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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 them 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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