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hearing the name, leaped down from his horse and said, Take courage, O king; for either I will establish you in the kingdom of the Parthians or I will give up my own to you. He said these things and mounted him on the horse, while he himself followed on foot. And Artabanus swore that if he too did not mount 2.39 a horse and ride ahead, he himself would also dismount. Being persuaded, Izates sprang upon the horse, and bestowed every honor on the Parthian, leading him to the palace. And he wrote to the Parthians to receive Artabanus. But the Parthians, while agreeing to receive him, were not able to bestow the rule, since it was already entrusted to another, Cinnamus, for this was the name of the one who had taken the kingdom, wrote to Artabanus, for he had been brought up by him and was a good man, urging him to come with trust and to take over the rule. And Artabanus trusted him and went away. Cinnamus therefore went to meet him; who, after doing obeisance and addressing him as king, placed the diadem on his head, having taken it from his own. And so, after a period of six years, having been restored to his rule, Artabanus did not forget the good deeds of Izates, but rewarded him. After some time, when Artabanus died, Vardanes his son assumed the kingdom. And coming to Izates, he asked him to be his ally against the Romans; but he was not persuaded, but also advised him to cease from the campaign against them and not to attempt impossible things. But he declared war on Izates for not obeying. But the Parthians, learning that he intended to campaign against the Romans, killed him, and gave the kingdom to his brother Gotarzes; whom, having died by a plot, Vologeses his brother succeeded. But Izates' brother Monobazus and his relatives also desired to Judaize, and they put their desire into action. But their action became manifest to their subjects. And they wrote to Abias 2.40, king of the Arabs, that if he would campaign against their king, to provide him with much money, promising that they themselves would abandon him at the first engagement. The Arab was persuaded by this, and bringing a great force, he came against Izates. And when the engagement took place, his own men abandoned Izates by agreement and turning their backs, they fled. But Izates, recognizing that the betrayal had come from the nobles, withdrew to his camp, and finding the culprits, he punished them. And on the following day, joining battle, he conquered, and turned the Arabs to flight, and he drove their king, being pursued, into a certain fortress. And he killed himself when he was about to be captured, and the fortress was taken and the things in it were