The Wars Of The Jews - Book I
CONTAINING THE INTERVAL OF ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTY-SEVEN YEARS
FROM THE TAKING OF JERUSALEM BY ANTIOCHUS EPIPHANES, TO THE DEATH
OF HEROD THE GREAT
CHAPTER 1
HOW THE CITY JERUSALEM WAS TAKEN, AND THE TEMPLE PILLAGED [BY ANTIOCHUS
EPIPHANES]. AS ALSO CONCERNING THE ACTIONS OF THE MACCABEES,
MATTHIAS AND JUDAS;
AND CONCERNING THE DEATH OF JUDAS
1. AT the same time that Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, had
a quarrel with the sixth Ptolemy about his right to the whole country of
Syria, a great sedition fell among the men of power in Judea, and they
had a contention about obtaining the government; while each of those that
were of dignity could not endure to be subject to their equals. However,
Onias, one of the high priests, got the better, and cast the sons of Tobias
out of the city; who fled to Antiochus, and besought him to make use of
them for his leaders, and to make an expedition into Judea. The king being
thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them, and came upon the Jews
with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude
of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them
without mercy. He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant
practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and
six months. But Onias, the high priest, fled to Ptolemy, and received a
place from him in the Nomus of Heliopolis, where he built a city resembling
Jerusalem, and a temple that was like its temple (1) concerning which we
shall speak more in its proper place hereafter.
2. Now Antiochus was not satisfied either with his unexpected taking
the city, or with its pillage, or with the great slaughter he
had made there; but being overcome with his violent passions, and
remembering what he had suffered during the siege, he
compelled the Jews to dissolve the laws of their country, and to
keep their infants uncircumcised, and to sacrifice swine's flesh
upon the altar; against which they all opposed themselves, and the
most approved among them were put to death. Bacchides
also, who was sent to keep the fortresses, having these wicked commands,
joined to his own natural barbarity, indulged all
sorts of the extremest wickedness, and tormented the worthiest of
the inhabitants, man by man, and threatened their city every
day with open destruction, till at length he provoked the poor sufferers
by the extremity of his wicked doings to avenge
themselves.
3. Accordingly Matthias, the son of Asamoneus, one of the priests
who lived in a village called Modin, armed himself, together
with his own family, which had five sons of his in it, and slew
Bacchides with daggers; and thereupon, out of the fear of the
many garrisons [of the enemy], he fled to the mountains; and so
many of the people followed him, that he was encouraged to
come down from the mountains, and to give battle to Antiochus's
generals, when he beat them, and drove them out of Judea.
So he came to the government by this his success, and became the
prince of his own people by their own free consent, and
then died, leaving the government to Judas, his eldest son.
4. Now Judas, supposing that Antiochus would not lie still, gathered
an army out of his own countrymen, and was the first that
made a league of friendship with the Romans, and drove Epiphanes
out of the country when he had made a second expedition
into it, and this by giving him a great defeat there; and when he
was warmed by this great success, he made an assault upon the
garrison that was in the city, for it had not been cut off hitherto;
so he ejected them out of the upper city, and drove the soldiers
into the lower, which part of the city was called the Citadel. He
then got the temple under his power, and cleansed the whole
place, and walled it round about, and made new vessels for sacred
ministrations, and brought them into the temple, because the
former vessels had been profaned. He also built another altar, and
began to offer the sacrifices; and when the city had already
received its sacred constitution again, Antiochus died; whose son
Antiochus succeeded him in the kingdom, and in his hatred to
the Jews also.
5. So this Antiochus got together fifty thousand footmen, and five
thousand horsemen, and fourscore elephants, and marched
through Judea into the mountainous parts. He then took Bethsura,
which was a small city; but at a place called Bethzacharis,
where the passage was narrow, Judas met him with his army. However,
before the forces joined battle, Judas's brother
Eleazar, seeing the very highest of the elephants adorned with a
large tower, and with military trappings of gold to guard him,
and supposing that Antiochus himself was upon him, he ran a great
way before his own army, and cutting his way through the
enemy's troops, he got up to the elephant; yet could he not reach
him who seemed to be the king, by reason of his being so
high; but still he ran his weapon into the belly of the beast, and
brought him down upon himself, and was crushed to death,
having done no more than attempted great things, and showed that
he preferred glory before life. Now he that governed the
elephant was but a private man; and had he proved to be Antiochus,
Eleazar had performed nothing more by this bold stroke
than that it might appear he chose to die, when he had the bare
hope of thereby doing a glorious action; nay, this
disappointment proved an omen to his brother [Judas] how the entire
battle would end. It is true that the Jews fought it out
bravely for a long time, but the king's forces, being superior in
number, and having fortune on their side, obtained the victory.
And when a great many of his men were slain, Judas took the rest
with him, and fled to the toparchy of Gophna. So Antiochus
went to Jerusalem, and staid there but a few days, for he wanted
provisions, and so he went his way. He left indeed a garrison
behind him, such as he thought sufficient to keep the place, but
drew the rest of his army off, to take their winter-quarters in
Syria.
6. Now, after the king was departed, Judas was not idle; for as many
of his own nation came to him, so did he gather those that
had escaped out of the battle together, and gave battle again to
Antiochus's generals at a village called Adasa; and being too
hard for his enemies in the battle, and killing a great number of
them, he was at last himself slain also. Nor was it many days
afterward that his brother John had a plot laid against him by Antiochus's
party, and was slain by them.
CHAPTER 2.
CONCERNING THE SUCCESSORS OF JUDAS, WHO WERE JONATHAN
AND SIMON, AND JOHN
HYRCANUS.
1. WHEN Jonathan, who was Judas's brother, succeeded him, he behaved
himself with great circumspection in other respects,
with relation to his own people; and he corroborated his authority
by preserving his friendship with the Romans. He also made
a league with Antiochus the son. Yet was not all this sufficient
for his security; for the tyrant Trypho, who was guardian to
Antiochus's son, laid a plot against him; and besides that, endeavored
to take off his friends, and caught Jonathan by a wile, as
he was going to Ptolemais to Antiochus, with a few persons in his
company, and put him in bonds, and then made an expedition
against the Jews; but when he was afterward driven away by Simon,
who was Jonathan's brother, and was enraged at his
defeat, he put Jonathan to death.
2. However, Simon managed the public affairs after a courageous manner,
and took Gazara, and Joppa, and Jamnia, which
were cities in his neighborhood. He also got the garrison under,
and demolished the citadel. He was afterward an auxiliary to
Antiochus, against Trypho, whom he besieged in Dora, before he went
on his expedition against the Medes; yet could not he
make the king ashamed of his ambition, though he had assisted him
in killing Trypho; for it was not long ere Antiochus sent
Cendebeus his general with an army to lay waste Judea, and to subdue
Simon; yet he, though he was now in years, conducted
the war as if he were a much younger man. He also sent his sons
with a band of strong men against Antiochus, while he took
part of the army himself with him, and fell upon him from another
quarter. He also laid a great many men in ambush in many
places of the mountains, and was superior in all his attacks upon
them; and when he had been conqueror after so glorious a
manner, he was made high priest, and also freed the Jews from the
dominion of the Macedonians, after one hundred and
seventy years of the empire [of Seleucus].
3. This Simon also had a plot laid against him, and was slain at
a feast by his son-in-law Ptolemy, who put his wife and two
sons into prison, and sent some persons to kill John, who was also
called Hyrcanus. (2) But when the young man was informed
of their coming beforehand, he made haste to get to the city, as
having a very great confidence in the people there, both on
account of the memory of the glorious actions of his father, and
of the hatred they could not but bear to the injustice of Ptolemy.
Ptolemy also made an attempt to get into the city by another gate;
but was repelled by the people, who had just then admitted
of Hyrcanus; so he retired presently to one of the fortresses that
were about Jericho, which was called Dagon. Now when
Hyrcanus had received the high priesthood, which his father had
held before, and had offered sacrifice to God, he made great
haste to attack Ptolemy, that he might afford relief to his mother
and brethren.
4. So he laid siege to the fortress, and was superior to Ptolemy
in other respects, but was overcome by him as to the just
affection [he had for his relations]; for when Ptolemy was distressed,
he brought forth his mother, and his brethren, and set them
upon the wall, and beat them with rods in every body's sight, and
threatened, that unless he would go away immediately, he
would throw them down headlong; at which sight Hyrcanus's commiseration
and concern were too hard for his anger. But his
mother was not dismayed, neither at the stripes she received, nor
at the death with which she was threatened; but stretched out
her hands, and prayed her son not to be moved with the injuries
that she suffered to spare the wretch; since it was to her better
to die by the means of Ptolemy, than to live ever so long, provided
he might be punished for the injuries he done to their family.
Now John's case was this: When he considered the courage of his
mother, and heard her entreaty, he set about his attacks; but
when he saw her beaten, and torn to pieces with the stripes, he
grew feeble, and was entirely overcome by his affections. And
as the siege was delayed by this means, the year of rest came on,
upon which the Jews rest every seventh year as they do on
every seventh day. On this year, therefore, Ptolemy was freed from
being besieged, and slew the brethren of John, with their
mother, and fled to Zeno, who was also called Cotylas, who was tyrant
of Philadelphia.
5. And now Antiochus was so angry at what he had suffered from Simon,
that he made an expedition into Judea, and sat down
before Jerusalem and besieged Hyrcanus; but Hyrcanus opened the
sepulcher of David, who was the richest of all kings, and
took thence about three thousand talents in money, and induced Antiochus,
by the promise of three thousand talents, to raise
the siege. Moreover, he was the first of the Jews that had money
enough, and began to hire foreign auxiliaries also.
6. However, at another time, when Antiochus was gone upon an expedition
against the Medes, and so gave Hyrcanus an
opportunity of being revenged upon him, he immediately made an attack
upon the cities of Syria, as thinking, what proved to be
the case with them, that he should find them empty of god troops.
So he took Medaba and Samea, with the towns in their
neighborhood, as also Shechem, and Gerizzim; and besides these,
[he subdued] the nation of the Cutheans, who dwelt round
about that temple which was built in imitation of the temple at
Jerusalem; he also took a great many other cities of Idumea, with
Adoreon and Marissa.
7. He also proceeded as far as Samaria, where is now the city Sebaste,
which was built by Herod the king, and encompassed
it all round with a wall, and set his sons, Aristobulus and Antigonus,
over the siege; who pushed it on so hard, that a famine so
far prevailed within the city, that they were forced to eat what
never was esteemed food. They also invited Antiochus, who was
called Cyzicenus, to come to their assistance; whereupon he got
ready, and complied with their invitation, but was beaten by
Aristobulus and Antigonus; and indeed he was pursued as far as Scythopolis
by these brethren, and fled away from them. So
they returned back to Samaria, and shut the multitude again within
the wall; and when they had taken the city, they demolished
it, and made slaves of its inhabitants. And as they had still great
success in their undertakings, they did not suffer their zeal to
cool, but marched with an army as far as Scythopolis, and made an
incursion upon it, and laid waste all the country that lay
within Mount Carmel.
8. But then these successes of John and of his sons made them be
envied, and occasioned a sedition in the country; and many
there were who got together, and would not be at rest till they
brake out into open war, in which war they were beaten. So
John lived the rest of his life very happily, and administered the
government after a most extraordinary manner, and this for
thirty-three entire years together. He died, leaving five sons behind
him. He was certainly a very happy man, and afforded no
occasion to have any complaint made of fortune on his account. He
it was who alone had three of the most desirable things in
the world, - the government of his nation, and the high priesthood,
and the gift of prophecy. For the Deity conversed with him,
and he was not ignorant of any thing that was to come afterward;
insomuch that he foresaw and foretold that his two eldest
sons would not continue masters of the government; and it will highly
deserve our narration to describe their catastrophe, and
how far inferior these men were to their father in felicity.
CHAPTER 3.
HOW ARISTOBULUS WAS THE FIRST THAT PUT A DIADEM ABOUT HIS HEAD;
AND AFTER HE HAD
PUT HIS MOTHER AND BROTHER TO DEATH, DIED HIMSELF, WHEN HE
HAD REIGNED NO MORE
THAN A YEAR.
1. FOR after the death of their father, the elder of them, Aristobulus,
changed the government into a kingdom, and was the first
that put a diadem upon his head, four hundred seventy and one years
and three months after our people came down into this
country, when they were set free from the Babylonian slavery. Now,
of his brethren, he appeared to have an affection for
Antigonus, who was next to him, and made him his equal; but for
the rest, he bound them, and put them in prison. He also put
his mother in bonds, for her contesting the government with him;
for John had left her to be the governess of public affairs. He
also proceeded to that degree of barbarity as to cause her to be
pined to death in prison.
2. But vengeance circumvented him in the affair of his brother Antigonus,
whom he loved, and whom he made his partner in the
kingdom; for he slew him by the means of the calumnies which ill
men about the palace contrived against him. At first, indeed,
Aristobulus would not believe their reports, partly out of the affection
he had for his brother, and partly because he thought that
a great part of these tales were owing to the envy of their relaters:
however, as Antigonus came once in a splendid manner from
the army to that festival, wherein our ancient custom is to make
tabernacles for God, it happened, in those days, that
Aristobulus was sick, and that, at the conclusion of the feast,
Antigonus came up to it, with his armed men about him; and this
when he was adorned in the finest manner possible; and that, in
a great measure, to pray to God on the behalf of his brother.
Now at this very time it was that these ill men came to the king,
and told him in what a pompous manner the armed men came,
and with what insolence Antigonus marched, and that such his insolence
was too great for a private person, and that
accordingly he was come with a great band of men to kill him; for
that he could not endure this bare enjoyment of royal honor,
when it was in his power to take the kingdom himself.
3. Now Aristobulus, by degrees, and unwillingly, gave credit to these
accusations; and accordingly he took care not to discover
his suspicion openly, though he provided to be secure against any
accidents; so he placed the guards of his body in a certain
dark subterranean passage; for he lay sick in a place called formerly
the Citadel, though afterwards its name was changed to
Antonia; and he gave orders that if Antigonus came unarmed, they
should let him alone; but if he came to him in his armor, they
should kill him. He also sent some to let him know beforehand that
he should come unarmed. But, upon this occasion, the
queen very cunningly contrived the matter with those that plotted
his ruin, for she persuaded those that were sent to conceal the
king's message; but to tell Antigonus how his brother had heard
he had got a very the suit of armor made with fine martial
ornaments, in Galilee; and because his present sickness hindered
him from coming and seeing all that finery, he very much
desired to see him now in his armor; because, said he, in a little
time thou art going away from me.
4. As soon as Antigonus heard this, the good temper of his brother
not allowing him to suspect any harm from him, he came
along with his armor on, to show it to his brother; but when he
was going along that dark passage which was called Strato's
Tower, he was slain by the body guards, and became an eminent instance
how calumny destroys all good-will and natural
affection, and how none of our good affections are strong enough
to resist envy perpetually.
5. And truly any one would be surprised at Judas upon this occasion.
He was of the sect of the Essens, and had never failed or
deceived men in his predictions before. Now this man saw Antigonus
as he was passing along by the temple, and cried out to
his acquaintance, (they were not a few who attended upon him as
his scholars,) "O strange!" said he, "it is good for me to die
now, since truth is dead before me, and somewhat that I have foretold
hath proved false; for this Antigonus is this day alive,
who ought to hare died this day; and the place where he ought to
be slain, according to that fatal decree, was Strato's Tower,
which is at the distance of six hundred furlongs from this place;
and yet four hours of this day are over already; which point of
time renders the prediction impossible to be fill filled." And when
the old man had said this, he was dejected in his mind, and so
continued. But in a little time news came that Antigonus was slain
in a subterraneous place, which was itself also called Strato's
Tower, by the same name with that Cesarea which lay by the sea-side;
and this ambiguity it was which caused the prophet's
disorder.
6. Hereupon Aristobulus repented of the great crime he had been guilty
of, and this gave occasion to the increase of his
distemper. He also grew worse and worse, and his soul was constantly
disturbed at the thoughts of what he had done, till his
very bowels being torn to pieces by the intolerable grief he was
under, he threw up a great quantity of blood. And as one of
those servants that attended him carried out that blood, he, by
some supernatural providence, slipped and fell down in the very
place where Antigonus had been slain; and so he spilt some of the
murderer's blood upon the spots of the blood of him that had
been murdered, which still appeared. Hereupon a lamentable cry arose
among the spectators, as if the servant had spilled the
blood on purpose in that place; and as the king heard that cry,
he inquired what was the cause of it; and while nobody durst tell
him, he pressed them so much the more to let him know what was the
matter; so at length, when he had threatened them, and
forced them to speak out, they told; whereupon he burst into tears,
and groaned, and said, "So I perceive I am not like to
escape the all-seeing eye of God, as to the great crimes I have
committed; but the vengeance of the blood of my kinsman
pursues me hastily. O thou most impudent body! how long wilt thou
retain a soul that ought to die on account of that
punishment it ought to suffer for a mother and a brother slain!
How long shall I myself spend my blood drop by drop? let them
take it all at once; and let their ghosts no longer be disappointed
by a few parcels of my bowels offered to them." As soon as he
had said these words, he presently died, when he had reigned no
longer than a year.
CHAPTER 4.
WHAT ACTIONS WERE DONE BY ALEXANDER JANNEUS, WHO REIGNED TWENTY-SEVEN
YEARS.
1. AND now the king's wife loosed the king's brethren, and made Alexander
king, who appeared both elder in age, and more
moderate in his temper than the rest; who, when he came to the government,
slew one of his brethren, as affecting to govern
himself; but had the other of them in great esteem, as loving a
quiet life, without meddling with public affairs.
2. Now it happened that there was a battle between him and Ptolemy,
who was called Lathyrus, who had taken the city
Asochis. He indeed slew a great many of his enemies, but the victory
rather inclined to Ptolemy. But when this Ptolemy was
pursued by his mother Cleopatra, and retired into Egypt, Alexander
besieged Gadara, and took it; as also he did Amathus,
which was the strongest of all the fortresses that were about Jordan,
and therein were the most precious of all the possessions
of Theodorus, the son of Zeno. Whereupon Theodopus marched against
him, and took what belonged to himself as well as the
king's baggage, and slew ten thousand of the Jews. However, Alexander
recovered this blow, and turned his force towards the
maritime parts, and took Raphia and Gaza, with Anthedon also, which
was afterwards called Agrippias by king Herod.
3. But when he had made slaves of the citizens of all these cities,
the nation of the Jews made an insurrection against him at a
festival; for at those feasts seditions are generally begun; and
it looked as if he should not be able to escape the plot they had
laid for him, had not his foreign auxiliaries, the Pisidians and
Cilicians, assisted him; for as to the Syrians, he never admitted
them among his mercenary troops, on account of their innate enmity
against the Jewish nation. And when he had slain more than
six thousand of the rebels, he made an incursion into Arabia; and
when he had taken that country, together with the Gileadires
and Moabites, he enjoined them to pay him tribute, and returned
to Areathus; and as Theodorus was surprised at his great
success, he took the fortress, and demolished it.
4. However, when he fought with Obodas, king of the Arabians, who
had laid an ambush for him near Golan, and a plot against
him, he lost his entire army, which was crowded together in a deep
valley, and broken to pieces by the multitude of camels.
And when he had made his escape to Jerusalem, he provoked the multitude,
which hated him before, to make an insurrection
against him, and this on account of the greatness of the calamity
that he was under. However, he was then too hard for them;
and, in the several battles that were fought on both sides, he slew
not fewer than fifty thousand of the Jews in the interval of six
years. Yet had he no reason to rejoice in these victories, since
he did but consume his own kingdom; till at length he left off
fighting, and endeavored to come to a composition with them, by
talking with his subjects. But this mutability and irregularity of
his conduct made them hate him still more. And when he asked them
why they so hated him, and what he should do in order to
appease them, they said, by killing himself; for that it would be
then all they could do to be reconciled to him, who had done
such tragical things to them, even when he was dead. At the same
time they invited Demetrius, who was called Eucerus, to
assist them; and as he readily complied with their requests, in
hopes of great advantages, and came with his army, the Jews
joined with those their auxiliaries about Shechem.
5. Yet did Alexander meet both these forces with one thousand horsemen,
and eight thousand mercenaries that were on foot.
He had also with him that part of the Jews which favored him, to
the number of ten thousand; while the adverse party had three
thousand horsemen, and fourteen thousand footmen. Now, before they
joined battle, the kings made proclamation, and
endeavored to draw off each other's soldiers, and make them revolt;
while Demetrius hoped to induce Alexander's mercenaries
to leave him, and Alexander hoped to induce the Jews that were with
Demetrius to leave him. But since neither the Jews would
leave off their rage, nor the Greeks prove unfaithful, they came
to an engagement, and to a close fight with their weapons. In
which battle Demetrius was the conqueror, although Alexander's mercenaries
showed the greatest exploits, both in soul and
body. Yet did the upshot of this battle prove different from what
was expected, as to both of them; for neither did those that
invited Demetrius to come to them continue firm to him, though he
was conqueror; and six thousand Jews, out of pity to the
change of Alexander's condition, when he was fled to the mountains,
came over to him. Yet could not Demetrius bear this turn
of affairs; but supposing that Alexander was already become a match
for him again, and that all the nation would [at length] run
to him, he left the country, and went his way.
6. However, the rest of the [Jewish] multitude did not lay aside
their quarrels with him, when the [foreign] auxiliaries were gone;
but they had a perpetual war with Alexander, until he had slain
the greatest part of them, and driven the rest into the city
Berneselis; and when he had demolished that city, he carried the
captives to Jerusalem. Nay, his rage was grown so
extravagant, that his barbarity proceeded to the degree of impiety;
for when he had ordered eight hundred to be hung upon
crosses in the midst of the city, he had the throats of their wives
and children cut before their eyes; and these executions he saw
as he was drinking and lying down with his concubines. Upon which
so deep a surprise seized on the people, that eight
thousand of his opposers fled away the very next night, out of all
Judea, whose flight was only terminated by Alexander's death;
so at last, though not till late, and with great difficulty, he,
by such actions, procured quiet to his kingdom, and left off fighting
any more.
7. Yet did that Antiochus, who was also called Dionysius, become
an origin of troubles again. This man was the brother of
Demetrius, and the last of the race of the Seleucidse. (3) Alexander
was afraid of him, when he was marching against the
Arabians; so he cut a deep trench between Antipatris, which was
near the mountains, and the shores of Joppa; he also erected
a high wall before the trench, and built wooden towers, in order
to hinder any sudden approaches. But still he was not able to
exclude Antiochus, for he burnt the towers, and filled up the trenches,
and marched on with his army. And as he looked upon
taking his revenge on Alexander, for endeavoring to stop him, as
a thing of less consequence, he marched directly against the
Arabians, whose king retired into such parts of the country as were
fittest for engaging the enemy, and then on the sudden made
his horse turn back, which were in number ten thousand, and fell
upon Antiochus's army while they were in disorder, and a
terrible battle ensued. Antiochus's troops, so long as he was alive,
fought it out, although a mighty slaughter was made among
them by the Arabians; but when he fell, for he was in the forefront,
in the utmost danger, in rallying his troops, they all gave
ground, and the greatest part of his army were destroyed, either
in the action or the flight; and for the rest, who fled to the
village of Cana, it happened that they were all consumed by want
of necessaries, a few only excepted.
8. About this time it was that the people of Damascus, out of their
hatred to Ptolemy, the son of Menhens, invited Aretas [to
take the government], and made him king of Celesyria. This man also
made an expedition against Judea, and beat Alexander in
battle; but afterwards retired by mutual agreement. But Alexander,
when he had taken Pella, marched to Gerasa again, out of
the covetous desire he had of Theodorus's possessions; and when
he had built a triple wall about the garrison, he took the
place by force. He also demolished Golan, and Seleucia, and what
was called the Valley of Antiochus; besides which, he took
the strong fortress of Gamala, and stripped Demetrius, who was governor
therein, of what he had, on account of the many
crimes laid to his charge, and then returned into Judea, after he
had been three whole years in this expedition. And now he was
kindly received of the nation, because of the good success he had.
So when he was at rest from war, he fell into a distemper;
for he was afflicted with a quartan ague, and supposed that, by
exercising himself again in martial affairs, he should get rid of this
distemper; but by making such expeditions at unseasonable times,
and forcing his body to undergo greater hardships than it was
able to bear, he brought himself to his end. He died, therefore,
in the midst of his troubles, after he had reigned seven and
twenty years.
CHAPTER 5.
ALEXANDRA REIGNS NINE YEARS, DURING WHICH TIME
THE PHARISEES WERE THE REAL
RULERS OF THE NATION.
1. NOW Alexander left the kingdom to Alexandra his wife, and depended
upon it that the Jews would now very readily submit
to her, because she had been very averse to such cruelty as he had
treated them with, and had opposed his violation of their
laws, and had thereby got the good-will of the people. Nor was he
mistaken as to his expectations; for this woman kept the
dominion, by the opinion that the people had of her piety; for she
chiefly studied the ancient customs of her country, and cast
those men out of the government that offended against their holy
laws. And as she had two sons by Alexander, she made
Hyrcanus the elder high priest, on account of his age, as also,
besides that, on account of his inactive temper, no way disposing
him to disturb the public. But she retained the younger, Aristobulus,
with her as a private person, by reason of the warmth of his
temper.
2. And now the Pharisees joined themselves to her, to assist her
in the government. These are a certain sect of the Jews that
appear more religious than others, and seem to interpret the laws
more accurately. low Alexandra hearkened to them to an
extraordinary degree, as being herself a woman of great piety towards
God. But these Pharisees artfully insinuated themselves
into her favor by little and little, and became themselves the real
administrators of the public affairs: they banished and reduced
whom they pleased; they bound and loosed [men] at their pleasure;
(4) and, to say all at once, they had the enjoyment of the
royal authority, whilst the expenses and the difficulties of it
belonged to Alexandra. She was a sagacious woman in the
management of great affairs, and intent always upon gathering soldiers
together; so that she increased the army the one half, and
procured a great body of foreign troops, till her own nation became
not only very powerful at home, but terrible also to foreign
potentates, while she governed other people, and the Pharisees governed
her.
3. Accordingly, they themselves slew Diogenes, a person of figure,
and one that had been a friend to Alexander; and accused
him as having assisted the king with his advice, for crucifying
the eight hundred men [before mentioned.] They also prevailed
with Alexandra to put to death the rest of those who had irritated
him against them. Now she was so superstitious as to comply
with their desires, and accordingly they slew whom they pleased
themselves. But the principal of those that were in danger fled
to Aristobulus, who persuaded his mother to spare the men on account
of their dignity, but to expel them out of the city, unless
she took them to be innocent; so they were suffered to go unpunished,
and were dispersed all over the country. But when
Alexandra sent out her army to Damascus, under pretense that Ptolemy
was always oppressing that city, she got possession of
it; nor did it make any considerable resistance. She also prevailed
with Tigranes, king of Armenia, who lay with his troops
about Ptolemais, and besieged Cleopatra, (5) by agreements and presents,
to go away. Accordingly, Tigranes soon arose from
the siege, by reason of those domestic tumults which happened upon
Lucullus's expedition into Armenia.
4. In the mean time, Alexandra fell sick, and Aristobulus, her younger
son, took hold of this opportunity, with his domestics, of
which he had a great many, who were all of them his friends, on
account of the warmth of their youth, and got possession of all
the fortresses. He also used the sums of money he found in them
to get together a number of mercenary soldiers, and made
himself king; and besides this, upon Hyrcanus's complaint to his
mother, she compassionated his case, and put Aristobulus's
wife and sons under restraint in Antonia, which was a fortress that
joined to the north part of the temple. It was, as I have
already said, of old called the Citadel; but afterwards got the
name of Antonia, when Antony was [lord of the East], just as the
other cities, Sebaste and Agrippias, had their names changed, and
these given them from Sebastus and Agrippa. But Alexandra
died before she could punish Aristobulus for his disinheriting his
brother, after she had reigned nine years.
CHAPTER 6.
WHEN HYRCANUS WHO WAS ALEXANDER'S HEIR, RECEDED FROM HIS CLAIM
TO THE CROWN
ARISTOBULUS IS MADE KING; AND AFTERWARD THE SAME
HYRCANUS BY THE MEANS OF
ANTIPATER, IS BROUGHT BACK BY ABETAS. AT LAST POMPEY IS MADE
THE ARBITRATOR OF THE
DISPUTE BETWEEN THE BROTHERS.
1. NOW Hyrcanus was heir to the kingdom, and to him did his mother
commit it before she died; but Aristobulus was superior
to him in power and magnanimity; and when there was a battle between
them, to decide the dispute about the kingdom, near
Jericho, the greatest part deserted Hyrcanus, and went over to Aristobulus;
but Hyrcanus, with those of his party who staid
with him, fled to Antonia, and got into his power the hostages that
might he for his preservation (which were Aristobulus's wife,
with her children); but they came to an agreement before things
should come to extremities, that Aristobulus should be king, and
Hyrcanus should resign that up, but retain all the rest of his dignities,
as being the king's brother. Hereupon they were reconciled
to each other in the temple, and embraced one another in a very
kind manner, while the people stood round about them; they
also changed their houses, while Aristobulus went to the royal palace,
and Hyrcanus retired to the house of Aristobulus.
