4. Upon the war between Caffius and Brutus on one fide, againft the younger Cæfar [Auguftus] and Antony on the other, Caffius and Marcus got together an army out of Syria; and because Herod was likely to have a great fhare in providing neceffaries, they then made him a procurator of all Syria, and gave him an army of foot and horfe. Caffius promised him also that after the war was over, he would make him king of Judea; but it fo happened, that the power and hopes of his fon, became the cause of his perdition; for as Malichus was afraid of this, he corrupted one of the king's cup bearers with money, to give a poifoned potion to Antipater; fo he became a facrifice to Malichus's wickednefs, and died at a feaft. He was a man in other respects active in the management of affairs, and one that recovered the government to Hyrcanus, and preserved it in his hands..

5. However, Malichus, when he was fufpected of poisoning Antipater, and when the multitude were angry at him for it, denied it, and made the people believe he was not guilty. He also prepared to make a greater figure, and raised foldiers; for he did not fuppofe that Herod would be quiet, who indeed came upon him with an army presently, in order to revenge his father's death; but upon hearing the advice of his brother Phafaelus, not to punish him in an open manner, left the multitude fhould fall into a fedition, he admitted of Malichus's apology, and profeffed that he cleared him of the fufpicion; he alfo made a pompous funeral for his father.

6. So Herod went to Samaria, which was then in a tumult, and fettled the city in peace; atter which, at the [Pentecoft] feftival, he returned to Jerufalem, having his armed men with him: Hereupon Hyrcanus at the request of Malichus, who feared his approach, forbade them to introduce foreigners to mix themselves with the people of the country, while they were purifying themselves; but Herod defpifed the pretence, and him that gave that command, and came in by night. Upon which Malichus came to him, and bewailed Antipater; Herod alfo made him believe he admitted of his lamentation as real although he had much ado to reftrain his paffion at him; however, he did himfelt bewail the murder of his father in his letter to Caffius, who, on other accounts, allo hated Malichus; Caffius fent him word back that he fhould avenge his father's death upon him, and privately gave order to the tribunes that were under him, that they should affift Herod in a righteous action he was about.

7. And because, upon the taking of Laodicea by Caffius, the men of power were gotten together from all quarters, with prefents and crowns in their hands, Herod allotted this time for the punishment of Malichus. When Malichus fufpected that, and was at Tyre, he refolved to withdraw his fon privately from among the Tyrians, who was an hoftage there, while he got ready to fly away into Judea; the defpair he was in of

escaping, excited him to think of greater things; for he hoped that he fhould raise the nation to a revolt from the Romans, while Caffius was bufy about the war against Antony, and that he should easily depofe Hyrcanus, and get the crown for himself.

8. But fate laughed at the hopes he had; for Herod for faw what he was fo zealous about, and invited both Hyrcanus and him to supper ; but calling one of the principal fervants that ftood by him, to him, he fent him out, as though it were to get things ready for fupper, but in reality to give notice before hand, about the plot that was laid against him; accordingly they called to mind what orders Caflius had given them, and went out of the city with their fwords in their hands, upon the fea fhore, where they encompaffed Malichus round about, and killed him with many wounds. Upon which Hyrcanus was immediately affrighted, till he fwooned away, and fell down at the furprise he was in ; and it was with difficulty that he was recovered, when he asked who it was that had killed Malichus ? and when one of the tribunes replied that it was done by the command of Caffius, "Then, faid he, Caffius hath faved hoth me and my country, by cutting off one that was laying plots against them both." Whether he fpake according to his own fentiments, or whether his fear was fuch, that he was obliged to command the action by faying fo, is uncertain; however, by this method Herod inflicted punishment upon Malichus.

CHAP. XII.

Phafaelus is too hard for Felix; Herod alfo overcomes Antigonus in battle; and the Jews accufe both Herod and Phafaelus, but Antonius acquits them, and makes them Tetrarchs.

