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they provoked the Romans to war, wishing not to obey them, and they destroyed the villages of those who did not obey by burning them. But while Syrians and Jews were inhabiting Caesarea, the Jews claimed to have precedence, as Herod their king had founded the city, but the Syrians, while acknowledging the facts concerning Herod, said that it was formerly a city called Strato's Tower, and that no Jew inhabited the city at that time. Therefore, because the Caesareans were in strife over these matters, those in charge of the country tortured the guilty parties with stripes, and for a short time quieted the disturbance. But the Jews, being superior to the Syrians in wealth, and for this reason despising them, reviled them. But they, though inferior in wealth, but confident because most of those serving as soldiers under the Romans were Caesareans, for some time also insulted the Jews in return with words; then they threw stones at each other, until many were wounded and fell on both sides; but the 2.47 Jews were victorious. However, Felix ordered the Jews to stop, and when they did not obey, he sent the soldiers against them; and he killed many, and took more alive, and allowed the soldiers to plunder houses. But the more moderate and the leading men of the Jews besought Felix to recall the soldiers and to spare them, and to grant them repentance for what had been done. And Felix was persuaded. And King Agrippa gave the high priesthood to Ishmael, son of Phabi. And there arose a conflict among the chief priests and the priests, together with the leading men of Jerusalem, and they spoke ill of one another and threw stones, and there was no one to rebuke and stop the conflict. And the chief priests became so shameless as to even send to the threshing floors and take by force the tithes owed to the priests, whence the poor among the priests were dying of want. But when Porcius Festus was sent by Nero as successor to Felix, the Jews of Caesarea accused Felix before Nero; and he would likely have paid the penalty for his crimes against them, had not Pallas his brother, who had great influence with Nero, appeased his wrath. And the Syrians in Caesarea, having won over Beryllus, Nero's tutor, with money, obtained through him a letter from Caesar, declaring the equal civil rights of the Jews with the Syrians in Caesarea to be void. From which the subsequent evils for the nation arose; for because of this letter, the Jews engaged more in strife with the Syrians, until the war was kindled. But Festus, upon arriving in Judaea, 2.48 found it afflicted by robbers. For those called sicarii, who were also robbers, then especially gathered in great numbers, using small curved daggers similar to the sicae, as