had been taken very naturally. He put others alfo to death upon fufpicions entirely frivolous; and with them, their wives, children, and whole families. He caufed thefe executions to be committed by foreign troops, whom he had exprefsly fent for from the most favage and cruel of nations, to make them the inftruments of his enormous barbarity.

After having maffacred and facrificed to his fury in this manner the moft deferving perfons of his kingdom, he ceased to fhew himself abroad. He appeared no more in the city, and ate no longer in public. He put on old cloaths, let his beard grow, without taking any care of it, and did every thing which perfons accused of capital crimes ufed to do in those days, as if he intended thereby to acknowledge his own late iniquity.

From hence he proceeded to other fpecies of folly. He renounced the cares of ftate, retired into his garden, and applied to digging the ground himself, and fowed all forts of venomous as well as wholesome herbs; then poisoning the good with the juice of the bad, he fent them in that manner as prefents to his friends. He past all the rest of his reign in cruel extravagancies of the like nature, which, happily for his fubjects, was of no long duration, for it lafted only five years.

He took it into his head to practise the trade of a founder, and formed the model of a monument of brass to be erected to his mother. Whilft he was at work in cafting the metal, in a hot fummer's day, he was feized with a fever which carried him off in feven days (z), and delivered his fubjects from an abominable tyrant.

He had made a will, by which he appointed the Roman people his heirs. Eudemus of Pergamus carried this will to Rome. The principal article was expreffed

U 3

(z) A. M.. 3871. Ant. J. C. 133.

expreffed in thefe terms, (b) LET THE ROMAN PEOPLE INHERIT ALL MY FORTUNES. As foon as it was read, Tiberius Gracchus, tribune of the people, always attentive to conciliate their favour, took hold of the occafion; and, afcending the tribunal of harangues, propofed a law to this effect, That all the ready money, which fhould arife from the fucceffion to this prince, fhould be diftributed amongst the poor citizens who fhould be fent as colonies into the country bequeathed to the Roman people, in order that they might have wherewithal to fupport themfelves in their new poffeffions, and to supply them with the tools and other things neceffary in agriculrure. He added, that as to the cities and lands which were under that prince's government, the fenate had no right to pass any decree in regard to them, and that he fhould leave the difpofal of them to the people; which extremely offended the fenate. That tribune was killed some small time afterwards.

Ariftonicus (c), however, who reported himself of the blood royal, was active to take poffeffion of Attalus's dominions. He was indeed the son of Eumenes by a courtezan. He eafily engaged the majority of the cities in his party, because they had been long accustomed to the government of kings. Some cities, out of their fear of the Romans, refused at first to acknowledge him, but were compelled to it by force.

As his party grew ftronger every day, the Romans fent the conful Craffus Mucianus againft him (d). It was observed of this general, that he was fo perfectly mafter of all the dialects of the Greek tongue, which in a manner formed five different languages, that he pronounced his decrees according to the particular

(2) Plut. in Gracch. Flor. l. 2. c. 20. Juftin. 1. 36. c. 4. et 37. C, I. Val. Paterc. l. 2. c. 4. Strab. I. 14. p. 646. Orof. l. 5. c. 8, Val. Max. I. 3. C. 2. Ant. J. C. 132. Ant. J. C. 132.

IO.

Eutrop. 1. 4.

c) A. M. 3872. (d) A. M. 3873.

ticular idiom of those who pleaded before him, which made him very agreeable to the ftates of Afia Minor. All the neighbouring princes in alliance with the Roman people, the Kings of Bithynia, Pontus, Cappadocia, and Paphlagonia, joined him with their

troops.

Notwithstanding fuch powerful fupports, having engaged in a battle with disadvantage (d), his army, which he commanded then in quality of proconful, was defeated, and himself made prifoner. He avoided the shame of being put into the victor's hands by a voluntary death. His head was carried to Ariftonicus, who caufed his body to be interred at Smyrna.

The conful Perpenna, who had fucceeded Craffus, foon revenged his death. Having made all hafte into Afia, he gave Ariftonicus battle, entirely routed his army, befieged him foon after in Stratoniee, and at length made him prifoner. All Phrygia fubmitted to the Romans.

