[114]
Now king Agrippa sent an army to make themselves masters of the
citadel of Gamala, and over it Equieulus Modius; but the forces that were
sent were not allow to encompass the citadel quite round, but lay before
it in the open places, and besieged it. But when Ebutius the decurion,
who was intrusted with the government of the great plain, heard that I
was at Simonias, a village situated in the confines of Galilee, and was
distant from him sixty furlongs, he took a hundred horsemen that were with
him by night, and a certain number of footmen, about two hundred, and brought
the inhabitants of the city Gibea along with him as auxiliaries, and marched
in the night, and came to the village where I abode. Upon this I pitched
my camp over against him, which had a great number of forces in it: but
Ebutius tried to draw us down into the plain, as greatly depending upon
his horsemen; but we would not come down; for when I was satisfied of the
advantage that his horse would have if we came down into the plain, while
we were all footmen, I resolved to join battle with the enemy where I was.
Now Ebutius and his party made a courageous opposition for some time; but
when he saw that his horse were useless to him in that place, he retired
back to the city Gibea, having lost three of his men in the fight. So I
followed him directy with two thousand armed men; and when I was at the
city Besara, that lay in the confines of Ptolemais, but twenty furlongs
from Gibea, where Ebutius abode, I placed my armed men on the outside of
the village, and gave orders that they should guard the passes with great
care, that the enemy might not disturb us until we should have carried
off the corn, a great quantity of which lay there: it belonged to Bernice
the queen, and had been gathered together out of the neighboring villages
into Besara; so I loaded my camels and asses, a great number of which I
had brought along with me, and sent the corn into Galilee. When I had done
this, I offered Ebutius battle; but when he would not accept of the offer,
for he was terrified at our readiness and courage, I altered my route,
and marched towards Neopolitanus, because I had heard that the country
about Tiberias was laid waste by him. This Neopolitanus was captain of
a troop of horse, and had the custody of Scythopolis intrusted to his care
by the enemy; and when I had hindered him from doing any further mischief
to Tiberias, I set myself to make provision for the affairs of Galilee.
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