FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS
JEWISH ANTIQUITIES
Book 15

¹How Sosius and Herod took Jerusalem by force, and how they took Antigonus prisoner, we have reported in the previous book. We will now go on with the narrative. ²Since Herod had now the government of all Judea in his hands, he promoted the private citizens within the city who belonged to his party, and daily punished and penalized those who had chosen the opposite side. ³Pollio the Pharisee and Sameas his disciple were honoured by him above all others, for when Jerusalem was besieged, they advised the citizens to receive Herod, for which they were well repaid. ⁴This Pollio, at the time when Herod was once being tried for his life mockingly foretold to Hyrcanus and the other judges, how this Herod, whom they had spared, would later come back at them all, and this took place in its time, as God fulfilled the words he had spoken.

⁵Meanwhile, now that he had taken Jerusalem, he took away all the royal ornaments and despoiled the wealthy of what they had acquired. After collecting a large amount of silver and gold, he gave it all to Antony and the friends in his circle. ⁶He also killed forty-five of the officers of Antigonus' party and set guards at the gates of the city, that nothing might be brought out along with the dead. They also searched the corpses and any silver or gold or valuables they found, was brought to the king. ⁷This was not the last of the troubles he caused, partly due to the greed of the ruler who needed still more and partly because of the Sabbatical year, still in progress, which left the country still uncultivated, since we are forbidden to sow our land in that year. ⁸When Antony had taken Antigonus prisoner, he decided to keep him for his triumph, but when he heard how the nation was still rebellious and in their hatred for Herod, still favoured Antigonus, he decided to behead him in Antioch, for in no other way could the Jews be pacified. ⁹Strabo of Cappadocia supports me in this, when he says: "Antony had Antigonus the Jew brought to Antioch and beheaded there. I believe he was the first Roman to behead a king, thinking there was no other way to change the mind of the Jews to receive Herod, whom he had set in his place, for even tortures could not force them to acknowledge him as king. ¹⁰With their great fondness for their former king, he felt that this disgrace would diminish his memory and also lessen their hatred of Herod." Such is Strabo's account.

¹¹When the high priest Hyrcanus, who had been a prisoner among the Parthians, heard that Herod had taken over the kingdom, he came to Herod after he was set free from his imprisonment in this way. ¹²The Parthian generals Barzapharnes and Pacorus captured the former high priest and later king, Hyrcanus, along with Herod's brother Phasael, and took them away to Parthia. ¹³But Phasael, unable to bear the shame of being in chains, and thinking that death with glory was better than merely clinging to life, took his own life, as I have already said.

¹⁴When Hyrcanus was brought into Parthia king Phraates treated him more fairly, being already aware of what an illustrious family he came from, and so he set him free from his chains and gave him a residence in Babylon, where there was a large numbers of Jews. ¹⁵These honoured Hyrcanus as their high priest and king, as did the whole Jewish nation as far as the Euphrates, which was gratifying to him. ¹⁶But when told that Herod had taken over the kingdom, he took new hope, as he had remained fond of him and expected Herod to remember his past favours, for saving him when during his trial when he stood in peril of execution and rescuing him from the impending punishment. He used to talk of this matter with the Jews who came eagerly to see him. ¹⁷They tried to get him to stay on with them, reminding him of the services and honours they showed him which were no less than the honour shown to their high priests or kings, and furthermore, that he could not enjoy such honour at home due to the physical deformity he had suffered under Antigonus, and that kings do not repay people for favours they received as commoners, as their change of fortune understandably changes their outlook too.

¹⁸Although they argued this with him for his own good, Hyrcanus still wanted to leave, and Herod also wrote urging him to request Phraates and the Jews in that place not to begrudge him the kingship which he would share and that now was his best time for repaying him for supporting and saving him, if Hyrcanus would come to receive it. ¹⁹As he wrote this to Hyrcanus, he also sent an envoy, Saramallas, with many gifts to Phraates, and politely asking him not to prevent him from showing this gratitude toward his benefactor. ²⁰This however was not the true motive, but because he had unjustifiably come to power and was reasonably afraid that things might change, he was eager to have Hyrcanus in his power or even to dispose of him entirely, which he did later.

²¹And so, with the permission of the king of Parthia and the help of the Jews who provided him with money, he went and was welcomed with every respect and given the first place at assemblies and banquets, and was thereby deceived. Herod called him his father and tried by all possible means to avert any suspicion that he was plotting against him. ²²He also did other things to secure his rule, for which trouble arose in his own family, for, wary of appointing any prominent person as God's high priest, he sent for an obscure priest from Babylon, named Ananelus and bestowed the high priesthood upon him.

²³But Alexandra was immediately incensed at this. She was the daughter of Hyrcanus and wife of Alexander the son of king Aristobulus, and had borne Alexander an extremely handsome son called Aristobulus, and a celebrated beauty, Herod's wife Mariamne. ²⁴She was badly shaken by this indignity to her son, that the dignity of the high priesthood should be conferred on someone else during his lifetime. So she wrote to Cleopatra, using a musician to carry her letters, to get her to intercede with Antony to gain the high priesthood for her son.

