spake the more gently and civilly to them, by so much did they more highly praise him, and made application to him for the grant of what they desired. Sonie made a clamour that he would ease them of some of their annual payments; but others desired him to release those that were put into prison by Herod, who were many, and had been put there at several times; others of them required that he would take away those taxes which had been severely laid upon what was pub. licly sold and bought. So Archelaus contradicted them in nothing, since he pretended to do all things so as to get the good will of the multitude to him, as look. ing upon that good will to be a great step towards his preservation of the govern. ment. Hereupon he went and offered sacrifice to God, and then betook himself to feast with his friends.

CHAP. IX.

How the People raised a Sedition against Archelaus, and how he sailed to Rome. § 1. Ar this time also it was that some of the Jews got together, out of a desire of innovation. They lamented Matthias, and those that were slain with him by Herod, who had not any respect paid them by a funeral mourning out of the fear men were in of that man; they were those who had been condemned for pulling down the golden eagle. The people made a great clamour and lamentation hereupon, and cast some reproaches against the king also, as if that tended to alleviate the miseries of the deceased. These people assembled together, and desired of Archelaus, that, in way of revenge on their account, he would inflict punishment on those who had been honoured by Herod; and that, in the first and principal place, he would deprive that high priest whom Herod had made, and would choose one more agreeable to the law, and of greater purity, to offi ciate as high priest. This was granted by Archelaus, although he was mightily offended at their importunity, because he proposed to himself to go to Rome im mediately, to look after Cæsar's determination about him. However, he sent the general of his forces to use persuasions, and to tell them that the death which was inflicted on their friends was according to the law; and to represent to them, that their petitions about these things were carried to a great height of injury to him ; that the time was not now proper for such petitions, but required their unanimity until such time as he should be established in the government by the consent of Cæsar, and should then be come back to them; for that he would then consult with them in common concerning the purport of their petitions, but that they ought at present to be quiet, lest they should seem seditous persons.

2. So when the king had suggested these things, and instructed his general in what he was to say, he sent him away to the people; but they made a clamour, and would not give him leave to speak, and put him in danger of his life, and as many more as were desirous to venture upon saying openly any thing which might reduce them to a sober mind, and prevent their going on in their present courses; because they had more concern to have all their own wills performed than to yield obedience to their governors; thinking it to be a thing insufferable, that, while Herod was alive, they should lose those that were the most dear to them, and that when he was dead, they could not get the actors to be punished. So they went on with their designs after a violent manner, and thought all to be lawful and right which tended to please them, and being unskilful in foreseeing what dangers they incurred; and when they had suspicion of such a thing, yet did the present pleasure they took in the punishment of those they deemed their enemies overweigh all such considerations; and although Archelaus sent many to speak to them, yet they treated them not as messengers sent by him, but as persons that came of their own accord to mitigate their anger, and would not les one of them speak. The sedition also was made by such as were in a great pas

sion; and it was evident that they were proceeding farther in seditious practices, by the multitude's running so fast upon them.

