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UPON the death of king Agrippa, which we have related in the foregoing
book, Claudius Caesar sent Cassius Longinus as successor to Marcus, out
of regard to the memory of king Agrippa, who had often desired of him by
letters, while be was alive, that he would not suffer Marcus to be any
longer president of Syria. But Fadus, as soon as he was come procurator
into Judea, found quarrelsome doings between the Jews that dwelt in Perea,
and the people of Philadelphia, about their borders, at a village called
Mia, that was filled with men of a warlike temper; for the Jews of Perea
had taken up arms without the consent of their principal men, and had destroyed
many of the Philadelphians. When Fadus was informed of this procedure,
it provoked him very much that they had not left the determination of the
matter to him, if they thought that the Philadelphians had done them any
wrong, but had rashly taken up arms against them. So he seized upon three
of their principal men, who were also the causes of this sedition, and
ordered them to be bound, and afterwards had one of them slain, whose name
was Hannibal; and he banished the other two, Areram and Eleazar. Tholomy
also, the arch robber, was, after some time, brought to him bound, and
slain, but not till he had done a world of mischief to Idumea and the Arabians.
And indeed, from that time, Judea was cleared of robberies by the care
and providence of Fadus. He also at this time sent for the high priests
and the principal citizens of Jerusalem, and this at the command of the
emperor, and admonished them that they should lay up the long garment and
the sacred vestment, which it is customary for nobody but the high priest
to wear, in the tower of Antonia, that it might be under the power of the
Romans, as it had been formerly. Now the Jews durst not contradict what
he had said, but desired Fadus, however, and Longinus, (which last was
come to Jerusalem, and had brought a great army with him, out of a fear
that the [rigid] injunctions of Fadus should force the Jews to rebel,)
that they might, in the first place, have leave to send ambassadors to
Caesar, to petition him that they may have the holy vestments under their
own power; and that, in the next place, they would tarry till they knew
what answer Claudius would give to that their request. So they replied,
that they would give them leave to send their ambassadors, provided they
would give them their sons as pledges [for their peaceable behavior]. And
when they had agreed so to do, and had given them the pledges they desired,
the ambassadors were sent accordingly. But when, upon their coming to Rome,
Agrippa, junior, the son of the deceased, understood the reason why they
came, (for he dwelt with Claudius Caesar, as we said before,) he besought
Caesar to grant the Jews their request about the holy vestments, and to
send a message to Fadus accordingly.
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