 Book II, CHAPTER XX. Cestius sends ambassadors to Nero. The people of Damascus slayed those Jews that lived with them. The people of Jerusalem, after they had left off, pursuing Cestius, returned to the city and get things ready for its defence, and make a great many generals for their armies, and particularly Josephus, the writer of these books, some account of his administration. After this calamity had befallen Cestius, many of the most eminent of the Jews swam away from the city, as from a ship when it was going to sink. Costobarus, therefore un-soul, who were brethren, together with Philip, the son of Jacobus, who was the commander of King Agrippus' forces, ran away from the city, and went to Cestius. But then how Antipas, who had been besieged with them in the king's palace, but would not fly away with them, was afterwards slain by the seditious, we shall relate hereafter. However, Cestius sent Saul and his friends, at their own desire, to Achaia, to Nero, to inform him of the great distress they were in, and to lay the blame of their kindling the war upon Florus, as hoping to alleviate his own danger by provoking his indignation against Florus. In the meantime the people of Damascus, when they were informed of the destruction of the Romans, said about the slaughter of those Jews that were among them, and as they had them already cooped up together in the place of public exercises, which they had done out of the suspicion they had of them, they thought they should meet with no difficulty in the attempt. Yet did they distrust their own wives, which were almost all of them addicted to the Jewish religion, on which account it was, that their greatest concern was, how they might conceal these things from them. So they came upon the Jews, and cut their throats, as being in a narrow place, in number ten thousand, and all of them unarmed, and this in one hour's time, without anybody to disturb them. But as to those who had pursued after Cestius, when they were returned back to Jerusalem, they overbore some of those that favored the Romans by violence, and some them persuaded, by entreaties, to join with them, and got together in great numbers in the temple, and appointed a great many generals for the war. Joseph also, the son of Goryon, food note, from this name of Joseph, the son of Goryon, or Goryon the son of Joseph, one of the governors of Jerusalem, who was slain at the beginning of the Timurids by the zealots, the much later Jewish author of a history of that nation takes his title, and yet personates our true Josephus, the son of Matthias. But the cheat is too gross to be put upon the learned world, end of the food note. And Ananos the high priest, were chosen as governors of all affairs within the city, and was a particular charge to repair the walls of the city, for they did not ordain Eleazar, the son of Simon, to that office. Although he had gotten into his possession the praise they had taken from the Romans, and the money they had taken from Cestius, together was a great part of the public treasures, because they saw he was of a tyrannical temper, and that his followers were, in their behavior like guards about him. However they want they were in of Eleazar's money, and the subtle tricks used by him, brought also about, that the people were circumvented, and submitted themselves to his authority in all public affairs. They also choose other generals from Idumea, Jesus the son of Saphias, one of the high priests, and Eleazar the son of Ananias, the high priest. They also enjoined Niger, the then governor of Idumea, who was of a family that belonged to Peria, beyond Jordan, and was then called the Pterite, that he should be obedient to those forenamed commanders. We may observe here, that the Idumeans, as having been proselytes of justice since the days of John Hercanoes, during about 195 years, were now esteemed as part of the Jewish nation, and these provided of a Jewish commander accordingly, and footnote. Nor did they neglect the care of other parts of the country, but Joseph the son of Simon was sent as general to Jericho, as was Manasseh to Peria, and John the Essacue, to the toparchy of Tama. Luda was also added to his portion, and Joppa and Emmaus, but John, the son of Matias, was made governor of the toparchies of Gopchnitica and Acrobattini, as was Josephus the son of Matias of both the Galilees. Gamala also, which was the strongest city in those parts, was put under his command. So every one of the other commanders administered the affairs of his portion, with that alacrity and prudence they were masters of. But as to Josephus, when he came into Galilee, his first care was to gain the good will of the people of that country, as sensible that he should thereby have in general good success, although he should fail in other points. And being conscious to himself that if he communicated part of his power to the great man, he should make them his fast friends, and that he should gain the same favor from the multitude, if he executed his commands by persons of their own country, and with whom they were well acquainted. He chose out seventy of the most prudent men, and those elders in age, and appointed them to be rulers of all Galilee, as he chose seven judges in every city to hear the lesser quarrels. For as to the greater causes, and those were in life and death were concerned, he enjoyed they should be brought to him and the seventy elders. Footnote. We see here, and in Josephus' account of his own life, how exactly he imitated his legislator Moses, or perhaps only obeyed what he took to be his perpetual law, in appointing seven lesser judges for smaller causes, in particular cities, and perhaps for the first hearing of greater causes, with the liberty of an appeal to seventy one supreme judges, especially in those causes where life and death were concerned. Moreover, we find that he imitated Moses, as well as the Romans, in the number and distribution of the subaltern officers of his army, as Exodus 18-25, Deuteronomy 1-15, and in his charge against the offenses common among soldiers, as Deuteronomy 13-9, in all which he showed his great wisdom and piety, and skillful conduct in martial affairs. Yet maybe discern in his very high character of Artanus the High Priest, who seems to have been the same, who condemned St. James, Bishop of Jerusalem, to be stoned, under Albinus the procurator, that when he wrote these books of the war, he was not so much as an ebionate Christian, otherwise he would not have failed, according to his usual custom, to have reckoned this his barber's murder as a just punishment upon him, for that his cruelty to the chief, or rather only Christian bishop of the circumcision. Nor had he been then a Christian, could he immediately have spoken so movingly of the causes of the destruction of Jerusalem, without one word of either the condemnation of James, or crucifixion of Christ, as he did when he was become a Christian afterward. And footnote. Joseph was also, when he had settled these rules for determining causes by the law, with regard to the people's dealings one with another, but took himself to make provisions for their safety against external violence. And as he knew the Romans would fall upon Galilee, he built walls in proper places about Jotapata, and Bersabie, and Salamis, and beside these about Capheretcho, and Jaffa, and Siko, and what they call Mount Tabor, and Tarihi, and Tiberius. Moreover, he built walls about the caves near the lake of Genesar, which places lay in the lower Galilee, the same he did to the places of Upper Galilee, as well as to the rock called the Rock of the Ahabari, and to Sef, and Jamneth, and Meroeth, and in Golanities he fortified Siloikia, and Sogani, and Gamala. But as to those of Sephoris, they were the only people to whom he gave leave to build their own walls. And this because he perceived they were rich and wealthy, and ready to go to war, without standing in need of any injunctions for that purpose. The case was the same with Kishala, which had a wall built about it by John, the son of Levi himself, but with the consent of Josephus. But for the building of the rest of the fortresses, he laboured together with all the other builders, and was present to give all the necessary orders for that purpose. He also got together an army out of Galilee of more than a hundred thousand young men, all of which he armed with the old weapons which he had collected together and prepared for them. And when he had considered that the Roman power became invincible, chiefly by their readiness in obeying orders, and the constant exercise of their arms, he despaired of teaching these his men to use of their arms, which was to be obtained by experience. But observing that their readiness in obeying orders was owing to the multitude of their officers, he made his partitions in his army more after the Roman manor, and appointed a great many subalterns. He also distributed the soldiers into various classes, whom he put under captains of tens, and captains of hundreds, and then under captains of thousands. And besides these, he had commanders of larger bodies of men. He also taught them to give the signals one to another, and to call and recall the soldiers by the trumpets, how to expand the wings of an army, and make them wheel about. And when one wing has had success, to turn again and assist those that were hard set, and to join in the defense of what had most suffered. He also continually instructed them, ill what concerned the courage of the soul, and the hardiness of the body, and above all, he exercised them for war, by declaring to them distantly the good order of the Romans, and that they were to fight with men who, both by the strength of their bodies and courage of their souls, had conquered in a manner the whole habitable earth. He told them that he should make trial of the good order they would observe in war, even before it came to any battle, in case they would abstain from the crimes they used to indulge themselves in, such as theft, and robbery, and raping, and from defrauding their own countrymen, and never to esteem the harm done to those that were so near of kin to them, to be any advantage for themselves. For that wars are then managed the best when the warriors preserve a good conscience. But that such as our ill men in private life will not only have those for enemies which attacks them, but God himself also for their antagonist. And thus did he continue to admonish them. Now he choose for the war such an army as was sufficient. 60,000 footmen and 250 horsemen. Food note. I should think that an army of 60,000 footmen should require many more than 250 horsemen. And we find Josephus had more horsemen under his command than 250 in his future history. I suppose the number of the thousands is dropped in our present copies. And food note. And besides these, on which he puts a greater trust, there were about 4,500 mercenaries. He had also 600 men as guards of his body. Now the cities easily maintained the rest of his army, accepting the mercenaries, for every one of the cities, enumerated above, sent out half their men to the army, and retained the other half at home in order to get provisions for them, in so much that the one part went to the war, and the other part to their work, and so those that sent out their corn were paid for it by those that were in arms, by that security which they enjoyed from them. End of Book 2, Chapter 20 Book 2, chapters 21 and 22 of the Wars of the Jews. