THE WAR IN GALILEE.
Description of Galilee--Its Population and Importance--The
Rising in Galilee--John of Gischala--Flavius Josephus,
his Education and Character--His Conduct as Governor of
Galilee--Commencement of the War--Overthrow of Gabara--Siege
and Capture of Jotapata--Surrender of Josephus to the
Romans--Cruelty of Vespasian--Siege and Capture of Gamala and
Mount Tabor--Surrender of Gischala--Escape of John of Gischala
to Jerusalem.
66.67 C. E.
The territory entrusted for defense to Joseph ben Matthias, by reason
of its position, its astonishing fertility, its sturdy population,
and its various resources in time of danger, was looked upon as the
post of greatest importance next to the capital; it was, in fact,
the bulwark of Jerusalem. Galilee was divided into Upper and Lower
Galilee. This, the country of enthusiasts, the birthplace of the
Zealot Judas and of Jesus of Nazareth, did not receive the news of the
revolt of Jerusalem and the defeat of Cestius with indifference. It
assumed, on the contrary, with unreflecting ardor the jubilant spirit
of the victorious party. And how could the Galilæans have remained
indifferent? Had they not witnessed the cruel deaths of their own kin
at the hands of the heathen? Daily they had been in the habit of giving
shelter to unhappy Judæan exiles, and daily they had had to fear the
worst from their heathen neighbors. It was in the face of such dangers
that all the cities of Galilee had armed to be ready for action,
and were only awaiting a signal from the Synhedrion in Jerusalem.
Three cities above all others were longing to raise the standard of
revolt--Gischala in the extreme north, Tiberias in the south, and
Gamala, opposite Tiberias, on the eastern shores of the Sea of Galilee.
The Judæan inhabitants of Gischala were, to a certain extent, forced
into insurrection, for the neighboring cities had banded together, and,
after plundering the town, had partly destroyed it by fire. The enraged
Gischalites placed themselves under the leadership of a man destined to
carry on the war against Rome to its bitter end, and who, in company
with Simon bar-Giora, became the terror of her legions.
John ben Levi, of Gischala, commenced his career by collecting
under his flag all the rebellious Judæans of Upper Galilee, and by
preparing to lead them against the heathen populace. He was a man of
small means and of delicate constitution, but he possessed one of
those enthusiastic natures capable of rising above the depressing
influences of poverty and ill-health; besides which he had the art of
making the circumstances of his life subservient to his own aims. At
the commencement of the Galilæan rising, John's only ambition was to
strengthen the walls of his birthplace against the attacks of hostile
neighbors. Later on, he expended the considerable sums of money which
he earned by selling oil to the Judæans of Syria and Cæsarea Philippi
(for they would not use the unclean oil prepared by the heathens), in
paying for the services of patriotic volunteers. He had gathered around
him about four thousand of these, principally Galilæans, but partly
refugees from Syria, who were always increasing in number.
In Tiberias, the second focus of insurrection, the revolutionary
party were confronted by a faction with Roman proclivities. This
beautiful city by the sea had been in the possession of King Agrippa
for many years, and having enjoyed a tolerably easy condition under
his rule, had but little cause for complaint. But the greater part of
the populace were Zealots, clamorous to free themselves from their
monarch. The soul of the revolt was Justus, the son of Pistus, who
wrote the history of the war in which he was engaged, in the Greek
language. He was gifted with a persuasive tongue; but his great
influence was confined to the wealthy and refined inhabitants of the
city. Jesus ben Sapphia, a Zealot like himself, led the lower classes
of sailors and burden-carriers. Opposed to these insurgents was the
aristocratic party, which rallied loyally round the king and the Roman
army. They were represented by Julius Capellus, Herod ben Miar, Herod
ben Gamala, and Kompse bar Kompse, but they had no following amongst
the people, and were obliged to become the unwilling spectators of the
surrender of their city to the revolutionists.
