WHAT BEFELL THE JEWS THAT WERE IN BABYLON ON OCCASION OF ASINEUS AND ANILEUS, TWO BRETHREN, FJAJ 18.65
1. A VERY sad calamity now befell the Jews that were in Mesopotamia,
and especially those that dwelt in Babylonia
Inferior it was to none of
the calamities which had gone before, and came together with a great slaughter
of them, and that greater than any upon record before; concerning all which
I shall speak accurately, and shall explain the occasions whence these
miseries came upon them
There was a city of Babylonia called Neerda; not
only a ver populous one, but one that had a good and a large territory
about it, and, besides its other advantages, full of men also
It was,
besides, not easily to be assaulted by enemies, from the river Euphrates
encompassing it all round, and from the wails that were built about it.
There was also the city Nisibis, situate on the same current of the river.
For which reason the Jews, depending on the natural strength of these places,
deposited in them that half shekel which every one, by the custom of our
country, offers unto God, as well as they did other things devoted to him;
for they made use of these cities as a treasury, whence, at a proper time,
they were transmitted to Jerusalem; and many ten thousand men undertook
the carriage of those donations, out of fear of the ravages of the Parthians,
to whom the Babylonians were then subject
Now there were two men, Asineus
and Anileus, of the city Neerda by birth, and brethren to one another.
They were destitute of a father, and their mother put them to learn the
art of weaving curtains, it not being esteemed ,disgrace among them for
men to be weavers of cloth
Now he that taught them that art, and was set
over them, complained that they came too late to their work, and punished
them with stripes; but they took this just punishment as an affront, and
carried off all the weapons which were kept in that house, which were not
a few, and went into a certain place where was a partition of the rivers,
and was a place naturally very fit for the feeding of cattle, and for preserving
such fruits as were usually laid up against winter
The poorest sort of
the young men also resorted to them, whom they armed with the weapons they
had gotten, and became their captains; and nothing hindered them from being
their leaders into mischief; for as soon as they were become invincible,
and had built them a citadel, they sent to such as fed cattle, and ordered
them to pay them so much tribute out of them as might be sufficient for
their maintenance, proposing also that they would be their friends, if
they would submit to them, and that they would defend them from all their
other enemies on every side, but that they would kill the cattle of those
that refused to obey them
So they hearkened to their proposals, (for they
could do nothing else,) and sent them as many sheep as were required of
them; whereby their forces grew greater, and they became lords over all
they pleased, because they marched suddenly, and did them a mischief, insomuch
that every body who had to do with them chose to pay them respect; and
they became formidable to such as came to assault them, till the report
about them came to the ears of the king of Parthia himself. FJAJ 18.66
2. But when the governor of Babylonia understood this, and had a mind
to put a stop to them before they grew greater, and before greater mischiefs
should arise from them, he got together as great an army as he could, both
of Parthians and Babylonians, and marched against them, thinking to attack
them and destroy them before any one should carry them the news that he
had got an army together
He then encamped at a lake, and lay still; but
on the next day (it was the sabbath, which is among the Jews a day of rest
from all sorts of work) he supposed that the enemy would not dare to fight
him thereon, but that he would take them and carry them away prisoners,
without fighting
He therefore proceeded gradually, and thought to fall
upon them on the sudden
Now Asineus was sitting with the rest, and their
weapons lay by them; upon which he said, "Sirs, I hear a neighing
of horses; not of such as are feeding, but such as have men on their backs;
I also hear such a noise of their bridles, that I am afraid that some enemies
are coming upon us to encompass us round
However, let somebody go to look
about, and make report of what reality there is in the present state of
things; and may what I have said prove a false alarm." And when he
had said this, some of them went out to spy out what was the matter; and
they came again immediately, and said to him, that "neither hast thou
been mistaken in telling us what our enemies were doing, nor will those
enemies permit us to be injurious to people any longer
We are caught by
their intrigues like brute beasts, and there is a large body of cavalry
marching upon us, while we are destitute of hands to defend ourselves withal,
because we are restrained from doing it by the prohibition of our law,
which obliges us to rest [on this day]." But Asiueus did not by any
means agree with the opinion of his spy as to what was to be done, but
thought it more agreeable to the law to pluck up their spirits in this
necessity they were fallen into, and break their law by avenging themselves,
although they should die in the action, than by doing nothing to please
their enemies in submitting to be slain by them
Accordingly, he took up
his weapons, and infused courage into those that were with him to act as
courageously as himself
So they fell upon their enemies, and slew a great
many of them, because they despised them and came as to a certain victory,
and put the rest to flight. FJAJ 18.67
3. But when the news of this fight came to the king of Parthia, he was
surprised at the boldness of these brethren, and was desirous to see them,
and speak with them
He therefore sent the most trusty of all his guards
to say thus to them: "That king Artsbanus, although he had been unjustly
treated by you, who have made an attempt against his government, yet hath
he more regard to your courageous behavior, than to the anger he bears
to you, and hath sent me to give you his right hand (35)(35) The joining of the right hands
was esteemed among the Peoians [and Parthians] in particular a most inviolable
obligation to fidelity, as Dr. Hudson here observes, and refers to the
commentary on Justin, B. XI. ch. 15., for its confirmation. We often meet
with the like use of it in Josephus.