3. Now upon the approach of that feast of unleavened bread, which the law of their fathers had appointed for the Jews at this time, which is called the pas sover,* and is a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt (when they offer sacrifices with great alacrity, and when they are required to slay more sacrifices in number than at any other festival; and when an innumerable multitude came thither out of the country, nay, from beyond its limits also, in order to worship God;) the seditious lamented Judas and Matthias, those teachers of the laws, and kept together in the temple, and had plenty of food, because these seditious persons were not ashamed to beg it. And as Archelaus was afraid lest some ter. rible thing should spring up by means of these men's madness, he sent a regiment of armed men, and with them a captain of a thousand, to suppress the violent ef forts of the seditious, before the whole multitude should be infected with the like madness; and gave them this charge, that if they found any much more openly seditious than others, and more busy in tumultuous practices, they should bring them to him. But those that were seditious on account of those teachers of the law, irritated the people by the noise and clamour they used to encourage the people in their designs; so they made an assault upon the soldiers, and came up to them, and stoned the greatest part of them, although some of them ran away wounded, and their captain among them: and when they had thus done, they returned to the sacrifices which were already in their hands. Now Archelaus thought there was no way to preserve the entire government, but by cutting off those who made this attempt upon it; so he sent out the whole army upon them, and sent the horsemen to prevent those that had their tents without the temple, from assisting those that were within the temple, and to kill such as ran away from the footmen, when they thought themselves out of danger, which horsemen lew three thousand men, while the rest went to the neighbouring mountains. Then did Archelaus order proclamation to be made to them all, that they should retire to their own homes; so they went away, and left the festival out of fear of somewhat worse which would follow, although they had been so bold, by reason of their want of instruction. So Archelaus went down to the sea with his mo ther, and took with him Nicolaus and Ptolemy, and many others of his friends, and left Philip, his brother, as governor of all things belonging both to his own family and to the public. There went out also with him Salome, Herod's sister, who took with her her children, and many of her kindred were with her; which kindred of hers went, as they pretended, to assist Archelaus in gaining the kingdom, but in reality to oppose him, and chiefly to make loud complaints of what he had done in the temple. But Sabinus, Cæsar's steward for Syrian affairs, as he was making haste into Judea, to preserve Herod's effects, met with Archelaus at Cæsarea; but Varus (president of Syria) came at that time, and restrained him from meddling with them, for he was there as sent for by Archelaus, by the means of Ptolemy. And Sabinus, out of regard to Varus, did neither seize upon any of the castles that were among the Jews, nor did he seal up the treasures in them, but permitted Archelaus to have them until Cæsar should declare his resolution about them; so that upon his promise, he tarried still at Cæsarea. But after Archelaus was sailed for Rome, and Varus was removed to Antioch, Sabinus went to Jerusalem, and seized on the king's palace. He also sent for the keepers of the garrisons, and for all those that had the charge of Herod's effects, and declared publicly, that he should require them to give an account of what they had; and he disposed of the castles in the manner he pleased; but those who kept them did not neglect what Archelaus had given them in command, but continued to keep all things in the manner that had been enjoined them; and their pretence was, that they kept them all for Cæsar.

This passover, when the sedition here mentioned was moved against Archelaus, was not one, but thirteen months after the eclipse of the moon already mentioned.

VOL. II.

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4. At the same time also did Antipas, another of Herod's sons, sail to Rome, in order to gain the government; being buoyed up by Salome with promises, that he should take that government; and that he was a much honester and fitter man than Archelaus for that authority; since Herod had, in his former testament, deemed him the worthiest to be made king, which ought to be esteemed more valid than his latter testament. Antipas also brought with him his mother, and Ptolemy, the brother of Nicolaus, one that had been Herod's most honoured friend, and was now zealous for Antipas; but it was Ireneus the orator, and one who, on account of his reputation for sagacity, was intrusted with the affairs of the kingdom, who most of all encouraged him to attempt to gain the kingdom: by whose means it was that, when some advised him to yield to Archelaus, as to his elder brother, and who had been declared king by their father's last will, he would not submit so to do. And when he was come to Rome, all his relations revolted to him; not out of their good will to him, but out of their hatred to Archelaus; though indeed they were most of all desirous of gaining their liberty, and to be put under a Roman governor; but if there were too great an opposition made to that, they thought Antipas preferable to Archelaus, and so joined with him in order to procure the kingdom for him. Sabinus also by letters accused Archelaus to Cæsar. 5. Now when Archelaus had sent in his papers to Cæsar, wherein he pleaded bis right to the kingdom, and his father's testament, with the accounts of Herod's money, and with Ptolemy, who brought Herod's seal, he so expected the event; but when Cresar had read these papers, and Varus's and Sabinus's letters, with the accounts of the money, and what were the annual incomes of the kingdom. and understood that Antipas had also sent letters to lay claim to the kingdom, he summoned his friends together, to know their opinions, and with them Caius, the son of Agrippa, and of Julia his daughter, whom he had adopted, and took him, and made him sit first of all, and desired such as pleased to speak their minds about the affairs now before them. Now Antipater, Salome's son, a very subtle orator, and a bitter enemy to Archelaus, spake first to this purpose: That" it was ridiculous in Archelaus to plead now to have the kingdom given him, since ae had, in reality, taken already the power over it to himself before Cæsar had granted it to him; and appealed to those bold actions of his, in destroying so many at the Jewish festival; and, if the men had acted unjustly, it was but fit the punishing them should have been reserved to those that were out of the country, but had the power to punish them; and not been executed by a man that, if he pretended to be a king, he did an injury to Cæsar, by usurping that authority before it was determined for him by Cæsar; but, if he owned himself to be a private person, his case was much worse, since he, who was putting in for the kingdom, could by no means expect to have that power granted him, of which he had already deprived Cæsar [by taking it to himself.] He also touched sharply upon him, and appealed to his changing the commanders in the army, and his sitting in the royal throne beforehand, and his determination of lawsuits; all done as if he were no other than a king. He appealed also to his concessions to those that petitioned him on a public account, and indeed doing such things, than which he could devise no greater if he had been already settled in the kingdom by Cæsar. He also ascribed to him the releasing of the prisoners that were in the Hippodrome, and many other things, that either had been cer tainly done by him, or were believed to be done, and easily might be believed to have been done, because they were of such a nature, as to be usually done by young men, and by such as, out of a desire of ruling, seize upon the govern. ment too soon. He also charged him with his neglect of the funeral mourning for his father, and with having merry meetings the very night in which he died; and that it was thence the multitude took the handle of raising a tumult, and if Archelaus could thus requite his dead father, who had bestowed such be. nefits upon him, and bequeathed such great things to him, by pretending to shed tears for him in the day time, like an actor on the stage, but every night making