2. Now those other people which were at variance with Aristobulus
were afraid upon his unexpected obtaining the government;
and especially this concerned Antipater (6) whom Aristobulus hated
of old. He was by birth an Idumean, and one of the
principal of that nation, on account of his ancestors and riches,
and other authority to him belonging: he also persuaded
Hyrcanus to fly to Aretas, the king of Arabia, and to lay claim
to the kingdom; as also he persuaded Aretas to receive
Hyrcanus, and to bring him back to his kingdom: he also cast great
reproaches upon Aristobulus, as to his morals, and gave
great commendations to Hyrcanus, and exhorted Aretas to receive
him, and told him how becoming a filing it would be for him,
who ruled so great a kingdom, to afford his assistance to such as
are injured; alleging that Hyrcanus was treated unjustly, by
being deprived of that dominion which belonged to him by the prerogative
of his birth. And when he had predisposed them
both to do what he would have them, he took Hyrcanus by night, and
ran away from the city, and, continuing his flight with
great swiftness, he escaped to the place called Petra, which is
the royal seat of the king of Arabia, where he put Hyrcanus into
Aretas's hand; and by discoursing much with him, and gaining upon
him with many presents, he prevailed with him to give him
an army that might restore him to his kingdom. This army consisted
of fifty thousand footmen and horsemen, against which
Aristobulus was not able to make resistance, but was deserted in
his first onset, and was driven to Jerusalem; he also had been
taken at first by force, if Scaurus, the Roman general, had not
come and seasonably interposed himself, and raised the siege.
This Scaurus was sent into Syria from Armenia by Pompey the Great,
when he fought against Tigranes; so Scaurus came to
Damascus, which had been lately taken by Metellus and Lollius, and
caused them to leave the place; and, upon his hearing how
the affairs of Judea stood, he made haste thither as to a certain
booty.
3. As soon, therefore, as he was come into the country, there came
ambassadors from both the brothers, each of them desiring
his assistance; but Aristobulus's three hundred talents had more
weight with him than the justice of the cause; which sum, when
Scaurus had received, he sent a herald to Hyrcanus and the Arabians,
and threatened them with the resentment of the Romans
and of Pompey, unless they would raise the siege. So Aretas was
terrified, and retired out of Judea to Philadelphia, as did
Scaurus return to Damascus again; nor was Aristobulus satisfied
with escaping [out of his brother's hands,] but gathered all his
forces together, and pursued his enemies, and fought them at a place
called Papyron, and slew about six thousand of them, and,
together with them Antipater's brother Phalion.
4. When Hyrcanus and Antipater were thus deprived of their hopes
from the Arabians, they transferred the same to their
adversaries; and because Pompey had passed through Syria, and was
come to Damascus, they fled to him for assistance; and,
without any bribes, they made the same equitable pleas that they
had used to Aretas, and besought him to hate the violent
behavior of Aristobulus, and to bestow the kingdom on him to whom
it justly belonged, both on account of his good character
and on account of his superiority in age. However, neither was Aristobulus
wanting to himself in this case, as relying on the
bribes that Scaurus had received: he was also there himself, and
adorned himself after a manner the most agreeable to royalty
that he was able. But he soon thought it beneath him to come in
such a servile manner, and could not endure to serve his own
ends in a way so much more abject than he was used to; so he departed
from Diospolis.
5. At this his behavior Pompey had great indignation; Hyrcanus also
and his friends made great intercessions to Pompey; so he
took not only his Roman forces, but many of his Syrian auxiliaries,
and marched against Aristobulus. But when he had passed
by Pella and Scythopolis, and was come to Corea, where you enter
into the country of Judea, when you go up to it through the
Mediterranean parts, he heard that Aristobulus was fled to Alexandrium,
which is a strong hold fortified with the utmost
magnificence, and situated upon a high mountain; and he sent to
him, and commanded him to come down. Now his inclination
was to try his fortune in a battle, since he was called in such
an imperious manner, rather than to comply with that call.
However, he saw the multitude were in great fear, and his friends
exhorted him to consider what the power of the Romans was,
and how it was irresistible; so he complied with their advice, and
came down to Pompey; and when he had made a long
apology for himself, and for the justness of his cause in taking
the government, he returned to the fortress. And when his brother
invited him again [to plead his cause], he came down and spake about
the justice of it, and then went away without any
hinderance from Pompey; so he was between hope and fear. And when
he came down, it was to prevail with Pompey to allow
him the government entirely; and when he went up to the citadel,
it was that he might not appear to debase himself too low.
However, Pompey commanded him to give up his fortified places, and
forced him to write to every one of their governors to
yield them up; they having had this charge given them, to obey no
letters but what were of his own hand-writing. Accordingly he
did what he was ordered to do; but had still an indignation at what
was done, and retired to Jerusalem, and prepared to fight
with Pompey.
6. But Pompey did not give him time to make any preparations [for
a siege], but followed him at his heels; he was also obliged
to make haste in his attempt, by the death of Mithridates, of which
he was informed about Jericho. Now here is the most fruitful
country of Judea, which bears a vast number of palm trees (7) besides
the balsam tree, whose sprouts they cut with sharp
stones, and at the incisions they gather the juice, which drops
down like tears. So Pompey pitched his camp in that place one
night, and then hasted away the next morning to Jerusalem; but Aristobulus
was so aftrighted at his approach, that he came and
met him by way of supplication. He also promised him money, and
that he would deliver up both himself and the city into his
disposal, and thereby mitigated the anger of Pompey. Yet did not
he perform any of the conditions he had agreed to; for
Aristobulus's party would not so much as admit Gabinius into the
city, who was sent to receive the money that he had
promised.
CHAPTER 7.
HOW POMPEY HAD THE CITY OF JERUSALEM DELIVERED UP TO HIM BUT
TOOK THE TEMPLE BY
FORCE. HOW HE WENT INTO THE HOLY OF HOLIES; AS ALSO WHAT
WERE HIS OTHER EXPLOITS
IN JUDEA.
1. At this treatment Pompey was very angry, and took Aristobulus
into custody. And when he was come to the city, he looked
about where he might make his attack; for he saw the walls were
so firm, that it would be hard to overcome them; and that the
valley before the walls was terrible; and that the temple, which
was within that valley, was itself encompassed with a very strong
wall, insomuch that if the city were taken, that temple would be
a second place of refuge for the enemy to retire to.
2. Now as be was long in deliberating about this matter, a sedition
arose among the people within the city; Aristobulus's party
being willing to fight, and to set their king at liberty, while
the party of Hyrcanus were for opening the gates to Pompey; and the
dread people were in occasioned these last to be a very numerous
party, when they looked upon the excellent order the
Roman soldiers were in. So Aristobulus's party was worsted, and
retired into the temple, and cut off the communication
between the temple and the city, by breaking down the bridge that
joined them together, and prepared to make an opposition
to the utmost; but as the others had received the Romans into the
city, and had delivered up the palace to him, Pompey sent
Piso, one of his great officers, into that palace with an army,
who distributed a garrison about the city, because he could not
persuade any one of those that had fled to the temple to come to
terms of accommodation; he then disposed all things that were
round about them so as might favor their attacks, as having Hyrcanus's
party very ready to afford them both counsel and
assistance.
3. But Pompey himself filled up the ditch that was oil the north
side of the temple, and the entire valley also, the army itself being
obliged to carry the materials for that purpose. And indeed it was
a hard thing to fill up that valley, by reason of its immense
depth, especially as the Jews used all the means possible to repel
them from their superior situation; nor had the Romans
succeeded in their endeavors, had not Pompey taken notice of the
seventh days, on which the Jews abstain from all sorts of
work on a religious account, and raised his bank, but restrained
his soldiers from fighting on those days; for the Jews only acted
defensively on sabbath days. But as soon as Pompey had filled up
the valley, he erected high towers upon the bank, and
brought those engines which they had fetched from Tyre near to the
wall, and tried to batter it down; and the slingers of stones
beat off those that stood above them, and drove them away; but the
towers on this side of the city made very great resistance,
and were indeed extraordinary both for largeness and magnificence.
4. Now here it was that, upon the many hardships which the Romans
underwent, Pompey could not but admire not only at the
other instances of the Jews' fortitude, but especially that they
did not at all intermit their religious services, even when they were
encompassed with darts on all sides; for, as if the city were in
full peace, their daily sacrifices and purifications, and every
branch of their religious worship, was still performed to God with
the utmost exactness. Nor indeed when the temple was
actually taken, and they were every day slain about the altar, did
they leave off the instances of their Divine worship that were
appointed by their law; for it was in the third month of the siege
before the Romans could even with great difficulty overthrow
one of the towers, and get into the temple. Now he that first of
all ventured to get over the wall, was Faustus Cornelius the son
of Sylla; and next after him were two centurions, Furius and Fabius;
and every one of these was followed by a cohort of his
own, who encompassed the Jews on all sides, and slew them, some
of them as they were running for shelter to the temple, and
others as they, for a while, fought in their own defense.
5. And now did many of the priests, even when they saw their enemies
assailing them with swords in their hands, without any
disturbance, go on with their Divine worship, and were slain while
they were offering their drink-offerings, and burning their
incense, as preferring the duties about their worship to God before
their own preservation. The greatest part of them were slain
by their own countrymen, of the adverse faction, and an innumerable
multitude threw themselves down precipices; nay, some
there were who were so distracted among the insuperable difficulties
they were under, that they set fire to the buildings that
were near to the wall, and were burnt together with them. Now of
the Jews were slain twelve thousand; but of the Romans very
few were slain, but a greater number was wounded.
6. But there was nothing that affected the nation so much, in the
calamities they were then under, as that their holy place, which
had been hitherto seen by none, should be laid open to strangers;
for Pompey, and those that were about him, went into the
temple itself (8) whither it was not lawful for any to enter but
the high priest, and saw what was reposited therein, the
candlestick with its lamps, and the table, and the pouring vessels,
and the censers, all made entirely of gold, as also a great
quantity of spices heaped together, with two thousand talents of
sacred money. Yet did not he touch that money, nor any thing
else that was there reposited; but he commanded the ministers about
the temple, the very next day after he had taken it, to
cleanse it, and to perform their accustomed sacrifices. Moreover,
he made Hyrcanus high priest, as one that not only in other
respects had showed great alacrity, on his side, during the siege,
but as he had been the means of hindering the multitude that
was in the country from fighting for Aristobulus, which they were
otherwise very ready to have done; by which means he acted
the part of a good general, and reconciled the people to him more
by benevolence than by terror. Now, among the Captives,
Aristobulus's father-in-law was taken, who was also his uncle: so
those that were the most guilty he punished with decollatlon;
but rewarded Faustus, and those with him that had fought so bravely,
with glorious presents, and laid a tribute upon the
country, and upon Jerusalem itself.
7. He also took away from the nation all those cities that they had
formerly taken, and that belonged to Celesyria, and made
them subject to him that was at that time appointed to be the Roman
president there; and reduced Judea within its proper
bounds. He also rebuilt Gadara, (9) that had been demolished by
the Jews, in order to gratify one Demetrius, who was of
Gadara, and was one of his own freed-men. He also made other cities
free from their dominion, that lay in the midst of the
country, such, I mean, as they had not demolished before that time;
Hippos, and Scythopolis, as also Pella, and Samaria, and
Marissa; and besides these Ashdod, and Jamnia, and Arethusa; and
in like manner dealt he with the maritime cities, Gaza, and
Joppa, and Dora, and that which was anciently called Strato's Tower,
but was afterward rebuilt with the most magnificent
edifices, and had its name changed to Cesarea, by king Herod. All
which he restored to their own citizens, and put them under
the province of Syria; which province, together with Judea, and
the countries as far as Egypt and Euphrates, he committed to
Scaurus as their governor, and gave him two legions to support him;
while he made all the haste he could himself to go through
Cilicia, in his way to Rome, having Aristobulus and his children
along with him as his captives. They were two daughters and
two sons; the one of which sons, Alexander, ran away as he was going;
but the younger, Antigonus, with his sisters, were
carried to Rome.
CHAPTER 8.
ALEXANDER, THE SON OF ARISTOBULUS,
WHO RAN AWAY FROM POMPEY, MAKES AN
EXPEDITION AGAINST HYRCANUS; BUT BEING OVERCOME BY GABINIUS
HE DELIVERS UP THE
FORTRESSES TO HIM. AFTER THIS ARISTOBULUS ESCAPES FROM ROME
AND GATHERS AN ARMY
TOGETHER; BUT BEING BEATEN BY THE ROMANS, HE IS BROUGHT BACK TO
ROME; WITH OTHER
THINGS RELATING TO GABINIUS, CRASSUS AND CASSIUS.
1. IN the mean time, Scaurus made an expedition into Arabia, but
was stopped by the difficulty of the places about Petra.
However, he laid waste the country about Pella, though even there
he was under great hardship; for his army was afflicted with
famine. In order to supply which want, Hyrcanus afforded him some
assistance, and sent him provisions by the means of
Antipater; whom also Scaurus sent to Aretas, as one well acquainted
with him, to induce him to pay him money to buy his
peace. The king of Arabia complied with the proposal, and gave him
three hundred talents; upon which Scaurus drew his army
out of Arabia (10)
2. But as for Alexander, that son of Aristobulus who ran away from
Pompey, in some time he got a considerable band of men
together, and lay heavy upon Hyrcanus, and overran Judea, and was
likely to overturn him quickly; and indeed he had come to
Jerusalem, and had ventured to rebuild its wall that was thrown
down by Pompey, had not Gabinius, who was sent as
successor to Scaurus into Syria, showed his bravery, as in many
other points, so in making an expedition against Alexander;
who, as he was afraid that he would attack him, so he got together
a large army, composed of ten thousand armed footmen,
and fifteen hundred horsemen. He also built walls about proper places;
Alexandrium, and Hyrcanium, and Machorus, that lay
upon the mountains of Arabia.
3. However, Gabinius sent before him Marcus Antonius, and followed
himself with his whole army; but for the select body of
soldiers that were about Antipater, and another body of Jews under
the command of Malichus and Pitholaus, these joined
themselves to those captains that were about Marcus Antonius, and
met Alexander; to which body came Oabinius with his
main army soon afterward; and as Alexander was not able to sustain
the charge of the enemies' forces, now they were joined,
he retired. But when he was come near to Jerusalem, he was forced
to fight, and lost six thousand men in the battle; three
thousand of which fell down dead, and three thousand were taken
alive; so he fled with the remainder to Alexandrium.
4. Now when Gabinius was come to Alexandrium, because he found a
great many there en-camped, he tried, by promising
them pardon for their former offenses, to induce them to come over
to him before it came to a fight; but when they would
hearken to no terms of accommodation, he slew a great number of
them, and shut up a great number of them in the citadel.
Now Marcus Antonius, their leader, signalized himself in this battle,
who, as he always showed great courage, so did he never
show it so much as now; but Gabinius, leaving forces to take the
citadel, went away himself, and settled the cities that had not
been demolished, and rebuilt those that had been destroyed. Accordingly,
upon his injunctions, the following cities were
restored: Scythopolis, and Samaria, and Anthedon, and Apollonia,
and Jamnia, and Raphia, and Mariassa, and Adoreus, and
Gamala, and Ashdod, and many others; while a great number of men
readily ran to each of them, and became their inhabitants.
5. When Gabinius had taken care of these cities, he returned to Alexandrium,
and pressed on the siege. So when Alexander
despaired of ever obtaining the government, he sent ambassadors
to him, and prayed him to forgive what he had offended him
in, and gave up to him the remaining fortresses, Hyrcanium and Macherus,
as he put Alexandrium into his hands afterwards; all
which Gabinius demolished, at the persuasion of Alexander's mother,
that they might not be receptacles of men in a second
war. She was now there in order to mollify Gabinius, out of her
concern for her relations that were captives at Rome, which
were her husband and her other children. After this Gabinius brought
Hyrcanus to Jerusalem, and committed the care of the
temple to him; but ordained the other political government to be
by an aristocracy. He also parted the whole nation into five
conventions, assigning one portion to Jerusalem, another to Gadara,
that another should belong to Amathus, a fourth to Jericho,
and to the fifth division was allotted Sepphoris, a city of Galilee.
So the people were glad to be thus freed from monarchical
government, and were governed for the future by all aristocracy.
6. Yet did Aristobulus afford another foundation for new disturbances.
He fled away from Rome, and got together again many
of the Jews that were desirous of a change, such as had borne an
affection to him of old; and when he had taken Alexandrium
in the first place, he attempted to build a wall about it; but as
soon as Gabinius had sent an army against him under Siscuria, and
Antonius, and Servilius, he was aware of it, and retreated to Macherus.
And as for the unprofitable multitude, he dismissed
them, and only marched on with those that were armed, being to the
number of eight thousand, among whom was Pitholaus,
who had been the lieutenant at Jerusalem, but deserted to Aristobulus
with a thousand of his men; so the Romans followed him,
and when it came to a battle, Aristobulus's party for a long time
fought courageously; but at length they were overborne by the
Romans, and of them five thousand fell down dead, and about two
thousand fled to a certain little hill, but the thousand that
remained with Aristobulus brake through the Roman army, and marched
together to Macherus; and when the king had lodged
the first night upon its ruins, he was in hopes of raising another
army, if the war would but cease a while; accordingly, he
fortified that strong hold, though it was done after a poor manner.
But the Romans falling upon him, he resisted, even beyond
his abilities, for two days, and then was taken, and brought a prisoner
to Gabinius, with Antigonus his son, who had fled away
together with him from Rome; and from Gabinius he was carried to
Rome again. Wherefore the senate put him under
confinement, but returned his children back to Judea, because Gabinius
informed them by letters that he had promised
Aristobulus's mother to do so, for her delivering the fortresses
up to him.
7. But now as Gabinius was marching to the war against the Parthians,
he was hindered by Ptolemy, whom, upon his return
from Euphrates, he brought back into Egypt, making use of Hyrcanus
and Antipater to provide every thing that was necessary
for this expedition; for Antipater furnished him with money, and
weapons, and corn, and auxiliaries; he also prevailed with the
Jews that were there, and guarded the avenues at Pelusium, to let
them pass. But now, upon Gabinius's absence, the other part
of Syria was in motion, and Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, brought
the Jews to revolt again. Accordingly, he got together a
very great army, and set about killing all the Romans that were
in the country; hereupon Gabinius was afraid, (for he was come
back already out of Egypt, and obliged to come back quickly by these
tumults,) and sent Antipater, who prevailed with some
of the revolters to be quiet. However, thirty thousand still continued
with Alexander, who was himself eager to fight also;
accordingly, Gabinius went out to fight, when the Jews met him;
and as the battle was fought near Mount Tabor, ten thousand
of them were slain, and the rest of the multitude dispersed themselves,
and fled away. So Gabinius came to Jerusalem, and
settled the government as Antipater would have it; thence he marched,
and fought and beat the Nabateans: as for Mithridates
and Orsanes, who fled out of Parthin, he sent them away privately,
but gave it out among the soldiers that they had run away.
8. In the mean time, Crassus came as successor to Gabinius in Syria.
He took away all the rest of the gold belonging to the
temple of Jerusalem, in order to furnish himself for his expedition
against the Parthians. He also took away the two thousand
talents which Pompey had not touched; but when he had passed over
Euphrates, he perished himself, and his army with him;
concerning which affairs this is not a proper time to speak [more
largely].
9. But now Cassius, after Crassus, put a stop to the Parthians, who
were marching in order to enter Syria. Cassius had fled into
that province, and when he had taken possession of the same, he
made a hasty march into Judea; and, upon his taking
Taricheae, he carried thirty thousand Jews into slavery. He also
slew Pitholaus, who had supported the seditious followers of
Aristobulus; and it was Antipater who advised him so to do. Now
this Antipater married a wife of an eminent family among the
Arabisus, whose name was Cypros, and had four sons born to him by
her, Phasaelus and Herod, who was afterwards king,
and, besides these, Joseph and Pheroras; and he had a daughter whose
name was Salome. Now as he made himself friends
among the men of power every where, by the kind offices he did them,
and the hospitable manner that he treated them; so did
he contract the greatest friendship with the king of Arabia, by
marrying his relation; insomuch that when he made war with
Aristobulus, he sent and intrusted his children with him. So when
Cassius had forced Alexander to come to terms and to be
quiet, he returned to Euphrates, in order to prevent the Parthians
from repassing it; concerning which matter we shall speak
elsewhere. (11)
CHAPTER 9.
ARISTOBULUS IS TAKEN OFF BY POMPEY'S FRIENDS,
AS IS HIS SON ALEXANDER BY SCIPIO.
ANTIPATER CULTIVATES A FRIENDSHIP WITH CAESAR,
AFTER POMPEY'S DEATH; HE ALSO
PERFORMS GREAT ACTIONS IN THAT
WAR, WHEREIN HE ASSISTED MITHRIDATES.
1. NOW, upon the flight of Pompey and of the senate beyond the Ionian
Sea, Caesar got Rome and the empire under his
power, and released Aristobulus from his bonds. He also committed
two legions to him, and sent him in haste into Syria, as
hoping that by his means he should easily conquer that country,
and the parts adjoining to Judea. But envy prevented any effect
of Aristobulus's alacrity, and the hopes of Caesar; for he was taken
off by poison given him by those of Pompey's party; and,
for a long while, he had not so much as a burial vouchsafed him
in his own country; but his dead body lay [above ground],
preserved in honey, until it was sent to the Jews by Antony, in
order to be buried in the royal sepulchers.
2. His son Alexander also was beheaded by Sci-pio at Antioch, and
that by the command of Pompey, and upon an accusation
laid against him before his tribunal, for the mischiefs he had done
to the Romans. But Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, who was
then ruler of Chalcis, under Libanus, took his brethren to him by
sending his son Philippio for them to Ascalon, who took
Antigonus, as well as his sisters, away from Aristobulus's wife,
and brought them to his father; and falling in love with the
younger daughter, he married her, and was afterwards slain by his
father on her account; for Ptolemy himself, after he had slain
his son, married her, whose name was Alexandra; on the account of
which marriage he took the greater care of her brother and
sister.
3. Now, after Pompey was dead, Antipater changed sides, and cultivated
a friendship with Caesar. And since Mithridates of
Pergamus, with the forces he led against Egypt, was excluded from
the avenues about Pelusium, and was forced to stay at
Asealon, he persuaded the Arabians, among whom he had lived, to
assist him, and came himself to him, at the head of three
thousand armed men. He also encouraged the men of power in Syria
to come to his assistance, as also of the inhabitants of
Libanus, Ptolemy, and Jamblicus, and another Ptolemy; by which means
the cities of that country came readily into this war;
insomuch that Mithridates ventured now, in dependence upon the additional
strength that he had gotten by Antipater, to march
forward to Pelusium; and when they refused him a passage through
it, he besieged the city; in the attack of which place
Antipater principally signalized himself, for he brought down that
part of the wall which was over against him, and leaped first of
all into the city, with the men that were about him.
4. Thus was Pelusium taken. But still, as they were marching on,
those Egyptian Jews that inhabited the country called the
country of Onias stopped them. Then did Antipater not only persuade
them not to stop them, but to afford provisions for their
army; on which account even the people about Memphis would not fight
against them, but of their own accord joined
Mithridates. Whereupon he went round about Delta, and fought the
rest of the Egyptians at a place called the Jews' Camp; nay,
when he was in danger in the battle with all his right wing, Antipater
wheeled about, and came along the bank of the river to
him; for he had beaten those that opposed him as he led the left
wing. After which success he fell upon those that pursued
Mithridates, and slew a great many of them, and pursued the remainder
so far that he took their camp, while he lost no more
than fourscore of his own men; as Mithridates lost, during the pursuit
that was made after him, about eight hundred. He was
also himself saved unexpectedly, and became an unreproachable witness
to Caesar of the great actions of Antipater.
5. Whereupon Caesar encouraged Antipater to undertake other hazardous
enterprises for him, and that by giving him great
commendations and hopes of reward. In all which enterprises he readily
exposed himself to many dangers, and became a most
courageous warrior; and had many wounds almost all over his body,
as demonstrations of his valor. And when Caesar had
settled the affairs of Egypt, and was returning into Syria again,
he gave him the privilege of a Roman citizen, and freedom from
taxes, and rendered him an object of admiration by the honors and
marks of friendship he bestowed upon him. On this account
it was that he also confirmed Hyrcanus in the high priesthood.
CHAPTER 10.
CAESAR MAKES ANTIPATER PROCURATOR OF JUDEA; AS DOES ANTIPATER
APPOINT PHASAELUS
TO BE GOVERNOR OF JERUSALEM, AND HEROD GOVERNOR OF GALILEE;
WHO, IN SOME TIME,
WAS CALLED TO ANSWER FOR HIMSELF [BEFORE THE SANHEDRIM],
WHERE HE IS ACQUITTED.
SEXTUS CAESAR IS TREACHEROUSLY KILLED BY BASSUS
AND IS SUCCEEDED BY MARCUS.
1. ABOUT this time it was that Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus,
came to Caesar, and became, in a surprising manner, the
occasion of Antipater's further advancement; for whereas he ought
to have lamented that his father appeared to have been
poisoned on account of his quarrels with Pompey, and to have complained
of Scipio's barbarity towards his brother, and not to
mix any invidious passion when he was suing for mercy; besides those
things, he came before Caesar, and accused Hyrcanus
and Antipater, how they had driven him and his brethren entirely
out of their native country, and had acted in a great many
instances unjustly and extravagantly with relation to their nation;
and that as to the assistance they had sent him into Egypt, it
was not done out of good-will to him, but out of the fear they were
in from former quarrels, and in order to gain pardon for
their friendship to [his enemy] Pompey.
2. Hereupon Antipater threw away his garments, and showed the multitude
of the wounds he had, and said, that as to his
good-will to Caesar, he had no occasion to say a word, because his
body cried aloud, though he said nothing himself; that he
wondered at Antigonus's boldness, while he was himself no other
than the son of an enemy to the Romans, and of a fugitive,
and had it by inheritance from his father to be fond of innovations
and seditions, that he should undertake to accuse other men
before the Roman governor, and endeavor to gain some advantages
to himself, when he ought to be contented that he was
suffered to live; for that the reason of his desire of governing
public affairs was not so much because he was in want of it, but
because, if he could once obtain the same, he might stir up a sedition
among the Jews, and use what he should gain from the
Romans to the disservice of those that gave it him.
3. When Caesar heard this, he declared Hyrcanus to be the most worthy
of the high priesthood, and gave leave to Antipater to
choose what authority he pleased; but he left the determination
of such dignity to him that bestowed the dignity upon him; so he
was constituted procurator of all Judea, and obtained leave, moreover,
to rebuild (12) those walls of his country that had been
thrown down. These honorary grants Caesar sent orders to have engraved
in the Capitol, that they might stand there as
indications of his own justice, and of the virtue of Antipater.
4. But as soon as Antipater had conducted Caesar out of Syria he
returned to Judea, and the first thing he did was to rebuild
that wall of his own country [Jerusalem] which Pompey had overthrown,
and then to go over the country, and to quiet the
tumults that were therein; where he partly threatened, and partly
advised, every one, and told them that in case they would
submit to Hyrcanus, they would live happily and peaceably, and enjoy
what they possessed, and that with universal peace and
quietness; but that in case they hearkened to such as had some frigid
hopes by raising new troubles to get themselves some
gain, they should then find him to be their lord instead of their
procurator; and find Hyrcanus to be a tyrant instead of a king;
and both the Romans and Caesar to be their enemies, instead of rulers;
for that they would not suffer him to be removed from
the government, whom they had made their governor. And, at the same
time that he said this, he settled the affairs of the
country by himself, because he saw that Hyrcanus was inactive, and
not fit to manage the affairs of the kingdom. So he
constituted his eldest son, Phasaelus, governor of Jerusalem, and
of the parts about it; he also sent his next son, Herod, who
was very young, (13) with equal authority into Galilee.
5. Now Herod was an active man, and soon found proper materials for
his active spirit to work upon. As therefore he found
that Hezekias, the head of the robbers, ran over the neighboring
parts of Syria with a great band of men, he caught him and
slew him, and many more of the robbers with him; which exploit was
chiefly grateful to the Syrians, insomuch that hymns were
sung in Herod's commendation, both in the villages and in the cities,
as having procured their quietness, and having preserved
what they possessed to them; on which occasion he became acquainted
with Sextus Caesar, a kinsman of the great Caesar,
and president of Syria. A just emulation of his glorious actions
excited Phasaelus also to imitate him. Accordingly, he procured
the good-will of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, by his own management
of the city affairs, and did not abuse his power in any
disagreeable manner; whence it came to pass that the nation paid
Antipater the respects that were due only to a king, and the
honors they all yielded him were equal to the honors due to an absolute
lord; yet did he not abate any part of that good-will or
fidelity which he owed to Hyrcanus.
6. However, he found it impossible to escape envy in such his prosperity;
for the glory of these young men affected even
Hyrcanus himself already privately, though he said nothing of it
to any body; but what he principally was grieved at was the
great actions of Herod, and that so many messengers came one before
another, and informed him of the great reputation he got
in all his undertakings. There were also many people in the royal
palace itself who inflamed his envy at him; those, I mean, who
were obstructed in their designs by the prudence either of the young
men, or of Antipater. These men said, that by committing
the public affairs to the management of Antipater and of his sons,
he sat down with nothing but the bare name of a king, without
any of its authority; and they asked him how long he would so far
mistake himself, as to breed up kings against his own interest;
for that they did not now conceal their government of affairs any
longer, but were plainly lords of the nation, and had thrust him
out of his authority; that this was the case when Herod slew so
many men without his giving him any command to do it, either
by word of mouth, or by his letter, and this in contradiction to
the law of the Jews; who therefore, in case he be not a king, but
a private man, still ought to come to his trial, and answer it to
him, and to the laws of his country, which do not permit any one
to be killed till he hath been condemned in judgment.
