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1. Now the necessity which Archelaus was under of taking a
journey to Rome was the occasion of new disturbances; for when he
had mourned for his father seven days, and had given a very
expensive funeral feast to the multitude, (which custom is the
occasion of poverty to many of the Jews, because they are forced
to feast the multitude; for if any one omits it, he is not
esteemed a holy person,) he put on a white garment, and went up
to the temple, where the people accosted him with various
acclamations. He also spake kindly to the multitude from an
elevated seat and a throne of gold, and returned them thanks for
the zeal they had shown about his father's funeral, and the
submission they had made to him, as if he were already settled in
the kingdom; but he told them withal, that he would not at
present take upon him either the authority of a king, or the
names thereto belonging, until Caesar, who is made lord of this
whole affair by the testament, confirm the succession; for that
when the soldiers would have set the diadem on his head at
Jericho, he would not accept of it; but that he would make
abundant requitals, not to the soldiers only, but to the people,
for their alacrity and good-will to him, when the superior lords
[the Romans] should have given him a complete title to the
kingdom; for that it should be his study to appear in all things
better than his father.
2. Upon this the multitude were pleased, and presently made a
trial of what he intended, by asking great things of him; for
some made a clamor that he would ease them in their taxes;
others, that he would take off the duties upon commodities; and
some, that he would loose those that were in prison; in all which
cases he answered readily to their satisfaction, in order to get
the good-will of the multitude; after which he offered [the
proper] sacrifices, and feasted with his friends. And here it was
that a great many of those that desired innovations came in
crowds towards the evening, and began then to mourn on their own
account, when the public mourning for the king was over. These
lamented those that were put to death by Herod, because they had
cut down the golden eagle that had been over the gate of the
temple. Nor was this mourning of a private nature, but the
lamentations were very great, the mourning solemn, and the
weeping such as was loudly heard all over the city, as being for
those men who had perished for the laws of their country, and for
the temple. They cried out that a punishment ought to be
inflicted for these men upon those that were honored by Herod;
and that, in the first place, the man whom he had made high
priest should be deprived; and that it was fit to choose a person
of greater piety and purity than he was.
3. At these clamors Archelaus was provoked, but restrained
himself from taking vengeance on the authors, on account of the
haste he was in of going to Rome, as fearing lest, upon his
making war on the multitude, such an action might detain him at
home. Accordingly, he made trial to quiet the innovators by
persuasion, rather than by force, and sent his general in a
private way to them, and by him exhorted them to be quiet. But
the seditious threw stones at him, and drove him away, as he came
into the temple, and before he could say any thing to them. The
like treatment they showed to others, who came to them after him,
many of which were sent by Archelaus, in order to reduce them to
sobriety, and these answered still on all occasions after a
passionate manner; and it openly appeared that they would not be
quiet, if their numbers were but considerable. And indeed, at the
feast of unleavened bread, which was now at hand, and is by the
Jews called the Passover, and used to he celebrated with a great
number of sacrifices, an innumerable multitude of the people came
out of the country to worship; some of these stood in the temple
bewailing the Rabbins [that had been put to death], and procured
their sustenance by begging, in order to support their sedition.
At this Archclaus was aftrighted, and privately sent a tribune,
with his cohort of soldiers, upon them, before the disease should
spread over the whole multitude, and gave orders that they should
constrain those that began the tumult, by force, to be quiet. At
these the whole multitude were irritated, and threw stones at
many of the soldiers, and killed them; but the tribune fled away
wounded, and had much ado to escape so. After which they betook
themselves to their sacrifices, as if they had done no mischief;
nor did it appear to Archelaus that the multitude could be
restrained without bloodshed; so he sent his whole army upon
them, the footmen in great multitudes, by the way of the city,
and the horsemen by the way of the plain, who, falling upon them
on the sudden, as they were offering their sacrifices, destroyed
about three thousand of them; but the rest of the multitude were
dispersed upon the adjoining mountains: these were followed by
Archelaus's heralds, who commanded every one to retire to their
own homes, whither they all went, and left the festival.
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