when he was arrived at Bithynia, he had ambassadors that met him from all parts. The principal men also of the Jews came thither, to accuse Phasaelus, and Herod, and they said, that Hyrcanus had indeed the appearance of reigning, but that these men had all the power; but Antony paid great respect to Herod, who was come to him to make his defence against his accusers, on which account his adversaries could not so much as obtain an hearing; which favour Herod bad gained of Antony by money. But still, when Antony was come to Ephesus, Hyrcanus the high priest, and our nation, sent an embassage to him which carried a crown of gold with them, and desired that he would write to the governors of the provinces, to set those Jews free who had been carried captive by Cassius, and this without their having fought against him, and to restore them that country, which, in the days of Cassius, had been taken from them. Antony thought the Jews desires were just, and wrote immediately to Hyrcanus, and to the Jews. He also sent, at the same time, a decree to the Tyrians; the contents of which were to the same purpose. 3. Marcus Antonius imperator, to Hyrcanus the high "priest and ethnarch of the Jews, sendeth greting: if you "be in health, it is well; I am also in health, with the army. "Lysimachus, the son of Pausanias, and Josephus the son "of Menneus, and Alexander the son of Theodorus, your "ambassadors, met me at Ephesus, and have renewed that "embassage which they had formerly been upon at Rome, "and have diligently acquitted themselves of the present "embassage, which thou and thy nation have intrusted to "them, and have fully declared the good will thou hast for "us. I am therefore satisfied, both by your actions, and "your words, that you are well disposed to us; and I under"stand that your conduct of life is constant and religious; so I reckon upon you as our own: But when those that were adversaries to you, and to the Roman people, and "abstained neither from cities nor temples, and did not observe the agreement they had confirmed by oath, it was "not only on account of our contest with them, but on ac"count of all mankind in common, that we have taken vengeance on those who have been the authors of great injus"tice towards men, and of great wickedness towards the gods; "for the sake of which we suppose it was that the sun "turned away his light from us, as unwilling to view the 66 66 *This clause plainly alludes to that well known but unusual and very long darkness of the sun, which happened upon the murder of Julius Cæsar by Brutus and Cassius; which is taken great notice of by Virgil, Pliny, and other Roman authors. See Virgil's Georgies, Book I. just before the end; and Pliny's Nat. Hist. B. II. ch. xxx. "horrid crime they were guilty of in the case of Casar. We "have also overcome their conspiracies, which threatened "the gods themselves, which Macedonia received, as it is a "climate peculiarly proper for impious and insolent attempts; "and we have overcome that confused rout of men, half "mad with spite against us, which they got together at Phi"lippi, in Macedonia, when they seized on the places that 66 were proper for their purpose, and, as it were, walled them "round with mountains to the very sea, and where the passage was open only through a single gate. This victory "we gained, because the gods had condemned these men "for their wicked enterprises. Now Brutus, when he had "fled as far as Philippi, was shut up by us, and became a "partaker of the same perdition with Cassius; and now these "have received their punishment we suppose, that we may 66 enjoy peace for the time to come, and that Asia may be at "rest from war. We therefore make that peace which God "hath given us common to our confederates also, insomuch "that the body of Asia is now recovered out of that dis"temper it was under by the means of our victory. 1, there"fore, bearing in mind both thee, and your nation, shall "take care of what may be for your advantage. I have also "sent epistles in writing to the several cities, that if any persons, whether freemen or bondmen, have been sold under "the spear by Caius Cassius, or his subordinate officers, they may be set free. And I will that you kindly make use of "the favours which I and Dolabella have granted you. I "also forbid the Tyrians to use any violence with you; and "and for what places of the Jews they now possess, I order "them to restore them. I have withal accepted of the crown "" which thou sentest me." 66 4." Marcus Antonius imperator, to the magistrates, senate, "and people of Tyre, sendeth greeting: The ambassadors "of Hyrcanus the high-priest and ethnarch [of the Jews], "appeared before me at Ephesus, and told me, that you are "in possession of part of their country, which you entered upon under the government of our adversaries. Since, "therefore we have undertaken a war for the obtaining the government, and have taken care to do what was agree"able to piety and justice, and have brought to punishment "those that had neither any remembrance of the kindnesses "they had received, nor have kept their oaths, I will that you be at peace with those that are our confederates; as "also, that what you have taken by the means of our adver"saries shall not be reckoned your own, but be returned to "those from whom you took them, for none of them took "their provinces or their armies by the gift of the senate, "but they seized them by force, and bestowed them by vio"lence upon such as became useful to them in their unjust "proceedings. Since, therefore, those men have received "the punishment due to them, we desire that our confede"rates may retain whatsoever it was that they formerly pos"sessed without disturbance, and that you restore all the "places which belonged to Hyrcanus the ethnarch of the Jews, "which you have had, though it were but one day before "Caius Cassius began an unjustifiable war against us, and "entered into our province; nor do you use any force "against him, in order to weaken him, that he may not be "able to dispose of that which is his own, but if you have any contest with him about your respective rights, it shall "be lawful for you to plead your cause when we come upon the places concerned, for we shall alike preserve the rights, ❝ and hear all the causes of our confederates." 