²⁵While Antony delayed in granting this request, his friend Dellius came to Judea on some business. When he saw Aristobulus, he admired the boy's height and beauty and not less the king's wife Mariamne, and was unstinting in his praises of Alexandra, as the mother of the most beautiful children. ²⁶When she came to talk with him, he persuaded her to get pictures drawn of them both and to send them to Antony. For when he saw them, he would deny her nothing she might ask. ²⁷Elated by these words, Alexandra sent the pictures to Antony. Dellius also talked extravagantly and said that these children seemed not to come from mere mortals but from some god or other, although his plan in doing so was to stir the lust of Antony. ²⁸He indeed was ashamed to send for the girl, as she was Herod's wife and also so as not to have it reported to Cleopatra. But he sent, as decently as he could, for the young man, adding "unless this seems too much to ask." ²⁹When this letter was brought to Herod, he did not think it safe to send so handsome a lad as Aristobulus, in the prime of his life, for he was sixteen years of age and of such a noble family, and particularly not to Antony, who was then the most powerful of the Romans, who was ready to submit him to eroticism for he publicly indulged without measure in all the pleasures his power allowed him. ³⁰So he wrote back to him, that all would be up in arms and uproar if the lad even left the country, as the Jews were full of hopes for change and revolution under another king.

³¹Having made these excuses to Antony, he knew he could not entirely dishonour the child or Alexandra. But when his wife Mariamne vehemently urged him to restore the high priesthood to her brother, he judged it best to do so. For once he held that dignity, he could not leave the country. However he assembled his friends and accused Alexandra of many things, ³²of secretly conspiring against the kingdom and trying through Cleopatra to have him deposed as ruler and getting Antony to give control of the affairs to this youth in his place. ³³In this she was acting unjustly, he said, since she would at the same time deprive her daughter of her present dignity and bring uproar into the kingdom, for which he had worked so hard and which he had won at such great risk. ³⁴Still, while not forgetting the ugly things she had done, he would not cease doing right and even now would give the high priesthood to the young man, since he had appointed Ananelus earlier simply because Aristobulus was still so young a child. ³⁵He did not say this without forethought but with the utmost subtlety, in order to deceive the women and those friends whom he had taken into consultation, so that Alexandra, overjoyed at this unexpected promise after her fearful suspicions, burst out in tears and apologized to him. ³⁶She said she had cared about the disgrace regarding the priesthood but had no desire to have him made king and would not accept it even if it were offered, and was now satisfied with the dignity offered, while Herod continued to hold power and thereby provided the security that came to all of her family from his special ability in ruling. ³⁷She was now won over by his goodness and welcomed the honour given to her son and would in future be fully obedient and apologized if her lineage and the freedom which she thought it permitted had made her speak rashly or inappropriately. ³⁸When they had spoken to each other in this way they reached agreement and all suspicions seemed to vanish.

³⁹King Herod immediately removed the high priesthood from Ananelus, who as we said earlier was not native born but one of the Jews that had been deported beyond the Euphrates, for many thousands of the people had been deported to the area around Babylonia. ⁴⁰That was where Ananelus came from, a man of high-priestly stock and from of old a close friend of Herod, who when he came to the kingship conferred this honour on him, and now removed it again, to calm the troubles in his family, an unlawful thing since one should not deposed from the honour after taking it up. ⁴¹Antiochus Epiphanes was the first to break that law by deposing Joshua and making his brother Onias high priest in place of him. Aristobulus was the second, by removing his brother Hyrcanus. Herod was the third, by transferring the rule to the youth Aristobulus.

⁴²Herod seemed to have pacified his family, but remained suspicious as is normal after a reconciliation. He thought that as Alexandra had already attempted something she might lead a revolt if she found a good moment to do so. ⁴³So he ordered her to stay within the palace and not meddle with matters of authority. Her guards took care that nothing she did in her everyday life was hidden from him. ⁴⁴Little by little all this wore her down, and she began to hate Herod, for as she was chock full of womanly pride she was furious at this suspicious watch kept on her, wishing rather to undergo anything whatsoever than be deprived of her freedom of speech, and, under the fiction of a guard of honour, to live in a state of slavery and terror. ⁴⁵So she sent to Cleopatra, complaining repeatedly of her circumstances and imploring her to help her in any way she could. So she [Cleopatra] advised her to take her son with her and hurry away to her in Egypt. ⁴⁶This advice was accepted and she planned it as follows. She had two coffins made as if to transport two corpses, and put herself into one and her son into the other. She ordered those of her servants who were in the know to take them away by night. Their route was to be from there to the coast, where a ship was ready to take them to Egypt. ⁴⁷When Aesop, one of her servants, happened to meet Sabbion, one of her friends, he spoke to him of the affair thinking he was already aware of it. When Sabbion (who had formerly been hostile to Herod and been regarded as one of the plotters who gave the poison to Antipater) heard it, he told the king of Alexandra's scheme expecting that telling him would change his hatred for him to goodwill. ⁴⁸He [Herod] let her proceed with her project and caught her in the act and then pardoned her offence. Although he had a great wish to do so, he dared not punish her severely, for he knew that Cleopatra would not endure it, due to her hatred of him. So he let it appear that it was his magnanimity and fairness that made him pardon them. ⁴⁹Still, he was determined one way or another to be rid of the youth but thought the act would be better concealed if he did not do it soon after what had lately occurred.

