either the urine of a woman, or her menstrual blood be poured upon it: nay, even then it is certain death to those that touch it, unless any one take and hang the root itself down from his hand, and so carry it away. It may also be taken another way, without danger, which is this: They dig a trench quite round about it, till the hidden part of the root be very small; they then tie a dog to it, and when the dog tries hard to follow him that tied him, this root is easily plucked up, but the dog dies immediately, as if it were instead of the man that would take the plant away; nor, after this need any one be afraid of taking it into their hands. Yet, after all this pains in getting, it is only valuable on account of one virtue it hath, that if it be only brought to the sick persons, it quickly drives away those called demons, which are no other than the spirits of the wicked, that enter into men that are alive, and kill them, unless they can obtain some help against them. Here are also fountains of hot water, that flow out of this place, which have a very different taste one from the other; for some of them are bitter, and others of them are plainly sweet. Here are also many eruptions of cold waters, and this not only in the places that lie lower, and have their fountains near one another, but, what is still more wonderful, here is to be seen a certain cave hard by, whose cavity is not deep, but it is covered over by a rock that is prominent above this rock there stand up two [hills or] breasts, as it were, but a little distant one from another; the one of which sends out a fountain that is very cold, and the other sends out one that is very hot; which waters, when they are mingled together, compose a most pleasant bath; they are medicinal indeed for other maladies, but especially good for strengthening the nerves. This place has in it also mines of sulphur and alum.

4. Now when Bassus had taken a full view of this place, he resolved to besiege it, by filling up the valley that lay on the east side; so he fell hard to work, and took great pains to raise his banks as soon as possible, and by that means to

render the siege easy. As for the Jews that were caught in the place, they separated themselves from the strangers that were with them, and they forced those strangers, as an otherwise useless multitude, to stay in the lower part of the city, and undergo the principal danger, while they themselves seized on the upper citadel, and held it, and this both on account of its strength, and to provide for their own safety. They also supposed they might obtain their own pardon, in case they should [at last] surrender the citadel. However, they were willing to make trial in the first place, whether

the hopes they had of avoiding a siege would come to any thing, with which intention, they made sallies every day, and fought with those that met them, in which conflicts they were many of them slain, as they therein slew many of the Romans. But still, it was the opportunities that presented themselves, which chiefly gained both sides their victories; these were gained by the Jews, when they fell upon the Romans, as they were off their guard; but by the Romans, when upon the other's sallies against their banks, they foresaw their coming, and were upon their guard when they received them. But the conclusion of this siege did not depend upon these bickerings; but a certain surprising accident, relating to what was done in this siege, forced the Jews to surrender the citadel. There was a certain young man among the besieged, of great boldness, and very active of his hand, his name was Eleazar: he greatly signalized himself in those sallies, and encouraged the Jews to go out in great numbers, in order to hinder the raising of the banks, and did the Romans a vast deal of mischief when they came to fighting. He so managed matters, that those who sallied out, made their attacks easily, and returned back without danger, and this by still bringing up the rear himself. Now it happened, that, on a certain time, when the fight was over, and both sides were parted and retired home, he, in the way of contempt of the enemy, and thinking that none of them would begin the fight again, at that time staid without the gates, and talked with those that were upon the wall, and his mind was whol ly intent upon what they said. Now a certain person belonging to the Roman camp, whose name was Rufus, by birth an Egyptian, ran upon him suddenly, when nobody expected such a thing, and carried him off, with his armour itself; while, in the mean time, those that saw it from the wall were under such an amazement, that Rufus prevented their assistance, and carried Eleazer to the Roman camp. So the general of the Romans ordered, that he should be taken up naked, set before the city to be seen, and sorely whipped before their eyes. Upon this sad accident that befel the young man, the Jews were terribly confounded, and the city with one voice, sorely lamented him, and the mourning proved greater than could well be supposed upon the calamity of a single person. When Bassus perceived that, he began to think of using a stratagem against the enemy, and was desirous to aggravate their grief, in order to prevail with them to surren der the city for the preservation of that man. Nor did he fail of his hopes; for he commanded them to set up a cross, as if he were just going to hang Eleazar upon it immediate.

ly; the sight of this occasioned a sore grief among those that were in the citadel, and they groaned vehemently, and cried out, that they could not bear to see him thus destroyed. Whereupon, Eleazar besought them not to disregard him, now he was going to suffer a most miserable death, and exhorted them to save themselves, by yielding to the Roman power, and good fortune, since all other people were now conquered by them. These men were greatly moved with what he said, there being also many within the city that interceded for him, because he was of an eminent and very numerous family; so they now yielded to their passion of commiseration, contrary to their usual custom. Accordingly, they sent out immediately certain messengers, and treated with the Romans in order to a surrender of the citadel to them, and desired that they might be permitted to go away, and take Eleazar along with them. Then did the Romans and their general accept of these terms; while that multitude of strangers that were in the lower part of the city, hearing of the agreement that was made by the Jews for themselves alone, was resolved to fly away privately in the night time; but, as soon as they had opened their gates, those that had come to terms with Bassus told him of it; whether it were that they envied the others' deliverance, or whether it were done out of fear lest an occasion should be taken against them upon their escape, is uncertain. The most courageous, therefore, of those men that went out prevented the enemy, and got away, and fled for it; but for those men that were caught within, they were slain, to the number of one thousand seven hundred, as were the women and the children made slaves. But, as Bassus thought he must perform the covenant he had made with those that surrendered the citadel, he let them go, and restored Eleazar to them.

