How Antony At The Persuasion Of Cleopatra Sent Herod To
Fight Against The Arabians; And Now After Several Battles,
He At Length Got The Victory. As Also Concerning A Great
Earthquake.
1. Now when the war about Actium was begun, Herod prepared to come to
the assistance of Antony, as being already freed from his troubles in
Judea, and having gained Hyrcania, which was a place that was held by
Antigonus's sister. However, he was cunningly hindered from partaking of
the hazards that Antony went through by Cleopatra; for since, as we
have already noted, she had laid a plot against the kings [of Judea
and Arabia], she prevailed with Antony to commit the war against the
Arabians to Herod; that so, if he got the better, she might become
mistress of Arabia, or, if he were worsted, of Judea; and that she might
destroy one of those kings by the other.
2. However, this contrivance tended to the advantage of Herod; for at
the very first he took hostages from the enemy, and got together a great
body of horse, and ordered them to march against them about Diespous;
and he conquered that army, although it fought resolutely against him.
After which defeat, the Arabians were in great motion, and assembled
themselves together at Kanatha, a city of Celesyria, in vast multitudes,
and waited for the Jews. And when Herod was come thither, he tried to
manage this war with particular prudence, and gave orders that they
should build a wall about their camp; yet did not the multitude comply
with those orders, but were so emboldened by their foregoing victory,
that they presently attacked the Arabians, and beat them at the first
onset, and then pursued them; yet were there snares laid for Herod in
that pursuit; while Athenio, who was one of Cleopatra's generals, and
always an antagonist to Herod, sent out of Kanatha the men of that
country against him; for, upon this fresh onset, the Arabians took
courage, and returned back, and both joined their numerous forces about
stony places, that were hard to be gone over, and there put Herod's men
to the rout, and made a great slaughter of them; but those that escaped
out of the battle fled to Ormiza, where the Arabians surrounded their
camp, and took it, with all the men in it. 3. In a little time after
this calamity, Herod came to bring them succors; but he came too late.
Now the occasion of that blow was this, that the officers would not obey
orders; for had not the fight begun so suddenly, Athenio had not found
a proper season for the snares he laid for Herod: however, he was even
with the Arabians afterward, and overran their country, and did them
more harm than their single victory could compensate. But as he
was avenging himself on his enemies, there fell upon him another
providential calamity; for in the seventh 29 year of his reign, when the
war about Actium was at the height, at the beginning of the spring, the
earth was shaken, and destroyed an immense number of cattle, with thirty
thousand men; but the army received no harm, because it lay in the open
air. In the mean time, the fame of this earthquake elevated the Arabians
to greater courage, and this by augmenting it to a fabulous height, as
is constantly the case in melancholy accidents, and pretending that all
Judea was overthrown. Upon this supposal, therefore, that they should
easily get a land that was destitute of inhabitants into their power,
they first sacrificed those ambassadors who were come to them from the
Jews, and then marched into Judea immediately. Now the Jewish nation
were affrighted at this invasion, and quite dispirited at the greatness
of their calamities one after another; whom yet Herod got together, and
endeavored to encourage to defend themselves by the following speech
which he made to them:
4. "The present dread you are under seems to me to have seized upon
you very unreasonably. It is true, you might justly be dismayed at
that providential chastisement which hath befallen you; but to suffer
yourselves to be equally terrified at the invasion of men is unmanly. As
for myself, I am so far from being affrighted at our enemies after this
earthquake, that I imagine that God hath thereby laid a bait for the
Arabians, that we may be avenged on them; for their present invasion
proceeds more from our accidental misfortunes, than that they have any
great dependence on their weapons, or their own fitness for action.