The news of the defeat of Cestius was the signal for Justis and Jesus
ben Sapphia to commence operations against the heathen cities where
their co-religionists had been so barbarously massacred. The city of
Gamala, one of the most important on the southeast coast of the Sea
of Galilee, whose impregnable position made defense easy and conquest
difficult, was preparing for revolt.
In the neighborhood of Gamala lived a settlement of Judæan Babylonians,
who, under Herod I, had migrated to Batanæa, where they had built
several towns and the fortress of Bathyra. The Babylonians, for the
colony was called by this name, were devoted adherents to the Herodian
family, and Philip, a grandson of Zamaris, the first founder of the
colony, was the leader of the royal troops who fought against the
Zealots in Jerusalem. When, however, he had suffered defeat in that
city, his life had been spared, for he had promised to aid the Zealots
in their struggle against Rome. He lay concealed for a few days in
Jerusalem, and then effected his escape to a village of his own near
the fortress of Gamala.
Varus, who temporarily was taking the place of Agrippa in Cæsarea,
did not look favorably upon Philip, of whose influence with the king
he was jealous. For Varus hoped in time to supersede Agrippa, and, in
order to court popularity, resorted to the cruel device of putting many
Judæans in Cæsarea Philippi to death. But all the while he dreaded the
Babylonian colony and the wrath of Philip, who most certainly would
divulge his ambitious designs to Agrippa. Thus he tried to lure Philip
into his presence, but, happily for himself, that general was seized
with a severe attack of fever, which he had caught in his flight from
Jerusalem, and which prevented him from obeying the summons of Varus.
Varus succeeded, however, in tempting seventy of the most distinguished
Judæans into his power, the greater number of whom were murdered by
his command. At the news of this assassination, terror seized upon
all the Babylonian Judæans who were settled in the various cities of
Galilee. They rushed into Gamala for protection, breathing vengeance,
not only against Varus, but against all the Syrians who had supported
him. They were joined by Philip, who with difficulty restrained them
from some signal act of vengeance. But even after Agrippa had dismissed
the unscrupulous Varus from his office, the Babylonian Judæans still
evinced great eagerness to coalesce with the enemies of Rome, and
were therefore ordered to leave the fortress of Gamala and return to
Batanæa. But this caused so great a tumult and division in the city
that some of the inhabitants rose and attacked the Babylonians who were
about to leave them, whilst others, under the leadership of a certain
Joseph, revolted from the rule of Agrippa.
It was at this moment, when the volcano of revolutionary passions was
ever ready to burst forth in fresh eruptions, that Joseph ben Matthias
was entrusted by the Great Synhedrion with the command of Upper and
Lower Galilee. In those provinces the powerful city of Sepphoris alone
remained faithful to the Romans, and in all Galilee there reigned a
bitter feeling of enmity against Sepphoris. For the people of Tiberias
were angered that their city should have taken only a secondary place
in the province, in spite of Agrippa II's having chosen it for his
capital. It was the business of the governor to promote a spirit of
concord amongst the inhabitants of Galilee, and at the same time to win
the Sepphorites to the popular cause. Upon the shoulders of this man
rested a heavy responsibility. For it would naturally depend greatly
upon him whether this revolt, which had burst into life with such
extreme energy, would attain the end desired by the patriots, or would
have a tragic termination. Unfortunately, Joseph was not the man who
could successfully pilot so gigantic a scheme, but by his conduct he
materially contributed to the fall of the Judæan nation.
Joseph, the son of Matthias, better known as Flavius Josephus, was a
native of Jerusalem (born 38, died about 95), of illustrious priestly
descent, and related, on the female side, to the Hasmonæan house. He
and his brother Matthias received a careful education, and were taught
the tenets of the Law whilst very young, their father's house being
frequented by learned rabbis. At the age of sixteen Josephus became the
disciple of the hermit Vanus, following his master into the desert,
living on the wild fruits of the earth and bathing daily in cold water,
according to the habit of the Essenes. But, growing weary of this
life, he returned, after three years, to Jerusalem, where his fine
intellectual tastes led him to a profound study of Greek literature.
