20. BOOK XX, CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER IV.

How Izates was betrayed by his own subjects, and fought against by the Arabians; and how Izates, by the providence of God, was delivered out of their hands.

1. Now when the king's brother, Monobazus, and his other kindred, saw how Izates, by his piety to God, was become greatly esteemed by all men, they also had a desire to leave the religion of their country, and to embrace the customs of the Jews; but that act of theirs was discovered by Izates' subjects. Whereupon the grandees were much displeased, and could not contain their anger at them: but had an intention, when they should find a proper opportunity, to inflict a punishment upon them. Accordingly, they wrote to Abia, king of the Arabians, and promised him great sums of money, if he would make an expedition against their king: and they farther promised him, that on the first onset they would desert their king, because they were desirous to punish him, by reason of the hatred he had to their religious worship; then they obliged themselves, by oaths, to be faithful to each other, and desired that he would make haste in this design. The king of Arabia complied with their desires, and brought a great army into the field, and marched against Izates; and, in the beginning of the first onset, and before they came to close fight, those grandees, as if they had a panic terror upon them, all deserted Izates, as they had agreed to do, and, turning their backs upon their enemies, ran away. Yet was not Izates dismayed at this; but when he understood that the grandees had betrayed him, he also retired into his camp, and made inquiry into the matter; and as soon as he knew who they were that made this conspiracy with the king of Arabia, he cut off those that were found guilty: and renewing the fight on the next day, he slew the greatest part of his enemies, and forced all the rest to betake themselves to flight. He also pursued their king, and drove him into a fortress called Arsamus, and, following on the siege vigorously, he took that fortress. And, when he had plundered it of all the prey that was in it, which was not small, he returned to Adiabene; yet did not he take Abia alive; because, when he found himself encompassed on every side, he slew himself.

2. But although the grandees of Adiabene had failed in their first attempt, as being delivered up by God into their king's hands, yet would they not even then be quiet, but wrote again to Vologases, who was then king of Parthia, and desired that he would kill Izates, and set over them some other potentate, who should be of a Parthian family; for they said, That "they hated their own king for abrogating the laws of their forefathers, and embracing foreign customs." When the king of Parthia heard this, he boldly made war upon Izates; and he had just pretence for this war: he sent to him, and demanded back these honourable privileges, which had been bestowed on him by his father, and threatened on his refusal, to make war upon him. Upon hearing of this, Izates was under no small trouble of mind, as thinking it would be a reproach upon him to appear to resign those privileges that had been bestowed upon him, out of cowardice; yet, because he knew, that though the king of Parthia should receive back those honours, yet would he not be quiet, he resolved to commit himself to God, his protector, in the present danger he was in of his life: and as he esteemed him to be his principal assistant, he intrusted his children and his wives to a very strong fortress, and laid up his corn in his citadels, and set the hay and the grass on fire. And when he had thus put things in order, as well as he could, he awaited the coming of the enemy. And when the king of Parthia was come with a great army of footmen and horsemen, which he did sooner than was expected, (for he marched in great haste,) and had cast up a bank at the river that parted Adiabene from Media: Izates also pitched his camp not far off, having with him six thousand horsemen. But there came a messenger to Izates, sent by the king of Parthia, who told him, "How large his dominions were, as reaching from the river Euphrates to Bactria, and enumerated that king's subjects: he also threatened him, that he should be punished, as a person ungrateful to his lords; and said, that the God whom he worshipped could not deliver him of the king's hands." When the messenger had delivered this his message, Izates replied, That "he knew the king of Parthia's power was much greater than his own; but that he knew also that God was much more powerful than all men." And when he had returned him this answer, he betook himself to make supplication to God, and threw himself upon the ground, and put ashes upon his head, in testimony of his confusion, and fasted, together with his wives and children. When he called upon God, and said, "O Lord and Governor, if I have not in vain committed myself to thy goodness, but have justly determined

¹ This mourning, and fasting, and praying, used by Izates, with prostration of his body, and ashes upon his head, are plain signs that he was become either a Jew, or an Ebonite Christian, who indeed differed not much from proper Jews, see ch. vi. sect. I. However, his supplications were heard, and he was providentially delivered from that imminent danger he was in.

that thou only art the Lord and principal of all beings, come now to my assistance, and defend me from my enemies, not only on my own account, but on account of their insolent behaviour with regard to thy power, while they have not feared to lift up their proud and arrogant tongue against thee." Thus did he lament and bemoan himself, with tears in his eyes; whereupon God heard his prayer. And immediately, that very night, Vologases received letters, the contents of which were these, that a great band of Dahæ and Sahæ, despising him, now he was gone so long a journey from home, had made an expedition, and laid Parthia waste, so that he [was forced to] retire back, without doing any thing. And thus it was that Izates escaped the threatenings of the Parthians, by the providence of God.

3. It was not long ere Izates died, when he had completed fifty-five years of his life, and had ruled his kingdom twenty-four years. He left behind him twenty-four sons and twenty-four daughters. However, he gave order that his brother Monobazus should succeed in the government, thereby requiting him, because, while he was himself absent after their father's death, he had faithfully preserved the government for him. But when Helena, his mother, heard of her son's death, she was in great heaviness, as was but natural upon her loss of such a most dutiful son; yet was it a comfort to her, that she heard the succession came to her eldest son. Accordingly she went to him in haste, and when she was come into Adiabene, she did not long outlive her son Izates. But Monobazus sent her bones, as well as those of Izates, his brother, to Jerusalem, and gave order that they should be buried at the pyramids

These pyramids or pillars, erected by Helena, queen of Adiabene, near Jerusalem, three in number, are mentioned by Eusebius, in his which their mother had erected; they were three in number, and distant more than three furlongs from the city Jerusalem. But for the actions of Monobazus the king, which he had during the rest of his life, we will relate them hereafter.¹

CHAPTER V.

