soo J E 
untried and uncondemned : and of every kind of favage 
cruelty. Such a governor was but ill calculated to ap- 
peafe the ferments occaiioned by the late tax. Indeed Pi¬ 
late was fo far from attempting this, that he greatly in¬ 
flamed them by taking every occasion of introducing his 
ftandards with images and pictures, confecrated fliields, 
See. into their city; and at laft attempting to drain the 
treafury of the temple, under pretence of bringing an 
‘aqueduct into Jerufalem. The molt remarkable.tranfac- 
tion of his government, however, was his condemnation 
of Jesus Christ; feven years after which he w.as removed 
from Judea; and in a Ihort time Agrippa, the grandfon 
of Herod the Great, was promoted by Caius to the regal 
dignity. He did not, however, long enjoy this honour; 
for, on his coming into Judtea, having.railed a persecu¬ 
tion againft the Chriftians, and blafphemoufly fullering 
liimfelf to be Ityled a god by fome deputies from Tyre 
and Sidon, he was miraculoufly Itruck with a difeafe which 
foon put an end to his life. The facred hiltorian tells us, 
that he was eaten of worms ; and Jofephus, that he was 
.Seized'with molt violent pains in his heart and bowels; 
fo that he could not but refleft on the bafenefs of tbofe 
flatterers, who had but lately complimented him with a 
‘kind of divine immortality, that was now about to expire 
in all the torments and agonies of a miferable mortal. 
On the death of Agrippa, Judsea was once more re¬ 
duced to a province of the Roman empire, and had new 
governors appointed over it. Thefe were Ventidius, Fe¬ 
lix, Feftus Albinus, and Geflius Fionas. Under their 
government the Jewifh affairs went on from bad to Worfe; 
the country Iwarmed with robbers and aflaflins ; the lat- 
ter'eommitting every where the moft unheard-of cruelties 
under the pretence-of religion ; and about 64. A. C. were 
joined by 18,000 workmen, who had been employed in 
further repairing and beautifying the temple. About this 
time alfo, Geffius Florus, the iaft and word governor the 
-Jews ever had, was fent into the country. Jofephus feems 
at a lofs for words to deferibe him by, or a monfter to 
compare him to. His rapines, cruelties, conniving for 
large fums with the ban'ditti, and, in a word, his whole 
behaviour, were fo open and barefaced, that he was looked 
•upon by the Jews more like a bloody executioner fent to 
butcher, than a magiftrate to govern them. In this dif- 
trafted ftate of the country, many of the inhabitants for- 
fook it to feek for an alyl uni fomewhere elfe; while thofe 
who remained applied themfelves to Ceftius Gallus, go¬ 
vernor of Syria, who was at Jerufalem,at the palfover; 
befeeching him to pity their unhappy ftate, and free them 
from the tyranny of a man Who had totally ruined their 
country. Florus, who was prefent when thefe complaints 
were brought againft him, made a mere jeft of them; and 
Ceftius, inftead of making a ftrifft inquiry into his con- 
dufl, difmiffed the Jews with a general prorhife that the 
governor fhould behave better for the future ; and fet 
himfelf about computing the number of Jews at that time 
in Jerufalem, by the number of lambs offered at that fef- 
fival, that lie might lend an account of the whole to Nero. 
By his computation there were at that time in Jerufalem 
2,556,000; though Jofephus thinks they rather amounted 
’.to 5,000,000. 
In the' year 67 began the fatal war with the Ro¬ 
mans, which ended in the final deftrudtion of Jerufalem. 
The immediate caufe w'as the decifion of a conteft with 
the Syrians concerning the city of Caefarea. The Jews 
maintained tHat this city belonged to them, becaufe it had 
been built by Herod ; and the Syrians pretended that it 
Bad always been reckoned a Greek city, fince even that 
'monarch had reared temples and ftatues in it. The con- 
deft at laft came to fuch a height, that both parties took 
up arms againft each other. Felix put an end to it for a 
ti me. by.fending fOme of the chiefs of each nation to Rome, 
to plead their caufe before the emperor, where it hung in 
Tufpenfe till this time, when Nero decided it againft the 
Jews. .No fooner was this decifion made public, than the 
Tews ip all parts of the country flew to arms j and, though 
w. 
they were every where the fnfferefs, yet, from this fatal 
period, their rage never abated. Nothing was now to be 
heard of but robberies, murders, and every kind’of cru¬ 
elty. Cities and villages were filled with dead bodies of 
all ages, even fucking babes. The Jews, on their part, • 
fpared neither Syrians nor Romans, where they got" the 
better of them ; and this proved the deftrudlion of great 
numbers of their peaceful brethren: 2o,ooo.were maffacred 
at Caefarea, 50,000 at Alexandria, 2000 at Ptolemais, and 
3500 at Jerufalem. 
