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1. Now Vespasian returned to Ptolemais on the fourth day of the
month Panemus, [Tamus] and from thence he came to Cesarea, which
lay by the sea-side. This was a very great city of Judea, and for
the greatest part inhabited by Greeks: the citizens here received
both the Roman army and its general, with all sorts of
acclamations and rejoicings, and this partly out of the good-will
they bore to the Romans, but principally out of the hatred they
bore to those that were conquered by them; on which account they
came clamoring against Josephus in crowds, and desired he might
be put to death. But Vespasian passed over this petition
concerning him, as offered by the injudicious multitude, with a
bare silence. Two of the legions also he placed at Cesarea, that
they might there take their winter-quarters, as perceiving the
city very fit for such a purpose; but he placed the tenth and the
fifth at Scythopolis, that he might not distress Cesarea with the
entire army. This place was warm even in winter, as it was
suffocating hot in the summer time, by reason of its situation in
a plain, and near to the sea [of Galilee].
2. In the mean time, there were gathered together as well such as
had seditiously got out from among their enemies, as those that
had escaped out of the demolished cities, which were in all a
great number, and repaired Joppa, which had been left desolate by
Cestius, that it might serve them for a place of refuge; and
because the adjoining region had been laid waste in the war, and
was not capable of supporting them, they determined to go off to
sea. They also built themselves a great many piratical ships, and
turned pirates upon the seas near to Syria, and Phoenicia, and
Egypt, and made those seas unnavigable to all men. Now as soon as
Vespasian knew of their conspiracy, he sent both footmen and
horsemen to Joppa, which was unguarded in the night time;
however, those that were in it perceived that they should be
attacked, and were afraid of it; yet did they not endeavor to
keep the Romans out, but fled to their ships, and lay at sea all
night, out of the reach of their darts.
3. Now Joppa is not naturally a haven, for it ends in a rough
shore, where all the rest of it is straight, but the two ends
bend towards each other, where there are deep precipices, and
great stones that jut out into the sea, and where the chains
wherewith Andromeda was bound have left their footsteps, which
attest to the antiquity of that fable. But the north wind opposes
and beats upon the shore, and dashes mighty waves against the
rocks which receive them, and renders the haven more dangerous
than the country they had deserted. Now as those people of Joppa
were floating about in this sea, in the morning there fell a
violent wind upon them; it is called by those that sail there
"the black north wind," and there dashed their ships one against
another, and dashed some of them against the rocks, and carried
many of them by force, while they strove against the opposite
waves, into the main sea; for the shore was so rocky, and had so
many of the enemy upon it, that they were afraid to come to land;
nay, the waves rose so very high, that they drowned them; nor was
there any place whither they could fly, nor any way to save
themselves; while they were thrust out of the sea, by the
violence of the wind, if they staid where they were, and out of
the city by the violence of the Romans. And much lamentation
there was when the ships were dashed against one another, and a
terrible noise when they were broken to pieces; and some of the
multitude that were in them were covered with waves, and so
perished, and a great many were embarrassed with shipwrecks. But
some of them thought that to die by their own swords was lighter
than by the sea, and so they killed themselves before they were
drowned; although the greatest part of them were carried by the
waves, and dashed to pieces against the abrupt parts of the
rocks, insomuch that the sea was bloody a long way, and the
maritime parts were full of dead bodies; for the Romans came upon
those that were carried to the shore, and destroyed them; and the
number of the bodies that were thus thrown out of the sea was
four thousand and two hundred. The Romans also took the city
without opposition, and utterly demolished it.
4. And thus was Joppa taken twice by the Romans in a little time;
but Vespasian, in order to prevent these pirates from coming
thither any more, erected a camp there, where the citadel of
Joppa had been, and left a body of horse in it, with a few
footmen, that these last might stay there and guard the camp, and
the horsemen might spoil the country that lay round it, and might
destroy the neighboring villages and smaller cities. So these
troops overran the country, as they were ordered to do, and every
day cut to pieces and laid desolate the whole region.
5. But now, when the fate of Jotapata was related at Jerusalem, a
great many at the first disbelieved it, on account of the
vastness of the calamity, and because they had no eye-witness to
attest the truth of what was related about it; for not one person
was saved to be a messenger of that news, but a fame was spread
abroad at random that the city was taken, as such fame usually
spreads bad news about. However, the truth was known by degrees,
from the places near Jotapata, and appeared to all to be too
true. Yet were there fictitious stories added to what was really
done; for it was reported that Josephus was slain at the taking
of the city, which piece of news filled Jerusalem full of sorrow.
In every house also, and among all to whom any of the slain were
allied, there was a lamentation for them; but the mourning for
the commander was a public one; and some mourned for those that
had lived with them, others for their kindred, others for their
friends, and others for their brethren, but all mourned for
Josephus; insomuch that the lamentation did not cease in the city
before the thirtieth day; and a great many hired mourners,
with their pipes, who should begin the melancholy ditties for
them.
