In imperial times the legion usually consisted of 6,000 men, all Roman citizens, none other being admitted to its proud ranks; but as each legion was always accompanied by an equal number of auxiliaries, levied from the subject nations, together with 300 cavalry; and as several petty kings of the East (including Agrippa) had joined in the expedition, each bringing with him his own little army, the forces arrayed against Jerusalem must be stated at a figure considerably in excess of 50,000. Flashing in the morning sunlight, the various squadrons of this vast host, horse and foot, heavy-armed and light-armed, deployed into never-ending lines upon the brow of Olivet and upon the descent of Scopus; and as the Jews gazed from their walls upon the long array of eagles and standards bearing the letters S.P.Q.R., they realized the full meaning of the expression “terrible as an army with banners.” As the battering-rams and other ponderous machines used in sieging were mounted upon wheels, whose revolution required a comparatively even surface, the first work of the legionaries, after forming their camp, was to level the ground between their lines and the foot of the northern wall. This fore-suburb, ere the Roman engineers set to work, was a scene of sylvan beauty, consisting of groves and watercourses, gardens and fair mansions. Now all was ruthlessly swept away: the trees fell before the ax; the watercourses were destroyed; the houses demolished; even the deep and shady glens were no more, being filled up with the picturesque crags that were wont to overshadow them. While some of the troops labored at the rocky ground with iron instruments, others were employed in bringing up from the valley of Cedron countless baskets laden with pebbles and earth; these were used in filling up the inequalities of the surface, the soldiers stamping the materials firmly with their feet. In spite of a cloud of missiles discharged at them from the ramparts, in spite of the sudden and daring sallies made by Simon and his men, the Romans contrived, in the course of a few days, to transform the picturesque fore-suburb into a dreary, uniform level. While the Roman operations were proceeding without, the Jews within the city were preparing to celebrate the passover, memorable as being THE LAST IN THEIR HISTORY as a nation; memorable, too, for the armed fray that accompanied it.