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and children, and to leave the city to him. Titus was indignant at these things, and he commanded that no one of them should any longer desert, nor hope to receive any pledge, for he would spare no one, but that they should fight and save themselves as they were able. And he commanded the soldiers to set fire to the city and to plunder it; and they set fire everywhere. But the rebels, rushing to the royal palace, in which many had deposited their possessions because of its strength, both turn the Romans away from it and, having slaughtered all the people gathered there, numbering eight thousand and four hundred, they plundered the goods. On the next day, the Romans, having routed the robbers from the lower city, burned everything up to Siloam. And seeing the city burning, the rebels, with cheerful faces, said that they joyfully await2.71ed the end. They neither endured to surrender themselves nor were they able to fight the Romans, but scattering throughout the areas in front of the city, if they found any wishing to desert, they slaughtered them. And no place in the city was bare, but every place had a corpse either from famine or from the sedition. But a final hope warmed the tyrants and the band of robbers with them, that of the subterranean passages, into which if they fled, they did not expect to be searched out; and when the Romans departed, they were confident they could come out and escape. But it was, in fact, a dream; for they were not going to escape the notice of either God or the Romans. And there was also war among them against each other in their plundering. But Caesar, since it was impossible to take the upper city without earthworks, as it was precipitous, distributed the force for the works. During these days, therefore, the leaders of the Idumaeans, sending five men to Titus, supplicated him to give them a pledge. And he, hoping that the tyrants would also surrender if the Idumaeans were detached, granted their safety to them. And Simon, having learned their intention, immediately killed the five who had met with Titus, and arresting the leaders, he imprisoned them; and he did not leave the Idumaeans unguarded, and he stationed more diligent guards along the wall on account of the deserters. And though many were killed, more were those who escaped. And the Romans received all of them, from weariness of killing and in the hope of gain. For leaving the common people alone, they sold the others with their wives and children, each for a very small price, on account of the multitude of those being sold and the scarci2.72ty of buyers. And of those sold off, there was a countless multitude, but the common people who were saved numbered over forty thousand. And a certain one of the priests, Jesus