At the age of twenty-six he had occasion to undertake a journey to
Rome, in order to plead for two imprisoned Pharisees, in the presence
of the Empress Poppea, and he succeeded in obtaining their freedom.
The Empress, who entertained a friendly feeling toward the Judæans,
loaded him with gifts. Rome itself could not fail to exercise a great
influence upon the character of Josephus. The glitter of Nero's court,
the busy life of the capital of the world, the immensity of all the
imperial institutions, so dazzled him that he thought the Roman empire
would be an eternal one and that it was specially favored by Divine
Providence. He did not see concealed beneath the purple and the gold
the terrible disease of which that great empire was sickening. From
that moment Josephus became a fervent adherent of the Roman rule.
Filled with enthusiastic admiration for Rome, he must upon his
return have found the proportions of Judæa humble and dwarfed. How
sarcastically he must have smiled at the wild gestures of the frenzied
Zealots who dreamt of expelling the Romans from Judæa! Such an
expectation appeared to him like the dream of a madman. With all the
experiences that he had gathered in his travels he tried to shatter
the revolutionary projects of the Zealots. But it was useless; the
people determined upon war, seized their weapons, and rose to revolt.
Josephus, alarmed for his safety, took shelter with some of his
adherents in the Temple, whence he emerged only upon hearing that
the more moderate Zealots, under the leadership of Eleazer, were
placed in control of affairs. Apprehensive that his well-known Roman
proclivities might make him an object of suspicion, he simulated a
desire for national liberty, whilst secretly rejoicing at the prospect
of the advance of the Roman general Cestius, who, it was thought,
would soon put an end to this mad struggle for freedom. But the result
disappointed all his hopes. The retreat of Cestius resembled a defeat.
Why Josephus, the devoted adherent of Rome, should have been entrusted
with the governorship of the important province of Galilee is
inexplicable. Probably his friend, the former high priest Joshua,
son of Gamala, whose voice carried great weight in the Synhedrion,
may have urged his claims, and Josephus' dissimulation may have led
those about him to look upon him as a Zealot. But, at all events, the
heroic bearing of the insurgents and the victory that they had gained
over the army of Cestius, cannot have failed to make upon Josephus, as
upon other plain and matter-of-fact Judæans, a powerful impression.
Entire separation from the empire of Rome appeared to him an impossible
scheme; but he may have hoped that some concessions were to be extorted
from the imperial court; that perhaps Judæa might be handed over to
the control of Agrippa, and that he might be allowed to fill the post
in Jerusalem. To Agrippa himself the revolt was not quite unwelcome,
for he hoped to reap some benefit from it, and through the agency of
Josephus he was able to act in a way which he himself could not have
pursued as a vassal of Rome. Josephus had, in fact, been working for
Agrippa, and, in so far, there was nothing dishonest or traitorous in
his conduct.
Two coadjutors, Joaser and Judah, were sent by the Synhedrion to assist
Josephus. They were both learned in the Law, and were described by
him, now as pure and clean-handed, and again as open to bribery. But
they were quite unimportant and soon disappeared from the scene of
action. At first Josephus seems to have been anxious to promote the
revolutionary ardor of the Galilæans. He called a kind of Synhedrion
together, consisting of seventy men of repute, after the fashion of
the great council in Tiberias. He appointed seven judges in each city,
and officers of the law in different parts of Galilee. He raised an
army of a hundred thousand men, armed and drilled them according to the
Roman system, and inculcated order and discipline amongst his soldiers,
qualities indispensable to a nation of warriors, but less important to
a people enthusiastic for liberty. He even created a corps of cavalry
and supported them from his own means. He surrounded himself with a
body-guard of five hundred mercenaries, who were disciplined to obey a
sign from their master. He began to fortify a number of cities in Upper
and Lower Galilee; and stored them with provisions. Thus he seriously
contemplated the defense of his province against Rome. Upon his arrival
in Galilee, either inspired by the Synhedrion or impelled by his own
ardor, Josephus carried his religious zeal to the extent of ordering
the destruction of the palace inhabited by his ancestor Herod during
the time of Augustus, where images of animals were worshiped in direct
defiance of the Law. In order to carry out this design he invited the
most distinguished men of Tiberias to meet him at Bethmaon, but during
their discussion Jesus ben Sapphia set fire to the palace and divided
the spoil amongst his followers. This displeased Josephus, who hastened
into the town of Tiberias, and gathering up what remained of the
plunder, handed it over into the custody of King Agrippa's officers.