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. The Wars of the Jews by Josephus, translated by William Weston. Book 2, chapters 21 and 22. Chapter 21 Concerning John of Gishala, Josephus uses stratagems against the plots John laid against him, and recovers certain cities which had revolted from him. 1. Now as Josephus was thus engaged in the administration of the affairs of Galilee, there arose a treacherous person, a man of Gishala, the son of Levi, whose name was John. His character was that of a very cunning and very navish person, beyond the ordinary rate of the other men of eminence there, and for wicked practices he had not his fellow anywhere. For he was at first, and for a long time his wants were a hindrance to him in his wicked designs. He was a ready liar, and yet very sharp in gaining credit to his fictions. He thought at a point of virtue to delude people, and would delude even such as were the dearest to him. He was a hypocritical pretender to humanity. But where he had hopes of gain, he spared not the shedding of blood. His desires were ever carried to great things, and he encouraged his hopes from those mean wicked tricks which he was the author of. He had a peculiar knack at thieving. But in some time he got certain companions in his impudent practices. At first they were but few, but as he proceeded on in his evil course they became still more and more numerous. He took care that none of his partners should be easily caught in their rogueries, but chose such out of the rest as had the strongest constitutions of body and the greatest courage of soul, together with great skill in martial affairs. As he got together a band of four hundred men who came principally out of the country of Tyre and were vagabonds that had run away from its villages, and by the means of these he laid waste all gallally and irritated a considerable number who were in great expectation of a war then suddenly to rise among them. Two. However, John's want of money had hitherto restrained him in his ambition after command and in his attempts to advance himself. But when he saw that Josephus was highly pleased with the activity of his temper he persuaded him in the first place to entrust him with the repairing of the walls of his native city, Gishala, in which work he got a great deal of money from the rich citizens. He after that contrived a very shrewd trick and pretending that the Jews who dwelt in Syria were obliged to make use of oil that was made by others than those of their own nation, he desired leave of Josephus to send oil to their borders. So he bought four amphare with such Tyrian money as was for the value of four attic drakme, and sold every half amphora at the same price. And as gallally was very fruitful in oil and was peculiarly so at the time by sending away great quantities and having the soul privileged so to do, he gathered an immense sum of money together, which money he immediately used to the disadvantage of him who gave him that privilege, and as he supposed that if he could once overthrow Josephus he should himself obtain the government of Galilee. So he gave orders to the robbers that were under his command to be more zealous in their Thebish expeditions, that by the rise of many that desired innovations in the country he might either catch their general in his snares as he came to the country's assistance, and then kill him, or if he should overlook the robbers he might accuse him for his negligence to the people of the country. He also spread abroad a report far in near that Josephus was delivering up the administration of affairs to the Romans, and many such plots did he lay in order to ruin him. Three. Now at the same time that certain young men of the village Debarita, who kept guard in the Great Plain, laid snares for Ptolemy, who was Agrippus and Bernice's steward, and took from him all that he had with him, among which things there were a great many costly garments, and no small number of silver cuffs, and six hundred pieces of gold. Yet were they not able to conceal what they had stolen, but brought it all to Josephus, to Terracay. Hereupon he blamed them for the violence they had offered to the king and queen, and deposited what they had brought to him with Ines, the most potent man of Terracay, with an intention of sending the things back to the owners at a proper time, which act of Josephus brought him into the greatest danger. For those that had stolen the things had an indignation at him, both because they gained no share of it for themselves, and because they perceived beforehand what was Josephus's intention, and that he would freely deliver up what had cost them so much pains to the king and queen. These ran away by night to their several villages, and declared to all men that Josephus was going to betray them. They also raised great disorders in all the neighboring cities, in so much that in the morning a hundred thousand armed men came running together, which multitude was crowded together in the hippodrome at Terracay, and made a very peevish clamor against him, while some cried out that they should depose the traitor, and others that they should burn him. Now John irritated a great many, as did also one Jesus, the son of Saphius, who was then governor of Tiberius. Then it was that Josephus's friends and the guards of his body were so affrighted at this violent assault of the multitude that they all fled away but for, and as he was asleep they awaked him, and the people were going to set fire to the house. And although these four that remained with him persuaded him to run away, he was neither surprised at his being himself deserted, nor at the great multitude that came against him, but leaped out to them with his clothes rent and ashes sprinkled on his head, with his hands behind him, and his sword hanging at his neck. At this site his friends, especially those of Terracay, commiserated his condition, but those that came out of the country, and those in their neighborhood, to whom his government seemed burdensome, reproached him and bid him produce the money which belonged to them all immediately, and to confess the agreement he had made to betray them. For they imagined, from the habit in which he appeared, that he would deny nothing of what they suspected concerning him, and that it was in order to obtain pardon that he had put himself entirely into so pitiable a posture. But this humble appearance was only designed as preparatory to a stratagem of his, who thereby contrived to set those who were so angry at him, had variance one with another about the things they were angry at. However, he promised he would confess all. Hereupon he was permitted to speak when he said, I did neither intend to send this money back to Agrippa nor to gain it myself, for I did never esteem one that was your enemy to be my friend, nor did I look upon what would tend to your disadvantage to be my advantage. But, O you people of Terricate, I saw that your city stood in more need than others of fortifications for your security, and that it wanted money in order for the building it a wall. I was also afraid lest the people of Tiberius and other cities should lay a plot to seize upon these spoils, and therefore it was that I intended to retain this money privately that I might encompass you with a wall. But if this does not please you, I will produce what was brought me and leave it to you to ponder it. But if I have conducted myself so well as to please you, you may, if you please, punish your benefactor. Four. Hereupon the people of Terricate loudly commended him, but those of Tiberius, with the rest of the company, gave him hard names and threatened what they would do to him. So both sides left off quarreling with Josephus and fell on quarreling with one another. So he grew bold upon the dependents he had on his friends, which were the people of Terricate, and about forty thousand in number, and spoke more freely to the whole multitude, and reproached them greatly for their rashness, and told them that with this money he would build walls about Terricate, and would put the other cities in a state of security also, for that they should not want money if they would but agree for whose benefit it was to be procured, and would not suffer themselves to be irritated against him who procured it for them. Five. Hereupon the rest of the multitude that had been deluded retired, but yet so that they went away angry, and two thousand of them made an assault upon him in their armor, and as he was already gone to his own house, they stood without and threatened him, on which occasion Josephus again used a second stratagem to escape them, for he got upon the top of his house, and with his right hand desired them to be silent and said to them, I cannot tell what you would have nor can hear what you say, for the confused noise you make. But he said that he would comply with all their demands in case they would but send some of their number into him that might talk with him about it, and when the principal of them, with their leaders, heard this they came into the house. He then drew them to the most retired part of the house, and shut the door of that hall where he put them, and then had them whipped till every one of their inward parts appeared naked. In the meantime the multitude stood round the house and supposed that he had a long discourse with those that were gone in about what they had claimed of him. He had then the doors set open immediately and sent the men out all bloody, which so terribly affrighted those that had before threatened him that they threw away their arms and ran away. Six. But as for John, his envy grew greater upon this escape of Josephus, and he framed a new plot against him. He pretended to be sick, and by a letter desired that Josephus should give him leave to use the hot baths that were at Tiberius for the recovery of his health. Hereupon Josephus, who hitherto suspected nothing of John's plots against him, wrote to the governors of the city that they would provide a lodging and necessaries for John, which favors when he had made use of in two days' time he did what he came about, some he corrupted with delusive frauds and others with money, and so persuaded them to revolt from Josephus. This Silas, who was appointed guardian of the city by Josephus, wrote to him immediately and informed him of the plot against him, which epistle when Josephus had received he marched with great diligence all night and came early in the morning to Tiberius, at which time the rest of the multitude met him. But John, who suspected that his coming was not for his advantage, sent however one of his friends and pretended that he was sick, and that being confined to his bed he could not come to pay him his respects. But as soon as Josephus had got the people of Tiberius together in the stadium and tried to discourse with them about the letters that he had received, John privately sent some armed men and gave them orders to slay him. But when the people saw that the armed men were about to draw their swords they cried out, at which cry Josephus turned himself about, and when he saw that the swords were just at his throat he marched away in great haste to the seashore and left off that speech which he was going to make to the people upon an elevation of six cubits high. He then seized on a ship which lay in the haven and leaped into it with two of his guards and fled away into the midst of the lake. 7. But now the soldiers he had with him took up their arms immediately and marched against the plotters. But Josephus was afraid lest a civil war should be raised by the envy of a few men and bring the city to ruin. So he sent some of his party to tell them that they should do no more than provide for their own safety, that they should not kill anybody nor accuse any for the occasion they had afforded of disorder. Accordingly