7. Now Hyrcanus was, by degrees, inflamed with these discourses,
and at length could bear no longer, but he summoned
Herod to take his trial. Accordingly, by his father's advice, and
as soon as the affairs of Galilee would give him leave, he came
up to [Jerusalem], when he had first placed garrisons in Galilee;
however, he came with a sufficient body of soldiers, so many
indeed that he might not appear to have with him an army able to
overthrow Hyrcanus's government, nor yet so few as to
expose him to the insults of those that envied him. However, Sextus
Caesar was in fear for the young man, lest he should be
taken by his enemies, and brought to punishment; so he sent some
to denounce expressly to Hyrcanus that he should acquit
Herod of the capital charge against him; who acquitted him accordingly,
as being otherwise inclined also so to do, for he loved
Herod.
8. But Herod, supposing that he had escaped punishment without the
consent of the king, retired to Sextus, to Damascus, and
got every thing ready, in order not to obey him if he should summon
him again; whereupon those that were evil-disposed
irritated Hyrcanus, and told him that Herod was gone away in anger,
and was prepared to make war upon him; and as the king
believed what they said, he knew not what to do, since he saw his
antagonist was stronger than he was himself. And now, since
Herod was made general of Coelesyria and Samaria by Sextus Caesar,
he was formidable, not only from the good-will which
the nation bore him, but by the power he himself had; insomuch that
Hyrcanus fell into the utmost degree of terror, and
expected he would presently march against him with his army.
9. Nor was he mistaken in the conjecture he made; for Herod got his
army together, out of the anger he bare him for his
threatening him with the accusation in a public court, and led it
to Jerusalem, in order to throw Hyrcanus down from his
kingdom; and this he had soon done, unless his father and brother
had gone out together and broken the force of his fury, and
this by exhorting him to carry his revenge no further than to threatening
and affrighting, but to spare the king, under whom he
had been advanced to such a degree of power; and that he ought not
to be so much provoked at his being tried, as to forget to
be thankful that he was acquitted; nor so long to think upon what
was of a melancholy nature, as to be ungrateful for his
deliverance; and if we ought to reckon that God is the arbitrator
of success in war, an unjust cause is of more disadvantage than
an army can be of advantage; and that therefore he ought not to
be entirely confident of success in a case where he is to fight
against his king, his supporter, and one that had often been his
benefactor, and that had never been severe to him, any
otherwise than as he had hearkened to evil counselors, and this
no further than by bringing a shadow of injustice upon him. So
Herod was prevailed upon by these arguments, and supposed that what
he had already done was sufficient for his future hopes,
and that he had enough shown his power to the nation.
10. In the mean time, there was a disturbance among the Romans about
Apamia, and a civil war occasioned by the treacherous
slaughter of Sextus Caesar, by Cecilius Bassus, which he perpetrated
out of his good-will to Pompey; he also took the
authority over his forces; but as the rest of Caesar's commanders
attacked Bassus with their whole army, in order to punish him
for the murder of Caesar, Antipater also sent them assistance by
his sons, both on account of him that was murdered, and on
account of that Caesar who was still alive, both of which were their
friends; and as this war grew to be of a considerable length,
Marcus came out of Italy as successor to Sextus.
CHAPTER 11.
HEROD IS MADE PROCURATOR OF ALL SYRIA; MALICHUS
IS AFRAID OF HIM, AND TAKES
ANTIPATER OFF BY POISON; WHEREUPON THE TRIBUNES OF
THE SOLDIERS ARE PREVAILED
WITH TO KILL HIM.
1. THERE, was at this time a mighty war raised among the Romans upon
the sudden and treacherous slaughter of Caesar by
Cassius and Brutus, after he had held the government for three years
and seven months. (14) Upon this murder there were very
great agitations, and the great men were mightily at difference
one with another, and every one betook himself to that party
where they had the greatest hopes of their own, of advancing themselves.
Accordingly, Cassius came into Syria, in order to
receive the forces that were at Apamia, where he procured a reconciliation
between Bassus and Marcus, and the legions which
were at difference with him; so he raised the siege of Apamia, and
took upon him the command of the army, and went about
exacting tribute of the cities, and demanding their money to such
a degree as they were not able to bear.
2. So he gave command that the Jews should bring in seven hundred
talents; whereupon Antipater, out of his dread of Cassius's
threats, parted the raising of this sum among his sons, and among
others of his acquaintance, and to be done immediately; and
among them he required one Malichus, who was at enmity with him,
to do his part also, which necessity forced him to do. Now
Herod, in the first place, mitigated the passion of Cassius, by
bringing his share out of Galilee, which was a hundred talents, on
which account he was in the highest favor with him; and when he
reproached the rest for being tardy, he was angry at the cities
themselves; so he made slaves of Gophna and Emmaus, and two others
of less note; nay, he proceeded as if he would kill
Malichus, because he had not made greater haste in exacting his
tribute; but Antipater prevented the ruin of this man, and of the
other cities, and got into Cassius's favor by bringing in a hundred
talents immediately. (15)
3. However, when Cassius was gone Malichus forgot the kindness that
Antipater had done him, and laid frequent plots against
him that had saved him, as making haste to get him out of the way,
who was an obstacle to his wicked practices; but Antipater
was so much afraid of the power and cunning of the man, that he
went beyond Jordan, in order to get an army to guard himself
against his treacherous designs; but when Malichus was caught in
his plot, he put upon Antipater's sons by his impudence, for
he thoroughly deluded Phasaelus, who was the guardian of Jerusalem,
and Herod who was intrusted with the weapons of war,
and this by a great many excuses and oaths, and persuaded them to
procure his reconciliation to his father. Thus was he
preserved again by Antipater, who dissuaded Marcus, the then president
of Syria, from his resolution of killing Malichus, on
account of his attempts for innovation.
4. Upon the war between Cassius and Brutus on one side, against the
younger Caesar [Augustus] and Antony on the other,
Cassius and Marcus got together an army out of Syria; and because
Herod was likely to have a great share in providing
necessaries, they then made him procurator of all Syria, and gave
him an army of foot and horse. Cassius premised him also,
that after the war was over, he would make him king of Judea. But
it so happened that the power and hopes of his son 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
poisoned potion to Antipater; so he became a sacrifice to Malichus's
wickedness, and died at a feast. 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 lie was suspected ef poisoning Antipater,
and when the multitude was angry with him for it, denied
it, and made the people believe he was not guilty. He also prepared
to make a greater figure, and raised soldiers; for he did not
suppose 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 Phasaelus, not to punish
him in an open manner, lest the multitude should fall into a
sedition, he admitted of Malichus's apology, and professed that
he cleared him of that suspicion; he also made a pompous
funeral for his father.
6. So Herod went to Samaria, which was then in a tumult, and settled
the city in peace; after which at the [Pentecost] festival,
he returned to Jerusalem, having his armed men with him: hereupon
Hyrcanus, at the request of Malichus, who feared his
reproach, forbade them to introduce foreigners to mix themselves
with the people of the country while they were purifying
themselves; but Herod despised the pretense, and him that gave that
command, and came in by night. Upon which Malithus
came to him, and bewailed Antipater; Herod also made him believe
[he admitted of his lamentations as real], although he had
much ado to restrain his passion at him; however, he did himself
bewail the murder of his father in his letters to Cassius, who,
on other accounts, also hated Malichus. Cassius sent him word back
that he should avenge his father's death upon him, and
privately gave order to the tribunes that were under him, that they
should assist Herod in a righteous action he was about.
7. And because, upon the taking of Laodicea by Cassius, the men of
power were gotten together from all quarters, with
presents and crowns in their hands, Herod allotted this time for
the punishment of Malichus. When Malichus suspected that,
and was at Tyre, he resolved to withdraw his son privately from
among the Tyrians, who was a hostage there, while he got
ready to fly away into Judea; the despair he was in of escaping
excited him to think of greater things; for he hoped that he
should raise the nation to a revolt from the Romans, while Cassius
was busy about the war against Antony, and that he should
easily depose Hyrcanus, and get the crown for himself.
8. But fate laughed at the hopes he had; for Herod foresaw what he
was so zealous about, and invited both Hyrcanus and him
to supper; but calling one of the principal servants that stood
by him to him, he sent him out, as though it were to get things
ready for supper, but in reality to give notice beforehand about
the plot that was laid against him; accordingly they called to
mind what orders Cassius had given them, and went out of the city
with their swords in their hands upon the sea-shore, where
they encompassed Malichus round about, and killed him with many
wounds. Upon which Hyrcanus was immediately aftrighted,
till he swooned away and fell down at the surprise 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 Cassius," Then,"
said he, "Cassius hath saved both me and my country, by cutting
off one that was laying plots against them both." Whether he
spake according to his own sentiments, or whether his fear was such
that he was obliged to commend the action by saying so,
is uncertain; however, by this method Herod inflicted punishment
upon Malichus.
CHAPTER 12.
PHASAELUS IS TOO HARD FOR FELIX; HEROD ALSO OVERCOMES ANTIGONUS
IN RATTLE; AND
THE JEWS ACCUSE BOTH HEROD AND PHASAELUS BUT ANTONIUS ACQUITS
THEM, AND MAKES
THEM TETRARCHS.
1. WHEN Cassius was gone out of Syria, another sedition arose at
Jerusalem, wherein Felix assaulted Phasaelus 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 Damascus, and as he was going to his brother's
assistance, he was detained by sickness; in the mean
time, Phasaelus was by himself too hard for Felix, and reproached
Hyrcanus on account of his ingratitude, both for what
assistance he had afforded Maliehus, and for overlooking Malichus's
brother, when he possessed himself of the fortresses; for
he had gotten a great many of them already, and among them the strongest
of them all, Masada.
2. However, nothing could be sufficient for him against the force
of Herod, who, as soon as he was recovered, took the other
fortresses again, and drove him out of Masada in the posture of
a supplicant; he also drove away Marion, the tyrant of the
Tyrians, out of Galilee, when he had already possessed himself of
three fortified places; but as to those Tyrians whom he had
caught, he preserved them all alive; nay, some of them he gave presents
to, and so sent them away, and thereby procured
good-will to himself from the city, and hatred to the tyrant. Marion
had indeed obtained that tyrannical power of Cassius, who
set tyrants over all Syria (16) and out of hatred to Herod it was
that he assisted Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, and
principally on Fabius's account, whom Antigonus had made his assistant
by money, and had him accordingly on his side when
he made his descent; but it was Ptolemy, the kinsman of Antigonus,
that supplied all that he wanted.
3. When Herod had fought against these in the avenues of Judea, he
was conqueror in the battle, and drove away Antigonus,
and returned to Jerusalem, beloved by every body for the glorious
action he had done; for those who did not before favor 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; so did he now marry Mariamne,
the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, and the granddaughter
of Hyrcanus, and was become thereby a relation of
the king.
4. But when Caesar and Antony had slain Cassius near Philippi, and
Caesar was gone to Italy, and Antony to Asia, amongst
the rest of the cities which sent ambassadors to Antony unto Bithynia,
the great men of the Jews came also, and accused
Phasaelus and Herod, that they kept the government by force, and
that Hyrcanus had no more than an honorable name. Herod
appeared ready to answer this accusation; and having made Antony
his friend by the large sums of money which he gave him,
he brought him to such a temper as not to hear the others speak
against him; and thus did they part at this time.
5. However, after this, there came a 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 slavery; these Jews
put those men that were the most potent, both in dignity and
eloquence, foremost, and accused the brethren. (17) But Messala
opposed them, and defended the brethren, and that while
Hyrcanus stood by him, on account of his relation to them. When
Antony had heard both sides, he asked Hyrcanus which party
was the fittest to govern, who replied that Herod and his party
were the fittest. Antony was glad of that answer, for he had been
formerly treated in an hospitable and obliging manner by his father
Antipater, when he marched into Judea with Gabinius; so he
constituted the brethren tetrarchs, and committed to them the government
of Judea.
6. But when the ambassadors had indignation at this procedure, Antony
took fifteen of them, and put them into custody, whom
he was also going to kill presently, and the rest he drove away
with disgrace; on which occasion a still greater tumult arose at
Jerusalem; so they sent again a thousand ambassadors to Tyre, where
Antony now abode, as he was marching to Jerusalem;
upon these men who made a clamor he sent out the governor of Tyre,
and ordered him to punish all that he could catch of
them, and to settle those in the administration whom he had made
tetrarchs.
7. But before this Herod, and Hyrcanus went out upon the sea-shore,
and earnestly desired of these ambassadors that they
would neither bring ruin upon themselves, nor war upon their native
country, by their rash contentions; and when they grew still
more outrageous, Antony sent out armed men, and slew a great many,
and wounded more of them; of whom those that were
slain were buried by Hyrcanus, as were the wounded put under the
care of physicians by him; yet would not those that had
escaped be quiet still, but put the affairs of the city into such
disorder, and so provoked Antony, that he slew those whom he
had in bonds also.
CHAPTER 13.
THE PARTHIANS BRING ANTIGONUS BACK INTO JUDEA, AND CAST HYRCANUS
AND PHASAELUS
INTO PRISON. THE FLIGHT OF HEROD, AND THE TAKING OF JERUSALEM
AND WHAT HYRCANUS
AND PHASAELUS SUFFERED.
1. Now two years afterward, when Barzapharnes, a governor among the
Parthians, and Paeorus, the king's son, had possessed
themselves of Syria, and when Lysanias had already succeeded upon
the death of his father Ptolemy, the son of Menneus, in
the government [of Chalcis], he prevailed with the governor, by
a promise of a thousand talents, and five hundred women, to
bring back Antigonus to his kingdom, and to turn Hyrcanus out of
it. Pacorus was by these means induced so to do, and
marched along the sea-coast, while he ordered Barzapharnes to fall
upon the Jews as he went along the Mediterranean part of
the country; but of the maritime people, the Tyrians would not receive
Pacorus, although those of Ptolemais and Sidon had
received him; so he committed a troop of his horse 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 affairs among their enemies, and to help
Antigonus when he should want his assistance.
2. Now as these men were ravaging Carmel, many of the Jews ran together
to Antigonus, and showed themselves ready to
make an incursion into the country; so he sent them before into
that place called Drymus, [the woodland (18) ] to seize upon
the place; whereupon a battle was fought between them, and they
drove the enemy away, and pursued them, and ran after
them as far as Jerusalem, and as their numbers increased, they proceeded
as far as the king's palace; but as Hyrcanus and
Phasaelus received them with a strong body of men, there happened
a battle in the market-place, in which Herod's party beat
the enemy, and shut them up in the temple, and set sixty men in
the houses adjoining as a guard to them. But the people that
were tumultuous against the brethren came in, and burnt those men;
while Herod, in his rage for killing them, attacked and slew
many of the people, till one party made incursions on the other
by turns, day by day, in the way of ambushes, and slaughters
were made continually among them.
3. Now when that festival which we call Pentecost 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 also, at which time
Phasaelus guarded the wall, and Herod, with a few, guarded the royal
palace; and when he made an assault upon his enemies,
as they were out of their ranks, on the north quarter of the city,
he slew a very great number of them, and put them all to flight;
and some of them he shut up within the city, and others within the
outward rampart. In the mean time, Antigonus desired that
Pacorus might be admitted to be a reconciler between them; and Phasaelus
was prevailed upon to admit the Parthian into the
city with five hundred horse, and to treat him in an hospitable
manner, who pretended that he came to quell the tumult, but in
reality he came to assist Antigonus; however, he laid a plot for
Phasaelus, and persuaded him to go as an ambassador 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 expose himself to the snares 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 less suspected; he also (19) left some of the
horsemen, called the Freemen, with Herod, and conducted Phasaelus
with the rest.
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 besought him to conceal
his treacherous intentions by an obliging behavior to them;
accordingly, he at first made them presents; 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 informed
of the promise of a thousand talents, and how Antigonus had devoted
the greatest number of the women that were there with
them, among the five hundred, to the Parthians; they also perceived
that an ambush was always laid for them by the barbarians
in the night time; they had also been seized on before this, unless
they had waited for the seizure of Herod first at Jerusalem,
because if he were once informed of this treachery of theirs, he
would take care of himself; nor was this a mere report, but they
saw the guards already not far off them.
5. Nor would Phasaelus think of forsaking Hyrcanus and flying away,
although Ophellius earnestly persuaded him to it; for this
man had learned the whole scheme of the plot from Saramalla, the
richest of all the Syrians. But Phasaelus went up to the
Parfilian governor, and reproached him to his face for laying this
treacherous plot against them, and chiefly because he had done
it for money; and he promised him that he would give him more money
for their preservation, than Antigonus had promised to
give for the kingdom. But the sly Parthian endeavored to remove
all this suspicion by apologies and by oaths, and then went [to
the other] Pacorus; immediately after which those Parthians who
were left, and had it in charge, seized upon Phasaelus and
Hyrcanus, who could do no more than curse their perfidiousness and
their perjury.
6. In the mean time, the cup-bearer was sent [back], and laid a plot
how to seize upon Herod, by deluding him, and getting him
out of the city, as he was commanded to do. But Herod suspected
the barbarians from the beginning; and having then received
intelligence that a messenger, 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 said very
positively that he ought to go out, and meet the messengers
that brought the letters, for that the enemy had not taken them,
and that the contents of them were not accounts of any plots
upon them, but of what Phasaelus had done; yet had he heard from
others that his brother was seized; and Alexandra (20) the
shrewdest woman in the world, Hyrcanus's daughter, begged of him
that he would not go out, nor trust himself to those
barbarians, who now were come to make an attempt upon him openly.
7. Now as Pacorus and his friends were considering how they might
bring their plot to bear privately, because it was not
possible to circumvent a man of so great prudence by openly attacking
him, Herod prevented them, and went off with the
persons that were the most nearly related to him by night, and this
without their enemies being apprized of it. But as soon as the
Parthians perceived it, they pursued after them; and as he gave
orders for his mother, and sister, and the young woman who
was betrothed to him, with her mother, and his youngest brother,
to make the best of their way, he himself, with his servants,
took all the care they could to keep off the barbarians; and when
at every assault he had slain a great many of them, he came to
the strong hold of Masada.
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 since he was gotten sixty furlongs from
the city; these sometimes brought it to a sort 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 costly palaces, and erected very strong fortifications,
and called it, from his own name, Herodium. Now as they were in
their flight, many joined themselves to him every day; and at
a place called Thressa of Idumea his brother Joseph met him, and
advised him to ease himself of a great number of his
followers, because Masada would not contain so great a multitude,
which were above nine thousand. Herod complied with this
advice, and sent away the most cumbersome part of his retinue, that
they might go into Idumea, and gave them provisions for
their journey; but he got safe to the fortress with his nearest
relations, and retained with him only the stoutest of his followers;
and there it was that he left eight hundred of his men as a guard
for the women, and provisions sufficient for a siege; but he
made haste himself to Petra of Arabia.
9. As for the Parthians in Jerusalem, they betook themselves to plundering,
and fell upon the houses of those that were fled, and
upon the king's palace, and spared nothing but Hyrcanus's money,
which was not above three hundred talents. They lighted on
other men's money also, but not so much as they hoped for; for Herod
having a long while had a suspicion of the perfidiousness
of the barbarians, had taken care to have what was most splendid
among his treasures conveyed into Idumea, as every one
belonging to him had in like manner done also. But the Parthians
proceeded to that degree of injustice, as to fill all the country
with war without denouncing it, and to demolish the city Marissa,
and not only to set up Antigonus for king, but to deliver
Phasaelus and Hyrcanus bound into his. hands, in order to their
being tormented by him. Antigonus himself also bit off
Hyrcanus's ears with his own teeth, as he fell down upon his knees
to him, that so 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 abusing Phasaelus, by reason
of his courage; for though he neither had the command
of his sword nor of his hands, he prevented all abuses by dashing
his head against a stone; so he demonstrated himself to be
Herod's own brother, and Hyrcanus a most 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
his end, viz. that he recovered of that stroke, and that a
surgeon, who was sent by Antigonus to heal him, filled the wound
with poisonous ingredients, and so killed him; whichsoever of
these deaths he came to, the beginning of it was glorious. It is
also reported that before he expired he was informed by a certain
poor woman how Herod had escaped out of their hands, and that he
said thereupon, "I now die with comfort, since I leave
behind me one alive that will avenge me of mine enemies."
11. This was the death of Phasaelus; but the Parthians, although
they had failed of the women they chiefly desired, yet did they
put the government of Jerusalem into the hands of Antigonus, and
took away Hyrcanus, and bound him, and carried him to
Parthia.
CHAPTER 14.
WHEN HEROD IS REJECTED IN ARABIA, HE MAKES HASTE
TO ROME WHERE ANTONY AND
CAESAR JOIN THEIR INTEREST TO MAKE HIM KING .
1. NOW Herod did the more zealously pursue his journey into Arabia,
as making haste 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
spare Phasaelus; 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 son of him that was to be redeemed.
Accordingly he led his brother's son along with him,
who was of the age of seven years. Now he was ready to give three
hundred talents for his brother, and intended to desire the
intercession of the Tyrians, to get them accepted; however, fate
had been too quick for his diligence; and since Phasaelus was
dead, Herod's brotherly love was now in vain. Moreover, he was not
able to find any lasting friendship among the Arabians; for
their king, Malichus, sent to him immediately, and commanded him
to return back out of his country, and used the name of the
Parthians as a pretense for so doing, as though these had denounced
to him by their ambassadors to cast 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 sons for
the free gifts the father had made them. He also took the impudent
advice of those who, equally with himself, were willing to
deprive Herod of what Antipater had deposited among them; and these
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 reasons whence he hoped they would
have been the most friendly, and had given them such an answer as
his passion suggested, 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 present circumstances
could bear, he soon laid aside such cares, and
proceeded on his journey. But now, after some time, the king of
Arabia repented of what he had done, and sent presently away
messengers to call him back: Herod had prevented them, and was come
to Pelusium, where he could not obtain a passage from
those that lay with the fleet, so he besought 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 splendor, who hoped he might be persuaded to
be commander of her forces in the expedition she was
now about; but he rejected the queen's solicitations, and being
neither aftrighted at the height of that storm which. then
happened, nor at the tumults that were now in Italy, he sailed for
Rome.
3. But as he was in peril about Pamphylia, and obliged to cast out
the greatest part of the ship's lading, he with difficulty got safe
to Rhodes, a place which had been grievously harassed in the war
with Cassius. 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 ship of very great magnitude, wherein
he and his friends sailed to Brundusium, (21) and went thence 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 himself and his family; and that he had left
his nearest relations besieged in a fortress, and had sailed to
him through a storm, to make supplication to him for assistance.
4. Hereupon Antony was moved to compassion at the change that had
been made in Herod's affairs, and this both upon his
calling to mind how hospitably he had been treated by Antipater,
but more especially on account of Herod's own virtue; so he
then resolved to get him made king of the Jews, whom he had himself
formerly made tetrarch. The contest also that he had with
Antigonus was another inducement, and that of no less weight than
the great regard he had for Herod; for he looked upon
Antigonus as a seditious person, and an enemy of the Romans; and
as for Caesar, Herod found him better prepared than
Antony, as remembering very fresh the wars he had gone through together
with his father, the hospitable treatment he had met
with from him, and the entire good-will he had showed to him; besides
the activity which he saw in Herod himself. So he called
the senate together, wherein Messalas, 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
same time they demonstrated that Antigonus was their enemy,
not only because he soon quarreled with them, but because he now
overlooked the Romans, and took the government by the
means of the Parthians. These reasons greatly moved the senate;
at which juncture Antony came in, and told them that it was
for their advantage in the Parthian war that Herod should be king;
so they all gave their votes for it. And when the senate was
separated, Antony and Caesar went out, with Herod between them;
while the consul and the rest of the magistrates went
before them, in order to offer sacrifices, and to lay the decree
in the Capitol. Antony also made a feast for Herod on the first
day of his reign.
CHAPTER 15.
ANTIGONUS BESIEGES THOSE THAT
WERE IN MASADA, WHOM HEROD FREES FROM
CONFINEMENT WHEN HE CAME BACK FROM ROME, AND PRESENTLY MARCHES
TO JERUSALEM
WHERE HE FINDS SILO CORRUPTED BY BRIBES.
1. NOW during this time Antigonus besieged those that were in Masada,
who had all other necessaries in sufficient quantity,
but were in want of water; on which account Joseph, Herod's brother,
was disposed to run away to the Arabians, with two
hundred of his own friends, because he had heard that Malichus repented
of his offenses with regard to Herod; and he had
been so quick as to have been gone out of the fortress already,
unless, on that very night when he was going away, there had
fallen a great deal of rain, insomuch that his reservoirs were full
of water, and so he was under no necessity of running away.
After which, therefore, they made an irruption upon Antigonus's
party, and slew a great many of them, some in open battles,
and some in private ambush; nor had they always success in their
attempts, for sometimes they were beaten, and ran away.
2. In the mean time Ventidius, the Roman general, was sent out of
Syria, to restrain the incursions of the Parthians; and after he
had done that, he came into Judea, in pretense indeed to assist
Joseph and his party, but in reality to get money of Antigonus;,
and when he had pitched his camp very near to Jerusalem, as soon
as he had got money enough, he went away with the
greatest part of his forces; yet still did he leave Silo with some
part of them, lest if he had taken them all away, his taking of
bribes might have been too openly discovered. Now Antigonus hoped
that the Parthians would come again to his assistance,
and therefore cultivated a good understanding with Silo in the mean
time, lest any interruption should be given to his hopes.
3. Now by this time Herod had sailed out of Italy, and was come to
Ptolemais; and as soon as he had gotten together no small
army of foreigners, and of his own countrymen, he marched through
Galilee against Antigonus, wherein he was assisted by
Ventidius and Silo, both whom Dellius, (22) a person sent by Antony,
persuaded to bring Herod [into his kingdom]. Now
Ventidius was at this time among the cities, and composing the disturbances
which had happened by means of the Parthians, as
was Silo in Judea corrupted by the bribes that Antigonus had given
him; yet was not Herod himself destitute of power, but the
number of his forces increased every day as he went along, and all
Galilee, with few exceptions, joined themselves to him. So
he proposed to himself to set about his most necessary enterprise,
and that was Masada, in order to deliver his relations from
the siege they endured. But still Joppa stood in his way, and hindered
his going thither; for it was necessary to take that city
first, which was in the enemies' hands, that when he should go to
Jerusalem, no fortress might be left in the enemies' power
behind him. Silo also willingly joined him, as having now a plausible
occasion of drawing off his forces [from Jerusalem]; and
when the Jews pursued him, and pressed upon him, [in his retreat,]
Herod made all excursion upon them with a small body of
his men, and soon put them to flight, and saved Silo when he was
in distress.
4. After this Herod took Joppa, and then made haste to Masada to
free his relations. Now, as he was marching, many came in
to him, induced by their friendship to his father, some by the reputation
he had already gained himself, and some in order to
repay the benefits they had received from them both; but still what
engaged the greatest number on his side, was the hopes from
him when he should be established in his kingdom; so that he had
gotten together already an army hard to be conquered. But
Antigonus laid an ambush for him as he marched out, in which he
did little or no harm to his enemies. However, he easily
recovered his relations again that were in Masada, as well as the
fortress Ressa, and then marched to Jerusalem, where the
soldiers that were with Silo joined themselves to his own, as did
many out of the city, from a dread of his power.
5. Now when he had pitched his camp on the west side of the city,
the guards that were there shot their arrows and threw their
darts at them, while others ran out in companies, and attacked those
in the forefront; but Herod commanded proclamation to
be made at the wall, that he was come for the good of the people
and the preservation of the city, without any design to be
revenged on his open enemies, but to grant oblivion to them, though
they had been the most obstinate against him. Now the
soldiers that were for Antigonus made a contrary clamor, and did
neither permit any body to hear that proclamation, nor to
change their party; so Antigonus gave order to his forces to beat
the enemy from the walls; accordingly, they soon threw their
darts at them from the towers, and put them to flight.
6. And here it was that Silo discovered he had taken bribes; for
he set many of the soldiers to clamor about their want of
necessaries, and to require their pay, in order to buy themselves
food, and to demand that he would lead them into places
convenient for their winter quarters; because all the parts about
the city were laid waste by the means of Antigonus's army,
which had taken all things away. By this he moved the army, and
attempted to get them off the siege; but Herod went to the
captains that were under Silo, and to a great many of the soldiers,
and begged of them not to leave him, who was sent thither
by Caesar, and Antony, and the senate; for that he would take care
to have their wants supplied that very day. After the
making of which entreaty, he went hastily into the country, and
brought thither so great an abundance of necessaries, that he cut
off all Silo's pretenses; and in order to provide that for the following
days they should not want supplies, he sent to the people
that were about Samaria (which city had joined itself to him) to
bring corn, and wine, and oil, and cattle to Jericho. When
Antigonus heard of this, be sent some of his party with orders to
hinder, and lay ambushes for these collectors of corn. This
command was obeyed, and a great multitude of armed men were gathered
together about Jericho, and lay upon the mountains,
to watch those that brought the provisions. Yet was Herod not idle,
but took with him ten cohorts, five of them were Romans,
and five were Jewish cohorts, together with some mercenary troops
intermixed among them, and besides those a few
horsemen, and came to Jericho; and when he came, he found the city
deserted, but that there were five hundred men, with their
wives and children, who had taken possession of the tops of the
mountains; these he took, and dismissed them, while the
Romans fell upon the rest of the city, and plundered it, having
found the houses full of all sorts of good things. So the king left a
garrison at Jericho, and came back, and sent the Roman army into
those cities which were come over to him, to take their
winter quarters there, viz. into Judea, [or Idumea,] and Galilee,
and Samaria. Antigonus also by bribes obtained of Silo to let a
part of his army be received at Lydda, as a compliment to Antonius.