Peculiarly repugnant to Josephus was John of Gischala; his untiring
energy and intellectual superiority were enough to awaken the jealousy
of the former, although Josephus, as the representative of the
Synhedrion, assumed the higher position of the two. He took pains to
place obstacles in the way of the patriot. Thus John was at first not
permitted to carry off and sell the large quantity of corn stored by
the Romans in Upper Galilee, the sale of which was to have enabled
him to complete the fortification of his own city. Joaser and Judah
finally extorted from Josephus the requisite authorization. It was
on this occasion that John of Gischala was made painfully aware of
the duplicity of the governor, which for the future he determined to
baffle. Certain youths of a village called Dabaritta, near Mount
Tabor, had waylaid and plundered the wife of one of the king's
agents who was traveling through the land, and they brought the
precious metals and rich garments which they had taken from her to
Josephus, then at Tarichea. Out of too great a regard for the king,
Josephus undertook to return this booty to him, at the same time
falsely pretending that he had sent it to Jerusalem for the national
treasury. The inhabitants of the neighboring villages, roused to angry
displeasure at the news of Josephus' treachery, assembled at Tarichea
in crowds. They were led by Jesus ben Sapphia, who came with the holy
Book of the Law in his hand, charging the people, if not for their
own sakes, at least for the honor of their sacred writings, to punish
the traitor. Josephus' house was surrounded at daybreak by a furious
throng, who would have burnt it down over his head had he not saved
himself by one of his ingenious falsehoods. He rent his clothes, poured
ashes upon his head, hung a sword round his neck, and appeared as a
suppliant in the arena of Tarichea. As soon as he could gain a hearing
he made the Taricheans believe that he was not keeping the spoil,
either for the use of Agrippa or for the advantage of Jerusalem, but
that it was to enable him to fortify the walls of their own city.
The credulous Taricheans, who readily believed this explanation, now
declared themselves in favor of Josephus, and turned their weapons upon
the discontented strangers. The governor meanwhile, under cover of
the tumult, crept back to his own house, where, however, he was soon
roused by some hundreds of the infuriated crowd (not Taricheans), who
were utterly intractable, and were bent upon the destruction of his
dwelling-place. Nothing daunted, Josephus appeared upon the roof, and
begged of the ringleaders to enter and give him some reason for their
conduct. The men allowed themselves to be tempted within the doors,
whereupon they were instantly seized, cruelly scourged, maimed, and
then cast out to their followers, who, thinking Josephus must have some
hidden force of men concealed within, departed in consternation. From
that moment all hope of a manly defense of Galilee had to be abandoned.
Josephus was like a demon of discord, to whose lot had fallen the
task of promoting a spirit of harmony amongst the people. Galilee
was divided into two parties, the one composed of the more moderate
inhabitants of that province, who were the adherents of the governor,
the other numbering the fiery patriots, who could no longer doubt his
duplicity, and had selected John as their leader. The two leaders hated
each other cordially, but equaled each other in craft and dissimulation.