5. "Marcus Antonius imperator, to the magistrates, senate, sand people of Tyre, sendeth greeting: I have sent you my "decree, of which I will that ye take care that it be en"graven on the public tables, in Roman and Greek letters, "and that it stand engraven in the most illustrious places, "that it may be read by all." Marcus Antonius, imperator, one of the triumvirate over the public affairs, made this declaration: "Since Caius Cassius, in this revolt he hath made, "hath pillaged that province which belonged not to him, and "was held by garrisons there encamped, while they were our "confederates, and hath spoiled that nation of the Jews that was in friendship with the Roman people, as in war; and "since we have overcome his madness by arms, we now correct by our decrees and judicial determinations what he hath "laid waste, that those things may be restored to our confe"derates. And as for what hath been sold of the Jewish "possessions, whether they be bodies or possessions, let them "be released, the bodies into that state of freedom they "were originally in, and the possessions to their former own66 ers. I also will, that he who shall not comply with this decree of mine, shall be punished for his disobedience; and "if such an one be caught, I will take care that the offend"ers suffer condign punishment." 66 6. The same thing did Antony write to the Sidonians, and the Antiochians and the Aradians. We have produced these decrees, therefore, as marks for tuturity of the truth of what we have said, that the Romans had a great concern about our nation. CHAP. XIII. How Antony made Herod and Phasaelus tetrarchs, after they had been accused to no purpose; and how the Parthians, when they brought Antigonus into Judea, took Hyrcanus and Phasaelus captives. Herod's flight; and what afflictions Hyrcanus and Phasaelus endured. 1. WHEN after this Antony came into Syria, Cleopatra met him in Cilicia, and brought him to fall in love with her. And there came now also an hundred of the most potent of the Jews to accuse Herod and those about him, and set the men of the greatest elequence among them to speak. But Messala contradicted them, on behalf of the young men, and all this in the presence of Hyrcanus, who was * Herod's father-in-law already. When Antony had heard both sides at Daphne, he asked Hyrcanus who they were that governed the nation best? He replied, Herod and his friends. Hereupon Antony, by reason of the old hospitable friendship he had made with his father [Antipater,] at that time when he was with Gabinius, he made both Herod and Phasaelus tetrarchs, and committed the public affairs of the Jews to them, and wrote letters to that purpose. He also bound fifteen of their adversaries, and was going to kill them, but that Herod obtained their pardon. But 2. Yet did not these men continue quiet when they were come back, but a thousand of the Jews came to Tyre to meet him there, whither the report was that he would come. Antony was corrupted by the money which Herod and his brother had given him, and so he gave orders to the governor of the place to punish the Jewish ambassadors, who were for making innovations, and to settle the government upon Herod: But Herod went out hastily to them, and Hyrcanus was with him, (for they stood upon the shore before the city) and he charged them to go their ways, because great mischief would befal them if they went on with their accusation. But they did not acquiesce: whereupon the Romans ran upon them with their daggers, and slew some, and wounded more of them, and the rest fled away, and went home, and lay still in great consternation: And when the people made a clamour against Herod, Antony was so provoked at it that he slew the prisoners. We may here take notice, that espousals alone were of old esteemed a sufficient foundation for affinity, Hyrcanus being here called father in-law to Herod, because his grand-daughter Mariamne was betrothed to him, although the marriage were not completed till four years afterward. See Matt. i. 16. VOL. II. U 3. Now, in the second year, Pacorus, the king of Parthia's son, and Barzapharnes, a commander of the Parthians, possessed themselves of Syria. Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, also was now dead, and Lysanias his son took his government, and made a league of friendship with Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus; and in order to obtain it, made use of that commander, who had great interest in him. Now Antigonus had promised to give the Parthians a thousand talents, and five hundred women, upon condition they would take the government away from Hyrcanus, and bestow it upon him, and withal kill Herod. And although he did not give them what he had promised, yet did the Parthians make an expedition into Judea on that account, and carried Antigonus with them. Pacorus went along the maritime parts, but the commander Barzapharnes, through the midland. Now the Tyrians excluded Pacorus, but the Sidonians, and those of Ptolemais, received him. However, Pacorus sent a troop of horsemen into Judea, to take a view of the state of the country, and to assist Antigonus; and sent also the king's butler, of the same name with himself. So when the Jews that dwelt about mount Carmel came to Antigonus, and were ready to march with him into Judea, Antigonus hoped to get some part of the country by their assistance. The place is called Drymi; and when some others came and met them, the men privately fell upon Jerusalem; and when some more were come to them, they got together in great numbers, and came against the king's palace, and besieged it. But as Phasaelus's and Herod's party came to the other's assistance, and a battle happened between them in the market-place, the young men beat their enemies, and pursued them into the temple, and sent some armed men into the adjoining houses, to keep them in, who yet being destitute of such as should support them, were burnt, and the houses with them, by the people who rose up against them. But Herod was revenged on these seditious adversaries of his a little afterward for this injury they had offered him, when he fought with them, and slew a great number of them. 4. But while there were daily skirmishes, the enemy waited for the coming of the multitude out of the country to Pentecost, a feast of ours so called: and when that day was come, many ten thousands of the people were gathered together about the temple, some in armour, and some without. Now those that came, guarded both the temple and the city, excepting what belonged to the palace, which Herod guarded with a few of his soldiers; and Phasaelus had the charge of the wall, while Herod, with a body of his men, sallied out upon the enemy, who lay in the suburbs, and fought cou |