The struggle for Judea
Part 3
Denied a quick victory in Jerusalem Herod decided to subdue [1] the countryside. He marched north into Galilee and stormed its capital Sepphoris. The country offered little resistance but a band of guerrillas [2] took refuge [3] in the caves of Arbel just west of the Sea of Galilee. These caves are half way up a sheer [4] cliff [5] face and Herod was forced to lower his men in baskets over the edge to come to grips [6] with them. Using grappling [7] hooks they were able to dislodge [8] most of the defenders. The remainder[9] were burned out.
Herod now moved south into Samaria but was forced to turn back to suppress [10] a rebellion [11]. He put down the revolt ruthlessly [12], slaughtering [13] the rebels, destroying their strongholds and plundering [14] the countryside. Meanwhile, his Roman allies who had gone to help the governor of Syria, decisively defeated the Parthians in June 38 BC.
Soon after Antony arrived in the east. Herod now received the help of two legions [15], commanded by the much more reliable Sosius[16] and was at last able to start his long delayed march on Jerusalem. In the early winter of 38-37 BC he was able to bring some of Antigonus' troops to battle some 30 km north of the city and decisively defeat them. The remains of Antigonus' army fled to Isana. Herod following up burst into the town. In their fury his troops tore down the houses and butchered [17] the soldiers inside.
The following spring, before laying siege to Jerusalem, Herod married Miriam[18]. He had been engaged [19] to her for five years. He hoped that his marrying into the Hasmonaean family would make him more acceptable to the people of Jerusalem.
Once Sosius arrived with his troops the siege of Jerusalem began in earnest. The north side of the city was protected by two walls, and the first assault was against the outer one. In an attempt to collapse [20] the defences the Romans undermined [21] stretches of the wall and brought up their battering rams [22]. The Jews fought back with grim determination. They tried to fire the siege engines and when they failed, broke into the mines and fought the Romans hand to hand underground. But against the superior Roman training and technique they stood no real chance.
For six weeks the Jews held the outer wall. When it was finally stormed they retreated to the inner wall. Here they held out for a further two weeks. Once over this barrier the Romans burst into the lower city, cutting Jerusalem in half. Some of the defenders fled to the Temple whilst the rest took refuge in the upper city. Still hoping to avoid a massacre [23] and reach terms Herod sent sacrificial animals into the Temple so that the daily sacrifices could be continued. But it was to no avail [24]. The Roman troops, frustrated by the length of the siege, could be held back no longer. Herod's Jewish forces, filled with the excesses [25] of hatred that are born of civil war, were equally impatient for the final assault [26]. Both the Temple and the upper city were stormed. Neither women, children nor old people were spared [27]. Herod managed to prevent the desecration [28] of the Temple and begged [29] Sosius to call off his troops before the city was totally destroyed. Herod said that he wanted a kingdom to rule, not a desert. Antigonus was sent to Antony and later executed. So the Hasmonaean dynasty came to an end and in the summer of 37 bc Herod mounted the blood-spattered throne.
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The hills of Arbel just west of the Sea of Galilee. The cliffs are honeycombed [30] with caves. The Galileans opposed to Herod took refuge in here. Herod was only able to get at them by lowering his men down the cliff face in 'cradles' and smoking them out.
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