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1. And now the king's wife loosed the king's brethren, and made
Alexander king, who appeared both elder in age, and more moderate
in his temper than the rest; who, when he came to the government,
slew one of his brethren, as affecting to govern himself; but had
the other of them in great esteem, as loving a quiet life,
without meddling with public affairs.
2. Now it happened that there was a battle between him and
Ptolemy, who was called Lathyrus, who had taken the city Asochis.
He indeed slew a great many of his enemies, but the victory
rather inclined to Ptolemy. But when this Ptolemy was pursued by
his mother Cleopatra, and retired into Egypt, Alexander besieged
Gadara, and took it; as also he did Amathus, which was the
strongest of all the fortresses that were about Jordan, and
therein were the most precious of all the possessions of
Theodorus, the son of Zeno. Whereupon Theodopus marched against
him, and took what belonged to himself as well as the king's
baggage, and slew ten thousand of the Jews. However, Alexander
recovered this blow, and turned his force towards the maritime
parts, and took Raphia and Gaza, with Anthedon also, which was
afterwards called Agrippias by king Herod.
3. But when he had made slaves of the citizens of all these
cities, the nation of the Jews made an insurrection against him
at a festival; for at those feasts seditions are generally begun;
and it looked as if he should not be able to escape the plot they
had laid for him, had not his foreign auxiliaries, the Pisidians
and Cilicians, assisted him; for as to the Syrians, he never
admitted them among his mercenary troops, on account of their
innate enmity against the Jewish nation. And when he had slain
more than six thousand of the rebels, he made an incursion into
Arabia; and when he had taken that country, together with the
Gileadires and Moabites, he enjoined them to pay him tribute, and
returned to Areathus; and as Theodorus was surprised at his great
success, he took the fortress, and demolished it.
4. However, when he fought with Obodas, king of the Arabians, who
had laid an ambush for him near Golan, and a plot against him, he
lost his entire army, which was crowded together in a deep
valley, and broken to pieces by the multitude of camels. And when
he had made his escape to Jerusalem, he provoked the multitude,
which hated him before, to make an insurrection against him, and
this on account of the greatness of the calamity that he was
under. However, he was then too hard for them; and, in the
several battles that were fought on both sides, he slew not fewer
than fifty thousand of the Jews in the interval of six years. Yet
had he no reason to rejoice in these victories, since he did but
consume his own kingdom; till at length he left off fighting, and
endeavored to come to a composition with them, by talking with
his subjects. But this mutability and irregularity of his conduct
made them hate him still more. And when he asked them why they so
hated him, and what he should do in order to appease them, they
said, by killing himself; for that it would be then all they
could do to be reconciled to him, who had done such tragical
things to them, even when he was dead. At the same time they
invited Demetrius, who was called Eucerus, to assist them; and as
he readily complied with their requests, in hopes of great
advantages, and came with his army, the Jews joined with those
their auxiliaries about Shechem.
5. Yet did Alexander meet both these forces with one thousand
horsemen, and eight thousand mercenaries that were on foot. He
had also with him that part of the Jews which favored him, to the
number of ten thousand; while the adverse party had three
thousand horsemen, and fourteen thousand footmen. Now, before
they joined battle, the kings made proclamation, and endeavored
to draw off each other's soldiers, and make them revolt; while
Demetrius hoped to induce Alexander's mercenaries to leave him,
and Alexander hoped to induce the Jews that were with Demetrius
to leave him. But since neither the Jews would leave off their
rage, nor the Greeks prove unfaithful, they came to an
engagement, and to a close fight with their weapons. In which
battle Demetrius was the conqueror, although Alexander's
mercenaries showed the greatest exploits, both in soul and body.
Yet did the upshot of this battle prove different from what was
expected, as to both of them; for neither did those that invited
Demetrius to come to them continue firm to him, though he was
conqueror; and six thousand Jews, out of pity to the change of
Alexander's condition, when he was fled to the mountains, came
over to him. Yet could not Demetrius bear this turn of affairs;
but supposing that Alexander was already become a match for him
again, and that all the nation would [at length] run to him, he
left the country, and went his way.
6. However, the rest of the [Jewish] multitude did not lay aside
their quarrels with him, when the [foreign] auxiliaries were
gone; but they had a perpetual war with Alexander, until he had
slain the greatest part of them, and driven the rest into the
city Berneselis; and when he had demolished that city, he carried
the captives to Jerusalem. Nay, his rage was grown so
extravagant, that his barbarity proceeded to the degree of
impiety; for when he had ordered eight hundred to be hung upon
crosses in the midst of the city, he had the throats of their
wives and children cut before their eyes; and these executions he
saw as he was drinking and lying down with his concubines. Upon
which so deep a surprise seized on the people, that eight
thousand of his opposers fled away the very next night, out of
all Judea, whose flight was only terminated by Alexander's death;
so at last, though not till late, and with great difficulty, he,
by such actions, procured quiet to his kingdom, and left off
fighting any more.
7. Yet did that Antiochus, who was also called Dionysius, become
an origin of troubles again. This man was the brother of
Demetrius, and the last of the race of the Seleucidse.
Alexander was afraid of him, when he was marching against the
Arabians; so he cut a deep trench between Antipatris, which was
near the mountains, and the shores of Joppa; he also erected a
high wall before the trench, and built wooden towers, in order to
hinder any sudden approaches. But still he was not able to
exclude Antiochus, for he burnt the towers, and filled up the
trenches, and marched on with his army. And as he looked upon
taking his revenge on Alexander, for endeavoring to stop him, as
a thing of less consequence, he marched directly against the
Arabians, whose king retired into such parts of the country as
were fittest for engaging the enemy, and then on the sudden made
his horse turn back, which were in number ten thousand, and fell
upon Antiochus's army while they were in disorder, and a terrible
battle ensued. Antiochus's troops, so long as he was alive,
fought it out, although a mighty slaughter was made among them by
the Arabians; but when he fell, for he was in the forefront, in
the utmost danger, in rallying his troops, they all gave ground,
and the greatest part of his army were destroyed, either in the
action or the flight; and for the rest, who fled to the village
of Cana, it happened that they were all consumed by want of
necessaries, a few only excepted.
8. About this time it was that the people of Damascus, out of
their hatred to Ptolemy, the son of Menhens, invited Aretas [to
take the government], and made him king of Celesyria. This man
also made an expedition against Judea, and beat Alexander in
battle; but afterwards retired by mutual agreement. But
Alexander, when he had taken Pella, marched to Gerasa again, out
of the covetous desire he had of Theodorus's possessions; and
when he had built a triple wall about the garrison, he took the
place by force. He also demolished Golan, and Seleucia, and what
was called the Valley of Antiochus; besides which, he took the
strong fortress of Gamala, and stripped Demetrius, who was
governor therein, of what he had, on account of the many crimes
laid to his charge, and then returned into Judea, after he had
been three whole years in this expedition. And now he was kindly
received of the nation, because of the good success he had. So
when he was at rest from war, he fell into a distemper; for he
was afflicted with a quartan ague, and supposed that, by
exercising himself again in martial affairs, he should get rid of
this distemper; but by making such expeditions at unseasonable
times, and forcing his body to undergo greater hardships than it
was able to bear, he brought himself to his end. He died,
therefore, in the midst of his troubles, after he had reigned
seven and twenty years.
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