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¶ Demetrius desyreth to haue peace with Iona∣thas. Alexander moueth war agaynst Demetrius. Demetrius is slayne. The frendship of Ptolomeus and Alexander.

CAPI. X.

IN the .Clx. yere, came Alexander, the son [ A] of noble Antioch{us}, and toke Ptolomais,* 1.1 whose citizins receiued him, and there he raygned. When Demetrius herde therof, he gathered an excedyng great hoste, and went forth agaynst hym to fyght. Wherfore De∣metrius sent letters vnto Ionathas with lo∣uynge wordes, and praysed hym greatlye. For he saide: we will fyrste make peax with him, before he bynd him self with Alexander against vs, els he shal remembre the euil that we haue done agaynst him, his brother & his people, and so he gaue Ionathas leue to ga∣ther an hoste, to make weapons, and to be cō∣federate with hym, and commaunded the pledges that were in the castell to be deliue∣red vnto hym.

Then came Ionathas to Ierusalem, & red the letters, in the audience of all the people, and of them that were in the castel. And ther¦fore were they sore afrayde, bycause they herde that the kynge had gyuen hym lycence to gather an hoste. Thus were the pledges delyuered vnto Ionathas, whiche delyuered them to their elders. Ionathas also dwelt at [ B] Ierusalem, and began to buylde vp and to repayre the citie, commaundyng the worke∣men to wall it, and the mounte Syon round about with free stone, to be a stronge holde,

and so they did. As for the Heathen y^t were in y^e castels which B••chides had made vp, they fled, so that euery man left the place, & went in to his own coūtrey. Only at Bethsura re¦mayned certeyn of the Iewes, which had for saken the law & commaundementes of God, for Bethsura was their refuge.

Now whē king Alexander herd of the pro¦mises that Demetrius had made vnto Iona∣thas, & when it was tolde hym of the battels and noble actes, which he & his brethren had done, and of the greate trauayles y^t they had takē, he said: where shal we fynd such a mā? wel, we wil make him our frend, and be con¦federate with him. Vpō this he wrote a let∣ler vnto him, with these wordes: kyng Alex¦ander saluteth his brother Ionathas. We haue herd of the, that thou art a valeaūt mā, and mete to be our frend: wherfore this day we ordeyn the to be the hye preest of thy peo∣ple, and to be called the kynges frend. (Vpō this, he sent hym a purple clothynge, and a crowne of golde) that thou mayste consydre what is for our profyte, and kepe frendshyp towarde vs.

[ B] So in the seuenth moneth of the .Clx. yere vpō the solemne feast day of the tabernacles Ionathas put the holye rayment vpon hym. Then gathered he an hoste, and made many weapons. Which when Demetrius herd, he was maruelous sory, & said: Alas, what haue we done, that Alexander hathe preuented vs in gettynge the frendshyp of the Iewes, for his owne defence? Yet wil I wryte louingly vnto them also, yea & promise them dignities and rewardes, that they may be of my syde. Whervpon he wrote vnto thē these wordes: King Demetrius sendeth greting vnto y^e peo¦ple of y^e Iewes. Where as ye haue kept your couenaunt toward vs, and continued in our frendship, not enclining to our enemyes we were glad, when we herd therof. Wherfore remayne stil and be faythfull to vs: and we shal recompence you for the thinges, that ye haue done on youre partye: we shall release you of many charges, & gyue you rewardes. And now I discharge you and all the Iewes from tributes, I forgiue you the customes of salt, and lease you of the crowne taxes, of y^e thirde parte of sede, and halfe of the frute of trees, which is mine own duty. These I leue for you, from this daye forthe: so that they shall not be taken of the land of Iuda, nor of the thre cities which are added thervnto out of Samaria and Galilee, frome this daye [ D] forth for euermore. Ierusalem also with all thynges belongyng therto, shall be holy and fre: yea the tithes and tributes shal perteyn vnto it. As for the power of the castel which is at Ierusalem, I remit and giue vnto y^e hye preest, that ye maye set in it suche men, as he shall chose to kepe it. I freely delyuer all the Iewes that are prysoners thorowe oute all my realme: so that euery one of them shal be fre frome payinge anye trybute, yea euen of theyr catell.