⁵⁰At the approach of Tabernacles, a festival much observed among us, he waited until the days when both he and the rest of the people who made merry had passed. But the envy which arose in him at this time caused him to carry out his plan all the sooner. ⁵¹For when this youth Aristobulus, now in the seventeenth year of age, went up to the altar adorned as high priest to offer the sacrifices required by the law, and when in performing the sacred offices, he appeared very handsome and taller than average for his age and his face seemed full of the noble birth from which he came, ⁵²then a wave of affection toward him appeared among the people. With the memory of the deeds of his grandfather Aristobulus fresh in their minds, their feelings for him made them unable to conceal their preference for him. They were both glad and emotional, and mixed their joyful acclamations with good wishes, until the people's love for him was all too evident. They proclaimed the prosperity they had received from his family more than was fitting under a king. ⁵³All this spurred Herod to carry out his intentions against the youth. When the festival ended and he was feasting at Jericho with Alexandra, who entertained them there, he was very pleasant to the young man and took him aside for a drink and conversed with him in a youthful and playful manner. ⁵⁴As the place was extremely hot, they soon went out in a group in a light-hearted mood, and as they were beside the large bathing pools around the courtyard, they went to cool themselves from the midday heat. ⁵⁵At first they just looked on at the young household servants and friends but after a while, prompted by Herod, the young man joined them in the water and then, while as he was swimming those of the friends assigned to it dipped him under in the dark waters as if doing so only in sport and did not let up until he drowned. ⁵⁶That is how Aristobulus was killed, after living for eighteen years in all, and holding the high priesthood for just one year, an office now restored to Ananelus.

⁵⁷When the tragedy was told to the women, their joy instantly changed and their grieving lamentation was boundless on seeing his corpse lying there. There was great grief in the city too when the news spread, with every family mourning his fate as if it had happened to them. ⁵⁸Alexandra was the most grief-stricken at his demise, all the more so from knowing how it had been committed, but she was forced to bear up under it, as the lesser evil. ⁵⁹Though often tempted to put an end to her own life she refrained in hopes of living long enough to revenge the unjust and premeditated murder. And so she went on with her life, giving no reason to suspect that she knew how her son had been deliberately killed and hoping to be able to avenge it when the opportunity arose. ⁶⁰So she resolutely kept her suspicions hidden. Herod sought to ensure that no one would link the boy's death to him and not only went into mourning, but also wept and appeared deeply distressed, and perhaps he really did feel that way, looking at the lad's young and beautiful face, even though the death had been to secure his own position and his concern was clearly to shield himself from blame. ⁶¹He arranged a magnificent funeral, making great preparations for the burial vault and providing a large quantity of spices and burying many ornaments along with him, so that even in their deep sorrow the women were impressed and in some way consoled by it.

⁶²However, none of this could ease Alexandra's sorrow, but the memory of the tragedy made her grief both deep and obstinate. She wrote to Cleopatra about Herod's treachery and of how he had done away with her son. ⁶³She, who pitied the misfortunes of Alexandra and had in the past done all she could to help her, made the case her own. Enraged by the boy's murder, she gave Antony no peace about it, since it was not right that Herod, whom he had helped to make king of a kingdom that in no way belonged to him, should commit such terrible crimes against those who really were of the royal line. ⁶⁴Antony was persuaded by this and when he came to Laodicea he sent orders for Herod to come and answer for what he had done to Aristobulus, since if he had any hand in such a plot, he had done a great wrong. ⁶⁵Frightened by the charge and by the ill-will of Cleopatra, who was always speaking evil of him to Antony, he decided to obey, as he had no way to avoid the summons. So he left his uncle Joseph to take care of the kingdom and all his affairs, with private instructions that if he suffered at the hands of Antony, Mariamne should immediately be killed too. ⁶⁶For he loved his wife with passion and feared the affront to himself if, after his death, she should start afresh with some other man, on account of her beauty. ⁶⁷The basis for his anxiety was that Antony had fallen in love with her as soon as he had gotten some word about her beauty. When Herod had given these instructions, and with no certainty that he would escape with his life, he went off to Antony.

⁶⁸While Joseph was administering the affairs of the kingdom and was therefore constantly in contact with Mariamne, for practical reasons and to pay his respects to the queen, he frequently spoke about Herod's fondness and affection for her. ⁶⁹But when the women, and especially Alexandra, mocked his words in a feminine way, Joseph was so keen to prove the kings affection that he explained the order he had been given, as proof that Herod could not live without her, and could not bear to be parted from her, even by death, if his life was taken. ⁷⁰Those were Joseph's words; but the women naturally did not take this as proof of Herod's affection but of his severity, that even when he died they could not escape destruction and tyrannical death. What had been said made them suspicious of him in future.