CHAPTER 16.
HEROD TAKES SEPPHORIS AND SUBDUES THE ROBBERS THAT WERE IN
THE CAVES ; HE AFTER
THAT AVENGES HIMSELF UPON MACHERAS, AS UPON AN ENEMY OF HIS
AND GOES TO ANTONY
AS HE WAS BESIEGING SAMOSATA.
1. SO the Romans lived in plenty of all things, and rested from war.
However, Herod did not lie at rest, but seized upon
Idumea, and kept it, with two thousand footmen, and four hundred
horsemen; and this he did by sending his brother Joseph
thither, that no innovation might be made by Antigonus. He also
removed his mother, and all his relations, who had been in
Masada, to Samaria; and when he had settled them securely, he marched
to take the remaining parts of Galilee, and to drive
away the garrisons placed there by Antigonus.
2. But when Herod had reached Sepphoris, (23) in a very great snow,
he took the city without any difficulty; the guards that
should have kept it flying away before it was assaulted; where he
gave an opportunity to his followers that had been in distress
to refresh themselves, there being in that city a great abundance
of necessaries. After which he hasted away to the robbers that
were in the caves, who overran a great part of the country, and
did as great mischief to its inhabitants as a war itself could have
done. Accordingly, he sent beforehand three cohorts of footmen,
and one troop of horsemen, to the village Arbela, and came
himself forty days afterwards (24) with the rest of his forces Yet
were not the enemy aftrighted at his assault but met him in
arms; for their skill was that of warriors, but their boldness was
the boldness of robbers: when therefore it came to a pitched
battle, they put to flight Herod's left wing with their right one;
but Herod, wheeling about on the sudden from his own right wing,
came to their assistance, and both made his own left wing return
back from its flight, and fell upon the pursuers, and cooled
their courage, till they could not bear the attempts that were made
directly upon them, and so turned back and ran away.
3. But Herod followed them, and slew them as he followed them, and
destroyed a great part of them, till those that remained
were scattered beyond the river [Jordan;] and Galilee was freed
from the terrors they had been under, excepting from those
that remained, and lay concealed in caves, which required longer
time ere they could be conquered. In order to which Herod,
in the first place, distributed the fruits of their former labors
to the soldiers, and gave every one of them a hundred and fifty
drachmae of silver, and a great deal more to their commanders, and
sent them into their winter quarters. He also sent to his
youngest brother Pheroas, to take care of a good market for them,
where they might buy themselves provisions, and to build a
wall about Alexandrium; who took care of both those injunctions
accordingly.
4. In the mean time Antony abode at Athens, while Ventidius called
for Silo and Herod to come to the war against the
Parthians, but ordered them first to settle the affairs of Judea;
so Herod willingly dismissed Silo to go to Ventidius, but he made
an expedition himself against those that lay in the caves. Now these
caves were in the precipices of craggy mountains, and
could not be come at from any side, since they had only some winding
pathways, very narrow, by which they got up to them;
but the rock that lay on their front had beneath it valleys of a
vast depth, and of an almost perpendicular declivity; insomuch that
the king was doubtful for a long time what to do, by reason of a
kind of impossibility there was of attacking the place. Yet did
he at length make use of a contrivance that was subject to the utmost
hazard; for he let down the most hardy of his men in
chests, and set them at the mouths of the dens. Now these men slew
the robbers and their families, and when they made
resistance, they sent in fire upon them [and burnt them]; and as
Herod was desirous of saving some of them, he had
proclamation made, that they should come and deliver themselves
up to him; but not one of them came willingly to him; and of
those that were compelled to come, many preferred death to captivity.
And here a certain old man, the father of seven children,
whose children, together with their mother, desired him to give
them leave to go out, upon the assurance and right hand that
was offered them, slew them after the following manner: He ordered
every one of them to go out, while he stood himself at the
cave's mouth, and slew that son of his perpetually who went out.
Herod was near enough to see this sight, and his bowels of
compassion were moved at it, and he stretched out his right hand
to the old man, and besought him to spare his children; yet
did not he relent at all upon what he said, but over and above reproached
Herod on the lowness of his descent, and slew his
wife as well as his children; and when he had thrown their dead
bodies down the precipice, he at last threw himself down after
them.
5. By this means Herod subdued these caves, and the robbers that
were in them. He then left there a part of his army, as many
as he thought sufficient to prevent any sedition, and made Ptolemy
their general, and returned to Samaria; he led also with him
three thousand armed footmen, and six hundred horsemen, against
Antigonus. Now here those that used to raise tumults in
Galilee, having liberty so to do upon his departure, fell unexpectedly
upon Ptolemy, the general of his forces, and slew him; they
also laid the country waste, and then retired to the bogs, and to
places not easily to be found. But when Herod was informed of
this insurrection, he came to the assistance of the country immediately,
and destroyed a great number of the seditions, and
raised the sieges of all those fortresses they had besieged; he
also exacted the tribute of a hundred talents of his enemies, as a
penalty for the mutations they had made in the country.
6. By this time (the Parthians being already driven out of the country,
and Pacorus slain) Ventidius, by Antony's command, sent
a thousand horsemen, and two legions, as auxiliaries to Herod, against
Antigonus. Now Antigonus besought Macheras, who
was their general, by letter, to come to his assistance, and made
a great many mournful complaints about Herod's violence, and
about the injuries he did to the kingdom; and promised to give him
money for such his assistance; but he complied not with his
invitation to betray his trust, for he did not contemn him that
sent him, especially while Herod gave him more money [than the
other offered]. So he pretended friendship to Antigonus, but came
as a spy to discover his affairs; although he did not herein
comply with Herod, who dissuaded him from so doing. But Antigonus
perceived what his intentions were beforehand, and
excluded him out of the city, and defended himself against him as
against an enemy, from the walls; till Macheras was ashamed
of what he had done, and retired to Emmaus to Herod; and as he was
in a rage at his disappointment, he slew all the Jews
whom he met with, without sparing those that were for Herod, but
using them all as if they were for Antigonus.
7. Hereupon Herod was very angry at him, and was going to fight against
Macheras as his enemy; but he restrained his
indignation, and marched to Antony to accuse Macheras of maladministration.
But Macheras was made sensible of his
offenses, and followed after the king immediately, and earnestly
begged and obtained that he would be reconciled to him.
However, Herod did not desist from his resolution of going to Antony;
but when he heard that he was besieging Samosata (25)
with a great army, which is a strong city near to Euphrates, he
made the greater haste; as observing that this was a proper
opportunity for showing at once his courage, and for doing what
would greatly oblige Antony. Indeed, when he came, he soon
made an end of that siege, and slew a great number of the barbarians,
and took from them a large prey; insomuch that Antony,
who admired his courage formerly, did now admire it still more.
Accordingly, he heaped many more honors upon him, and gave
him more assured hopes that he should gain his kingdom; and now
king Antiochus was forced to deliver up Samosata.
CHAPTER 17.
THE DEATH OF JOSEPH [HEROD'S BROTHER] WHICH
HAD BEEN SIGNIFIED TO HEROD IN
DREAMS. HOW HEROD WAS PRESERVED TWICE AFTER A WONDERFUL MANNER.
HE CUTS OFF
THE HEAD OF PAPPUS, WHO WAS THE MURDERER OF HIS BROTHER AND
SENDS THAT HEAD TO
[HIS OTHER BROTHER] PHERORAS, AND IN NO LONG
TIME HE BESIEGES JERUSALEM AND
MARRIES MARIAMNE.
1. IN the mean time, Herod's affairs in Judea were in an ill state.
He had left his brother Joseph with full power, but had
charged him to make no attempts against Antigonus till his return;
for that Macheras would not be such an assistant as he could
depend on, as it appeared by what he had done already; but as soon
as Joseph heard that his brother was at a very great
distance, he neglected the charge he had received, and marched towards
Jericho with five cohorts, which Macheras sent with
him. This movement was intended for seizing on the corn, as it was
now in the midst of summer; but when his enemies attacked
him in the mountains, and in places which were difficult to pass,
he was both killed himself, as he was very bravely fighting in the
battle, and the entire Roman cohorts were destroyed; for these cohorts
were new-raised men, gathered out of Syria, and here
was no mixture of those called veteran soldiers among them, who
might have supported those that were unskillful in war.
2. This victory was not sufficient for Antigonus; but he proceeded
to that degree of rage, as to treat the dead body of Joseph
barbarously; for when he had got possession of the bodies of those
that were slain, he cut off his head, although his brother
Pheroras would have given fifty talents as a price of redemption
for it. And now the affairs of Galilee were put in such disorder
after this victory of Antigonus's, that those of Antigonus's party
brought the principal men that were on Herod's side to the lake,
and there drowned them. There was a great change made also in Idumea,
where Macheras was building a wall about one of
the fortresses, which was called Gittha. But Herod had not yet been
informed of these things; for after the taking of Samosata,
and when Antony had set Sosius over the affairs of Syria, and had
given him orders to assist Herod against Antigonus, he
departed into Egypt; but Sosius sent two legions before him into
Judea to assist Herod, and followed himself soon after with the
rest of his army.
3. Now when Herod was at Daphne, by Antioch, he had some dreams which
clearly foreboded his brother's death; and as he
leaped out of his bed in a disturbed manner, there came messengers
that acquainted him with that calamity. So when he had
lamented this misfortune for a while, he put off the main part of
his mourning, and made haste to march against his enemies; and
when he had performed a march that was above his strength, and was
gone as far as Libanus, he got him eight hundred men of
those that lived near to that mountain as his assistants, and joined
with them one Roman legion, with which, before it was day,
he made an irruption into Galilee, and met his enemies, and drove
them back to the place which they had left. He also made an
immediate and continual attack upon the fortress. Yet was he forced
by a most terrible storm to pitch his camp in the
neighboring villages before he could take it. But when, after a
few days' time, the second legion, that came from Antony, joined
themselves to him, the enemy were aftrighted at his power, and left
their fortifications ill the night time.
4. After this he marched through Jericho, as making what haste he
could to be avenged on his brother's murderers; where
happened to him a providential sign, out of which, when he had unexpectedly
escaped, he had the reputation of being very dear
to God; for that evening there feasted with him many of the principal
men; and after that feast was over, and all the guests were
gone out, the house fell down immediately. And as he judged this
to be a common signal of what dangers he should undergo,
and how he should escape them in the war that he was going about,
he, in the morning, set forward with his army, when about
six thousand of his enemies came running down from the mountains,
and began to fight with those in his forefront; yet durst they
not be so very bold as to engage the Romans hand to hand, but threw
stones and darts at them at a distance; by which means
they wounded a considerable number; in which action Herod's own
side was wounded with a dart.
5. Now as Antigonus had a mind to appear to exceed Herod, not only
in the courage, but in the number of his men, he sent
Pappus, one of his companions, with an army against Samaria, whose
fortune it was to oppose Macheras; but Herod overran
the enemy's country, and demolished five little cities, and destroyed
two thousand men that were in them, and burned their
houses, and then returned to his camp; but his head-quarters were
at the village called Cana.
6. Now a great multitude of Jews resorted to him every day, both
out of Jericho and the other parts of the country. Some were
moved so to do out of their hatred to Antigonus, and some out of
regard to the glorious actions Herod had done; but others
were led on by an unreasonable desire of change; so he fell upon
them immediately. As for Pappus and his party, they were not
terrified either at their number or at their zeal, but marched out
with great alacrity to fight them; and it came to a close fight.
Now other parts of their army made resistance for a while; but Herod,
running the utmost hazard, out of the rage he was in at
the murder of his brother, that he might be avenged on those that
had been the authors of it, soon beat those that opposed him;
and after he had beaten them, he always turned his force against
those that stood to it still, and pursued them all; so that a great
slaughter was made, while some were forced back into that village
whence they came out; he also pressed hard upon the
hindermost, and slew a vast number of them; he also fell into the
village with the enemy, where every house was filled with
armed men, and the upper rooms were crowded above with soldiers
for their defense; and when he had beaten those that were
on the outside, he pulled the houses to pieces, and plucked out
those that were within; upon many he had the roofs shaken
down, whereby they perished by heaps; and as for those that fled
out of the ruins, the soldiers received them with their swords
in their hands; and the multitude of those slain and lying on heaps
was so great, that the conquerors could not pass along the
roads. Now the enemy could not bear this blow, so that when the
multitude of them which was gathered together saw that
those in the village were slain, they dispersed themselves, and
fled away; upon the confidence of which victory, Herod had
marched immediately to Jerusalem, unless he tad been hindered by
the depth of winter's [coming on]. This was the impediment
that lay in the way of this his entire glorious progress, and was
what hindered Antigonus from being now conquered, who was
already disposed to forsake the city.
7. Now when at the evening Herod had already dismissed his friends
to refresh themselves after their fatigue, and when he was
gone himself, while he was still hot in his armor, like a common
soldier, to bathe himself, and had but one servant that attended
him, and before he was gotten into the bath, one of the enemies
met him in the face with a sword in his hand, and then a
second, and then a third, and after that more of them; these were
men who had run away out of the battle into the bath in their
armor, and they had lain there for some time in, great terror, and
in privacy; and when they saw the king, they trembled for fear,
and ran by him in a flight, although he was naked, and endeavored
to get off into the public road. Now there was by chance
nobody else at hand that might seize upon these men; and for Herod,
he was contented to have come to no harm himself, so
that they all got away in safety.
8. But on the next day Herod had Pappus's head cut off, who was the
general for Antigonus, and was slain in the battle, and
sent it to his brother Pheroras, by way of punishment for their
slain brother; for he was the man that slew Joseph. Now as
winter was going off, Herod marched to Jerusalem, and brought his
army to the wall of it; this was the third year since he had
been made king at Rome; so he pitched his camp before the temple,
for on that side it might be besieged, and there it was that
Pompey took the city. So he parted the work among the army, and
demolished the suburbs, end raised three banks, and gave
orders to have towers built upon those banks, and left the most
laborious of his acquaintance at the works. But he went himself
to Samaria, to take the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus,
to wife, who had been betrothed to him before, as we
have already said; and thus he accomplished this by the by, during
the siege of the city, for he had his enemies in great contempt
already.
9. When he had thus married Mariamne, he came back to Jerusalem with
a greater army. Sosius also joined him with a large
army, both of horsemen and footmen, which he sent before him through
the midland parts, while he marched himself along
Phoenicia; and when the whole army was gotten together, which were
eleven regiments of footmen, and six thousand
horsemen, besides the Syrian auxiliaries, which were no small part
of the army, they pitched their camp near to the north wall.
Herod's dependence was upon the decree of the senate, by which he
was made king; and Sosius relied upon Antony, who sent
the army that was under him to Herod's assistance.
CHAPTER 18.
HOW HEROD AND SOSIUS TOOK JERUSALEM BY FORCE; AND WHAT DEATH
ANTIGONUS CAME
TO. ALSO CONCERNING CLEOPATRA'S AVARICIOUS TEMPER.
1. NOW the multitude of the Jews that were in the city were divided
into several factions; for the people that crowded about
the temple, being the weaker part of them, gave it out that, as
the times were, he was the happiest and most religious man who
should die first. But as to the more bold and hardy men, they got
together in bodies, and fell a robbing others after various
manners, and these particularly plundered the places that were about
the city, and this because there was no food left either for
the horses or the men; yet some of the warlike men, who were used
to fight regularly, were appointed to defend the city during
the siege, and these drove those that raised the banks away from
the wall; and these were always inventing some engine or
another to be a hinderance to the engines of the enemy; nor had
they so much success any way as in the mines under ground.
2. Now as for the robberies which were committed, the king contrived
that ambushes should be so laid, that they might restrain
their excursions; and as for the want of provisions, he provided
that they should be brought to them from great distances. He
was also too hard for the Jews, by the Romans' skill in the art
of war; although they were bold to the utmost degree, now they
durst not come to a plain battle with the Romans, which was certain
death; but through their mines under ground they would
appear in the midst of them on the sudden, and before they could
batter down one wall, they built them another in its stead; and
to sum up all at once, they did not show any want either of painstaking
or of contrivances, as having resolved to hold out to the
very last. Indeed, though they had so great an army lying round
about them, they bore a siege of five months, till some of
Herod's chosen men ventured to get upon the wall, and fell into
the city, as did Sosius's centurions after them; and now they
first of all seized upon what was about the temple; and upon the
pouring in of the army, there was slaughter of vast multitudes
every where, by reason of the rage the Romans were in at the length
of this siege, and by reason that the Jews who were about
Herod earnestly endeavored that none of their adversaries might
remain; so they were cut to pieces by great multitudes, as they
were crowded together in narrow streets, and in houses, or were
running away to the temple; nor was there any mercy showed
either to infants, or to the aged, or to the weaker sex; insomuch
that although the king sent about and desired them to spare the
people, nobody could be persuaded to withhold their right hand from
slaughter, but they slew people of all ages, like madmen.
Then it was that Antigonus, without any regard to his former or
to his present fortune, came down from the citadel, and fell at
Sosius's feet, who without pitying him at all, upon the change of
his condition, laughed at him beyond measure, and called him
Antigona. (26) Yet did he not treat him like a woman, or let him
go free, but put him into bonds, and kept him in custody.
3. But Herod's concern at present, now he had gotten his enemies
under his power, was to restrain the zeal of his foreign
auxiliaries; for the multitude of the strange people were very eager
to see the temple, and what was sacred in the holy house
itself; but the king endeavored to restrain them, partly by his
exhortations, partly by his threatenings, nay, partly by force, as
thinking the victory worse than a defeat to him, if any thing that
ought not to be seen were seen by them. He also forbade, at the
same time, the spoiling of the city, asking Sosius in the most earnest
manner, whether the Romans, by thus emptying the city of
money and men, had a mind to leave him king of a desert, - and told
him that he judged the dominion of the habitable earth too
small a compensation for the slaughter of so many citizens. And
when Sosius said that it was but just to allow the soldiers this
plunder as a reward for what they suffered during the siege, Herod
made answer, that he would give every one of the soldiers a
reward out of his own money. So he purchased the deliverance of
his country, and performed his promises to them, and made
presents after a magnificent manner to each soldier, and proportionably
to their commanders, and with a most royal bounty to
Sosius himself, whereby nobody went away but in a wealthy condition.
Hereupon Sosius dedicated a crown of gold to God,
and then went away from Jerusalem, leading Antigonus away in bonds
to Antony; then did the axe bring him to his end, (27)
who still had a fond desire of life, and some frigid hopes of it
to the last, but by his cowardly behavior well deserved to die by it.
4. Hereupon king Herod distinguished the multitude that was in the
city; and for those that were of his side, he made them still
more his friends by the honors he conferred on them; but for those
of Antigonus's party, he slew them; and as his money ran
low, he turned all the ornaments he had into money, and sent it
to Antony, and to those about him. Yet could he not hereby
purchase an exemption from all sufferings; for Antony was now bewitched
by his love to Cleopatra, and was entirely
conquered by her charms. Now Cleopatra had put to death all her
kindred, till no one near her in blood remained alive, and
after that she fell a slaying those no way related to her. So she
calumniated the principal men among the Syrians to Antony, and
persuaded him to have them slain, that so she might easily gain
to be mistress of what they had; nay, she extended her
avaricious humor to the Jews and Arabians, and secretly labored
to have Herod and Malichus, the kings of both those nations,
slain by his order.
5. Now is to these her injunctions to Antony, he complied in part;
for though he esteemed it too abominable a thing to kill such
good and great kings, yet was he thereby alienated from the friendship
he had for them. He also took away a great deal of their
country; nay, even the plantation of palm trees at Jericho, where
also grows the balsam tree, and bestowed them upon her; as
also all the cities on this side the river Eleutherus, Tyre and
Sidon (28) excepted. And when she was become mistress of these,
and had conducted Antony in his expedition against the Parthians
as far as Euphrates, she came by Apamia and Damascus into
Judea and there did Herod pacify her indignation at him by large
presents. He also hired of her those places that had been torn
away from his kingdom, at the yearly rent of two hundred talents.
He conducted her also as far as Pelusium, and paid her all the
respects possible. Now it was not long after this that Antony was
come back from Parthia, and led with him Artabazes,
Tigranes's son, captive, as a present for Cleopatra; for this Parthian
was presently given her, with his money, and all the prey
that was taken with him.
CHAPTER 19.
HOW ANTONY AT THE PERSUASION OF CLEOPATRA
SENT HEROD TO FIGHT AGAINST THE
ARABIANS; AND NOW AFTER SEVERAL BATTLES, HE AT LENGTH
GOT THE VICTORY. AS ALSO
CONCERNING A GREAT EARTHQUAKE.
1. NOW when the war about Actium was begun, Herod prepared to come
to the assistance of Antony, as being already freed
from his troubles in Judea, and having gained Hyrcania, which was
a place that was held by Antigonus's sister. However, he
was cunningly hindered from partaking of the hazards that Antony
went through by Cleopatra; for since, as we have already
noted, she had laid a plot against the kings [of Judea and Arabia],
she prevailed with Antony to commit the war against the
Arabians to Herod; that so, if he got the better, she might become
mistress of Arabia, or, if he were worsted, of Judea; and that
she might destroy one of those kings by the other.
2. However, this contrivance tended to the advantage of Herod; for
at the very first he took hostages from the enemy, and got
together a great body of horse, and ordered them to march against
them about Diespous; and he conquered that army, although
it fought resolutely against him. After which defeat, the Arabians
were in great motion, and assembled themselves together at
Kanatha, a city of Celesyria, in vast multitudes, and waited for
the Jews. And when Herod was come thither, he tried to
manage this war with particular prudence, and gave orders that they
should build a wall about their camp; yet did not the
multitude comply with those orders, but were so emboldened by their
foregoing victory, that they presently attacked the
Arabians, and beat them at the first onset, and then pursued them;
yet were there snares laid for Herod in that pursuit; while
Athenio, who was one of Cleopatra's generals, and always an antagonist
to Herod, sent out of Kanatha the men of that country
against him; for, upon this fresh onset, the Arabians took courage,
and returned back, and both joined their numerous forces
about stony places, that were hard to be gone over, and there put
Herod's men to the rout, and made a great slaughter of them;
but those that escaped out of the battle fled to Ormiza, where the
Arabians surrounded their camp, and took it, with all the men
in it.
3. In a little time after this calamity, Herod came to bring them
succors; but he came too late. Now the occasion of that blow
was this, that the officers would not obey orders; for had not the
fight begun so suddenly, Athenio had not found a proper
season for the snares he laid for Herod: however, he was even with
the Arabians afterward, and overran their country, and did
them more harm than their single victory could compensate. But as
he was avenging himself on his enemies, there fell upon him
another providential calamity; for in the seventh (29) year of his
reign, when the war about Actium was at the height, at the
beginning of the spring, the earth was shaken, and destroyed an
immense number of cattle, with thirty thousand men; but the
army received no harm, because it lay in the open air. In the mean
time, the fame of this earthquake elevated the Arabians to
greater courage, and this by augmenting it to a fabulous height,
as is constantly the case in melancholy accidents, and pretending
that all Judea was overthrown. Upon this supposal, therefore, that
they should easily get a land that was destitute of inhabitants
into their power, they first sacrificed those ambassadors who were
come to them from the Jews, and then marched into Judea
immediately. Now the Jewish nation were affrighted at this invasion,
and quite dispirited at the greatness of their calamities one
after another; whom yet Herod got together, and endeavored to encourage
to defend themselves by the following speech which
he made to them:
4. "The present dread you are under seems to me to have seized upon
you very unreasonably. It is true, you might justly be
dismayed at that providential chastisement which hath befallen you;
but to suffer yourselves to be equally terrified at the invasion
of men is unmanly. As for myself, I am so far from being aftrighted
at our enemies after this earthquake, that I imagine that God
hath thereby laid a bait for the Arabians, that we may be avenged
on them; for their present invasion proceeds more from our
accidental misfortunes, than that they have any great dependence
on their weapons, or their own fitness for action. Now that
hope which depends not on men's own power, but on others' ill success,
is a very ticklish thing; for there is no certainty among
men, either in their bad or good fortunes; but we may easily observe
that fortune is mutable, and goes from one side to another;
and this you may readily learn from examples among yourselves; for
when you were once victors in the former fight, your
enemies overcame you at last; and very likely it will now happen
so, that these who think themselves sure of beating you will
themselves be beaten. For when men are very confident, they are
not upon their guard, while fear teaches men to act with
caution; insomuch that I venture to prove from your very timorousness
that you ought to take courage; for when you were more
bold than you ought to have been, and than I would have had you,
and marched on, Athenio's treachery took place; but your
present slowness and seeming dejection of mind is to me a pledge
and assurance of victory. And indeed it is proper beforehand
to be thus provident; but when we come to action, we ought to erect
our minds, and to make our enemies, be they ever so
wicked, believe that neither any human, no, nor any providential
misfortune, can ever depress the courage of Jews while they
are alive; nor will any of them ever overlook an Arabian, or suffer
such a one to become lord of his good things, whom he has
in a manner taken captive, and that many times also. And do not
you disturb yourselves at the quaking of inanimate creatures,
nor do you imagine that this earthquake is a sign of another calamity;
for such affections of the elements are according to the
course of nature, nor does it import any thing further to men, than
what mischief it does immediately of itself. Perhaps there may
come some short sign beforehand in the case of pestilences, and
famines, and earthquakes; but these calamities themselves
have their force limited by themselves [without foreboding any other
calamity]. And indeed what greater mischief can the war,
though it should be a violent one, do to us than the earthquake
hath done? Nay, there is a signal of our enemies' destruction
visible, and that a very great one also; and this is not a natural
one, nor derived from the hand of foreigners neither, but it is this,
that they have barbarously murdered our ambassadors, contrary to
the common law of mankind; and they have destroyed so
many, as if they esteemed them sacrifices for God, in relation to
this war. But they will not avoid his great eye, nor his invincible
right hand; and we shall be revenged of them presently, in case
we still retain any of the courage of our forefathers, and rise up
boldly to punish these covenant-breakers. Let every one therefore
go on and fight, not so much for his wife or his children, or
for the danger his country is in, as for these ambassadors of ours;
those dead ambassadors will conduct this war of ours better
than we ourselves who are alive. And if you will be ruled by me,
I will myself go before you into danger; for you know this well
enough, that your courage is irresistible, unless you hurt yourselves
by acting rashly. (30)
5. When Herod had encouraged them by this speech, and he saw with
what alacrity they went, he offered sacrifice to God; and
after that sacrifice, he passed over the river Jordan with his army,
and pitched his camp about Philadelphia, near the enemy, and
about a fortification that lay between them. He then shot at them
at a distance, and was desirous to come to an engagement
presently; for some of them had been sent beforehand to seize upon
that fortification: but the king sent some who immediately
beat them out of the fortification, while he himself went in the
forefront of the army, which he put in battle-array every day, and
invited the Arabians to fight. But as none of them came out of their
camp, for they were in a terrible fright, and their general,
Elthemus, was not able to say a word for fear, - so Herod came upon
them, and pulled their fortification to pieces, by which
means they were compelled to come out to fight, which they did in
disorder, and so that the horsemen and foot-men were
mixed together. They were indeed superior to the Jews in number,
but inferior in their alacrity, although they were obliged to
expose themselves to danger by their very despair of victory.
6. Now while they made opposition, they had not a great number slain;
but as soon as they turned their backs, a great many
were trodden to pieces by the Jews, and a great many by themselves,
and so perished, till five thousand were fallen down dead
in their flight, while the rest of the multitude prevented their
immediate death, by crowding into the fortification. Herod
encompassed these around, and besieged them; and while they were
ready to be taken by their enemies in arms, they had
another additional distress upon them, which was thirst and want
of water; for the king was above hearkening to their
ambassadors; and when they offered five hundred talents, as the
price of their redemption, he pressed still harder upon them.
And as they were burnt up by their thirst, they came out and voluntarily
delivered themselves up by multitudes to the Jews, till in
five days' time four thousand of them were put into bonds; and on
the sixth day the multitude that were left despaired of saving
themselves, and came out to fight: with these Herod fought, and
slew again about seven thousand, insomuch that he punished
Arabia so severely, and so far extinguished the spirits of the men,
that he was chosen by the nation for their ruler.
CHAPTER 20.
HEROD IS CONFIRMED IN HIS KINGDOM BY CAESAR, AND CULTIVATES
A FRIENDSHIP WITH THE
EMPEROR BY MAGNIFICENT PRESENTS; WHILE CAESAR RETURNS HIS KINDNESS
BY BESTOWING
ON HIM THAT PART OF HIS KINGDOM WHICH HAD BEEN TAKEN AWAY
FROM IT BY CLEOPATRA
WITH THE ADDITION OF ZENODORUSS COUNTRY ALSO.
