tants of Sebaste and Caesarea had abused him, he was sorry for the first news, and was displeased at the ingratitude of those cities. He was, therefore, disposed to send Agrippa, junior away presently, to succeed his father in the kingdom, and was willing to confirm him in it by his oath. But those freed-men and friends of his, who had the greatest authority with him, dissuaded him from it, and said, that "it was a dangerous experiment to permit so large a kingdom to come under the government of so very young a man, and one hardly yet arrived at years of discretion, who would not be able to take sufficient care of its administration; while the weight of a kingdom is heavy enough to a grown man." So Caesar thought what they said to be reasonable. Accordingly, he sent Cuspius Fadus to be procurator of Judea, and of the entire kingdom, and paid that respect to the deceased, as not to introduce Marcus, who had been at variance with him, into his kingdom. But he determined, in the first place, to send orders to Fadus, that he should chastise the inhabitants of Caesarea and Sebaste for those abuses they had offered to him that was deceased, and their madness toward his daughters that were still alive; and that he should remove that body of soldiers that were at Caesarea and Sebaste, with the five regiments, into Pontus, that they might do their military duty there, and that he should choose an equal number of soldiers out of the Roman legions that were in Syria, to supply their place. Yet were not those that had such orders actually removed; for, by sending ambassadors to Claudius, they mollified him, and got leave to abide in Judea still: and these were the very men that became the source of very great calamities to the Jews in after times, and sowed the seeds of that war which began under Florus; whence it was, that when Vespasian had subdued the country, he removed them out of his province, as we shall relate hereafter.*

This history is now wanting.

CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF 22 YEARS.

[From Fadus the procurator to Florus.]

CHAP. I.

A sedition of the Philadelphians against the Jews; and also concerning the vestments of the high-priest.

1. UPON the death of king Agrippa, which we have related in the foregoing book, Claudius Caesar sent Cassius Longinus, as successor to Marcus, out of regard to the memory of king Agrippa, who had often desired of him my letters, while he was alive, that he would not suffer Marcus to be any longer president of Syria. But Fadus, as soon as he was come procurator into Judea, found quarrelsome doings between the Jews that dwelt in Perea, and the people of Philadelphia, about their borders, at a village called Mia, that was filled with men of a warlike temper; for the Jews of Perea had taken up arms without the consent of their principal men, and had destroyed many of the Philadelphians. When Fadus was informed of this procedure, it provoked him very much, that they had not left the determination of the matter to him, if they thought that the Philadelphians had done them any wrong, but had rashly taken up arms against them. So he seized upon three of their principal men, who were also the causes of this sedition, and ordered them to be bound, and afterward had one of them slain, whose name was Hannibal, and he banished the other two, Amram and Eleazar. Tholomy also, the archrobber was, after some time, brought to him bound, and slain, but not till he had done a world of mischief to Idumea and the Arabians. And, indeed, from that time, Judea was cleared of robberies by the care and providence of Fadus. He also at this time sent for the high-priests and the principal citizens of Jerusalem, and this at the commands of the emperor, and admonished them, that they should lay up the long garment, and the sacred vestment, which it is customary for nobody but the high-priest to wear, in the tower of Antonia, that it might be under the power of the Romans,

as it had been formerly. Now the Jews durst not contradict what he had said, but desired Fadus, however, and Longinus, (which last was come to Jerusalem, and had brought a great army with him, out of a fear that the [rigid] injunctions of Fadus, should force the Jews to rebel,) that they might, in the first place, have leave to send ambassadors to Caesar to petition him, that they may have the holy vestments under their own power, and that, in the next place, they would tarry till they knew what answer Claudius would give to that their request. So they replied that they would give them leave to send their ambassadors, provided they would give them their sons as pledges [of their peaceable behaviour.] And when they had agreed so to do, and had given them the pledges they desired, the ambassadors were sent accordingly. But when, upon their coming to Rome, Agrippa, junior, the son of the deceased, understood the reason why they came, (for he dwelt with Claudius Caesar, as we said before,) he besought Caesar to grant the Jews their request about the holy vestments, and to send a message to Fadus accordingly.