and security; and he permits you to come to him safely, and without any
violence upon the road; and he wants to have you address yourselves to
him as friends, without meaning any guile or deceit to you
He also promises
to make you presents, and to pay you those respects which will make an
addition of his power to your courage, and thereby be of advantage to you."
Yet did Asineus himself put off his journey thither, but sent his brother
Anileus with all such presents as he could procure
So he went, and was
admitted to the king's presence; and when Artabanus saw Anileus coming
alone, he inquired into the reason why Asineus avoided to come along with
him; and when he understood that he was afraid, and staid by the lake,
he took an oath, by the gods of his country, that he would do them no harm,
if they came to him upon the assurances he gave them, and gave him his
right hand
This is of the greatest force there with all these barbarians,
and affords a firm security to those who converse with them; for none of
them will deceive you when once they have given you their right hands,
nor will any one doubt of their fidelity, when that is once given, even
though they were before suspected of injustice
When Artabanus had done
this, he sent away Anileus to persuade his brother to come to him
Now
this the king did, because he wanted to curb his own governors of provinces
by the courage of these Jewish brethren, lest they should make a league
with them; for they were ready for a revolt, and were disposed to rebel,
had they been sent on an expedition against them
He was also afraid, lest
when he was engaged in a war, in order to subdue those governors of provinces
that had revolted, the party of Asineus, and those in Babylonia, should
be augmented, and either make war upon him, when they should hear of that
revolt, or if they should be disappointed in that case, they would not
fail of doing further mischief to him. FJAJ 18.68
4. When the king had these intentions, he sent away Anileus, and Anileus
prevailed on his brother [to come to the king], when he had related to
him the king's good-will, and the oath that he had taken
Accordingly,
they made haste to go to Artsbanus, who received them when they were come
with pleasure, and admired Asineus's courage in the actions he had done,
and this because he was a little man to see to, and at first sight appeared
contemptible also, and such as one might deem a person of no value at all.
He also said to his friends, how, upon the comparison, he showed his soul
to be in all respects superior to his body; and when, as they were drinking
together, he once showed Asineus to Abdagases, one of the generals of his
army, and told him his name, and described the great courage he was of
in war, and Abdagases had desired leave to kill him, and thereby to inflict
on him a punishment for those injuries he had done to the Parthian government,
the king replied, "I will never give thee leave to kill a man who
hath depended on my faith, especially not after I have sent him my right
hand, and endeavored to gain his belief by oaths made by the gods
But
if thou be a truly warlike man, thou standest not in need of my perjury.
