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the infamous Cleopatra at Alexandria, the Parthians, with Labienus and the remains of the Pompeian faction, had invaded Syria with a powerful army; and having taken Sidon and Ptolemais, sent a detachment towards Judea, with the avowed purpose of setting Antigonus up as king of that country; upon a contract to deliver to Pacorus, the Parthian monarch, one thousand talents and five hundred Jewesses. Antigonus having collected an army of Jews near mount Carmel, and being joined by the Parthian general, marched into Judea, and defeating an army that was sent against him, followed them into Jerusalem; but being vigorously opposed by the two brothers, took shelter in the mountain of the temple, whilst the Herodians seized upon the palace. As the feast of Pentecost was approaching, and multitudes flocked to the city from all quarters, the waste of human blood became shocking even to the perpetrators, and Antigonus proposing to leave their disputes to the decision of the Parthian general, to which, the two brothers having acceded, he was received into Jerusalem with five hundred horse, and lodged in Phasael's house; into whose confidence he so effectually insinuated himself, as to prevail upon him, contrary to the advice of Herod, to go with Hyrcanus upon an embassy to Barzaphanes, the prefect of Syria under Pacorus.†

Phasael and Hyrcanus were at first received by the Parthian general with distinguished honour, but he soon threw them into chains, a fate which had been also intended for Herod, but which he escaped by a sudden flight from Jerusalem, with his family, and such troops as he could hastily collect.

Pacorus, cupbearer to Pacorus, the son of Orodes, king of Parthia. Prid. ii. 592.

† Prid. ii. 594.

In his retreat towards Massada,* he was repeatedly assaulted, both by the Parthians and Jews of the hostile faction, in several of which he obtained the advantage.†

On coming to Ressa, he was joined by his brother Joseph, with a large body of forces, but on his arrival at the fortress of Massada, he was obliged to dismiss nine thousand. Having placed eight hundred in the castle with his mother, sister, and other women of quality he brought with him from Jerusalem, and victualled the place, he left Joseph in command of it, and then marched with the troops whom he had retained to Petra,‡ in Arabia, to seek the assistance of Malchus, who had succeeded Aretas in the throne of that country. But Malchus, unmindful of the favours he had received from Herod, ordered him to quit his territories, upon which, dismissing most of his followers, he fled to Rhinocorura in Egypt.§

When the Parthians discovered the flight of Herod, they plundered Jerusalem and the neighbouring country, and then made Antigonus king of Judea, and gave Phasael and Hyrcanus up to him in chains. Anticipating that he should undergo a capital punishment, Phasael beat out his brains. against the wall of the prison; and Antigonus having cut off the ears of Hyrcanus, in order to render him ever after incapable of exercising the office of high priest,|| delivered him

A castle built on the top of a very high mountain, near the west side of the lake Asphaltites, and the strongest fortress in all that country. Prid. ii. 595. Jos. iv. 261.

+ It was in memory of one of these successful conflicts, which was fought with the Jews of the party of Antigonus, at the distance of about seven miles from Jerusalem, that he afterwards built a famous palace called Herodium. Prid. ii. 595. Jos. ii. 302. iii. 289.

§ Prid. ii. 596.

See p. 169.

See. p. 122. Now El-Arish.
Lev. xxi. 16-24.

back again to the Parthians in order that his presence might not keep alive the hostile faction, and by them Hyrcanus was carried to Seleucia.*

But Antigonus had done but half his work whilst Herod was at liberty, for that able prince having gone from Rhinocorura to Rome, was there, by the joint interest of Octavius Cæsar and Mark Anthony, inaugurated by the senate king of Judea,† apparently without any original intention of his own.+

HEROD THE GREAT.

HEROD lost no time in rejoining his fleet which he had left at Brundusium, whence he sailed with all possible expedition to Ptolemais; and then raised the siege of Massada,§ which had been closely invested by Antigonus,|| and after taking

*Prid. ii. 596.

