Caesar’s Favor and Manahem’s Prophecy

While Herod was engaged in these affairs, and when he had already rebuilt Sebaste, he decided to send his sons Alexander and Aristobulus to Rome to be in the company of Caesar. When they arrived there they lodged at the house of Pollio, a man who was among the most devoted to Herod’s friendship, and they had leave to lodge in Caesar’s own palace too, for he received these sons of Herod with every kindness. He also gave Herod the right to confirm his kingdom to whichever of his sons he pleased, and besides all this he gave him Trachonitis, Batanea and Auranitis. He gave him these for the following reason. A certain Zenodorus had leased what was called the domain of Lysanias. Not content with its revenues, he kept bands of robbers in Trachonitis and so brought in a larger income. For the inhabitants of those places lived like desperate men and plundered the country of the people of Damascus, while Zenodorus did not restrain them but took a share of the plunder himself. The neighboring peoples suffered badly from this, and they complained to Varro, who was then governor of Syria, and begged him to write to Caesar about the wrongdoing of Zenodorus. When these matters were laid before Caesar, he wrote back telling Varro to destroy the nests of robbers, and he assigned the land to Herod, so that by his care the people of Trachonitis would no longer trouble their neighbors. It was not easy to restrain them, for robbery had become their custom and they had no other way of making a living. They had neither cities of their own nor fields in their possession, only hiding places and caves in the earth, where they and their cattle lived together. They had contrived ways of collecting pools of water and laying up stores of grain, and they were able to hold out for a long time, striking suddenly from hiding against anyone who attacked them. The entrances to their caves were narrow, so that only one could come in at a time, while inside they were incredibly large and dug out very wide. The ground over their dwellings was not high but nearly level, and the rock throughout was hard and difficult to cross unless one kept to a path with someone to guide him, for these paths do not run straight but wind about in many turns. When these men were prevented from preying on their neighbors, their habit was to prey on one another, so that no kind of lawlessness was beyond them. But when Herod had received this grant from Caesar and had come into the country, he got experienced guides, put a stop to their wicked robberies, and gave the surrounding peoples peace and security. [a]

At this Zenodorus was aggrieved, first because his territory had been taken from him, and still more out of envy of Herod, who had received it. So he went up to Rome to accuse him, but came back without success. Now Agrippa was sent as Caesar’s deputy to govern the countries beyond the Ionian Sea. Herod met him while he was wintering near Mytilene, for he was his special friend and companion, and then returned to Judea. Some of the people of Gadara came to Agrippa and accused Herod, but Agrippa sent them back to the king in chains without even giving them a hearing. The Arabs, however, who had long been hostile to Herod’s rule, were stirred up, and at that time tried to raise a revolt against him, and on what they thought were better grounds. For Zenodorus, already despairing of his own affairs, had gotten in first by selling them a part of his territory, called Auranitis, for fifty talents. Since this was included in Caesar’s gift, they disputed it with Herod, as though they were being unjustly deprived of what they had bought. Sometimes they did this by raids and attempts at force, and sometimes by going to law. They also won over the poorer and the disaffected among the soldiers, men who were always hoping for something and inclined to revolution, the thing that those who are worst off in life enjoy most. Herod had known for a long while that these things were going on, yet he did not deal with them harshly, but tried to calm the disturbances by reasoning, unwilling to give any excuse for riots. [e]