Go thou then, and avenge the Parthian government; attack this man, when
he is returned back, and conquer him by the forces that are under thy command,
without my privity." Hereupon the king called for Asineus, and said
to him, "It is time for thee, O thou young man! to return home, and
not provoke the indignation of my generals in this place any further, lest
they attempt to murder thee, and that without my approbation
I commit
to thee the country of Babylonia in trust, that it may, by thy care, be
preserved free from robbers, and from other mischiefs
I have kept my faith
inviolable to thee, and that not in trifling affairs, but in those that
concerned thy safety, and do therefore deserve thou shouldst be kind to
me." When he had said this, and given Asineus some presents, he sent
him away immediately; who, when he was come home, built fortresses, and
became great in a little time, and managed things with such courage and
success, as no other person, that had no higher a beginning, ever did before
him
Those Parthian governors also, who were sent that way, paid him great
respect; and the honor that was paid him by the Babylonians seemed to them
too small, and beneath his deserts, although he were in no small dignity
and power there; nay, indeed, all the affairs of Mesopotamia depended upon
him, and he more and more flourished in this happy condition of his for
fifteen years. FJAJ 18.69
5. But as their affairs were in so flourishing a state, there sprang
up a calamity among them on the following occasion
When once they had
deviated from that course of virtue whereby they had gained so great power,
they affronted and transgressed the laws of their forefathers, and fell
under the dominion of their lusts and pleasures
A certain Parthian, who
came as general of an army into those parts, had a wife following him,
who had a vast reputation for other accomplishments, and particularly was
admired above all other women for her beauty
Anileus, the brother of Asineus,
either heard of that her beauty from others, or perhaps saw her himself
also, and so became at once her lover and her enemy; partly because he
could not hope to enjoy this woman but by obtaining power over her as a
captive, and partly because he thought he could not conquer his inclinations
for her
As soon therefore as her husband had been declared an enemy to
them, and was fallen in the battle, the widow of the deceased was married
to this her lover
However, this woman did not come into their house without
producing great misfortunes, both to Anileus himself, and to Asineus also;
but brought great mischiefs upon them on the occasion following
Since
she was led away captive, upon the death of her husband, she concealed
the images of those gods which were their country gods, common to her husband
and to herself: now it was the custom (36)(36) This custom of the Mesopotamians
to carry their household gods along with them wherever they traveled is
as old as the days of Jacob, when Rachel his wife did the same, Genesis
31:19, 30-35; nor is it to pass here unobserved, what great miseries came
on these Jews, because they suffered one of their leaders to marry an idolatrous
wife, contrary to the law of Moses. Of which matter see the note on B.
XIX. ch. 5. sect. 3.
of that country for all to have the idols they worship in their own houses,
and to carry them along with them when they go into a foreign land; agreeable
to which custom of theirs she carried her idols with her
Now at first
she performed her worship to them privately; but when she was become Anileus's
married wife, she worshipped them in her accustomed manner, and with the
same appointed ceremonies which she used in her former husband's days;
upon which their most esteemed friends blamed him at first, that he did
not act after the manner of the Hebrews, nor perform what was agreeable
to their laws, in marrying a foreign wife, and one that transgressed the
accurate appointments of their sacrifices and religious ceremonies; that
he ought to consider, lest, by allowing himself in many pleasures of the
body, he might lose his principality, on account of the beauty of a wife,
and that high authority which, by God's blessing, he had arrived at
But
when they prevailed not at all upon him, he slew one of them for whom he
had the greatest respect, because of the liberty he took with him; who,
when he was dying, out of regard to the laws, imprecated a punishment upon
his murderer Anileus, and upon Asineus also, and that all their companions
might come to a like end from their enemies; upon the two first as the
principal actors of this wickedness, and upon the rest as those that would
not assist him when he suffered in the defense of their laws
Now these
latter were sorely grieved, yet did they tolerate these doings, because
they remembered that they had arrived at their present happy state by no
other means than their fortitude
But when they also heard of the worship
of those gods whom the Parthians adore, they thought the injury that Anileus
offered to their laws was to be borne no longer; and a greater number of
them came to Asineus, and loudly complained of Aniteus, and told him that
it had been well that he had of himself seen what was advantageous to them;
but that however it was now high time to correct what had been done amiss,
before the crime that had been committed proved the ruin of himself and
all the rest of them
They added, that the marriage of this woman was made
without their consent, and without a regard to their old laws; and that
the worship which this woman paid [to her gods] was a reproach to the God
whom they worshipped
Now Asineus was sensible of his brother's offense,
that it had been already the cause of great mischiefs, and would be so
for the time to come; yet did he tolerate the same from the good-will he
had to so near a relation, and forgiving it to him, on account that his
brother was quite overborne by his wicked inclinations
But as more and
more still came about him every day, and the clamors about it became greater,
he at length spake to Anileus about these clamors, reproving him for his
former actions, and desiring him for the future to leave them off, and
send the woman back to her relations
But nothing was gained by these reproofs;