_A great number of aflaflins, in the mean time, having 
joined the fafilious Jews in Jerufalem, they beat the Ro¬ 
mans out-of Antonia, .a fortrefs adjoining to the temple, 
and another called Maffada; and iikewife out of the 
tow'ers called Phafael and Mariamne, killing all who op- 
pofed them. The Romans were at laft reduced to fuch 
ftraits, that they capitulated on-the Angle condition that 
their lives fhould be fpared; notwithftanding which, they 
were all maflacred by the furious zealots; and this .trea¬ 
chery was foon revenged on the Jew's of Scythopolis, 
Thefe had offered to affift in reducing their, factious bre¬ 
thren ; but, their fincerity being fufpefted by the townf- 
men, they obliged them to retire into a neighbouring wood, 
where, on the third night, they were maffacred to t]ie 
number of 13,600, and all their wealth carried off. The 
rebels, in the mean time, eroded the Jordan, and took 
tlie fortreffes of Machreron and Cyprus;, which.laft they 
razed to the ground, after having put all the Romans to 
the fword. This brought Ceftius Gallus, the Syrian go¬ 
vernor, into Judaea with all his forces'; but the Jews, 
partly by treachery and partly by force, got the better of 
him, and drove him out of the country with the lofs of 
5000 men. 
All this time fuch dreadful diffenfions reigned among 
the Jews, that great numbers of the better fort, forefeeing 
the fad effebls of the refentment of the Romans, left the 
city as men do a finking veffel; and the Chriftians, mind¬ 
ful of their Saviour’s prediction, retired to Pella, a city 
on the other fide of Jordan, whither the war did not reach. 
Miferable was the fate of fuch as either could not, or 
would not, leave that devoted city. Vefpafian was now 
ordered to leave Greece, where he was at that time, and 
to march with all fpeed into Judea. He did fo accord¬ 
ingly at the head of a powerful army, ordering his fon 
Titus in the mean time to bring two more legions from 
Alexandria; but, before he could reach that country, the 
Jews had twice attempted to take the city of Afcalon, 
and were each time repulfed with the lofs of 10,000 of 
their number. In the beginning of the year 68, Vefpafian 
entered Galilee at the head of an army of 60,000 men, all 
completely armed and excellently difeiplined. He firft 
took and burnt Gadara; then he laid fiege to Jotapa, and 
took it after a flout refiftance ;_at which he was fo pro¬ 
voked, that he caufed every one of the Jews to be maflii- 
cred or carried into captivity, not one being left to carry 
the dreadful news to their brethren. Forty thoufand pe- 
riflied on this occafion ; only 1200 were made prifoners, 
among whom was Jofephus the Jewifh hiftorian. Japha 
next fliared the fame fate, after an obflinate fiege ; all the 
men being maffacred, and the women and children carried 
into captivity. A week after this the Samaritans, who 
had affembled on Mount Gerizzim, were almoft all put to 
the fword, or perifhed. Joppa fell the next victim- to the 
Roman vengeance. It had been formerly laid wafte bjy 
Ceftius; but was now repeopled and fortified by the fe- 
ditious Jews who infefted the country. It was taken by 
ftorm, and fliared the fame fate with the reft. Four thou¬ 
fand Jew's attempted to efcape by taking to their {hips ; 
but W'ere driven back by a fudden lerripelt, and ail of them 
were drowned or put to the fWord. Taricheai and Tibe¬ 
rias were next taken, but part of their inhabitants were 
fpared on account of their peaceable difpofitions. . Then 
followed the fieges of Gamala, Gifchala, and Itabyr. The 
firft was taken by ftorm, with a dreadful daughter of the 
Jews 5 the laft by ftratagem. The inhabitants of .Gifchala 
wer@ 