Concerning Theudas, and the sons of Judas the Galilean: as also what calamity fell upon the Jews on the day of the Passover.

1. Now it came to pass, while Fadus was procurator of Judea, that a certain magician, whose name was Theudas,² persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan: for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it; and many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them: who, falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, and cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem. This was what befell the Jews in the time of Cuspius Fadus' government.

Eccles. Hist. B. I. ch. xii., for which Dr. Hudson refers us to Valesius' notes upon that place. They are also mentioned by Pausanias, as hath been already noted, ch. ii. sect. 6. Reland guesses that that now called Absalom's pillar may be one of them.

¹ This account is now wanting.

² This Theudas, who arose under Fadus the procurator, about A. D. 45, or 46, could not be that Theudas who arose in the days of the taxing, under Cyrenius; or about A. D. 7, Acts v. 36, 37. Who that earlier Theudas was, see the note on B. XVII, ch. x, sect. 5.

2. Then came Tiberius Alexander as successor to Fadus; he was the son of Alexander the alabarch of Alexandria, which Alexander was a principal person among all his contemporaries, both for his family and wealth; he was also more eminent for his piety than this his son Alexander, for he did not continue in the religion of his country. Under these procurators that great famine happened in Judea, in which queen Helena bought corn in Egypt at a great expense, and distributed it to those that were in want, as I have related already. And besides this, the sons of Judas of Galilee were now slain, I mean of that Judas who caused the people to revolt, when Cyrenius came to take an account of the estates of the Jews, as we have showed in a foregoing book. The names of those sons were James and Simon, whom Alexander commanded to be crucified. But now Herod, king of Chaleis, removed Joseph, the son of Camydus, from the high priesthood, and made Ananias, the son of Nebedus, his successor. And now it was that Cumanus came as successor to Tiberius Alexander; as also that Herod, brother of Agrippa the great king, departed this life, in the eighth year of the reign of Claudius Cæsar. He left behind him three sons, Aristobulus, whom he had by his first wife, with Bernietanus, and Hircanus, both whom he had by Bernice his brother's daughter. But Claudius Cæsar bestowed his dominions on Agrippa junior.

3. Now, while the Jewish affairs were under the administration of Cumanus, there happened a great tumult at the city of Jerusalem, and many of the Jews perished therein. But I shall first explain the occasion whence it was derived. When that feast which is called the Passover, was at hand, at which time our custom is to use unleavened bread, and a great multitude was gathered together from all parts to that feast, Cumanus was afraid lest some attempt of innovation should then be made by them; so he ordered that one regiment of the army should take their arms, and stand in the temple cloisters, to repress any attempts of innovation, if perchance any such should begin: and this was no more than what the former procurators of Judea did at such festivals. But on the fourth day of the feast, a certain soldier let down his breeches, and exposed his privy members to the multitude, which put those that saw him into a furious rage, and made them cry out, that this impious action was not done to reproach them, but God himself; nay, some of them reproached Cumanus, and pretended that the soldier was set on by him, which, when Cumanus heard, he was also himself not a little provoked at such reproaches laid upon him; yet did he exhort them to leave off such seditious attempts, and not to raise a tumult at the festival. But when he could not induce them to be quiet, for they still went on in their reproaches to him, he gave order that the whole army should take their entire armour, and come to Antonia, which was a fortress, as we have said already, which overlooked the temple; but when the multitude saw the soldiers there, they were affrighted at them, and ran away hastily: but as the passages out were but narrow, and as they thought their enemies followed them, they were crowded together in their flight, and a great number were pressed to death in these narrow passages: nor indeed was the number fewer than twenty thousand that perished in this tumult. So, instead of a festival, they had at last a mournful day of it; and they all of them forgot their prayers and sacrifices, and betook themselves to lamentation and weeping; so great an affliction did the impudent obscenness of a single soldier bring upon them.¹

4. Now before this their first mourning was over, another mischief befell them also; for some of those that raised the foregoing tumult, when they were travelling along the public road, about a hundred furlongs from the city, robbed Stephanus, a servant of Cæsar, as he was journeying, and plundered him of all that he had with him. Which things when Cumanus heard of, he sent soldiers immediately, and ordered them to plunder the neighbouring villages, and to bring the most eminent persons among them in bonds to him. Now, as this devastation was making, one of the soldiers seized the laws of Moses that lay in one of those villages, and brought them out before the eyes of all present, and tore them to pieces; and this was done with reproachful language, and much scurrility. Which things when the Jews heard of, they ran together, and that in great numbers, and came down to Cæsarea, where Cumanus then was, and besought him that he would avenge, not themselves, but God himself, whose laws had been affronted; for that they could not bear to live any longer, if the laws of their forefathers must be affronted after this manner. Accordingly Cumanus, out of fear lest the multitude should go into a sedition, and by the advice of his friends also, took care that the soldier who had offered the affront to the laws should be beheaded and thereby put a stop to the sedition which was ready to be kindled a second time.

¹ This, and many more tumults and seditions, which arose at the Jewish festivals, in Josephus, illustrate the cautious procedure of the Jewish governors, when they said, Matt. xxvi. 5, "Let us not take Jesus on the feast-day lest there be an uproar among the people;" as Roland well observes on this place. Josephus also takes notice of the same thing. Of the War. B. I. ch. iv. sect. 3.