For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 4: The Lull Before The Storm.

  The galley which carried Josephus from Tiberias was scarcely out ofsight when John, who was standing in the marketplace watching thebusy scene with amusement, heard the shout raised:

  "The Romans are coming!"

  At once, people left their business, and all ran to the outskirtsof the city. John ran with them and, on arriving there, saw a partyof Roman horsemen riding along, at no great distance. The peoplebegan to shout loudly to them to come into the town, calling outthat all the citizens were loyal to King Agrippa and the Romans,and that they hated the traitor Josephus.

  The Romans halted, but made no sign of entering the town; fearingthat treachery was intended, and remembering the fate of theircomrades, who had trusted to Jewish faith when they surrendered thetowers of Hippicus, Phasaelus, and Mariamne. The movement, however,spread through the city. The people assembled in crowds, shouting"Death to Josephus!" and exclaiming for the Romans, and KingAgrippa. Such as were loyal to Josephus did not venture to raisetheir voices, so numerous and furious were the multitude; and thewhole city was soon in open revolt, the citizens arming themselvesin readiness for war.

  As soon as he saw the course which affairs were taking, John madehis way out of the town, and ran at the top of his speed toTarichea, where he arrived in a little over half an hour. He wasdirected at once to the house of Josephus, who rose in surprise, atthe table at which he was seated, writing, at John's entry.

  "Scarcely had you left, my lord, than some Roman horsemenapproached near the town; whereupon the whole city rose in revolt,shouting to them to enter and take possession, in the name of theking, and breathing out threats against yourself. The Romans hadnot entered, as I came away; but the populace were all in arms, andyour friends did not venture to lift up a voice. Tiberias haswholly revolted to the Romans."

  "This is bad news, indeed," Josephus said, gravely. "I have but theseven armed men who accompanied me from Tiberias, here. All thosewho were assembled in the city I bade disperse, so soon as Iarrived; in order that they might go to their towns, or villages,for the Sabbath. Were I to send round the country, I could speedilyget a great force together but, in a few hours, the Sabbath willbegin; and it is contrary to the law to fight upon the Sabbath,even though the necessity be great.

  "And yet, if the people of Tiberias march hither, we can hardlyhope to resist successfully; for the men of the town are too few toman the full extent of the walls. It is most necessary to put downthis rising, before King Agrippa can send large numbers of troopsinto Tiberias; and yet, we can do nothing until the Sabbath ispast.

  "Nor would I shed blood, if it can be avoided. Hitherto I have putdown every rising, and caused Sepphoris, Tiberias, and other citiesto expel the evildoers, and return to obedience, by tact--and bythe great force which I could bring against them--and without anyneed of bloodshed. But this time, I fear, great trouble will comeof it; since I cannot take prompt measures, and the enemy will havetime to organize their forces, and to receive help from John ofGischala and other robbers--to say nothing of the Romans."

  Josephus walked up and down the room, in agitation, and then stoodlooking out into the harbor.

  "Ah!" he exclaimed suddenly, "we may yet frighten them intosubmission. Call in Joab."

  When Joab entered Josephus explained to him, in a few words, thecondition of things at Tiberias; and then proceeded:

  "Send quickly to the principal men of the town, and bid them puttrusty men at each of the gates, and let none pass out. Order thefighting men to man the walls, in case those of Tiberias shouldcome hither, at once. Then let one or two able fellows embark onboard each of the boats and vessels in the port, taking with themtwo or three of the infirm and aged men. Send a fast galley acrossto Hippos; and bid the fishermen set out, at once, with all theirboats, and join us off Tiberias. We will not approach close enoughto the city for the people to see how feebly we are manned but,when they perceive all these ships making towards them, they willthink that I have with me a great army, with which I purpose todestroy their city."

  The orders were very quickly carried out. Josephus embarked, withhis eight companions, in one ship and, followed by two hundred andthirty vessels, of various sizes, sailed towards Tiberias.

  As they approached the town, they saw a great movement among thepopulation. Men and women were seen, crowding down to theshore--the men holding up their hands, to show that they wereunarmed; the women wailing, and uttering loud cries of lamentation.

