THE ANNALS THE WORLD

[Soldier4Christ]

4074a AM, 4783 JP, 70 AD

6980. When Titus had finished the war, he rewarded the soldiers and committed the custody of Jerusalem to the tenth legion. He banished the twelfth legion which had fought poorly under Cestius, from Syria and sent them to Euphrates into the region of Armenia and Cappadocia. He took the fifth and fifteenth legion to Caesarea on the sea coast, where he gathered together all the prey and spoils and the captives. Since winter was coming, it was too dangerous to sail to Italy.

6981. The two tyrants, John and Simon, were captured as they hid in the vaults of Jerusalem. John was condemned to perpetual imprisonment and Simon was reserved for the triumph. In the same vaults, 2000 men were found who either perished from hunger or killed each other rather than surrender to the Romans.

6982. Titus stayed at Caesarea where he celebrated the birthday of his brother Domitian, which was on December 30th. In the celebration, more than 2500 Jews perished by fighting with wild beasts, burned with fire or were killed in fighting each other.

4074b AM, 4784 JP, 71 AD

6983. Later, Titus came to Berytus in Phoenicia, where he stayed longer and celebrated the birthday of his father with great magnificence. (This was not the birthday of his empire which was celebrated on the first of July according to Suetonius and Tacitus.) A multitude of captives also died in a similar manner as before.

6984. Titus went to see Antioch and the other cities of Syria. He then travelled through Judea and Jerusalem, with the fifth and fifteenth legion to Alexandria in Egypt. He sailed from there to Rome where he was welcomed home by all men. He and his father held a triumph for the conquest of Judea.

6985. The two captains of the sedition, John and Simon, were led in that triumph along with 700 other Jews who excelled in strength and beauty. Only Simon was killed, (also called, Barpores. {*Dio, l. 65. 8:269,271}) The book of the law of the Jews was carried in this triumph as the last of the spoils. It along with the purple vails of the sanctuary were stored in the palace.

6986. From this victory, both father and son got the name of emperor. However, neither of them was called Judaicus although many other things and especially triumphal arches were decreed for them. {*Dio, l. 65. 8:271 (Xiphiline ex Dio)} There remains still at the foot of the hill Palatine, a marble triumphal arch erected to the honour of Titus. From it there is a copy written by Villalpandus of the instruments of the temple which were carried in the triumph. {Villalpandus, Tom. 2. explanat. on Ezekiel. l. 5. c. 7. p. 587.}

4075a AM, 4784 JP, 71 AD

6987. Lucilius Bassus was sent as lieutenant into Judea who received the army from Cenalis Vitellianus. The citadel Herodian with its garrison surrendered to him. A little later, he captured the strong citadel of Machaeron beyond Jordan by assault.

4075b AM, 4785 JP, 72 AD

``It happened even in our time, that there was an eclipse of the sun and moon within 12 days of each other (others say 15 days) when the Vespasians were emperors, the father for the third time (perhaps the fourth) and the son the second time were consuls. (71 AD)'' {*Pliny, l. 2. c. 10. 1:207}

6988. Some think this was foretold by our Saviour. {Mt 24:29}

6989. Caesar wrote to Tiberius Maximus, the governor of Judea, that he should sell all the land of the Jews. He imposed a tribute on all the Jews wherever they lived and ordered them to bring in every year to the capitol two drachmas which they formerly paid to the temple of Jerusalem.

6990. In the fourth year of Vespasian, Cesennius Paetus, the governor of Syria, drove Antiochus, the king of Commagene from his kingdom. He fled into Cilicia and his son to the Parthians. Later both of them were reconciled to Vespasian and he was restored to his kingdom. {Josephus, Wars, <l. 7. c. 7. 1:761,762>}

4076b AM, 4786 JP, 73 AD

6991. The Abans invaded Media and laid it waste all over. King Pacorus fled before them. They later went into Armenia. Tiridates, the king opposed them himself and was almost captured in the very battle. {Josephus, Wars, <l. 7. c. 7. 1:761,762>}

4076c AM, 4786 JP, 73 AD

6992. Among the Jews, after Bassus had died, Publius Silva replaced him in the government of Judea. On April 15th, he captured by force that impregnable citadel of Masada that was held by Eleazar, the nephew of Judas Balitaeus, the captain of the thieves. Eleazar persuaded all the thieves who were in the castle to the number of 960 with their wives and children to kill each other. First they burnt the citadel with all the household belongings lest they should fall into Roman hands. Hence the last remains of the Jewish wars were eliminated and all Judea was quiet.

6993. Many of the thieves who escaped from Judea, fled into Egypt to Alexandria. They try to solicit the Jews to revolt. However, the common people were persuaded by their rulers and attacked those thieves. They captured 600 of them whom they turned over to the Romans to be punished. The rest who escaped into Egypt and Thebes were also captured. Concerning this matter Caesar ordered Lupus, the governor of Alexandria to pull down the temple of the Jews. (That temple was built a long while ago in Egypt, by Onias the brother of the high priest.) However, Lupus did no more than take away some furniture from the temple and so shut it up. Paulinus, his successor in the government, took away all the furniture and shut up the doors. He ordered that no one should come there so that there was not so much as any trace of religion left there.

