Naomi

by Mrs. J. B. Webb

The city contained a large supply of every necessary except water; but there was no spring within the walls, and the small quantity of rain-water that could be obtained was quite inadequate to the wants of the garrison and the rest of the inhabitants. This was measured out in very scanty portions, and after the blockade had been continued for some days, many began to faint beneath the severe privation, added to the fatigue they endured, and the fever that parched up the wounded and the sick. The Romans discovered their distress, and hoped for a speedy surrender; but the wily Josephus resolved to baffle their calculations, and he ordered a number of his men to dip their clothes in water, and then hang them over the walls, so that the moisture ran down; and the besiegers could no longer believe that the garrison were in want of water, when they could waste so much unnecessarily. Vespasian therefore resolved to renew the assault, which was exactly what the Jews desired, for it was better to perish by the sword than to die of thirst or famine.

Notwithstanding the close blockade kept up by the Romans, Josephus still contrived to keep up a communication with his friends without the city, by means of a narrow and rugged path down the bed of a torrent. It was so precipitous and dangerous that the Romans left it unguarded; and by this difficult way the messengers of the Jewish commander crept forth on their hands and knees, covered with skins of animals, and thus bearing letters to other towns, and bringing back many articles of great service to the besieged. But at length this was discovered, and all further exit by this passage was prevented. Josephus now began to despair of success, and even held a council with the chief persons in the city as to the possibility of effecting their own escape. This was discovered by the inhabitants, and they hastened to throw themselves at his feet, imploring him not to abandon them to the Roman vengeance. He was moved with pity at the sight of the terrified multitude of men, women, and children kneeling before him, and consented to relinquish his selfish purpose; and seizing the moment when they were filled with gratitude, he exclaimed. "Now is the time, then; if there is no hope of safety let us exert our utmost courage, and let us at least die nobly, and leave behind us a glorious example!" The most courageous of his soldiers gathered round him, and they rushed forth, carrying fire and sword into the enemy's lines. For three days these fierce sallies were repeated, and kept up a constant state of watchfulness and alarm in the Roman camp.

Vespasian, weary of this desultory warfare, now ordered the battering-ram to be brought against the walls. This tremendous engine was composed of an enormous beam of wood, terminating in the head of a ram, cast in iron; this was hung by ropes from another strong beam, supported by four tall posts. When it was required to exert its terrible force, it was drawn backwards by a number of men, and then driven forward with a shock, against which scarcely any wall could resist. This dreadful machine now slowly advanced against the walls of Jotapata, and the smaller engines commenced a quick discharge of stones and darts, to drive the Jews from the walls. Then began the thundering blows of the battering-ram, and the walls shook to their foundation. A cry rose from the city, for all the inhabitants believed that the Romans were even now entering their streets. Still was Josephus able to parry this new danger. He ordered a great number of bags to be stuffed with chaff, and suspended on the face of the wall, so as to meet and break the force of the ram; and this scheme entirely succeeded, to the great astonishment of the Romans. They however continued to sever the ropes to which the bags were tied, by means of sickles fastened to long poles, and then they recommenced their work of destruction. But the Jews rushed forth from their gates in three bodies, armed with flaming torches and every combustible they could seize. They set fire to the engines and the palisades, and drove back their assailants, who were confounded by the fire and smoke. Among the foremost was the fierce Javan, brandishing a flaming brand in his left hand, and carrying destruction and dismay wherever he turned. All the endeavours of the Romans to save their works were ineffectual; they suffered a great loss of men in the engagement, and all that had cost them such labour and ingenuity to erect was in less than one hour reduced to ashes.

One man among the Jews distinguished himself by an act of desperate courage, that has made his name memorable even to the present time. This was Eleazer, the son of Samæas, a Galilean, who standing on the wall at the time of the furious sally made by Josephus, took up an enormous stone, and hurled it at the head of the battering-ram with such force, that it broke off, and fell to the ground. He then descended from the wall and rushed forth into the midst of the enemy, and seizing on the ram's head, carried it off in triumph. The Romans, filled with indignation, cast at him a shower of darts and arrows, five or six of which entered his body: he nevertheless still bore off his prize, and carried it to the top of the wall, where he undauntedly showed himself and his trophy to the infuriated foe. But the wounds he had received were mortal, and sinking beneath them, he fell from the wall with the head of the ram still grasped in his dying hands. His heroic example animated his comrades with fresh courage, and they succeeded in destroying all the engines, and coverings, and breastworks of the fifth and tenth legions, which, notwithstanding their high reputation for bravery and discipline, had fled, confounded by the fierce desperation of their assailants, and blinded by the smoke and flame.