When Herod had already reigned seventeen years, Caesar came into Syria. At that time most of the inhabitants of Gadara clamored against Herod, saying that he was harsh in his commands and a tyrant. They ventured on these charges chiefly because Zenodorus urged them on and slandered him, and swore that he would never give up until he had by every means had them severed from Herod’s kingdom and joined to Caesar’s province. Persuaded by this, the people of Gadara raised no small outcry, and were all the bolder because Herod had not punished the men Agrippa had handed over to him, but had let them go and done them no harm. For he seemed, if any man ever did, to be unforgiving toward offenders in his own household but generous in pardoning offenses committed elsewhere. While they accused Herod of outrages, plunder and the demolition of temples, he stood unmoved and ready to make his defense. But Caesar greeted him with his right hand and abated nothing of his goodwill toward him because of the uproar of the crowd. The charges were spoken on the first day, but the hearing went no further. For when the people of Gadara saw how Caesar and his council were inclined, and expected, as was likely, that they would be handed over to the king, some of them, for fear of torture, cut their own throats during the night, some threw themselves from heights, and others jumped into the river and drowned themselves of their own accord. These deaths seemed a sufficient verdict on their rashness and their guilt, and so Caesar, without further delay, cleared Herod of the charges. Another stroke of good fortune, and no small one, was added to what had happened. Zenodorus’s bowels burst, and he lost a great quantity of blood in his illness and died at Antioch in Syria. So Caesar gave his territory, which was no small one, to Herod. It lay between Trachonitis and Galilee, and contained Ulatha and Paneas and the country around them. Caesar also joined him with the procurators of Syria, and ordered them to do everything with his approval. In short, he reached such a height of good fortune that, while two men governed the vast Roman empire, first Caesar and after him Agrippa, his chief favorite, Caesar preferred no one to Herod except Agrippa, and Agrippa gave Herod the first place in his friendship after Caesar. Having gained such freedom with Caesar, he asked him for a tetrarchy for his brother Pheroras, and himself gave him a revenue of a hundred talents out of his own kingdom, so that if anything happened to Herod his brother might be safe, and Herod’s sons might not have power over him. When he had escorted Caesar to the sea and had returned home, he built him a most beautiful temple of white stone in Zenodorus’s territory, near the place called Panium. There is a very fine cave in a mountain there, and below it the earth opens into a steep chasm of immense depth, full of still water. A huge mountain hangs over it, and beneath the cave rise the springs of the river Jordan. This place, already very famous, Herod adorned still further with this temple, which he dedicated to Caesar. [g]

At this time Herod remitted to the people of his kingdom a third of their taxes, on the pretext of letting them recover from the time of scarcity, but chiefly to win back their goodwill, which he had lost. For they resented the carrying out of such practices as though their religion were being dissolved and their customs abandoned, and everyone was talking against him, as people who were constantly provoked and disturbed. He guarded against this discontent with great care. He took away any opportunities they might have, and ordered them always to keep at their work. Citizens were not permitted to meet together, or to walk or eat together; everything they did was watched. Those who were caught were severely punished, and many were taken, both openly and in secret, to the fortress of Hyrcania and put to death there. There were men everywhere, in the city and on the roads, who kept watch on those who met together. It is said that he did not neglect this part of the watch himself, but would often put on the clothes of a private citizen and mingle with the crowds at night, to find out what they thought of his rule. Those who stubbornly refused altogether to fall in with his ways he pursued by every means. The rest of the people he required to bind themselves to loyalty by oaths, and compelled them to swear that they would maintain their goodwill toward him while he ruled. Most of them gave in to his demands, either to please him or out of fear of him. But those of a more independent spirit, who resented being forced, he got rid of by one means or another. He also tried to persuade Pollio the Pharisee and Sameas, and most of their disciples, to take the oath. But they would not consent, and yet they were not punished as the others who refused were, because of the respect he had for Pollio. Those we call Essenes were also excused from this requirement. They are a group among us who follow the way of life that Pythagoras taught among the Greeks. I will speak of them more fully elsewhere. But it is right to explain here why Herod held the Essenes in honor and thought more highly of them than their mortal nature warranted; and the account will not seem out of place in a history of this kind, since it will also show what was thought of these men. [i]

There was one of the Essenes named Manahem, who was known not only for the excellence of his whole way of life but also for having been given foreknowledge of the future by God. When Herod was still a boy going to his teacher, this man saw him and greeted him as king of the Jews. Herod, thinking that the man either did not know who he was or was making fun of him, reminded him that he was only a private person. But Manahem smiled quietly, slapped him on the backside with his hand, and said: “Nevertheless, you will be king, and you will rule with good fortune, for God has found you worthy of it. And remember Manahem’s blows, so that they may be a sign to you of how fortune changes. The best course for you would be to love righteousness, and piety toward God, and consideration toward your citizens. But I know that you will not be such a man, for I understand the whole of it. You will surpass all men in good fortune and win everlasting fame, but you will forget piety and what is just. These things will not escape God’s notice; at the end of your life his anger for them will be remembered.” At the time Herod paid very little attention to what Manahem said, since he had no hope of such advancement. But when he had gradually risen to be king and was enjoying good fortune at the height of his power, he sent for Manahem and asked him how long he would reign. Manahem did not tell him the full length of it. So when he stayed silent, Herod asked him only whether he would reign ten years. He answered, “Yes, twenty, even thirty,” but he did not set the limit of the appointed time. Herod was content even with these answers, and dismissed Manahem with a clasp of the hand, and from that time on he continued to honor all the Essenes. We have thought fit to tell our readers these things, strange as they may seem, and to make known what has happened among us, because many of these men, through their excellence of life, are thought worthy of a knowledge of divine things. [j]