HOW MARCUS, SUCCEEDED SEXTUS WHEN HE HAD BEEN SLAIN BY BASSUS'S TREACHERY; AND HOW, AFTER THE DEATH OF CAESAR, CASSIUS CAME INTO SYRIA, AND DISTRESSED JUDEA; AS ALSO HOW MALICHUS SLEW ANTIPATER AND WAS HIMSELF SLAIN BY HEROD. FJAJ 14.84
1. NOW it so fell out, that about this very time the affairs of Syria
were in great disorder, and this on the occasion following: Cecilius Bassus,
one of Pompey's party, laid a treacherous design against Sextus Ceasar,
and slew him, and then took his army, and got the management of public
affairs into his own hand; so there arose a great war about Apamia, while
Ceasar's generals came against him with an army of horsemen and footmen;
to these Antipater also sent succors, and his sons with them, as calling
to mind the kindnesses they had received from Caesar, and on that account
he thought it but just to require punishment for him, and to take vengeance
on the man that had murdered him
And as the war was drawn out into a great
length, Marcus (21)
For Marcus, this president of Syria, sent as successor to Sextus Caesar,
the Roman historians require us to read "Marcus" in Josephus,
and this perpetually, both in these Antiquities, and in his History of
the Wars, as the learned generally agree.
came from Rome to take Sextus's government upon him
But Caesar was slain
by Cassius and Brutus in the senate-house, after he had retained the government
three years and six months
This fact however, is related elsewhere. FJAJ 14.85
2. As the war that arose upon the death of Caesar was now begun, and
the principal men were all gone, some one way, and some another, to raise
armies, Cassius came from Rome into Syria, in order to receive the [army
that lay in the] camp at Apamia; and having raised the siege, he brought
over both Bassus and Marcus to his party
He then went over the cities,
and got together weapons and soldiers, and laid great taxes upon those
cities; and he chiefly oppressed Judea, and exacted of it seven hundred
talents: but Antipater, when he saw the state to be in so great consternation
and disorder, he divided the collection of that sum, and appointed his
two sons to gather it; and so that part of it was to be exacted by Malichus,
who was ill-disposed to him, and part by others
And because Herod did
exact what is required of him from Galilee before others, he was in the
greatest favor with Cassius; for he thought it a part of prudence to cultivate
a friendship with the Romans, and to gain their goodwill at the expense
of others; whereas the curators of the other cities, with their citizens,
were sold for slaves; and Cassius reduced four cities into a state of slavery,
the two most potent of which were Gophna and Emmaus; and, besides these,
Lydia and Thamna
Nay, Cassius was so very angry at Malichus, that he had
killed him, (for he assaulted him,) had not Hyrcanus, by the means of Antipater,
sent him a hundred talents of his own, and thereby pacified his anger against
him. FJAJ 14.86
3. But after Cassius was gone out of Judea, Malichus laid snares for
Antipater, as thinking that his death would-be the preservation of Hyrcanus's
government; but his design was not unknown to Antipater, which when he
perceived, he retired beyond Jordan, and got together an army, partly of
Arabs, and partly of his own countrymen
However, Malichus, being one of
great cunning, denied that he had laid any snares for him, and made his
defense with an oath, both to himself and his sons; and said that while
Phasaelus had a garrison in Jerusalem, and Herod had the weapons of war
in his custody, he could never have a thought of any such thing
So Antipater,
perceiving the distress that Malichus was in, was reconciled to him, and
made an agreement with him: this was when Marcus was president of Syria;
who yet perceiving that this Malichus was making a disturbance in Judea,
proceeded so far that he had almost killed him; but still, at the intercession
of Antipater, he saved him. FJAJ 14.87
4. However, Antipater little thought that by saving Malichus he had
saved his own murderer; for now Cassius and Marcus had got together an
army, and intrusted the entire care of it with Herod, and made him general
of the forces of Celesyria, and gave him a fleet of ships, and an army
of horsemen and footmen; and promised him, that after the war was over
they would make him king of Judea; for a war was already begun between
Antony and the younger Caesar: but as Malichus was most afraid of Antipater,
he took him out of the way; and by the offer of money, persuaded the butler
of Hyrcanus, with whom they were both to feast, to kill him by poison.
