Titus Rewards His Army

The army now had no one left to kill or to plunder, since everything had given out on which their fury could work; for they would certainly not have held back out of mercy for anyone if there had been anything left to do. So Caesar ordered them to raze the whole city and the temple. They were to leave standing only the towers that rose above the rest, Phasael, Hippicus and Mariamne, and the stretch of wall that enclosed the city on the west: the wall to serve as a camp for the garrison that was to be left behind, and the towers to show later generations what kind of city, and how strongly fortified, Roman valor had mastered. All the rest of the city’s circuit the wreckers leveled so completely that nothing was left to make visitors believe it had ever been inhabited. This was the end to which the folly of the revolutionaries brought Jerusalem, a splendid city, famous among all mankind. [a]

Caesar decided to leave the tenth legion there as a garrison, with some squadrons of cavalry and companies of infantry. Having now settled everything to do with the war, he longed to praise his whole army for its achievements and to give fitting rewards to those who had distinguished themselves. So a great tribunal was built for him in the middle of his former camp. He stood on it with his officers, where the whole army could hear, and said that he was most grateful to them for the loyalty they continued to show him. He praised their discipline throughout the whole war, which they had shown, together with their own courage, in many great dangers. By it they had increased their country’s power themselves, and had made it plain to all mankind that neither the numbers of the enemy, nor strong places, nor the size of cities, nor the reckless daring and beastly savagery of their opponents could ever escape the valor of Rome, even if some found fortune fighting on their side in many things. [c]

It was a fine thing, he said, that they had brought to an end a war that had lasted so long, for they could not have prayed for anything better when they went into it. But finer still and more glorious for them was this: the men they had chosen to lead and to govern the Roman empire, and had sent ahead to their homeland, were gladly welcomed by all, and all abided by their decisions and were grateful to those who had chosen them. He admired and loved them all, he said, knowing that not one had been slower in his eagerness than his strength allowed. But those who had fought with greater distinction through greater strength, who had crowned their own lives with deeds of valor and made his campaign more glorious by their achievements, he would reward at once with prizes and honors. And no one who had chosen to toil harder than another would miss his just reward. He would take the greatest care over this, since he would much rather honor the courage of his fellow soldiers than punish those who did wrong.

He at once ordered the officers appointed for the purpose to read out the names of all who had done any brilliant deed in the war. Calling each by name, he praised them as they came forward, rejoicing over them as a man would over his own exploits. He set gold crowns on their heads and gave them gold neck chains, small gold spears and standards made of silver, and he promoted each to a higher rank. Besides this he gave them generous shares of the spoils: silver and gold, clothing and other plunder. When all had been honored as he judged each deserved, he offered prayers for the whole army and came down amid loud acclamation. Then he turned to victory sacrifices. A great number of oxen stood ready at the altars; he sacrificed them all and gave them to the army to feast on. [d]

He himself celebrated with his officers for three days. Then he dismissed the rest of the army, each unit to go where it was best placed. To the tenth legion he entrusted the guard of Jerusalem, and did not send it back to the Euphrates, where it had been before. Remembering that the twelfth legion had given way to the Jews under Cestius’s command, he banished it from Syria altogether—its old station had been Raphanaea—and sent it to the place called Melitene, which lies by the Euphrates on the border of Armenia and Cappadocia. Two legions, the fifth and the fifteenth, he chose to keep with him until he reached Egypt. Then he went down with the army to Caesarea on the coast, stored the mass of his spoils there, and ordered the prisoners to be kept there, for winter prevented him from sailing to Italy.