Pompey’s Conquest and Appointment of Hyrcanus II

But when the siege engine was brought forward, the greatest of the towers was shaken by it and brought down, and it broke through part of the fortifications, so that the enemy began pouring in. First Cornelius Faustus, the son of Sulla, with the aid of his own soldiers, mounted the wall, and following him was Furius the centurion, along with those who were following on the other side, while Fabius, himself a centurion, ascended the middle part with a strong column of men. Slaughter prevailed everywhere, with some of the Jews being massacred by the Romans and others by one another. There were some who cast themselves down the precipices or set fire to their homes and burnt themselves inside, as they were unable to endure the disasters taking place. Among the Jews there, twelve thousand fell, but as for the Romans, very few. Absalom, who was both uncle and father-in-law to Aristobulus, was taken captive, and severe transgressions were committed against the Temple itself, which in former ages had been inaccessible and seen by none. For Pompey entered the interior, as well as many of the men who were with him, and they saw all that was unlawful for men to see other than the high priests alone. Inside were the golden table, the sacred lampstand, the pouring vessels, and a great quantity of spices, and in addition to these objects, within the treasury were two thousand talents of sacred funds. Yet on account of his piety, he touched none of these things, and in this regard also he acted in a manner worthy of his virtue. On the following day, he ordered those overseeing the Temple to purify it and to bring the customary offerings to God, and he restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus, both because he had been useful to him in other respects and because he had prevented the Jews throughout the land from joining in war with Aristobulus. He also beheaded those responsible for the war, and he bestowed on Faustus and the others who had zealously mounted the walls rewards worthy of their bravery. He made Jerusalem subject to paying tribute to the Romans and took away from her inhabitants those cities of Coele-Syria that they formerly possessed and placed them under the authority of the Roman governor, confining the entire nation, which had formerly expanded so far, within its own boundaries.

Translated byWilliam Whiston, adapted byAaron Samuels.