History of the Jews (Vol. 1-6). Graetz Heinrich

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СКАЧАТЬ commanded all the infantry in Jerusalem to fall upon the sacrificing multitude, and to hew them down; the cavalry were to remain in the open plains to arrest the fugitives. Three thousand were killed on that day on the Mount of the Temple and in the surrounding country; those that escaped the sword of the enemy destroyed themselves. Heralds thereupon proclaimed to the whole town that Archelaus forbade the celebration of the Passover for that year, and no one was allowed to approach the Temple. This was the inauguration of the reign of Archelaus.

      Although his relatives would probably not have acted with more humanity than he did, they cried out against his cruelty, and made use of it as a weapon with which to serve their own purposes when in the presence of Augustus. The whole house of Herod traveled to Rome to lay the land of Judæa at the feet of the emperor, and to petition, according to their respective interests, for the alteration or the confirmation of the will.

      During their absence unexpected events took place, and the prize for which they were all contending very nearly escaped their possession altogether. Judæa became a huge battle-field, the arena of furious encounters. Men threw themselves into the affray, assuming the titles of kings or leaders of the people. The blood of the slain warriors, the groans of unarmed, wounded citizens, the smoke issuing from burning cities, filled every heart with dismay and with horrible forebodings of the downfall of Judæa. The tragical events which took place during the first year after the death of Herod are described in the Chronicle as the "War Period of Varus," the Governor of Syria.

      At the desire of Archelaus, Quintilius Varus had remained in Jerusalem after the departure of the Herodian family, so as to crush any attempt at revolt which might occur during the absence of the princes. The task was an easy one, for the patriots who were hostile to the Herodians had no decided plan of action, were insufficiently armed, and allowed themselves to be led away by their fierce hatred into unwise and useless demonstrations. Varus, seeing no further necessity for remaining in the Judæan capital, returned to Antioch, but he left a considerable number of troops to be in readiness in case of any signs of hostility.

      As soon as the governor Varus had left Jerusalem another cause of annoyance was given to the people by the arrival of Sabinus, the treasurer of Augustus. He had been sent to claim the treasures of Herod, and probably also all those belonging to the Temple, as if the emperor had been the acknowledged heir to Herod's possessions. Sabinus must have had some malevolent intention, for he hastened his journey to Jerusalem, notwithstanding that he had promised Varus to remain at Cæsarea until the Herodian disputes were settled. He took advantage of the reluctance with which the custodians complied with his demands to create a disturbance among the people, and thus obtain a pretext for entering the city.

      The Feast of Pentecost was drawing near, and, as usual, multitudes of people congregated from all parts of the country at Jerusalem. This time, the greater part of them were animated by hostile feelings against the Romans and the Herodians. The strife was not delayed. The people soon chose their leaders, and succeeded in occupying the Mount of the Temple and the Hippodrome, whence they defied the Romans, who had taken up their quarters in the palace of Herod. Sabinus, thinking himself lost, encouraged the Romans to besiege the Temple, and sent messages to Varus for more reinforcements. The Judæans, well protected behind the Temple walls, hurled their weapons and their huge stones down upon the Romans. Victory would have been theirs had not the enemy, with burning materials, set fire to the colonnade. The flames spread so rapidly that escape was impossible. Of the unfortunate combatants, some were victims of the fire, others fell before the swords of the Romans, and many of them killed themselves in reckless despair.

      As soon as the Temple was left unprotected, the Romans, tempted by the treasures which they knew it contained, rushed into the courts. Sabinus alone is said to have appropriated four hundred talents from the treasures of the Temple. The plunder of these treasures, the desecration of the Holy of Holies, and the destruction of the halls of the Temple, barely ten years after the sacred edifice had been completed, roused all the indignation and, at the same time, all the valor of the Judæans. Even a great part of the Herodian troops went over to the malcontents, and assisted them against the Romans. Thus strengthened, they besieged the palace of Herod, laid mines under the towers, and threatened the Romans with destruction if they did not retire immediately. Sabinus, anxiously awaiting the expected reinforcements, but vacillating between fear of the besiegers and a longing to obtain the mastery over them, remained for the time in the citadel of the palace.

      Thus all the horrors of anarchy were let loose in Judæa. Had the insurgents found skilful and trustworthy leaders their united efforts might have brought about such momentous events that the Herodian dispute would have come to a most unexpected termination. But there was no organization to give shape and purpose to all this patriotic fervor. It was nurtured by selfish adventurers, and was therefore hurtful to the country itself rather than dangerous to the enemy. Two thousand soldiers, probably Idumæans, whom Herod had dismissed shortly before his death, disturbed the regions of the south. A certain Simon, a slave of Herod, distinguished by great beauty and an imposing presence, collected a troop of malcontents, who hailed him as their king, and, at his command, burned to the ground many royal castles in the country, including the royal palace at Jericho. The palace of Betharamata was destroyed by a band of men, the name of whose leader is unknown. A third adventurer was a shepherd named Athronges, a giant in strength and stature, who was accompanied into the field of battle by four brothers, all of the same colossal build. After assuming the royal title, he fell upon the Romans, cut off their retreat, and fought valiantly till, after a long and fierce struggle, he was forced to yield. There was but one leader of all these free troopers who had a decided aim in view, and who might have proved a formidable foe, both to Romans and Herodians, had fortune favored him, or his countrymen given him their cordial help. This was Judas, known by the name of "the Galilean," a native of Gamala in Gaulanitis, and a son of Ezekias, fighting against whom Herod had won his first laurels. Judas had been imbued, from his birth, with a passionate love for his country, and as passionate a hatred towards the Romans. He became the leader of a faction which gradually came to rule the country, and eventually gave the Romans more difficulties to contend with than even the Gauls and the Germans. Judas was at this period in the prime of life. His intense zeal proved contagious, and he gained a considerable number of partisans among the powerful Galileans. With their assistance he took possession of the arsenal in Sepphoris, the Galilean capital. He then armed his followers, gave them stipends from the money found in the arsenal, and soon became the terror of the Romans and of all those who were favorably disposed towards them.

      Events in the region bordering on Syria were even more pressing than Sabinus in urging the governor to suppress the revolt, and to hasten to the rescue of the Roman troops. The terror of Varus himself was so great that he not only ordered all the Roman troops that were at his disposal (over twenty thousand men) to march against the insurgents, but summoned the armies under the command of the neighboring princes. Aretas, the king of the Nabathæans, placed his troops at the command of the Roman general, and as they formed the vanguard of the Roman army, they burnt and plundered all the villages through which they passed. Varus sent one division of his troops to Galilee to commence operations against Judas. There seems to have been a severe struggle at the town of Sepphoris; ultimately Varus set fire to it and sold the inhabitants as slaves, but Judas escaped. The town of Emmaus, where Athronges had established himself, shared the same fate, though the inhabitants had taken to flight. On his arrival at Jerusalem, Varus found that his task had become a light one, for the besiegers were alarmed at the report of the approach of his army, and had abandoned their struggle against Sabinus. Notwithstanding this, two thousand prisoners were crucified at the command of Varus.

      Such was the end of a revolt which had been fanned into existence by a natural feeling of anger and indignation, but had failed through the absence of wise and judicious guidance. It had only been successful in bringing the nation into a state of more humiliating dependence upon Rome, for a legion was retained to keep guard over the rebellious citizens of Jerusalem.

      During all this time the Herodians were still discussing their claims to the sovereignty of Judæa before the throne of Augustus, and their servile behavior and mutual accusations СКАЧАТЬ