4. But now when they were come to Galilee, they found that the people of that country had revolted and were in arms, who came very cunningly to their leader, and befought him to conceal his treacherous intentions by an obliging behaviour to them; accordingly, he at firft made them prefents, and afterward as they went away laid ambushes for them; and when they were come to one of the maritime cities called Ecdippon, they perceived that a plot was laid for them; for they were there intormed of the promife of a thoufand talents, and how Antigonus had devoted the greateft number of the women that were with them, among the five hundred, to the Parthians; they alfo perceived that an ambush was always laid for them by the barbarians in the night time; they had been also seized on before this, unless they had waited for the feizure of Herod firft at Jerufalem, becaufe if he were once informed of this treachery of theirs, he would take care of himself; nor was this a mere report, but they faw the guards already not far off them.

5. Nor would Phafaelus think of forfaking Hyrcanus and flying away, although Ophellius earnestly perfuaded him to it; for this man had learned the whole fcheme of the plot from Saramalla, the richest of the Syrians. But Phafaelus went up to the Parthian governor, and reproached him to his face, for laying this treacherous plot against them, and chiefly becaufe he had done it for money; and he promised him, that he would give him more money for their préfervation, than Ant gonus had promised to give for the kingdom. But the fly Parthian endeavoured to remove all this fufpicion by apologies and by oaths, and then went [to the other] Pacorus; immediately after which, thofe Parthians who were left, and had it in charge, leized upon Phafaelus and Hyrcanus, who could do no more than curfe their perfidioufnefs and their perjury.

6. In the mean time the cup-bearer was fent [back], and laid a plot how to feize upon Herod, by deluding him, and But getting him out of the city, as he was commanded to do. Herod fufpected the barbarians from the beginning, and hav ing then received intelligence that a meffenger, who was to bring him the letters that informed him of the treachery intended, had fallen among the enemy, he would not go out of the city; though Pacorus faid very pofitively, that he ought to go out, and meet the meffengers that brought the letters, for that the enemy had not them, and that the contents of them were not accounts of any plots upon them, but of what Phafa. elus had done; yet had he heard from others that his brother was feized; and Alexandra, the fhrewdest woman in the world, Hyrcanus's daughter, begged of him that he would not

were freemen, perfectly agree with Trogus Pompeius, in Justin, B. XLI. 2, 3. as Dean Aldrich well obferves on this place.

* Mariamne here, in the copies.

go out, nor truft himself to those barbarians, who now were come to make an attempt upon him openly.

7. Now as Pacorus and his friends were confidering how they might bring their plot to bear privately, because it was not poffible to circumvent a man of fo great prudence by o penly attacking him, Herod prevented them, and went off with the perfons that were the moft nearly related to him by night, and this withuot their enemies being apprised of it. But as foon as the Parthians perceived it, they purfued after them, and as he gave orders for his mother, and fifter, and the young woman who was betrothed, to him, with her mother, and his youngest brother, to make the best of their way, he himfelf, with his fervants, took all the care they could to keep off the barbarians; and when, at every affault he had flain a great many of them, he came to the ftrong hold of Mesada.

8. Nay, he found by experience that the Jews fell more heavily upon him than did the Parthians, and created him troubles perpetually and this ever fince he was gotten fixty fur longs from the city; thefe fometimes brought it to a fort of a regular battle. Now in the place where Herod beat them, and killed a great number of them, there he afterward built a citadel, in memory of the great actions he did there, and adorned it with the most coftly palaces, and erected very strong fortifications, and called it from his own name Herodium. Now as they were in their flight, many joined themfelves to him every day; and at a place called Threa of Idumea his brother Jofeph met him, and advised him to eafe himself of a great number of his followers; because Mafada would not contain fo great a multitude, which were above nine thoufand. Herod complied with this advice and fent away the moft cumbersome part of his retinue that they might go into Idumea, and gave them provifions for their journey; but he got fafe to the fortrels with his nearest relations, and retained with him only the ftouteft of his followers; and there it was that he left eight hundred of his men as a guard for the women, and provifions fufficient for a fiege, but he made hafte himself to Petra of A. rabia.

9. As for the Parthians in Jerufalem, they betook themselves to plundering, and fell upon the houfes of thofe that were fled, and upon the king's palace, and fpared nothing but Hyrcanus's money, which was not above three hundred talents. They light of other mens money alfo, but not of fo much as they hoped for; for Herod, having a long while had a fufpicion of the perfidioufnefs of the barbarians, had taken care to have what was moft fplendid among his treasures conveyed into Idumea, as every one belonging to him had in like manner done alfo. But the Parthians proceeded to that degree of injuftice, as to fill all the country with war without denouncing it, and to demolish the city Mariffa, and not only to fet up Antigonus for king, but to deliver Phaiaelus and Hyrcanus bound

into his hands, in order to their being tormented by him. Antigonus himself alfo bit off Hyrcanus's ears with his own teeth, as he fell down upon his knees to him, that fo he might never be able, upon any mutation of affairs to take the high priesthood again; for the high priests that officiated were to be complete and without blemish.

10. However, he failed in his purpose of abufing Phafaelus, by reafon of his courage for though he neither had the command of his fword nor of his hands, he prevented all abufes by dafhing his head against a stone; fo he demonftrated himself to be Herod's own brother, and Hyrcanus a moft degenerate relation, and died with great bravery, and made the end of his life agreeable to the actions of it There is also another report about this end, viz. that he recovered of that ftroke, and that a furgeon, who was fent by Antigonus to heal him, filled the wound with poilonous ingredients, and fo killed him; whichfoever of thefe deaths he came to, the beginning of it was glorious. It is alfo reported, that before he expired he was informed by a certain poor woman how Herod had escaped out of his hands, and that he faid thereupon, "I now die with comfort, fince I leave behind me one alive, that will avenge me of mine enemies.'