6. But as the truth came out in time, it appeared how the affairs
of Jotapata really stood; yet was it found that the death of
Josephus was a fiction; and when they understood that he was
alive, and was among the Romans, and that the commanders treated
him at another rate than they treated captives, they were as
vehemently angry at him now as they had showed their good-will
before, when he appeared to have been dead. He was also abused by
some as having been a coward, and by others as a deserter; and
the city was full of indignation at him, and of reproaches cast
upon him; their rage was also aggravated by their afflictions,
and more inflamed by their ill success; and what usually becomes
an occasion of caution to wise men, I mean affliction, became a
spur to them to venture on further calamities, and the end of one
misery became still the beginning of another; they therefore
resolved to fall on the Romans the more vehemently, as resolving
to be revenged on him in revenging themselves on the Romans. And
this was the state of Jerusalem as to the troubles which now came
upon it.
7. But Vespasian, in order to see the kingdom of Agrippa, while
the king persuaded himself so to do, (partly in order to his
treating the general and his army in the best and most splendid
manner his private affairs would enable him to do, and partly
that he might, by their means, correct such things as were amiss
in his government,) he removed from that Cesarea which was by the
sea-side, and went to that which is called Cesarea Philippi
and there he refreshed his army for twenty days, and was himself
feasted by king Agrippa, where he also returned public thanks to
God for the good success he had had in his undertakings. But as
soon as he was informed that Tiberias was fond of innovations,
and that Tarichere had revolted, both which cities were parts of
the kingdom of Agrippa, and was satisfied within himself that the
Jews were every where perverted [from their obedience to their
governors], he thought it seasonable to make an expedition
against these cities, and that for the sake of Agrippa, and in
order to bring his cities to reason. So he sent away his son
Titus to [the other] Cesarea, that he might bring the army that
lay there to Seythopous, which is the largest city of Decapolis,
and in the neighborhood of Tiberias, whither he came, and where
he waited for his son. He then came with three legions, and
pitched his camp thirty furlongs off Tiberias, at a certain
station easily seen by the innovators; it is named Sennabris. He
also sent Valerian, a decurion, with fifty horsemen, to speak
peaceably to those that were in the city, and to exhort them to
give him assurances of their fidelity; for he had heard that the
people were desirous of peace, but were obliged by some of the
seditious part to join with them, and so were forced to fight for
them. When Valerian had marched up to the place, and was near the
wall, he alighted off his horse, and made those that were with
him to do the same, that they might not be thought to come to
skirmish with them; but before they could come to a discourse one
with another, the most potent men among the seditious made a
sally upon them armed; their leader was one whose name was Jesus,
the son of Shaphat, the principal head of a band of robbers. Now
Valerian, neither thinking it safe to fight contrary to the
commands of the general, though he were secure of a victory, and
knowing that it was a very hazardous undertaking for a few to
fight with many, for those that were unprovided to fight those
that were ready, and being on other accounts surprised at this
unexpected onset of the Jews, he ran away on foot, as did five of
the rest in like manner, and left their horses behind them; which
horses Jesus led away into the city, and rejoiced as if they had
taken them in battle, and not by treachery.
8. Now the seniors of the people, and such as were of principal
authority among them, fearing what would be the issue of this
matter, fled to the camp of the Romans; they then took their king
along with them, and fell down before Vespasian, to supplicate
his favor, and besought him not to overlook them, nor to impute
the madness of a few to the whole city, to spare a people that
have been ever civil and obliging to the Romans; but to bring the
authors of this revolt to due punishment, who had hitherto so
watched them, that though they were zealous to give them the
security of their right hands of a long time, yet could they not
accomplish the same. With these supplications the general
complied, although he were very angry at the whole city about the
carrying off his horses, and this because he saw that Agrippa was
under a great concern for them. So when Vespasian and Agrippa had
accepted of their right hands by way of security, Jesus and his
party thought it not safe for them to continue at Tiberias, so
they ran away to Tarichete. The next day Vespasian sent Trajan
before with some horsemen to the citadel, to make trial of the
multitude, whether they were all disposed for peace; and as soon
as he knew that the people were of the same mind with the
petitioner, he took his army, and went to the city; upon which
the citizens opened to him their gates, and met him with
acclamations of joy, and called him their savior and benefactor.
But as the army was a great while in getting in at the gates,
they were so narrow, Vespasian commanded the south wall to be
broken down, and so made a broad passage for their entrance.
However, he charged them to abstain from rapine and injustice, in
order to gratify the king; and on his account spared the rest of
the wall, while the king undertook for them that they should
continue [faithful to the Romans] for the time to come. And thus
did he restore this city to a quiet state, after it had been
grievously afflicted by the sedition.
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