When John became aware that the greater number of the Galilæans were
under the impression that Josephus was a truthful and reliable man,
and were supporting him with all their might, he sent his brother
Simon, with a hundred chosen followers, to the Synhedrion at Jerusalem,
there to lodge a complaint against the governor, begging of the Great
Council to recall him from his post. The President of the Synhedrion,
Simon ben Gamaliel, who was a friend of John, and who entirely
discredited the sincerity of Josephus, as well as Anan, the former high
priest, supported this charge, and decreed that four envoys be sent
to Galilee, with orders that Josephus lay down his office, and that
they be invested with the power of bringing him, alive or dead, to
Jerusalem. The larger communities of Tiberias, Sepphoris, and Gabara
were instructed by the Synhedrion to afford no protection to Josephus,
who was an enemy to his country, but to support John of Gischala in his
stead.
Once more Josephus was in great peril. But, as usual, he saved himself
by his own ready wit and crafty policy. On the one hand, he would not
give up the post which had become dear to him; and, on the other,
he did not wish to disobey the orders of the Synhedrion. As soon as
the decrees of the Great Council were made known to him, through
his father, who was living in Jerusalem, he took his precautionary
measures. He pretended to be in active preparation for a revolt from
Rome, and perplexed the envoys by the evasive replies he gave them,
assuring them, with a resigned air, when they ordered him to depart
instantly for Jerusalem, that he was more than ready to lay down his
office. But all the while he was inciting the Galilæans to hatred of
the envoys, who, in traveling from one town to another, found that they
were not furthering their mission, but that, on the contrary, they
were often in danger of being roughly handled by Josephus' friends.
Weary of this useless journeying, the envoys, on the advice of John of
Gischala, sent secret messengers throughout Galilee, declaring Josephus
outlawed. A traitor revealed this resolution to the governor. With an
energy deserving of a better cause, Josephus sent his troops to guard
the passes leading from the Galilæan towns to Jerusalem, and had the
messengers seized and brought into his presence. He then summoned all
his devoted followers (who came streaming from all the small towns and
villages of Galilee) to appear armed before him, and told them he was
the victim of a fiendish plot. This was enough to lash them into a
frenzy of rage, and they would have torn the envoys to pieces had not
Josephus, with wonderfully assumed generosity, quieted their wrath.
He then sent for some of the most simple-minded and credulous men of
his province whom he easily persuaded into going to Jerusalem, there
to extol his government, to entreat of the Synhedrion to leave their
beloved governor at his post, and to recall the hated envoys.
Meanwhile, these latter, finding they could achieve nothing in Upper
Galilee, withdrew from that part of the province and appeared in
Tiberias. But Josephus was there before them, ready to frustrate
all their plans. In their extreme vexation and perplexity, they had
commanded the people to keep a day of fasting and humiliation, when
prayer was to be offered up for Divine help, without which no earthly
weapons were of avail. The people answered to this call by assembling
in great numbers in the arena of Tiberias, a place capable of holding
many thousands. Although every one was supposed to be unarmed, Josephus
and his soldiers managed to conceal weapons under their cloaks. Prayers
for Divine help were followed by angry discussions; at last, words gave
place to action, and Josephus' followers, drawing their arms, rushed
frantically upon his enemies. The populace sided with Josephus, who was
once more saved from deadly peril. Meanwhile, the Galilæan messengers
who had been sent to Jerusalem produced so favorable an impression for
Josephus in that city, that the envoys were recalled, and the governor
reinstated in his official post. Josephus revenged himself upon his
enemies by sending the envoys back to Jerusalem in chains, thus
treating the Synhedrion with contempt.
But whilst he was bringing civil war upon Galilee, contempt upon
the Synhedrion, disunion amongst the patriots, whilst he was urging
the important city of Tiberias to rebellion, the Galilæan capital,
Sepphoris, with its Roman proclivities, had ample time to make
overtures to the Empire. Josephus must bear the eternal opprobrium
of having unmanned and broken the one strong bulwark of Judæa, the
vigorous and warlike Galilee, and this he accomplished through
indecision, egotism, want of tact, and above all, his extraordinary
duplicity. He certainly did strengthen some of the fortresses, or
rather he did not prevent their garrisons from doing so, but when the
Romans appeared in the land they found neither an army nor a nation
to oppose them. Every fortress had to depend upon its own resources.