1. BUT now Herod was under immediate concern about a most important
affair, on account of his friendship with Antony, who
was already overcome at Actium by Caesar; yet he was more afraid
than hurt; for Caesar did not think he had quite undone
Antony, while Herod continued his assistance to him. However, the
king resolved to expose himself to dangers: accordingly he
sailed to Rhodes, where Caesar then abode, and came to him without
his diadem, and in the habit and appearance of a private
person, but in his behavior as a king. So he concealed nothing of
the truth, but spike thus before his face: "O Caesar, as I was
made king of the Jews by Antony, so do I profess that I have used
my royal authority in the best manner, and entirely for his
advantage; nor will I conceal this further, that thou hadst certainly
found me in arms, and an inseparable companion of his, had
not the Arabians hindered me. However, I sent him as many auxiliaries
as I was able, and many ten thousand [cori] of corn.
Nay, indeed, I did not desert my benefactor after the bow that was
given him at Actium; but I gave him the best advice I was
able, when I was no longer able to assist him in the war; and I
told him that there was but one way of recovering his affairs, and
that was to kill Cleopatra; and I promised him that, if she were
once dead, I would afford him money and walls for his security,
with an army and myself to assist him in his war against thee: but
his affections for Cleopatra stopped his ears, as did God
himself also who hath bestowed the government on thee. I own myself
also to be overcome together with him; and with his last
fortune I have laid aside my diadem, and am come hither to thee,
having my hopes of safety in thy virtue; and I desire that thou
wilt first consider how faithful a friend, and not whose friend,
I have been."
2. Caesar replied to him thus: "Nay, thou shalt not only be in safety,
but thou shalt be a king; and that more firmly than thou
wast before; for thou art worthy to reign over a great many subjects,
by reason of the fastness of thy friendship; and do thou
endeavor to be equally constant in thy friendship to me, upon my
good success, which is what I depend upon from the
generosity of thy disposition. However, Antony hath done well in
preferring Cleopatra to thee; for by this means we have
gained thee by her madness, and thus thou hast begun to be my friend
before I began to be thine; on which account Quintus
Didius hath written to me that thou sentest him assistance against
the gladiators. I do therefore assure thee that I will confirm the
kingdom to thee by decree: I shall also endeavor to do thee some
further kindness hereafter, that thou mayst find no loss in the
want of Antony."
3. When Caesar had spoken such obliging things to the king, and had
put the diadem again about his head, he proclaimed what
he had bestowed on him by a decree, in which he enlarged in the
commendation of the man after a magnificent manner.
Whereupon Herod obliged him to be kind to him by the presents he
gave him, and he desired him to forgive Alexander, one of
Antony's friends, who was become a supplicant to him. But Caesar's
anger against him prevailed, and he complained of the
many and very great offenses the man whom he petitioned for had
been guilty of; and by that means he rejected his petition.
After this Caesar went for Egypt through Syria, when Herod received
him with royal and rich entertainments; and then did he
first of all ride along with Caesar, as he was reviewing his army
about Ptolemais, and feasted him with all his friends, and then
distributed among the rest of the army what was necessary to feast
them withal. He also made a plentiful provision of water for
them, when they were to march as far as Pelusium, through a dry
country, which he did also in like manner at their return
thence; nor were there any necessaries wanting to that army. It
was therefore the opinion, both of Caesar and of his soldiers,
that Herod's kingdom was too small for those generous presents he
made them; for which reason, when Caesar was come into
Egypt, and Cleopatra and Antony were dead, he did not only bestow
other marks of honor upon him, but made an addition to
his kingdom, by giving him not only the country which had been taken
from him by Cleopatra, but besides that, Gadara, and
Hippos, and Samaria; and moreover, of the maritime cities, Gaza
(31) and Anthedon, and Joppa, and Strato's Tower. He also
made him a present of four hundred Galls [Galatians] as a guard
for his body, which they had been to Cleopatra before. Nor
did any thing so strongly induce Caesar to make these presents as
the generosity of him that received them.
4. Moreover, after the first games at Actium, he added to his kingdom
both the region called Trachonitis, and what lay in its
neighborhood, Batanea, and the country of Auranitis; and that on
the following occasion: Zenodorus, who had hired the house
of Lysanias, had all along sent robbers out of Trachonitis among
the Damascenes; who thereupon had recourse to Varro, the
president of Syria, and desired of him that he would represent the
calamity they were in to Caesar. When Caesar was
acquainted with it, he sent back orders that this nest of robbers
should be destroyed. Varro therefore made an expedition
against them, and cleared the land of those men, and took it away
from Zenodorus. Caesar did also afterward bestow it on
Herod, that it might not again become a receptacle for those robbers
that had come against Damascus. He also made him a
procurator of all Syria, and this on the tenth year afterward, when
he came again into that province; and this was so established,
that the other procurators could not do any thing in the administration
without his advice: but when Zenodorus was dead,
Caesar bestowed on him all that land which lay between Trachonitis
and Galilee. Yet, what was still of more consequence to
Herod, he was beloved by Caesar next after Agrippa, and by Agrippa
next after Caesar; whence he arrived at a very great
degree of felicity. Yet did the greatness of his soul exceed it,
and the main part of his magnanimity was extended to the
promotion of piety.
CHAPTER 21.
OF THE [TEMPLE AND] CITIES THAT WERE BUILT BY HEROD
AND ERECTED FROM THE VERY
FOUNDATIONS; AS ALSO OF THOSE OTHER EDIFICES THAT WERE ERECTED
BY HIM; AND WHAT
MAGNIFICENCE HE SHOWED TO FOREIGNERS; AND
HOW FORTUNE WAS IN ALL THINGS
FAVORABLE TO HIM.
1. ACCORDINGLY, in the fifteenth year of his reign, Herod rebuilt
the temple, and encompassed a piece of land about it with
a wall, which land was twice as large as that before enclosed. The
expenses he laid out upon it were vastly large also, and the
riches about it were unspeakable. A sign of which you have in the
great cloisters that were erected about the temple, and the
citadel which was on its north side. The cloisters he built from
the foundation, but the citadel (32) he repaired at a vast expense;
nor was it other than a royal palace, which he called Antonia, in
honor of Antony. He also built himself a palace in the Upper
city, containing two very large and most beautiful apartments; to
which the holy house itself could not be compared [in
largeness]. The one apartment he named Caesareum, and the other
Agrippium, from his [two great] friends.
2. Yet did he not preserve their memory by particular buildings only,
with their names given them, but his generosity went as far
as entire cities; for when he had built a most beautiful wall round
a country in Samaria, twenty furlongs long, and had brought six
thousand inhabitants into it, and had allotted to it a most fruitful
piece of land, and in the midst of this city, thus built, had erected
a very large temple to Caesar, and had laid round about it a portion
of sacred land of three furlongs and a half, he called the city
Sebaste, from Sebastus, or Augustus, and settled the affairs of
the city after a most regular manner.
3. And when Caesar had further bestowed upon him another additional
country, he built there also a temple of white marble,
hard by the fountains of Jordan: the place is called Panium, where
is a top of a mountain that is raised to an immense height, and
at its side, beneath, or at its bottom, a dark cave opens itself;
within which there is a horrible precipice, that descends abruptly
to a vast depth; it contains a mighty quantity of water, which is
immovable; and when any body lets down any thing to measure
the depth of the earth beneath the water, no length of cord is sufficient
to reach it. Now the fountains of Jordan rise at the roots
of this cavity outwardly; and, as some think, this is the utmost
origin of Jordan: but we shall speak of that matter more
accurately in our following history.
4. But the king erected other places at Jericho also, between the
citadel Cypros and the former palace, such as were better and
more useful than the former for travelers, and named them from the
same friends of his. To say all at once, there was not any
place of his kingdom fit for the purpose that was permitted to be
without somewhat that was for Caesar's honor; and when he
had filled his own country with temples, he poured out the like
plentiful marks of his esteem into his province, and built many
cities which he called Cesareas.
5. And when he observed that there was a city by the sea-side that
was much decayed, (its name was Strato's Tower,) but that
the place, by the happiness of its situation, was capable of great
improvements from his liberality, he rebuilt it all with white
stone, and adorned it with several most splendid palaces, wherein
he especially demonstrated his magnanimity; for the case was
this, that all the sea-shore between Dora and Joppa, in the middle,
between which this city is situated, had no good haven,
insomuch that every one that sailed from Phoenicia for Egypt was
obliged to lie in the stormy sea, by reason of the south winds
that threatened them; which wind, if it blew but a little fresh,
such vast waves are raised, and dash upon the rocks, that upon
their retreat the sea is in a great ferment for a long way. But
the king, by the expenses he was at, and the liberal disposal of
them, overcame nature, and built a haven larger than was the Pyrecum
(33) [at Athens]; and in the inner retirements of the
water he built other deep stations [for the ships also].
6. Now although the place where he built was greatly opposite to
his purposes, yet did he so fully struggle with that difficulty,
that the firmness of his building could not easily be conquered
by the sea; and the beauty and ornament of the works were such,
as though he had not had any difficulty in the operation; for when
he had measured out as large a space as we have before
mentioned, he let down stones into twenty fathom water, the greatest
part of which were fifty feet in length, and nine in depth,
and ten in breadth, and some still larger. But when the haven was
filled up to that depth, he enlarged that wall which was thus
already extant above the sea, till it was two hundred feet wide;
one hundred of which had buildings before it, in order to break
the force of the waves, whence it was called Procumatia, or the
first breaker of the waves; but the rest of the space was under
a stone wall that ran round it. On this wall were very large towers,
the principal and most beautiful of which was called
Drusium, from Drusus, who was son-in-law to Caesar.
7. There were also a great number of arches, where the mariners dwelt;
and all the places before them round about was a large
valley, or walk, for a quay [or landing-place] to those that came
on shore; but the entrance was on the north, because the north
wind was there the most gentle of all the winds. At the mouth of
the haven were on each side three great Colossi, supported by
pillars, where those Colossi that are on your left hand as you sail
into the port are supported by a solid tower; but those on the
right hand are supported by two upright stones joined together,
which stones were larger than that tower which was on the
other side of the entrance. Now there were continual edifices joined
to the haven, which were also themselves of white stone;
and to this haven did the narrow streets of the city lead, and were
built at equal distances one from another. And over against
the mouth of the haven, upon an elevation, there was a temple for
Caesar, which was excellent both in beauty and largeness;
and therein was a Colossus of Caesar, not less than that of Jupiter
Olympius, which it was made to resemble. The other
Colossus of Rome was equal to that of Juno at Argos. So he dedicated
the city to the province, and the haven to the sailors
there; but the honor of the building he ascribed to Caesar, (34)
and named it Cesarea accordingly.
8. He also built the other edifices, the amphitheater, and theater,
and market-place, in a manner agreeable to that denomination;
and appointed games every fifth year, and called them, in like manner,
Caesar's Games; and he first himself proposed the
largest prizes upon the hundred ninety-second olympiad; in which
not only the victors themselves, but those that came next to
them, and even those that came in the third place, were partakers
of his royal bounty. He also rebuilt Anthedon, a city that lay
on the coast, and had been demolished in the wars, and named it
Agrippeum. Moreover, he had so very great a kindness for
his friend Agrippa, that he had his name engraved upon that gate
which he had himself erected in the temple.
9. Herod was also a lover of his father, if any other person ever
was so; for he made a monument for his father, even that city
which he built in the finest plain that was in his kingdom, and
which had rivers and trees in abundance, and named it Antipatris.
He also built a wall about a citadel that lay above Jericho, and
was a very strong and very fine building, and dedicated it to his
mother, and called it Cypros. Moreover, he dedicated a tower that
was at Jerusalem, and called it by the name of his brother
Phasaelus, whose structure, largeness, and magnificence we shall
describe hereafter. He also built another city in the valley that
leads northward from Jericho, and named it Phasaelis.
10. And as he transmitted to eternity his family and friends, so
did he not neglect a memorial for himself, but built a fortress
upon a mountain towards Arabia, and named it from himself, Herodium
(35) and he called that hill that was of the shape of a
woman's breast, and was sixty furlongs distant from Jerusalem, by
the same name. He also bestowed much curious art upon it,
with great ambition, and built round towers all about the top of
it, and filled up the remaining space with the most costly palaces
round about, insomuch that not only the sight of the inner apartments
was splendid, but great wealth was laid out on the
outward walls, and partitions, and roofs also. Besides this, he
brought a mighty quantity of water from a great distance, and at
vast charges, and raised an ascent to it of two hundred steps of
the whitest marble, for the hill was itself moderately high, and
entirely factitious. He also built other palaces about the roots
of the hill, sufficient to receive the furniture that was put into them,
with his friends also, insomuch that, on account of its containing
all necessaries, the fortress might seem to be a city, but, by the
bounds it had, a palace only.
11. And when he had built so much, he showed the greatness of his
soul to no small number of foreign cities. He built palaces
for exercise at Tripoli, and Damascus, and Ptolemais; he built a
wall about Byblus, as also large rooms, and cloisters, and
temples, and market-places at Berytus and Tyre, with theatres at
Sidon and Damascus. He also built aqueducts for those
Laodiceans who lived by the sea-side; and for those of Ascalon he
built baths and costly fountains, as also cloisters round a
court, that were admirable both for their workmanship and largeness.
Moreover, he dedicated groves and meadows to some
people; nay, not a few cities there were who had lands of his donation,
as if they were parts of his own kingdom. He also
bestowed annual revenues, and those for ever also, on the settlements
for exercises, and appointed for them, as well as for the
people of Cos, that such rewards should never be wanting. He also
gave corn to all such as wanted it, and conferred upon
Rhodes large sums of money for building ships; and this he did in
many places, and frequently also. And when Apollo's temple
had been burnt down, he rebuilt it at his own charges, after a better
manner than it was before. What need I speak of the
presents he made to the Lycians and Samnians? or of his great liberality
through all Ionia? and that according to every body's
wants of them. And are not the Athenians, and Lacedemonians, and
Nicopolitans, and that Pergamus which is in Mysia, full of
donations that Herod presented them withal? And as for that large
open place belonging to Antioch in Syria, did not he pave it
with polished marble, though it were twenty furlongs long? and this
when it was shunned by all men before, because it was full
of dirt and filthiness, when he besides adorned the same place with
a cloister of the same length.
12. It is true, a man may say, these were favors peculiar to those
particular places on which he bestowed his benefits; but then
what favors he bestowed on the Eleans was a donation not only in
common to all Greece, but to all the habitable earth, as far
as the glory of the Olympic games reached. For when he perceived
that they were come to nothing, for want of money, and
that the only remains of ancient Greece were in a manner gone, he
not only became one of the combatants in that return of the
fifth-year games, which in his sailing to Rome he happened to be
present at, but he settled upon them revenues of money for
perpetuity, insomuch that his memorial as a combatant there can
never fail. It would be an infinite task if I should go over his
payments of people's debts, or tributes, for them, as he eased the
people of Phasaelis, of Batanea, and of the small cities about
Cilicia, of those annual pensions they before paid. However, the
fear he was in much disturbed the greatness of his soul, lest he
should be exposed to envy, or seem to hunt after greater filings
than he ought, while he bestowed more liberal gifts upon these
cities than did their owners themselves.
13. Now Herod had a body suited to his soul, and was ever a most
excellent hunter, where he generally had good success, by
the means of his great skill in riding horses; for in one day he
caught forty wild beasts: (36) that country breeds also bears, and
the greatest part of it is replenished with stags and wild asses.
He was also such a warrior as could not be withstood: many
men, therefore, there are who have stood amazed at his readiness
in his exercises, when they saw him throw the javelin directly
forward, and shoot the arrow upon the mark. And then, besides these
performances of his depending on his own strength of
mind and body, fortune was also very favorable to him; for he seldom
failed of success in his wars; and when he failed, he was
not himself the occasion of such failings, but he either vas betrayed
by some, or the rashness of his own soldiers procured his
defeat.
CHAPTER 22.
THE MURDER OF ARISTOBULUS AND HYRCANUS, THE HIGH PRIESTS,
AS ALSO OF MARIAMNE
THE QUEEN.
1. HOWEVER, fortune was avenged on Herod in his external great successes,
by raising him up domestical troubles; and he
began to have wild disorders in his family, on account of his wife,
of whom he was so very fond. For when he came to the
government, he sent away her whom he had before married when he
was a private person, and who was born at Jerusalem,
whose name was Doris, and married Mariamne, the daughter of Alexander,
the son of Aristobulus; on whose account
disturbances arose in his family, and that in part very soon, but
chiefly after his return from Rome. For, first of all, he expelled
Antipater the son of Doris, for the sake of his sons by Mariamne,
out of the city, and permitted him to come thither at no other
times than at the festivals. After this he slew his wife's grandfather,
Hyrcanus, when he was returned out of Parthin to him, under
this pretense, that he suspected him of plotting against him. Now
this Hyrcanus had been carried captive to Barzapharnes, when
he overran Syria; but those of his own country beyond Euphrates
were desirous he would stay with them, and this out of the
commiseration they had for his condition; and had he complied with
their desires, when they exhorted him not to go over the
river to lierod, he had not perished: but the marriage of his granddaughter
[to Herod] was his temptation; for as he relied upon
him, and was over-fond of his own country, he came back to it. Herod's
provocation was this, - not that Hyrcanus made any
attempt to gain the kingdom, but that it was fitter for him to be
their king than for Herod.
2. Now of the five children which Herod had by Mariamne, two of them
were daughters, and three were sons; and the
youngest of these sons was educated at Rome, and there died; but
the two eldest he treated as those of royal blood, on
account of the nobility of their mother, and because they were not
born till he was king. But then what was stronger than all this
was the love that he bare to Mariamne, and which inflamed him every
day to a great degree, and so far conspired with the
other motives, that he felt no other troubles, on account of her
he loved so entirely. But Mariamne's hatred to him was not
inferior to his love to her. She had indeed but too just a cause
of indignation from what he had done, while her boldness
proceeded from his affection to her; so she openly reproached him
with what he had done to her grandfather Hyrcanus, and to
her brother Aristobulus; for he had not spared this Aristobulus,
though he were but a child; for when he had given him the high
priesthood at the age of seventeen, he slew him quickly after he
had conferred that dignity upon him; but when Aristobulus had
put on the holy vestments, and had approached to the altar at a
festival, the multitude, in great crowds, fell into tears;
whereupon the child was sent by night to Jericho, and was there
dipped by the Galls, at Herod's command, in a pool till he was
drowned.
3. For these reasons Mariamne reproached Herod, and his sister and
mother, after a most contumelious manner, while he was
dumb on account of his affection for her; yet had the women great
indignation at her, and raised a calumny against her, that she
was false to his bed; which thing they thought most likely to move
Herod to anger. They also contrived to have many other
circumstances believed, in order to make the thing more credible,
and accused her of having sent her picture into Egypt to
Antony, and that her lust was so extravagant, as to have thus showed
herself, though she was absent, to a man that ran mad
after women, and to a man that had it in his power to use violence
to her. This charge fell like a thunderbolt upon Herod, and
put him into disorder; and that especially, because his love to
her occasioned him to be jealous, and because he considered
with himself that Cleopatra was a shrewd woman, and that on her
account Lysanias the king was taken off, as well as Malichus
the Arabian; for his fear did not only extend to the dissolving
of his marriage, but to the danger of his life.
4. When therefore he was about to take a journey abroad, he committed
his wife to Joseph, his sister Salome's husband, as to
one who would be faithful to him, and bare him good-will on account
of their kindred; he also gave him a secret injunction, that
if Antony slew him, he should slay her. But Joseph, without any
ill design, and only in order to demonstrate the king's love to his
wife, how he could not bear to think of being separated from her,
even by death itself, discovered this grand secret to her; upon
which, when Herod was come back, and as they talked together, and
he confirmed his love to her by many oaths, and assured
her that he had never such an affection for any other woman as he
had for her, - " Yes," says she, "thou didst, to be sure,
demonstrate thy love to me by the injunctions thou gavest Joseph,
when thou commandedst him to kill me." (37)
5. When he heard that this grand secret was discovered, he was like
a distracted man, and said that Joseph would never have
disclosed that injunction of his, unless he had debauched her. His
passion also made him stark mad, and leaping out of his bed,
he ran about the palace after a wild manner; at which time his sister
Salome took the opportunity also to blast her reputation,
and confirmed his suspicion about Joseph; whereupon, out of his
ungovernable jealousy and rage, he commanded both of them
to be slain immediately; but as soon as ever his passion was over,
he repented of what he had done, and as soon as his anger
was worn off, his affections were kindled again. And indeed the
flame of his desires for her was so ardent, that he could not
think she was dead, but would appear, under his disorders, to speak
to her as if she were still alive, till he were better instructed
by time, when his grief and trouble, now she was dead, appeared
as great as his affection had been for her while she was living.
CHAPTER 23.
CALUMNIES AGAINST THE SONS OF MARIAMNE. ANTIPATERIS PREFERRED
BEFORE THEM. THEY
ARE ACCUSED BEFORE CAESAR, AND HEROD IS RECONCILED TO THEM.
1. NOW Mariamne's sons were heirs to that hatred which had been borne
their mother; and when they considered the
greatness of Herod's crime towards her, they were suspicious of
him as of an enemy of theirs; and this first while they were
educated at Rome, but still more when they were returned to Judea.
This temper of theirs increased upon them as they grew up
to be men; and when they were Come to an age fit for marriage, the
one of them married their aunt Salome's daughter, which
Salome had been the accuser of their mother; the other married the
daughter of Archclaus, king of Cappadocia. And now they
used boldness in speaking, as well as bore hatred in their minds.
Now those that calumniated them took a handle from such
their boldness, and certain of them spake now more plainly to the
king that there were treacherous designs laid against him by
both his sons; and he that was son-in-law to Archelaus, relying
upon his father-in-law, was preparing to fly away, in order to
accuse Herod before Caesar; and when Herod's head had been long
enough filled with these calumnies, he brought Antipater,
whom he had by Doris, into favor again, as a defense to him against
his other sons, and began all the ways he possibly could to
prefer him before them.
2. But these sons were not able to bear this change in their affairs;
but when they saw him that was born of a mother of no
family, the nobility of their birth made them unable to contain
their indignation; but whensoever they were uneasy, they showed
the anger they had at it. And as these sons did day after day improve
in that their anger, Antipater already exercised all his own
abilities, which were very great, in flattering his father, and
in contriving many sorts of calumnies against his brethren, while he
told some stories of them himself, and put it upon other proper
persons to raise other stories against them, till at length he
entirely cut his brethren off from all hopes of succeeding to the
kingdom; for he was already publicly put into his father's will as
his successor. Accordingly, he was sent with royal ornaments, and
other marks of royalty, to Caesar, excepting the diadem. He
was also able in time to introduce his mother again into Mariamne's
bed. The two sorts of weapons he made use of against his
brethren were flattery and calumny, whereby he brought matters privately
to such a pass, that the king had thoughts of putting
his sons to death.
3. So the father drew Alexander as far as Rome, and. charged him
with an attempt of poisoning him before Caesar. Alexander
could hardly speak for lamentation; but having a judge that was
more skillful than Antipater, and more wise than Herod, he
modestly avoided laying any imputation upon his father, but with
great strength of reason confuted the calumnies laid against
him; and when he had demonstrated the innocency of his brother,
who was in the like danger with himself, he at last bewailed
the craftiness of Antipater, and the disgrace they were under. He
was enabled also to justify himself, not only by a clear
conscience, which he carried within him, but by his eloquence; for
he was a shrewd man in making speeches. And upon his
saying at last, that if his father objected this crime to them,
it was in his power to put them to death, he made all the audience
weep; and he brought Caesar to that pass, as to reject the accusations,
and to reconcile their father to them immediately. But
the conditions of this reconciliation were these, that they should
in all things be obedient to their father, and that he should have
power to leave the kingdom to which of them he pleased.
4. After this the king came back from Rome, and seemed to have forgiven
his sons upon these accusations; but still so that he
was not without his suspicions of them. They were followed by Antipater,
who was the fountain-head of those accusations; yet
did not he openly discover his hatred to them, as revering him that
had reconciled them. But as Herod sailed by Cilicia, he
touched at Eleusa, (38) where Archclaus treated them in the most
obliging manner, and gave him thanks for the deliverance of
his son-in-law, and was much pleased at their reconciliation; and
this the more, because he had formerly written to his friends at
Rome that they should be assisting to Alexander at his trial. So
he conducted Herod as far as Zephyrium, and made him
presents to the value of thirty talents.
5. Now when Herod was come to Jerusalem, he gathered the people together,
and presented to them his three sons, and gave
them an apologetic account of his absence, and thanked God greatly,
and thanked Caesar greatly also, for settling his house
when it was under disturbances, and had procured concord among his
sons, which was of greater consequence than the
kingdom itself, -" and which I will render still more firm; for
Caesar hath put into my power to dispose of the government, and
to appoint my successor. Accordingly, in way of requital for his
kindness, and in order to provide for mine own advantage, I do
declare that these three sons of mine shall be kings. And, in the
first place, I pray for the approbation of God to what I am
about; and, in the next place, I desire your approbation also. The
age of one of them, and the nobility of the other two, shall
procure them the succession. Nay, indeed, my kingdom is so large
that it may be sufficient for more kings. Now do you keep
those in their places whom Caesar hath joined, and their father
hath appointed; and do not you pay undue or unequal respects
to them, but to every one according to the prerogative of their
births; for he that pays such respects unduly, will thereby not
make him that is honored beyond what his age requires so joyful,
as he will make him that is dishonored sorrowful. As for the
kindred and friends that are to converse with them, I will appoint
them to each of them, and will so constitute them, that they
may be securities for their concord; as well knowing that the ill
tempers of those with whom they converse will produce quarrels
and contentions among them; but that if these with whom they converse
be of good tempers, they will preserve their natural
affections for one another. But still I desire that not these only,
but all the captains of my army, have for the present their hopes
placed on me alone; for I do not give away my kingdom to these my
sons, but give them royal honors only; whereby it will
come to pass that they will enjoy the sweet parts of government
as rulers themselves, but that the burden of administration will
rest upon myself whether I will or not. And let every one consider
what age I am of, how I have conducted my life, and what
piety I have exercised; for my age is not so great that men may
soon expect the end of my life; nor have I indulged such a
luxurious way of living as cuts men off when they are young; and
we have been so religious towards God, that we [have reason
to hope we] may arrive at a very great age. But for such as cultivate
a friendship with my sons, so as to aim at my destruction,
they shall be punished by me on their account. I am not one who
envy my own children, and therefore forbid men to pay them
great respect; but I know that such [extravagant] respects are the
way to make them insolent. And if every one that comes near
them does but revolve this in his mind, that if he prove a good
man, he shall receive a reward from me, but that if he prove
seditious, his ill-intended complaisance shall get him nothing from
him to whom it is shown, I suppose they will all be of my side,
that is, of my sons' side; for it will be for their advantage that
I reign, and that I be at concord with them. But do you, O my
good children, reflect upon the holiness of nature itself, by whose
means natural affection is preserved, even among wild beasts;
in the next place, reflect upon Caesar, who hath made this reconciliation
among us; and in the third place, reflect upon me, who
entreat you to do what I have power to command you, - continue brethren.
I give you royal garments, and royal honors; and I
pray to God to preserve what I have determined, in case you be at
concord one with another." When the king had thus spoken,
and had saluted every one of his sons after an obliging manner,
he dismissed the multitude; some of which gave their assent to
what he had said, and wished it might take effect accordingly; but
for those who wished for a change of affairs, they pretended
they did not so much as hear what he said.
CHAPTER 24.
THE MALICE OF ANTIPATER AND DORIS.
ALEXANDER IS VERY UNEASY ON GLAPHYRAS
ACCOUNT. HEROD PARDONS PHERORAS, WHOM HE SUSPECTED, AND SALOME
WHOM HE KNEW
TO MAKE MISCHIEF AMONG THEM. HEROD'S EUNUCHS ARE TORTURED
AND ALEXANDER IS
BOUND.
1. BUT now the quarrel that was between them still accompanied these
brethren when they parted, and the suspicions they had
one of the other grew worse. Alexander and Aristobulus were much
grieved that the privilege of the first-born was confirmed to
Antipater; as was Antipater very angry at his brethren that they
were to succeed him. But then this last being of a disposition
that was mutable and politic, he knew how to hold his tongue, and
used a great deal of cunning, and thereby concealed the
hatred he bore to them; while the former, depending on the nobility
of their births, had every thing upon their tongues which was
in their minds. Many also there were who provoked them further,
and many of their [seeming] friends insinuated themselves into
their acquaintance, to spy out what they did. Now every thing that
was said by Alexander was presently brought to Antipater,
and from Antipater it was brought to Herod with additions. Nor could
the young man say any thing in the simplicity of his heart,
without giving offense, but what he said was still turned to calumny
against him. And if he had been at any time a little free in his
conversation, great imputations were forged from the smallest occasions.