plundered. And Izates returned to his own domains. But the nobles of the Adiabenes write to Vologeses, the king of the Parthians, asking him to kill Izates, and to appoint for them a ruler from the Parthians; for they hated their own king for having converted to a foreign religion. The Parthian, at any rate, immediately set out with a very great force, and Izates encamped against him. And someone sent from the Parthian told Izates how great the force of the Parthians was, and that Vologeses threatened to exact punishment from him, for having become ungrateful towards his masters; for to rescue him from his hands not even the god whom he worships would be able. To this Izates replied that he knew the power of the Parthians, but that he knew God to be more powerful than men. He said these things and supplicated God. Therefore, on that night, Vologeses, having received letters that enemies had invaded Parthia and were ravaging it, immediately, in haste, 2.41 broke camp without accomplishing anything. And thus Izates, by the providence of God, escaped the threats of the Parthian. And after some time he died, having lived fifty-five years, and having completed twenty-four in his rule; and he died with twenty-four male children and as many female. And he left the rule to his brother Monobazus. However, when Fadus was procurator of Judaea, a certain sorcerer named Theudas persuaded a very large crowd, taking up their possessions, to follow him to the Jordan
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ἀκούσας τὸ ονομα, κατεπήδησε τοῦ ιππου καὶ Θάρσει, εφη, ω βασιλεῦ· η γὰρ εἰς τὴν Πάρθων βασιλείαν σε καταστήσω η τῆς ἐμῆς σοι ἐκστήσομαι. ταῦτα ειπε καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν ιππον αὐτὸν ἀνεβίβασεν, αὐτὸς δὲ πεζὸς παρείπετο. καὶ ὁ ̓Αρταβάνης ωμοσεν, εἰ μὴ κἀκεῖνος ἀναβαίη 2.39 τὸν ιππον καὶ προηγοῖτο, ἀποβήσεσθαι καὶ αὐτός. πεισθεὶς δ' ὁ ̓Ιζάτης ἐπὶ τὸν ιππον ηλατο, καὶ πᾶσαν τιμὴν ἀπένειμε τῷ Πάρθῳ, εἰς τὰ βασίλεια ἀγαγών. γράφει τε πρὸς τοὺς Πάρθους τὸν ̓Αρταβάνην δέξασθαι. τῶν δὲ Πάρθων δέξασθαι μὲν συντιθεμένων, μὴ δύνασθαι δὲ καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀπονεῖμαι ηδη ἑτέρῳ πεπιστευμένην, ὁ Κινάμωνος, τοῦτο γὰρ ὠνόμαστο ὁ τὴν βασιλείαν παρειληφώς, γράφει τῷ ̓Αρταβάνῳ, ὑπ' αὐτοῦ γὰρ ἐτέθραπτο καὶ ην ἀγαθός, παρακαλῶν αὐτὸν ἀφικέσθαι πιστεύσαντα καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν παραλήψεσθαι. καὶ ὁ ̓Αρτάβανος πιστεύσας ἀπῄει. ὑπήντα ουν αὐτῷ ὁ Κινάμωμος· ος δὴ προσκυνήσας καὶ βασιλέα προσαγορεύσας περιτίθησιν αὐτοῦ τῇ κεφαλῇ τὸ διάδημα, τῆς ἑαυτοῦ ἀφελόμενος. ουτω δὲ χρόνῳ ἑξαετεῖ εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν ἀποκαταστὰς ὁ ̓Αρτάβανος οὐκ ἠμνημόνησε τῶν ̓Ιζάτου καλῶν, ἀλλ' ἀμείβεται