these men obeyed his orders and were quiet, but the people of the neighboring country, when they were informed of this plot and of the plotter, they got together in great multitudes to oppose John. But he prevented their attempt and fled away to Ghishala, his native city, while the Galileans came running out of their several cities to Josephus. And as they were now become many ten thousands of armed men, they cried out that they were come against John the common plotter against their interest, and would at the same time burn him and that city which had received him. Hereupon Josephus told them that he took their good will to him kindly, but still he restrained their fury and intended to subdue his enemies by prudent conduct rather than by slaying them. So he accepted those of every city which had joined in this revolt with John by name who had readily been shown him by these that came from every city and caused public proclamation to be made that he would seize upon the effects of those that did not forsake John within five days time and would burn both their houses and their families with fire. Whereupon three thousand of John's party left him immediately, who came to Josephus and threw their arms down at his feet. John then betook himself together with his two thousand Syrian renegades from open attempts to more secret ways of treachery. Accordingly he privately sent messengers to Jerusalem to accuse Josephus as having to great power and to let them know that he would soon come as a tyrant to their metropolis unless they prevented him. This accusation the people were aware of beforehand but had no regard to it. However some of the grand days out of Envy and some of the rulers also sent money to John privately that he might be able to get together mercenary soldiers in order to fight Josephus. They also made a decree of themselves and this for recalling him from his government. Yet did they not think that decree sufficient. So they sent with all two thousand five hundred armed men and four persons of the highest rank amongst them. Joazar the son of Nomacus and Ananias the son of Sadduk as also Simon and Judas the sons of Jonathan all very able men and speaking that these persons might withdraw the goodwill of the people from Josephus. These had it in charge that if he would voluntarily come away they should permit him to come and give an account of his conduct but if he obstinately insisted upon continuing in his government they should treat him as an enemy. Now Josephus's friends had sent him word that an army was coming against him but they gave him no notice beforehand what the reason of their coming was that being only known among some secret councils of his enemies and by this means it was that four cities revolted from him immediately Sophorus and Gamala and Ghishala and Tiberias. Yet did he recover these cities without war and when he had routed those four commanders by stratagems and had taken the most potent of their warriors he sent them to Jerusalem and the people of Galilee had great indignation at them and were in a zealous disposition to slay not only these forces but those that sent them also had not these forces prevented it by running away. Eight. Now John was detained afterward within the walls of Ghishala by the fear he was in of Josephus but within a few days Tiberias revolted again the people within it inviting King of Rippa to return to the exercise of his authority there and when he did not come at the time appointed and when a few Roman horsemen appeared that day they expelled Josephus out of the city. Now this revolt of theirs was presently known at Terekei and as Josephus had sent out all the soldiers that were with him to gather corn he knew not how either to march out alone against the revolters or to stay where he was because he was afraid the soldiers might prevent him if he tarried and might get into the city for he did not intend to do anything on the next day because it was the Sabbath day and would hinder his proceeding so he contrived to circumvent the revolters by a stratagem and in the first place he ordered the gates of Terekei to be shut that nobody might go out and inform those of Tiberias for whom it was intended what stratagem he was about he then got together all the ships that were upon the lake which were found to be 230 and in each of them he put no more than four mariners so he sailed to Tiberias with haste and kept at such a distance from the city that it was not easy for the people to see the vessels and ordered that the empty vessels should float up and down there while himself who had but seven of his guards with him and those unarmed also went so near as to be seen but when his adversaries who were still reproaching him saw him from the walls they were so astonished that they supposed all the ships were full of armed men and threw down their arms and by signals of intercession they besought him to spare the city 9 upon this Josephus threatened them terribly and reproached them that when they were the first that took up arms against the Romans they should spend their force beforehand in civil dissensions and do what their enemies desired above all things and that besides they should endeavor so hastily to seize upon him who took care of their safety and had not been ashamed to shut the gates of their city against him that built their walls that however he would admit of any intercessors from them that might make some excuse for them and with whom he would make such agreements as might be for the city's security here upon ten of the most potent men of Tiberias came down to him presently when he had taken them into one of his vessels he ordered them to be carried a great way off from the city he then commanded that fifty others of their senate such as were men of the greatest eminence should come to him that they might also give him some security on their behalf after which under one new pretense or another he called forth others one after another to make the leagues between them he then gave order to the masters of those vessels which he had thus filled to sail away immediately for Terekei and to confine those men in the prison there till at length he took all their senate consisting of six hundred persons and about two thousand of the populace and carried them away to Terekei put note I cannot but think this stratagem of Josephus which is related both here and in his life section 32 33 to be one of the finest that ever was invented and executed by any warrior whatsoever and footnote 10 and when the rest of the people cried out that it was one clittus that was the chief author of this revolt they desired him to spend his anger upon him only but Josephus whose intention it was to slay nobody commanded one levius belonging to his guards to go out of the vessel in order to cut off both clittus's hands yet was levius afraid to go out by himself alone to such a large body of enemies and refused to go now clittus saw that Josephus was in a great passion in the ship and ready to leap out of it in order to execute the punishment himself he begged therefore from the shore that he would leave him one of his hands which Josephus agreed to upon condition that he would himself cut off the other hand accordingly he drew his sword and with his right hand cut off his left so great was the fear he was in of Josephus himself and thus he took the people of Tiberius prisoners and recovered the city again with empty ships and seven of his guard moreover a few days afterward he retook Gishala which had revolted with the people of Sephorus and gave his soldiers leave to plunder it yet did he get all the plunder together and restored it to the inhabitants and the like he did to the inhabitants of Sephorus and Tiberius for when he had subdued those cities he had a mind by letting them be plundered to give them some good instruction while at the same time he regained their good will by restoring them their money again chapter 22 the Jews make already for the war and Simon the son of Gioris falls to plundering one and thus for the disturbances of Galilee quieted when upon their ceasing to prosecute their civil dissensions they betook themselves to make preparations for the war with the Romans now in Jerusalem the high priest Artanus and do as many of the men of power as were not in the interest of the Romans both repaired the walls and made a great many warlike instruments in so much that in all parts of the city darts and all sorts of armor were upon the anvil although the multitude of the young men were engaged in exercises without any regularity and all places were full of tumultuous doings yet the moderate sort were exceedingly sad and a great many there were also out of the prospect they had of the calamities that were coming upon them made great lamentations there were also such omens observed as were understood to be forerunners of evils by such as loved peace but were by those that kindled the war interpreted so as to suit their own inclinations and the very state of the city even before the Romans came against it was that of a place doomed to destruction however Ananus's concern was this to lay aside for a while the preparations for the war and to persuade the seditious to consult their own interest and to restrain the madness of those that had the name of zealots but their violence was too hard for him and what and he came to we shall relate hereafter to but as for the acrobane toparchy Simon the son of Giorus got a great number of those that were fond of innovations together and betook himself to ravage the country nor did he only harass the rich men's houses but tormented their bodies and appeared openly in beforehand to affect tyranny in his government and when an army was sent against him by Artenus and the other rulers he and his band retired to the robbers that were at Masada and stayed there and plundered the country of Idumea with them till both Ananus and his other adversaries were slain and until the rulers of that country were so afflicted with the multitude of those that were slain and with the continual ravage of what they had that they raised an army and put garrisons into the villages to secure them from those insults and in this state were the affairs of Judea at that time and of book two chapters twenty one and twenty two and of book two book three chapters one through three of the wars of the jews this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the wars of the jews by Josephus translated by William Winston book three chapters one through three book three containing the interval of about one year from Vespasians coming to subdue the jews to the taking of Gamala chapter one Vespasian is sent into Syria by Nero in order to make war with the jews when Nero was informed of the roman's ill success in Judea a concealed consternation and terror as is usual in such cases fell upon him although he openly looked very big and was very angry and said that what had happened was rather owing to the negligence of the commander than to any valor of the enemy and as he thought it fit for him who bear the burden of the whole empire to despise such misfortunes he now pretended to do so and to have a soul superior to all such sad accidents whatsoever yet did the disturbance that was in his soul plainly appear by the solicitude he was in how to recover his affairs again and as he was deliberating to whom he should commit the care of the east now it was in so great a commotion and whom might be best able to punish the jews for their rebellion and might prevent the same distemper from seizing upon the neighboring nations also he found no one but Vespasian equal to the task and able to undergo the