II. This was the death of Phafaelus; but the Parthians, although they had failed of the women they chiefly defired, yet did they put the government of Jerufalem into the hands of Antigonus, and took away Hyrcanus, and bound him, and carried him to Parthia.

CHAP. XIV.

When Herod is rejected in Arabia, he makes hafle to Rome, where Antony and Cafar join their intereft to make him King of the Jews.

§ 1.

Now Herod did the more zealously purfue his journey into Arabia, as making haite to get money of the king, while his brother was yet alive, by which money alone it was that he hoped to prevail upon the covetous temper of the barbarians to fpare Phafaelus; for he reasoned thus with himself, that if the Arabian king was too forgetful of his father's friendship with him, and was too covetous to make him a free gift, he would however borrow of him as much as might redeem his brother, and put into his hands, as a pledge, the fon of him that was to be redeemed; accordingly he led his brother's fon along with him, who was of the age of feven years. Now he was ready to give three hundred talents for his brother, and intended to delire the interceffion of the Tyririans, to get them accepted; however fate had been too quick for his diligence; and fince Phafaelus was dead, Herod's bro

therly love was now in vain. Moreover, he was not able to find any lafting friendfhip among the Arabians; for their king, Malichus, fent to him immediately, and commanded him to return back out of his country, and used the name of the Parthians as a pretence for fo doing, as though these had denounced to him by their ambaffadors to caft Herod out of Arabia; while in reality they had a mind to keep back what they owed to Antipater, and not be obliged to make requitals to his fons for the free gifts the father had made them. He alfo took the impudent advice of thofe who, equally with himfelt, were willing to deprive Herod of what Antipater had depofited among them; and thefe men were the most potent of all whom he had in his kingdom.

2. So when Herod had found that the Arabians were his enemies, and this for those very reafons whence he hoped they would have been the most friendly, and had given them fuch an answer as his paffion fuggefted, he returned back and went for Egypt. Now he lodged the first evening at one of the temples of that country in order to meet with those whom he left behind; but on the next day word was brought him as he was going to Rhinocurura, that his brother was dead, and how he came by his death; and when he had lamented him as much as his prefent circumftances could bear, he foon laid aside fuch cares, and proceeded on his journey. But now, after fome time, the king of Arabia repented of what he had done, and fent prelently away meffengers to call him back: Herod had prevented them, and was come to Pelufium, where he could not obtain a paffage from thofe that lay with the fleet, fo he befought their captains to let him go by them; accordingly, out of the reverence they bore to the fame and dignity of the man, they conducted him to Alexandria; and when he came into the city, he was received by Cleopatra with great fplendour, who hoped he might be perfuaded to be commander of her forces in the expedition the was now about; but he rejected the queen's folicitations, and being neither affrighted at the height of that ftorm which then happened nor at the tu mults that were now in Italy he failed for Rome.

3. But as he was in peril about Pamphilia, and obliged to caft out the greatest part of the fhip's lading, he, with difficulty, got fafe to Rhodes, a place which had been grievously haraffed in the war with Caffius. He was there received by his friends, Ptolemy and Sappinius; and, although he was then in want of money, he fitted up a three decked fhip of very great magnitude, wherein he and his friends failed to *Brundufium and wentthence to Rome with all speed: Where he first of all went to Antony, on account of the friendship his father had with him, and laid before him the calamities of him

This Brentefium or Brundufium has coins ftill preserved, on which is written Bperλnotowy, as Spanheim here inforins us.

felf and his family, and that he had left his nearest relations befieged in a fortrefs, and had failed to him through a florm, to make fupplication to him for affiftance.

4. Hereupon Anteny was moved to compaffion as the change that had been made in Herod's affairs, and this both upon his calling to mind how hofpitably he had been treated by Antipater, but more especially on account of Herod's own virtue; fo he then refolved to get him made king of the Jews, whom he had himfelf formerly made tetrarch. The conteft alfo that he had with Antigonus was another inducement, and that of no lefs weight than the great regard he had for Herod ; for he looked upon Antigonus as a feditious perfon, and an enemy of the Romans: And as for Cæfar, Herod found him better prepared than Antony, as remembering very fresh the wars he had gone through together with his father, the hofpitable treatment he had met with from him, and the entire goodwill he had fhewed to him; befides the activity which he faw in Herod himself. So he called the fenate together, wherein Meffalas, and after him Atratinus, produced Herod before them, and gave a full account of the merits of his father, and his own good-will to the Romans. At the fame time they de monftrated that Antigonus was their enemy, not only because he foon quarrelled with them, but because he now overlooked the Romans, and took the government by the means of the Parthians. Thefe reafons greatly moved the fenate; at which juncture Antony came in and told them that it was for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod fhould be king; fo they all gave their votes for it. And, when the fenate was feparated, Antony and Cæfar went out, with Herod between them; while the conful and the rest of the magiftrates went before them in order to offer facrifices, and to lay the decree in the capitol: Antony also made a feaft for Herod on the first day of his reign.

CHAP. XV.

Antiganus befieges thofe that were in Mafada, whom Herod frees from confinement, when he came back from Rome, and prefently marches to Jerufalem, where he finds Silo corrupted by bribes:

fufficient quantity, but were in want of water; on which account Jofeph, Herod's brother, was difpofed to run away to the Arabians, with two hundred of his own friends, becaufe he had heard that Malichus repented of his offences with regard to Herod; and he had been fo quick as to have been gone out of the fortrefs already, unlefs, on that very night