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[286]
As soon as Varus was once informed of the state of Judea by Sabinus's
writing to him, he was afraid for the legion he had left there; so he took
the two other legions, (for there were three legions in all belonging to
Syria,) and four troops of horsemen, with the several auxiliary forces
which either the kings or certain of the tetrarchs afforded him, and made
what haste he could to assist those that were then besieged in Judea. He
also gave order that all that were sent out for this expedition, should
make haste to Ptolemais. The citizens of Berytus also gave him fifteen
hundred auxiliaries as he passed through their city. Aretas also, the king
of Arabia Petrea, out of his hatred to Herod, and in order to purchase
the favor of the Romans, sent him no small assistance, besides their footmen
and horsemen; and when he had now collected all his forces together, he
committed part of them to his son, and to a friend of his, and sent them
upon an expedition into Galilee, which lies in the neighborhood of Ptolemais;
who made an attack upon the enemy, and put them to flight, and took Sepphoris,
and made its inhabitants slaves, and burnt the city. But Varus himself
pursued his march for Samaria with his whole army; yet did not he meddle
with the city of that name, because it had not at all joined with the seditious;
but pitched his camp at a certain village that belonged to Ptolemy, whose
name was Arus, which the Arabians burnt, out of their hatred to Herod,
and out of the enmity they bore to his friends; whence they marched to
another village, whose name was Sampho, which the Arabians plundered and
burnt, although it was a fortified and a strong place; and all along this
march nothing escaped them, but all places were full of fire and of slaughter.
Emmaus was also burnt by Varus's order, after its inhabitants had deserted
it, that he might avenge those that had there been destroyed. From thence
he now marched to Jerusalem; whereupon those Jews whose camp lay there,
and who had besieged the Roman legion, not bearing the coming of this army,
left the siege imperfect: but as to the Jerusalem Jews, when Varus reproached
them bitterly for what had been done, they cleared themselves of the accusation,
and alleged that the conflux of the people was occasioned by the feast;
that the war was not made with their approbation, but by the rashness of
the strangers, while they were on the side of the Romans, and besieged
together with them, rather than having any inclination to besiege them.
There also came beforehand to meet Varus, Joseph, the cousin-german of
king Herod, as also Gratus and Rufus, who brought their soldiers along
with them, together with those Romans who had been besieged; but Sabinus
did not come into Varus's presence, but stole out of the city privately,
and went to the sea-side.
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