⁷¹Meanwhile a rumour went around among Herod's enemies in Jerusalem that Antony had tortured and executed him and this report naturally shook the people around the palace, but the women above all. ⁷²Alexandra tried to persuade Joseph to leave the palace and escape with them to the ensigns of the Roman legion, which was then encamped around the city, as a guard to the kingdom, under the command of the son of Judah. ⁷³For, she said, if any rioting were to take near the palace, they would be more secure by having the Romans on their side and besides, there was every hope, if Antony just saw Mariamne, that through him they could regain the kingdom and then lack for nothing, which was a feasible prospect in view of their royal blood.

⁷⁴But as they were considering this, letters were brought from Herod about all his affairs and quite contrary to what had been said earlier. ⁷⁵For when he came to Antony, he said, he soon regained favour with him through the gifts he had brought with him from Jerusalem, and after some conversation, he soon got him to set aside his anger, so that Cleopatra's persuasions had less force than the arguments and gifts he had brought to regain his friendship. ⁷⁶Antony had said that it was not good to hold a king to account about what was done to secure his power, for then he would not be king at all. Rather, those who had given him that authority should let him exercise it. At the same time he told Cleopatra that it would be best for her not to meddle with the government matters. ⁷⁷Herod wrote of these things and stressed the other honours he had received from Antony; how he sat beside him in the hearing of cases and dined with him every day and that he enjoyed those favours from him, despite Cleopatra's charges against him, as she wanted his country and implored Antony to add the kingdom to her own, and tried by every means to get rid of him. ⁷⁸But he had always found Antony fair to him and no longer feared any harm from him, and soon after his return received a further assurance of his favour, regarding his rule and government. ⁷⁹He need no longer fear Cleopatra's greed either, since Antony had given her Coele-Syria instead of what she had asked, thereby pacifying her and putting an end to her pleas to get Judea.

⁸⁰Once these letters had arrived, the women left off their attempt to flee to the Romans, which they had planned while they supposed he had died. Their intention was not kept a secret, however, for after conducting Antony on his way against the Parthians the king returned to Judea and his sister Salome and his mother soon told him their views about Alexandra. ⁸¹Salome added a calumny against Joseph, that he had often been with Mariamne. She said this because for a long time she had resented the fact that in their disputes Mariamne took the high ground and would mock the others for their lowly birth. ⁸²Herod, whose affection for Mariamne was always very warm, was instantly troubled by this and could not bear the torments of jealousy, but was restrained from doing anything rash by his love for her. Still his passion and jealousy together made him ask Mariamne secretly about this matter of Joseph. ⁸³She denied it on her oath and said in her own defence all that an innocent woman could possibly say, so that little by little the king was persuaded to drop his suspicion and calm his anger at her. Overcome with his affection for his wife, he apologized to her for seeming to believe the rumours about her and freely acknowledged the graciousness of her behaviour. ⁸⁴He declared his love and affection for her, until finally, as is usual between lovers, they both began to weep and embraced each other with most tender affection. ⁸⁵But as the king went on assuring her of his trust in her fidelity and tried to elicit from her a similar trust in him, Mariamne said, "Was it a sign of your love for me when you ordered that if Antony harmed you, I too should die, for no reason?" ⁸⁶When she let slip these words, the king was shocked and dropped her from his arms and shouted and tore at his hair, saying that now he had clear proof of Joseph's sexual intercourse with his wife. ⁸⁷For unless there had been such intimacy and trust between them, he would never have revealed what he had told him in confidence. In this fit of passion he could have killed his wife; but still mastered by his love for her, he restrained his passion, though not without lingering grief and inner conflict. But he ordered them to kill Joseph, without letting him come into his sight, and he took Alexandra and kept her in custody, as the reason for all of this harm.

⁸⁸By this stage, affairs in Syria were in confusion due to Cleopatra's frequent requests that Antony take a hand in all her schemes. For she urged him to take the realms of each of the rulers and grant them to her, and her influence was strong because of his passion for her. ⁸⁹Greedy and lawless by nature, she had already poisoned her fifteen-year-old brother, whom she feared would become king, and had her sister Arsinoe killed by Antony, as she was praying at Diana's temple at Ephesus. ⁹⁰For the sake of money, or even the hope of it, she would violate both temples and tombs and there was no holy place however sacred, that she would not rob of its ornaments, or nowhere so profane but she would treat in the roughest way if it could contribute any profit to her unjust greed. ⁹¹But even all this was not enough for a woman so extravagant and enslaved by her desires. For she was always eager for whatever came into her mind and did her utmost to get it. For this reason, she kept nagging Antony to take the dominions of others and give them to her, so that as she crossed Syria with him, she sought to possess it herself. ⁹²She had Lysanias, the son of Ptolemy, killed, after accusing him of bringing the Parthians into action there, and she asked Antony to grant her Judea and Arabia, wanting him to take them lands from their kings. ⁹³Antony was so entirely subject to her that it seemed unlikely to be by the woman's conversation alone, but by drugs or some other way that he listened to whatever she wanted. Still, her grossest injustices so embarrassed him that he would not always agree to her most flagrant enormities. ⁹⁴In order not to refuse her outright, and still not publicly appear an evildoer by doing her wrongful bidding, he took portions of each of those countries and gave them to her. ⁹⁵So he gave her the cities that were on her side of the river Eleutherus as far as Egypt, except Tyre and Sidon which he knew to have been free cities from of old, although she often cajoled him about them too.

