History of the Jews, Vol. 2 (of 6)

by Heinrich Graetz

The arrogance with which the governors treated the nation was not without its baneful influence upon the conduct of the foreigners who dwelt in great numbers in the towns on the sea-coast. The Greeks and Romans that had settled in Judæa openly showed their hatred to their neighbors, and usurped the position of masters in the land. The fearful picture drawn by the great prophet seemed now on the point of being literally fulfilled: "The stranger in thy midst will ever rise higher, but thou wilt ever sink lower." The most shameless in their conduct towards the Judæans were the Greek Syrians who lived in Cæsarea—even the civil rights of the former were disputed by them. But the Judæans of Cæsarea, who far surpassed their heathen fellow-citizens in industry, wealth and courage, would not allow themselves to be deprived of their rights of citizenship, and fierce disputes and fights in the streets were consequently of almost daily occurrence. On one occasion, some Judæan youths having avenged with blows an insult they had received from a party of Syrians, and obliged the latter to flee, Felix took up the affair, called in some troops, which, being chiefly composed of Greeks and Syrians, sided heartily with their own countrymen. Many Judæans lost their lives, many were imprisoned, and the houses of the rich were plundered and destroyed. The actual point in dispute remained undecided, both sides being only more embittered by the blood that had been shed. The rival parties sent deputies to Rome, and Nero was called upon to pronounce judgment between them. Bribery gained the favor of Burrus, the secretary of the emperor, to the cause of the Syrians of Cæsarea. His verdict was consequently given against the Judæans, who were deprived of their civil rights.

Festus, the successor of Felix, governed for only a short time (from 59 to 61). During that period the unsatisfactory state of things remained unchanged, or, if possible, became still worse. A new enthusiast, proclaiming himself the Messiah, awoke the hope of the people for liberty and redemption, drew followers around him, and then shared the fate of his predecessors. The jealous spite which animated the different parties became more and more violent. The king, Agrippa, at length took up his residence in Jerusalem, in the Hasmonæan palace, which was just opposite the Temple. In order to overlook the courts of the latter he added to the height of his palace, and from the hall in that building, where he took his repasts, he could watch every movement that took place in the Temple. The Temple authorities took umbrage at this, and complained that Agrippa encroached upon their privileges; and in order to hide the Temple from his view they had a high wall built on its western side. This aroused the displeasure of Agrippa and of the governor, who wished to demolish the hardly finished wall. Bitter words were used on both sides; but at last prudence prevailed, and it was resolved that the dispute should be settled by the emperor. Twelve deputies, among whom were the high priest Ishmael and the treasurer Hilkia, were sent to represent the case at Rome. It was not Nero, however, but his paramour, Poppea Sabina, who gave the verdict. This beautiful but shameless woman had, strangely enough, a preference for Judaism, and as at Nero's court all state affairs were conducted by intrigue, the Judæan deputies profited by that happy chance and won their cause. The deputies brought back the imperial order that the jealous guard kept over the Temple should be discontinued. A few years later Poppea interceded again on behalf of two Judæans who had been condemned by Felix and sent as prisoners to Rome. In order not to infringe upon the laws of their religion they, like Daniel and his friends, refused, whilst in prison, to eat anything but fruit. But at the desire of Poppea, who had now become empress, Nero granted the self-denying captives their liberty.

After the death of Festus, Nero named Albinus governor, and in comparison with those who preceded and those who came after him he was looked upon as a just ruler. Before he entered the province, Anan the high priest attempted to revive the half-extinct Sadducæism, and to put its penal code again into force; a tribunal was elected by him, and innocent men were condemned. The Pharisees were so dissatisfied with this illegal Synhedrion that they demanded of Agrippa the dismissal of the high priest.

The new governor Albinus was met on his way by accusations against Anan, who it was said had infringed upon the authority of Rome by punishing criminals himself. His enemies were successful, and he was obliged to resign his office of high priest after having filled it for three months. Joshua ben Damnai succeeded him, but in a short time he had to give way to Joshua ben Gamala (63 or 64). Ben-Gamala had married a widow of great wealth, Martha, a daughter of the house of the high priest Boëthus, and it is said that she induced King Agrippa II, by the offer of a large bribe, to confer the office of high priest upon her husband. Between Joshua ben Damnai and his more fortunate successor there burned so fierce a hatred that their respective followers could not meet in the streets without insulting and even attacking each other.