§ 1. WHEN Caffius was gone out of Syria, another fedition arofe at Jerufalem, wherein Felix affaulted Phafaelus with an army, that he might revenge the death of Malichus upon Herod, by falling upon his brother. Now Herod happened then to be with Fabius, the governor of Damafcus, and as he was going to his brother's affistance, he was detained by ficknefs; in the mean time Phafaelus was by himfelf too hard for Felix, and reproached Hyrcanus on account of his ingratitude, both for what affiftance he had afforded Malichus, and for overlooking Malichus's brother, when he poffeffed himfelf of the fortreffes; for he had gotten a great many of them already, and among them the strongest of them all, Mafada.

2. However, nothing could be fufficient for him against the force of Herod, who, as foon as he was recovered, took the other fortreffes again, and drove him out of Mafada in the

pofture of a fupplicant ; he alfo drove away Marion the tyrant of the Tyrians out of Galilee, when he had already poffeffed himfelt of three fortified places; but as to thofe Tyrians whom he had caught, he preferved them all alive; nay, fome of them he gave presents to, and lo fent them away, and thereby procured good will to himfelf from the city, and hatred to the tyrant. Marion had indeed obtained that tyrannical power of Caffius, who fet * tyrants over all Syria; and out of hatred to Herod it was that he affifted Antigonus the fon of Aristobulus, and principally on Fabius's account, whom Antigonus had made his afliftant by money, and had him accordingly on his fide when he made his defcent; but it was Ptolemy the kiniman of Antigonus, that fupplied all that he wanted.

3. When Herod had fought against thefe in the avenues of Judea, he was conqueror in the battle, and drove away Antigonus, returned to Jerufalem beloved by every body, for the glorious action he had done; for those who did not before favour him, did join themselves to him now, because of his marriage into the family of Hyrcanus; for as he had formerly married a wife out of his own country of no ignoble blood, who was called Doris, of whom he begat Antipater; fo did he marry Mariamne the daughter of Alexander, the fon of Ariftobalus, and the grand-daughter of Hyrcanus, and was become thereby a relation of the king.

4. But when Cæfar and Antony had flain Caffius near Philippi, and Cæfar was gone to Italy, and Antony to Asia, amongst the rest of the cities which fent ambaffadors to Antony unto Bithynia, the great men of the Jews came alfo, and accufed Phafaelus and Herod, that they kept the government by force, and that Hyrcanus had no more than an honourable name. Herod appeared ready to anfwer this accufation, and, having made Antony his friend by the large fums of money which he gave him, he brought him to fuch a temper as not to hear the others fpeak against him, and thus did they part at this time.

5. However, after this, there came an hundred of the principal men among the Jews to Daphne by Antioch to Antony, who was already in love with Cleopatra to the degree of fla very; thefe Jews put thofe men that were the most potent both in dignity and eloquence foremost, and accufed the brethrent. But Meffala oppofed them and defended the brethren, and that while Hyrcanus ftood by him, on account of his relation to them. When Antony had heard both fides, he asked Hyr canus which party was the fitteft to govern? who replied, that Herod and his party were the fittest. Antony was glad

Here we fee that Cassius fet tyrants over all Syria; so that his assisting to destroy Cefar does not feem to have proceeded from this true zeal for public liberty, but from a defire to be a tyrant himself." + Phafaelus and Herod:

of that aníwer, for he had been formerly treated in an hospitable and obliging manner by his father Antipater, when he marched into Judea with Gabinius; fo he constituted the brethren tetrarchs, and committed to them the government of Judea.

6. But when the ambaffadors had indignation at this procedure, Antony took fifteen of them and put them into cuftody, whom he was also going to kill presently, and the reft he drove away with difgrace, on which occafion a fill greater tumult arofe at Jerufalem; fo they fent again a thousand ambassadors to Tyre, where Antony now abode, as he was marching to Jerufalem; upon these men who made a clamour, he fent out the governor of Tyre, and ordered him to punish all that he could catch of them and to fettle thofe in the administration whom he had made tetrarchs.