mirth for having gotten the government, he would appear to be the same Ar chelaus with regard to Cæsar, if he granted him the kingdom, which he had been to his father; since he had then dancing and singing, as though an enemy of his were fallen, and not as though a man was carried to his funeral, that was so nearly related, and had been so great a benefactor to him. But he said that the greatest crime of all was this, that he came now before Cæsar to obtain the kingdom by his grant, while he had before acted in all things as he could have acted if Cæsar himself, who ruled all, had fixed him firmly in the government. And what he most aggravated in his pleading was the slaughter of those about the temple, and the impiety of it, as done at the festival; and how they were slain like sacrifices themselves, some of whom were foreigners, and others of their own country, till the temple was full of dead bodies; and all this was done, not by an alien, but by one who pretended to the lawful title of a king, that he might complete the wicked tyranny which his nature prompted him to, and which is hated by all men. On which account his father never so much as dreamed of making him his successor in the kingdom, when he was of a sound mind, because he knew his disposition; and, in his former and more authentic testament, he appointed his antagonist Antipas to succeed; but that Archelaus was called by his father to that dignity, when he was in a dying condition, both of body and mind, while Antipas was called when he was ripest in his judgment, and of such strength of body as made him capable of managing his own affairs; and if his father had the like notion of him formerly that he hath now showed, yet hath he given a sufficient specimen what a king he is likely to be,when he hath [in effect] deprived Cæsar of that power of disposing of the kingdom, which he justly hath, and hath not abstained from making a terrible slaughter of his fellow citizens in the temple, while he was but a private person."

