The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of JerusalemJosephus, Flavius
Religion
The Wars of the Jews; Or, The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem
Josephus, Flavius
Jews -- History
them to keep the man in custody, and prepared the army for taking the
city.
34. According to which resolution they marched without noise, at the
hour that had been told them, to the wall; and it was Titus himself that
first got upon it, with one of his tribunes, Domitius Sabinus, and had
a few of the fifteenth legion along with him. So they cut the throats of
the watch, and entered the city very quietly. After these came Cerealis
the tribune, and Placidus, and led on those that were tinder them. Now
when the citadel was taken, and the enemy were in the very midst of the
city, and when it was already day, yet was not the taking of the city
known by those that held it; for a great many of them were fast asleep,
and a great mist, which then by chance fell upon the city, hindered
those that got up from distinctly seeing the case they were in, till the
whole Roman army was gotten in, and they were raised up only to find the
miseries they were under; and as they were slaying, they perceived the
city was taken. And for the Romans, they so well remembered what they
had suffered during the siege, that they spared none, nor pitied any,
but drove the people down the precipice from the citadel, and slew them
as they drove them down; at which time the difficulties of the place
hindered those that were still able to fight from defending themselves;
for as they were distressed in the narrow streets, and could not keep
their feet sure along the precipice, they were overpowered with the
crowd of those that came fighting them down from the citadel. This
provoked a great many, even of those chosen men that were about
Josephus, to kill themselves with their own hands; for when they saw
that they could kill none of the Romans, they resolved to prevent being
killed by the Romans, and got together in great numbers in the utmost
parts of the city, and killed themselves.
35. However, such of the watch as at the first perceived they were
taken, and ran away as fast as they could, went up into one of
the towers on the north side of the city, and for a while defended
themselves there; but as they were encompassed with a multitude of
enemies, they tried to use their right hands when it was too late, and
at length they cheerfully offered their necks to be cut off by those
that stood over them. And the Romans might have boasted that the
conclusion of that siege was without blood [on their side] if there had
not been a centurion, Antonius, who was slain at the taking of the city.
His death was occasioned by the following treachery; for there was one
of those that were fled into the caverns, which were a great number,
who desired that this Antonius would reach him his right hand for his
security, and would assure him that he would preserve him, and give
him his assistance in getting up out of the cavern; accordingly, he
incautiously reached him his right hand, when the other man prevented
him, and stabbed him under his loins with a spear, and killed him
immediately.
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