Naomi

by Mrs. J. B. Webb

The fortress of Antonia, and the snowy walls of the temple adorned with burnished gold, attracted the immediate attention of Titus, and long he gazed on the wonderful pile, where art and wealth had expended all their treasures. The citadel rose conspicuous above the temple, on a steep rock ninety feet high. The body of the tower was seventy feet in height, and it was finished at each corner by lofty towers. It was provided within with every accommodation that luxury could require, and was fitted rather for a royal palace than a garrison for troops. The temple itself appeared a fitting edifice to contain all the countless treasures that had once been lavished on its altars and its walls by the piety of the sons of Zion, and which, in spite of the frequent depredations that had been committed by foreign and domestic foes, were still of surpassing value.

Titus surveyed all this magnificence, and the many other noble and extensive buildings that lay before his view; and then he proceeded, with some caution, to make an entire circuit of the city. Nicanor, the tribune who had so greatly distinguished himself at Jotapata, was one of those who followed the general, and by his side rode the liberated captive Josephus. The Jew expressed an ardent wish to approach the walls and address his countrymen, who were watching their movements from the battlements and towers; and Nicanor imprudently consented to accompany him, in the hope that their united persuasions might have the effect of inclining the besieged to listen to terms of peace. Josephus made an eloquent appeal to them, describing the power and valour of the Romans, and vaunting also the clemency and generosity of Titus towards those who submitted to his arms. But while he was yet speaking, and extending his arms towards his countrymen, as if to implore them to have pity on themselves, one of those on the wall aimed an arrow at his breast, at the same time assailing him with the epithets of coward and traitor. The shaft did not reach its intended mark, but it pierced the arm of Nicanor, who stood close to Josephus, and inflicted a severe wound.

Titus was highly exasperated at this act of wanton cruelty and insult, which plainly showed that all attempts at bringing about terms of capitulation would be in vain, and he instantly resolved on commencing the siege without any further delay. He gave orders to his soldiers to ravage and destroy the suburbs, and to bring away everything that would be serviceable in raising their mounds and completing their works. All the trees were quickly cut down, and the suburbs, lately so blooming and beautiful, became naked and desolate. Titus resolved to make his first attack on the outer wall which surrounded Bezetha, because the buildings of that quarter did not reach to the wall, which consequently appeared lower. The spot which he selected was near the tomb of John the high-priest, and immediate preparations were set on foot.

When the inhabitants of Jerusalem beheld the Roman works being completed, and saw that the day of assault was near at hand, those who had hitherto been entirely occupied in destroying their own fellow-citizens, began at length to turn their attention in the direction of the Romans—the foes alike of every faction—and the more peaceable inmates enjoyed a temporary repose from their outrage and violence. Many of them even hoped and prayed for the success of the Roman arms, as the only means by which they could be rescued from the power of enemies far more to be dreaded.

The force under the command of Simon consisted of 10,000 of his own men, and 5,000 Idumeans; John of Gischala had 6,000; and 2,400 owned Eleazar as their leader. The son of Gioras allowed himself and his followers no respite to their labours. With vast exertion they succeeded in raising the military engines, formerly taken from Cestius, on the walls; but his men wanted skill to use them with much effect, and the Romans continued their labours under the shelter of their penthouses of wickerwork. Being also more practised in the use of the destructive catapultas and balistas, they greatly annoyed the besieged, and not only repelled their frequent sallies, but cast over the walls stones of an enormous size from the distance of two furlongs. These masses of rock carried death and ruin in their track, and the Jews knew not how to guard against them; but as they were generally of a very white colour they were enabled to see them approaching, and numbers of men were placed on the wall to watch for these silent and deadly enemies. These sentinels gave notice to their comrades the moment they perceived the stone leave the engine, by crying, "The bolt is coming!" when they immediately separated, and threw themselves flat on the ground, so that the rock generally passed harmless over them. This stratagem was observed by the Romans, and they afterwards took the precaution of blackening the stones, which completely baffled the besieged, and rendered these tremendous implements fearfully destructive.

Notwithstanding the great terror and loss occasioned by these engines, the Jews did not suffer their enemies to proceed undisturbed with the mounds which they were erecting, but were incessant in their sallies, and in the artifices which they employed to interrupt their labours. All their efforts were, however, unsuccessful, and the works were speedily completed. Then the engines were brought to a proper distance from the walls, and strongly guarded against the excursions of the besieged. The signal was given, and at the same moment a thundering noise resounded through every part of the city. On three different parts of the walls the battering-rams were let loose together, and terror ran through the heart of almost every dweller in Jerusalem. The soldiers of the besieged city raised a general and terrific shout, in reply to the first strokes of the ram; and all private animosities, all party feuds, appeared to be forgotten in the dreadful excitement that ensued. Convinced that nothing remained but to unite all parties in the common cause, Simon proclaimed an amnesty to all of John's adherents who would join his men in defence of the wall; and though John was himself too suspicious of his rival leader to venture out of his stronghold, yet he did not oppose his followers obeying the summons. The two factions combined in their efforts to set the engines on fire by discharging combustibles from above, while strong parties sallied from the gates below, tore away the palisades and killed many of the engineers.