by name, having received an oath for his safety on the condition that he would hand over some of the treasures, went out and handed over two lampstands, and a table and bowls and cups, all of solid gold, and the veils and the garments of the high priests and many of the other vessels. And indeed the treasurer of the temple, Phinehas, when he was captured, pointed out both the tunics and the girdles of the high priests and many of the other treasures. And when the earthworks were now completed, the Romans brought the engines up to the wall. And of the rebels, some withdrew to the citadel, others descended into the subterranean passages, and many also defended themselves. And when a part of the wall was breached, fear also fell upon the tyrants, and they were poised for flight. And since they no longer had their formerly faithful men, for they had been scattered, and the enemy were reported to be near, falling on their faces they lamented their own madness, and they voluntarily came down from the towers, from which they could never have been taken by force, but only by famine, and they fled down into the valley of Siloam, then they went down into the subterranean passages. But the Romans, having taken possession of the walls without a fight, killed those they caught and set fire to the houses. And they ceased toward evening. On the following day, Titus went inside, and he marveled at the strength of the city and of the towers, and he said, "We have fought with God, and it was God who brought the Jews down from these fortifications." And destroying the rest of the city and demolishing the walls, he left these towers as a monument

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καὶ τέκνων, καὶ καταλείψειν τὴν πόλιν αὐτῷ. ἠγανάκτησε πρὸς ταῦτα ὁ Τίτος, καὶ μήτε αὐτομολεῖν ετι τινὰ σφῶν ἐκέλευσε μήτε δεξιᾶς ἐλπίζειν τυχεῖν, φείσεσθαι γὰρ οὐδενός, μάχεσθαι δὲ καὶ σώζειν ὡς δύναιντο ἑαυτούς. τοῖς δὲ στρατιώταις ἐμπιπρᾶν τὴν πόλιν καὶ διαρπάζειν ἐκέλευσεν· οἱ δὲ τὸ πῦρ ἐνίεσαν πανταχοῦ. οἱ στασιασταὶ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν βασιλικὴν οἰκίαν ὁρμήσαντες, εἰς ην δι' ὀχυρότητα πολλοὶ τὰς κτήσεις ἀπέθεντο, τούς τε ̔Ρωμαίους ἀπ' αὐτῆς τρέπονται καὶ τὸ συνηθροισμένον αὐτόθι τοῦ δήμου πᾶν φονεύσαντες, εἰς ὀκτακισχιλίους καὶ τετρακοσίους ἀριθμουμένους, τὰ χρήματα διήρπασαν. τῇ δ' ἑξῆς ̔Ρωμαῖοι τρεψάμενοι τοὺς λῃστὰς ἐκ τῆς κάτω πόλεως, τὰ μέχρι τοῦ Σιλωὰμ πάντα ἐνέπρησαν. καιομένην δὲ τὴν πόλιν ὁρῶντες οἱ στασιασταί, ἱλαροῖς τοῖς προσώποις ευθυμοι τὴν τελευτὴν προσδέ2.71 χεσθαι ελεγον. ουτε δὲ παραδοῦναι ἑαυτοὺς ὑπέμενον ουτε πολεμεῖν ̔Ρωμαίοις οιοί τε ησαν, σκιδνάμενοι δὲ κατὰ τὰ εμπροσθεν τῆς πόλεως, ει τινας αὐτομολεῖν ἐθέλοντας ευρισκον, ἀπέσφαττον. καὶ οὐδεὶς ἐν τῇ πόλει τόπος γεγύμνωτο, ἀλλ' απας η λιμοῦ νεκρὸν ειχεν η