⁹⁶After gaining these and accompanying Antony on his expedition to Armenia as far as the Euphrates, Cleopatra turned back and came to Apamia and Damascus and on to Judea, where Herod met her and rented from her the parts of Arabia given to her and the revenues from the region about Jericho. That land grows the precious balsam, which grows only there, along with many excellent date palms. ⁹⁷Being in the area and often in Herod's company, she sought to have sexual intercourse with the king and made no secret that she enjoyed the pleasure of that activity. Perhaps to some extent she fell in love with him though more likely she was trying to trap him and bring him into disrepute, even though in general she seems to have been ruled by her feelings. ⁹⁸Already Herod felt no love for Cleopatra, knowing her as a supreme nuisance and now she seemed to particularly deserve his hatred, and thought he might put her to death even if her move was one of lust. So he brushed her offer aside and called his friends to advise him on whether to kill her, now that she was in his power. ⁹⁹This could spare many a misfortune to those whom she now burdened and would still in the future, and he thought it would also be of advantage to Antony, since she would not be faithful to him, if the occasion should ever arise when he would need her. ¹⁰⁰His friends dissuaded him from this idea saying above all that he should not embark on so major a thing which would put him in such obvious danger and they urged him to do nothing about this rash idea. ¹⁰¹Antony would never tolerate it, even if one could clearly show him that it was to his advantage, for to deprive him of her company in such a brusque and secretive way would probably warm his love for her. Neither could he offer anything substantial in his own defence, when pitting himself against the most famous woman in the world at that time. Whatever advantage, if any, he could hope for from such a deed should be discarded because of the risk he would run by doing it. ¹⁰²From all this it was clear that if he did so he would do great and lasting harm both to his position as ruler and to his descendants, whereas he could still reject the evil she wished him to do, and end the matter honourably. ¹⁰³By making him afraid and showing the risk he would run if he attempted it, they restrained him from it. So he treated Cleopatra politely and gave her gifts and conducted her on her way to Egypt.

¹⁰⁴Meanwhile Antony subdued Armenia and sent the son of Tigranes, Artabazes with his children and satraps in chains to Egypt as a gift to Cleopatra, along with all the valuables of that kingdom which he had taken. ¹⁰⁵The eldest of that prisoner's children, Artaxias, escaped at that time and took over the kingdom of Armenia, but he was still expelled by Archelaus and Nero Caesar when they restored his younger brother, Tigranes, to the kingdom, which happened a good while later.

¹⁰⁶Herod duly paid the taxes he owed to Cleopatra for the land Antony had granted her, reckoning it unsafe for him to present her with any cause to hate him. ¹⁰⁷The Arab [king] whose tax Herod had undertaken to pay her, paid him the two hundred talents for a while, but later became vicious and slow to pay, hardly willing to pay even part of it and refusing to pay even without some bribe.

¹⁰⁸Herod prepared to make war on him for his ingratitude and because in the end he had done him wrong. But he was delayed doing so on account of the Roman war. ¹⁰⁹Just now, a battle was expected at Actium, which took place in the hundred and eighty-seventh Olympiad, when Caesar and Antony would contest for the supreme power. Herod, whose land had for a long time had fruitful harvests and who had thereby raised large revenues and resources, gathered an allied force for Antony and equipped them with care. ¹¹⁰Then Antony said that he had no need of his help, but sent him off to punish the king of Arabia, after hearing from him and from Cleopatra about the man's disloyalty. For this was Cleopatra's own wish, thinking it would be to her advantage if these two kings inflicted damage on each other. ¹¹¹When he got Antony's message, Herod turned aside but he kept his army together to invade Arabia immediately. When his cavalry and infantry were ready, he marched to Diospolis, where the Arabs came to meet them because they were not unaware of his war plans. A great battle was fought, which the Jews won. ¹¹²Later however, another large army of Arabs gathered at Cana, a place in Coele-Syria. Forewarned of it, Herod marched against them with most of his forces. As he approached, he decided to camp at a good place, and fortified it as a vantage point from which to launch his attack. ¹¹³While he was arranging this, a crowd of the Jews shouted that he should lead them against the Arabs without delay. They were driven by the belief that they were in fine order, and especially as they had been victorious in the earlier battle, when their enemies had not even got close enough to fight them hand to hand. ¹¹⁴As they were so fierce and showed such zeal for battle, the king resolved to avail of the people's ardour. After assuring them he would not be outdone by them in courage, he led the way in his armour with all of them following in their assigned regiments. ¹¹⁵A panic seized the Arabs at seeing the Jews looking so invincible, and most of them fled to avoid the battle. Indeed they would have been destroyed, if Athenius had not attacked Herod and the Jews. ¹¹⁶This man was a general of Cleopatra's forces there and was Herod's foe. He was watching carefully to see what would be the outcome of the battle. His plan was to remain inactive if the Arabs performed very well. But if, as it turned out, they were defeated, he would attack the Jews with his own forces and the local forces that had joined him. ¹¹⁷So he made an unexpected attack with a great slaughter when they were tired and thought they had already beaten the enemy. Since the Jews had expended their force upon their known enemies and were enjoying their victory in unguarded mood, they were easily beaten by these who attacked them afresh and they suffered badly in rocky places unsuitable for their horses and where their attackers were familiar with the terrain. ¹¹⁸After this reversal, the defeated Arabs took new heart and turned around to slaughter those who fled before them. Many were killed. Of those who escaped, only a few returned to the camp. ¹¹⁹King Herod, despairing of the battle, rode up to help them; although he tried hard, he was not in time to be of much service. The Jewish camp was taken and the Arabs had an unusually lucky success, gaining a victory which had been beyond their grasp and killing most of the opposing army. ¹²⁰In the aftermath, Herod resorted to brigandage and raided many parts of Arabia, harassing them by sudden attacks. Camping in the mountains, he avoided ever coming to a pitched battle, but harassed the enemy by his incessant activity, taking care of his own forces and trying in every way to restore his affairs to their former state.

