of vio"lence or injustice by him that did it.”

5. When Antipater had made this speech, Cæsar appointed Hyrcanus to be high priest; and gave Antipater what principality he himself should choose, leaving the determination to himself: So he made him procurator of Judea. He also gave Hyrcanus leave to raise up the walls of his own city, upon his asking that favour of him, for they had been demolished by Pompey. And this grant he sent to the consuls of Rome, to be engraven in the capitol. The* decree of the senate was this that follows: "Lucius Valerius, the son of "Lucius the pretor, referred this to the senate, upon the "ides of December, in the temple of Concord. There were "present at the writing of this decree Lucius Coponius, the "son of Lucius of the Colline tribe, and Papirius of the "Quirine tribe, concerning the affairs which Alexander the "son of Jason, and Numenius the son of Antiochus, and "Alexander the son of Dositheus, ambassadors of the Jews, "good and worthy men, proposed, who came to renew that "league of good-will and friendship with the Romans which "was in being before. They also brought a shield of gold, as a mark of confederacy, valued at fifty thousand pieces "of gold; and desired that letters might be given them, di"rected both to the free cities and to the kings, that their "country and their havens might be at peace, and that no one among them might receive any injury. It therefore pleased [the senate] to make a league of friendship and good-will with them, and to bestow on them whatsoever "they stood in need of, and to accept of the shield which "was brought by them. This was done in the ninth year of "Hyrcanus the high-priest and ethnarch, in the month PaHyrcanus also received honours from the people of Athens, as having been useful to them on many occasions. And when they wrote to him, they sent him this

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"nemus.

* Take Dr. Hudson's note upon this place, which I suppose to be the truth: "Here is some mistake in Josephus: for when he had promised a decree for "the restoration of Jerusalem, he brings in a decree of far greater antiquity, " and that a league of friendship and union only. One may easily believe that "Josephus gave order for one thing, and his amanuensis performed another, "by transposing decrees that concerned the Hyrcani, and as deluded by the "sameness of their names; for that belongs to the first high-priest of this name, [Johu Hyrcanus,] which Josephus here ascribes to one that lived later, [Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander Janneus.] However, the decree which he pro"poses to set down, follows a little lower, in the collection of Roman decrees, "that concerned the Jews, and is that dated when Cæsar was consul the fifth "time." See chap. x. § 5.

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decree, as it here follows: " Under the prutaneia and priest"hood of Dionysius, the son of Esculapius, on the fifth day "of the latter part of the month Panemus, this decree of the "Athenians was given to their commanders, when Agatho❝cles was archon, and Eucles, the son of Menander of Ali"musia, was the scribe. In the month Munychion, on the "eleventh day of the Prutaneia, a council of the presidents "was held in the theatre. Dorotheus the high priest, and "the fellow presidents with him, put it to the vote of the people. Dionysius, the son of Dionysius, gave the sentence: Since Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, the high-priest "and ethnarch of the Jews, continues to bear good-will to our people in general, and to every one of our citizens in "particular, and treats them with all sorts of kindness; and "when any of the Athenians come to him, either as am"bassadors, or on any occasion of their own, he receives "them in an obliging manner, and sees that they are conduct❝ed back in safety, of which we have had several former tes"timonies, it is now also decreed, at the report of Theodo

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sius, the son of Theodorus, and upon his putting the peo"ple in mind of the virtue of this man, and that his purpose "is to do us all the good that is in his power, to honour him "with a crown of gold, the usual reward according to the "law, and to erect his statue in brass in the temple of De66 mus, and of the graces; and that this present of a crown "shall be proclaimed publicly in the theatre, in the Diony"sian shews, while the new tragedies are acting; and in the "Panathenean and Eleusinian, and Gymnical shews also; and "that the commanders shall take care, while he continues in "his friendship, and preserves his good-will to us, to return "all possible honour and favour to the man for his affection

and generosity; that by this treatment it may appear how "our people receive the good kindly, and repay them a "suitable reward; and he may be induced to proceed in his "affection towards us, by the honours we have already paid "him. That ambassadors be also chosen out of all the Athe"nians, who shall carry this decree to him, and desire him to "accept of the honours we do him, and to endeavour always "to be doing some good to our city." And this shail suffice us to have spoken as to the honours that were paid by the Romans and the people of Athens, to Hyrcanus.