great burden of so mighty a war seeing he was growing an old man already in the camp and from his youth had been exercised in war-like exploits he was also a man that had long ago pacified the west and made it subject to the roman's when it had been put into disorder by the germans he had also recovered to them britain by his arms which had been so little known before whereby he procured to his father claudius to have a triumph bestowed upon him without any sweat or labor of his own footnote take the confirmation of this in the words of suetonius here produced by dr hudson in the reign of claudius says he vespasian for the sake of narcissus was sent as a lieutenant of a legion into germany thence he removed into britain battles with the enemy we may also hear note from josephus that claudius the emperor who triumphed for the conquest of britain was unable to do so solely by vespasian's conduct and bravery and that he is here styled the father of vespasian end footnote so neuro esteemed these circumstances as favorable omen's and saw that vespasian's age gave him sure experience and great skill and that he had his sons as hostages for his fidelity to himself and that the flourishing age they were in would make them fit instruments under their father's prudence perhaps also there was some interposition of providence which was paving the way for vespasians being himself emperor afterwards upon the whole he sent this man to take upon him the command of the armies that were in syria but this not without great encomians and flattering compilations such as necessity required and such as might mollify him into complacence so vespasian sent his son titus from akea where he had been with neuro to alexandria to bring back with him from fence the fifth and the tenth legions while he himself when he had passed over the helispont came by land into syria where he gathered together the roman forces with a considerable number of auxiliaries from the kings in that neighborhood chapter two a great slaughter about ascalon vespasian comes to tolamas now the jews after they had beaten cestius were so much elevated with their unexpected success they could not govern their zeal but like people blown up into a fling by their good fortune carried the war to remotor places accordingly they presently got together a great multitude of all their most hardy soldiers and marched away for ascalon this is an ancient city that is distant from jerusalem 520 furlongs and was always an enemy to the jews on which account they determined to make their first effort against it and to make their approaches to it as near as possible this excursion was led on by three men who were the chief of them all both for strategy and sagacity niger called the perzite sylus of babalon and besides them john the essene now ascalon was strongly walled about but had almost no assistance to be relied upon near then for the garrison consisted of one cohort of footmen and one troop of horsemen whose captain was antonius these jews therefore out of their anger marched faster than ordinary and as if they had come but a little way approached very near the city and were come even to it but antonius who was not unapprised of the attack they were going to make upon the city drew out his horsemen beforehand and being neither daunted at the multitude nor the courage of the enemy received their first attacks with great bravery and when they crowded to the very walls he beat them off now the jews were unskillful in war but were to fight with those who were skillful therein they were footmen to fight with horsemen they were in disorder to fight those that were united together they were poorly armed to fight those that were completely so they were to fight more by their rage than by sober counsel and were exposed to soldiers that were exactly obedient and did everything they were bitten upon the least intimation so they were easily beaten for as soon as ever their first ranks were once in disorder they were put to flight by the enemy's cavalry and those of them that came behind such as crowded to the wall fell upon their own party's weapons and became one another's enemies and this was so long until they were all forced to give way to the attacks of the horsemen and were dispersed to all the plane over which plane was wide and all fit for the horsemen which circumstance was very commodious for the romans and occasioned the slaughter of the greatest number of the jews for such as ran away they could overrun them and make them turn back and when they had brought them back after their flight and driven them together they ran them through and slew a vast number of them in so much that others encompassed others of them and drove them before them with or so ever they turned themselves and slew them easily with their arrows and the great number there were of the jews seemed a solitude to themselves by reason of the distress they were in while the romans had such good success with their small number that they seemed to themselves to be the greater multitude and as the former strove zealously under their misfortunes out of the shame of a sudden flight and hopes of the change in their success so did the latter feel no weariness by reason of their good fortune in so much that the fight lasted till the evening till ten thousand men of the jews side lay dead with two of their generals john and silas and the great part of the remainder were wounded with niger their remaining general who fled away to the small town of idumea called salis some few also the romans were wounded in this battle yet were not the spirits of the jews broken by so great a calamity but the losses they had sustained rather quickened their resolution for other attempts for overlooking the dead bodies which lay at their feet they were enticed by their former glorious actions to venture on a second destruction so when they had lain still so little a while that their wounds were not yet thoroughly cured they got together all their forces and came with greater fury and with greater numbers to ask along but their former ill fortune followed them as the consequence of their unskillfulness and other deficiencies in war for antonius laid ambushes for them in the passages they were to go through where they fell upon snares unexpectedly and where they were encompassed about with horsemen before they could form themselves into a regular body for fighting and were above eight thousand of them slain so all the rest of them ran away and with them niger who still did a great many bold exploits in this flight however they were driven along together by the enemy who pressed hard upon them into a certain strong tower belonging to a village called bezada however antonius and his party that they might neither spend any considerable time about this tower which was hard to be taken nor suffer their commander and the most courageous man of them all to escape from them they set the wall on fire and as the tower was burning the romans went away rejoicing as taking it for granted that niger was destroyed but he leaped out of the tower into a subterranean cave into the innermost part of it and was preserved and on the third day after he spake out of the ground to those that with great lamentation were searching for him in order to give him a decent funeral and when he was come out he filled all the jews with an unexpected joy as though he were preserved by god's providence to be their commander for their time to come and now vespasian took along with him his army from antioch which is the metropolis of syria and without dispute deserves a place of the third city in the habitable earth that was under the roman empire both in magnitude and other marks of prosperity footnote spanheim and reeland both agree that the two cities here esteemed greater than antioch the metropolis of syria were rome and alexandria nor is there any occasion for doubt and so plain a case and footnote where he found king agrippa with all his forces waiting for his coming and march to talimaeus at this city also the inhabitants of sephorus of galleley met him who were for peace with the romans these citizens had beforehand taken care of their own safety and being sensible of the power of the romans they had been with cestius gallus before vespasian came and had given their faith to him and received the security of his right hand and had received a roman garrison and at this time with all they received vespasian the roman general very kindly and readily promised that they would assist him against their own countrymen now the general delivered them at their desire as many horsemen and footmen as he thought sufficient to oppose the incursions of the jews if they should come against them and indeed the danger of losing sephorus would be no small one in this war that was now beginning seeing it was the largest city of galleley and built in a place by nature very strong and might be a security of the whole nation's fidelity to the romans chapter three a description of galleley samaria and judia now finicia and syria encompass about the galleys which are two and called the upper galleley and the lower they are bounded toward the setting sun with the borders of the territory belonging to tallameas and by carmel which mountain had formerly belonged to the galleians but now belonged to the tyrians to which mountain adjoins gaba which is called the city of horsemen because those horsemen that were dismissed by hered the king dwelt therein they are bounded on the south with samaria and skythopolis as far as the river jordan on the east with hippie and gatteris and also with ganlonitus and the borders of the kingdom of agrippa its northern parts are bounded by tire and the country of the tyrians as for that galleley which is called the lower it extends in length from tiberius to zabulon and of the maritime places tallameas is its neighbor its breadth is from the village called zalith which lies in the great plain as far as bersabe from which beginning also is taken the breadth of upper galleley as far as the village of bacca which divides the land of the tyrians from it its length is also from meloth to thela a village near to jordan these two galleys of so great largeness and encompassed with so many nations of foreigners have always been able to make a strong resistance on all occasions of war for the galleans are inured to war from their infancy and have been always very numerous nor have the country been ever destitute of men of courage or wanted a numerous set of them for their soil is universally rich and fruitful and full of the plantations of trees of all sorts in so much that it invites the most slothful to take pains in its cultivation by its fruitfulness accordingly it is all cultivated by its inhabitants and no part of it lies idle moreover the cities lie here very thick and the very many villages there are here are everywhere so full of people by the richness of their soil that the very least of them contain above 15 000 inhabitants in short if anyone will suppose that galleys inferior to peria in magnitude he will be obliged to prefer it before it in its strength for this is all capable of cultivation and is everywhere fruitful but for peria which is indeed much larger in extent the greater part of it is desert and rough and much less disposed for the production of the milder kinds of fruits yet hath it a moist soil in other parts and produces all kinds of fruits and its planes are planted with trees of all sorts while yet the olive tree the vine and the palm tree are chiefly cultivated there it is also sufficiently watered with torrents which issue out of the mountains and with springs that never fail to run