  Josephus waited for an hour, until the ships from Hippos also cameup, and then caused them all to anchor off the town--but at such adistance that the numbers of those on board could not be seen. Thenhe advanced, in his own ship, to within speaking distance of theland. The people cried out to him to spare the city, and theirwives and children; saying that they had been misled by evil men,and regretted bitterly what they had done.

  Josephus told them that, assuredly, they deserved that the cityshould be wholly destroyed; for that now, when there was so muchthat had to be done to prepare for the war which Rome would makeagainst the country, they troubled the country with theirseditions. The people set up a doleful cry for mercy; and Josephusthen said that, this time, he would spare them; but that theirprincipal men must be handed over to him.

  To this the people joyfully agreed; and a boat, with ten of theirsenate, came out to the vessel. Josephus had them bound, and sentthem on board one of the other ships. Another and another boat loadcame off; until all the members of the senate, and many of theprincipal inhabitants, were prisoners. Some of the men had beendrawn from the other ships, and put on board those with theprisoners; and these then sailed away to Tarichea.

  The people of Tiberias--terrified at seeing so many taken away, andnot knowing how many more might be demanded--now denounced a youngman, named Clitus, as being the leader of the revolt. Seven of thebodyguard of Josephus had gone down the lake, with the prisoners;and one Levi, alone, remained. Josephus told him to go ashore, andto cut off one of the hands of Clitus.

  Levi was, however, afraid to land, alone, among such a number ofenemies; whereupon Josephus addressed Clitus, and told him that hewas worthy of death, but that he would spare his life, if his twohands were sent on board a ship. Clitus begged that he might bepermitted to keep one hand, to which Josephus agreed. Clitus thendrew his sword, and struck off his left hand. Josephus nowprofessed to be satisfied and, after warning the people againstagain listening to evil advisers, sailed away with the whole fleet.Josephus, that evening, entertained the principal persons among theprisoners and, in the morning, allowed all to return to Tiberias.

  The people there had already learned that they had been duped; butwith time had come reflection and, knowing that in a day or twoJosephus could have assembled the whole population of Galileeagainst them, and have destroyed them before any help could come,there were few who were not well content that their revolt had beenso easily, and bloodlessly, repressed; and Josephus rose, in theirestimation, by the quickness and boldness of the stratagem by whichhe had, without bloodshed save in the punishment of Clitus,restored tranquillity.

  Through the winter, Josephus was incessantly active. He endeavoredto organize an army, enrolled a hundred thousand men, appointedcommanders and captains, and strove to establish something likemilitary drill and order. But the people were averse to leavingtheir farms and occupations, and but little progress was made.Moreover, a great part of the time of Josephus was occupied insuppressing the revolts, which were continually breaking out inSepphoris, Tiberias, and Gamala; and in thwarting the attempts ofJohn of Gischala, and his other enemies, who strove by means ofbribery, at Jerusalem, to have him recalled--and would havesucceeded, had it not been that the Galileans, save those of thegreat cities, were always ready to turn out, in all their force, todefend him and, by sending deputations to Jerusalem, counteractedthe efforts, there, of his enemies.

  John was incessantly engaged, as he accompanied Josephus in hisrapid journeys through the province, either
to suppress the risingsor to see to the work of organization; and only once or twice washe able to pay a short visit to his family.

  "You look worn and fagged, John," his cousin said, on the occasionof his last visit, when spring was close at hand.

  "I am well in health, Mary; but it does try one, to see how all theefforts of Josephus are marred by the turbulence of the people ofTiberias and Sepphoris. All his thoughts and time are occupied inkeeping order, and the work of organizing the army makes but littleprogress.

  "Vespasian is gathering a great force, at Antioch. His son Tituswill soon join him, with another legion; and they will, together,advance against us."

  "But I hear that the walling of the cities is well-nigh finished."

  "That is so, Mary, and doubtless many of them will be able to makea long defense but, after all, the taking of a city is a merequestion of time. The Romans have great siege engines, whichnothing can withstand but, even if the walls were so strong thatthey could not be battered down, each city could, in time, bereduced by famine. It is not for me, who am but a boy, to judge thedoings of my elders; but it seems to me that this walling of citiesis altogether wrong. They can give no aid to each other and, one byone, must fall; and all within perish, or be made slaves, for theRomans give no quarter when they capture a city by storm.