The Galilæans, without confidence in their leader, and exhausted by
constant strife, were becoming self-seeking if not cowardly.
It would indeed be difficult for us to believe the numerous instances
recorded of craft and duplicity on the part of Josephus, had he not
dwelt upon them himself with unexampled shamelessness. All that had
been gained during the four months' rebellion in Jerusalem was lost
during the five fatal months of his governorship of Galilee (from Nov.,
66, to March, 67), and this was before the enemy had even threatened
to appear, for the Romans during that time had been inactive in Judæa.
The Emperor Nero was courting popular favor in Greece, by appearing in
the arena as singer, player, and charioteer. Whilst engaged in these
engrossing pursuits, there came upon him like a thunderbolt the news
of the rising in Judæa and the defeat of the Roman army under Cestius.
Nero trembled, for the revolution in Judæa might be the precursor of
grave events. The emperor was then apprised of the death of his general
Cestius, and none could tell whether he had met with a natural death,
or had died heartbroken at his defeat.
Nero selected as his successor Flavius Vespasian, who had won his
laurels fighting against the Britons, and who was known to be one of
the ablest generals of his time. But so great was the alarm felt at
the Judæan rebellion and its possible consequences, that Licinius
Mucianus was chosen as special governor of Syria, and ordered to quell
all dangerous symptoms of disaffection that might appear among the
Parthians. Vespasian was not in the emperor's favor at that time, and
Nero would far rather have given some other general his post; but the
emperor had no choice, for the ability of Vespasian was unquestionable,
and Judæa required a strong hand. Vespasian started from Greece in
the winter season, and commenced his preparations for the campaign
in Ptolemais. His son Titus, who first won renown in fighting against
the Judæans, brought two legions from Alexandria, the fifth and
tenth, those wild Decumani whose cruelty, already experienced by the
Alexandrian Judæans, was now for the first time to be felt by their
Palestinean brethren. Vespasian was met in Ptolemais by all who wished
to express their feelings of friendliness towards the Romans; amongst
others came Agrippa with his sister Berenice. Agrippa had been accused
by the Tyrians of being in secret league with the rebellious Judæans,
and was therefore regarded with some suspicion by Vespasian; but he
came at the head of his troops as a loyal subject-prince, whilst his
beautiful sister Berenice, still beautiful in spite of having passed
her first youth, captivated the general's son Titus, and kept him
enslaved for many years to come.
Vespasian's army, consisting of Roman troops and mercenaries, amounted
to more than 50,000 men, besides the countless horde that was in the
habit of following in the wake of armies. Early in the spring the
army was equipped, and the campaign began by the despatch of small
bands to clear the way of Judæan scouts, on the roads leading to the
fortified places. Vespasian, far more prudent than his predecessor
Cestius, instead of displaying great energy, carried on the campaign
from beginning to end with extreme caution, seeking to cut the ground,
step by step, from under his enemies' feet. Josephus and his troops
were slowly but surely driven back; in open battle he was often
shamefully defeated, for his men had no confidence in his generalship,
and his army literally melted away at the sight of the enemy. With how
different a spirit were the followers of John of Gischala inspired! As
soon as the hostile forces approached Jotapata, the inhabitants of that
city offered desperate resistance, and although they could not break
through the serried ranks of the Romans, they fought so bravely that
they put the vanguard to flight.