they are called by the Romans, from which they were also named sicarii; who, mingling with the crowd during the feasts, easily slew whomever they wished, and they both plundered and burned the villages. And Festus sent a force against those deceived by a certain impostor, who promised salvation to those willing to follow him into the wilderness; and those who were sent destroyed both that deceiver and his followers. However, King Agrippa, having built a certain large chamber in the palace, from there used to watch the proceedings in the temple. But at this the people of the city were angered. Therefore they raised a wall, which cut off the view not only from the royal house, but also from the western portico, where the Romans kept guard during the feasts on account of the temple. At these things Agrippa was indignant, and Festus even more so, and he wanted to demolish the wall. But they requested that they be allowed to petition Caesar. And when Festus consented, they sent ten of the leading men to Nero, along with Ishmael the high priest and Helcias the treasurer. And Nero, to gratify his wife Poppaea who interceded on behalf of the Jews, ordered that the building be left alone. And Poppaea allowed the others to return, but she kept Ishmael and Helcias with her as hostages. And the

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̔Ρωμαίους ἠρέθιζον πόλεμον, θέλοντες μὴ ὑπακούειν αὐτῶν, καὶ τὰς τῶν μὴ πειθομένων κώμας ἐμπιπρῶντες διέφθειρον. Σύρων δὲ καὶ ̓Ιουδαίων τὴν Καισάρειαν οἰκούντων οἱ μὲν ̓Ιουδαῖοι πρωτεύειν ἠξίουν ὡς ̔Ηρώδου τοῦ σφῶν βασιλέως τὴν πόλιν ἐγείραντος, Σύροι δὲ τὰ μὲν περὶ τὸν ̔Ηρώδην ὡμολόγουν, εφασαν δὲ καὶ πρῴην πόλιν ειναι Στράτωνος καλουμένην πύργον, καὶ μηδένα τότε τὴν πόλιν ̓Ιουδαῖον οἰκεῖν. διὰ ταῦτα τοίνυν τῶν Καισαρέων στασιαζόντων, οἱ τῆς χώρας ἐπιμελούμενοι πληγαῖς τοὺς αἰτίους ᾐκίσαντο, καὶ πρὸς ὀλίγον τὸν θόρυβον κατεκοίμισαν. πλούτῳ δὲ τῶν Σύρων οἱ ̓Ιουδαῖοι προέχοντες, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο καταφρονοῦντες αὐτῶν, ἐβλασφήμουν αὐτούς. οἱ δὲ χρήμασι μὲν ἡττώμενοι, θαρροῦντες δὲ οτι πλεῖστοι τῶν ὑπὸ ̔Ρωμαίους στρατευομένων Καισαρεῖς ησαν, μέχρι μέν τινος καὶ αὐτοὶ λόγοις τοὺς ̓Ιουδαίους ἀνθύβριζον· ειτα λίθοις ἀλλήλους εβαλλον, εως πολλοὶ ἐτρώθησάν τε καὶ επεσον ἀμφοτέρωθεν· νικῶσι δὲ 2.47 ̓Ιουδαῖοι. ὁ μέντοι Φῆλιξ παύσασθαι τοὺς ̓Ιουδαίους ἐκέλευε, καὶ μὴ πειθομένοις τοὺς στρατιώτας ἐπαφίησι· καὶ πολλοὺς μὲν ἀνεῖλε, πλείους δὲ ζῶντας συνέσχε, καὶ οἰκίας διαρπάζειν τοῖς στρατιώταις ἐπέτρεψεν. οἱ δὲ τῶν ̓Ιουδαίων ἐπιεικέστεροι καὶ οἱ προύχοντες παρεκάλουν τὸν Φήλικα τοὺς στρατιώτας ἀνακαλέσασθαι καὶ φείσασθαι αὐτῶν, δοῦναί τε ἐπὶ τοῖς πεπραγμένοις μετάνοιαν. καὶ ὁ Φῆλιξ ἐπείσθη. ̔Ο δὲ βασιλεὺς ̓Αγρίππας δίδωσι τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην ̓Ισμαὴλ υἱῷ τοῦ Φαβεί. εσχον δὲ πρὸς ἀλλήλους στάσιν οι τε ἀρχιερεῖς καὶ ἱερεῖς σὺν τοῖς πρώτοις τῶν ̔Ιεροσολυμιτῶν, καὶ ἐκακολόγουν ἀλλήλους καὶ λίθοις εβαλλον, καὶ ὁ ἐπιπλήξων καὶ τὴν στάσιν κωλύσων οὐκ ην. ἐς τοσοῦτον δὲ οἱ ἀρχιερεῖς ἠναιδεύσαντο ὡς καὶ πέμπειν ἐπὶ τὰς αλωνας καὶ βίᾳ λαμβάνειν τὰς τοῖς ἱερεῦσιν ὀφειλομένας δεκάτας, οθεν οἱ αποροι τῶν ἱερέων ὑπ' ἐνδείας ἀπέθνησκον. Πορκίου δὲ Φήστου ὑπὸ Νέρωνος σταλέντος διαδόχου τῷ Φήλικι, οἱ Καισαρεῖς ̓Ιουδαῖοι κατηγόρησαν τοῦ Φήλικος παρὰ Νέρωνι· καὶ τάχα αν ετισε δίκας τῶν εἰς αὐτοὺς ἀδικημάτων, εἰ μὴ Πάλλας ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ μέγα δυνάμενος παρὰ Νέρωνι τὴν αὐτοῦ ὀργὴν παρῃτήσατο. καὶ οἱ ἐν Καισαρείᾳ δὲ Σύροι Βήρυλλον τὸν Νέρωνος παιδαγωγὸν δεξιωσάμενοι χρήμασιν, ἐπιστολὴν κομίζονται Καίσαρος δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν ̓Ιουδαίαν ἰσοπολιτείαν τοῖς ἐν Καισαρείᾳ Σύροις ακυρον ἀποφαίνουσαν. ἐξ ης τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα κακὰ τῷ εθνει ἐφύησαν· διὰ ταύτην γὰρ τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ̓Ιουδαῖοι πρὸς τοὺς Σύρους μᾶλλον στάσεως ειχοντο, μέχρις αν ἀνήφθη ὁ πόλεμος. Φῆστος δὲ εἰς τὴν ̓Ιουδαίαν ἐλθὼν κακουμένην 2.48 ευρε ταύτην ὑπὸ λῃστῶν. καὶ οἱ σικάριοι γὰρ καλούμενοι, λῃσταὶ δὲ καὶ ουτοι ησαν, τότε μᾶλλον εἰς πλῆθος συνέστησαν, χρώμενοι ξιφιδίοις ἐπικαμπέσι καὶ ὁμοίοις ταῖς ὑπὸ ̔Ρωμαίων καλουμέναις σίκαις, ἀφ' ων καὶ σικάριοι ὠνομάσθησαν· οι κατὰ τὰς ἑορτὰς τῷ πλήθει ἀναμιγνύμενοι ους ἐβούλοντο ῥᾳδίως ἀπέσφαττον, καὶ τὰς κώμας δὲ διήρπαζόν τε καὶ ἐνεπίμπρασαν. πέμπει δὲ Φῆστος δύναμιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἀπατηθέντας ὑπό τινος γόητος, σωτηρίαν ἐπαγγελλομένου τοῖς επεσθαι θέλουσι μέχρι τῆς ἐρημίας αὐτῷ· κἀκεῖνόν τε τὸν ἀπατεῶνα καὶ τοὺς ἀκολουθήσαντας οἱ πεμφθέντες διέφθειραν. ̔Ο μέντοι βασιλεὺς ̓Αγρίππας οικημά τι μέγα δομησάμενος ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις, ἐκεῖθεν ἐθεᾶτο τὰ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ ἐνεργούμενα. πρὸς τοῦτο δ' ἐχαλέπαινον οἱ τῆς πόλεως. τοῖχον ουν ἐγείρουσιν, ος οὐ τῆς βασιλικῆς οἰκίας μόνης τὴν αποψιν ὑπετέμνετο, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῆς πρὸς δύσιν στοᾶς, ενθα τὰς φυλακὰς οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι ταῖς ἑορταῖς ἐποιοῦντο διὰ τὸ ἱερόν. ἐπὶ τούτοις ἠγανάκτησεν ὁ ̓Αγρίππας, καὶ πλέον ὁ Φῆστος, καὶ καθελεῖν τὸν τοῖχον ἐβούλετο. οἱ δὲ παρεκάλεσαν ἐνδοθῆναι αὐτοῖς δεηθῆναι τοῦ Καίσαρος. καὶ συγχωρήσαντος Φήστου, πέμπουσι δέκα ἐκ τῶν πρώτων πρὸς Νέρωνα καὶ ̓Ισμαὴλ τὸν ἀρχιερέα καὶ ̔Ελκίαν τὸν γαζοφύλακα. καὶ ὁ Νέρων τῇ γυναικὶ Ποππαίᾳ ὑπὲρ ̓Ιουδαίων ἀξιούσῃ χαριζόμενος ἐκέλευσεν ἐᾶν τὴν οἰκοδομήν. καὶ ἡ Ποππαία τοὺς μὲν αλλους ἀφῆκεν ἐπανελθεῖν, τὸν δὲ ̓Ισμαὴλ καὶ τὸν ̔Ελκίαν κατέσχε παρ' ἑαυτῇ ὁμηρεύσοντας. καὶ ὁ