  "It seems to me that it would be far better to hold Jerusalem,only, with a strong force of fighting men; and for all the rest ofthe men capable of carrying arms to gather among the hills, andthere to fight the Romans. When the legion of Cestius was destroyedwe showed that, among defiles and on rocky ground, our active,lightly-armed men were a match for the Roman soldiers, in theirheavy armor; and in this way I think that we might check even thelegions of Vespasian. The women and the old men and children couldgather in the cities, and admit the Romans when they approached. Inthat case they would suffer no harm; for the Romans are clement,when not opposed.

  "As it is, it seems to me that, in the end, destruction will fallon all alike. Here in Galilee we have a leader, but he is hamperedby dissensions and jealousies. Samaria stands neutral. Jerusalem,which ought to take the lead, is torn by faction. There is war inher streets. She thinks only of herself, and naught of the country;although she must know that, when the Romans have crushed down allopposition elsewhere she must, sooner or later, fall. The countryseems possessed with madness, and I see no hope in the future."

  "Save in the God of Israel," Mary said, gently; "that is what Simonand Martha say."

  "Save in him," John assented; "but, dear, He suffered us to becarried away into Babylon; and how are we to expect His aidnow--when the people do naught for themselves, when His city isdivided in itself, when its streets are wet with blood, and itsvery altars defiled by conflict? When evil men are made highpriests, and all rule and authority is at an end, what right havewe to expect aid at the hands of Jehovah?

  "My greatest comfort, Mary, is that we lie here on the east of thelake, and that we are within the jurisdiction of King Agrippa. Onthis side, his authority has never been altogether thrown off;though some of the cities have made common cause with those of theother side. Still, we may hope that, on this side of Jordan, we mayescape the horrors of war."

  "You are out of spirits, John, and take a gloomy view of things;but I know that Simon, too, thinks that everything will end badly,and I have heard him say that he, too, is glad that his farm lieson this side of the lake; and that he wishes Gamala had not thrownoff the authority of the king, so that there might be naught tobring the Romans across Jordan.

  "Our mother is more hopeful. She trusts in God for, as she says,though the wealthy and powerful may have forsaken Him, the peoplestill cling to Him; and He will not let us fall into the hands ofour enemies."

  "I hope it will be so, Mary; and I own I am out of spirits, andlook at matters in the worst light. However, I will have a talkwith father, tonight."

  That evening, John had a long conversation with Simon, and repeatedthe forebodings he had expressed to Mary.

  "At any rate, father, I hope that when the Romans approach you willat least send away my mother, Mary, and the women to a place ofsafety. We are but a few miles from Gamala and, if the Romans comethere and besiege it, they will spread through the country; andwill pillage, even if they do not slay, in all the villages. If, aswe trust, God will give victory to our arms, they can return inpeace; if not, let them at least be free from the dangers which arethreatening us."

  "I have been thinking of it, John. A fortnight since, I sent oldIsaac to your mother's brother--whose farm, as you know, lies uponthe slopes of Mount Hermon, a few miles from Neve, and very nearthe boundary of Manasseh--to ask him if he will receive Martha, andMary, and the women, until the troubles are over. He will gladly doso; and I purpose sending them away, as soon as I hear that theRomans have crossed the frontier."

  "I am, indeed, rejoiced to hear it, father; but do not let themtarry for that, let them go as soon as the snows have melted onMount Hermon, for the Roman cavalry will spread quickly over theland. Let them go as soon as the roads are fit for travel. I shallfeel a weight off my mind, when I know that they are safe.

  "And does my mother know what you have decided?"

  "She knows, John, but in truth she is reluctant to go. She says, atpresent, that if I stay she also will stay."

  "I trust, father, that you will overrule my mother; and that youwill either go with her or, if you stay, you will insist upon hergoing. Should you not overcome her opposition, and finally sufferher, with Miriam and the older women, to remain with you, I hopethat you will send Mary and the young ones to my uncle. The danger,with them, is vastly greater. The Romans, unless their blood isheated by opposition, may not interfere with the old people--whoare valueless as slaves--but the young ones--" and he stopped.

  "I have thought it over, my son, and even if your mother remainshere with me, I will assuredly send off Mary, and the youngmaidens, to the mountain. Make your mind easy, on that score. Weold people have taken root on the land which was our fathers'. Ishall not leave, whatever may befall--and it may be that yourmother will tarry here, with me--but the young women shallassuredly be sent away, until the danger is over.