even when the torrents fail them as they do in the dog days now the length of peria is from macros to pella and its breadth from philadelphia to jordan its northern parts are bounded by pella as we have already said as well as its western with jordan the land of moab is its southern border and its eastern limits reach to arabia and sylbonatis and besides to philadelphia and garrassa now as to the country of samaria it lies between judia and galilee it begins at a village that is in the great plane called guinea and ends at the acrobene toparchy and is entirely of the same nature with judia for both countries are made up of hills and valleys and are moist enough for agriculture and are very fruitful they have abundance of trees and are full of autumnal fruit both that which grows wild and that which is the effect of cultivation they are not naturally watered by many rivers but derive their chief moisture from rainwater of which they have no want and for those rivers which they have all their waters are exceedingly sweet by reason also of the excellent grass they have their cattle yield more milk than do those in other places and what is the greatest sign of excellency and of abundance they each of them are very full of people in the limits of samaria and judia lies the village of anouath which is also named borkios this is the northern boundary of judia the southern parts of judia if they be measured lengthways are bounded by a village adjoining to the confines of arabia the jews that dwell there call it jordan however its breath is extended from the river jordan to japa the city jerusalem is situated in the very middle on which accounts some have with sagacity enough called that city the naval of the country nor indeed is judia destitute of such delights as come from the sea since its maritime places extend as far as tolaméas it was parted into eleven portions of which the royal city jerusalem was the supreme and presided over all the neighboring country as the head does over the body as to the other cities that were inferior to it they presided over there several topokis gafna was the second of these cities and next to that akrabata after them thamna and lidda and améas and pela and idumea and engadi and herodium and jericho and after them came jamnia and japa as presiding over the neighboring people and besides these there was the region of gamala and galanatis and batania and charcanatis which are also parts of the kingdom of agrippa this last country begins at mount libanas and the foundations of jordan and reaches breathways to the lake of tiberias and in length is extended from a village called arfa as far as julius its inhabitants are a mixture of jews and syrians and thus have i with all possible brevity describe the country of judia and those that lie round about it end of book three chapters one through three book three chapters four through six of the wars of the jews this is a librewox recording all librewox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit librewox.org the wars of the jews by josephus translated by william wiston book three chapters four through six chapter four josephus makes an attempt upon sephorus but is repelled titus comes with a great army to talimaeus now the auxiliaries which were sent to assist the people of sephorus being a thousand horsemen and six thousand footmen under placidus the tribune pitched their camp in two bodies on the great plane the foot were put into the city to be a guard to it but the horse lodged abroad in the camp these last by marching continually one way or the other and overrunning the parts of the adjoining country were very troublesome to josephus and his men they also plundered all the places that were out of the city's liberty and intercepted such as durst go abroad on this account it was that josephus marched against the city as hoping to take that which he had lately encompassed with so strong a wall before they revolted from the rest of the galleleans that the romans would have much ado to take it by which means he proved too weak and failed of his hopes both as to the forcing the place and as to his prevailing with the people of sephorus to deliver it up to him by this means he provoked the romans to treat the country according to the law of war nor did the romans out of the anger they bore at this attempt leave off either by night or by day burning the places in the plane and stealing away the cattle that were in the country and killing whatsoever appeared capable of fighting perpetually and leading the weaker people as slaves into captivity so the galleley was all overfilled with fire and blood nor was it exempted from any kind of misery or calamity for the only refuge they had was this that when they were pursued they could retire to the cities which had walls built them by josephus but as to titus he sailed over from akea to alexandria and that sooner than the winter season did usually permit so he took with him those forces he was sent for and marching with great expedition he came suddenly to tollameas and they are finding his father together with the two legions the fifth and the tenth which were the most eminent legions of all he joined them to that 15th legion which was with his father 18 cohorts followed these legions there came also five cohorts from sezaria with one troop of horsemen and five other troops of horsemen from syria now these 10 cohorts had severally a thousand footmen but the other 13 cohorts had no more than 600 footmen apiece with 120 horsemen there were also a considerable number of auxiliaries got together that came from the king's anteacus and agrippa and sehimas each of them contributing 1,000 footmen that were archers and a thousand horsemen malchus also the king of arabia sent a thousand horsemen besides 5,000 footmen the greatest part of which were archers so that the whole army including the auxiliaries sent by the kings as well as horsemen and footmen when all were united together amounted to 60,000 besides the servants who as they followed in vast numbers so became that they had been trained up in war with the rest ought not to be distinguished from the fighting men for as they were in their master service in times of peace so did they undergo the like dangers with them in times of war in so much that they were inferior to none either in skill or in strength only they were subject to their masters chapter five a description of the roman armies and roman camps and of other particulars for which the romans are commended now here one cannot but admire the precaution of the romans in providing themselves of such household servants as might not only serve at other times for the common offices of life but might also be of advantage to them in their wars and indeed if anyone does but attend to the other parts of their military discipline he will be forced to confess that they're obtaining so large a dominion have been the acquisition of their valor and not the bear gift of fortune for they do not begin to use their weapons first in time of war nor do they then put their hands first into motion while they avoided so to do in times of peace but as if their weapons did always cling to them they have never had any truce from warlike exercises nor do they stay till times of war admonish them to use them for their military exercises differ not at all from the real use of arms but every soldier is every day exercised and that with great diligence as if it were in time of war which is the reason why they bear the fatigue of battles so easily for neither can disorder remove them from their usual regularity nor can fear affright them out of it nor can labor tire them which firmness of conduct makes them always to overcome those that have not the same firmness nor would he be mistaken that should call those their exercises unbloody battles and their battles bloody exercises nor can their enemies easily surprise them with the suddenness of their incursions for as soon as they have marched into an enemy's land they do not begin to fight till they have walled their camp about nor is the fence they raise rashly made or uneven nor do they all abide ill it nor do those that are in it take their places at random but if it happens that the ground is uneven it is first leveled their camp is also four square by measure and carpenters are ready in great numbers with their tools to erect buildings for them footnote this description of the exact symmetry and regularity of the roman army and of the roman encampments with their surrounding trumpets etc and order of war described in this and the next chapter is so very like to the symmetry and regularity of the people of israel in the wilderness that one cannot well avoid the supposal that the one was the ultimate pattern of the other and that the tactics of the ancients were taken from the rules given by god to moses and it is thought by some skillful these matters that these accounts of josephus as to the roman camp and armor and conduct in war are preferable to those in the roman authors themselves and footnote as for what is within the camp it is set apart for tents but the outward circumference have the resemblance to a wall and it is adorned with towers at equal distances where between the towers stands the engines for throwing arrows and darts and for slinging stones and where they lay all other engines that can annoy the enemy all ready for their several operations they also erect four gates one at every side of the circumference and those large enough for the entrance of the beasts and wide enough for making excursions if the occasion should require they divide the camp within into streets very conveniently and place the tents of the commanders in the middle but in the very midst of all is the general's own tent in the nature of a temple in so much that it appears to be a city built on the sudden with its marketplace and place for handicraft trades and with seats for the officers superior and inferior where if any differences arise their causes are heard and determined the camp and all that is in it is encompassed with a wall round about and that sooner than one would imagine and this by the multitude and the skill of the labors and if occasion require a trench is drawn around the hole whose depth is four cubits and its breadth equal when they have thus secured themselves they live together by companies with quietness and decency as are all their other affairs managed with good order and security each company hath also their wood and their corn and their water brought to them when they stand in need of them for they neither sup nor dine as they please themselves singly but all together their times also for sleeping and watching and rising are notified beforehand by the sound of trumpets nor is anything done without such a signal and in the morning the soldiery go everyone to their centurions and these centurions to their tribunes to salute them with whom all the superior officers go to the general of the whole army who then gives them of course the watchword and the other orders to be by them cared to all that are under their command which is also observed when they go to fight and thereby when they turn themselves about on the sudden when there is occasion for making sallies as they come back when they are recalled in crowds also now when they are to go out of their camp a trumpet gives a sound at which time nobody lies still but at the first intimation they take down their tents and all is made ready for their going out then do the trumpets sound again to order them to get ready for the march then did they lay their baggage suddenly upon their mules and other beasts of burden and stand as at the place