it came to a close fight they broke their ranks, and every one retired to his own home.

7. Thus did Simon unexpectedly march into Idumea without bloodshed, and made a sudden attack upon the city Hebron, and took it; wherein he got possession of a great deal of prey, and plundered it of a vast quantity of fruit. Now the people of the country say that it is an ancienter city not only than any in that country, but than Memphis in Egypt, and, accordingly, its age is reckoned at two thousand and three hundred years. They also relate that it had been the habitation of Abram, the progenitor of the Jews, after he had removed out of Mesopotamia; and they say that his posterity descended from thence into Egypt, whose monuments are to this very time showed in that small city; the fabric of which monuments are of the most excellent marble, and wrought after the most elegant manner. There is also there showed, at the distance of six furlongs from the city, a very large turpentine-tree;' and as the report goes, that this tree has continued ever since the creation of the world. Thence did Simon make his progress over all Idumea, and did not only ravage the cities and villages, but laid waste the whole country; for, besides those that were completely armed, he had forty thousand men that followed him, insomuch that he had not provisions enough to suffice such a multitude. Now, besides this want of provisions that he was in, he was of a barbarous disposition, and bore great anger at this nation, by which means it came to pass that Idumea was greatly depopulated; and as one may see all the woods behind despoiled of their leaves by locusts, after they have been there, so was there nothing left behind Simon's army but a desert. Some places they burnt down, some they utterly demolished; and whatsoever grew in the country they either trod it down or fed upon it; and by their marches they made the ground that was cultivated harder and more untractable than that

1 Some of the ancients call this famous tree, or grove, an oak, others a turpentine tree, or grove. It has been very famous in all the past ages, and is so, I suppose, at this day, and that particularly for an eminent mart or meeting of merchants there every year, as the travellers inform us.

which was barren. In short, there was no sign remaining of those places that had been laid waste that ever they had had a being.

8. This success of Simon excited the zealots afresh; and though they were afraid to fight him openly in a fair battle, yet did they lay ambushes in the passes, and seized upon his wife, with a considerable number of her attendants; whereupon they came back to the city rejoicing, as if they had taken Simon himself captive, and were in present expectation that he would lay down his arms, and make supplication to them for his wife; but instead of indulging any merciful affection, he grew very angry at them for seizing his beloved wife; so he came to the wall of Jerusalem, and, like wild beasts when they are wounded and cannot overtake those that wounded them, he vented his spleen upon all persons that he met with. Accordingly, he caught all those that were come out of the city gates, either to gather herbs or sticks, who were unarmed and in years; he then tormented them and destroyed them, out of the immense rage he was in, and was almost ready to taste the very flesh of their dead bodies. He also cut off the hands of a great many, and sent them into the city to astonish his enemies, and in order to make the people fall into a sedition, and desert those that had been the authors of his wife's seizure. He also enjoined them to tell the people, that Simon swore by the God of the universe, who sees all things, that unless they will restore him his wife, he will break down their wall, and inflict the like punishment upon all the citizens, without sparing any age, and without making any distinction between the guilty and the innocent. These threatenings so greatly affrighted not the people only, but the zealots themselves also, that they sent his wife back to him, when he became a little milder, and left off his perpetual blood-shedding.

9. But now sedition and civil war prevailed not only over Judea, but in Italy also; for now Galba was slain in the midst of the Roman market-place; then was Otho made emperor, and fought against Vitellius, who set up for emperor also, for the legions in Germany had chosen him. But when he gave battle to Valens and Cecinna, who were Vitellius's generals

at Betriacum in Gall, Otho gained the advantage on the first day, but on the second day Vitellius's soldiers had the victory; and, after much slaughter, Otho slew himself, when he had heard of this defeat at Brixa, and after he had managed the public affairs three months' and two days. Otho's army also came over to Vitellius's generals, and he came himself down to Rome with his army. But in the mean time Vespasian removed from Cæsarea, on the fifth day of the month Desius [Sivan,] and marched against those places of Judea which were not yet overthrown. So he went up to the mountainous country, and took those two toparchies that were called the Gophnitick and Acrabattene toparchies. After which he took Bethel and Ephraim, two small cities; and when he had put garrisons into them, he rode as far as Jerusalem, in which march he took many prisoners and many captives; but Cerealis, one of his commanders, took a body of horsemen and footmen, and laid waste that part of Idumea which was called the Upper Idumea, and attacked Caphethra, which pretended to be a small city, and took it at the first onset, and burnt it down. He also attacked Capharabim, and laid siege to it, for it had a very strong wall; and when he expected to spend a long time in that siege, those that were within opened their gates on the sudden, and came to beg pardon, and surrender themselves up to him. When Cerealis had conquered them he went to Hebron, another very ancient city. I have told you already, that this city is situated in a mountainous country, not far off Jerusalem: and when he had broken into the city by force, what multitude and young men were left therein he slew, and burnt down the city; so that as now all the places were taken, excepting Herodium, and Masada, and Macherus, which were in the possession of the robbers; so Jerusalem was what the Romans at present aimed at.