5. When Bassus had settled these affairs, he marched hastily to the forest of Jarden, as it is called; for he had heard that a great many of those that had fled from Jerusalem and Macherus formerly, were there gotten together. When he was therefore come to the place, and understood that the former news was no mistake, he, in the first place, surrounded the whole place with his horsemen, that such of the Jews as had boldness enough to try to break through, might have no way possible for escaping, by reason of the situation of their horsemen ; and for the footmen, he ordered them to cut down the trees that were in the wood whither they were fled. So the Jews were under a necessity of performing some glorious exploit, and of greatly exposing them

selves in a battle, since they might perhaps thereby escape. So they made a general attack, and with a great shout fell upon those that surrounded them, who received them with great courage; and so, while the one side fought desperately, and the others would not yield, the fight was prolonged on that account. But the event of the battle did not answer the expectation of the assailants; for so it happened, that no more than twelve fell on the Roman side, with a few that were wounded; but not one of the Jews escaped out of this battle, but they were all killed, being in the whole no fewer in number than three thousand; together with Judas, the son of Jairus, their general, concerning whom we have before spoken, that he had been a captain of a certain band at the siege of Jerusalem, and by going down into a certain vault under ground bad privately made his escape.

6. About the same time it was, that Cæsar sent a letter to Bassus, and to Tiberius Maximus, who was the procurator [of Judea,] and gave order that all Judea should be exposed to sale: for he did not found any city there, but reserved the country for himself. However, he assigned a place for eight hundred men only, whom he had dismissed from his army, which he gave them for their habitation; it is called Emmaus, and is distant from Jerusalem threescore furlongs. He also laid a tribute upon the Jews wheresoever they were, and enjoined every one of them to bring two drachmæ every year into the capitol, as they used to pay the same to the temple at Jerusalem. And this was the state of the Jewish affairs at this time.

*It is very remarkable that Titus did not people this now desolate country of Judea, but ordered it to be all sold; nor indeed is it properly peopled at this day, but lies ready for its old inhabitants the Jews, at their future restoration. See Literal Accomplishment of Prophecies, page 77.

+ That the city Emmaus or Ammaus, in Josephus and others, which was the place of the government of Julius Africanus, in the beginning of the third century, and which he then procured to be rebuilt, and after which rebuilding it was called Nicopolis, is entirely different from that Emmaus which is mentioned by St. Luke xxiv. 17, see Reland's Palestina, lib. ii. page 429, and under the name Ammaus also. But he justly thinks that that in St. Luke may well be the same with this Ammaus before us, especially since the Greek copies here usually make it 60 furlongs distant from Jerusalem, as does St. Luke, though the Latin copies say only 30. The place allotted for these 800 soldiers, as for the Roman garrison, in this place, would most naturally be not so remote from Jerusalem, as was the other Emmaus or Nicopolis.

CHAP. VII.

Concerning the calamity that befel Antiochus King of Comma gene. As also concerning the Alans, and what mischiefs they did to the Medes and Armenians.

§ 1. And now, in the fourth year of the reign of Vespasian, it came to pass, that Antiochus, the king of Commagene, with all his family fell into great calamities. The occasion

was this: Cecennius Petus, who was president of Syria at this time, whether it was done out of regard to truth, or whether out of hatred to Antiochus, (for which was the real motive was never thoroughly discovered,) sent an epistle to Cæsar, and therein told him, That "Antiochus, with his son Epiphanes, had resolved to rebel against the Romans, and had made a league with the king of Parthia to that purpose: that it was therefore fit to prevent them, lest they prevent us, and begin such a war as may cause a general disturbance in the Roman empire." Now Cæsar was disposed to take some care about the matter, since this discovery was made; for the neighbourhood of the kingdoms made this affair wor thy of great regard for Samosata, the capital of Commagene, lies upon Euphrates, and upon any such design could afford an easy passage over it to the Parthians, and could also afford a secure reception. Petus was accordingly believed, and had authority given him of doing what he should think proper in the case; so he set about it without delay, and fell upon Commagene, before Antiochus and his people had the least expectation of his coming; he had with him the tenth legion, as also some cohorts and troops of horsemen. These kings also came to his assistance, Aristobulus, king of the country called Chalcidene, and Sohemus, who was called king of Emesa. Nor was there any opposition made to his forces when they entered the kingdom; for no one of that country would so much as lift up his hand against them. When Antiochus heard this unexpected news, he could not think in the least of making war with the Romans, but determined to leave his whole kingdom in the state wherein it now was, and to retire privately, with his wife and children, as thinking thereby to demonstrate himself to the Romans to be innocent as to the accusation laid against him. So he went away from that city as far as an hundred and twenty furlongs, into a plain, and there pitched his tents.

2. Petus then sent some of his men to seize upon Samosata, and by their means took possession of that city while he went himself to attack Antiochus, with the rest of his army.