  "Not that I think the peril is as great as it seems, to you. Ourpeople have ever shown themselves courageous, in great danger. Theyknow the fate that awaits them, after provoking the anger of Rome.They know they are fighting for faith, for country, and theirfamilies, and will fight desperately. They greatly outnumber theRomans--at least, the army by which we shall first be attacked--andmaybe, if we can resist that, we may make terms with Rome for,assuredly, in the long run she must overpower us."

  "I should think with you, father," John said, shaking his head, "ifI saw anything like union among the people; but I lose all heart,when I see how divided they are, how blind to the storm that iscoming against us, how careless as to anything but the trouble ofthe day, how intent upon the work of their farms and businesses,how disinclined to submit to discipline, and to prepare themselvesfor the day of battle."

  "You are young, my son, and full of enthusiasm; but it is hard tostir men, whose lives have traveled in one groove, from theirordinary course. In all our history, although we have been ready toassemble and meet the foe, we have ever been ready to lay by thesword, when the danger is past, and to return to our homes andfamilies. We have been a nation of fighting men, but never a nationwith an army."

  "Yes, father, because we trusted in God to give us victory, on theday of battle. He was our army. When He fought with us, weconquered; when He abstained, we were beaten. He suffered us tofall into the hands of the Romans and, instead of repenting of oursins, we have sinned more and more.

  "The news from Jerusalem is worse and worse. There is civil war inits streets. Robbers are its masters. The worst of the people sitin high places."

  "That is so, my son. God's anger still burns fiercely, and thepeople perish; yet it may be that He will be merciful, in the end."

  "I hope so, father, for assuredly our h
ope is only in Him."

  Early in the spring, Vespasian was joined by King Agrippa, with allhis forces; and they advanced to Ptolemais and, here, Titus joinedhis father, having brought his troops from Alexandria by sea. Theforce of Vespasian now consisted of the Fifth, Tenth, and FifteenthLegions. Besides these he had twenty-three cohorts; ten of whichnumbered a thousand footmen, the rest, each, six hundred footmenand a hundred and fifty horse. The allied force, contributed byAgrippa and others, consisted of two thousand archers, and athousand horse; while Malchus, King of Arabia, sent a thousandhorse, and five thousand archers. The total force amounted to sixtythousand regular troops, besides great numbers of camp followers--whowere all trained to military service, and could fight, in case of need.

  Vespasian had encountered no resistance, on his march down toPtolemais. The inhabitants of the country through which he passedforsook the villages and farms; and retired, according to theorders they had received, to the fortified towns. There was no armyto meet the Romans in the field. The efforts at organization whichJosephus had made bore no fruit, whatever. No sooner had theinvader entered the country, than it lay at his mercy; save onlythe walled cities into which the people had crowded.

  In the range of mountains stretching across Upper Galilee werethree places of great strength: Gabara, Gischala, and Jotapata. Thelast named had been very strongly fortified, by Josephus himself;and here he intended to take up his own position.

  "It is a pitiful sight, truly," Joab remarked to John, as they sawthe long line of fugitives--men, women, and children--with suchbelongings as they could carry on their own backs, and those oftheir beasts of burden. "It is a pitiful sight, is it not?"

  "It is a pitiful sight, Joab, and one that fills me withforeboding, as well as with pity. What agonies may not these poorpeople be doomed to suffer, when the Romans lay siege to Jotapata?"

  "They can never take it," Joab said, scornfully.

  "I wish I could think so, Joab. When did the Romans ever lay siegeto a place, and fail to capture it? Once, twice, three times theymay fail but, in the end, they assuredly will take it."

  "Look at its position. See how wild is the country through whichthey will have to march."

  "They have made roads over all the world, Joab. They will make veryshort work of the difficulties here. It may take the Romans weeks,or months, to besiege each of these strong places; but they willassuredly carry them, in the end--and then, better a thousand timesthat the men had, in the first place, slain the women, and rushedto die on the Roman swords."

  "It seems to me, John," Joab said stiffly, "that you are over bold,in thus criticising the plans of our general."

