Jews to the Afmonean family, made Herod imagine, that by efpoufing her he fhould find no difficulty in gaining their affection, which was one of his reafons for confummating his marriage at that time. On his return to Jerufalem, Sofius and he, having joined their forces, preffed the fiege in concert with the utmost vigour, and with a very numerous army, which amounted to at least fixty thousand men. The place however held out against them many months with exceeding refolution; and if the besieged had been as expert in the art of war and the defence of places, as they were brave and refolute, it would not perhaps have been taken. But the Romans, who were much better skilled in those things than them, carried the place at length, after a siege of something more than fix months. The Jews (2) being driven from their posts, the enemy entered on all fides, and made themselves m:fters of the city. And to revenge the obftinate refif?ance they had made, and the pains they had fuffered during fo long and difficult a fiege, they filled ail quarters of Jerufalem with blood and flaughter, plundered and deftroyed all before them, though Herod did his utmost both to prevent the one and the other. Antigonus feeing all loft, came and threw himself at the feet of Sofius in the most submissive and most abject manner. He was put in chains, and fent to Anthony as foon as he arrived at Antioch. He defigned at first to have reserved him for his triumph; but Herod, who did not think himself fafe as long as that branch of the royal family furvived, would not let him reft till he had obtained the death of that unfortunate prince, for which he even gave a large fum of money (a). He was proceeded against in form, condemned to die, and had the fentence executed upon VOL. IX. D d (z) A. M. 3967. Ant. J. C. 37. + him (a) Jofeph. Antiq. ibid. Plut. in Anton. p. 932. Dion. Caff. 1. 49. p. 405. him in the same manner as common criminals, with the rods and axes of the lictor, and was fastened to a ftake; a treatment with which the Romans had never ufed any crowned head before. Thus ended the reign of the Afmoneans, after a duration of an hundred and twenty-nine years, from the beginning of the government of Judas Maccabæus. Herod entered by this means upon the peaceable poffeffion of the kingdom of Judæa. This fingular, extraordinary, and till then unexampled event, by which the fovereign authority over the Jews was given to a stranger, an Idumæan, ought to have opened their eyes, and rendered them attentive to a celebrated prophecy, which had foretold it in clear terms; had given it as the certain mark of another event, in which the whole nation was interested, which was the perpetual object of their vows and hopes, and diftinguifhed them by a peculiar characteriftic from all the other nations of the world, that had an equal intereft in it, but without knowing or being apprifed of it. This was the prophecy of Jacob, who at his death foretold to his twelve fons affembled round his bed, what would happen in the series of time to the twelve tribes, of which they were the chiefs, and after whom they were called. Amongst the other predictions of that patriarch concerning the tribe of Judah, there is this of which we now fpeak: The (b) fceptre fball not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, untii Shiloh, come, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be. The fceptre or rod (for the Hebrew fignifies both) implies here the authority and fuperiority over the tribes. All the ancient Jews have explained this prediction to denote the Messiah; the fact is therefore incontestable, and is reduced to two effential points. The first is, that as long as the tribe of Judah fhall fubsist, it fhall have pre-eminence and authority over the other tribes: (b) Gen, xlix. 10. tribes the fecond, that it fhall fubfift, and form a body of a republic, governed by its laws and magiftrates, till the Meffiah comes. The first point is verified in the feries of the hiftory of the elites, wherein that pre-eminence of the tribe of Judah appears evidently. This is not the proper place for proofs of this kind; those who would be more fully informed, may confult the explanation of Genefis lately publifhed *. For the fecond point, we have only to confider it with the leaft attention. When Herod the Idumæan, and in confequence a ftranger, was placed upon the throne, the authority and fuperiority which the tribe of Judah had over the other tribes were first taken from it. The tribe of Judah had no longer the fupremacy; it was no longer