Vespasian determined upon effecting the subjection of Galilee before
turning his steps towards the capital, and to accomplish this purpose
he marched upon the fortresses in the north of that province, Gabara
and Jotapata. The first, insufficiently fortified, was soon taken and
burnt. The entire population of the garrison were put to the sword,
to avenge the defeat of the Romans at Jerusalem. The unfortunate
inhabitants of the entire district suffered a similar fate, for they
were either cruelly butchered or sold into slavery. The war now became
one of revenge and extermination. But Josephus remained far from the
scene of action in his capital at Tiberias, which at his flight thither
was filled with terror.
Josephus would gladly have gone over to the enemy, but some remote
feeling of shame prevented him from taking this unpardonable step
at the beginning of the war. He proceeded to lay a statement of the
condition of his unhappy province before the Synhedrion, demanded
instruction as to his movements, whether he was to resist the enemy (in
which case he would require reinforcements), or whether he was to enter
into negotiations with Vespasian. The province of Galilee, although far
more thickly populated than Judæa, counting more than three millions
of souls, now already required military aid, so terribly had it been
weakened by Josephus' inefficient management.
Vespasian marched from Gabara to Jotapata, but his troops had to make
their way with the greatest difficulty, for the Judæans had endeavored
to bar the narrow passes and render the road impassable. The rock upon
which the fortress of Jotapata was built is surrounded by steep and
lofty hills, from which it is separated by abrupt precipices. There
existed only one practicable entrance to the fortress, and this was on
the north side, but it was firmly protected by a high wall bristling
with towers. Upon this wall were gathered all possible instruments for
repelling the enemy; great pieces of rock, slings for throwing stones,
bows and arrows, and weapons of countless sorts. Against this one
approach all the efforts of the Romans were directed. They confronted
it with sixty storming machines, from which, in one uninterrupted
volley, poured spears, stones, and slings containing ignitible matter.
But the besieged fought with such bitterness, and with such cool
contempt of death, that even the Romans grew weary. The Galilæans
not only repulsed the storming parties, and often destroyed their
machinery, but they also made successful sorties. The siege lasted more
than forty days, when at last, through the treachery of a Galilæan, the
fortress fell. Thus the Romans were able to surprise the besieged at
daybreak, when they fell upon the exhausted sentinels, and then put the
garrison to the sword. Many, however, of their devoted victims, rather
than fall into the hands of their terrible adversaries, sought death by
flinging themselves over the walls, or by falling on their own weapons.
Forty thousand men lost their lives in this siege, and more than a
thousand women and children were sold into slavery, whilst the fortress
was razed to the ground. But Jotapata had shown her unhappy country how
to fall with honor and glory. A few days previously Japha (Japhia) had
been taken, its men, both old and young, slaughtered, and its women and
children sold as slaves.
Josephus had been actually within the walls of the fortress of Jotapata
throughout the siege. He had arrived from Tiberias at the first news of
the enemy's approach, and placed himself at the head of the garrison.
But divining rightly enough that all resistance would eventually prove
hopeless, he had attempted to abandon his people, and had only been
prevented from doing this by the besieged. When the Romans entered
the fortress, Josephus sought concealment in a huge cistern, in which
hiding-place he found forty of his own soldiers. When their retreat
was discovered, Josephus was called upon to give himself up to the
Romans. This exactly coincided with his own wishes, as his person was
to be protected; but his companions, pointing their swords against his
breast, swore that sooner than allow him to dishonor the Judæans by
his cowardice they would instantly take his life. Entirely at their
mercy, he consented to their proposal that they should all die then and
there. Each soldier swore that he would fall by the hand of one of his
companions, and each in turn fell heroically. But Josephus broke his
word to the dead as he had broken it to the living. He and one comrade
being the only survivors, he succeeded, partly by persuasion and partly
by force, in disarming his companion, and in delivering himself into
the hands of the Romans. Vespasian treated him with extreme courtesy,
as if he had never looked upon him as an enemy. Although he bore the
semblance of a prisoner, he was allowed to wear a robe of honor.
Vespasian loaded him with presents, Titus was his constant companion,
and he was permitted to select a wife from the captive maidens.