¹²¹Meanwhile, the battle took place at Actium, between Octavius Caesar and Antony, in the seventh year of Herod's reign. In that year also, there was an earthquake in Judea which was worse than any previous ones. It caused huge destruction to the livestock in the land. ¹²²About thirty thousand people died as houses fell upon them, but the army, camped in the open, was unharmed by this calamity. ¹²³When the Arabs learned about it, for anti-Jewish people who enjoyed aggravating the rumours told them of it, their spirits soared, as if their enemy's land was crushed and the people destroyed. They thought there was now nothing left to oppose them, ¹²⁴so they took and killed the Jewish envoys who had come to them after all this to make peace with them, and full of confidence attacked their army. ¹²⁵The Jews did not dare to withstand them, being too downcast by their troubles to take proper care, and yielded to despair, with no hope of ever equalling them again in battle, or of getting help elsewhere while they were so badly off at home. ¹²⁶In this state of affairs the king addressed the officers and tried to raise their spirits, which were very low. He tried first to stir up and embolden some of the better sort and then ventured to make a speech to the people, which he had previously avoided doing for fear they would be unwilling to listen, after all that had happened. So he urged the people as follows.

¹²⁷"Men, you are all aware that this past while our plans have met many obstacles, and probably even the bravest can hardly keep up their spirits in such circumstances. ¹²⁸But since we cannot avoid fighting and nothing that has happened is so bad that we cannot set things right by one well-done action, I want to encourage you and to tell you something to help you hold onto your usual courage. ¹²⁹First, I will show that ours is a just war forced upon us by the insolence of our opponents, for once you grasp this, it will strengthen your resolve. Then I will show that our present troubles are not so dire and that we have every reason to hope for victory. ¹³⁰I shall begin with the first and you can testify to what I say. You surely know of the lawlessness of the Arabs, who are faithless to all other men, as is to be expected from a barbarous race, ignorant of God. Their conflict with us is mainly due to greed and envy, and they attacked us from hiding, in our time of confusion. ¹³¹Need I say much about this? When they were in danger of losing their autonomy and being enslaved by Cleopatra, who was it but ourselves who set them free from that fear? For it was my friendship with Antony and his good disposition toward us that saved these Arabs from ruination, since he was careful not to do anything to which we might take exception. ¹³²When he wished to bestow parts of each of our kingdoms to Cleopatra, I managed, by giving him gifts of my own, to obtain security for both of us, and became guarantor for the money while giving him two hundred talents and promised two hundred more for her revenue, of which they have defrauded us. ¹³³If it is not right for Jews to pay tax to anyone, or to let part of their land be taxed, even if this should happen, we surely ought not pay the tax for those whom we have saved; nor is it right for the Arabs, who have us to thank for helping them keep their autonomy, to wrong us by withholding what is our due, when we were not enemies but friends to them. ¹³⁴Whereas a pledge is kept even between the greatest enemies, it is essential that it be kept between friends; but among these people they are not kept, for they value profit above all things, and see no harm in injustice if they can only make profit by it. ¹³⁵Are you still asking whether the unjust should be punished or not, when God himself wills it, and urges us always to hate insolence and injustice, even if it leads to a just but necessary war? ¹³⁶These Arab have done to our envoys what both the Greeks and barbarians declare to be the grossest crime, for they beheaded them, though the Greeks say that envoys are sacred and inviolable. It was through messengers that we ourselves learned from God the best of our doctrines and the holiest of our laws, and they bring God to the knowledge of mankind and can reconcile enemies one to another. ¹³⁷What crime then can be worse than to kill envoys, coming to discuss a fair solution? And after doing such a thing, how can they live a secure life or be successful in war? I feel it is impossible! ¹³⁸Maybe some might object that while godliness and justice are on our side, the Arabs are more courageous or more numerous. But it is wrong for you to say so in the first place, for God is with those who are on the side of justice, and where God is, both numbers and courage will not be lacking.
¹³⁹Just look at our own situation. We won the first battle. When we fought again, they could not stand up to us, but fled. They were unable to resist our assault and our courage. We had beaten them when Athenion came and made undeclared war against us. ¹⁴⁰Was this an act of courage on their part, or not just a second crime and treachery? Why are we downhearted then, in a situation which should spur us to stronger hopes? Why are we terrified of people, who are always defeated in an honest fight, and whose only victories are gained by treachery? ¹⁴¹But even if one were to reckon them as men of real courage, would this not spur us to greater efforts against them? For true bravery is not shown by fighting weaker men but in being able to overcome the stronger. ¹⁴²Now if anyone has become fearful by our hardships and the effects of the earthquake, let him first consider that this will lead the Arabs astray into thinking that what has happened to us is greater than it really is. ¹⁴³Then too, what emboldens them should not discourage us, for their audacity is not based on any merit of their own, but on their belief that we are worn down by our troubles. But if we march against them, we shall soon pull down their high conceit and they will not be so bold when it comes to battle. ¹⁴⁴Our woes are not so great, nor do they prove, as some imagine, that God is angry with us, for such things are natural events and misfortunes. Even if we think that they happened by God's will, now by his will they are clearly over, and enough has happened, for if he wished to afflict us still more, he would not have already changed his mind. ¹⁴⁵He has actually indicated that he wants us to continue with the just war we are engaged in, for while some people in the country have died, none of the army has suffered anything, but all were spared. By this God makes plain to us, that if our whole people, including children and wives, had taken the field with us, none might have suffered irreparable harm. ¹⁴⁶Think on these things, and above all that you have God for your Protector always, and with due bravery pursue those who betray their friendship, are treacherous in battle, sacrilegious toward envoys and always inferior to you in bravery."