Joshua ben Gamala can, however, by no means be ranked among the worst of the high priests. The improvement in education, which began with him, testified to the interest he took in the useful institutions of the community. He established schools for boys from the age of five years in every town. But Ben-Gamala did not long retain his high office; he was obliged to resign it to Matthia ben Theophilus (65), the last of the twenty-eight high priests who owed their election to Rome and the house of Herod. Albinus the governor, who was bent upon the destruction of the fanatical Sicarii, embittered the people by the heavy taxes laid upon them, a part of which he kept for himself. Upon learning that a successor had been appointed, he caused those of the Sicarii who had been imprisoned for serious offenses to be executed, and those who were suffering for lighter misdeeds were, upon paying a fine, set at liberty. The Sicarii thus released from imprisonment took part afterwards in the insurrections of the people against their oppressors, and stained the good cause with many acts of cruelty.

The last of the procurators, Gessius Florus, who also was appointed by Poppea, hastened by his shameless partiality, avarice, and inhumanity, the execution of the long-cherished plan of the malcontents to shake off the tyrannical yoke of Rome. Florus was one of those utterly profligate beings to whom nothing is sacred; who sacrifice everything to their greed, and disregard, without scruple, the most solemn oaths. What his predecessors had done with a pretense at least to some form, or under the shadow of secrecy, he accomplished openly in brazen-faced defiance of the Law. Inaccessible to pity, he had indulgence only for the Sicarii, who gave him a portion of their plunder. In the two years during which his administration lasted (64–66), many towns were completely sacked. The Sicarii were allowed to carry on unmolested their nefarious practices, the rich being obliged to purchase their favor as well as that of their patrons.

So unbearable was this condition of the state that even a cowardly nation must have lost patience, and the courage of the Judæan people, in spite of the thousand disasters which had befallen them, of the heavy weight of the Roman yoke, and of the daily acts of violence of which they were the victims, was not yet broken. Rome at that time resembled a community of madmen, among whom the emperor Nero, confiding in the favor of the Senate and the people, perpetrated one folly after another, and was guilty of a succession of crimes. Thus, excepting through their own endeavors, there appeared no chance of deliverance for the Judæans. This was the opinion of the best and greatest among them, of all those who were not the tools of Rome, or blinded by her false splendor, or paralyzed by terror of her strength. The boldest were already thinking of rebellion. The governor, Cestius Gallus, had, in the meantime, been informed of the exasperation and angry feeling that existed among the Judæan people, and reported the state of Judæa at the court of Rome, failing not to make known there that the nation was brooding over conspiracy and revolt. But no one listened to his warning voice. Nero was too busy to attend to such trifles; he had to play the zither, to perform on the stage, to indulge in orgies, and to devise murders. The Empress Poppea, the friend of the Judæans, was dead. The creatures of the court resembled the monster Gessius Florus, and doubtless derided what they considered the puerile fears of Gallus. The latter thereupon devised a plan to bring prominently before Nero's court the vastness of the population of Judæa, and the imprudence of underrating it. It was arranged between Agrippa and the high priest Matthia that at the Feast of the Passover a great though peaceful demonstration should take place, through a peculiar manner of numbering the people. Circulars were sent to the community, residing both within and outside Judæa, bidding vast numbers appear at the coming festival. Crowds of worshipers, a greater concourse than had ever assembled before, obeyed the summons. In the spring of the year 66 they flocked to celebrate the Feast of Passover; from the towns and villages of Judæa, from Syria, even from countries bordering the Euphrates, and from Egypt, they streamed into Jerusalem, which could hardly contain the vast multitude. On their way towards the Temple, some of the pilgrims were crushed in the crowd, and this feast was thereafter called the Passover of the Crushing. The numbering of the people was carried on in the following way:—From each offering a kidney was taken for the priests, the kidneys thus appropriated being counted; and it was reckoned that each lamb that was eaten in company, was partaken of by at least ten persons. The result of these calculations proved that nearly three millions were at that time present in Jerusalem.

Cestius Gallus had himself come to Jerusalem to conduct the investigation, and all appealed to him to have pity on their unspeakable woes, and to deliver them from their country's scourge. Florus, who was present, only smiled, but the governor of the city promised to use his influence in softening the procurator's heart towards them, and he acquainted Rome with the imposing concourse he had seen with his own eyes at Jerusalem. He was, however, much deceived as to the effect produced by his device of proving how great were the numbers of the people. Nero, at that time, had reached the highest point of his arrogance and pride. "Should Nero, whose triumphs surpassed those of Pompey, Cæsar, and Augustus, fear Judæa?" The account sent by Cestius Gallus of the crowds assembled at Jerusalem during the Feast of Passover was probably not even read by Nero, or, if looked at, only thrown to the winds.