Joppa's turn to fall before the conquerors soon followed upon that
of Japha and Jotapata, whilst the people of Tiberias, thoroughly
discouraged by the conduct of Josephus, were not long in opening the
gates of their city to the Romans.
Thus, one year after the revolt in Jerusalem, the greater part of
the province of Galilee, which had defended itself with all the fire
of patriotism, with all the zeal of a free country, and with all the
enthusiasm of its faith, was ruined, depopulated, and more thoroughly
than ever made subject to its conquerors.
It was upon this occasion that Agrippa proved that his conduct to
the Judæans was not solely influenced by his fear of the Romans. For
Vespasian gave him free control over them in his own province, and he
chose to sell those unfortunate people into captivity, when he might
either have chastised them or given them their liberty.
The Galilæan Zealots were in possession of only three fortified
places--Gamala, Mount Tabor, and Gischala--in the extreme north. Joseph
of Gamala and Chares were the leaders of the insurgents in Gamala.
All in vain had one of Agrippa's officers besieged the place for some
months; the Zealots held out, until at last Vespasian with his force
approached the fortress. The story of the siege constitutes one of
the most heroic pages in the whole account of the war. For many days
the besieged fought from their walls in a manner worthy of the first
great Zealot Judas. At the end of three weeks the battering-rams of the
Romans opened a breach in the walls, through which the enemy crept. As
the besieged retired, their assailants followed them into a labyrinth
of narrow streets, and found themselves suddenly attacked from the
house-tops. The Romans tried to save themselves by clambering on some
low-roofed houses, but these were too weak to bear their weight and
gave way, burying the men in their ruins. The besieged then seized upon
huge stones--their whole city, so to speak--and hurled them upon their
enemies' heads, so that flight was impossible.
This victory, falling upon the Feast of Tabernacles, was a glorious day
for the men of Gamala; but it was dearly bought, for the corpses of
the Romans lay upon the bodies of many Judæan warriors, who could ill
be spared. Chares, one of their leaders, was mortally wounded. At last
the Romans, after secretly mining one of the fortified towers, made a
feint of attacking it; the Judæans rushed to the battlements, and were
preparing for defense, when the walls gave way and fell with a fearful
crash, burying the besieged, amongst whom was the sole remaining
leader, Joseph, the son of the midwife. The siege was now practically
over, for the Romans poured in, and slaughtered every man they met.
Nearly five thousand died by their own hands; only two maidens were
left out of the whole population of Gamala.
Meanwhile the fortress of Mount Tabor was taken by the strategy of
Placidus. It stood isolated on an almost perpendicular height, rising
sixteen hundred feet from the plain of Jezreel. From its position it
was invincible. But Placidus tempted the greater part of the garrison
out of the fortress by feigned flight. When his pursuers were close
upon him, his cavalry wheeled around and threw themselves upon the
unfortunate Judæans, of whom some few fled to Jerusalem, whilst the
weakened fortress opened her gates to the enemy.
The small city of Gischala, garrisoned by very few men, under the
leadership of John, could not possibly hold out against the Romans.
Upon the approach of Titus, John begged for a twenty-four hours' truce
before the capitulation of his fortress, ostensibly to preserve the
sanctity of the Sabbath. Upon the acquiescence of the Roman general,
he made his escape from the city, followed by many thousands of his
people. On the morrow Gischala capitulated, her gates were thrown open,
and her walls razed to the ground. But, indignant at the conduct of the
Judæan leader, Titus ordered him to be hotly pursued. John succeeded,
however, in reaching Jerusalem with a remnant of his army, whilst
numbers of fugitives of both sexes and of every age were captured and
massacred by the Roman soldiery. This was the last death-struggle
of besieged Galilee. But the Romans were so thoroughly exhausted by
those desperate encounters, and their ranks were so much thinned by
their long warfare, that Vespasian was obliged to declare a truce to
hostilities.