Now that hope which depends not on men's own power, but on others' ill
success, is a very ticklish thing; for there is no certainty among men,
either in their bad or good fortunes; but we may easily observe that
fortune is mutable, and goes from one side to another; and this you may
readily learn from examples among yourselves; for when you were once
victors in the former fight, your enemies overcame you at last; and very
likely it will now happen so, that these who think themselves sure of
beating you will themselves be beaten. For when men are very confident,
they are not upon their guard, while fear teaches men to act with
caution; insomuch that I venture to prove from your very timorousness
that you ought to take courage; for when you were more bold than you
ought to have been, and than I would have had you, and marched on,
Athenio's treachery took place; but your present slowness and seeming
dejection of mind is to me a pledge and assurance of victory. And
indeed it is proper beforehand to be thus provident; but when we come
to action, we ought to erect our minds, and to make our enemies, be they
ever so wicked, believe that neither any human, no, nor any providential
misfortune, can ever depress the courage of Jews while they are alive;
nor will any of them ever overlook an Arabian, or suffer such a one to
become lord of his good things, whom he has in a manner taken captive,
and that many times also. And do not you disturb yourselves at the
quaking of inanimate creatures, nor do you imagine that this earthquake
is a sign of another calamity; for such affections of the elements are
according to the course of nature, nor does it import any thing further
to men, than what mischief it does immediately of itself. Perhaps there
may come some short sign beforehand in the case of pestilences, and
famines, and earthquakes; but these calamities themselves have their
force limited by themselves [without foreboding any other calamity]. And
indeed what greater mischief can the war, though it should be a violent
one, do to us than the earthquake hath done? Nay, there is a signal of
our enemies' destruction visible, and that a very great one also; and
this is not a natural one, nor derived from the hand of foreigners
neither, but it is this, that they have barbarously murdered our
ambassadors, contrary to the common law of mankind; and they have
destroyed so many, as if they esteemed them sacrifices for God, in
relation to this war. But they will not avoid his great eye, nor his
invincible right hand; and we shall be revenged of them presently, in
case we still retain any of the courage of our forefathers, and rise up
boldly to punish these covenant-breakers. Let every one therefore go on
and fight, not so much for his wife or his children, or for the
danger his country is in, as for these ambassadors of ours; those dead
ambassadors will conduct this war of ours better than we ourselves who
are alive. And if you will be ruled by me, I will myself go before
you into danger; for you know this well enough, that your courage is
irresistible, unless you hurt yourselves by acting rashly." 30
5. When Herod had encouraged them by this speech, and he saw with
what alacrity they went, he offered sacrifice to God; and after that
sacrifice, he passed over the river Jordan with his army, and pitched
his camp about Philadelphia, near the enemy, and about a fortification
that lay between them. He then shot at them at a distance, and was
desirous to come to an engagement presently; for some of them had been
sent beforehand to seize upon that fortification: but the king sent some
who immediately beat them out of the fortification, while he himself
went in the forefront of the army, which he put in battle-array every
day, and invited the Arabians to fight. But as none of them came out
of their camp, for they were in a terrible fright, and their general,
Elthemus, was not able to say a word for fear,--so Herod came upon
them, and pulled their fortification to pieces, by which means they were
compelled to come out to fight, which they did in disorder, and so that
the horsemen and foot-men were mixed together. They were indeed superior
to the Jews in number, but inferior in their alacrity, although they
were obliged to expose themselves to danger by their very despair of
victory.
6. Now while they made opposition, they had not a great number slain;
but as soon as they turned their backs, a great many were trodden to
pieces by the Jews, and a great many by themselves, and so perished,
till five thousand were fallen down dead in their flight, while the rest
of the multitude prevented their immediate death, by crowding into the
fortification. Herod encompassed these around, and besieged them; and
while they were ready to be taken by their enemies in arms, they had
another additional distress upon them, which was thirst and want of
water; for the king was above hearkening to their ambassadors; and when
they offered five hundred talents, as the price of their redemption,
he pressed still harder upon them. And as they were burnt up by their
thirst, they came out and voluntarily delivered themselves up by
multitudes to the Jews, till in five days' time four thousand of them
were put into bonds; and on the sixth day the multitude that were left
despaired of saving themselves, and came out to fight: with these Herod
fought, and slew again about seven thousand, insomuch that he punished
Arabia so severely, and so far extinguished the spirits of the men, that
he was chosen by the nation for their ruler.