10. And now as soon as Simon had set his wife free, and recovered her from the zealots, he returned back to the remainders of Idumea; and driving the nation all before him from all quarters, he compelled a great number of them to

1 Suetonius differs hardly three days from Josephus, and says Otho perished on the 95th day of his reign. In Othon. See the note on ch. xi. sect. 4.

retire to Jerusalem; he followed them himself also to the city, and encompassed the wall all around again; and when he lighted upon any laborers that were coming thither out of the country, he slew them. Now this Simon, who was without the wall, was a greater terror to the people than the Romans themselves, as were the zealots who were within it more heavy upon them than both of the other; and during this time did the mischievous contrivances and courage [of John] corrupt the body of the Galileans; for these Galileans had advanced this John, and made him very potent, who made them a suitable requital from the authority he had obtained by their means; for he permitted them to do all things that any of them desired to do, while their inclination to plunder was insatiable, as was their zeal in searching the houses of the rich; and for the murdering of the men and abusing of the women it was sport to them. They also devoured what spoils they had taken, together with their blood, and indulged themselves in feminine wantonness, without any disturbance till they were satiated therewith; while they decked their hair, and put on women's garments, and were besmeared over with ointments; and, that they might appear very comely, they had paints under their eyes, and imitated not only the ornaments, but also the lusts of women, and were guilty of such intolerable uncleanness, that they invented unlawful pleasures of that sort; and thus did they roll themselves up and down the city, as in a brothel-house, and defiled it entirely with their impure actions; nay, while their faces looked like the faces of women, they killed with their right hands; and when their gait was effeminate, they presently attacked men and became warriors, and drew their swords from under their finely dyed cloaks, and ran every body through whom they alighted upon. However, Simon waited for such as ran away from John, and was the more bloody of the two; and he who had escaped the tyrant within the walls was destroyed by the other that lay before the gates; so that all attempts. of flying and deserting to the Romans were cut off as to those that had a mind so to do.

11. Yet did the army that was under John raise a sedition

against him; and all the Idumeans separated themselves from the tyrant, and attempted to destroy him, and this out of their envy at his power and hatred of his cruelty; so they got together, and slew many of the zealots, and drove the rest before them into that royal palace that was built by Grapte, who was a relation of Izates, the king of Adiabene: the Idumeans fell in with them, and drove the zealots out thence into the temple, and betook themselves to plunder John's effects; for both he himself was in that palace, and therein he had laid up the spoils he had acquired by his tyrants. In the mean time the multitude of those zealots that were dispersed over the city ran together to the temple, unto those that had fled thither: and John prepared to bring them down against the people and the Idumeans, who were not so much afraid of being attacked by them, because they were themselves better soldiers than they, as at their madness, lest they should privately sally out of the temple, and get among them, and not only destroy them, but set the city on fire also. So they assembled themselves together, and the high-priests with them, and took counsel after what manner they should avoid their assault. Now it was God who turned their opinions to the worst advice, and thence they devised such a remedy to get themselves free as was worse than the disease itself. Accordingly, in order to overthrow John, they determined to admit Simon, and earnestly to desire the introduction of a second tyrant into the city; which resolution they brought to perfection, and sent Matthias, the highpriest, to beseech this Simon to come into them, of whom they had so often been afraid. Those also that had fled from the zealots in Jerusalem joined in this request to him, out of the desire they had of preserving their houses and their effects. Accordingly, he, in an arrogant manner, granted them his lordly protection, and came into the city in order to deliver it from the zealots. The people also made joyful acclamations to him, as their savior and their preserver: but when he was come in with his army, he took care to secure his own authority, and looked upon those that had invited him in to be no less his enemies than those against whom the invitation was intended.