  "It may be so," John said, recklessly, "but methinks, when we areall risking our lives, each man may have a right to his opinions. Iam ready, like the rest, to die when the time comes; but that doesnot prevent me having my opinions. Besides, it seems to me thatthere is no heresy in questioning the plans of our general. I loveJosephus, and would willingly give my life for him. He has shownhimself a wise ruler, firm to carry out what is right, and tosuppress all evildoers but, after all, he has not served in war. Heis full of resources, and will, I doubt not, devise every means tocheck the Romans but, even so, he may not be able to cope, in war,with such generals as theirs, who have won their experience allover the world. Nor may the general's plan of defense, which he hasadopted, be the best suited for the occasion.

  "Would you have us fight the Romans in the open?" Joab said,scornfully. "What has been done in the south? See how our peoplemarched out from Jerusalem--under John the Essene, Niger of Peraea,and Silas the Babylonian--to attack Ascalon, held by but one cohortof Roman foot, and one troop of horse. What happened? Antoninus,the Roman commander, charged the army without fear, rode throughand through them, broke them up into fragments, and slew till nighttime--when ten thousand men, with John and Silas, lay dead.

  "Not satisfied with this defeat, in a short time Niger advancedagain against Ascalon; when Antoninus sallied out again, and sleweight thousand of them. Thus, eighteen thousand men were killed, byone weak cohort of foot and a troop of horse; and yet you say weought not to hide behind our walls, but to meet them in the open!"

  "I would not meet them in the open, where the Roman cavalry couldcharge--at any rate, not until our people have learned discipline.I would harass them, and attack them in defiles, as Cestius wasattacked; harassing them night and day, giving them no peace orrest, never allowing them to meet us in the plains, but movingrapidly hither and thither among the mountains--leaving the womenin the cities, which should offer no resistance, so that the Romanswould have no point to strike at--until at length, when we havegained confidence and discipline and order, we should be able totake bolder measures, gradually, and fight them hand to hand."

  "Maybe you are right, lad," Joab said, thoughtfully. "I like notbeing cooped up in a stronghold, myself; and methinks that amountain warfare, such as you speak of, would suit the genius ofthe people. We are light limbed and active--inured to fatigue, forwe are a nation of cultivators--brave, assuredly, and ready to giveour lives.

  "They say that, in the fight near Ascalon, not a Jew fled. Fightthey could not, they were powerless against the rush of the heavyRoman horse; but they died as they stood, destroyed but notdefeated. Gabara and Gischala and Jotapata may fall but, lad, itwill be only after a defense so desperate that the haughty Romansmay well hesitate; for if such be the resistance of these littlemountain towns, what will not be the task of conquering Jerusalem,garrisoned by the whole nation?"

  "That is true," John said, "and if our deaths here be for thesafety of Jerusalem, we shall not have died in vain. But I doubtwhether such men as those who have power in Jerusalem will agree toany terms, however favorable, that may be offered.

  "It may be that it is God's will that it should be so. Two daysago, as I journeyed hither, after going down to Sepphoris with amessage from the general to some of the principal inhabitantsthere, I met an old man, traveling with his wife and family. Iasked him whether he was on his way hither, but he said 'No,' hewas going across Jordan, and through Manasseh, and over MountHermon into Trachonitis. He said that he was a follower of thatChrist who was put to death, in Jerusalem, some thirty-five yearssince, and whom many people still believe was the Messiah. He saysthat he foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, by the Romans; andwarned his followers not to stay in the walled cities, but to flyto the deserts when the time came."

  "The Messiah was to save Israel," Joab said, scornfully. "Christcould not save even himself."

  "I know not," John said, simply. "I have heard of him from others;and my father heard him preach, several times, near the lake. Hesays that he was a man of wondrous power, and that he preached anew doctrine. He says that he did not talk about himself, or claimto be the Messiah; but that he simply told the people to be kindand good to each other, and to love God and do his will. My fathersaid that he thought he was a good and holy man, and full of theSpirit of God. He did works of great power, too; but bore himselfmeekly, like any other man. My father always regards him as aprophet; and said that he grieved, when he heard that he had beenput to death at Jerusalem. If he were a prophet, what he said aboutthe destruction of Jerusalem should have weight with us."