6. So when Antipater had made this speech, and had confirmed what he had said by producing many witnesses from among Archelaus's own relations, he made an end of his pleadings. Upon which Nicolaus arose up to plead for Archelaus, and said, "That what had been done at the temple was rather to be attributed to the mind of those that had been killed, than to the authority of Archelaus; for that those who are the authors of such things, are not only wicked in the injuries they do of themselves, but in forcing sober persons to avenge themselves upon them. Now, it is evident that what these did in way of oppo. sition was done under pretence indeed against Archelaus, but in reality against Cæsar himself; for they, after an injurious manner, attacked and slew those who were sent by Archelaus, and who came only to put a stop to their doings. They had no regard, either to God or to the festival, whom Antipater yet is not ashamed to patronise, whether it be out of his indulgence of an enmity to Archelaus, or out of his hatred of virtue and justice. For as to those who begin such tumults, and first set about such unrighteous actions, they are the men who force those that punish them to betake themselves to arms even against their wills. So that An. tipater in effect ascribes the rest of what was done to all those who were of coun. sel to the accusers, for nothing which is here accused of injustice has been done, but what was derived from them as its authors; nor are those things evil in themselves, but so represented only in order to do harm to Archelaus. Such is these men's inclination to do an injury to a man that is of their kindred, their father's benefactor, and familiarly acquainted with them, and that hath ever lived in friendship with them; for that, as to this testament, it was made by the king when he was of a sound mind, and so ought to be of more authority than his former testament: and that for this reason, because Cæsar is therein left to be the judge and disposer of all therein contained: and for Cæsar, he will not, to be sure, at all imitate the unjust proceedings of those men, who, during Herod's whole life, had on all occasions been joint partakers of power with him, and yet do zealously endeavour to injure his determination, while they have not themselves had the same regard to their kinsman [which Archelaus had.] Cæsar will not

therefore disannul the testament of a man whom he had entirely supported, of his friend and confederate, and that which is committed to him in trust to ratify: nor will Cæsar's virtuous and upright disposition, which are known and uncontested through all the habitable world, imitate the wickedness of these men in condenning a king as a madman, and as having lost his reason, while he hath be. queathed the succession to a good son of his, and to one who flies to Cæsar's upright determination for refuge. Nor can Herod at any time have been mistaken in his judgment about a successor, while he showed so much prudence as to submit all to Cæsar's determination.

7. Now when Nicolaus had laid these things before Cæsar, he ended his plea ; whereupon Cæsar was so obliging to Archelaus, that he raised him up when he had cast himself down at his feet, and said, that "he well deserved the kingdom;" and he soon let them know, that he was so far moved in his favour, that he would not act otherwise than his father's testament directed, and that was for the ad.

vantage of Archelaus. However, while he gave this encouragement to Arche. laus to depend on him securely, he made no full determination about him; and, when the assembly was broken up, he considered by himself, whether he should confirm the kingdom to Archelaus, or whether he should part it among all Herod's posterity; and this because they all stood in need of much assistance to support them.

CHAP. X.

A Sedition of the Jews against Sabinus; and how Varus brought the Authors of it

to Punishment.

§ 1. BUT before these things could be brought to a settlement, Malthace, Archelaus's mother, fell into a distemper, and died of it; and letters came from Varus, the president of Syria, which informed Cæsar of the revolt of the Jews; for, after Archelaus was sailed, the whole nation was in a tumult. So Varus, since he was there himself, brought the authors of the disturbance to punishment: and when he had restrained them for the most part from this sedition, which was a great one, he took his journey to Antioch, leaving one legion of his army at Jerusalem. to keep the Jews quiet, who were now very fond of innovation. Yet did not this at all avail to put an end to that their sedition; for, after Varus was gone away, Sabinus, Cæsar's procurator, staid behind, and greatly distressed the Jews, relying on the forces that were left there, that they would by their multitude protect him; for he made use of them, and armed them as his guards, thereby so oppres. sing the Jews, and giving them so great disturbance, that at length they rebelled; for he used force in seizing the citadels, and zealously pressed on the search after the king's money, in order to seize upon it by force, on account of his love of gain, and his extraordinary covetousness.

2. But on the approach of Pentecost, which is a festival of ours so called from the days of our forefathers, a great many ten thousands of men got together; nor did they come only to celebrate the festival, but out of their indignation at the madness of Sabinus, and at the injuries he offered them. A great number there was of Galileans, and Idumeans, and many men from Jericho, and others who had passed over the river Jordan, and inhabited those parts. This whole multitude joined themselves to all the rest, and were more zealous than the others in making an assault on Sabinus, in order to be avenged of him: so they parted themselves into three bands, and encamped themselves in the places following: some of them seized on the Hippodrome; and of the other two bands, one pitched themselves from the northern part of the temple to the southern, on the east quarter; but the third band held the western part of the city, where the king's palace was, Their work tended entirely to besiege the Romans, and to enclose them on all