All the solemne feastes, Sabothes, newe∣moones, the dayes appoynted, the thre dayes before & after the feast, shal be fre fro al the Iewes in my realme, so that in them no man shal haue power to do any thyng, or to moue any businesse against any of them, in any ma¦ner of cause. There shall .xxx. M. also of the Iewes be written vp ini the kynges host, and haue theyr wages payde, as all other men of warre of the kynges shold haue, and of them shal be ordeyned certeyn to kepe the kynges strong holdes: yea and some of them shal be set ouer the kynges busines, y^t they may faith¦fully dele with y^e same. The Iewes also shal haue princes of their owne, & walke in theyr owne lawes, as the kynge hath commaunded in the land of Iuda.

And the thre cities that are fallen vnto Iu¦ry from the countrey of Samaria and Gali¦lee, shall be taken as Iury, and be vnder one: neither be subiect to any straunge lorde, but to the hye prest. As for Ptolomais & the land perteynynge therto, I gyue it vnto the San∣ctuary at Ierusalem, for the necessary expen¦ces of the holy thīges. Moreouer I wil gyue euery yere .xv. thousande sicles of syluer out of the kinges cheker (which perteyneth vnto [ E] me) to the worke of the temple: yea and loke what remayneth (whiche they that had oure maters in hād in tymes past haue not payde) that same shall they giue vnto theym also.

And besydes al this, the fyue thousand sicles whiche they toke yerely of the rentes of the Sanctuary, shall belonge vnto the preestes y^t do seruyce.

Item, who so euer they be that fle vnto the temple at Ierusalem, or within the lyberties therof, where as they are fallen in to the kin¦ges daunger for any maner of businesse, they shal be pardoned, and all y^e goodes that they haue in my realme, shal be fre. For the buyl∣ding also and repayring of the worke of the Sanctuary, expenses shall be gyuen out of y^e kynges checker: Yea and for the makyng of the walles rounde about Ierusalem, for the brekyng downe of the olde, & for the settinge vp of the strong holdes in Iurye, shall the costes and charges be gyuen oute of the kyn∣ges checker.

But when Ionathas and the people herde these wordes, they gaue no credēce vnto thē,* 1.2 neither disceyued them: for they remembred the great wyckednesse that he had done vnto Israell, and how sore he hadde vexed them. Wherfore they agreed vnto Alexander, for he was a prynce that had delte frendly with them, and so they stode by hym alway. Then gathered kyng Alexander a great hoste, and brought his armye agaynst Demetrius.* 1.3 So the two kinges stroke battayle togither, but Demetrius boste fled, and Alexander folo∣wed after and fell vpon them. A mighty sore felde was it, contynnyng tyl the sunne went downe, and Demetrius was slayne* 1.4 the same daye.

And Alexander sen••e embassadours vnto [ F] Ptolomy the kyng of Egypt with these wor¦des, saying: for so moch as I am come again to my realme, and am sette in the trone of my progenytours, and haue gotten the do∣minion

ouer cōmed Demetrius, conquered the lande, & stryken a felde with hym, so that we haue discomfeted both him and his host, and syt in the trone of his kyngdom: Let vs now make frendshyp togyther, gyue me thy doughter to wyfe: so shall I be thy sonne in lawe, and gyue the rewardes, and her greate dignytye. Ptolomy the kynge gaue aun∣swere, sayinge: Happye be the daye wherin thou art come agayne to the land of thy pro¦genitours, and set in the trone of their kyng¦dome. And now wil I fulfyll thy wrytyng: but mete me at Ptolomais, that we maye se one an other, and y^t I may mary my doughter vnto the accordyng to thy desyre. So Pto∣lomy went out of Egypt with his doughter Cleopatra, and came vnto Ptolomais in the Clxii. yere, where kyng Alexander met hym, and he gaue Alxander his doughter Cleopa∣tra, and maried them at Ptolomais w^t great worwyp, lyke as the maner of kynges is to be. Then wrote kyng Alexander vnto Iona thas, that he sholde come and mete hym. So he went honourably vnto Ptolomais, and there he met the two kynges, and gaue them great presentes of golde and syluer, & found [ G] fauour ī their sight, And there came togither against Ionathas certeyn wycked men, and vngracious persons of Israel, makyng com¦playntes of him, but the king regarded them not. As for Ionathas the kyng commaunded to take of his garmentes, and to clothe hym in purple: and so they dyd. Then the kynge appoynted him to syt by hym, and sayd vnto his princes: Go with hym in to the myddest of the citye, and make a proclamacion, that no man complayne agaynst him of any mat∣ter, and that no mā trouble him, for any ma∣ner of cause.

