THE WARS OF THE JEWS
OR
THE HISTORY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
Book II: Chapter 4
HEROD’S VETERAN SOLDIERS BECOME TUMULTUOUS. THE
ROBBERIES OF JUDAS. SIMON AND ATHRONOEUS TAKE THE NAME
OF KING UPON THEM.
1. AT this time there were great
disturbances in the country, and that in many places;
and the opportunity that now offered itself induced a
great many to set up for kings. And indeed in Idumea
two thousand of Herod’s veteran soldiers got together,
and armed and fought against those of the king’s
party; against whom Achiabus, the king’s first cousin,
fought, and that out of some of the places that were
the most strongly fortified; but so as to avoid a
direct conflict with them in the plains. In Sepphoris
also, a city of Galilee, there was one Judas (the son
of that arch-robber Hezekias, who formerly overran the
country, and had been subdued by king Herod); this man
got no small multitude together, and brake open the
place where the royal armor was laid up, and armed
those about him, and attacked those that were so
earnest to gain the dominion.
2. In Perea also, Simon, one of the servants to the
king, relying upon thehandsome appearance and tallness
of his body, put a diadem upon his own head also; he
also went about with a company of robbers that he had
gotten together, and burnt down the royal palace that
was at Jericho, and many other costly edifices
besides, and procured himself very easily spoils by
rapine, as snatching them out of the fire. And he had
soon burnt down all the fine edifices, if Gratus, the
captain of the foot of the king’s party, had not taken
the Trachonite archers, and the most warlike of
Sebaste, and met the man. His footmen were slain in
the battle in abundance; Gratus also cut to pieces
Simon himself, as he was flying along a strait valley,
when he gave him an oblique stroke upon his neck, as
he ran away, and brake it. The royal palaces that were
near Jordan at Betharamptha were also burnt down by
some other of the seditious that came out of Perea.
3. At this time it was that a certain shepherd
ventured to set himself up fora king; he was called
Athrongeus. It was his strength of body that made him
expect such a dignity, as well as his soul, which
despised death; and besides these qualifications, he
had four brethren like himself. He put a troop of
armed men under each of these his brethren, and made
use of them as his generals and commanders, when he
made his incursions, while he did himself act like a
king, and meddled only with the more important
affairs; and at this time he put a diadem about his
head, and continued after that to overrun the country
for no little time with his brethren, and became their
leader in killing both the Romans and those of the
king’s party; nor did any Jew escape him, if any gain
could accrue to him thereby. He once ventured to
encompass a whole troop of Romans at Emmaus, who were
carrying corn and weapons to their legion; his men
therefore shot their arrows and darts, and thereby
slew their centurion Arius, and forty of the stoutest
of his men, while the rest of them, who were in danger
of the same fate, upon the coming of Gratus, with
those of Sebaste, to their assistance, escaped. And
when these men had thus served both their own
countrymen and foreigners, and that through this whole
war, three of them were, after some time, subdued; the
eldest by Archelaus, the two next by falling into the
hands of Gratus and Ptolemeus; but the fourth
delivered himself up to Archelaus, upon his giving him
his right hand for his security. However, this their
end was not till afterward, while at present they
filled all Judea with a piratic war.
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