  "All who heard him agreed that he was a good man," Joab assented."I have never known one of those who heard him say otherwise, andmaybe he was a prophet. Certainly, he called upon the people torepent and turn from their sins and, had they done as he taughtthem, these evils might not have fallen upon us, and God woulddoubtless have been ready to aid his people, as of old.

  "However, it is too late to think about it, now. We want all ourthoughts for the matter we have in hand. We have done all that wecan to put this town into a state of defense and, methinks, if theRomans ever penetrate through these mountains and forests, theywill see that they have a task which will tax all their powers,before they take Jotapata."

  The position of the town was, indeed, immensely strong. It stood onthe summit of a lofty mas
s of rock which, on three sides, fellabruptly down into the deep and almost impassable ravines whichsurrounded it. On the north side, alone, where the ridge slopedmore gradually down, it could be approached. The town extended partof the way down this declivity and, at its foot, Josephus had builta strong wall. On all sides were lofty mountains, covered withthick forests; and the town could not be seen by an enemy, untilthey were close at hand.

  As soon as Vespasian had arrived at Ptolemais (on the site of whichcity stands the modern Acre) he was met by a deputation fromSepphoris. That city had only been prevented from declaring for theRomans by the exertions of Josephus, and the knowledge that allGalilee would follow him to attack it, should it revolt. But assoon as Vespasian arrived at Ptolemais, which was scarce twentymiles away, they sent deputies with their submission to him;begging that a force might be sent, to defend them against anyattack by the Jews.

  Vespasian received them with courtesy; and sent Placidus, with athousand horse and six thousand foot, to the city. The infantrytook up their quarters in the town; but the horsemen made raidsover the plains, burning the villages, slaying all the men capableof bearing arms, and carrying off the rest of the population asslaves.

  The day after the conversation between Joab and John, a man broughtthe news to Jotapata that Placidus was marching against it.Josephus at once ordered the fighting men to assemble and, marchingout, placed them in ambuscade, in the mountains, on the road bywhich the Romans would approach.

  As soon as the latter had fairly entered the pass, the Jews sprangto their feet, and hurled their javelins and shot their arrowsamong them. The Romans, in vain, endeavored to reach theirassailants; and numbers were wounded, as they tried to climb theheights, but few were killed--for they were so completely covered,by their armor and shields, that the Jewish missiles, thrown from adistance, seldom inflicted mortal wounds. They were, however,unable to make their way further; and Placidus was obliged toretire to Sepphoris, having failed, signally, in gaining the credithe had hoped for, from the capture of the strongest of the Jewishstrongholds in Upper Galilee.

  The Jews, on their part, were greatly inspirited by the success oftheir first encounter with the Romans; and returned, rejoicing, totheir stronghold.

  All being ready at Jotapata, Josephus--with a considerable numberof the fighting men--proceeded to Garis, not far from Sepphoris,where the army had assembled. But no sooner had the news arrived,that the great army of Vespasian was in movement, than theydispersed in all directions; and Josephus was left with a merehandful of followers, with whom he fled to Tiberias. Thence hewrote earnest letters to Jerusalem; saying that, unless a strongarmy was fitted out and put in the field, it was useless to attemptto fight the Romans; and that it would be wiser to come to termswith them, than to maintain a useless resistance, which would bringdestruction upon the nation. He remained a short time, only, atTiberias; and thence hurried up with his followers to Jotapata,which he reached on the 14th of May.

  Vespasian marched first to Gadara--which was undefended, thefighting men having all gone to Jotapata--but, although noresistance was offered, Vespasian put all the males to the sword;and burned the town and all the villages in the neighborhood, andthen advanced against Jotapata. For four days, the pioneers of theRoman army had labored incessantly--cutting a road through theforests, filling up ravines, and clearing away obstacles--and, onthe fifth day, the road was constructed close up to Jotapata.

  On the 14th of May, Placidus and Ebutius were sent forward byVespasian, with a thousand horse, to surround the town and cut offall possibility of escape. On the following day Vespasian himself,with his whole army, arrived there. The defenders of Jotapata couldscarcely believe their eyes when they saw the long, heavycolumn--with all its baggage, and siege engines--marching along astraight and level road, where they had believed that it would benext to impossible for even the infantry of the enemy to make theirway. If this marvel had been accomplished in five days, what hopewas there that the city would be able to withstand this force,which had so readily triumphed over the defenses of nature?