A compendious and most marueilous history of the latter tymes of the Iewes commune weale beginnynge where the Bible or Scriptures leaue, and continuing to the vtter subuersion and laste destruction of that countrey and people: written in Hebrew by Ioseph Ben Gorion, a noble man of the same countrey, who sawe the most thinges him selfe, and was auctour and doer of a great part of the same. Translated into Englishe by Peter Morvvyng of Magdalen Colledge in Oxford.

THe .xx. yere of the raigne of kynge Agrippas, the .ix. daye of the fifte moneth that is called Af, Nero Caesar sent a present for burnt offerings to be offred in the temple at Hierusalē, requi∣ring peace of thelders & sages of Iudea & Hierusalem, & that thei would receiue him into league with them, saiyng: My request is that you would offer my pre∣sent to the Lorde your God, for his ser∣nice and religion liketh me very well, so that I desire you to ioyne in league with me accordinge as you haue done with the emperours of Rome my pre∣decessours in time past. I haue hearde

what Castius the captain of mine armi hath done vnto you, which displeaseth me out of measure. Wherfore I assure vnto you a faithful league, by the con∣sent and coūsel of the Senate of Rome, that hereafter there shall neuer Ro∣maine captaine stirre hand nor fote a∣gainst you, but rather your heades, ru∣lers, & iudges, shal be al Iewes and of Ierusalem. Yea, Agrippas your kinge shalbe Lorde of all your rulers, & what he commaundeth ye shal do it, the Ro∣mains shal only be called your lordes, and haue no more to do with you. So when these legates came to Ierusalē, they wente and spake with Anani the priest, informed him of Neroes minde, & shewed him his presēt, placing it afore him. The present was this, a bull for a burnt offring with a great crown of gold vpō his head, his hornes also were couered with gold, vpō him was a cloth of purple poudred w^t precious stones: there wēt certain afore him y^e caried .x. talentes of gold: behind folowed verye many shepe for peace offringes. Whē

Eleasar Ananies sonne heard therof, he came & cast out of he temple of the Lord Nero Caesars presentes, saiyng: we will not suspend & vnhallow y^e sanctuary of our Lord with the offerings of straun∣gers. For oure Lorde God will▪ ac∣cept nother their burnt offeringes nor their peace offerynges. When he had so fayd: he sounded a trompet, set hys men in araye againste the hoste of the Romaines that kepte watche & warde in the citie of Hierusalem, and flewe manye of them that daie, with one of their capitaines also, and another they toke aliue. He beyng a valiaunt man, and seyng the routes of the Iewes to vrge him greuously, sayde vnto them: saue my life and I will yelde me. Vnto whome Eleasar the rebell sware that he would not slea him, but spare him for his manhede, (for he has slayne verye many of the Iewes afore) whereupon he yelded him selfe. Then Eleasar sayde vnto him: like as thi sword hath made many women childles, so shall thy mo∣ther be made childles of thee aboue all

other, and therewith contrarye to his othe he commaunded his seruaunt to kyll hym and so he died. Kyng Agrip∣pas seing this, was wonderfull sorye, therfore as he stoode in one of the stre∣tes, he cried. O thou rebell Eleasar, I praye God that this mischief, whereof thou art cause, and thy actes may light ••pō thee and thy fathers house: which when it comes to passe, we shall neuer bewayle nor be dismaied at. It appea∣reth they shall haue sumwhat to dooe, that study to make peace and tranquil litie in thy daies, for they are sure to be destroied with thee. Howe longe wilte thou cōtinue to bring vs into the brea∣res, thou enemie & hater of the Lorde? Why doest thou destroy & waste y^e vin∣yard of the Lord God of hostes? Eleasar answered him: what, takest thou vpon thee, the name of a king? for if thou be a king, why cōmaundest thou not vs to be punished. Where be thy valeāt sou∣diours? let see, come thou & they toge∣ther & chasten me, that it may be tried whether thou be a king in dede or no.

Thou stādest a loofe of, and whē thou speakest, thy fete are readye to run a∣way, like as though a dogge should set him selfe againste an armed man and barke at him, bleatinge out his tonge. With this, he wincked vppon the re∣bels his complices, to run vpon Agrip∣pas and take him whiles he helde him in talke. But that was perceiued of one of Agrippas seruaunies, whome he had appointed for the same purpose to stand ouer against him as nie as he might, to marke and espy if the rebels should make any stour towardes him, and to let him haue knowledge. He th••rfore laying his hand vpon his hed, gaue a signe to the king to ••lie, saying: Away, away, for if thou tary neuer so litle, the sedicious will slea the and vs together. Which Agrippas perceiuing he gate him thence with all the spede he might, and the rebels pursued him but in vaine, ••••r they coulde not euer∣take him. So he gate to Iapho a town vnder the Romaines where he was in sauegard. Frō thence he fled to Rome,

and declared to themperoure Nero, the mischiefe that befel at Ierusalem, and al that seditious Eleasar had done to his offring: also how his commaunde∣ment toke no place. Wherefore Nero ioyned vnto him againe Castius with a huge army, wherwith they both en∣tred Iudea and wanne manye walled townes, amongst which they raced Ia∣pho. For the Romaines perceiuinge the power of the Rebels to encrease, were afraid least they should get it in∣to their handes, wherby it might be a∣noyaunce in time to come to the Ro∣maines: chiefly seinge it was a notable hauen for their shippes to arriue at in Iudea. After this bothe Agrippas and Castius led their army towardes Ieru∣salem to warre vpon the Rebels, and vtterly to destroy them. Eleasar and o∣ther priests with much people hearing this, they issued out against them, and found them encamped in the waye be∣twene Ierusalem and Iapho, but after they had ioyned their battail, many of the Iewes were slain bi the Romains

the residue Castius and Agrippas put to flight, & pursued the chase vnto y^e gates of Ierusalem, besieged also the city for the space of thre daies. The fourth day the priestes and the people issued oute sodenlye, vnwares to the Romaines, set vpon their campe, and slue .v. thou∣sand fote men, and one thousand hor••∣men. Castius seinge that nether be nor his coulde wel escape, he chose oute .xl. thousand of his best souldioures & pla∣ced them betwixte his campe and the priestes, commaunding them to stande al the night soundinge their trompets and making of fires, that he & Agrip∣pas might escape, and that they should not remoue oute of their place till the morowe. The Iewes harkeninge to the sound of the trompets, and musing what it should meane, pursued not the Romaines: but perceiuing in the mor∣ninge that they were departed toward Cesaria thre daies iourney of, Eleasar with the people folowed: and in the waye founde their baggage strawed, that the Romaines had cast from them

to runne the lightlier and escape the easilier: whiche they let lie and pursu∣ed them to the gates of Cesaria. But Castius and Agrippas gate safe within the towne, and from thence went both together to Rome, where they decla∣red vnto Nero the Emperoure, howe they sped at Ierusalem. And as they were makinge relation of this vnto the Emperoure. There came also a poste oute of Perfia with tidinges that the kinge of Persia was reuelted from the Romaines Empire, these thinges troubled the Emperoure sore, to se al∣moste all fall from him, that heretofore hadde obeyed the Empire of the Ro∣maines.

Notes

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