τοῦτον. Μετὰ δέ τινα χρόνον ̓Αρταβάνου θανόντος Οὐαρδάνης ὁ παῖς ἐκείνου τὴν βασιλείαν περιεζώσατο. καὶ πρὸς ̓Ιζάτην ἐλθὼν συμμαχῆσαι αὐτῷ ἠξίου κατὰ ̔Ρωμαίων· ὁ δὲ οὐκ ἐπείθετο, ἀλλὰ καὶ συνεβούλευε παύσασθαι τῆς ἐπ' ἐκείνους στρατείας καὶ μὴ ἀδυνάτοις ἐπιχειρεῖν. ὁ δὲ πόλεμον τῷ ̓Ιζάτῃ μὴ πειθομένῳ κατήγγειλεν. ἀλλ' οἱ Πάρθοι μαθόντες ὡς ἐπὶ ̔Ρωμαίους στρατεύσειν βούλεται, αὐτὸν μὲν ἀναιροῦσι, τὴν δὲ βασιλείαν τῷ ἀδελφῷ ̓Ικοτάρδῃ διδόασιν· ον ἐξ ἐπιβουλῆς τελευτήσαντα διαδέχεται Οὐολογέσης ὁ ἀδελφός. ̔Ο δὲ τοῦ ̓Ιζάτου ἀδελφὸς Μονόβαζος καὶ οἱ συγγενεῖς ἰουδαΐσαι καὶ αὐτοὶ ἐπεθύμησαν, καὶ τὴν εφεσιν εἰς εργον ἐξήνεγκαν. γίνεται δ' ἡ πρᾶξις αὐτῶν τοῖς ὑπηκόοις κατάφωρος. καὶ γράφουσι πρὸς ̓Αβίαν 2.40 τὸν ̓Αράβων βασιλέα, εἰ στρατεύσοιτο κατὰ τοῦ σφετέρου βασιλέως, χρήματα πολλὰ παρασχεῖν αὐτῷ, ἐπαγγελλόμενοι περὶ τὴν πρώτην συμβολὴν καὶ αὐτοὶ καταλείψειν αὐτόν. πείθεται τούτοις ὁ Αραψ, καὶ πολλὴν ἐπαγόμενος δύναμιν ηκεν ἐπὶ τὸν ̓Ιζάτην. καὶ συμβολῆς γενομένης καταλείπουσι τὸν ̓Ιζάτην οἱ αὐτοῦ ἐκ συνθήματος καὶ νῶτα τρέψαντες εφευγον. γνοὺς δὲ τὴν προδοσίαν ̓Ιζάτης γενομένην ὑπὸ τῶν μεγιστάνων, εἰς τὸ στρατόπεδον ὑπεχώρησε, καὶ εὑρὼν τοὺς αἰτίους ἐκόλασε. τῇ δ' ἐπιούσῃ συμβαλὼν νικᾷ, καὶ εἰς φυγὴν τοὺς Αραβας ετρεψε, τὸν δὲ βασιλέα αὐτῶν εἰς φρούριόν τι συνήλασε διωκόμενον. καὶ ὁ μὲν ἑαυτὸν ἀνεῖλεν ἁλισκόμενος ηδη, τὸ δὲ φρούριον ἑάλω καὶ τὰ ἐν αὐτῷ διηρπάγη. καὶ ̓Ιζάτης εἰς τὰ οἰκεῖα ὑπέστρεψεν. Οἱ δὲ τῶν ̓Αδιαβηνῶν μεγιστᾶνες Οὐολογέσῃ τῷ Πάρθων γράφουσι βασιλεῖ, ἀξιοῦντες ἀποκτεῖναι μὲν τὸν ̓Ιζάτην, καταστῆσαι δὲ σφίσι δυνάστην ἐκ Πάρθων· μισεῖν γὰρ τὸν ἑαυτῶν βασιλέα ξένῃ θρησκείᾳ προσηλυτεύσαντα. ὁ γοῦν Πάρθος αὐτίκα μετὰ πλείστης δυνάμεως ωρμησε, καὶ ὁ ̓Ιζάτης ἀντεστρατοπεδεύσατο. σταλεὶς δέ τις ἐκ τοῦ Πάρθου ελεγε τῷ ̓Ιζάτῃ ὁπόση ἐστὶ τῶν Πάρθων ἡ δύναμις, καὶ ὡς Οὐολογέσης ἀπειλεῖ δίκας εἰσπράξειν αὐτόν, ἀχάριστον περὶ δεσπότας γενόμενον· ῥύσασθαι γὰρ αὐτὸν τῶν αὐτοῦ χειρῶν οὐδὲ τὸν θεὸν ον σέβει δυνήσεσθαι. πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ ̓Ιζάτης τὴν μὲν δύναμιν τῶν Πάρθων γινώσκειν ἀνταπεκρίνατο, εἰδέναι δ' ἀνθρώπων τὸν θεὸν δυνατώτερον. ταῦτα ειπε καὶ ἱκέτευε τὸν θεόν. κατ' ἐκείνην ουν τὴν νύκτα ἐπιστολὰς ὁ Οὐολογέσης δεξάμενος πολεμίους ἐμβαλόντας τῇ Παρθυηνῇ ταύτην πορθεῖν, αὐτίκα σπεύδων 2.41 ἀνέζευξεν απρακτος. καὶ ουτως ̓Ιζάτης προμηθείᾳ θεοῦ τὰς ἀπειλὰς τοῦ Πάρθου διέφυγε. μετὰ δέ τινα χρόνον θνήσκει, πεντήκοντα καὶ πέντε ζήσας ἐνιαυτούς, εικοσι δὲ καὶ τέσσαρας ἀνύσας ἐν τῇ ἀρχῇ· θνήσκει δ' ἐπὶ παισὶν εικοσι καὶ τέσσαρσιν αρρεσι καὶ τοσαύταις θηλείαις. τὴν δ' ἀρχὴν τῷ ἀδελφῷ Μονοβάζῳ κατέλιπεν. Φάδου μέντοι τῆς ̓Ιουδαίας ἐπιτροπεύοντος ἀνήρ τις γόης Θευδᾶς ονομα πείθει τὸν πλεῖστον οχλον ἀναλαβόντα τὰς κτήσεις επεσθαι πρὸς τὸν ̓Ιορδάνην