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in three places; one at the north fide of the temple, another at the fouth fide, by the Hippodrome, and the third part were. at the palace on the weft. So they lay round about the Romans on every fide, and befieged them.

2. Now Sabinus was affrighted both at the multitude, and at their courage, and fent meffengers to Varus continually, and befought him to come to his fuccour quickly, for that, it he delayed, his legion would be cut to pieces.

nus himself, he got up to the higheft tower of the fortress, As for Sabi which was called Phalaelus; it is of the fane name with Herod's brother, who was destroyed by the Parthians; and then he made figns to the foldiers of that legion to attack the enemy; for his altonishment was fo great, that he dust not gọ down to his own men. Hereupon the foldiers were prevailed upon, and leaped out into the temple, and fought a terrible. battle with the Jews; in which, while there were none over their heads to diitrels them, they were too hard for them, by their skill, and the others' want of fkill in war; but when once many of the Jews had gotten up to the top of the cloisters, and threw their darts downwards, upon the heads of the Romans, there were a great many of them destroyed. Nor was it easy to avenge themselves upon those that threw their weapons from on nigh, nor was it more ealy for them to fuf tain thole who came to fight them hand to hand.

3. Since therefore the Romans were forely afflicted by both thele circumitances, they fet fire to the cloiiters, which were works to be admired, both on account of their magnitude and coftlinefs. Whereupon thofe that were above them were prefently encompalled with the flame, and many of them perithed therein; as many of them alio were deitroyed by the enemy, who came fuddenly upon them; fome of them alfo threw themieives down from the walls backward, and fome. there were, who, trom the defperate condition they were in, prevented the fire, by killing themtelves with their own fwords; but fo many of them as crept out from the walls, and came upon the Romans, were easily mastered by them, by reafon of the astonishment they were under; until at last fome of the Jews being destroyed, and others difperfed by the ter ror they were in, the foldiers tell upon the treasure of God which was now deserted, and plundered about four hundred talents, of which fum Sabinus got together all that was not carried away by the foldiers.

4. However, this destruction of the works [about the temple, and of the men, occafioned a much greater number, and thole of a more warlike fort, to get together, to oppole the Romans. Thefe encompaffed the palace round, and threatned to destroy all that were in it, unless they went their ways quickly; for they promifed that Sabinus fhould come to no harm, it he would go out with his legion. There were also a great many of the king's party who deferted to the Romans, and af

Lifted the Jews, yet did the moft warlike body of them all, who were three thousand of the men of Sebaffe, go over to the Romans. Rutus alfo and Gratus, their captains did the fame, (Gratus having the foot of the king's party under him, and Rufus the horse), each of whom, even without the forces under them, were of great weight on account of their ftrength and wifdom, which turn the fcales in war. Now the Jews perfevered in the fiege, and tried to break down the walls of the fortrefs, and cried out to Sabinus and his party, That they fhould go their ways and not prove an hindrance to them, now they hoped, after a long time, to recover that ancient liberty which their forefathers had enjoyed. Sabinus indeed was well contented to get out of the danger he was in, but he dif trufted the affurances the Jews gave him, and fufpected fuch gentle treatment was but a bait laid as a fnare for them: This confideration, together with the hopes he had of fuccour from Varus, made him bear the fiege ftill longer.

CHAP. IV.

Herod's Veteran Soldiers become Tumultuous. The Robberies of Judas. Simon and Athrongeus take the name of King up. on them.

A

1. T this time there were great disturbances in the country, and that in many places; and the opportunity that now offered itself induced a great many to fet up for kings. And indeed in Idumea two thousand of Herod's veteran foldiers got together, and armed themfelves, and fought against thole of the king's party; against whom Achiabus, the king's first coufin, fought and that out of fome of the places that were the most strongly fortified; but fo as to avoid a direct conflict with them in the plains. In Sepphoris alfo, a city of Galilee, there was one Judas, (the fon of that arch-robber Hezekias, who formerly over-ran the country, and had been fubdued by king Herod); this man got no Imall multitude together, and brake open the place where the royal armour was laid up, and armed those about him, and attacked those that were fo earneft to gain the dominion.

2. In Perea alfo, Simon, one of the fervants to the king, relying upon the handsome appearance, and tallness of his body, put a diadem upon his own head alfo; he also went a bout with a company of robbers that he had gotten together, and burnt down the royal palace that was at Jericho, and ma ny other coftly edifices befides, and procured himfelt very eafily spoils by rapine, as fnatching them out of the fire. And he had foon burnt down all the fine edifices, it Gratus the captain of the foot of the king's party, had not taken the Trachonite archers, and the molt warlike of Sebafte, and met the

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man. His footmen were flain in the battle in abundance; Gratus alfo cut to pieces Simon himself as he was flying along a ftrait valley, when he gave him an oblique ftroke upon his neck, as he ran away, and brake it. The royal palaces that were near Jordan at Betharamptha were also burnt down by fome other of the feditious that came out of Perea.

3. At this time it was that a certain fhepherd ventured to fet himself up for a king; he was called Athrongeus. It was his ftrength of body that made him expect fuch a dignity, as well as his foul which despised death; and befides thefe qualifica tions, he had four brethren like himself. He put a troop of armed men under each of these his brethren, and made use of them as his generals and commanders, when he made his incurfions, while he did himself act like a king, and meddled only with the more important affairs: And at this time he put a diadem about his head, and continued after that to over-run the country for no little time with his brethren, and became their leader in killing both the Romans and thofe of the king's party; nor did any Jew efcape him, it any gain could accrue to him thereby. He once ventured to encompaís a whole troop of Romans at Emmaus, who were carrying corn and weapons to their legion; his men therefore fhot their arrows and darts, and thereby flew their centurion Arius, and forty of the ftouteft of his men, while the rest of them, who were in danger of the fame fate, upon the coming of Gratus, with thole of Sebafte, to their affiftance, efcaped. And when thefe men had thus ferved both their own countrymen and foreigners, and that through this whole war, three of them were af. ter fome time fubdued, the eldest by Archelaus, the two next by falling into the hands of Gratus and Ptolemaus; but the fourth delivered himself up to Archelaus, upon his giving him his right hand for his fecurity. However this their end was not till afterward, while at present they filled all Judea with a piratic war.