Still the Romans were not discouraged; and in the dusk of the evening they once more erected their terrible battering-ram against that part of the fortifications that was already shaken by its force; but during this operation one of the besieged cast a javelin from the wall, and pierced the neck of Vespasian. The Romans seeing their general wounded, were greatly discouraged, and his son Titus betrayed the deepest concern and alarm; but his father quickly removed their fears, and reappearing among his troops, those who had fled in dismay returned to their duty with fresh animation, and showed a determination to brave every danger in the hope of revenging the insult offered to their beloved general; and with a unanimous shout of defiance, they rushed upon the wall. The stones, darts, and arrows flew in showers upon the besieged, and many fell beneath the deadly strokes; yet others pressed forward to take their places, and in their turn poured fire and stones and pieces of iron upon the besiegers, who worked beneath their hurdles. The fires that burnt around shed a lurid light on this work of death, and guided the aim of the Jews on the walls; but the Romans were unable to distinguish their enemies above them. Nevertheless they continued to pour forth their missiles; and so vast were the stones that were thrown by the balistæ, and so resistless was their force, that they broke through the thickest ranks of the defenders, and striking against the towers and inner walls, brought down heavy pieces of masonry upon the crowds around. One man who stood between Javan and the Jewish commander had his head torn from his shoulders, and carried away to the distance of three furlongs. That was indeed a fearful night. The terrible and continued noise of the engines, the shouts of the soldiers, the screams of the women and children in the city, the groans of the wounded and dying, and the heavy crash of armour on the wall as the slain fell one upon another, formed a deafening and discordant sound that can hardly be conceived, and which was echoed back from the surrounding mountains; while the blood ran in streams from the walls, and stood in pools around their base. Until the morning watch the walls stood firm; but then they yielded before the battering-ram, and a breach was formed. Vespasian gave his wearied men a short respite before he led them on to storm the breach; then posting a strong body of cavalry entirely covered with armour at the foot of the wall, he commanded the infantry to apply the scaling-ladders. Josephus was not idle within; he stationed the least efficient of the garrison on those parts of the walls that were not immediately threatened; but all the best and bravest he disposed in front of the breach; and in the most perilous situation of all he stationed himself and Javan and four others, with directions to stop their ears against the noise of the legionaries, and receive their darts on their bended knees, with their shields locked together over their heads, until their quivers were exhausted, and then to sally forth and fall upon them with all their collected rage, and fight for their lives and their liberties, and those of their wives and children and aged parents. The women seeing the dreadful preparations on either side, gave themselves up for lost, and one wild dismal cry of anguish and despair burst from the crowded streets; but Josephus dreading the effect of their grief and consternation on the soldiers, ordered them all to be locked up in the houses, and with severe threats commanded them to be still.

Now the trumpets sounded for the charge, and the Romans gave a mighty shout, at the same moment sending upon the besieged such a cloud of arrows and darts that the air was darkened. Josephus's brave companions followed his directions, and stopped their ears to the sound, and defended their bodies from the darts. But as soon as the engines had played, and ere the engineers could renew the charge, they sallied forth upon them resolving to slay or be slain, and were followed by many other parties animated with the same desperate resolution. But the Romans at length drove them back, and succeeded in getting a footing on the wall. Josephus had now recourse to stratagem in this extremity, and ordered a quantity of oil to be heated, which, being quickly prepared, was poured in a boiling state on their assailants, and penetrating through the joints of their armour, burnt through their flesh, and maddened them with agony, so that, being unable to tear off their armour, they turned back and fled away, carrying confusion among their comrades; and many of them fell headlong from the narrow bridges by which they had passed to the walls from their embankment. The Jews also poured boiled fenugreek, a kind of herb, on the planks and bridges by which their enemies ascended, and thus made them so slippery that it was impossible for them to stand upright, and many fell with violence to the ground, and in that situation were struck at by those on the walls.