of starting ready to march when also they set fire to their camp and this they do because it will be easy for them to erect another camp and that it may never be of use to their enemies then do the trumpets give a sound the third time that they are to go out in order to excite those that on any account are a little tardy so that no one may be out of his rank when the army marches then does the crier stand at the general's right hand and ask them thrice in their own tongue whether they be ready to go to war or not to which they reply as often with a loud and cheerful voice saying we are ready and this they do almost before the question is asked them they do this as filled with a kind of martial fury and at the same time they so cry out they lift up their right hands also when after this they are gone out of their camp they all march without noise and in a decent manner and everyone keeps his own rank as if they are going to war the footmen are armed with breastplates and head pieces and has swords on each side but the sword which is upon their left side is much longer than the other for that on the right side is not longer than a span those footmen also that are chosen from out the best to be about the general himself have a lance and a buckler but the rest of the foot soldiers have a spear and a long buckler besides a saw and a basket a pickaxe and an axe a thong of leather and a hook with provisions for three days so that a footmen have no great need of a mule to carry his burdens the horsemen have a long sword on their right sides axed a long pole in their hand a shield also lies by them obliquely on one side of their horses with three or more darts that are born in their quiver having broad points and not smaller than spears they have also head pieces and breastplates in like manner as have all the footmen and for those that are chosen to be about the general their armor in no way differs from that of the horsemen belonging to other troops and he always leads the legions forth to whom the lot assigns that employment this is the manner of marching and resting of the romans as also those are the several sorts of weapons they use but when they are to fight they leave nothing without forecast nor to be done offhand but counsel is ever first taken before any work is begun and what hath been there resolved upon is put into execution presently for which reason they seldom commit any errors and if they have been mistaken at any time they easily correct those mistakes they also esteem any errors they commit upon taking counsel beforehand to be better than such rash success as is owing to fortune only because such a fortuitous advantage tempts them to be inconsiderate while consultation though it may sometimes fail of success hath this good in it that it makes men more careful here after but for the advantages that arise from chance they are not owing to him that gains them and as to what melancholy accidents happen unexpectedly there is this comfort in them that they had however taken the best consultations they could to prevent them now they so manage their preparatory exercises of their weapons that not the bodies of soldiers only but their souls may also become stronger they are more over hardened for war by fear for their laws inflict capital punishments not only for soldiers running away from the ranks but for slothfulness and inactivity though it be but in a lesser degree as are their generals more severe than their laws for they prevent any imputation of cruelty toward those under condemnation by the great rewards they bestow on the valiant soldiers and the readiness of obeying their commanders is so great that is very ornamental in peace but when they come to a battle the whole army is but one body so well coupled together are their ranks so sudden are their turnings about so sharp their hearing as to what orders are given them so quick their sight of the ensigns and so nimble are their hands when they set to work whereby it comes to pass that what they do is done quickly and what they suffer they bear with the greatest patience nor can we find any examples where they have been conquered in battle when they came to a close fight either by the multitude of the enemies or by stratagems or by the difficulties in the places they were in no nor by fortune neither for their victories have been sureer to them than fortune could have granted them in a case therefore where council still goes before action and where after taking the best advice that advice is followed by so active an army what wonder is it that you phrase on the east the ocean on the west the most fertile regions of libya on the south and the danube and the rine on the north are the limits of this empire one might well say that the roman possessions are not inferior to the romans themselves this account i have given the reader not so much with the intention of commending the romans as of comforting those that have been conquered by them and for the deterring others from attempting innovations under their government this discourse of the roman military conduct may also perhaps be of use to such of the curious as are ignorant of it and yet have a mind to know it i return now from this digression chapter six placidus attempts to take jatapata and is beaten off vespasian marches into galilee and now vespasian with his son titus had tarried some time at talimaeus and had put his army in order but when placidus who had overrun galilee and had beside slain a number of those whom he had caught which were only the weaker part of the galalayans and such as were of timorous souls saw that the warriors ran always to those cities with walls that had been built by josephus he marched furiously against jatapata which was of them all the strongest as supposing he should easily take it by a sudden surprise and that he should thereby obtain great honor to himself among the commanders and bring a great advantage to them in their future campaign because if the strongest place of them all were once taken the rest would be so affrighted as to surrender themselves but he was mightily mistaken in his undertaking for the men of jatapata were apprised of his coming to attack them and came out of the city and expected him there so they fought the romans briskly when they least expected it being both many in number and prepared for fighting and of great alacrity as esteeming their country their wives and their children to be in danger and easily put the romans to flight and wounded many of them and slew seven of them footnote i can but hear observe an eastern way of speaking frequent among them but not usual among us where the word only or alone is not set down but perhaps some way supplied in the pronunciation thus josephus here says that those of jatapata slew seven of the romans as they were marching off because the romans retreat was regular their bodies were covered with their armor and the jews fought at some distance his meaning is clear that these were the reasons why they slew only or no more than seven i have met with many like examples in the scriptures in josephus etc but did not note down the particular places this observation ought to be born in mind on many occasions and footnote because their retreat was not made in a disorderly manner because the strokes only touched the surface of their bodies which were covered with their armor in all parts and because the jews did rather throw their weapons upon them from a great distance then venture to come hand to hand with them and had only light armor on while the others were completely armored however three men of the jews side were slain and a few wounded so placidus finding himself unable to assault the city ran away but as vespasian had a great mind to fall upon galilee he marched out of tolemaeus having put his army into that order wherein the romans used to march he ordered those auxiliaries which were lightly armed and the archers to march first that they might prevent any sudden insults from the enemy and might search out the woods that look suspiciously and were capable of ambus gates next to these followed that part of the romans which was completely armed both footmen and horsemen next to these followed ten of every hundred carrying along with them their arms and what was necessary to measure out a camp with all and after them such as were to make the road even and straight and if it were anywhere rough and hard to be passed over to plane it and to cut down the woods that hindered their march that the army might not be in distress or tired with their march behind these he set such carriages of the army as belonged both to himself and to the other commanders with a considerable number of their horsemen for their security after these he marched himself having with him a select body of footmen and horsemen and pikemen after these came the peculiar cavalry of his own legion for there were a hundred and twenty horsemen that peculiarly belonged to every legion next to these came the mules that carried the engines for sieges and the other warlike machines of that nature after these came the commanders of the cohorts and tribunes having about them soldiers chosen out of the rest then came the ensigns encompassing the eagle which is at the head of every roman legion the king and the strongest of all birds which seems to them a signal of dominion and an omen that they shall conquer all against whom they march these sacred ensigns are followed by the trumpeters then came the main army in their squadrons and battalions with six men in depth which were followed at last by a centurion who according to custom observed the rest as for the servants of every legion they all followed the footmen and led the baggage of the soldiers which was born by the mules and other beasts of burden but behind all the legions came the whole multitude of the mercenaries and those that brought up the rear came last of all for the security of the whole army being both footmen and those in their armor also with a great number of horsemen and thus did vespasian march with his army and came to the bounds of galilee where he pitched his camp and restrained his soldiers who were eager for war he also showed his army to the enemy in order to affright them and to afford them a season for repentance to see whether they would change their minds before it came to battle and at the same time he got things ready for besieging their strong minds and indeed this side of the general brought many to repent of their revolt and put them all into a consternation for those that were in josephus's camp which was at the city called garrus not far from separus when they heard that the war was come near them and that the romans would suddenly fight them hand to hand disperse themselves and fled not only before they came to a battle but before the enemy ever came in sight while josephus and a few others were left behind and as he saw that he had not an army sufficient to engage the enemy that the spirits of the jews were sunk and that the greater part would willingly come to terms if they might be credited he already despaired of the success of the whole war and determined to get as far as he possibly could out of danger so he took those that stayed among with him and fled to diberius end of book three chapters four through six book three chapter seven part one of the wars of the jews this is a libravox recording all libravox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit libravox.org the wars of the jews by josephus translated by william wiston book three chapter seven part one chapter seven vespasian when he had taken the city gidea marches to jadapata after a long siege the city is betrayed