THE WARS OF THE JEWS
OR
THE HISTORY OF THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
Book IV: Chapter 7
HOW JOHN TYRANNIZED OVER THE REST;
AND WHAT MISCHIEFS THE ZEALOTS DID AT MASADA. HOW ALSO
VESPASIAN TOOK GADARA; AND WHAT ACTIONS WERE PERFORMED
BY PLACIDUS.
1. BY this time John was beginning to tyrannize,
and thought it beneath him to accept of barely the
same honors that others had; and joining to himself by
degrees a party of the wickedest of them all, he broke
off from the rest of the faction. This was brought
about by his still disagreeing with the opinions of
others, and giving out injunctions of his own, in a
very imperious manner; so that it was evident he was
setting up a monarchical power. Now some submitted to
him out of their fear of him, and others out of their
good-will to him; for he was a shrewd man to entice
men to him, both by deluding them and putting cheats
upon them. Nay, many there were that thought they
should be safer themselves, if the causes of their
past insolent actions should now be reduced to one
head, and not to a great many. His activity was so
great, and that both in action and in counsel, that he
had not a few guards about him; yet was there a great
party of his antagonists that left him; among whom
envy at him weighed a great deal, while they thought
it a very heavy thing to be in subjection to one that
was formerly their equal. But the main reason that
moved men against him was the dread of monarchy, for
they could not hope easily to put an end to his power,
if he had once obtained it; and yet they knew that he
would have this pretense always against them, that
they had opposed him when he was first advanced; while
every one chose rather to suffer any thing whatsoever
in war, than that, when they had been in a voluntary
slavery for some time, they should afterward perish.
So the sedition was divided into two parts, and John
reigned in opposition to his adversaries over one of
them: but for their leaders, they watched one another,
nor did they at all, or at least very little, meddle
with arms in their quarrels; but they fought earnestly
against the people, and contended one with another
which of them should bring home the greatest prey. But
because the city had to struggle with three of the
greatest misfortunes, war, and tyranny, and sedition,
it appeared, upon the comparison, that the war was the
least troublesome to the populace of them all.
Accordingly, they ran away from their own houses to
foreigners, and obtained that preservation from the
Romans which they despaired to obtain among their own
people.
2. And now a fourth misfortune arose, in order to
bring our nation to destruction. There was a fortress
of very great strength not far from Jerusalem, which
had been built by our ancient kings, both as a
repository for their effects in the hazards of war,
and for the preservation of their bodies at the same
time. It was called Masada. Those that were called
Sicarii had taken possession of it formerly, but
at this time they overran the neighboring countries,
aiming only to procure to themselves necessaries; for
the fear they were then in prevented their further
ravages. But when once they were informed that the
Roman army lay still, and that the Jews were divided
between sedition and tyranny, they boldly undertook
greater matters; and at the feast of unleavened bread,
which the Jews celebrate in memory of their
deliverance from the Egyptian bondage, when they were
sent back into the country of their forefathers, they
came down by night, without being discovered by those
that could have prevented them, and overran a certain
small city called Engaddi:--in which expedition they
prevented those citizens that could have stopped them,
before they could arm themselves, and fight them. They
also dispersed them, and cast them out of the city. As
for such as could not run away, being women and
children, they slew of them above seven hundred.
Afterward, when they had carried every thing out of
their houses, and had seized upon all the fruits that
were in a flourishing condition, they brought them
into Masada. And indeed these men laid all the
villages that were about the fortress waste, and made
the whole country desolate; while there came to them
every day, from all parts, not a few men as corrupt as
themselves. At that time all the other regions of
Judea that had hitherto been at rest were in motion,
by means of the robbers. Now as it is in a human body,
if the principal part be inflamed, all the members are
subject to the same distemper; so, by means of the
sedition and disorder that was in the metropolis,. had
the wicked men that were in the country opportunity to
ravage the same. Accordingly, when every one of them
had plundered their own villages, they then retired
into the desert; yet were these men that now got
together, and joined in the conspiracy by parties, too
small for an army, and too many for a gang of thieves:
and thus did they fall upon the holy places and the
cities; yet did it now so happen that they were
sometimes very ill treated by those upon whom they
fell with such violence, and were taken by them as men
are taken in war: but still they prevented any further
punishment as do robbers, who, as soon as their
ravages [are discovered], run their way. Nor was there
now any part of Judea that was not in a miserable
condition, as well as its most eminent city also.