¹⁴⁷Hearing all this, the Jews were in better spirits and more disposed for the fight. Herod sacrificed according to the law and hurried to lead them against the Arabs, crossing the Jordan and pitching camp near that of the enemy. ¹⁴⁸He decided to seize a stronghold in the territory in between, hoping it would be an advantage and would sooner lead to a battle, and that if there were any delay, it would add to the strength of his camp. ¹⁴⁹Since the Arabs had a similar plan, the place was contested, at first simply by skirmishes, but then more soldiers came on both sides, and they fought until the Arabs were defeated and retreated. ¹⁵⁰This was immediately a significant boost to the Jews, and as he noted that the enemy forces wanted anything rather than an open battle, he ventured a bold attack on their defences, hoping to pull them down so as to get nearer to their camp and fight them. When they were forced out in this way, they advanced in disorder with no eagerness or hope of victory. ¹⁵¹Still they fought hand to hand, because of their greater numbers, and their necessity made them reckless; the fighting was very stubborn and not a few fell on both sides, but in the end the Arabs fled. ¹⁵²As they fell back there was a slaughter, for not only were they killed by their enemies, but they also harmed each other and were trodden down by the crowd in a great disorderly rush, and were impeded by their own armour, so that five thousand of them met their death. ¹⁵³The rest of the crowd fled for safety inside the fortress, but it provided no security, because of the lack of essentials and especially of water. ¹⁵⁴The Jews pursued them, but could not get in among them, so they besieged the stronghold and prevented any help from getting in to them and stopped anyone from escaping.

¹⁵⁵In this situation the Arabs sent envoys to Herod, first, to propose an agreement and then, so driven by thirst, to submit to any condition, just to be freed from their present distress. ¹⁵⁶But being determined to revenge their unjust actions against his people, he would accept no envoys and no ransom price, nor any other moderate terms. So they were forced especially by their thirst to come out and surrender to him, to be bound in chains. ¹⁵⁷After four thousand were taken prisoner within five days, all the rest resolved to come out and fight their enemies, preferring to risk disaster than to die gradually and ingloriously. ¹⁵⁸With this in mind they came out from their defences, but could not keep up the fight, being so depleted in mind and body and with no chance of victory. They thought it better to be killed and a misery to survive, so at the first battle about seven thousand of them fell. ¹⁵⁹After this blow all their earlier courage failed and they were impressed by Herod's warlike spirit despite his own reverses, so thereafter they yielded and made him ruler of their nation. ¹⁶⁰He was very proud of such a timely success and returned home with great prestige after his courageous exploit.

¹⁶¹All else was now prospering for Herod and there was no easy way to attack him on any side. But a danger still loomed that could put his entire kingship at risk, when Antony was defeated by Caesar at the battle of Actium. ¹⁶²At that time both his enemies and his friends thought Herod was finished, since he was unlikely to remain unpunished after showing such friendship to Antony. ¹⁶³His friends utterly despaired of his survival, while all his enemies outwardly appeared to be anxious on his behalf, but were secretly delighted, hoping for a change for the better. ¹⁶⁴Herod himself knew that there was no one of royal dignity left, apart from Hyrcanus. He reckoned it would be to his advantage, in case he himself survived his present danger, not to leave him any longer as an obstacle in his way, but to forestall this man, more worthy of the kingship than himself, from making any move against him. At any rate, if he himself was going to be killed by Caesar, envy prompted him to kill the man who otherwise would be king after him.