[Soldier4Christ]

6994. Jonathan, a certain Jewish weaver, escaped to Cyrene, where he raised a tumult and drew 2000 Jews into the wilderness. Catullus (or Catulus) the governor of Libia Pentapolis, sent his cavalry and foot soldiers and easily defeated them. When Jonathan was brought before him, he falsely accused the most wealthy of the Jews to be the main instigators of this revolt. Catullus willingly listened to these accusations and immediately executed 3000 of them. He did this without fear of retribution because he confiscated their estates to Caesar's treasury first. Jonathan was sent prisoner by him with the other captives to Rome to Vespasian so that he might accuse the most honest of those who lived at Rome and Alexandria of sedition. He affirmed among many other things that Josephus, the writer of the Jewish history, sent him both arms, and money. Vespasian knew that this accusation was not lawfully brought against these men and he, at Titus' intreaty, acquitted them but deservedly punished Jonathan. First he scourged him and then he was burnt alive. Catullus also through the mercy of the emperor was not punished. However, not long after, he was taken with a complicated and incurable disease and he was tortured and tormented in his mind. He thought that he saw the ghosts of those whom he had killed always before him. At last his guts and bowels rotted and poured out of him and he died. {Josephus, Wars, l. 7. c. ult. <c. 11. 1:771,772>} {Josephus, Life, <1:25,26>}

6995. Here Joseph ended the history of the destruction of Judea. He was captured in this war and made a freedman by Flarius Vespasian the Emperor and assumed the name of Flarius from his patron.

6996. Cornelius and Suetonius relate that there were 600,000 Jews killed in this war. Josephus a Jew, was a commander in that war and who deserved thanks and pardon from Vespasian for foretelling him that he should be emperor. He wrote that 1,000,000 perished by sword and famine, and of the rest of the Jews that were dispersed all over the world and put to death various ways to the number of 90,000. Orosius {Orosius, l. 7. c. 9.} also stated the same. I cannot find the number of 600,000 of those who were killed in Suetonius' writings. In Josephus {Josephus, Wars, l. 6. c. 17. <c. 9. 1:749>} the number of captives was 97,000 and the other number of 1,100,000 is only of those who perished in the six month siege of Jerusalem. Justius Lipsius made this catalogue from Josephus. {Lipsius, de. Constantia., l. 2. c. 21.} of those who perished outside of Jerusalem during the whole seven years.

 

6997.
At Jerusalem, first killed by
the command of Florus    630
By the inhabitants of Caesarea
in hatred to them and their religion    20,000
At Scythopolis (a city of Syria)    30,000
At Askelon in Palestine
by the inhabitants    2,500
Likewise at Ptolemais    2,000
At Alexandria in Egypt under
Tib. Alexander the President    50,000
At Damascus    10,000
At the taking of Joppa
by Cesius Florus    8,400
At a certain mountain
called Cabulo    2,000
In a fight at Askelon    10,000
By an ambush    8,000
At Aphaca when it was taken    15,000
Slain at mount Gerizim    11,600
At Jotapae, where Josephus was    30,000
At Joppa when it was taken
were drowned    4,200
Slain at Tarichaea    6,500
At Gamala as well killed as those
who threw themselves down    9,000
(The only survivors in the
whole city were two women
who were sisters.)    
When they forsook Giskala,
killed in the flight    2,000
Slain of the Gadarenes, besides
an infinite number that leaped
into the river    13,000
Slain in the villages of Idumea    10,000
At Gerizim    1,000
At Macheron    1,700
In the wood of Jardes    3,000
In the citadel of Masada,
that slew themselves    960
In Cyrene by Catulus the Governor    3,000
Which number of the dead, being
added to those who died    1,100,000
at the siege of Jerusalem    _________
Total    1,337,490

[Soldier4Christ]

6998. An innumerable company were omitted who perished through famine, banishment and other miseries. (At the passover feast a few years earlier Josephus estimates there were about three million people in Jerusalem. See note on 4096b AM <<6403>>. There were likely this many there for the passover when Titus started the seige. Most were unaccounted for. This would make the offical death toll low by at least two million. Editor.)

6999. Justus Tiberiensis in his chronicle of the Kings of the Jews showed that Agrippa the last king of the family of Herod, had his kingdom augmented by Vespasian, {Photius, Bibliotheca, cod. 33.} Dio related that he had praetorian honours given him. His sister Bernice who came to Rome with him lived in the palace. Titus was so in love with her that he made her believe he would marry her and she carried on all things as if she had been his wife. However, when Titus knew that the people of Rome did not take it well, he put her away. {Seutonius, Titus, c. 7} {*Dio, l. 65. 1:291 (Xiphiline ex Dio)} The observation of Josephus is very memorable {Josephus, Antiq., l. 18. c. 7. <c. 5. 1:485>} about the rest of Herod's progeny that they all failed within one hundred years although they were very numerous.

7000. This was the end of the Jewish affairs and happened as predicted by Jesus in Mt 24. (See John Bray's book, "Matthew 24 Fulfilled", for a most detailed discussion of these events. Editor.)

``And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? ... Verily I say unto you, THIS GENERATION shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.'' {Mt 24:3,34}

FINIS