Antipater also was perpetually setting some to
provoke him to speak, that the lies he raised of him might seem
to have some foundation of truth; and if, among the many
stories that were given out, but one of them could be proved true,
that was supposed to imply the rest to be true also. And as
to Antipater's friends, they were all either naturally so cautious
in speaking, or had been so far bribed to conceal their thoughts,
that nothing of these grand secrets got abroad by their means. Nor
should one be mistaken if he called the life of Antipater a
mystery of wickedness; for he either corrupted Alexander's acquaintance
with money, or got into their favor by flatteries; by
which two means he gained all his designs, and brought them to betray
their master, and to steal away, and reveal what he
either did or said. Thus did he act a part very cunningly in all
points, and wrought himself a passage by his calumnies with the
greatest shrewdness; while he put on a face as if he were a kind
brother to Alexander and Aristobulus, but suborned other men
to inform of what they did to Herod. And when any thing was told
against Alexander, he would come in, and pretend [to be of
his side], and would begin to contradict what was said; but would
afterward contrive matters so privately, that the king should
have an indignation at him. His general aim was this, - to lay a
plot, and to make it believed that Alexander lay in wait to kill his
father; for nothing afforded so great a confirmation to these calumnies
as did Antipater's apologies for him.
2. By these methods Herod was inflamed, and as much as his natural
affection to the young men did every day diminish, so
much did it increase towards Antipater. The courtiers also inclined
to the same conduct, some of their own accord, and others
by the king's injunction, as particularly did Ptolemy, the king's
dearest friend, as also the king's brethren, and all his children; for
Antipater was all in all; and what was the bitterest part of all
to Alexander, Antipater's mother was also all in all; she was one
that gave counsel against them, and was more harsh than a step-mother,
and one that hated the queen's sons more than is usual
to hate sons-in-law. All men did therefore already pay their respects
to Antipater, in hopes of advantage; and it was the king's
command which alienated every body [from the brethren], he having
given this charge to his most intimate friends, that they
should not come near, nor pay any regard, to Alexander, or to his
friends. Herod was also become terrible, not only to his
domestics about the court, but to his friends abroad; for Caesar
had given such a privilege to no other king as he had given to
him, which was this, - that he might fetch back any one that fled
from him, even out of a city that was not under his own
jurisdiction. Now the young men were not acquainted with the calumnies
raised against them; for which reason they could not
guard themselves against them, but fell under them; for their father
did not make any public complaints against either of them;
though in a little time they perceived how things were by his coldness
to them, and by the great uneasiness he showed upon any
thing that troubled him. Antipater had also made their uncle Pheroras
to be their enemy, as well as their aunt Salome, while he
was always talking with her, as with a wife, and irritating her
against them. Moreover, Alexander's wife, Glaphyra, augmented
this hatred against them, by deriving her nobility and genealogy
[from great persons], and pretending that she was a lady
superior to all others in that kingdom, as being derived by her
father's side from Temenus, and by her mother's side from
Darius, the son of Hystaspes. She also frequently reproached Herod's
sister and wives with the ignobility of their descent; and
that they were every one chosen by him for their beauty, but not
for their family. Now those wives of his were not a few; it
being of old permitted to the Jews to marry many wives, (39) and
this king delighting in many; all which hated Alexander, on
account of Glaphyra's boasting and reproaches.
3. Nay, Aristobulus had raised a quarrel between himself and Salome,
who was his mother-in-law, besides the anger he had
conceived at Glaphyra's reproaches; for he perpetually upbraided
his wife with the meanness of her family, and complained,
that as he had married a woman of a low family, so had his brother
Alexander married one of royal blood. At this Salome's
daughter wept, and told it her with this addition, that Alexander
threatened the mothers of his other brethren, that when he
should come to the crown, he would make them weave with their maidens,
and would make those brothers of his country
schoolmasters; and brake this jest upon them, that they had been
very carefully instructed, to fit them for such an employment.
Hereupon Salome could not contain her anger, but told all to Herod;
nor could her testimony be suspected, since it was against
her own son-in-law There was also another calumny that ran abroad
and inflamed the king's mind; for he heard that these sons
of his were perpetually speaking of their mother, and, among their
lamentations for her, did not abstain from cursing him; and
that when he made presents of any of Mariamne's garments to his
later wives, these threatened that in a little time, instead of
royal garments, they would clothe theft in no better than hair-cloth.
4. Now upon these accounts, though Herod was somewhat afraid of the
young men's high spirit, yet did he not despair of
reducing them to a better mind; but before he went to Rome, whither
he was now going by sea, he called them to him, and
partly threatened them a little, as a king; but for the main, he
admonished them as a father, and exhorted them to love their
brethren, and told them that he would pardon their former offenses,
if they would amend for the time to come. But they refuted
the calumnies that had been raised of them, and said they were false,
and alleged that their actions were sufficient for their
vindication; and said withal, that he himself ought to shut his
ears against such tales, and not be too easy in believing them, for
that there would never be wanting those that would tell lies to
their disadvantage, as long as any would give ear to them.
5. When they had thus soon pacified him, as being their father, they
got clear of the present fear they were in. Yet did they see
occasion for sorrow in some time afterward; for they knew that Salome,
as well as their uncle Pheroras, were their enemies;
who were both of them heavy and severe persons, and especially Pheroras,
who was a partner with Herod in all the affairs of
the kingdom, excepting his diadem. He had also a hundred talents
of his own revenue, and enjoyed the advantage of all the land
beyond Jordan, which he had received as a gift from his brother,
who had asked of Caesar to make him a tetrarch, as he was
made accordingly. Herod had also given him a wife out of the royal
family, who was no other than his own wife's sister, and
after her death had solemnly espoused to him his own eldest daughter,
with a dowry of three hundred talents; but Pheroras
refused to consummate this royal marriage, out of his affection
to a maidservant of his. Upon which account Herod was very
angry, and gave that daughter in marriage to a brother's son of
his, [Joseph,] who was slain afterward by the Parthians; but in
some time he laid aside his anger against Pheroras, and pardoned
him, as one not able to overcome his foolish passion for the
maid-servant.
6. Nay, Pheroras had been accused long before, while the queen [Mariamne]
was alive, as if he were in a plot to poison
Herod; and there came then so great a number of informers, that
Herod himself, though he was an exceeding lover of his
brethren, was brought to believe what was said, and to be afraid
of it also. And when he had brought many of those that were
under suspicion to the torture, he came at last to Pheroras's own
friends; none of which did openly confess the crime, but they
owned that he had made preparation to take her whom he loved, and
run away to the Parthians. Costobarus also, the husband
of Salome, to whom the king had given her in marriage, after her
former husband had been put to death for adultery, was
instrumental in bringing about this contrivance and flight of his.
Nor did Salome escape all calumny upon herself; for her brother
Pheroras accused her that she had made an agreement to marry Silleus,
the procurator of Obodas, king of Arabia, who was at
bitter enmity with Herod; but when she was convicted of this, and
of all that Pheroras had accused her of, she obtained her
pardon. The king also pardoned Pheroras himself the crimes he had
been accused of.
7. But the storm of the whole family was removed to Alexander, and
all of it rested upon his head. There were three eunuchs
who were in the highest esteem with the king, as was plain by the
offices they were in about him; for one of them was appointed
to be his butler, another of them got his supper ready for him,
and the third put him into bed, and lay down by him. Now
Alexander had prevailed with these men, by large gifts, to let him
use them after an obscene manner; which, when it was told to
the king, they were tortured, and found guilty, and presently confessed
the criminal conversation he had with them. They also
discovered the promises by which they were induced so to do, and
how they were deluded by Alexander, who had told them
that they ought not to fix their hopes upon Herod, an old man, and
one so shameless as to color his hair, unless they thought
that would make him young again; but that they ought to fix their
attention to him who was to be his successor in the kingdom,
whether he would or not; and who in no long time would avenge himself
on his enemies, and make his friends happy and
blessed, and themselves in the first place; that the men of power
did already pay respects to Alexander privately, and that the
captains of the soldiery, and the officers, did secretly come to
him.
8. These confessions did so terrify Herod, that he durst not immediately
publish them; but he sent spies abroad privately, by
night and by day, who should make a close inquiry after all that
was done and said; and when any were but suspected [of
treason], he put them to death, insomuch that the palace was full
of horribly unjust proceedings; for every body forged
calumnies, as they were themselves in a state of enmity or hatred
against others; and many there were who abused the king's
bloody passion to the disadvantage of those with whom they had quarrels,
and lies were easily believed, and punishments were
inflicted sooner than the calumnies were forged. He who had just
then been accusing another was accused himself, and was led
away to execution together with him whom he had convicted; for the
danger the king was in of his life made examinations be
very short. He also proceeded to such a degree of bitterness, that
he could not look on any of those that were not accused with
a pleasant countenance, but was in the most barbarous disposition
towards his own friends. Accordingly, he forbade a great
many of them to come to court, and to those whom he had not power
to punish actually he spake harshly. But for Antipater, he
insulted Alexander, now he was under his misfortunes, and got a
stout company of his kindred together, and raised all sorts of
calumny against him; and for the king, he was brought to such a
degree of terror by those prodigious slanders and contrivances,
that he fancied he saw Alexander coming to him with a drawn sword
in his hand. So he caused him to be seized upon
immediately, and bound, and fell to examining his friends by torture,
many of whom died [under the torture], but would discover
nothing, nor say any thing against their consciences; but some of
them, being forced to speak falsely by the pains they endured,
said that Alexander, and his brother Aristobulus, plotted against
him, and waited for an opportunity to kill him as he was
hunting, and then fly away to Rome. These accusations though they
were of an incredible nature, and only framed upon the
great distress they were in, were readily believed by the king,
who thought it some comfort to him, after he had bound his son,
that it might appear he had not done it unjustly.
CHAPTER 25.
ARCHELAUS PROCURES A RECONCILIATION BETWEEN ALEXANDER PHERORAS,
AND HEROD.
1. NOW as to Alexander, since he perceived it impossible to persuade
his father [that he was innocent], he resolved to meet
his calamities, how severe soever they were; so he composed four
books against his enemies, and confessed that he had been
in a plot; but declared withal that the greatest part [of the courtiers]
were in a plot with him, and chiefly Pheroras and Salome;
nay, that Salome once came and forced him to lie with her in the
night time, whether he would or no. These books were put
into Herod's hands, and made a great clamor against the men in power.
And now it was that Archelaus came hastily into Judea,
as being affrighted for his son-in-law and his daughter; and he
came as a proper assistant, and in a very prudent manner, and by
a stratagem he obliged the king not to execute what he had threatened;
for when he was come to him, he cried out, "Where in
the world is this wretched son-in-law of mine? Where shall I see
the head of him which contrived to murder his father, which I
will tear to pieces with my own hands? I will do the same also to
my daughter, who hath such a fine husband; for although she
be not a partner in the plot, yet, by being the wife of such a creature,
she is polluted. And I cannot but admire at thy patience,
against whom this plot is laid, if Alexander be still alive; for
as I came with what haste I could from Cappadocia, I expected to
find him put to death for his crimes long ago; but still, in order
to make an examination with thee about my daughter, whom, out
of regard to thee and by dignity, I had espoused to him in marriage;
but now we must take counsel about them both; and if thy
paternal affection be so great, that thou canst not punish thy son,
who hath plotted against thee, let us change our right hands,
and let us succeed one to the other in expressing our rage upon
this occasion."
2. When he had made this pompous declaration, he got Herod to remit
of his anger, though he were in disorder, who thereupon
gave him the books which Alexander had composed to be read by him;
and as he came to every head, he considered of it,
together with Herod. So Archclaus took hence the occasion for that
stratagem which he made use of, and by degrees he laid
the blame on those men whose names were in these books, and especially
upon Pheroras; and when he saw that the king
believed him [to he in earnest], he said, "We must consider whether
the young man be not himself plotted against by such a
number of wicked wretches, and not thou plotted against by the young
man; for I cannot see any occasion for his falling into so
horrid a crime, since he enjoys the advantages of royalty already,
and has the expectation of being one of thy successors; I
mean this, unless there were some persons that persuade him to it,
and such persons as make an ill use of the facility they know
there is to persuade young men; for by such persons, not only young
men are sometimes imposed upon, but old men also, and
by them sometimes are the most illustrious families and kingdoms
overturned."
3. Herod assented to what he had said, and, by degrees, abated of
his anger against Alexander, but was more angry at
Pheroras; for the principal subject of the four books was Pheroras;
who perceiving that the king's inclinations changed on a
sudden, and that Archelaus's friendship could do every thing with
him, and that he had no honorable method of preserving
himself, he procured his safety by his impudence. So he left Alexander,
and had recourse to Archelaus, who told him that he
did not see how he could get him excused, now he was directly caught
in so many crimes, whereby it was evidently
demonstrated that he had plotted against the king, and had been
the cause of those misfortunes which the young man was now
under, unless he would moreover leave off his cunning knavery, and
his denials of what he was charged withal, and confess the
charge, and implore pardon of his brother, who still had a kindness
for him; but that if he would do so, he would afford him all
the assistance he was able.
4. With this advice Pheroras complied, and putting himself into such
a habit as might most move compassion, he came with
black cloth upon his body, and tears in his eyes, and threw himself
down at Herod's feet, and begged his pardon for what he
had done, and confessed that he had acted very wickedly, and was
guilty of every thing that he had been accused of, and
lamented that disorder of his mind, and distraction which his love
to a woman, he said, had brought him to. So when Archelaus
had brought Pheroras to accuse and bear witness against himself,
he then made an excuse for him, and mitigated Herod's anger
towards him, and this by using certain domestical examples; for
that when he had suffered much greater mischiefs from a
brother of his own, he prefered the obligations of nature before
the passion of revenge; because it is in kingdoms as it is in gross
bodies, where some member or other is ever swelled by the body's
weight, in which case it is not proper to cut off such
member, but to heal it by a gentle method of cure.
5. Upon Arehelaus's saying this, and much more to the same purpose,
Herod's displeasure against Pheroras was mollified; yet
did he persevere in his own indignation against Alexander, and said
he would have his daughter divorced, and taken away from
him, and this till he had brought Herod to that pass, that, contrary
to his former behavior to him, he petitioned Archelaus for the
young man, and that he would let his daughter continue espoused
to him: but Archelaus made him strongly believe that he would
permit her to be married to any one else, but not to Alexander,
because he looked upon it as a very valuable advantage, that
the relation they had contracted by that affinity, and the privileges
that went along with it, might be preserved. And when the
king said that his son would take it for a great favor to him, if
he would not dissolve that marriage, especially since they had
already children between the young man and her, and since that wife
of his was so well beloved by him, and that as while she
remains his wife she would be a great preservative to him, and keep
him from offending, as he had formerly done; so if she
should be once torn away from him, she would be the cause of his
falling into despair, because such young men's attempts are
best mollified when they are diverted from them by settling their
affections at home. So Arehelaus complied with what Herod
desired, but not without difficulty, and was both himself reconciled
to the young man, and reconciled his father to him also.
However, he said he must, by all means, be sent to Rome to discourse
with Caesar, because he had already written a full
account to him of this whole matter.
6. Thus a period was put to Archelaus's stratagem, whereby he delivered
his son-in-law out of the dangers he was in; but when
these reconciliations were over, they spent their time in feastings
and agreeable entertainments. And when Archelaus was going
away, Herod made him a present of seventy talents, with a golden
throne set with precious stones, and some eunuchs, and a
concubine who was called Pannychis. He also paid due honors to every
one of his friends according to their dignity. In like
manner did all the king's kindred, by his command, make glorious
presents to Archelaus; and so he was conducted on his way
by Herod and his nobility as far as Antioch.
CHAPTER 26.
HOW EURYCLES (40) CALUMNIATED THE SONS OF MARIAMNE; AND HOW
EUARATUS OF COSTS
APOLOGY FOR THEM HAD NO EFFECT.
1. NOW a little afterward there came into Judea a man that was much
superior to Arehelaus's stratagems, who did not only
overturn that reconciliation that had been so wisely made with Alexander,
but proved the occasion of his ruin. He was a
Lacedemonian, and his name was Eurycles. He was so corrupt a man,
that out of the desire of getting money, he chose to live
under a king, for Greece could not suffice his luxury. He presented
Herod with splendid gifts, as a bait which he laid in order to
compass his ends, and quickly received them back again manifold;
yet did he esteem bare gifts as nothing, unless he imbrued
the kingdom in blood by his purchases. Accordingly, he imposed upon
the king by flattering him, and by talking subtlely to him,
as also by the lying encomiums which he made upon him; for as he
soon perceived Herod's blind side, so he said and did every
thing that might please him, and thereby became one of his most
intimate friends; for both the king and all that were about him
had a great regard for this Spartan, on account of his country.
(41)
2. Now as soon as this fellow perceived the rotten parts of the family,
and what quarrels the brothers had one with another, and
in what disposition the father was towards each of them, he chose
to take his lodging at the first in the house of Antipater, but
deluded Alexander with a pretense of friendship to him, and falsely
claimed to be an old acquaintance of Archelaus; for which
reason he was presently admitted into Alexander's familiarity as
a faithful friend. He also soon recommended himself to his
brother Aristobulus. And when he had thus made trial of these several
persons, he imposed upon one of them by one method,
and upon another by another. But he was principally hired by Antipater,
and so betrayed Alexander, and this by reproaching
Antipater, because, while he was the eldest son he overlooked the
intrigues of those who stood in the way of his expectations;
and by reproaching Alexander, because he who was born of a queen,
and was married to a king's daughter, permitted one that
was born of a mean woman to lay claim to the succession, and this
when he had Archelaus to support him in the most complete
manner. Nor was his advice thought to be other than faithful by
the young man, because of his pretended friendship with
Archelaus; on which account it was that Alexander lamented to him
Antipater's behavior with regard to himself, and this without
concealing any thing from him; and how it was no wonder if Herod,
after he had killed their mother, should deprive them of her
kingdom. Upon this Eurycles pretended to commiserate his condition,
and to grieve with him. He also, by a bait that he laid for
him, procured Aristobulus to say the same things. Thus did he inveigle
both the brothers to make complaints of their father, and
then went to Antipater, and carried these grand secrets to him.
He also added a fiction of his own, as if his brothers had laid a
plot against him, and were almost ready to come upon him with their
drawn swords. For this intelligence he received a great
sum of money, and on that account he commended Antipater before
his father, and at length undertook the work of bringing
Alexander and Aristobulus to their graves, and accused them before
their father. So he came to Herod, and told him that he
would save his life, as a requital for the favors he had received
from him, and would preserve his light [of life] by way of
retribution for his kind entertainment; for that a sword had been
long whetted, and Alexander's right hand had been long
stretched out against him; but that he had laid impediments in his
way, prevented his speed, and that by pretending to assist him
in his design: how Alexander said that Herod was not contented to
reign in a kingdom that belonged to others, and to make
dilapidations in their mother's government after he had killed her;
but besides all this, that he introduced a spurious successor,
and proposed to give the kingdom of their ancestors to that pestilent
fellow Antipater: - that he would now appease the ghosts
of Hyrcanus and Mariamne, by taking vengeance on him; for that it
was not fit for him to take the succession to the government
from such a father without bloodshed: that many things happen every
day to provoke him so to do, insomuch that he can say
nothing at all, but it affords occasion for calumny against him;
for that if any mention be made of nobility of birth, even in other
cases, he is abused unjustly, while his father would say that nobody,
to be sure, is of noble birth but Alexander, and that his
father was inglorious for want of such nobility. If they be at any
time hunting, and he says nothing, he gives offense; and if he
commends any body, they take it in way of jest. That they always
find their father unmercifully severe, and have no natural
affection for any of them but for Antipater; on which accounts,
if this plot does not take, he is very willing to die; but that in case
he kill his father, he hath sufficient opportunities for saving
himself. In the first place, he hath Archelaus his father-in-law to
whom he can easily fly; and in the next place, he hath Caesar, who
had never known Herod's character to this day; for that he
shall not appear then before him with that dread he used to do when
his father was there to terrify him; and that he will not then
produce the accusations that concerned himself alone, but would,
in the first place, openly insist on the calamities of their nation,
and how they are taxed to death, and in what ways of luxury and
wicked practices that wealth is spent which was gotten by
bloodshed; what sort of persons they are that get our riches, and
to whom those cities belong upon whom he bestows his
favors; that he would have inquiry made what became of his grandfather
[Hyrcanus], and his mother [Mariamne], and would
openly proclaim the gross wickedness that was in the kingdom; on
which accounts he should not be deemed a parricide.
3. When Eurycles had made this portentous speech, he greatly commended
Antipater, as the only child that had an affection for
his father, and on that account was an impediment to the other's
plot against him. Hereupon the king, who had hardly repressed
his anger upon the former accusations, was exasperated to an incurable
degree. At which time Antipater took another occasion
to send in other persons to his father to accuse his brethren, and
to tell him that they had privately discoursed with Jucundus and
Tyrannus, who had once been masters of the horse to the king, but
for some offenses had been put out of that honorable
employment. Herod was in a very great rage at these informations,
and presently ordered those men to be tortured; yet did not
they confess any thing of what the king had been informed; but a
certain letter was produced, as written by Alexander to the
governor of a castle, to desire him to receive him and Aristobulus
into the castle when he had killed his father, and to give them
weapons, and what other assistance he could, upon that occasion.
Alexander said that this letter was a forgery of Diophantus.
This Diophantus was the king's secretary, a bold man, and cunning
in counterfeiting any one's hand; and after he had
counterfeited a great number, he was at last put to death for it.
Herod did also order the governor of the castle to be tortured,
but got nothing out of him of what the accusations suggested.
4. However, although Herod found the proofs too weak, he gave order
to have his sons kept in custody; for till now they had
been at liberty. He also called that pest of his family, and forger
of all this vile accusation, Eurycles, his savior and benefactor,
and gave him a reward of fifty talents. Upon which he prevented
any accurate accounts that could come of what he had done,
by going immediately into Cappadocia, and there he got money of
Archelaus, having the impudence to pretend that he had
reconciled Herod to Alexander. He thence passed over into Greece,
and used what he had thus wickedly gotten to the like
wicked purposes. Accordingly, he was twice accused before Caesar,
that he had filled Achaia with sedition, and had plundered
its cities; and so he was sent into banishment. And thus was he
punished for what wicked actions he had been guilty of about
Aristobulus and Alexander.
5. But it will now be worth while to put Euaratus of Cos in opposition
to this Spartan; for as he was one of Alexander's most
intimate friends, and came to him in his travels at the same time
that Eurycles came; so the king put the question to him, whether
those things of which Alexander was accused were true? He assured
him upon oath that he had never heard any such things
from the young men; yet did this testimony avail nothing for the
clearing those miserable creatures; for Herod was only disposed
and most ready to hearken to what made against them, and every one
was most agreeable to him that would believe they were
guilty, and showed their indignation at them.
CHAPTER 27.
HEROD BY CAESARS DIRECTION ACCUSES HIS SONS AT EURYTUS.
THEY ARE NOT PRODUCED
BEFORE THE COURTS BUT YET ARE CONDEMNED; AND IN A LITTLE
TIME THEY ARE SENT TO
SEBASTE, AND STRANGLED THERE.
1. MOREOVER, Salome exasperated Herod's cruelty against his sons;
for Aristobulus was desirous to bring her, who was his
mother-in-law and his aunt, into the like dangers with themselves;
so he sent to her to take care of her own safety, and told her
that the king was preparing to put her to death, on account of the
accusation that was laid against her, as if when she formerly
endeavored to marry herself to Sylleus the Arabian, she had discovered
the king's grand secrets to him, who was the king's
enemy; and this it was that came as the last storm, and entirely
sunk the young men when they were in great danger before. For
Salome came running to the king, and informed him of what admonition
had been given her; whereupon he could bear no
longer, but commanded both the young men to be bound, and kept the
one asunder from the other. He also sent Volumnius,
the general of his army, to Caesar immediately, as also his friend
Olympus with him, who carried the informations in writing
along with them. Now as soon as they had sailed to Rome, and delivered
the king's letters to Caesar, Caesar was mightily
troubled at the case of the young men; yet did not he think he ought
to take the power from the father of condemning his sons;
so he wrote back to him, and appointed him to have the power over
his sons; but said withal, that he would do well to make an
examination into this matter of the plot against him in a public
court, and to take for his assessors his own kindred, and the
governors of the province. And if those sons be found guilty, to
put them to death; but if they appear to have thought of no
more than flying away from him, that he should moderate their punishment.
2. With these directions Herod complied, and came to Berytus, where
Caesar had ordered the court to be assembled, and got
the judicature together. The presidents sat first, as Caesar's letters
had appointed, who were Saturninus and Pedanius, and their
lieutenants that were with them, with whom was the procurator Volumnius
also; next to them sat the king's kinsmen and friends,
with Salome also, and Pheroras; after whom sat the principal men
of all Syria, excepting Archelaus; for Herod had a suspicion
of him, because he was Alexander's father-in-law. Yet did not he
produce his sons in open court; and this was done very
cunningly, for he knew well enough that had they but appeared only,
they would certainly have been pitied; and if withal they
had been suffered to speak, Alexander would easily have answered
what they were accused of; but they were in custody at
Platane, a village of the Sidontans.
3. So the king got up, and inveighed against his sons, as if they
were present; and as for that part of the accusation that they had
plotted against him, he urged it but faintly, because he was destitute
of proofs; but he insisted before the assessors on the
reproaches, and jests, and injurious carriage, and ten thousand
the like offenses against him, which were heavier than death
itself; and when nobody contradicted him, he moved them to pity
his case, as though he had been condemned himself, now he
had gained a bitter victory against his sons. So he asked every
one's sentence, which sentence was first of all given by
Saturninus, and was this: That he condemned the young men, but not
to death; for that it was not fit for him, who had three sons
of his own now present, to give his vote for the destruction of
the sons of another. The two lieutenants also gave the like vote;
some others there were also who followed their example; but Volumnius
began to vote on the more melancholy side, and all
those that came after him condemned the young men to die, some out
of flattery, and some out of hatred to Herod; but none
out of indignation at their crimes. And now all Syria and Judea
was in great expectation, and waited for the last act of this
tragedy; yet did nobody, suppose that Herod would be so barbarous
as to murder his children: however, he carried them away
to Tyre, and thence sailed to Cesarea, and deliberated with himself
what sort of death the young men should suffer.
4. Now there was a certain old soldier of the king's, whose name
was Tero, who had a son that was very familiar with and a
friend to Alexander, and who himself particularly loved the young
men. This soldier was in a manner distracted, out of the
excess of the indignation he had at what was doing; and at first
he cried out aloud, as he went about, that justice was trampled
under foot; that truth was perished, and nature confounded; and
that the life of man was full of iniquity, and every thing else that
passion could suggest to a man who spared not his own life; and
at last he ventured to go to the king, and said, "Truly I think
thou art a most miserable man, when thou hearkenest to most wicked
wretches, against those that ought to be dearest to thee;
since thou hast frequently resolved that Pheroras and Salome should
be put to death, and yet believest them against thy sons;
while these, by cutting off the succession of thine own sons, leave
all wholly to Antipater, and thereby choose to have thee such
a king as may be thoroughly in their own power. However, consider
whether this death of Antipater's brethren will not make
him hated by the soldiers; for there is nobody but commiserates
the young men; and of the captains, a great many show their
indignation at it openly." Upon his saying this, he named those
that had such indignation; but the king ordered those men, with
Tero himself and his son, to be seized upon immediately.
5. At which time there was a certain barber, whose name was Trypho.
This man leaped out from among the people in a kind of
madness, and accused himself, and said, "This Tero endeavored to
persuade me also to cut thy throat with my razor, when I
trimmed thee, and promised that Alexander should give me large presents
for so doing." When Herod heard this, he examined
Tero, with his son and the barber, by the torture; but as the others
denied the accusation, and he said nothing further, Herod
gave order that Tero should be racked more severely; but his son,
out of pity to his father, promised to discover the whole to
the king, if he would grant [that his father should be no longer
tortured]. When he had agreed to this, he said that his father, at
the persuasion of Alexander, had an intention to kill him. Now some
said this was forged, in order to free his father from his
torments; and some said it was true.
6. And now Herod accused the captains and Tero in an assembly of
the people, and brought the people together in a body
against them; and accordingly there were they put to death, together
with [Trypho] the barber; they were killed by the pieces of
wood and the stones that were thrown at them. He also sent his sons
to Sebaste, a city not far from Cesarea, and ordered them
to be there strangled; and as what he had ordered was executed immediately,
so he commanded that their dead bodies should
be brought to the fortress Alexandrium, to be buried with Alexander,
their grandfather by the mother's side. And this was the
end of Alexander and Aristobulus.
CHAPTER 28.
HOW ANTIPATER IS HATED OF ALL MEN; AND HOW THE KING
ESPOUSES THE SONS OF THOSE
THAT HAD BEEN SLAIN TO HIS KINDRED;BUT THAT ANTIPATER MADE
HIM CHANGE THEM FOR
OTHER WOMEN. OF HEROD'S MARRIAGES, AND CHILDREN.
1. BUT an intolerable hatred fell upon Antipater from the nation,
though he had now an indisputable title to the succession,
because they all knew that he was the person who contrived all the
calumnies against his brethren. However, he began to be in
a terrible fear, as he saw the posterity of those that had been
slain growing up; for Alexander had two sons by Glaphyra,
Tigranes and Alexander; and Aristobulus had Herod, and Agrippa,
and Aristobulus, his sons, with Herodias and Mariamne, his
daughters, and all by Bernice, Salome's daughter. As for Glaphyra,
Herod, as soon as he had killed Alexander, sent her back,
together with her portion, to Cappadocia. He married Bernice, Aristobulus's
daughter, to Antipater's uncle by his mother, and it
was Antipater who, in order to reconcile her to him, when she had
been at variance with him, contrived this match; he also got
into Pheroras's favor, and into the favor of Caesar's friends, by
presents, and other ways of obsequiousness, and sent no small
sums of money to Rome; Saturninus also, and his friends in Syria,
were all well replenished with the presents he made them; yet
the more he gave, the more he was hated, as not making these presents
out of generosity, but spending his money out of fear.