by a deserter and taken by vespasian so vespasian marched to the city gidea and took it upon the first onset because he found a destitute of any considerable number of men grown up and fit for war he came then into it and slew all the youth the romans having no mercy on any age whatsoever and this was done out of the hatred they bore for the nation and because of the iniquity they had been guilty of in the affair with cestius he also set fire not only to the city itself but to all the villas and small cities that were round about it some of them were quite destitute of inhabitants and out of some of them he carried the inhabitants as slaves into captivity as to josephus his retiring to that city which he chose as the most fit for his security put it into great fear for the people of tiberius did not imagine that he would have run away unless he had entirely despaired of the success of the war and indeed as to that point they were not mistaken about his opinion for he saw whether the affairs of the jews would tend at last and was sensible that they had but one way of escaping and that was by repentance however although he expected that the romans would forgive him yet did he choose to die many times over rather than betray his country and to disarm that supreme command of the army which had been entrusted with him or to live happily under those against whom he was sent to fight he determined therefore to give an exact account of affairs to the principal man at jerusalem by a letter that he might not by too much a grand dies in the power of the enemy make them too timorous nor by relating that their power beneath the truth might encourage them to stand out when they were perhaps disposed to repentance he also sent them word that if they thought of coming to terms they must suddenly write him an answer or if they resolved upon war they must send him an army sufficient to fight the romans accordingly he wrote these things and sent messengers immediately to carry his letter to jerusalem now vespasian was very desirous of demolishing jatapata for he had gotten intelligence that the greatest part of the enemy had retired thither and that it was on other accounts a place of great security to them accordingly he sent both footmen and horsemen to level the road which was mountainous and rocky not without difficulty to be traveled over by footmen but absolutely impracticable for horsemen now these workmen accomplished what they were about in four days time and open a broad way for the army on the fifth day which was the 21st of the month artemisius giar jesiphus prevented him and came from tiberias and went into jatapata and raised the drooping spirits of the jews and a certain desirter told this good news to vespasian that jesiphus had removed himself thither which made him make haste to the city as supposing that with taking that he should take all judia in case he could but with all get jesiphus under his power so he took this news to be of the vast disadvantage to him and believed it to be brought about by the providence of god that he who appeared to be the most prudent man of all their enemies had of his own accord shut himself up in a place of sure custody accordingly he sent placidus with a thousand horsemen and a buteus a decurion a person that was of eminency both in council and in action to encompass the city round that jesiphus might not escape away privately vespasian also the very next day took his whole army and followed them and by marching till late in the evening arrived then at jatapata and bringing his army to the northern side of the city he pitched his camp on a certain small hill which was seven furlongs from the city and still greatly endeavored to be well seen by the enemy to put them into a consternation which was indeed so terrible to the jews immediately that no one of them durst go out beyond the wall yet did the romans put off the attack at that time because they had marched all the day although they placed a double row of battalions around the city with a third row beyond them around the whole which consisted of cavalry in order to stop up every way for an exit which thing making the jews despair of escaping excited them to act more boldly for nothing makes men fight so desperately in war as necessity now when the next day an assault was made by the romans the jews at first stayed out of the walls and opposed them and met them as having formed themselves a camp before the city walls but when vespasian had set against them the archers and slingers and the whole multitude that could throw to a great distance he permitted them to go to work while he himself with the footman got upon an aclivity whence the city might easily be taken josephus was then in fear for the city and leaped out and all the jewish multitude with him these fell together upon the romans in great numbers and drove them away from the wall and performed a great many glorious and bold actions yet did they suffer as much as they made the enemy suffer for as despair of deliverance encouraged the jews so did a sense of shame equally encouraged the romans these last had skill as well as strength the other had only courage which armed them and made them fight furiously and when the fight had lasted all day it was put an end to by the coming on of the night they had wounded a great many of the romans and killed of them thirteen men of the jews side seventeen were slayed and six hundred wounded on the next day the jews made another attack upon the romans and went out to the walls and fought a much more desperate battle with them than before for they were now become more courageous than formally and that on account of the unexpected good opposition they had made the day before as they found the romans also to fight more desperately for a sense of shame inflamed these into a passion as estimating their failure of a sudden victory to be a kind of defeat thus did the romans try to make an impression upon the jews to the fifth day continually while the people of jatapata made sallies out and fought at the walls most desperately nor were the jews affrighted at the strength of the enemy nor were the romans discouraged at the difficulties they met with in taking the city now jatapata is almost all of it built on a precipice having on all the other sides of it every way valleys immensely deep and steep in so much that those who would look down would have their sight fail them before it reaches the bottom it is only to be come at on the north side where the utmost part of the city is built on the mountain as it ends obliquely at a plane this mountain josephus had encompassed with a wall when he fortified the city that its top might not be capable of being seized upon by the enemies the city is covered all around with other mountains and can no way be seen till a man comes just upon it and this was the strong situation of jatapata the spasian therefore in order to try how he might overcome the natural strength of the place as well as the bold defense of the jews made a resolution to prosecute the siege with vigor to that end he called the commanders that were under him to a council of war and consulted with them which way the assault might be managed to the best advantage and when the resolution was there taken to raise a bank against that part of the wall which was practicable he sent his whole army abroad to get the materials together so when they had cut down all the trees on the mountains that adjoined the city and gotten together a vast heap of stones besides the wood they had cut down some of them brought hurdles in order to avoid the effects of the darts that were shot from above them these hurdles they spread over their banks undercover whereof they formed their bank and so were little or nothing hurt by the darts that were thrown upon them from the wall while others pulled the neighboring hillocks to pieces and perpetually brought earth to them so that while they were busy three sorts of ways nobody was idle however the jews cast great stones from the walls upon the hurdles which protected the men with all sorts of darts also and the noise of what could not reach them was yet so terrible that it was some impediment to the workmen the spasian then set the engines for throwing stones and darts round about the city the number of the engines was in all 160 and he bid them fall to work and dislodge those that were upon the wall at the same time such engines as were intended for that purpose threw at once lances upon them with a great noise and stones of the weight of a talent were thrown by the engines that were prepared for that purpose together with fire and a vast multitude of arrows which made the wall so dangerous that the jews durst not only not come upon it but durst not come to those parts within the walls which were reached by the engines for the multitude of the arabian archers as well also as all those that threw darts and slung stones fell to work at the same time with the engines yet did not the otters lie still when they could not throw at the romans from a higher place for they then made sallies out of the city like private robbers by parties and pulled away the hurdles that covered the workmen and killed them when they were thus naked and when those workmen gave way these cast away the earth that composed the bank and burnt the wooden parts of it together with the hurdles to let length of a spasian perceived that the intervals there were between the works were of disadvantage to him for those spaces of ground afforded the jews a place for assaulting the romans so he united the hurdles and at the same time joined one part of the army to the other which prevented the private excursions of the jews and when the bank was now raised and brought nearer than ever to the battlements that belonged to the walls josephus thought it would be entirely wrong in him if he could make no contrivances in opposition to theirs and that might not be for the city's preservation so he got together his workmen and ordered them to build the wall higher and while they said this was impossible to be done while so many darts were thrown at them he invented this sort of cover for them he built them fixed piles and expand before them the raw hides of oxen newly killed that these hides by yielding and hollowing themselves when the stones were thrown at them might receive them for that the other darts would slide off of them and the fire that was thrown would be quenched by the moisture that was in them and these he set before the workmen and under them these workmen went on with their works in safety and raised the wall higher and that both by day and by night full it was 20 cubits high he also built a good number of towers upon the wall and fitted it to strong battlements this greatly discouraged the romans who in their own opinions were already gotten within the walls while they were now at once astonished at Josephus' contrivance and at the fortitude of the citizens that were in the city and now Vespasian was plainly irritated at the great subtlety of this stratagem and at the boldness of the citizens of Giotapata for taking heart again upon the building of this wall they made fresh sallies upon the romans and had every day conflicts with them by parties together with all such contrivances as robbers make use of and with the plundering of all that came to hand also with the setting of fire to all the other works and this till Vespasian made his army leave off fighting them and resolved to lie round the city and to starve them into a surrender as supposing that either they would be forced to petition him for mercy by want of provisions or if they should have the courage to hold