THE WARS OF THE JEWS
OR
THE HISTORY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
Book I: Chapter 15
ANTIGONUS BESIEGES THOSE THAT WERE IN MASADA, WHOM
HEROD FREES FROM CONFINEMENT WHEN HE CAME BACK FROM
ROME, AND PRESENTLY MARCHES TO JERUSALEM WHERE HE
FINDS SILO CORRUPTED BY BRIBES.
1. NOW during this
time Antigonus besieged those that were in Masada, who
had all other necessaries in sufficient quantity, but
were in want of water; on which account Joseph,
Herod’s brother, was disposed to run away to the
Arabians, with two hundred of his own friends, because
he had heard that Malichus repented of his offenses
with regard to Herod; and he had been so quick as to
have been gone out of the fortress already, unless, on
that very night when he was going away, there had
fallen a great deal of rain, insomuch that his
reservoirs were full of water, and so he was under no
necessity of running away. After which, therefore,
they made an irruption upon Antigonus’s party, and
slew a great many of them, some in open battles, and
some in private ambush; nor had they always success in
their attempts, for sometimes they were beaten, and
ran away.
2. In the mean time Ventidius, the Roman general,
was sent out of Syria, tore strain the incursions of
the Parthians; and after he had done that, he came
into Judea, in pretense indeed to assist Joseph and
his party, but in reality to get money of Antigonus;,
and when he had pitched his camp very near to
Jerusalem, as soon as he had got money enough, he went
away with the greatest part of his forces; yet still
did he leave Silo with some part of them, lest if he
had taken them all away, his taking of bribes might
have been too openly discovered. Now Antigonus hoped
that the Parthians would come again to his assistance,
and therefore cultivated a good understanding with
Silo in the mean time, lest any interruption should be
given to his hopes.
3. Now by this time Herod had sailed out of Italy,
and was come to Ptolemais; and as soon as he had
gotten together no small army of foreigners, and of
his own countrymen, he marched through Galilee against
Antigonus, wherein he was assisted by Ventidius and
Silo, both whom Dellius, 22 a person sent by Antony,
persuaded to bring Herod [into his kingdom]. Now
Ventidius was at this time among the cities, and
composing the disturbances which had happened by means
of the Parthians, as was Silo in Judea corrupted by
the bribes that Antigonus had given him; yet was not
Herod himself destitute of power, but the number of
his forces increased every day as he went along, and
all Galilee, with few exceptions, joined themselves to
him. So he proposed to himself to set about his most
necessary enterprise, and that was Masada, in order to
deliver his relations from the siege they endured. But
still Joppa stood in his way, and hindered his going
thither; for it was necessary to take that city first,
which was in the enemies’ hands, that when he should
go to Jerusalem, no fortress might be left in the
enemies’ power behind him. Silo also willingly joined
him, as having now a plausible occasion of drawing off
his forces [from Jerusalem]; and when the Jews pursued
him, and pressed upon him, [in his retreat,] Herod
made all excursion upon them with a small body of his
men, and soon put them to flight, and saved Silo when
he was in distress.
4. After this Herod took Joppa, and then made haste
to Masada to free his relations. Now, as he was
marching, many came in to him, induced by their
friendship to his father, some by the reputation he
had already gained himself, and some in order to repay
the benefits they had received from them both; but
still what engaged the greatest number on his side,
was the hopes from him when he should be established
in his kingdom; so that he had gotten together already
an army hard to be conquered. But Antigonus laid an
ambush for him as he marched out, in which he did
little or no harm to his enemies. However, he easily
recovered his relations again that were in Masada, as
well as the fortress Ressa, and then marched to
Jerusalem, where the soldiers that were with Silo
joined themselves to his own, as did many out of the
city, from a dread of his power.
5. Now when he had pitched his camp on the west
side of the city, the guards that were there shot
their arrows and threw their darts at them, while
others ran out in companies, and attacked those in the
forefront; but Herod commanded proclamation to be made
at the wall, that he was come for the good of the
people and the preservation of the city, without any
design to be revenged on his open enemies, but to
grant oblivion to them,
though they had been the most obstinate against
him. Now the soldiers that were for Antigonus made a
contrary clamor, and did neither permit any body to
hear that proclamation, nor to change their party; so
Antigonus gave order to his forces to beat the enemy
from the walls; accordingly, they soon threw their
darts at them from the towers, and put them to flight.
6. And here it was that Silo discovered he had
taken bribes; for he set many of the soldiers to
clamor about their want of necessaries, and to require
their pay, in order to buy themselves food, and to
demand that he would lead them into places convenient
for their winter quarters; because all the parts about
the city were laid waste by the means of Antigonus’s
army, which had taken all things away. By this he
moved the army, and attempted to get them off the
siege; but Herod went to the captains that were under
Silo, and to a great many of the soldiers, and begged
of them not to leave him, who was sent thither by
Caesar, and Antony, and the senate; for that he would
take care to have their wants supplied that very day.
After the making of which entreaty, he went hastily
into the country, and brought thither so great an
abundance of necessaries, that he cut off all Silo’s
pretenses; and in order to provide that for the
following days they should not want supplies, he sent
to the people that were about Samaria (which city had
joined itself to him) to bring corn, and wine, and
oil, and cattle to Jericho. When Antigonus heard of
this, be sent some of his party with orders to hinder,
and lay ambushes for these collectors of corn. This
command was obeyed, and a great multitude of armed men
were gathered together about Jericho, and lay upon the
mountains, to watch those that brought the provisions.
Yet was Herod not idle, but took with him ten cohorts,
five of them were Romans, and five were Jewish
cohorts, together with some mercenary troops
intermixed among them, and besides those a few
horsemen, and came to Jericho; and when he came, he
found the city deserted, but that there were five
hundred men, with their wives and children, who had
taken possession of the tops of the mountains; these
he took, and dismissed them, while the Romans fell
upon the rest of the city, and plundered it, having
found the houses full of all sorts of good things. So
the king left a garrison at Jericho, and came back,
and sent the Roman army into those cities which were
come over to him, to take their winter quarters there,
viz. into Judea, [or Idumea,] and Galilee, and
Samaria.
1329 Antigonus also by bribes obtained of Silo to
let a part of his army be received at Lydda, as a
compliment to Antonius.
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