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1. Upon the death of king Agrippa, which we have related in the
foregoing book, Claudius Caesar sent Cassius Longinus as
successor to Marcus, out of regard to the memory of king Agrippa,
who had often desired of him by letters, while be was alive, that
he would not suffer Marcus to be any longer president of Syria.
But Fadus, as soon as he was come procurator into Judea, found
quarrelsome doings between the Jews that dwelt in Perea, and the
people of Philadelphia, about their borders, at a village called
Mia, that was filled with men of a warlike temper; for the Jews
of Perea had taken up arms without the consent of their principal
men, and had destroyed many of the Philadelphians. When Fadus was
informed of this procedure, it provoked him very much that they
had not left the determination of the matter to him, if they
thought that the Philadelphians had done them any wrong, but had
rashly taken up arms against them. So he seized upon three of
their principal men, who were also the causes of this sedition,
and ordered them to be bound, and afterwards had one of them
slain, whose name was Hannibal; and he banished the other two,
Areram and Eleazar. Tholomy also, the arch robber, was, after
some time, brought to him bound, and slain, but not till he had
done a world of mischief to Idumea and the Arabians. And indeed,
from that time, Judea was cleared of robberies by the care and
providence of Fadus. He also at this time sent for the high
priests and the principal citizens of Jerusalem, and this at the
command of the emperor, and admonished them that they should lay
up the long garment and the sacred vestment, which it is
customary for nobody but the high priest to wear, in the tower of
Antonia, that it might be under the power of the Romans, as it
had been formerly. Now the Jews durst not contradict what he had
said, but desired Fadus, however, and Longinus, (which last was
come to Jerusalem, and had brought a great army with him, out of
a fear that the [rigid] injunctions of Fadus should force the
Jews to rebel,) that they might, in the first place, have leave
to send ambassadors to Caesar, to petition him that they may have
the holy vestments under their own power; and that, in the next
place, they would tarry till they knew what answer Claudius would
give to that their request. So they replied, that they would give
them leave to send their ambassadors, provided they would give
them their sons as pledges [for their peaceable behavior]. And
when they had agreed so to do, and had given them the pledges
they desired, the ambassadors were sent accordingly. But when,
upon their coming to Rome, Agrippa, junior, the son of the
deceased, understood the reason why they came, (for he dwelt with
Claudius Caesar, as we said before,) he besought Caesar to grant
the Jews their request about the holy vestments, and to send a
message to Fadus accordingly.
2. Hereupon Claudius called for the ambassadors; and told them
that he granted their request; and bade them to return their
thanks to Agrippa for this favor, which had been bestowed on them
upon his entreaty. And besides these answers of his, he sent the
following letter by them: "Claudius Caesar Germanicus, tribune of
the people the fifth time, and designed consul the fourth time,
and imperator the tenth time, the father of his country, to the
magistrates, senate, and people, and the whole nation of the
Jews, sendeth greeting. Upon the presentation of your ambassadors
to me by Agrippa, my friend, whom I have brought up, and have now
with me, and who is a person of very great piety, who are come to
give me thanks for the care I have taken of your nation, and to
entreat me, in an earnest and obliging manner, that they may have
the holy vestments, with the crown belonging to them, under their
power, - I grant their request, as that excellent person
Vitellius, who is very dear to me, had done before me. And I have
complied with your desire, in the first place, out of regard to
that piety which I profess, and because I would have every one
worship God according to the laws of their own country; and this
I do also because I shall hereby highly gratify king Herod, and
Agrippa, junior, whose sacred regards to me, and earnest
good-will to you, I am well acquainted with, and with whom I have
the greatest friendship, and whom I highly esteem, and look on as
persons of the best character. Now I have written about these
affairs to Cuspius Fadus, my procurator. The names of those that
brought me your letter are Cornelius, the son of Cero, Trypho,
the son of Theudio, Dorotheus, the son of Nathaniel, and John,
the son of Jotre. This letter is dated before the fourth of the
calends of July, when Ruffis and Pompeius Sylvanus are consuls."
3. Herod also, the brother of the deceased Agrippa, who was then
possessed of the royal authority over Chalcis, petitioned
Claudius Caesar for the authority over the temple, and the money
of the sacred treasure, and the choice of the high priests, and
obtained all that he petitioned for. So that after that time this
authority continued among all his descendants till the end of the
war Accordingly, Herod removed the last high priest, called
Cimtheras, and bestowed that dignity on his successor Joseph, the
son of Cantos.
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