out to the last they should perish by famine and he concluded he should conquer them the more easily in fighting if he gave them an interval and then fell upon them when they were weakened by famine but still he gave orders that they should guard against their coming out of the city now the besieged had plenty of corn within the city and indeed of all necessities but they wanted water because there was no fountain in the city the people being there usually satisfied with rain water yet it is a rare thing in that country to have rain in summer and at this season during the siege they were in great distress for some contrivance to satisfy their thirst and they were very sad at this time particularly as if they were already in want of water entirely for Giusephus seeing that the city abounded with other necessaries and that the men were of good courage and being desirous to protract the siege to the Romans longer than they expected ordered their drink to be given to them by measure but this scanty distribution of water by measure was deemed by them as a thing more hard upon them than the want of it and they're not being able to drink as much as they would made them more desirous of drinking than they otherwise had been nay they were as much disheartened hereby as if they were come to the last degree of thirst nor were the Romans unacquainted with the state they were in for when they stood over against them beyond the wall they could see them running together and taking their water by measure which made them throw their javelins thither the place being within their reach and kill a great many of them hereupon Vespasian hoped that their receptacles of water would in no long time be emptied and that they would be forced to deliver up the city to him but Giusephus being minded to break such his hope gave command that they should wet a great many of their clothes and hang them out about the battlements till the entire wall was of a sudden all wet with the running down of water at this site the Romans were discouraged and under consternation when they saw them able to throw away in sport so much water when they supposed them not to have enough to drink themselves this made the Roman general despair of taking the city by their want of necessaries and betake himself again to arms and to try to force them to surrender which was what the Jews greatly desire for as they despaired of either themselves or their city being able to escape they preferred a death in battle before one by hunger and thirst however Giusephus contrived another stratagem besides the foregoing to get plenty of what they wanted there was a certain rough in an even place that could hardly be ascended and on that account was not guarded by the soldiers so Giusephus sent out certain persons along the western parts of the valley and by them sent letters to whom he pleased of the Jews that were out of the city and procured from them what necessities so ever they wanted in the city in abundance he enjoined them also to creep generally along by the watch as they came into the city and to cover their backs with such sheepskins as had their wool upon them that if anyone should spy them out in the nighttime they might be believed to be dogs this was done till the watch perceived their contrivance and encompassed that rough place about themselves and now it was that Giusephus perceived that the city could not hold out long and that his own life would be in doubt if he continued in it so he consulted how he and the most potent man of the city might fly out of it when the multitude understood this they came all around about him and begged of him not to overlook them when they entirely depended on him and him alone for that there was still hope of the city's deliverance if he would stay with them because everybody would undertake any pains with great cheerfulness on his account and in that case there would be some comfort for them also though they should be taken that it became him neither to fly from his enemies nor to desert his friends nor to leap out of that city as out of a ship that was sinking in a storm into which he came when it was quiet and in a calm for that by going away he would be the cause of drowning the city because nobody would then venture to oppose the enemy when he was once gone upon whom they wholly confided here upon Giusephus avoided letting them know that he was to go away to provide for his own safety but told them that he would go out of the city for their sakes for that if he stayed with them he should be able to do them little good while they were in a safe condition and that if they were once taken he should only perish with them to no purpose but that if he were once gotten free from this siege he should be able to bring them very great relief for that he would then immediately get the Galileans together out of the country in great multitudes and draw the Romans off their city by another war that he did not see what advantage he could bring to them now by staying among them but only provoke the Romans to besiege them more closely as esteeming it a more valuable thing to take him but that if they were once informed that he was fled out of the city they would greatly remit of their eagerness against it yet did not this plea move the people but inflamed them the more to hang about him accordingly both the children and the old men and the women with their infants came mourning to him and fell down before him and all of them caught hold of his feet and held him fast and besought him with great lamentations that he would take his share with them in their fortune and i think they did this not that they envied his deliverance but that they hoped for their own for they could not think they should suffer any great misfortune provided josephus would but stay with them now josephus thought that if he resolved to stay it would be ascribed to their entreaties and if he resolved to go away by force he should be put into custody his commiseration also of the people under their lamentations had much broken that his eagerness to leave them so he resolved to stay and arming himself with the common despair of the citizens he said to them now is the time to begin to fight in earnest where there is no hope of deliverance left it is a brave thing to prefer a glory before life and to set about some such noble undertaking as may be remembered by late posterity having said this he fell to work immediately and made a sally and dispersed the enemy's outguards and ran as far as the roman camp itself and pulled the coverings of their tensed pieces that were upon their banks and set fire to their works and this was the manner in which he never left off fighting neither the next day nor the day after it but went on with it for a considerable number of both days and nights upon this vespasian when he saw the romans distressed by these sallies though they were ashamed to be made to run away by the jews and when at any time they made the jews run away their heavy armor would not let them pursue them far while the jews when they had performed any action and before they could be hurt themselves still retired into the city ordered his armed men to avoid their onset and not fight it out with men under desperation while nothing is more courageous than despair but that their violence would be quenched when they saw they failed of their purposes as fire is quenched when it wants fuel and that it was proper for the romans to gain their victories as cheap as they could since they are not forced to fight but only to enlarge their dominions so he repelled the jews in great measure by the arabian archers and the syrian slingers and by those that threw stones at them nor was there any intermission of the great number of their offensive engines now the jews suffered greatly by these engines without being able to escape from them and when these engines threw their stones or javelins a great way and the jews were within their reach they pressed hard upon the romans and fought desperately without sparing either soul or body one part suckering another by turns when it was tired down when therefore vespasian looked upon himself as in a manner besieged by these salleys of the jews and when his banks were now not far from the walls he determined to make use of his battering ram this battering ram is a vast beam of wood like the mast of a ship its forepart is armed with a thick piece of iron at the head of it which is so carved as to be like the head of a ram whence its name is taken this ram is slung in the air by ropes passing over its middle and is hung like the balance in a pair of scales from another beam and braced by strong beams that pass on both sides of it in the nature of a cross when this ram is pulled backward by a great number of men with united force and then thrust forward by the same men with a mighty noise it batters the walls with that iron part which is prominent nor is there any tower so strong or walls so broad that can resist more than its first batteries but all are forced to yield to it at last this was the experiment which the roman general betook himself to when he was eagerly bent upon taking the city but found lying in the field so long to be to his disadvantage because the jews would never let him be quiet so these romans brought the several engines for galling an enemy nearer to the walls that they might reach such as were upon the wall and endeavored to frustrate their attempts these through stones and javelins at them in the like manner to the archers and slingers come both together closer to the wall this brought matters to such a pass that none of the jews durst mount the walls and then it was that the other romans brought the battering ram that was cased with hurdles all over and in the tipper part was secured by skins that covered it and this both for the security of themselves and of the engine now at the very first stroke of this engine the wall was shaken and a terrible clamor was raised by the people within the city as if they were already taken and now when josephus saw this ram still battering the same place and that the wall would quickly be thrown down by it he resolved to allude for a while the force of the engine with this design he gave orders to fill sacks with chaff and to hang them down before that place where they saw the ram always battering that the stroke might be turned aside or that the place might feel less of the strokes by the yielding nature of the chaff this contrivance very much delayed the attempts of the romans because let them remove their engine to what part they pleased those that were above it removed their sacks and placed them over against the strokes it made in so much that the wall was in no way hurt and this by diversion of the strokes till the romans made an opposite contrivance of long poles and by tying hooks at their ends cut off the sacks now when the battering ram thus recovered its force and the wall having been but newly built was giving way josephus and those about him had afterwards immediate recourse to fire to defend themselves with all whereupon they took what materials soever they had that were but dry and made a sally three ways and set fire to the machines and the hurdles and the banks of the romans themselves nor did the romans well know how to come to their assistance being at once under a consternation at the jews boldness and being prevented by the flames from coming to their assistance for the materials being dry with the bitumen and pitch that were among them as was brimstone also the fire caught hold of everything immediately and what cost the romans a great deal of pains was in one hour consumed end of book 3 chapter 7 part 1