He fent Ariftonicus to Rome, (e) in the fleet which he loaded with Attalus's treafures. Manius Aquilius, who had lately been elected conful, was haftening to take his place, in order to put an end to this war, and deprive him of the honour of a triumph. He found Ariftonicus fet out; and fome time after Perpenna, who had begun his journey, died of difeafe at Pergamus. Aquilius foon terminated this war, which. had continued almoft four years. Lydia, Caria, the Hellefpont, Phrygia, in a word, all that compofed the kingdom of Attalus, was reduced into a province of the Roman empire, under the common name of Afia.

7

The fenate had decreed, that the city of Phocæa, which had declared againft the Romans, as well in this last war as in that against Antiochus, should be deftroyed. The inhabitants of Marseilles, which

(d) A. M. 3874. Ant. J. C. 130. (e) A. M. 3875. Ant. J. C, 129.

was

1.

was a colony of Phocæa, moved as much with the danger of their founders as if the fate of their own city had been in question, fent deputies to Rome, to implore the clemency of the fenate and people in their favour. As juft as their indignation was againft Phocæa, they could not refufe that favour to the ardent folicitations of a people, whom they had always held in the highest confideration, and who rendered themfelves ftill more worthy of it by the tender concein and gratitude they expreffed for their forefathers and founders.

Phrygia Major was granted to Mithridates Evergetes, King of Pontus, in reward for the aid he had given the Romans in that war: but after his death they difpoffeffed his fon, the great Mithridates, of it, and declared it free.

Ariarathes, King of Cappadocia, who died during this war, had left fix children. Rome, to reward in the fons the fervices of the father, added Lycaonia and Cilicia to their dominions. They found in Queen Laodice not the tenderness of a parent, but the cruelty of a stepmother. To fecure all authority to herfelf, the poifoned five of her children; and the fixth would have had the fame fate, if his relations had not taken him out of the murderous hands of that Mægara, whofe crimes the people foon revenged by a violent death.

Manius Aquilius, at his return to Rome (ƒ), received the honour of a triumph. Ariftonicus, after having been fhewn there as a fight to the people, was carried to prifon, where he was ftrangled. Such were the confequences of King Attalus's will,

Mithridates, in the letter which he wrote afterwards to Arfaces King of Parthia, accufes the Romans of having forged a falfe will of Attalus's *, in order

(f) A. M. 3878. Ant. J. C. 126.

Simulato impio teftamento, filium ejus (Eumenis) Aristonicum, quia patrium regnum petiverat, hoftium more per triumphum duxere. Apud Sallufi. in fragm.

order to deprive Ariftonicus, the fon of Eumenes, of his father's kingdom, which appertained to him of right. But it is a declared enemy who charges them with this. It is more furprising that Horace, in one of his odes, feems to make the Roman people the fame reproach, and to infinuate that they had atrained the fucceffion by fraud:

(g) Neque Attali.

Ignotus hæres regiam occupavi.

Nor have I feiz'd, an heir unknown,
The Phrygians kingdom for my own.

However, there remains no trace in hiftory of any fecret intrigue or folicitation to that effect on the fide of the Romans.

I thought it proper to relate all the confequences of this will without interruption. I fhail now refume the thread of my history.

SECT. V. Antiochus Sidetes befieges John Hyrcanus in Jerufalem: That city furrenders by capitulation. He makes war against the Parthians, and peribes in it. Phraates, King of the Parthians, defeated in his turn by the Scythians. Phyfcón commits most horrible cruelties in Egypt. A general revolt obliges him to quit it. Cleopatra, his firft wife, is replaced upon the throne. She implores aid of Demetrius, and is foon reduced to leave Egypt. Phy/con returns thither, and reafcends the throne. By his means Zebina dethrones Demetrius, who is foon after killed. The kingdom is divided between Cleopatra the wife of Demetrius, and Zebina. Antiochus Grypus afcends the throne of SyThe famous Mithridates begins to reign in Pontus. Phyfcon's death.

ria.

(g) Hor. Od. 18. 1. 2.

SIMON