What Actions Were Done By Alexander Janneus, Who Reigned
Twenty-Seven Years.
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 Theodorus 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 Seleucidae. 3 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.