7. But before this, Herod and Hyrcanus went out upon the fea fhore, and earnestly desired of these ambaffadors that they would neither bring ruin upon themselves, nor war upon their native conntry by their rafh contentions; and when they grew ftill more outrageous, Antony fent out armed men, and flew a great many, and wounded more of them; of whom thofe that were flain were buried by Hyrcanus, as were the wounded put under the care of Phyficians by him; yet would not thofe that had elcaped be quiet ftill but put the affairs of the city into fuch diforder, and fo provoked Antony that he flew thofe whom he had in bonds also.

CHAP. XIII.

The Parthians bring Antigonus back into Judea, and caft Hyrcanus and Phafaelus into Prifon. The flight of Herod and the taking of Jerufalem, and what Hyrcanus and Phafaelus Suffered.

§ 1. NOW

OW two years afterward, when Barzapharnes, a governor among the Parthians, and Pacorus, the king's fon, had poffeffed themselves of Syria, and when Lyfanias had already fucceeded upon his father Ptolemy's, the fon of Menneus's death, in the government [of Chalcis, he prevailed with the governor by a promife of a thousand talents, and five hundred women, to bring back Antigonus to his king. dom, and to turn Hyrcanus out of it. Pacorus was by thele means induced fo to do, and marched along the fea coaft, while he ordered Barzapharnes to fall upon the Jews as he went along the Mediterranean part of the country; but of the mari time people, the Tyrians would not receive Pacorus, although thofe of Ptolemais and Sidon had received him; fo he com. mitted a troop of his horfe to a certain cup bearer belonging to the royal family, of his own name [Pacorus,] and gave him

orders to march into Judea, in order to learn the state of alfairs among their enemies and to help Antigonus when he fhould want his affiftance.

2. Now as these men were ravaging Carmel, many of the Jews ran together to Antigonus, and thewed themselves ready to make an incurfion into the country; fo he fent them before into that place called Drymus, [the wood-land, to feize upon the place; whereupon a battle was fought between them, and they drove the enemy away and purfued them, and an after them as far as Jerufalem, and as their numbers increased, they proceeded as far as the king's palace; but as Hyrcanus and Phafaelus received them with a ftrong body of men, there happened a battle in the market place, in which Herod's party beat the enemy, and fhut them up in the temple, and fet fixty men in the houses adjoining as a guard on them. But the people that were tumultuous against the brethren came in and burnt thofe men; while Herod, in his rage for killing them, attacked and flew many of the people, till one party made incurfions on the other by turns, day by day, in the way of ambushes, and flaughters were made continually among them.

3. Now when that feftival which we call Pentecoft was at hand, all the places about the temple, and the whole city was full of a multitude of people that were come out of the country, and which were the greatest part of them armed alfo, at which time Phafaelus guarded the wall, and Herod with a few guarded the royal palace; and when he made an affault upon his enemies, as they were out of their ranks, on the north quarter of the city, he flew a very great number of them, and put them all to flight, and fome of them he thut up within the city, and others within the outward rampart. In the mean time Antigonus defired that Pacorus might be admitted to be a reconciler between them; and Phafaelus was prevailed upon to admit the Parthian into the city with five hundred horfe, and to treat him in an hofpitable manner, who pretended that he came to quell the tumults, but in reality he came to affift Antigonus; however, he laid a plot for Phafaelus, and perfuaded him to go as an ambaffador to Barzapharnes, in order to put an end to the war; although Herod was very earnest with him to the contrary, and exhorted him to kill the plotter, but not expofe himself to the fnares he had laid for him, because the barbarians are naturally perfidious. However, Pacorus went out and took Hyrcanus with him, that he might be the lefs fufpe&ted; he allo left fome of the horsement, called the Freemen, with Herod, and conducted Phafaelus with the rest.

❤ This large and noted wood, or woodland belonging to Carmel, called paper by the Septuagint, is mentioned in the Old Testament, 2 Kings xix 23 and lia. xxxviii 24 and by Strabo, B. XVI. p. 758, as both Aldrich and Spanheim here remark very pertinently.

These accounts, both here and Antiq. B XIV. ch xiii. fect. 5 Vol. II that the Parthians fought chiefly on horseback, and that only fome few of their foldiers.