Accordingly, it so fell out that the receivers bore him no more
good-will than before, but that those to whom he gave nothing
were his more bitter enemies. However, he bestowed his money every
day more and more profusely, on observing that,
contrary to his expectations, the king was taking care about the
orphans, and discovering at the same time his repentance for
killing their fathers, by his commiseration of those that sprang
from them.
2. Accordingly, Herod got together his kindred and friends, and set
before them the children, and, with his eyes full of tears,
said thus to them: "It was an unlucky fate that took away from me
these children's fathers, which children are recommended to
me by that natural commiseration which their orphan condition requires;
however, I will endeavor, though I have been a most
unfortunate father, to appear a better grandfather, and to leave
these children such curators after myself as are dearest to me. I
therefore betroth thy daughter, Pheroras, to the elder of these
brethren, the children of Alexander, that thou mayst be obliged to
take care of them. I also betroth to thy son, Antipater, the daughter
of Aristobulus; be thou therefore a father to that orphan;
and my son Herod [Philip] shall have her sister, whose grandfather,
by the mother's side, was high priest. And let every one that
loves me be of my sentiments in these dispositions, which none that
hath an affection for me will abrogate. And I pray God that
he will join these children together in marriage, to the advantage
of my kingdom, and of my posterity; and may he look down
with eyes more serene upon them than he looked upon their fathers."
3. While he spake these words he wept, and joined the children's
fight hands together; after which he embraced them every one
after an affectionate manner, and dismissed the assembly. Upon this,
Antipater was in great disorder immediately, and lamented
publicly at what was done; for he supposed that this dignity which
was conferred on these orphans was for his own destruction,
even in his father's lifetime, and that he should run another risk
of losing the government, if Alexander's sons should have both
Archelaus [a king], and Pheroras a tetrarch, to support them. He
also considered how he was himself hated by the nation, and
how they pitied these orphans; how great affection the Jews bare
to those brethren of his when they were alive, and how gladly
they remembered them now they had perished by his means. So he resolved
by all the ways possible to get these espousals
dissolved.
4. Now he was afraid of going subtlely about this matter with his
father, who was hard to be pleased, and was presently moved
upon the least suspicion: so he ventured to go to him directly,
and to beg of him before his face not to deprive him of that dignity
which he had been pleased to bestow upon him; and that he might
not have the bare name of a king, while the power was in
other persons; for that he should never be able to keep the government,
if Alexander's son was to have both his grandfather
Archelaus and Pheroras for his curators; and he besought him earnestly,
since there were so many of the royal family alive, that
he would change those [intended] marriages. Now the king had nine
wives, (42) and children by seven of them; Antipater was
himself born of Doris, and Herod Philip of Mariamne, the high priest's
daughter; Antipas also and Archelaus were by Malthace,
the Samaritan, as was his daughter Olympias, which his brother Joseph's
(43) son had married. By Cleopatra of Jerusalem he
had Herod and Philip; and by Pallas, Phasaelus; he had also two
daughters, Roxana and Salome, the one by Phedra, and the
other by Elpis; he had also two wives that had no children, the
one his first cousin, and the other his niece; and besides these he
had two daughters, the sisters of Alexander and Aristobulus, by
Mariamne. Since, therefore, the royal family was so numerous,
Antipater prayed him to change these intended marriages.
5. When the king perceived what disposition he was in towards these
orphans, he was angry at it, and a suspicion came into his
mind as to those sons whom he had put to death, whether that had
not been brought about by the false tales of Antipater; so
that at that time he made Antipater a long and a peevish answer,
and bid him begone. Yet was he afterwards prevailed upon
cunningly by his flatteries, and changed the marriages; he married
Aristobulus's daughter to him, and his son to Pheroras's
daughter.
6. Now one may learn, in this instance, how very much this flattering
Antipater could do, - even what Salome in the like
circumstances could not do; for when she, who was his sister, and
who, by the means of Julia, Caesar's wife, earnestly desired
leave to be married to Sylleus the Arabian, Herod swore he would
esteem her his bitter enemy, unless she would leave off that
project: he also caused her, against her own consent, to be married
to Alexas, a friend of his, and that one of her daughters
should be married to Alexas's son, and the other to Antipater's
uncle by the mother's side. And for the daughters the king had
by Mariamne, the one was married to Antipater, his sister's son,
and the other to his brother's son, Phasaelus.
CHAPTER 29.
ANTIPATER BECOMES INTOLERABLE. HE IS SENT TO ROME, AND CARRIES
HEROD'S TESTAMENT
WITH HIM; PHERORAS LEAVES HIS BROTHER, THAT HE MAY KEEP HIS
WIFE. HE DIES AT HOME.
1. NOW when Antipater had cut off the hopes of the orphans, and had
contracted such affinities as would be most for his own
advantage, he proceeded briskly, as having a certain expectation
of the kingdom; and as he had now assurance added to his
wickedness, he became intolerable; for not being able to avoid the
hatred of all people, he built his security upon the terror he
struck into them. Pheroras also assisted him in his designs, looking
upon him as already fixed in the kingdom. There was also a
company of women in the court, which excited new disturbances; for
Pheroras's wife, together with her mother and sister, as
also Antipater's mother, grew very impudent in the palace. She also
was so insolent as to affront the king's two daughters, (44)
on which account the king hated her to a great degree; yet although
these women were hated by him, they domineered over
others: there was only Salome who opposed their good agreement,
and informed the king of their meetings, as not being for the
advantage of his affairs. And when those women knew what calumnies
she had raised against them, and how much Herod was
displeased, they left off their public meetings, and friendly entertainments
of one another; nay, on the contrary, they pretended
to quarrel one with another when the king was within hearing. The
like dissimulation did Antipater make use of; and when
matters were public, he opposed Pheroras; but still they had private
cabals and merry meetings in the night time; nor did the
observation of others do any more than confirm their mutual agreement.
However, Salome knew every thing they did, and told
every thing to Herod.
2. But he was inflamed with anger at them, and chiefly at Pheroras's
wife; for Salome had principally accused her. So he got an
assembly of his friends and kindred together, and there accused
this woman of many things, and particularly of the affronts she
had offered his daughters; and that she had supplied the Pharisees
with money, by way of rewards for what they had done
against him, and had procured his brother to become his enemy, by
giving him love potions. At length he turned his speech to
Pheroras, and told him that he would give him his choice of these
two things: Whether he would keep in with his brother, or
with his wife? And when Pheroras said that he would die rather than
forsake his wife? Herod, not knowing what to do further in
that matter, turned his speech to Antipater, and charged him to
have no intercourse either with Pheroras's wife, or with
Pheroras himself, or with any one belonging to her. Now though Antipater
did not transgress that his injunction publicly, yet did
he in secret come to their night meetings; and because he was afraid
that Salome observed what he did, he procured, by the
means of his Italian friends, that he might go and live at Rome;
for when they wrote that it was proper for Antipater to be sent
to Caesar for some time, Herod made no delay, but sent him, and
that with a splendid attendance, and a great deal of money,
and gave him his testament to carry with him, - wherein Antipater
had the kingdom bequeathed to him, and wherein Herod was
named for Antipater's successor; that Herod, I mean, who was the
son of Mariarmne, the high priest's daughter.
3. Sylleus also, the Arabian, sailed to Rome, without any regard
to Caesar's injunctions, and this in order to oppose Antipater
with all his might, as to that law-suit which Nicolaus had with
him before. This Sylleus had also a great contest with Aretas his
own king; for he had slain many others of Aretas's friends, and
particularly Sohemus, the most potent man in the city Petra.
Moreover, he had prevailed with Phabatus, who was Herod's steward,
by giving him a great sum of money, to assist him
against Herod; but when Herod gave him more, he induced him to leave
Syllcus, and by this means he demanded of him all that
Caesar had required of him to pay. But when Sylleus paid nothing
of what he was to pay, and did also accuse Phabatus to
Caesar, and said that he was not a steward for Caesar's advantage,
but for Herod's, Phabatus was angry at him on that
account, but was still in very great esteem with Herod, and discovered
Sylleus's grand secrets, and told the king that Sylleus
had corrupted Corinthus, one of the guards of his body, by bribing
him, and of whom he must therefore have a care.
Accordingly, the king complied; for this Corinthus, though he was
brought up in Herod's kingdom, yet was he by birth an
Arabian; so the king ordered him to be taken up immediately, and
not only him, but two other Arabians, who were caught with
him; the one of them was Sylleus's friend, the other the head of
a tribe. These last, being put to the torture, confessed that they
had prevailed with Corinthus, for a large sum of money, to kill
Herod; and when they had been further examined before
Saturninus, the president of Syria, they were sent to Rome.
4. However, Herod did not leave off importuning Pheroras, but proceeded
to force him to put away his wife; (45) yet could he
not devise any way by which he could bring the woman herself to
punishment, although he had many causes of hatred to her; till
at length he was in such great uneasiness at her, that he cast both
her and his brother out of his kingdom. Pheroras took this
injury very patiently, and went away into his own tetrarchy, [Perea
beyond Jordan,] and sware that there should be but one end
put to his flight, and that should be Herod's death; and that he
would never return while he was alive. Nor indeed would he
return when his brother was sick, although he earnestly sent for
him to come to him, because he had a mind to leave some
injunctions with him before he died; but Herod unexpectedly recovered.
A little afterward Pheroras himself fell sick, when
Herod showed great moderation; for he came to him, and pitied his
case, and took care of him; but his affection for him did him
no good, for Pheroras died a little afterward. Now though Herod
had so great an affection for him to the last day of his life, yet
was a report spread abroad that he had killed him by poison. However,
he took care to have his dead body carried to
Jerusalem, and appointed a very great mourning to the whole nation
for him, and bestowed a most pompous funeral upon him.
And this was the end that one of Alexander's and Aristobulus's murderers
came to.
CHAPTER 30.
WHEN HEROD MADE INQUIRY ABOUT PHERORAS'S DEATH
A DISCOVERY WAS MADE THAT
ANTIPATER HAD PREPARED A POISONOUS DRAUGHT FOR HIM. HEROD
CASTS DORIS AND HER
ACCOMPLICES, AS ALSO MARIAMNE, OUT OF THE PALACE AND BLOTS
HER SON HEROD OUT OF
HIS TESTAMENT.
1. BUT now the punishment was transferred unto the original author,
Antipater, and took its rise from the death of Pheroras;
for certain of his freed-men came with a sad countenance to the
king, and told him that his brother had been destroyed by
poison, and that his wife had brought him somewhat that was prepared
after an unusual manner, and that, upon his eating it, he
presently fell into his distemper; that Antipater's mother and sister,
two days before, brought a woman out of Arabia that was
skillful in mixing such drugs, that she might prepare a love potion
for Pheroras; and that instead of a love potion, she had given
him deadly poison; and that this was done by the management of Sylleus,
who was acquainted with that woman.
2. The king was deeply affected with so many suspicions, and had
the maid-servants and some of the free women also
tortured; one of which cried out in her agonies, "May that God that
governs the earth and the heaven punish this author of all
these our miseries, Antipater's mother!" The king took a handle
from this confession, and proceeded to inquire further into the
truth of the matter. So this woman discovered the friendship of
Antipater's mother to Pheroras, and Antipater's women, as also
their secret meetings, and that Pheroras and Antipater had drunk
with them for a whole night together as they returned from the
king, and would not suffer any body, either man-servant or maidservant,
to be there; while one of the free women discovered
the matter.
3. Upon this Herod tortured the maid-servants every on by themselves
separately, who all unanimously agreed in the foregoing
discoveries, and that accordingly by agreement they went away, Antipater
to Rome, and Pheroras to Perea; for that they
oftentimes talked to one another thus: That after Herod had slain
Alexander and Aristobulus, he would fall upon them, and upon
their wives, because, after he Mariamne and her children he would
spare nobody; and that for this reason it was best to get as
far off the wild beast as they were able: - and that Antipater oftentimes
lamented his own case before his mother, and said to
her, that he had already gray hairs upon his head, and that his
father grew younger again every day, and that perhaps death
would overtake him before he should begin to be a king in earnest;
and that in case Herod should die, which yet nobody knew
when it would be, the enjoyment of the succession could certainly
be but for a little time; for that these heads of Hydra, the sons
of Alexander and Aristobulus, were growing up: that he was deprived
by his father of the hopes of being succeeded by his
children, for that his successor after his death was not to be any
one of his own sons, but Herod the son of Mariamne: that in
this point Herod was plainly distracted, to think that his testament
should therein take place; for he would take care that not one
of his posterity should remain, because he was of all fathers the
greatest hater of his children. Yet does he hate his brother still
worse; whence it was that he a while ago gave himself a hundred
talents, that he should not have any intercourse with Pheroras.
And when Pheroras said, Wherein have we done him any harm? Antipater
replied, "I wish he would but deprive us of all we
have, and leave us naked and alive only; but it is indeed impossible
to escape this wild beast, who is thus given to murder, who
will not permit us to love any person openly, although we be together
privately; yet may we be so openly too, if we have but the
courage and the hands of men."
4. These things were said by the women upon the torture; as also
that Pheroras resolved to fly with them to Perea. Now Herod
gave credit to all they said, on account of the affair of the hundred
talents; for he had no discourse with any body about them,
but only with Antipater. So he vented his anger first of all against
Antipater's mother, and took away from her all the ornaments
which he had given her, which cost a great many talents, and cast
her out of the palace a second time. He also took care of
Pheroras's women after their tortures, as being now reconciled to
them; but he was in great consternation himself, and inflamed
upon every suspicion, and had many innocent persons led to the torture,
out of his fear lest he should leave any guilty person
untortured.
5. And now it was that he betook himself to examine Antipater of
Samaria, who was the steward of [his son] Antipater; and
upon torturing him, he learned that Antipater had sent for a potion
of deadly poison for him out of Egypt, by Antiphilus, a
companion of his; that Theudio, the uncle of Antipater, had it from
him, and delivered it to Pheroras; for that Antipater had
charged him to take his father off while he was at Rome, and so
free him from the suspicion of doing it himself: that Pheroras
also committed this potion to his wife. Then did the king send for
her, and bid her bring to him what she had received
immediately. So she came out of her house as if she would bring
it with her, but threw herself down from the top of the house,
in order to prevent any examination and torture from the king. However,
it came to pass, as it seems by the providence of God,
when he intended to bring Antipater to punishment, that she fell
not upon her head, but upon other parts of her body, and
escaped. The king, when she was brought to him, took care of her,
(for she was at first quite senseless upon her fall,) and
asked her why she had thrown herself down; and gave her his oath,
that if she would speak the real truth, he would excuse her
from punishment; but that if she concealed any thing, he would have
her body torn to pieces by torments, and leave no part. of
it to be buried.
6. Upon this the woman paused a little, and then said, "Why do I
spare to speak of these grand secrets, now Pheroras is dead?
that would only tend to save Antipater, who is all our destruction.
Hear then, O king, and be thou, and God himself, who
cannot be deceived, witnesses to the truth of what I am going to
say. When thou didst sit weeping by Pheroras as he was
dying, then it was that he called me to him, and said, My dear wife,
I have been greatly mistaken as to the disposition of my
brother towards me, and have hated him that is so affectionate to
me, and have contrived to kill him who is in such disorder for
me before I am dead. As for myself, I receive the recompence of
my impiety; but do thou bring what poison was left with us by
Antipater, and which thou keepest in order to destroy him, and consume
it immediately in the fire in my sight, that I may not be
liable to the avenger in the invisible world." This I brought as
he bid me, and emptied the greatest part of it into the fire, but
reserved a little of it for my own use against uncertain futurity,
and out of my fear of thee."
7. When she had said this, she brought the box, which had a small
quantity of this potion in it: but the king let her alone, and
transferred the tortures to Antiphilus's mother and brother; who
both confessed that Antiphilus brought the box out of Egypt,
and that they had received the potion from a brother of his, who
was a physician at Alexandria. Then did the ghosts of
Alexander and Aristobulus go round all the palace, and became the
inquisitors and discoverers of what could not otherwise
have been found out and brought such as were the freest from suspicion
to be examined; whereby it was discovered that
Mariamne, the high priest's daughter, was conscious of this plot;
and her very brothers, when they were tortured, declared it so
to be. Whereupon the king avenged this insolent attempt of the mother
upon her son, and blotted Herod, whom he had by her,
out of his treament, who had been before named therein as successor
to Antipater.
CHAPTER 31.
ANTIPATER IS CONVICTED BY BATHYLLUS ; BUT HE STILL RETURNS
FROM ROME WITHOUT
KNOWING IT. HEROD BRINGS HIM TO HIS TRIAL.
1. AFTER these things were over, Bathyllus came under examination,
in order to convict Antipater, who proved the concluding
attestation to Antipater's designs; for indeed he was no other than
his freed-man. This man came, and brought another deadly
potion, the poison of asps, and the juices of other serpents, that
if the first potion did not do the business, Pheroras and his wife
might be armed with this also to destroy the king. He brought also
an addition to Antipater's insolent attempt against his father,
which was the letters which he wrote against his brethren, Archelaus
and Philip, which were the king's sons, and educated at
Rome, being yet youths, but of generous dispositions. Antipater
set himself to get rid of these as soon as he could, that they
might not be prejudicial to his hopes; and to that end he forged
letters against them in the name of his friends at Rome. Some of
these he corrupted by bribes to write how they grossly reproached
their father, and did openly bewail Alexander and
Aristobulus, and were uneasy at their being recalled; for their
father had already sent for them, which was the very thing that
troubled Antipater.
2. Nay, indeed, while Antipater was in Judea, and before he was upon
his journey to Rome, he gave money to have the like
letters against them sent from Rome, and then came to his father,
who as yet had no suspicion of him, and apologized for his
brethren, and alleged on their behalf that some of the things contained
in those letters were false, and others of them were only
youthful errors. Yet at the same time that he expended a great deal
of his money, by making presents to such as wrote against
his brethren, did he aim to bring his accounts into confusion, by
buying costly garments, and carpets of various contextures, with
silver and gold cups, and a great many more curious things, that
so, among the view great expenses laid out upon such furniture,
he might conceal the money he had used in hiring men [to write the
letters]; for he brought in an account of his expenses,
amounting to two hundred talents, his main pretense for which was
file law-suit he had been in with Sylleus. So while all his
rogueries, even those of a lesser sort also, were covered by his
greater villainy, while all the examinations by torture proclaimed
his attempt to murder his father, and the letters proclaimed his
second attempt to murder his brethren; yet did no one of those
that came to Rome inform him of his misfortunes in Judea, although
seven months had intervened between his conviction and his
return, so great was the hatred which they all bore to him. And
perhaps they were the ghosts of those brethren of his that had
been murdered that stopped the mouths of those that intended to
have told him. He then wrote from Rome, and informed his
[friends] that he would soon come to them, and how he was dismissed
with honor by Caesar.
3. Now the king, being desirous to get this plotter against him into
his hands, and being also afraid lest he should some way
come to the knowledge how his affairs stood, and be upon his guard,
he dissembled his anger in his epistle to him, as in other
points he wrote kindly to him, and desired him to make haste, because
if he came quickly, he would then lay aside the
complaints he had against his mother; for Antipater was not ignorant
that his mother had been expelled out of the palace.
However, he had before received a letter, which contained an account
of the death of Pheroras, at Tarentum, (46) and made
great lamentations at it; for which some commended him, as being
for his own uncle; though probably this confusion arose on
account of his having thereby failed in his plot [on his father's
life]; and his tears were more for the loss of him that was to have
been subservient therein, than for [an uncle] Pheroras: moreover,
a sort of fear came upon him as to his designs, lest the poison
should have been discovered. However, when he was in Cilicia, he
received the forementioned epistle from his father, and
made great haste accordingly. But when he had sailed to Celenderis,
a suspicion came into his mind relating to his mother's
misfortunes; as if his soul foreboded some mischief to itself. Those
therefore of his friends which were the most considerate
advised him not rashly to go to his father, till he had learned
what were the occasions why his mother had been ejected,
because they were afraid that he might be involved in the calumnies
that had been cast upon his mother: but those that were less
considerate, and had more regard to their own desires of seeing
their native country, than to Antipater's safety, persuaded him
to make haste home, and not, by delaying his journey, afford his
father ground for an ill suspicion, and give a handle to those
that raised stories against him; for that in case any thing had
been moved to his disadvantage, it was owing to his absence,
which durst not have been done had he been present. And they said
it was absurd to deprive himself of certain happiness, for
the sake of an uncertain suspicion, and not rather to return to
his father, and take the royal authority upon him, which was in a
state of fluctuation on his account only. Antipater complied with
this last advice, for Providence hurried him on [to his
destruction]. So he passed over the sea, and landed at Sebastus,
the haven of Cesarea.
4. And here he found a perfect and unexpected solitude, while ever
body avoided him, and nobody durst come at him; for he
was equally hated by all men; and now that hatred had liberty to
show itself, and the dread men were in at the king's anger
made men keep from him; for the whole city [of Jerusalem] was filled
with the rumors about Antipater, and Antipater himself
was the only person who was ignorant of them; for as no man was
dismissed more magnificently when he began his voyage to
Rome so was no man now received back with greater ignominy. And
indeed he began already to suspect what misfortunes
there were in Herod's family; yet did he cunningly conceal his suspicion;
and while he was inwardly ready to die for fear, he put
on a forced boldness of countenance. Nor could he now fly any whither,
nor had he any way of emerging out of the difficulties
which encompassed him; nor indeed had he even there any certain
intelligence of the affairs of the royal family, by reason of the
threats the king had given out: yet had he some small hopes of better
tidings; for perhaps nothing had been discovered; or if any
discovery had been made, perhaps he should be able to clear himself
by impudence and artful tricks, which were the only things
he relied upon for his deliverance.
5. And with these hopes did he screen himself, till he came to the
palace, without any friends with him; for these were affronted,
and shut out at the first gate. Now Varus, the president of Syria,
happened to be in the palace [at this juncture]; so Antipater
went in to his father, and, putting on a bold face, he came near
to salute him. But Herod Stretched out his hands, and turned his
head away from him, and cried out, "Even this is an indication of
a parricide, to be desirous to get me into his arms, when he is
under such heinous accusations. God confound thee, thou vile wretch;
do not thou touch me, till thou hast cleared thyself of
these crimes that are charged upon thee. I appoint thee a court
where thou art to be judged, and this Varus, who is very
seasonably here, to be thy judge; and get thou thy defense ready
against tomorrow, for I give thee so much time to prepare
suitable excuses for thyself." And as Antipater was so confounded,
that he was able to make no answer to this charge, he went
away; but his mother and wife came to him, and told him of all the
evidence they had gotten against him. Hereupon he
recollected himself, and considered what defense he should make
against the accusations.
CHAPTER 32.
ANTIPATER IS ACCUSED BEFORE VARUS, AND IS CONVICTED OF LAYING
A PLOT [AGAINST HIS
FATHER] BY THE STRONGEST EVIDENCE. HEROD PUTS OFF HIS PUNISHMENT
TILL HE SHOULD BE
RECOVERED, AND IN THE MEAN TIME ALTERS HIS TESTAMENT.
1. NOW the day following the king assembled a court of his kinsmen
and friends, and called in Antipater's friends also. Herod
himself, with Varus, were the presidents; and Herod called for all
the witnesses, and ordered them to be brought in; among
whom some of the domestic servants of Antipater's mother were brought
in also, who had but a little while before been caught,
as they were carrying the following letter from her to her son:
"Since all those things have been already discovered to thy father,
do not thou come to him, unless thou canst procure some assistance
from Caesar." When this and the other witnesses were
introduced, Antipater came in, and falling on his face before his
father's feet, he said, "Father, I beseech thee, do not condemn
me beforehand, but let thy ears be unbiassed, and attend to my defense;
for if thou wilt give me leave, I will demonstrate that I
am innocent."
2. Hereupon Herod cried out to him to hold his peace, and spake thus
to Varus: "I cannot but think that thou, Varus, and every
other upright judge, will determine that Antipater is a vile wretch.
I am also afraid that thou wilt abhor my ill fortune, and judge
me also myself worthy of all sorts of calamity for begetting such
children; while yet I ought rather to be pitied, who have been
so affectionate a father to such wretched sons; for when I had settled
the kingdom on my former sons, even when they were
young, and when, besides the charges of their education at Rome,
I had made them the friends of Caesar, and made them
envied by other kings, I found them plotting against me. These have
been put to death, and that, in great measure, for the sake
of Antipater; for as he was then young, and appointed to be my successor,
I took care chiefly to secure him from danger: but
this profligate wild beast, when he had been over and above satiated
with that patience which I showed him, he made use of
that abundance I had given him against myself; for I seemed to him
to live too long, and he was very uneasy at the old age I was
arrived at; nor could he stay any longer, but would be a king by
parricide. And justly I am served by him for bringing him back
out of the country to court, when he was of no esteem before, and
for thrusting out those sons of mine that were born of the
queen, and for making him a successor to my dominions. I confess
to thee, O Varus, the great folly I was guilty for I provoked
those sons of mine to act against me, and cut off their just expectations
for the sake of Antipater; and indeed what kindness did
I do them; that could equal what I have done to Antipater? to I
have, in a manner, yielded up my royal while I am alive, and
whom I have openly named for the successor to my dominions in my
testament, and given him a yearly revenue of his own of
fifty talents, and supplied him with money to an extravagant degree
out of my own revenue; and' when he was about to sail to
Rome, I gave him three talents, and recommended him, and him alone
of all my children, to Caesar, as his father's deliverer.
Now what crimes were those other sons of mine guilty of like these
of Antipater? and what evidence was there brought against
them so strong as there is to demonstrate this son to have plotted
against me? Yet does this parricide presume to speak for
himself, and hopes to obscure the truth by his cunning tricks. Thou,
O Varus, must guard thyself against him; for I know the
wild beast, and I foresee how plausibly he will talk, and his counterfeit
lamentation. This was he who exhorted me to have a
care of Alexander when he was alive, and not to intrust my body
with all men! This was he who came to my very bed, and
looked about lest any one should lay snares for me! This was he
who took care of my sleep, and secured me from fear of
danger, who comforted me under the trouble I was in upon the slaughter
of my sons, and looked to see what affection my
surviving brethren bore me! This was my protector, and the guardian
of my body! And when I call to mind, O Varus, his
craftiness upon every occasion, and his art of dissembling, I can
hardly believe that I am still alive, and I wonder how I have
escaped such a deep plotter of mischief. However, since some fate
or other makes my house desolate, and perpetually raises
up those that are dearest to me against me, I will, with tears,
lament my hard fortune, and privately groan under my lonesome
condition; yet am I resolved that no one who thirsts after my blood
shall escape punishment, although the evidence should
extend itself to all my sons."
3. Upon Herod's saying this, he was interrupted by the confusion
he was in; but ordered Nicolaus, one of his friends, to
produce the evidence against Antipater. But in the mean time Antipater
lifted up his head, (for he lay on the ground before his
father's feet,) and cried out aloud, "Thou, O father, hast made
my apology for me; for how can I be a parricide, whom thou
thyself confessest to have always had for thy guardian? Thou callest
my filial affection prodigious lies and hypocrisy! how then
could it be that I, who was so subtle in other matters, should here
be so mad as not to understand that it was not easy that he
who committed so horrid a crime should be concealed from men, but
impossible that he should be concealed from the Judge of
heaven, who sees all things, and is present every where? or did
not I know what end my brethren came to, on whom God
inflicted so great a punishment for their evil designs against thee?
And indeed what was there that could possibly provoke me
against thee? Could the hope of being king do it? I was a king already.
Could I suspect hatred from thee? No. Was not I
beloved by thee? And what other fear could I have? Nay, by preserving
thee safe, I was a terror to others. Did I want money?
No; for who was able to expend so much as myself? Indeed, father,
had I been the most execrable of all mankind, and had I
had the soul of the most cruel wild beast, must I not have been
overcome with the benefits thou hadst bestowed upon me?
whom, as thou thyself sayest, thou broughtest [into the palace];
whom thou didst prefer before so many of thy sons; whom thou
madest a king in thine own lifetime, and, by the vast magnitude
of the other advantages thou bestowedst on me, thou madest me
an object of envy. O miserable man! that thou shouldst undergo this
bitter absence, and thereby afford a great opportunity for
envy to arise against thee, and a long space for such as were laying
designs against thee! Yet was I absent, father, on thy affairs,
that Sylleus might not treat thee with contempt in thine old age.
Rome is a witness to my filial affection, and so is Caesar, the
ruler of the habitable earth, who oftentimes called me Philopater.