In the evening, Vespasian was forced to call off his discomfited men, of whom a great number were wounded, besides those who lay dead on the field. The loss of the Jotapateans was considerably less, and they were greatly encouraged by the result of that day. The Romans now commenced raising their mounds to a greater height, and also erected three strong and lofty towers, in which were placed bowmen and slingers to keep up a perpetual annoyance of the garrison; and they in their turn made frequent sallies, with no decisive effect, until, on the forty-seventh day of the siege, the enemy raised their works above the level of the walls, and looked down upon the devoted inhabitants. On that same fatal day, treachery effected what force and valour had so long failed to accomplish. One dastardly man was found mean enough to creep out of the city and desert to Vespasian, and inform him of the weak and distressed state of the garrison and the inhabitants of Jotapata. He urged him to make a sudden attack upon the place during the last watch of the night, when, worn out with fighting and watching, the garrison would be in a profound sleep, and even the sentinels would probably be slumbering also, so weary and faint were they now become. At first Vespasian doubted the traitor's story, and thought it was only a stratagem of Josephus to ensnare him; and this suspicion was strengthened by the fidelity and constancy which had hitherto been displayed by the Jotapateans who had fallen into their hands. One man had even endured the sharpest torments by fire, which had been applied by the Romans to induce him to disclose the secrets of the garrison; and, smiling at their cruel efforts, had afterwards patiently sustained the tortures of crucifixion. Vespasian, however, believed that the consequences to his mighty army could be but trifling, even if he were deceived; he therefore kept the deserter in close custody, and gave orders for attacking the city.

At the hour mentioned by the traitor, his troops advanced silently to the walls, and Titus led a small party of the fifth legion to the summit. Here they instantly slew the sentinels before an alarm could be raised, and then quietly entered the city, followed by Placidus and Sextus Cerialis, with Rufus the centurion, and the men under their command. They seized upon the citadel, and, favoured by a thick mist and the drowsiness of the inhabitants, they were in the very heart of the city before the garrison had been aroused to their danger. The entrance of the whole Roman army then showed them the extent of their misfortune, and the furious and indiscriminate slaughter which commenced proved that their enemies remembered all they had suffered in the siege, and were determined to revenge it. They charged down from the citadel, hewing down all who opposed them, and driving the terrified inhabitants into the narrow streets and lanes, where they fell an unresisting prey to their enemies, while many were pushed over the steep precipices by the force of the crowd behind them, and dashed to pieces. A few of the most resolute gathered round Josephus, and several of them, seeing the hopelessness of their situation, died by their own and by each other's hands, rather than be slain by the enemy. A party of the guard fled to a tower, and there made some resistance; but they were soon surrounded and forced to surrender; and the Romans became entire masters of the celebrated city of Jotapata, with the loss of but one of their men. This was a centurion named Antonius, who was slain by an act of cunning. One of the Jews, who had taken refuge in a cave, held out his hand to him, promising to surrender if he would assist him to clamber out. Antonius took his hand, and at that moment the other struck him through the throat with his spear and killed him instantly.

The city was given up that day to a general slaughter, and all who were seen in the houses and streets were put to the sword. The following day a strict search was made in the caves and hiding-places, where multitudes had taken refuge, and of these the men were slain, and the women and children reserved as prisoners. About twelve hundred were collected to be carried away into captivity, and it is supposed that nearly forty thousand were slain from the commencement of the attack on the city. Vespasian then ordered the city to be burnt to the ground, and all its boasted towers and walls were quickly reduced to ashes.

Josephus had been sought for in vain during the carnage; no pains were spared to discover and capture him, who was the chief object of the siege, and who had excited the resentment of the Romans and their general by the obstinacy of his resistance. On the taking of the city, when he saw that all other hope of safety was gone, he had leaped down a dry well, from the bottom of which he knew that a long passage led to a subterranean cave, entirely concealed from the view of those above. Here he found forty men of consequence and note, and among them his young friend Javan, who had all sought refuge in this secure retreat, and with them was one woman, the wife of a citizen of the party. These persons had hastily collected, and carried down to the cave, a sufficient quantity of provisions to sustain them for several days; and Javan being separated from his general, and hopeless of any success by further resistance, had joined them, and shared their place of concealment. Josephus remained in the cave during the day, but at night he ascended, accompanied by Javan, and sought to effect his escape; but finding every avenue strictly guarded, he was compelled to return to the cave. The third night he was attended by the citizen's wife, who promised to point out to him a secret way by which he could escape; but she had deceived him, and as soon as she had conducted him within hearing of the sentinels, she fled from him, and betrayed to the soldiers where he made his hiding-place. This was immediately made known to Vespasian, who sent two tribunes, named Paulinus and Gallicanus, to persuade him to surrender. He had returned to the cave, and was startled by hearing his own name loudly called from the top of the well; and the tribunes proceeded to deliver to him their general's offer of mercy. But Josephus had no dependence on the mercy of the Romans, and refused to come up, till Vespasian sent another tribune, named Nicanor, with whom he was well acquainted, and who, by various arguments and promises, at length induced him to consent.