for as the woman perceived what a tumult was made among the people on her
account, and was afraid for Anileus, lest he should come to any harm for
his love to her, she infused poison into Asineus's food, and thereby took
him off, and was now secure of prevailing, when her lover was to be judge
of what should be done about her. FJAJ 18.70
6. So Anileus took the government upon himself alone, and led his army
against the villages of Mithridates, who was a man of principal authority
in Parthin, and had married king Artabanus's daughter; he also plundered
them, and among that prey was found much money, and many slaves, as also
a great number of sheep, and many other things, which, when gained, make
men's condition happy
Now when Mithridates, who was there at this time,
heard that his villages were taken, he was very much displeased to find
that Anileus had first begun to injure him, and to affront him in his present
dignity, when he had not offered any injury to him beforehand; and he got
together the greatest body of horsemen he was able, and those out of that
number which were of an age fit for war, and came to fight Anileus; and
when he was arrived at a certain village of his own, he lay still there,
as intending to fight him on the day following, because it was the sabbath,
the day on which the Jews rest
And when Anileus was informed of this by
a Syrian stranger of another village, who not only gave him an exact account
of other circumstances, but told him where Mithridates would have a feast,
he took his supper at a proper time, and marched by night, with an intent
of falling upon the Parthians while they were unaprrized what they should
do; so he fell upon them about the fourth watch of the night, and some
of them he slew while they were asleep, and others he put to flight, and
took Mithridates alive, and set him naked upon an ass (37)(37) This custom, in Syria and Mesopotamia,
of setting men upon an ass, by way of disgrace, is still kept up at Damascus
in Syria; where, in order to show their despite against the Christians,
the Turks will not suffer them to hire horses, but asses only, when they
go abroad to see the country, as Mr. Maundrell assures us, p. 128.
which, among the Parthians, is esteemed the greatest reproach possible.
And when he had brought him into a wood with such a resolution, and his
friends desired him to kill Mithridates, he soon told them his own mind
to the contrary, and said that it was not right to kill a man who was of
one of the principal families among the Parthians, and greatly honored
with matching into the royal family; that so far as they had hitherto gone
was tolerable; for although they had injured Mithridates, yet if they preserved
his life, this benefit would be remembered by him to the advantage of those
that gave it him; but that if be were once put to death, the king would
not be at rest till he had made a great slaughter of the Jews that dwelt
at Babylon; "to whose safety we ought to have a regard, both on account
of our relation to them, and because if any misfortune befall us, we have
no other place to retire to, since he hath gotten the flower of their youth
under him." By this thought, and this speech of his made in council,
he persuaded them to act accordingly; so Mithridates was let go
But when
he was got away, his wife reproached him, that although he was son-in-law
to the king, he neglected to avenge himself on those that had injured him,
while he took no care about it, but was contented to have been made a captive
by the Jews, and to have escaped them; and she bid him either to go back
like a man of courage, or else she sware by the gods of their royal family
that she would certainly dissolve her marriage with him
Upon which, partly
because he could not bear the daily trouble of her taunts, and partly because
he was afraid of her insolence, lest she should in earnest dissolve their
marriage, he unwillingly, and against his inclinations, got together again
as great an army as he could, and marched along with them, as himself thinking
it a thing not to be borne any longer, that he, a Parthian, should owe
his preservation to the Jews, when they had been too hard for him in the
war. FJAJ 18.71
7. But as soon as Anileus understood that Mithridates was marching with
a great army against him, he thought it too ignominious a thing to tarry
about the lakes, and not to take the first opportunity of meeting his enemies,
and he hoped to have the same success, and to beat their enemies as they
did before; as also he ventured boldly upon the like attempts
Accordingly,
he led out his army, and a great many more joined themselves to that army,
in order to betake themselves to plunder the people, and in order to terrify
the enemy again by their numbers
But when they had marched ninety furlongs,
while the road had been through dry [and sandy] places, and about the midst
of the day, they were become very thirsty; and Mithridates appeared, and
fell upon them, as they were in distress for want of water, on which account,
and on account of the time of the day, they were not able to bear their
weapons
So Anileus and his men were put to an ignominious rout, while
men in despair were to attack those that were fresh and in good plight;
so a great slaughter was made, and many ten thousand men fell
Now Anileus,
and all that stood firm about him, ran away as fast as they were able into
a wood, and afforded Mithridates the pleasure of having gained a great
victory over them
But there now came in to Anileus a conflux of bad men,
who regarded their own lives very little, if they might but gain some present
ease, insomuch that they, by thus coming to him, compensated the multitude
of those that perished in the fight
Yet were not these men like to those
that fell, because they were rash, and unexercised in war; however, with
these he came upon the villages of the Babylonians, and a mighty devastation
of all things was made there by the injuries that Anileus did them
So
the Babylonians, and those that had already been in the war, sent to Neerda
to the Jews there, and demanded Anileus
But although they did not agree
to their demands, (for if they had been willing to deliver him up, it was
not in their power so to do,) yet did they desire to make peace with them.
