Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

The Roman general, hearing of this inhuman deed, immediately swore to extirpate both city and people, at the same time taking heaven to witness that he was innocent of the incompara ble sufferings which that obstinate and infatu ated nation had brought upon themselves.

About the end of July, the Romans made themselves masters of fort Antonio, and set fire to the gates, after a sanguinary encounter: yet so blind were the Jews to their real danger, that though nothing was left but the Temple, and the Romans were preparing implements to batter down that edifice as the last obstacle to their victory, they could not persuade themselves that God would permit his holy habitation to be taken by the heathen; but still expected some wonderful deliverance.

On the seventeenth day of the month the daily sacrifice ceased for the first time since its resto ration by Judas Maccabeus, there being no proper person left in the temple to make the offer. ng. The gallery that afforded a communicaon between the temple and fort Antonio was ow burnt down, and on the twenty-seventh of he month the Jews, having filled the western ortico with combustibles, induced the Romans

a feigned flight to scale the battlements and t fire to the building; so that the troops were ther consumed in the flames, or dashed to eces by leaping from the roof.

Next day Titus obtained admission into the iter court of the temple, and drove the besieg d into that of the priests. Having attempted batter down one of the galleries of the precinct ithout success, he caused the gates to be set on re; they continued to burn all night, while the VOL. II.

Ee

silver

silver with which they were plated dropped down as it melted, and the flames communicated rapidly to the porticos and galleries in sight of the besieged, who, instead of attempting to step it, contented themselves with uttering impotent curses against the sacrilegious Romans. Titus, being extremely desirous of preserving that noble edifice from destruction, caused the fire to extinguished; but whilst he was reposing in h pavilion, one of the soldiers took up a lightei fire-brand, and mounting on his comrade shoulders, threw it into one of the apartments adjoining to the sanctuary: the whole nordside was immediately in a flame up to the thir story, and Titus, awakened by the noise, ran të have it extinguished, but his endeavours were vain, and the soldiers were so firmly bent up destroying all that was left, that his orde threats and entreaties were equally disregarde When he found himself unable to effect his d sign, he entered the sanctuary, and the m holy place, where he found the golden cand stick, the table of shew bread, the golden al of perfumes, and the book of the law wrappe up in a rich gold tissue. Upon his quitting sacred place, some other soldiers set it on fir after carrying off the costly robes and utensi and tearing the gold plating from the gates a timber-work.

A dreadful slaughter now ensued, in whi many thousands perished, some by the swor some by the flame, and others by falling fre the battlements. The conquerors carried the fury to such a height as to massacre all wher they met, without distinction of age, sex, quality, and to burn all the treasure-hotse

thee

though they were full of the richest furniture, vestments, plate, and other valuables. In short, they persisted in their dreadful work till the whole of the holy building was utterly demolished, except two of the gates of that part of the court which was destined for the women.

A. D.

Great preparations were made, in the mean time, for attacking the upper city, 73. and the royal palace; and on the eighth of September the engines played so furiously on the iniquitous zealots, that they were overwhelmed with confusion, and ran like lunatics towards Shiloah, intending to attack the wall of circumvallation, and by that means effect their escape; but being repulsed by the enemy, they were compelled to hide themselves in the public sinks and common sewers, while all the other inhabitants were put to the sword, except some of the most vigorous, who were reserved for the victor's triumph. The number of slain and pri soners in the course of this fatal war with Rome, amounts to one million, four hundred and sixtytwo thousand, of whom ninety-seven thousand were doomed to be exposed in public, to fight like gladiators, or to be devoured by wild beasts, and eleven thousand perished for want, either through the neglect of their keepers, or their own sullen despair; and what tends to aggravate the calamity is, that the greatest part of them were strangers invited from foreign countries, even from beyond the Euphrates, to assist their brethren at Judea, in defence of their laws and religious liberties,

Whilst the soldiers were employed in burning the poor remains of the city, and massacring Buch unhappy creatures as fell into their hands, Ee 2

John

John and Simon, the two grand rebels, were dis covered and brought to Titus, who ordered them to be reserved for his triumph.

When the sword had returned to its scabbard for want of other objects whereon to exercise its fury, and the troops were satisfied with plunder, Titus gave orders for the total demolition of the remaining part of the city, with its fortifications, palaces, towers, and sumptuous edifices, excepting a part of the western wall, and the three towers of Hipprus, Phasael, and Mariamne,which might prove tofuture ages the astonishing strength of the city, and the valour of its conqueror.

The castles of Herodion, Massada, and Machaeron, were left untaken by Titus, but two of them, viz. Herodion and Machaeron, were, soon afterwards, reduced by Lucilius Bassus; and that of Massada was attacked with such resolution by Flavius Silva, that Eleazar, the commander of the Sicarii, persuaded the inhabitants, in a kind of despair, to kill all their wives and children; next to choose ten men by lot, who should slaugh ter all the rest; and lastly, pitch upon one out of the ten to kill them and himself. This horrid tragedy was accordingly acted; and the Romans, preparing next morning to scale the walls, received information of the particulars from two females, who had eluded the massacre, by con cealing themselves in an aqueduct.

The war being now completely terminated, Vespasian ordered all the Jewish lands to be soid for his own use; commanded all the Jews within his empire to pay the tribute of half a shekel into the imperial treasury, which they had formerly paid for the use of the sanctuary; and caused all the branches of the house of Judah to be cut *, to obviate their vain hopes of a future Messiah.

THE

THE ASSYRIAN EMPIRE.

HE most antient of the four great empires was that of Assyria, the name of which country was derived from Ashur, the first settler of it after the flood. Assyria proper was bounded on the north by Armenia; on the west by the Tigris; on the south by Susiana; and on the east by Me dia.

The internal division of it has been accu rately described by Ptolemy, but we shall only. mention its principal province Adiaben, because this was so considerable as sometimes to give its name to the whole country. Here also stood the famous city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian empire.

The kingdom of Assyria, as founded by Ashur, was widely different from the magnificent monarchy which many ages afterwards bore that name; but of its early history we have very imperfect accounts. The Assyrian chronology is exceedingly perplexed, and the only certain light we have respecting the Assyrian history, is in the sacred writings.

What Ctesias has related in his Assyrian his tory, though adopted as genuine by many learned writers, is so contradictory to the scripture, and so highly romantic, as to deserve no credit. He represents Ninus, the founder of this empire, as a prince of the most extraordinary endowments and prowess; but the account which he gives of Semiramis, the wife of that monarch, is totally incredible. Ninus, after conquering almost all Asia, between Tanais and the Nile, built the cit

« AnteriorContinuar »