¹⁶⁵While he thought over these things a good chance presented itself. Hyrcanus was so mild mannered, both then and at other times, that he did not involve himself in public affairs nor seek to change things, but left everything to fate and was satisfied with whatever it brought. ¹⁶⁶But Alexandra loved conflict and wanted change. So she urged her father not to put up forever with the wrong Herod had done their family. But to work for their hopes as he could safely do, ¹⁶⁷and to write to Malichus, who was then ruler of Arabia, to receive him and keep them in security. For if they went away, and Herod's affairs turned out as now seemed likely because of Caesar's hostility to him, they would be the only ones who could be called upon to rule, due to their royal background and the people's goodwill toward them. ¹⁶⁸Despite her persuasions, Hyrcanus ignored her at first. But with her combative, womanly nature she would not let up, night or day, always going on about these matters and Herod's treacherous intent. Finally she persuaded him to send Dositheus, one of his friends, with a letter declaring his resolve, and asking the Arab to send him some cavalry to take and lead him to lake Asphaltitis, which is three hundred furlongs from the borders of Jerusalem. ¹⁶⁹He entrusted this letter to Dositheus who had faithfully served him and Alexandra and had good reason to hate Herod, who had killed a relative of his named Joseph, and a brother of his had earlier been killed by Antony, in Tyre. ¹⁷⁰But not even these could keep Dositheus faithful in serving Hyrcanus, for, preferring his chances from the actual king, he handed over the letter to Herod. ¹⁷¹The king took this as a sign of loyalty and urged him to serve him further by rolling up and sealing the letter again and delivering it to Malichus and then bringing back the letter from him, for it would be a significant advantage to know what that man intended. ¹⁷²As Dositheus promptly served him in this way too, the Arab wrote back that he would receive Hyrcanus and all his men, including all the Jews who were on his side. He would send a force to guard them on their journey, and supply everything he needed. ¹⁷³When Herod received this letter, he immediately sent for Hyrcanus and questioned him about his agreement with Malichus, and when he denied it, he showed his letter to the Sanhedrin and had the man put to death.

¹⁷⁴We give this account as it is found in the annals of king Herod. Others do not accept it, believing that Herod did not find, but rather invented, this excuse for putting Hyrcanus to death, and laid a trap for him. ¹⁷⁵According to their account, they were once at a banquet and without any basis, Herod asked Hyrcanus if he had received any letters from Malichus. When he replied that he had, but letters of greeting only, ¹⁷⁶he asked him further if he had not received a gift from him. He replied that he had received no more than four riding horses that he had sent him. They say that Herod took these as proof of bribery and treason and had him taken away and killed. ¹⁷⁷To prove that he had committed no offence for which he should have been executed, they allege his gentleness and how even in his youth he had given no signs of insolence or rashness and that it was the same when he came to be king, for at that time he left the management of most things to Antipater. ¹⁷⁸Now that he was more than eighty years old he knew that Herod's government was secure. He had come back across the Euphrates, leaving beyond the river those who greatly honoured him, and putting himself entirely in Herod's hands, so it was very unlikely and not at all in character for him to risk anything by way of revolt, so that the whole thing was a plot of Herod's.

¹⁷⁹This was how Hyrcanus was destined to meet his end, after suffering many different turns of fortune in his lifetime. At the very start of the reign of his mother Alexandra, he was made high priest of the Jewish nation an honour he held for nine years. ¹⁸⁰When, after his mother's death, he took on the kingship himself, after three months he lost it to his brother Aristobulus. He was then restored by Pompey to all his honours and enjoyed them for forty years. ¹⁸¹But he was again deposed by Antigonus and maimed in body, and was imprisoned by the Parthians. After some time, he returned home from there due to the hopes held out to him by Herod. But nothing turned out as planned, and he endured many troubles throughout his life. Worst of all, as we have said, he came to an unworthy end. ¹⁸²He was of a mild and gentle character, who generally left the state to be administered by others under him, being reluctant to mix with the public, and without the shrewdness to govern a kingdom. Both Antipater and Herod were promoted because of his mildness, and his treatment by them in the end was neither right nor reverential.

¹⁸³Having disposed of Hyrcanus, Herod hurried to Caesar, but not expecting to find favour with him after his friendship with Antony, he suspected that Alexandra would take her chance to get the people to rebel and embroil the kingdom in a revolt. ¹⁸⁴So he entrusted the care of everything to his brother Pheroras and placed his mother Cypros and his sister and the whole family at Masada and told him to take charge if any bad news about himself should arrive. ¹⁸⁵But he placed his wife Mariamne at Alexandreion, with Alexandra her mother, because of the quarrel between her and his sister and the sister's mother, which made it impossible for them to live together. In charge of the fortress he left his treasurer, Joseph, and Soemus of Iturea who were most faithful to him from the beginning and were now left as bodyguards to the women. ¹⁸⁶They had instructions to kill both of them, if they heard that any harm had happened to him, and, as far as they could, to preserve the kingdom for his sons and for his brother Pheroras.