In Judæa, and above all in the capital, men, young and old, became daily more impatient to break the galling chains of Rome. Patience was exhausted; they awaited only the favorable moment when they could strike at their foe with a chance of success. A trifling incident, which brought to light the unparalleled insolence of Florus, fanned the spirit of impatience and closed the lips of prudence. Fresh causes of disagreement had arisen between the Judæans and the Syrians in Cæsarea; the former could not forget that Nero had lowered them in the eyes of their fellow-citizens, and the latter, elated by the preference given them, made the Judæans feel their degraded position. The irritation thus caused, stirred up the religious hatred and racial animosity which slumbered under the surface in both communities. A piece of ground belonging to a heathen in Cæsarea, which happened to be just in front of the synagogue, was covered by him with shops, so that only one narrow entrance to the sacred building remained. The hot-headed Judæan youths tried to interrupt the construction of these booths, and Florus, won over by a large sum of money, refrained from interfering; and, in order not to be a witness of the probable scene of contention, he absented himself and went to Samaria, leaving the two bitterly-opposed parties to the undisturbed exercise of their passionate animosity. On a certain Sabbath, while the Judæans were assembled in worship, a Greek placed a vessel in front of the synagogue and sacrificed birds upon it, to signify that the Judæans were descendants of outcast lepers. This calumny concerning the origin of their race was not taken quietly by the Judæan youths, who instantly armed themselves and fell upon their mocking foes. The fight ended in the defeat of the Judæans, all of whom thereupon, carrying away their holy books, betook themselves to the neighboring small town of Narbata, and thence sent an embassy of twelve men, among whom was the rich tax-gatherer Jonathan, to Florus in Samaria. The deputies reminded him of the sum he had received, and of his promise to afford them protection. But instead of listening to their supplications he received them harshly, and threw them into prison. When tidings of this new act of violence reached Jerusalem, the anger of the whole population was aroused, but before they had time to form any plan of action, Florus sent them another exasperating message. He desired the warden of the Temple to hand over out of the sacred treasury seventeen talents, which he declared were required in the service of the emperor. This command, the intention of which was plainly discerned by the inhabitants of Jerusalem, made them flock around the Temple as though they would shield the threatened Sanctuary. The timid broke forth in lamentations, and the fearless reviled the Roman governor, and carried a box about as though they were collecting alms for the indigent Florus. The latter, anticipating opportunities to satisfy his avarice and thirst for blood, now came himself to Jerusalem, and by his presence added fuel to the fire. Florus placed himself as judge in front of the palace of Herod, and called upon the high priest and the men of greatest standing to appear before him, demanding them to deliver into his hands those who had dared mock him. Trembling, they endeavored to offer excuses for what had taken place, and implored his mercy. But Florus heeded them not, and gave orders to the Roman soldiers to plunder the upper market-place, a quarter inhabited by the wealthy. Like very demons the wild soldiers threw themselves into the market and the adjoining streets, killed men, women and children, ransacked houses and carried off their contents. On that one day (16th Iyar), more than three thousand six hundred men perished. The prisoners, by the command of Florus, were scourged and crucified. In vain had the princess or queen Berenice knelt before Florus, imploring him to stay the work of bloodshed and destruction; he was deaf to her entreaties, and in fear for her own safety she was obliged to seek refuge and safety in her palace.

Some days after, vast crowds gathered in the now half-ruined upper town (Zion), uttering lamentations for those who had been killed and pronouncing execrations upon their murderer Florus, and it was not without much difficulty that the heads of the people succeeded in silencing them. But this only increased the audacity of Florus, who demanded, as a proof of their present peaceable intentions, that the people with the nobles should go forth to meet the incoming troops and welcome them in a friendly spirit. The representatives of the Sanctuary could hardly induce the people to comply with that request, for the patriots rebelled against the new humiliation thus thrust upon them, and persuaded many to share their sentiments. At length, however, the high priest succeeded in persuading the people to offer an amicable reception to the Roman cohorts. But soon the deceitful intention of the governor manifested itself. The people fulfilled the heavy sacrifice they had with heavy hearts undertaken to perform, and greeted the troops with forced friendliness; but the soldiers, having received their instructions from Florus, looked grimly at them and made no response. At the first murmur of discontent caused by the strange manner of the Roman troops, the latter rushed upon the people with drawn swords, driving them before them, whilst the horses trampled on the fugitives. A fearful crush took place at the gates of the city, and the road from Bezetha was strewn with the wounded and the killed. When it was perceived that the soldiers were directing their steps towards Fort Antonia and the Temple, the designs of Florus upon the treasures contained in it could no longer be concealed, and the people hastened to the Sanctuary to protect it, if possible, from his sacrilegious project. They threw stones at the soldiers, barred their passage through the narrow entrance, demolished the colonnade which connected the fortress Antonia with the Temple, and thus frustrated the governor's hope of becoming a second Crassus. Without being aware of it themselves, the inhabitants of Jerusalem had by that step commenced the war of insurrection.