3. These things were told Vespasian by deserters;
for although the seditious watched all the passages
out of the city, and destroyed all, whosoever they
were, that came thither, yet were there some that had
concealed themselves, and when they had fled to the
Romans, persuaded their general to come to their
city's assistance, and save the remainder of the
people; informing him withal, that it was upon account
of the people's good-will to the Romans that many of
them were already slain, and the survivors in danger
of the same treatment. Vespasian did indeed already
pity the calamities these men were in, and arose, in
appearance, as though he was going to besiege
Jerusalem, but in reality to deliver them from a
[worse] siege they were already under. However, he was
obliged first to overthrow what remained elsewhere,
and to leave nothing out of Jerusalem behind him that
might interrupt him in that siege. Accordingly, he
marched against Gadara, the metropolis of Perea, which
was a place of strength, and entered that city on the
fourth day of the month Dystrus [Adar]; for the men of
power had sent an embassage to him, without the
knowledge of the seditious, to treat about a
surrender; which they did out of the desire they had
of peace, and for saving their effects, because many
of the citizens of Gadara were rich men. This embassy
the opposite party knew nothing of, but discovered it
as Vespasian was approaching near the city. However,
they despaired of keeping possession of the city, as
being inferior in number to their enemies who were
within the city, and seeing the Romans very near to
the city; so they resolved to fly, but thought it
dishonorable to do it without shedding some blood, and
revenging themselves on the authors of this surrender;
so they seized upon Dolesus, (a person not only the
first in rank and family in that city, but one that
seemed the occasion of sending such an embassy,) and
slew him, and treated his dead body after a barbarous
manner, so very violent was their anger at him, and
then ran out of the city. And as now the Roman army
was just upon them, the people of Gadara admitted
Vespasian with joyful acclamations, and received from
him the security of his right hand, as also a garrison
of horsemen and footmen, to guard them against the
excursions of the runagates; for as to their wall,
they had pulled it down before the Romans desired them
so to do, that they might thereby give them assurance
that they were lovers of peace, and that, if they had
a mind, they could not now make war against them.
4. And now Vespasian sent Placidus against those
that had fled from Gadara, with five hundred horsemen,
and three thousand footmen, while he returned himself
to Cesarea, with the rest of the army. But as soon as
these fugitives saw the horsemen that pursued them
just upon their backs, and before they came to a close
fight, they ran together to a certain village, which
was called Bethennabris, where finding a great
multitude of young men, and arming them, partly by
their own consent, partly by force, they rashly and
suddenly assaulted Placidus and the troops that were
with him. These horsemen at the first onset gave way a
little, as contriving to entice them further off the
wall; and when they had drawn them into a place fit
for their purpose, they made their horse encompass
them round, and threw their darts at them. So the
horsemen cut off the flight of the fugitives, while
the foot terribly destroyed those that fought against
them; for those Jews did no more than show their
courage, and then were destroyed; for as they fell
upon the Romans when they were joined close together,
and, as it were, walled about with their entire armor,
they were not able to find any place where the darts
could enter, nor were they any way able to break their
ranks, while they were themselves run through by the
Roman darts, and, like the wildest of wild beasts,
rushed upon the point of others' swords; so some of
th
em were destroyed, as cut with their enemies' swords
upon their faces, and others were dispersed by the
horsemen.
5. Now Placidus's concern was to exclude them in
their flight from getting into the village; and
causing his horse to march continually on that side of
them, he then turned short upon them, and at the same
time his men made use of their darts, and easily took
their aim at those that were the nearest to them, as
they made those that were further off turn back by the
terror they were in, till at last the most courageous
of them brake through those horsemen and fled to the
wall of the village. And now those that guarded the
wall were in great doubt what to do; for they could
not bear the thoughts of excluding those that came
from Gadara, because of their own people that were
among them; and yet, if they should admit them, they
expected to perish with them, which came to pass
accordingly; for as they were crowding together at the
wall, the Roman horsemen were just ready to fall in
with them. However, the guards prevented them, and
shut the gates, when Placidus made an assault upon
them, and fighting courageously till it was dark, he
got possession of the wall, and of the people that
were in the city, when the useless multitude were
destroyed; but those that were more potent ran away,
and the soldiers plundered the houses, and set the
village on fire. As for those that ran out of the
village, they stirred up such as were in the country,
and exaggerating their own calamities, and telling
them that the whole army of the Romans were upon them,
they put them into great fear on every side; so they
got in great numbers together, and fled to Jericho,
for they knew no other place that could afford them
any hope of escaping, it being a city that had a
strong wall, and a great multitude of inhabitants. But
Placidus, relying much upon his horsemen, and his
former good success, followed them, and slew all that
he overtook, as far as Jordan; and when he had driven
the whole multitude to the river-side, where they were
stopped by the current, (for it had been augmented
lately by rains, and was not fordable,) he put his
soldiers in array over against them; so the necessity
the others were in provoked them to hazard a battle,
because there was no place whither they could flee.
They then extended themselves a very great way along
the banks of the river, and sustained the darts that
were thrown at them, as well as the attacks of the
horsemen, who beat many of them, and pushed them into
the current. At which fight, hand to hand, fifteen
thousand of them were slain, while the number of those
that were unwillingly forced to leap into Jordan was
prodigious. There were besides two thousand and two
hundred taken prisoners. A mighty prey was taken also,
consisting of asses, and sheep, and camels, and oxen.
6. Now this destruction that fell upon the Jews, as
it was not inferior to any of the rest in itself, so
did it still appear greater than it really was; and
this, because not only the whole country through which
they fled was filled with slaughter, and Jordan could
not be passed over, by reason of the dead bodies that
were in it, but because the lake Asphaltiris was also
full of dead bodies, that were carried down into it by
the river. And now Placidus, after this good success
that he had, fell violently upon the neighboring
smaller cities and villages; when he took Abila, and
Julias, and Bezemoth, and all those that lay as far as
the lake Asphaltitis, and put such of the deserters
into each of them as he thought proper. He then put
his soldiers on board the ships, and slew such as had
fled to the lake, insomuch that all Perea had either
surrendered themselves, or were taken by the Romans,
as far as Macherus.
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