(47) Take here the letters he hath sent thee, they are more to
be believed than the calumnies raised here; these letters are my
only apology; these I use as the demonstration of that natural
affection I have to thee. Remember that it was against my own choice
that I sailed [to Rome], as knowing the latent hatred that
was in the kingdom against me. It was thou, O father, however unwillingly,
who hast been my ruin, by forcing me to allow time
for calumnies against me, and envy at me. However, I am come hither,
and am ready to hear the evidence there is against me. If
I be a parricide, I have passed by land and by sea, without suffering
any misfortune on either of them: but this method of trial is
no advantage to me; for it seems, O father, that I am already condemned,
both before God and before thee; and as I am
already condemned, I beg that thou wilt not believe the others that
have been tortured, but let fire be brought to torment me; let
the racks march through my bowels; have no regard to any lamentations
that this polluted body can make; for if I be a
parricide, I ought not to die without torture." Thus did Antipater
cry out with lamentation and weeping, and moved all the rest,
and Varus in particular, to commiserate his case. Herod was the
only person whose passion was too strong to permit him to
weep, as knowing that the testimonies against him were true.
4. And now it was that, at the king's command, Nicolaus, when he
had premised a great deal about the craftiness of Antipater,
and had prevented the effects of their commiseration to him, afterwards
brought in a bitter and large accusation against him,
ascribing all the wickedness that had been in the kingdom to him,
and especially the murder of his brethren; and demonstrated
that they had perished by the calumnies he had raised against them.
He also said that he had laid designs against them that were
still alive, as if they were laying plots for the succession; and
(said he) how can it be supposed that he who prepared poison for
his father should abstain from mischief as to his brethren? He then
proceeded to convict him of the attempt to poison Herod,
and gave an account in order of the several discoveries that had
been made; and had great indignation as to the affair of
Pheroras, because Antipater had been for making him murder his brother,
and had corrupted those that were dearest to the
king, and filled the whole palace with wickedness; and when he had
insisted on many other accusations, and the proofs for
them, he left off.
5. Then Varus bid Antipater make his defense; but he lay along in
silence, and said no more but this, "God is my witness that I
am entirely innocent." So Varus asked for the potion, and gave it
to be drunk by a condemned malefactor, who was then in
prison, who died upon the spot. So Varus, when he had had a very
private discourse with Herod, and had written an account
of this assembly to Caesar, went away, after a day's stay. The king
also bound Antipater, and sent away to inform Caesar of
his misfortunes.
6. Now after this it was discovered that Antipater had laid a plot
against Salome also; for one of Antiphilus's domestic servants
came, and brought letters from Rome, from a maid-servant of Julia,
[Caesar's wife,] whose name was Acme. By her a message
was sent to the king, that she had found a letter written by Salome,
among Julia's papers, and had sent it to him privately, out of
her good-will to him. This letter of Salome contained the most bitter
reproaches of the king, and the highest accusations against
him. Antipater had forged this letter, and had corrupted Acme, and
persuaded her to send it to Herod. This was proved by her
letter to Antipater, for thus did this woman write to him: "As thou
desirest, I have written a letter to thy father, and have sent
that letter, and am persuaded that the king will not spare his sister
when he reads it. Thou wilt do well to remember what thou
hast promised when all is accomplished."
7. When this epistle was discovered, and what the epistle forged
against Salome contained, a suspicion came into the king's
mind, that perhaps the letters against Alexander were also forged:
he was moreover greatly disturbed, and in a passion,
because he had almost slain his sister on Antipater's account. He
did no longer delay therefore to bring him to punishment for all
his crimes; yet when he was eagerly pursuing Antipater, he was restrained
by a severe distemper he fell into. However, he sent
all account to Caesar about Acme, and the contrivances against Salome;
he sent also for his testament, and altered it, and
therein made Antipas king, as taking no care of Archclaus and Philip,
because Antipater had blasted their reputations with him;
but he bequeathed to Caesar, besides other presents that he gave
him, a thousand talents; as also to his wife, and children, and
friends, and freed-men about five hundred: he also bequeathed to
all others a great quantity of land, and of money, and showed
his respects to Salome his sister, by giving her most splendid gifts.
And this was what was contained in his testament, as it was
now altered.
CHAPTER 33.
THE GOLDEN EAGLE IS CUT TO PIECES. HEROD'S BARBARITY WHEN
HE WAS READY TO DIE. HE
ATTEMPTS TO KILL HIMSELF. HE COMMANDS ANTIPATER TO BE SLAIN.
HE SURVIVES HIM FIVE
DAYS AND THEN DIES.
1. NOW Herod's distemper became more and more severe to him, and
this because these his disorders fell upon him in his old
age, and when he was in a melancholy condition; for he was already
seventy years of age, and had been brought by the
calamities that happened to him about his children, whereby he had
no pleasure in life, even when he was in health; the grief also
that Antipater was still alive aggravated his disease, whom he resolved
to put to death now not at random, but as soon as he
should be well again, and resolved to have him slain [in a public
manner].
2. There also now happened to him, among his other calamities, a
certain popular sedition. There were two men of learning in
the city [Jerusalem,] who were thought the most skillful in the
laws of their country, and were on that account had in very great
esteem all over the nation; they were, the one Judas, the son of
Sepphoris, and the other Mattbias, the son of Margalus. There
was a great concourse of the young men to these men when they expounded
the laws, and there got together every day a kind
of an army of such as were growing up to be men. Now when these
men were informed that the king was wearing away with
melancholy, and with a distemper, they dropped words to their acquaintance,
how it was now a very proper time to defend the
cause of God, and to pull down what had been erected contrary to
the laws of their country; for it was unlawful there should be
any such thing in the temple as images, or faces, or the like representation
of any animal whatsoever. Now the king had put up a
golden eagle over the great gate of the temple, which these learned
men exhorted them to cut down; and told them, that if there
should any danger arise, it was a glorious thing to die for the
laws of their country; because that the soul was immortal, and that
an eternal enjoyment of happiness did await such as died on that
account; while the mean-spirited, and those that were not wise
enough to show a right love of their souls, preferred a death by
a disease, before that which is the result of a virtuous behavior.
3. At the same time that these men made this speech to their disciples,
a rumor was spread abroad that the king was dying,
which made the young men set about the work with greater boldness;
they therefore let themselves down from the top of the
temple with thick cords, and this at midday, and while a great number
of people were in the temple, and cut down that golden
eagle with axes. This was presently told to the king's captain of
the temple, who came running with a great body of soldiers, and
caught about forty of the young men, and brought them to the king.
And when he asked them, first of all, whether they had been
so hardy as to cut down the golden eagle, they confessed they had
done so; and when he asked them by whose command they
had done it, they replied, at the command of the law of their country;
and when he further asked them how they could be so
joyful when they were to be put to death, they replied, because
they should enjoy greater happiness after they were dead. (48)
4. At this the king was in such an extravagant passion, that he overcame
his disease [for the time,] and went out, and spake to
the people; wherein he made a terrible accusation against those
men, as being guilty of sacrilege, and as making greater
attempts under pretense of their law, and he thought they deserved
to be punished as impious persons. Whereupon the people
were afraid lest a great number should be found guilty and desired
that when he had first punished those that put them upon this
work, and then those that were caught in it, he would leave off
his anger as to the rest. With this the king complied, though not
without difficulty, and ordered those that had let themselves down,
together with their Rabbins, to be burnt alive, but delivered
the rest that were caught to the proper officers, to be put to death
by them.
5. After this, the distemper seized upon his whole body, and greatly
disordered all its parts with various symptoms; for there
was a gentle fever upon him, and an intolerable itching over all
the surface of his body, and continual pains in his colon, and
dropsical turnouts about his feet, and an inflammation of the abdomen,
and a putrefaction of his privy member, that produced
worms. Besides which he had a difficulty of breathing upon him,
and could not breathe but when he sat upright, and had a
convulsion of all his members, insomuch that the diviners said those
diseases were a punishment upon him for what he had done
to the Rabbins. Yet did he struggle with his numerous disorders,
and still had a desire to live, and hoped for recovery, and
considered of several methods of cure. Accordingly, he went over
Jordan, and made use of those hot baths at Callirrhoe, which
ran into the lake Asphaltitis, but are themselves sweet enough to
be drunk. And here the physicians thought proper to bathe his
whole body in warm oil, by letting it down into a large vessel full
of oil; whereupon his eyes failed him, and he came and went as
if he was dying; and as a tumult was then made by his servants,
at their voice he revived again. Yet did he after this despair of
recovery, and gave orders that each soldier should have fifty drachmae
a-piece, and that his commanders and friends should
have great sums of money given them.
6. He then returned back and came to Jericho, in such a melancholy
state of body as almost threatened him with present death,
when he proceeded to attempt a horrid wickedness; for he got together
the most illustrious men of the whole Jewish nation, out
of every village, into a place called the Hippodrome, and there
shut them in. He then called for his sister Salome, and her
husband Alexas, and made this speech to them: "I know well enough
that the Jews will keep a festival upon my death however,
it is in my power to be mourned for on other accounts, and to have
a splendid funeral, if you will but be subservient to my
commands. Do you but take care to send soldiers to encompass these
men that are now in custody, and slay them immediately
upon my death, and then all Judea, and every family of them, will
weep at it, whether they will or no."
7. These were the commands he gave them; when there came letters
from his ambassadors at Rome, whereby information was
given that Acme was put to death at Caesar's command, and that Antipater
was condemned to die; however, they wrote
withal, that if Herod had a mind rather to banish him, Caesar permitted
him so to do. So he for a little while revived, and had a
desire to live; but presently after he was overborne by his pains,
and was disordered by want of food, and by a convulsive
cough, and endeavored to prevent a natural, death; so he took an
apple, and asked for a knife for he used to pare apples and
eat them; he then looked round about to see that there was nobody
to hinder him, and lift up his right hand as if he would stab
himself; but Achiabus, his first cousin, came running to him, and
held his hand, and hindered him from so doing; on which
occasion a very great lamentation was made in the palace, as if
the king were expiring. As soon as ever Antipater heard that, he
took courage, and with joy in his looks, besought his keepers, for
a sum of money, to loose him and let him go; but the principal
keeper of the prison did not only obstruct him in that his intention,
but ran and told the king what his design was; hereupon the
king cried out louder than his distemper would well bear, and immediately
sent some of his guards and slew Antipater; he also
gave order to have him buried at Hyrcanium, and altered his testament
again, and therein made Archclaus, his eldest son, and
the brother of Antipas, his successor, and made Antipas tetrarch.
8. So Herod, having survived the slaughter of his son five days,
died, having reigned thirty-four years since he had caused
Antigonus to be slain, and obtained his kingdom; but thirty-seven
years since he had been made king by the Romans. Now as
for his fortune, it was prosperous in all other respects, if ever
any other man could be so, since, from a private man, he obtained
the kingdom, and kept it so long, and left it to his own sons; but
still in his domestic affairs he was a most unfortunate man.
Now, before the soldiers knew of his death, Salome and her husband
came out and dismissed those that were in bonds, whom
the king had commanded to be slain, and told them that he had altered
his mind, and would have every one of them sent to their
own homes. When these men were gone, Salome, told the soldiers [the
king was dead], and got them and the rest of the
multitude together to an assembly, in the amphitheater at Jericho,
where Ptolemy, who was intrusted by the king with his signet
ring, came before them, and spake of the happiness the king had
attained, and comforted the multitude, and read the epistle
which had been left for the soldiers, wherein he earnestly exhorted
them to bear good-will to his successor; and after he had
read the epistle, he opened and read his testament, wherein Philip
was to inherit Trachonitis, and the neighboring countries, and
Antipas was to be tetrarch, as we said before, and Archelaus was
made king. He had also been commanded to carry Herod's
ring to Caesar, and the settlements he had made, sealed up, because
Caesar was to be lord of all the settlements he had made,
and was to confirm his testament; and he ordered that the dispositions
he had made were to be kept as they were in his former
testament.
9. So there was an acclamation made to Archelaus, to congratulate
him upon his advancement; and the soldiers, with the
multitude, went round about in troops, and promised him their good-will,
and besides, prayed God to bless his government.
After this, they betook themselves to prepare for the king's funeral;
and Archelaus omitted nothing of magnificence therein, but
brought out all the royal ornaments to augment the pomp of the deceased.
There was a bier all of gold, embroidered with
precious stones, and a purple bed of various contexture, with the
dead body upon it, covered with purple; and a diadem was
put upon his head, and a crown of gold above it, and a secptre in
his right hand; and near to the bier were Herod's sons, and a
multitude of his kindred; next to which came his guards, and the
regiment of Thracians, the Germans. also and Gauls, all
accounted as if they were going to war; but the rest of the army
went foremost, armed, and following their captains and officers
in a regular manner; after whom five hundred of his domestic servants
and freed-men followed, with sweet spices in their hands:
and the body was carried two hundred furlongs, to Herodium, where
he had given order to be buried. And this shall suffice for
the conclusion of the life of Herod.
ENDNOTES
(1) I see little difference in the several accounts in Josephus about
the Egyptian temple Onion, of which large complaints are
made by his commentators. Onias, it seems, hoped to have :made it
very like that at Jerusalem, and of the same dimensions;
and so he appears to have really done, as far as he was able and
thought proper. Of this temple, see Antiq. B. XIII. ch. 3. sect.
1--3, and Of the War, B. VII. ch. 10. sect. 8.
(2) Why this John, the son of Simon, the high priest and governor
of the Jews, was called Hyrcanus, Josephus no where
informs us; nor is he called other than John at the end of the First
Book of the Maccabees. However, Sixtus Seuensis, when he
gives us an epitome of the Greek version of the book here abridged
by Josephus, or of the Chronicles of this John Hyrcanus,
then extant, assures us that he was called Hyrcanus from his conquest
of one of that name. See Authent. Rec. Part I. p. 207.
But of this younger Antiochus, see Dean Aldrich's note here.
(3) Josephus here calls this Antiochus the last of the Seleucidae,
although there remained still a shadow of another king of that
family, Antiochus Asiaticus, or Commagenus, who reigned, or rather
lay hid, till Pompey quite turned him out, as Dean Aldrich
here notes from Appian and Justin.
(4) Matthew 16:19; 18:18. Here we have the oldest and most authentic
Jewish exposition of binding and loosing, for punishing
or absolving men, not for declaring actions lawful or unlawful,
as some more modern Jews and Christians vainly pretend.
(5) Strabo, B. XVI. p. 740, relates, that this Selene Cleopatra was
besieged by Tigranes, not in Ptolemais, as here, but after
she had left Syria, in Seleucia, a citadel in Mesopotamia; and adds,
that when he had kept her a while in prison, he put her to
death. Dean Aldrich supposes here that Strabo contradicts Josephus,
which does not appear to me; for although Josephus says
both here and in the Antiquities, B. XIII. ch. 16. sect. 4, that
Tigranes besieged her now in Ptolemais, and that he took the city,
as the Antiquities inform us, yet does he no where intimate that
he now took the queen herself; so that both the narrations of
Strabo and Josephus may still be true notwithstanding.
(6) That this Antipater, the father of Herod the Great was an Idumean,
as Josephus affirms here, see the note on Antiq. B.
XIV. ch. 15. sect. 2. It is somewhat probable, as Hapercamp supposes,
and partly Spanheim also, that the Latin is here the
truest; that Pompey did him Hyrcanus, as he would have done the
others from Aristobulus, sect. 6, although his remarkable
abstinence from the 2000 talents that were in the Jewish temple,
when he took it a little afterward, ch. 7. sect. 6, and Antiq. B.
XIV. ch. 4. sect. 4, will to Greek all which agree he did not take
them.
(7) Of the famous palm trees and balsam about Jericho and Engaddl,
see the notes in Havercamp's edition, both here and B. II.
ch. 9. sect. 1. They are somewhat too long to be transcribed in
this place.
(8) Thus says Tacitus: Cn. Pompelna first of all subdued the Jews,
and went into their temple, by right of conquest, Hist. B. V.
ch. 9. Nor did he touch any of its riches, as has been observed
on the parallel place of the Antiquities, B. XIV. ch. 4. sect. 4,
out of Cicero himself.
(9) The coin of this Gadara, still extant, with its date from this
era, is a certain evidence of this its rebuilding by Pompey, as
Spanheim here assures us.
(10) Take the like attestation to the truth of this submission of
Aretas, king of Arabia, to Scaurus the Roman general, in the
words of Dean Aldrich. "Hence (says he) is derived that old and
famous Denarius belonging to the Emillian family [represented
in Havercamp's edition], wherein Aretas appears in a posture of
supplication, and taking hold of a camel's bridle with his left
hand, and with his right hand presenting a branch of the frankincense
tree, with this inscription, M. SCAURUS EX S.C.; and
beneath, REX ARETAS."
(11) This citation is now wanting.
(12) What is here noted by Hudson and Spanheim, that this grant of
leave to rebuild the walls of the cities of Judea was made
by Julius Caesar, not as here to Antipater, but to Hyrcanas, Antiq.
B. XIV. ch. 8. sect. 5, has hardly an appearance of a
contradiction; Antipater being now perhaps considered only as Hyrcanus's
deputy and minister; although he afterwards made a
cipher of Hyrcanus, and, under great decency of behavior to him,
took the real authority to himself.
(13) Or twenty-five years of age. See note on Antiq. B. I. ch. 12.
sect. 3; and on B. XIV. ch. 9. sect. 2; and Of the War, B. II.
ch. 11. sect. 6; and Polyb. B. XVII. p. 725. Many writers of the
Roman history give an account of this murder of Sextus
Caesar, and of the war of Apamia upon that occasion. They are cited
in Dean Aldrich's note.
(14) In the Antiquities, B. XIV. ch. 11. sect. 1, the duration of
the reign of Julius Caesar is three years six months; but here
three years seven months, beginning nightly, says Dean Aldrich,
from his second dictatorship. It is probable the real duration
might be three years and between six and seven months.
(15) It appears evidently by Josephus's accounts, both here and in
his Antiquities, B. XIV. ch. 11. sect. 2, that this Cassius,
one of Caesar's murderers, was a bitter oppressor, and exactor of
tribute in Judea. These seven hundred talents amount to
about three hundred thousand pounds sterling, and are about half
the yearly revenues of king Herod afterwards. See the note
on Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 11. sect. 4. It also appears that Galilee
then paid no more than one hundred talents, or the seventh part
of the entire sum to be levied in all the country.
(16) Here we see that Cassius set tyrants over all Syria; so that
his assisting to destroy Caesar does not seem to have
proceeded from his true zeal for public liberty, but from a desire
to be a tyrant himself.
(17) Phasaelus and Herod.
(18) This large and noted wood, or woodland, belonging to Carmel,
called apago by the Septuagint, is mentioned in the Old
Testament, 2 Kings 19:23; Isaiah 37:24, and by I Strabo, B. XVI.
p. 758, as both Aldrich and Spanheim here remark very
pertinently.
(19) These accounts, both here and Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 13. sect. 5,
that the Parthians fought chiefly on horseback, and that only
some few of their soldiers were free-men, perfectly agree with Trogus
Pompeius, in Justin, B. XLI. 2, 3, as Dean Aldrich well
observes on this place.
(20) Mariamac here, in the copies.
(21) This Brentesium or Brundusium has coin still preserved, on which
is written, as Spanheim informs us.
(22) This Dellius is famous, or rather infamous, in the history of
Mark Antony, as Spanheim and Aldrich here note, from the
coins, from Plutarch and Dio.
(23) This Sepphoris, the metropolis of Galilee, so often mentioned
by Josephus, has coins still remaining, as Spanheim here
informs us.
(24) This way of speaking, "after forty days," is interpreted by
Josephus himself, "on the fortieth day," Antiq. B. XIV. ch. 15.
sect. 4. In like manner, when Josephus says, ch. 33. sect. 8, that
Herod lived "after" he had ordered Antipater to be slain "five
days;" this is by himself interpreted, Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 8. sect.
1, that he died "on the fifth day afterward." So also what is in
this book, ch. 13. sect. 1, "after two years," is, Antiq. B. XIV.
ch. 13. sect. 3, "on the second year." And Dean Aldrich here
notes that this way of speaking is familiar to Josephus.
(25) This Samosata, the metropolis of Commagena, is well known from
its coins, as Spanheim here assures us. Dean Aldrich
also confirms what Josephus here notes, that Herod was a great means
of taking the city by Antony, and that from Plutarch and
Dio.
(26) That is, a woman, not, a man.
(27) This death of Antigonus is confirmed by Plutarch and. Straho;
the latter of whom is cited for it by Josephus himself, Antiq.
B. XV. ch. 1. sect. 2, as Dean Aldrich here observes.
(28) This ancient liberty of Tyre and Sidon under the Romans, taken
notice of by Josephus, both here and Antiq. B. XV. ch. 4.
sect. 1, is confirmed by the testimony of Sirabe, B. XVI. p. 757,
as Dean Aldrich remarks; although, as he justly adds, this
liberty lasted but a little while longer, when Augtus took it away
from them.
(29) This seventh year of the reign of Herod [from the conquest or
death of Antigonus], with the great earthquake in the
beginning of the same spring, which are here fully implied to be
not much before the fight at Actium, between Octavius and
Antony, and which is known from the Roman historians to have been
in the beginning of September, in the thirty-first year
before the Christian era, determines the chronology of Josephus
as to the reign of Herod, viz. that he began in the year 37,
beyond rational contradiction. Nor is it quite unworthy of our notice,
that this seventh year of the reign of Herod, or the
thirty-first before the Christian era, contained the latter part
of a Sabbatic year, on which Sabbatic year, therefore, it is plain this
great earthquake happened in Judea.
(30) This speech of Herod is set down twice by Josephus, here and
Antiq. B. XV. ch. 5. sect. 3, to the very same purpose, but
by no means in the same words; whence it appears that the sense
was Herod's, but the composition Josephus's.
(31) Since Josephus, both here and in his Antiq. B. XV. ch. 7. sect.
3, reckons Gaza, which had been a free city, among the
cities given Herod by Augustus, and yet implies that Herod had made
Costobarus a governor of it before, Antiq. B. XV. ch. 7.
sect. 9, Hardain has some pretense for saying that Josephus here
contradicted himself. But perhaps Herod thought he had
sufficient authority to put a governor into Gaza, after he was made
tetrarch or king, in times of war, before the city was entirely
delivered into his hands by Augustus.
(32) This fort was first built, as it is supposed, by John Hyrcanus;
see Prid. at the year 107; and called "Baris," the Tower or
Citadel. It was afterwards rebuilt, with great improvements, by
Herod, under the government of Antonius, and was named from
him "the Tower of Antoni;" and about the time when Herod rebuilt
the temple, he seems to have put his last hand to it. See
Antiq. B. XVIII. ch. 5. sect. 4; Of the War, B. I. ch. 3. sect.
3; ch. 5. sect. 4. It lay on the northwest side of the temple, and
was a quarter as large.
(33) That Josephus speaks truth, when he assures us that the haven
of this Cesarea was made by Herod not less, nay rather
larger, than that famous haven at Athens, called the Pyrecum, will
appear, says Dean Aldrich, to him who compares the
descriptions of that at Athens in Thucydides and Pausanias, with
this of Cesarea in Josephus here, and in the Antiq. B. XV. ch.
9. sect. 6, and B. XVII. ch. 9. sect. 1.
(34) These buildings of cities by the name of Caesar, and institution
of solemn games in honor of Augustus Caesar, as here, and
in the Antiquities, related of Herod by Josephus, the Roman historians
attest to, as things then frequent in the provinces of that
empire, as Dean Aldrich observes on this chapter.
(35) There were two cities, or citadels, called Herodium, in Judea,
and both mentioned by Josephus, not only here, but Antiq.
B. XIV. ch. 13. sect. 9; B. XV. ch. 9. sect. 6; Of the War, B. I.
ch. 13. sect. 8; B. III. ch. 3. sect. 5. One of them was two
hundred, and the other sixty furlongs distant from Jerusalem. One
of them is mentioned by Pliny, Hist. Nat. B. V. ch. 14., as
Dean Aldrich observes here.
(36) Here seems to be a small defect in the copies, which describe
the wild beasts which were hunted in a certain country by
Herod, without naming any such country at all.
(37) Here is either a defect or a great mistake in Josephus's present
copies or memory; for Mariamne did not now reproach
Herod with this his first injunction to Joseph to kill her, if he
himself were slain by Antony, but that he had given the like
command a second time to Soemus also, when he was afraid of being
slain by Augustus. Antiq. B. XV. ch. 3. sect. 5, etc.
(38) That this island Eleusa, afterward called Sebaste, near Cilicia,
had in it the royal palace of this Archclaus, king of
Cappadocia, Strabo testifies, B. XV. p. 671. Stephanus of Byzantiam
also calls it "an island of Cilicia, which is now Sebaste;"
both whose testimonies are pertinently cited here by Dr. Hudson.
See the same history, Antiq. B. XVI. ch. 10. sect. 7.
(39) That it was an immemorial custom among the Jews, and their forefathers,
the patriarchs, to have sometimes more wives or
wives and concubines, than one at the same the and that this polygamy
was not directly forbidden in the law of Moses is
evident; but that polygamy was ever properly and distinctly permitted
in that law of Moses, in the places here cited by Dean
Aldrich, Deuteronomy 17:16, 17, or 21:15, or indeed any where else,
does not appear to me. And what our Savior says about
the common Jewish divorces, which may lay much greater claim to
such a permission than polygamy, seems to me true in this
case also; that Moses, "for the hardness of their hearts," suffered
them to have several wives at the same time, but that "from the
beginning it was not so," Matthew 19:8; Mark 10:5.
(40) This vile fellow, Eurycles the Lacedemonian, seems to have been
the same who is mentioned by Plutarch, as (twenty-live
years before) a companion to Mark Antony, and as living with Herod;
whence he might easily insinuate himself into the
acquaintance of Herod's sons, Antipater and Alexander, as Usher,
Hudson, and Spanheim justly suppose. The reason why his
being a Spartan rendered him acceptable to the Jews as we here see
he was, is visible from the public records of the Jews and
Spartans, owning those Spartans to be of kin to the Jews, and derived
from their common ancestor Abraham, the first patriarch
of the Jewish nation, Antiq. B. XII. ch. 4. sect. 10; B. XIII. ch.
5. sect. 8; and 1 Macc. 12:7.
(41) See the preceding note.
(42) Dean Aldrich takes notice here, that these nine wives of Herod
were alive at the same time; and that if the celebrated
Mariamne, who was now dead, be reckoned, those wives were in all
ten. Yet it is remarkable that he had no more than fifteen
children by them all.
(43) To prevent confusion, it may not be amiss, with Dean Aldrich,
to distinguish between four Josephs in the history of Herod.
1. Joseph, Herod's uncle, and the [second] husband of his sister
Salome, slain by Herod, on account of Mariamne. 2. Joseph,
Herod's quaestor, or treasurer, slain on the same account. 3. Joseph,
Herod's brother, slain in battle against Antigonus. 4.
Joseph, Herod's nephew, the husband of Olympias, mentioned in this
place.
(44) These daughters of Herod, whom Pheroras's wife affronted, were
Salome and Roxana, two virgins, who were born to him
of his two wives, Elpide and Phedra. See Herod's genealogy, Antiq.
B. XVII. ch. 1. sect. 3.
(45) This strange obstinacy of Pheroras in retaining his wife, who
was one of a low family, and refusing to marry one nearly
related to Herod, though he so earnestly desired it, as also that
wife's admission to the counsels of the other great court ladies,
together with Herod’s own importunity as to Pheroras's divorce and
other marriage, all so remarkable here, or in the Antiquities
XVII. ch. 2. sect. 4; and ch. 3. be well accounted for, but on the
supposal that Pheroras believed, and Herod suspected, that
the Pharisees' prediction, as if the crown of Judea should be translated
from Herod to Pheroras's posterity and that most
probably to Pheroras's posterity by this his wife, also would prove
true. See Antiq. B. XVII. ch. 2. sect. 4; and ch. 3. sect. 1.
(46) This Tarentum has coins still extant, as Reland informs us here
in his note.
(47) A lover of his father.
(48) Since in these two sections we have an evident account of the
Jewish opinions in the days of Josephus, about a future
happy state, and the resurrection of the dead, as in the New Testament,
John 11:24, I shall here refer to the other places in
Josephus, before he became a catholic Christian, which concern the
same matters. Of the War, B. II. ch. 8. sect. 10, 11; B.
III. ch. 8. sect. 4; B. VII. ch. 6. sect. 7; Contr. Apion, B. II.
sect. 30; where we may observe, that none of these passages are
in his Books of Antiquities, written peculiarly for the use of the
Gentiles, to whom he thought it not proper to insist on topics so
much out of their way as these were. Nor is this observation to
be omitted here, especially on account of the sensible difference
we have now before us in Josephus's reason of the used by the Rabbins
to persuade their scholars to hazard their lives for the
vindication of God's law against images, by Moses, as well as of
the answers those scholars made to Herod, when they were
caught, and ready to die for the same; I mean as compared with the
parallel arguments and answers represented in the
Antiquities, B. XVII. ch. 6. sect, 2, 3. A like difference between
Jewish and Gentile notions the reader will find in my notes on
Antiquities, B. III. ch. 7. sect. 7; B. XV. ch. 9. sect. 1. See
the like also in the case of the three Jewish sects in the Antiquities,
B. XIII. ch. 5. sect. 9, and ch. 10. sect. 4, 5; B. XVIII. ch. 1.
sect. 5; and compared with this in his Wars of the Jews, B. II.
ch. 8. sect. 2-14. Nor does St. Paul himself reason to Gentiles
at Athens, Acts 17:16-34, as he does to Jews in his Epistles.
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