To which the other replied, that they also wanted to settle conditions
of peace with them, and sent men together with the Babylonians, who discoursed
with Anileus about them
But the Babylonians, upon taking a view of his
situation, and having learned where Anileus and his men lay, fell secretly
upon them as they were drunk and fallen asleep, and slew all that they
caught of them, without any fear, and killed Anileus himself also. FJAJ 18.72
8. The Babylonians were now freed from Anileus's heavy incursions, which
had been a great restraint to the effects of that hatred they bore to the
Jews; for they were almost always at variance, by reason of the contrariety
of their laws; and which party soever grew boldest before the other, they
assaulted the other: and at this time in particular it was, that upon the
ruin of Anileus's party, the Babylonians attacked the Jews, which made
those Jews so, vehemently to resent the injuries they received from the
Babylonians, that being neither able to fight them, nor bearing to live
with them, they went to Seleucia, the principal city of those parts, which
was built by Seleucus Nicator
It was inhabited by many of the Macedonians,
but by more of the Grecians; not a few of the Syrians also dwelt there;
and thither did the Jews fly, and lived there five years, without any misfortunes.
But on the sixth year, a pestilence came upon these at Babylon, which occasioned
new removals of men's habitations out of that city; and because they came
to Seleucia, it happened that a still heavier calamity came upon them on
that account which I am going to relate immediately. FJAJ 18.73
9. Now the way of living of the people of Seleucia, which were Greeks
and Syrians, was commonly quarrelsome, and full of discords, though the
Greeks were too hard for the Syrians
When, therefore, the Jews were come
thither, and dwelt among them, there arose a sedition, and the Syrians
were too hard for the other, by the assistance of the Jews, who are men
that despise dangers, and very ready to fight upon any occasion
Now when
the Greeks had the worst in this sedition, and saw that they had but one
way of recovering their former authority, and that was, if they could prevent
the agreement between the Jews and the Syrians, they every one discoursed
with such of the Syrians as were formerly their acquaintance, and promised
they would be at peace and friendship with them
Accordingly, they gladly
agreed so to do; and when this was done by the principal men of both nations,
they soon agreed to a reconciliation; and when they were so agreed, they
both knew that the great design of such their union would be their common
hatred to the Jews
Accordingly, they fell upon them, and slew about fifty
thousand of them; nay, the Jews were all destroyed, excepting a few who
escaped, either by the compassion which their friends or neighbors afforded
them, in order to let them fly away
These retired to Ctesiphon, a Grecian
city, and situate near to Seleucia, where the king [of Parthia] lives in
winter every year, and where the greatest part of his riches are reposited;
but the Jews had here no certain settlement, those of Seleucia having little
concern for the king's honor
Now the whole nation of the Jews were in
fear both of the Babylonians and of the Seleucians, because all the Syrians
that live in those places agreed with the Seleucians in the war against
the Jews; so the most of them gathered themselves together, and went to
Neerda and Nisibis, and obtained security there by the strength of those
cities; besides which their inhabitants, who were a great many, were all
warlike men
And this was the state of the Jews at this time in Babylonia. FJAJ 18.74