Titus was unwearied in his exertions. Wherever assistance and counsel were wanted, there was he to be seen in person, and his courage and presence of mind equalled his activity. His personal inspection and encouragement excited his troops to fresh exertions, and at length a tower which stood at an angle of the wall came down beneath the blows of the battering-ram; but its fall made no breach in the walls. The besieged drew back as if in terror at this event, and the Romans were unsuspicious of any immediate attack, when suddenly a large body of the enemy rushed out from a gate near the Tower of Hippicus, and fell upon them with resistless fury and impetuosity. They were furnished with flaming brands, for the purpose of setting fire to the engines, and they soon reached the intrenchments. Had they not been most valiantly opposed by a party of Alexandrians, they must have succeeded in destroying all those dreaded machines; but while they struggled fiercely with their opponents round the engines Titus came galloping up, attended by his cavalry. With his own hand he laid twelve of the Jews dead on the ground, and the rest at length retreated, leaving one of their number a prisoner in the hands of the Romans. This unhappy man was immediately made fearful example of, being crucified before the walls, in the hope of deterring his countrymen from making any more such desperate sallies. He was the first—would that he had proved the last!—of these rebellious people who was treated with such cruel and unjustifiable barbarity, and made to endure those torments which their fathers had inflicted on the innocent, the holy, the divine Jesus of Nazareth. But the fate of this victim to Roman severity did not in the least degree deter his fellow-citizens from exposing themselves to the same perils, whenever they could hope to gain the most trifling advantage over the enemy. They continued the conflict until night put an end to their efforts, and the Romans retired to their camp exhausted with the severe exertions of the day.

With the morning dawn the battle was renewed, and again the terrific sound of the battering-rams came like thunder on the ears of the besieged. One of those dreadful engines had been named by the Jews "Nico," or "The Victorious," for they observed that nothing seemed able to resist the overwhelming strength of its blows. The dreaded Nico continued to work with unabated vigour throughout the day, and at night it ceased not to thunder against the wall, until at length it began to totter. When the Jews saw that a breach was to be apprehended, they forsook the wall, and abandoned all further attempts at defending it. The showers of darts and arrows which their enemies were able to pour down upon them from the lofty towers which they had erected to overlook the battlements, had for some time forced them to descend from the summit of the wall, and leave the battering-rams to continue their destructive blows without any effort to interrupt them. They were also wearied with exertion, and anxious to return to their own houses within the second wall, and therefore they deserted the suburb, and left Bezetha an easy prey to the conqueror.

Those of the inhabitants who still remained in that quarter fled to the more secure parts of the city, and the gateways were thronged with terrified fugitives, carrying all that was portable of their possessions, and hurrying from the expected incursion of the Romans. The confusion and alarm that already prevailed in the city were augmented by this sudden influx of a destitute population, who were entirely dependent on the charity and hospitality of their fellow-citizens for shelter and subsistence. These social virtues had almost expired in that miserable city, while selfishness and avarice reigned triumphant on every side. Few were found willing to receive and comfort their distressed brethren, and the sufferings of these wretched people were extreme. But some individuals were yet remaining in Jerusalem in whose hearts all the better and nobler feelings were not extinguished, and who gladly offered an asylum to as many of the fugitives as their dwellings would contain. Among these Zadok was the most distinguished, and his benevolence set a bright example to the rich and noble of the city. Several families were brought under the shelter of his roof, and received from the hands of Naomi and Deborah all the assistance and relief that their destitute condition required.

Salome was at this time but little able to support the constant excitement of terror in which she lived from day to day; and the appalling sounds that reached her ears told her sinking heart that the destined ruin was approaching very nigh. Naomi had hitherto used every precaution to conceal from her mother the progress that the enemy was daily making, and the slaughter that was effected among their countrymen. It would but have augmented her terror and her grief, and added to the constant anxiety which she felt from the perils to which both Zadok and Javan were exposed. But when Bezetha was abandoned to the conqueror, and the inhabitants rushed tumultuously into the inner city, mingled with the troops, and uttering wild cries of terror, the truth could no longer be disguised, and Salome learnt that the Roman eagles were even then being planted on one of the walls of Jerusalem. Soon the whole of the deserted quarter was in the possession of the enemy, and Titus having ordered a large portion of the outer wall to be thrown down, took up his position near what was called the Camp of the Assyrians. His troops commenced an immediate attack on the second wall, and were resisted with dauntless courage by the Jews. John and his party maintained the conflict from the citadel of Antonia and the northern porticoes of the temple, while Simon's men defended the wall as far as the aqueduct that passed to the Tower of Hippicus. Many and fierce were the sallies of the besieged, but as often as they rushed on the well-disciplined foe, they were driven back with considerable loss. That night both parties remained under arms, as the Romans every moment expected a sudden attack, and the Jews feared to leave their walls defenceless.