This being done, and he having armed men with him, settled the affairs
of the city
But when Antipater's sons, Herod and Phasaelus, were acquainted
with this conspiracy against their father, and had indignation at it, Malichus
denied all, and utterly renounced any knowledge of the murder
And thus
died Antipater, a man that had distinguished himself for piety and justice,
and love to his country
And whereas one of his sons, Herod, resolved immediately
to revenge their father's death, and was coming upon Malichus with an army
for that purpose, the elder of his sons, Phasaelus, thought it best rather
to get this man into their hands by policy, lest they should appear to
begin a civil war in the country; so he accepted of Malichus's defense
for himself, and pretended to believe him that he had had no hand in the
violent death of Antipater his father, but erected a fine monument for
him
Herod also went to Samaria; and when he found them in great distress,
he revived their spirits, and composed their differences. FJAJ 14.88
5. However, a little after this, Herod, upon the approach of a festival,
came with his soldiers into the city; whereupon Malichus was aftrighted,
and persuaded Hyrcanus not to permit him to come into the city
Hyrcanus
complied; and, for a pretense of excluding him, alleged, that a rout of
strangers ought not to be admitted when the multitude were purifying themselves.
But Herod had little regard to the messengers that were sent to him, and
entered the city in the night time, and aftrighted Malichus; yet did he
remit nothing of his former dissimulation, but wept for Antipater, and
bewailed him as a friend of his with a loud voice; but Herod and his friends
though, it proper not openly to contradict Malichus's hypocrisy, but to
give him tokens of mutual friendship, in order to prevent his suspicion
of them. FJAJ 14.89
6. However, Herod sent to Cassius, and informed him of the murder of
his father; who knowing what sort of man Malichus was as to his morals,
sent him back word that he should revenge his father's death; and also
sent privately to the commanders of his army at Tyre, with orders to assist
Herod in the execution of a very just design of his
Now when Cassius had
taken Laodicea, they all went together to him, and carried him garlands
and money; and Herod thought that Malichus might be punished while he was
there; but he was somewhat apprehensive of the thing, and designed to make
some great attempt, and because his son was then a hostage at Tyre, he
went to that city, and resolved to steal him away privately, and to march
thence into Judea; and as Cassius was in haste to march against Antony,
he thought to bring the country to revolt, and to procure the government
for himself
But Providence opposed his counsels; and Herod being a shrewd
man, and perceiving what his intention was, he sent thither beforehand
a servant, in appearance indeed to get a supper ready, for he had said
before that he would feast them all there, but in reality to the commanders
of the army, whom he persuaded to go out against Malichus, with their daggers.
So they went out and met the man near the city, upon the sea-shore, and
there stabbed him
Whereupon Hyrcanus was so astonished at what had happened,
that his speech failed him; and when, after some difficulty, he had recovered
himself, he asked Herod what the matter could be, and who it was that slew
Malichus; and when he said that it was done by the command of Cassius,
he commended the action; for that Malichus was a very wicked man, and one
that conspired against his own country
And this was the punishment that
was inflicted on Malichus for what he wickedly did to Antipater. FJAJ 14.90
7. But when Cassius was marched out of Syria, disturbances arose in
Judea; for Felix, who was left at Jerusalem with an army, made a sudden
attempt against Phasaelus, and the people themselves rose in arms; but
Herod went to Fabius, the prefect of Damascus, and was desirous to run
to his brother's assistance, but was hindered by a distemper that seized
upon him, till Phasaelus by himself had been too hard for Felix, and had
shut him up in the tower, and there, on certain conditions, dismissed him.
Phasaelus also complained of Hyrcanus, that although he had received a
great many benefits from them, yet did he support their enemies; for Malichus's
brother had made many places to revolt, and kept garrisons in them, and
particularly Masada, the strongest fortress of them all
In the mean time,
Herod was recovered of his disease, and came and took from Felix all the
places he bad gotten; and, upon certain conditions, dismissed him also. FJAJ 14.91