2. Hereupon Claudius called for the ambassadors, and told them that "he granted their request;" and bade them to return their thanks to Agrippa for this favour, which had been bestowed on them upon this entreaty. And, besides these answers of his, he sent the following letter by them: "Claudius Caesar Germanicus, tribune of the people the fifth time, and designed consul the fourth time, and imperator the tenth time, the father of his country, to the inagistrates, senate, and people, and whole nation of the Jews, sendeth greeting. Upon the presentation of your ambassadors to me by Agrippa, my friend, whom I have brought up, and have now with me, and who is a person of very great piety, who are come to give me thanks for the care I have taken of your nation, and to entreat me, in an earnest and obliging manner, that they may have the holy vestments, with the crown belonging to them, under their power; I grant their request, as that excellent person Vitellius, who is very dear to me, had done before me. And I have complied with your desire, in the first place out of regard to that piety which I profess, and because I would have every one to worship God according to the laws of their own country; and this I do also because I shall hereby highly gratify king Herod, and Agrippa, junior, whose sacred re

gards to me, and earnest good-will to you, I am well acquainted with, and with whom I have the greatest friendship, and whom I highly esteem, and look on as persons of the best character. Now I have written about these affairs to Cuspius Fadus, my procurator. The names of those that brought me your letter are, Cornelius, the son of Cero; and Trypho, the son of Teudio; Dorotheus, the son of Nathaniel; and John, the son of John. This letter is dated be fore the fourth of the calends of July, when Rufus and Pompeius Sylvanus are consuls."

s. Herod also, the brother of the deceased Agrippa, who was then possessed of the royal authority over Chalcis, petitioned Claudius Caesar for the authority over the temple, and the money of the sacred treasure, and the choice of the high-priests, and obtained all that he petitioned for. So that after that time this authority continued among * all his descendants till the end of the war. Accordingly, Herod removed the last high-priest, called Gantheras, and bestowed that dignity on his successor, Joseph, the son of Camus.

-***

CHAP. II.

How Helena, the queen of Adiabene, and her son Izatęs embraced the Jewish religion; and how Helena supplied the poor with corn when there was a great famine at Jerusalem.

1. About this time it was that Helena, queen of Adiabene, and her son Izates changed their course of life, and embraced the Jewish customs, and this on the occasion following: Monobazus, the king of Adiabene, who had also the name of Bazeus, fell in love with his sister Helena, and took her to be his wife, and begat her with child. But as he was in bed with her one night, he laid his hand upon his wife's belly, and fell asleep, and seemed to hear a voice, which bid him take his hand off his wife's belly, and not

* Here is some error in the copies, or mistake in Josephus; for the power of appointing high-priests, after Herod, king of Chalcis, wa dead, and Agrippa, junior was made king of Chalcis in his room belonged to him, and he exercised the same all along till Jeru alem was destroyed, as Jo ephus elsewhere informs us, chap. viii. 8. 11. chap. ix. § 1. 4. 6, 7.

Vol. V.

hurt the infant that was therein, which, by God's providence, would be safely born, and have ap happy end. This voice put him into disorder; so he awaked immediately, and told the story to his wife; and when his son was born, he called him Izates. He had indeed Monobazus, his elder brother, by Helena also, as he had other sons by other wives besides. Yet did he openly place all his affections on this his only begotten* son Izates, which was the origin of that envy which his other brethren, by the same father, bore to him; while on this account they hated him more and more, and were all under great affliction that their father should prefer Izates before them. Now, although their father was very sensible of these their passions, yet did he forgive them, as not indulging those passions out of an ill disposition, but out of a desire each of them had to be beloved by their father. However, he sent Izates, with many presents, to Abennerig, the king of Charax-Spasini, and that out of the great dread he was in about him, lest he should come to some misfortune by the hatred his brethren bore him; and he committed his son's preservation to him. Upon which Abbennerig gladly received the young man, and had a great affection for him; and married him to his own daughter, whose name was Samacha: he also bestowed a country upon him, from which he received large revenues.

2. But when Monobazus was grown old, and saw that he had but a little time to live, he had a mind to come to the sight of his son before he died. So he sent for him, and embraced him after the most affectionate manner, and bestowed on him the country called Carrae ; it was a soil that bare ammomum in great plenty; there are also in it the remains of that ark, wherein it is related that Noah escaped the deluge, and where they are still shown to such as are desirous to see them. Accordingly, Izates abode in that country until his father's death. But the very day that Monobazus died, queen Helena sent for all the grandees and governors of the kingdom, and for those that had the armies.

Josephus here uses the word wovoyeva, an only begotten son, for no other than one best beloved, as does both the Old and the New Testament I mean where there were one or more ons be ides, Gen xxii. 2. Heb. vi. 17 See the note on Antiq B. i. ch. xii. § 1. vol 1. + It is here very remarkable, that the remains of Noah's ark were believed to be still in being in the days of Josephus. See the note: on Antiq. B. i. ch. iii. §. 5.