στάσεως. εθαλπε δὲ τούς τε τυράννους καὶ τὸ σὺν αὐτοῖς λῃστρικὸν ἐλπὶς ἐσχάτη τῶν ὑπονόμων, εἰς ους εἰ καταφύγοιεν, οὐ προσεδόκων ἐρευνηθήσεσθαι· ἀναζευξάντων δὲ τῶν ̔Ρωμαίων ἐθάρρουν προελθεῖν τε καὶ ἀποδρᾶναι. τὸ δὲ ην αρα ονειρος· ουτε γὰρ τὸν θεὸν ουτε ̔Ρωμαίους λήσειν εμελλον. ην δὲ καὶ πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἐν ταῖς ἁρπαγαῖς πόλεμος αὐτοῖς. Καῖσαρ δέ, ὡς ἀμήχανον ην τὴν ανω πόλιν ἑλεῖν χωμάτων ατερ, ουσαν περίκρημνον, διανέμει τοῖς εργοις τὴν δύναμιν. Κατὰ ταύτας ουν τὰς ἡμέρας οἱ τῶν ̓Ιδουμαίων ἡγεμόνες πέμψαντες ανδρας πέντε πρὸς Τίτον ἱκέτευον δοῦναι αὐτοῖς δεξιάν. ὁ δὲ καὶ τοὺς τυράννους ἐνδώσειν ἐλπίσας ἀποσπασθέντων τῶν ̓Ιδουμαίων κατανεύει τὴν σωτηρίαν αὐτοῖς. καὶ ὁ Σίμων γνοὺς τὴν γνώμην αὐτῶν, τοὺς μὲν πέντε τοὺς ἐντυχόντας τῷ Τίτῳ αὐτίκα ἀναιρεῖ, τοὺς δ' ἡγεμόνας συλλαβὼν ειργνυσιν· ̓Ιδουμαίους δὲ οὐκ ἀφυλάκτους ειχε, καὶ τὸ τεῖχος φρουραῖς ἐπιμελεστέραις διελάμβανε διὰ τοὺς αὐτομολοῦντας. πολλῶν δὲ φονευομένων, πλείους ησαν οἱ διαφεύγοντες. ἐδέχοντο δὲ οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι πάντας κόρῳ τοῦ κτείνειν καὶ κέρδους ἐλπίδι. τοὺς γὰρ δημοτικοὺς ἐῶντες μόνους τοὺς αλλους ἐπώλουν σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ τέκνοις, ἐλαχίστης τιμῆς εκαστον, διὰ πλῆθος τῶν πωλουμένων καὶ ὀλι2.72 γότητα τῶν ὠνουμένων. καὶ τῶν μὲν ἀπεμποληθέντων απειρόν τι πλῆθος ην, οἱ δημοτικοὶ δὲ διεσώθησαν ὑπὲρ τετρακισμυρίους. τῶν ἱερέων δέ τις ονομα ̓Ιησοῦς, λαβὼν περὶ σωτηρίας ορκον ωστε τινὰ παραδοῦναι τῶν κειμηλίων, εξεισι καὶ παραδίδωσι λυχνίας δύο τράπεζάν τε καὶ κρατῆρας καὶ φιάλας, πάντα ὁλόχρυσα, καὶ τὰ καταπετάσματα καὶ τὰ τῶν ἀρχιερέων ἐνδύματα καὶ πολλὰ τῶν σκευῶν ετερα. ὁ δέ γε γαζοφύλαξ τοῦ ἱεροῦ Φινεὲς συλληφθεὶς τούς τε χιτῶνας καὶ τὰς ζώνας τῶν ἀρχιερέων ὑπέδειξε καὶ τῶν αλλων κειμηλίων πολλά. Συντετελεσμένων δὲ ηδη τῶν χωμάτων προσῆγον οἱ ̔Ρωμαῖοι τῷ τείχει τὰς μηχανάς. τῶν δὲ στασιαστῶν οἱ μὲν ἀνεχώρουν εἰς τὴν ακραν, οἱ δ' ἐγκατεδύοντο τοῖς ὑπονόμοις, πολλοὶ δὲ καὶ ἠμύνοντο. ὡς δὲ περιερράγη μέρος τοῦ τείχους, δέος καὶ τοῖς τυράννοις ἐμπίπτει, καὶ μετέωροι πρὸς φυγὴν ησαν. ἐπεὶ δὲ τοὺς μὲν πάλαι πιστοὺς οὐκ ειχον, ἐσκεδάσθησαν γάρ, οἱ δὲ πολέμιοι πλησίον ειναι ἠγγέλλοντο, ἐπὶ στόμα πεσόντες ἀνῴμωξαν τὴν ἑαυτῶν φρενοβλάβειαν, κἀκ τῶν πύργων ἑκόντες κατέβησαν, ἀφ' ων βίᾳ μὲν οὐδέποτε ἁλῶναι ἠδύναντο, λιμῷ δὲ μόνῳ, καὶ εἰς τὴν Σιλωὰμ φάραγγα καταφεύγουσιν, ειτα κατέδυσαν εἰς τοὺς ὑπονόμους. ̔Ρωμαῖοι δὲ τῶν τειχῶν κρατήσαντες ἀναιμωτί, τοὺς καταλαμβανομένους ἐφόνευον καὶ τὰς οἰκίας ὑφῆπτον. ἐπαύσαντο δὲ πρὸς ἑσπέραν. τῇ δ' ἐπιούσῃ παρελθὼν ὁ Τίτος εισω, τῆς τε ὀχυρότητος τὴν πόλιν καὶ τῶν πύργων ἐθαύμασε, καὶ Σὺν θεῷ ἐπολεμήσαμεν, εφη, καὶ θεὸς ην ὁ τῶνδε τῶν ἐρυμάτων ̓Ιουδαίους καθελών. τὴν αλλην τε πόλιν ἀφανίζων καὶ τὰ τείχη κατασκάπτων τούτους τοὺς πύργους κατέλιπε μνημεῖον