So it happened that whē his accusers saw the worshyp which was proclaymed of hym and that he was clothed in purple, they fled euerychone. And y^e king made moche of him, wrote him amonge his chiefe frendes, made him a duke, and partaker of his dominion. Thus Ionathas went agayne to Ierusalem. with peace and gladnesse.* 1.5 In the .Clxv. yere cam Demetrius the son of Demetrius from Creta in to his fathers lande, wherof when Alexander herde tell,* 1.6 he was ryght sory, and retourned vnto Antioche. And Demetrius those Appolonius, whiche had y^e gouernaūce of Celosiria, to be his capteyn.

So he gathered a great hoste, and came vn¦to Iamnia, and sende worde vnto Ionathas the hye preeste, sayinge: Darest thou with∣stande vs thy selfe alone? As for me, I am but laughed to scorne and shamed, bycause thou prouedst thy strength against vs in the [ H] mountaynes. Nowe therfore yf thou trustest in thyne owne strengthe, come downe to vs in to the playne felde, and there let vs proue our strength togither: thou shalt fynd, that I haue valeaunt men of warre with me, and shalt knowe whome I am, and the other that stande by me,

Which saye that your fote is not hable to stande before oure face, for thy fathers haue ben twise chased in to their owne land. And nowe, howe wilte thou he hable to abyde so great an host of horsmen and fotemen in the feld, where as is neither rock, stone ne place to fle vnto?

When Ionathas herde the wordes of Ap∣polonius, he was moued in his mynde, wher¦fore he chose .x. thousand men, and went out of Ierusalem, and Symon his brother mette hym, for to help him: and they pitched their tentes at Ioppa, but the city kept hym forth, for Ioppa was an hold of Appolonius. Thē Ionathas layde siege to it, and they y^t were in the citye for very feare let hym in: and so Ionathas wan Ioppa. Appolonius hearyng of this, toke thre thousande horsemen, with a great hoste of fote, and went as though he wolde goo to Azotus, and came immediatly in to the playne felde: bycause he had so ma∣nye horsemen, and put his truste in them. So Ionathas folowed vpon hym to Azotus, and there they stroke the battayle. Now had Ap∣polonius left a thousande horsemen behynde thē priuily in the tentes. And whē Ionathas knewe that suche wayte was layde behynde them, they went rounde about the ennemyes host, and shot dartes at the people frome the mornyng to y^e euenyng. As for Ionathas peo¦ple, they kepte theyr ordre as he had commaū¦ded them, and the enemyes horses were euer labourynge.

Then brought Symon forth his host, and set them agaynst the fotemen. For the horse∣men [ I] were wery alredye. So he discomfeted them, and they fled. And they that were sca∣tred in the feld, gat them to Azotus, and cam in to the temple of Dagon theyr ydol, y^t they myght there saue theyr liues. But Ionathas set fyre vpon Azotus, and al the cities round about it, and toke their goddes, and brent vp the temple of Dagō with all them that were fled in to it.

Thus were slayne and brent wel nye eight thousande men.* 1.7 So Ionathas remoued the hoste from thence, and brought them to As∣calon, where the men of the city came forth, and met him with great worshyp. After this wente Ionathas and his hoste agayne to Ie∣rusalem, with greate substaunce of good. And when kyng Alexander herde these thin∣ges, he thought to doo Ionathas more wor∣shyp, and sent hym a coler of gold, as the vse is to be gyuen vnto suche as are of the kyn∣ges nexte bloude. He gaue hym also the citye of Accaron (with the landes belongyng ther to) in possession,

Notes

• * 1.1

  Alexander. Ioseph .capi .ii.iii .libr .xiii.
• * 1.2

  i. Mac .vii. ••
• * 1.3

  Iosep .capi .v l. bro .xiii.
• * 1.4

  Demetri•••• slayne
• * 1.5

  〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••api. ••••••an.
• * 1.6

  〈…〉〈…〉 a
• * 1.7

  i. Mach .xi. ••