His utmost object seems to have been to have counteracted Antigonus, by obtaining the kingdom for Aristobulus, his brotherin law; but Anthony having suggested that it would be very advantageous to him in prosecuting the Parthian war, the senate made him king, contrary to their usual custom, which was scarcely ever to travel out of the regal line in whatever countries they subdued. Prid. ii. 598.

On the rising of the senate, Herod was conducted by the consuls and other magistrates up to the capitol, Octavianus going on one side of him and Anthony on the other; and the decree being there deposited among the public records of the state, he was thereon solemnly inaugurated into the kingdom, according to the Roman usage. Prid. ii. 598.

§ Where his mother, sister, and Mariamne, his betrothed mistress, were shut up. Prid. ii. 599.

They were so closely invested by Antigonus, that at one time they were absolutely without water, and were about to have broke

Joppa and Ressa, and being joined by Roman forces under Ventidius and Silo, who having defeated the Parthians in several battles, had driven them beyond the Euphrates,* he encamped before the walls of Jerusalem.†

The Roman commanders, however, made the most advantage they could of both the contending parties, screwing as much money as possible out of each of them; and at last, by secretly fomenting a mutiny amongst the Roman soldiers, the siege ended in the sacking and ruin of Jericho, and the Roman army going into winter quarters in Idumea, Samaria, and Galilee, where Herod had to provide them with supplies.+

That prince, however, still kept the field with his own troops, part of which, under the command of Joseph, he sent into Idumea, to secure all there in his interest, and with the remainder he conducted his mother and friends into Samaria, where he left them under a strong guard; and occupied himself during the rest of the campaign, in reducing Sepphoris in Galilee, and ridding the country of immense bands of robbers, who were so numerous as upon one occasion to stand a regular engagement with his troops, the left wing of which they temporarily defeated.§

through the besiegers; but the night before they were to have made the attempt, violent rains fell, which filled all their cisterns, and enabled them to hold out till Herod relieved them. Prid. ii. 599. Prid. ii. 600.

+ Prid. ii. 599.

* Prid. ii. 597. By reason of the cragginess and steepness of those mountains, there was no scaling them from below, and to get down to them from above by any passage was altogether as impracticable; and. therefore, to ferret them out of their dens, he was forced to make certain chests, and filling them with soldiers, to let them down into the entrances of those caves by chains, from engines which he had fixed above. Prid. ii. 601, 602. It was about this period that Asinius Pollio was born, and which occasioned the fourth eelogue of Virgil, about which so much has been said and written. Prid. ii. 600. See Dr. Thornton's Virgil, Bp. Horsley's Nine Sermons, &c. &c. and for an account of the Sybilline oracles, see Prid. ii. 718.

Macheras, a Roman general, having been sent by Anthony to support Herod with two legions of one thousand horse, when he approached the walls of Jerusalem in order to confer with Antigonus, was beaten back by the archers and slingers who guarded the ramparts. Enraged at this repulse he slew all the Jews who came in his way, whether friends or foes, and amongst the rest many of Herod's partisans, which so incensed him, that he set off to Anthony to complain against Macheras. That Roman, however, followed him with so much expedition, that he overtook and made his peace with him; but Herod still pursued his journey, with a view to pay his respects to Anthony, leaving his brother in command of Judea, with strict orders not to engage in any military enterprise during his absence.*

Anthony who was then engaged in the siege of Samosata, received Herod, who rendered him considerable service in his operations against that place, with great honour.†

Joseph, regardless of his brother's injunctions, having engaged in an expedition against Jericho, was defeated and slain, upon which a general revolt from Herod took place in Galilee and Idumæa. Having accompanied Anthony as far as Daphne he returned to Judea, and coming to mount Libanus, raised eight hundred men, and with these, and the aid of two Roman cohorts, reduced the revolters into subjection; but proceeding to Jericho, in order to revenge his brother's death, he was routed by the Antigonians and severely wounded. Having collected, however, a fresh army, he encountered the enemy again under the command of Pappus, and in his turn defeated him with considerable loss, and then placed his troops in winter quarters.+

Herod opened the next campaign with a considerable army,. and immediately laid siege to Jerusalem, which he closely

Prid. ii, 606.

Prid. ii. 606.

Prid. ii. 608.

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