CHAP. V.

Varus compofes the Tumults in Judea, and Crucifies about two thousand of the Seditious.

§ 1. UPON Varus's reception of the letters that were written by Sabinus, and the captains, he could not avoid being afraid for the whole legion [he had left there]. So he made hafte to their relief, and took with him the other two legions, with the four troops of horsemen to them be longing, and marched to Ptolemais; having given orders for the auxiliaries that were fent by the kings and governors of eities to meet him there. Moreover, he received from the people of Berytus, as he paffed through their city, fifteen

hundred armed men. Now as foon as the other body of aux→ iliaries were come to Ptolemais, as well as Aretas the Arabian, (who, out of the hatred he bore to Herod, brought a great army of horfe and foot), Varus fent a part of his army prefently to Galilee, which lay near to Ptolemais, and Caius one of his friends, for their captain. This Caius put thofe that met him to flight, and took the city Sepphoris, and burnt it, and made flaves of its inhabitants; but as for Varus himself, he marched to Samaria with his whole army, where he did not meddle with the city itfelt, because he found that it had made no commotion during these troubles, but pitched his camp about a certain village which was called Arrs. It belonged to Ptolemy, on that account was plundered by the Arabians, who were very angry even at Herod's friends alfo. He thence marched on to the village Sampho, another fortified place which they plundered, as they had done the other. As they carried off all the money they light upon belonging to the public revenues, all was now full of fire and bloodthed, and nothing could refift the plunders of the Arabians. Emmaus was alfo burnt, upon the flight of its inhabitants, and this at the command of Varus, out of his rage at the flaughter of those that were about Arius.

2. Thence he marched on to Jerufalem, and as foon as he was but feen by the Jews, he made their camps difperfe themfelves: They also went away, and fled up and down the coun try; but the citizens received him and cleared themselves of having any hand in this revolt, and faid, that they had railed no commotions, but had only been forced to admit the multitude because of the teftival, and that they were rather befieged together with the Romans, than affifted those that had revolted. There had before this met him Jofeph, the first coufin of Archelaus, and Gratus, together with Rufus, who led thofe of Sebafte, as well as the king's army: There alfo met him those of the Roman legion, armed after their accuftomed manner; for as to Sabinus he durft not come into Varus's fight, but was gone out of the city before this, to the feafide; but Varus fent a part of his army into the country, against thofe that had been the authors of this commotion, and as they caught great numbers of them, thofe that appeared to have been the leaft concerned in thefe tumults he put into cuftody, but fuch as were the moft guilty he crucified; these were in number about two thousand.

3. He was alfo informed that there continued in Idumea ten thousand men ftill in arms; but when he found that the Arabians did not act like auxiliaries, but managed the war according to their own paffions, and did mitchiet to the country otherwise than he intended, and this out of their hatred to Herod, he fent them away, but made hafte, with his own le gions, to march against those that had revolted; but thefe, by the advice of Achiabus, delivered themselves up to him before

it came to a battle. Then did Varus forgive the multitude their offences, but fent their captains to Cæfar to be examined by him. Now Cæfar forgave the reft, but gave orders that certain of the king's relations (for fome of thofe that were among them who were Herod's kinfmen,) fhould be put to death, because they had engaged in a war against a king of their own family. When therefore Varus had fettled matters at Jerufalem after this manner, and had left the former legion there as a garrifon, he returned to Antioch.

CHAP. VI.

The Jews greatly Complain of Archelaus, and defire that they may be made Subject to Roman Governors. But when Cafar. had heard what they had to fay, he diftributed Herod's Dominions among his Sons, according to his own Pleasure.

1. BUT

UT now came another accufation from the Jews against Archelaus at Rome, which he was to answer to. It was made by those ambassadors, who, before the revolt, had come, by Varus's permiffion, to plead for the liberty of their country; thofe that came were fifty in number, but there were more than eight thousand of the Jews at Rome who fupported them. And when Cæfar had affembled a council of the principal Romans in Apollo's temple, that was in the palace (this was what he had himself built and adorned, at a vaft expence ;) the multitude of the Jews flood with the ambaffadors, and on the other fide flood Archelaus, with his friends; but as for the kindred of Archelaus, they stood on neither fide; for to stand on Archelaus's fide, their hatred to him, and envy at him, would not give them leave, while yet they were afraid to be feen by Cæfar with his accufers. Befides thefe, there were prefent, Archelaus's brother, Philip, being fent thither before hand out of kindnefs by Varus, for two reafons; the one was this, that he might be affifting to Archelaus, and the other was this, that in cafe Cæfar fhould make a diftribution of what Herod poffeffed among his pofterity, he might obtain fome share of it.

2. And now, upon the permiffion that was given the accufers to fpeak, they, in the firft place, went over Herod's breaches of their law, and faid, That " he was not a king, but the moft barbarous of all tyrants, and that they had found him to be fuch by the fufferings they underwent from him: That when a very great number had been flain by him, those that

This holding a council in the temple of Appollo, in the emperor's palace at Rome, by Auguftus, and even the building of this temple magnificently by himfelf in that palace, are exactly agreeable to Auguftus, in his elder years, as Aldrich and Spanheim oblerve and prove, from Suetonius and Propertius.

VOL. III.

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