a body fubfifting, from which the magiftrates were taken: It was manifeft, therefore, that the Meffiah was come. But at what time did that tribe become like the reft, and was confounded with them? In the times of Titus Vefpafian, and Adrian, who finally exterminated the remains of Judah. It was therefore before those times the Meffiah came. How wonderful does God appear in the accomplishment of his prophecies! Would it be making a right. ufe of history, not to dwell a few moments upon facts like this, when we meet them in the course of our matter? Herod, reduced to quit Jerufalem, takes refuge at Rome. He has no thoughts of demanding the fovereignty for himself, but for another. It was the groffeft injuftice to give it to a stranger, whilft there were princes of the royal family in being. But it had been decreed from all eternity, that Herod fhould be King of the Jews. Heaven and earth fhould fooner pals away than that decree of God not be fulfilled. Anthony was at Rome, and in poffeffion of fovereignpower, when Herod arrives there. How many events D d 2 * By F. Babuty, Rue St. Jaques. were were neceffary to the conducting of things to this point! But is there any thing difficult to the Almighty? ARTICLE II. Abridgement of the history of the Parthians, from the eftablishment of that empire to the defeat of Craffus, which is related at large. HE Parthian empire was one of the most power Eaft. Very weak in its beginnings, as is common, it extended itself by little and little over all Afia Major, and made even the Romans tremble. Its duration is generally allowed to be four hundred threefcore and fourteen years; of which two hundred and fifty-four were before Jefus Chrift, and two hundred and twenty after him. Arfaces was the founder of that empire, from whom all his fucceffors were called Arfa cides. Artaxerxes, by birth a Perfian, having overcome and flain Artabanus the last of those kings, transferred the empire of the Parthians to the Perfans, in the fifth year of the Emperor Alexander the fon of Mammæus. I fhall only fpeak here of the affairs of the Parthians before Jefus Chrift; and fhall treat them very briefly, except the defeat of Craffus, which I fhall relate in all its extent. I have obferved elsewhere what gave (c) Arfaces I. occafion to make Parthia revolt, and to expel the Macedonians, who had been in poffeffion of it from the death of Alexander the Great, and in what manner he had caufed himself to be elected King of the Parthians. Theodotus at the fame time made Bactria re, volt, and took that province from Antiochus firnamed Theos. (c) A. M. 3754. Ant. J. C. 250. Vol. VII. Some Some time after, Seleucus Callinicus (d), who fucceeded Antiochus, endeavoured in vain to fubdue the Parthians. He fell into their hands himself, and was made prisoner: this happened in the reign of Tiridates, called otherwife Arfaces II. brother of the first. Antiochus, firnamed the Great (e), was more fuccessful than his predeceffor. He marched into the Eaft, and repoffeffed himfelf of Media, which the Parthians had taken from him. He alfo entered Parthia, and obliged the King to retire into Hyrcania *, from whence he returned foon after with an army of an hundred thousand foot, and twenty thousand horse. As the war was of a tedious duration, Antiochus made a treaty with Arfaces, by which he left him Parthia and Hyrcania, upon condition that he fhould affift him in reconquering the revolted provinces. Antiochus (f) marched afterwards againft Euthydemus King of Bactria, with whom he was also obliged to come to an accommodation. PRIAPATIUS, the fon of Arfaces II. fucceeded his father; and after having reigned fifteen years, left the crown at his death to PHRAATES I. his eldeft fon. Phraates left it to MITHRIDATES (g), whom he preferred before his own iffue, upon account of his extraordinary merit, and who was in effect one of the greatest kings the Parthians ever had. He carried his arms farther than Alexander the Great. It was he who made Demetrius Nicator prifoner. PHRAATES II. (b) fucceeded Mithridates his father. Antiochus Sidetes, King of Syria, marched against him at the head of a powerful army, under pretext of delivering his brother Demetrius, who had Dd3 been (d) A. M. 3768. Ant. J. C. 236. Vol. VII. (e) A M. 3792. Ant. J. C. 212, Vol. VIII. The Abbe Longuezue, in his Latin differtation upon the Arfacides, afcribes what is here faid to Artabanus, whom he places be tween Arfaces II. and Priapatius. Juftin fays nothing of them. (f) A. M. 3798. (g) A. M. 3840. (b) A. M. 3873. Ant. J. C. 206. |