f the wall soon quenched
by the sight they had of another wall, which John and his party had
built within it.

Upon the fifth day of the month Panemus (Tamuz), twelve of those men
that were on the forefront and kept watch upon the banks got together
and called to them the standard-bearer of the Fifth legion, and two
others of a troop of horsemen, and one trumpeter; these went without
noise, about the ninth hour of the night, through the ruins, to the
tower of Antonia; and when they had cut the throats of the first guards
of the place, as they were asleep, they got possession of the wall and
ordered the trumpeter to sound his trumpet. Upon which the rest of the
guard got up on the sudden and ran away before anybody could see how
many they were that were gotten up, for partly from the fear they were
in and partly from the sound of the trumpet which they heard they
imagined a great number of the enemy were gotten up. But as soon as
Caesar heard the signal he ordered the army to put on their armor
immediately, and came thither with his commanders, and first of all
ascended, as did the chosen men that were with him. And as the Jews were
flying away to the Temple they fell into that mine which John had dug
under the Roman banks. Then did the seditious of both the bodies of the
Jewish army, as well that belonging to John as that belonging to Simon,
drive them away; and indeed were no way wanting as to the highest degree
of force and alacrity; for they esteemed themselves entirely ruined if
once the Romans got into the Temple, as did the Romans look upon the
same thing as the beginning of their entire conquest.

So a terrible battle was fought at the entrance of the Temple, while the
Romans were forcing their way, in order to get possession of that
Temple, and the Jews were driving them back to the tower of Antonia; in
which battle the darts were on both sides useless, as well as the
spears, and both sides drew their swords and fought it out hand-to-hand.
Now during this struggle the positions of the men were undistinguished
on both sides, and they fought at random, the men being intermixed one
with another and confounded, by reason of the narrowness of the place;
while the noise that was made fell on the ear after an indistinct
manner, because it was so very loud. Great slaughter was now made on
both sides, and the combatants trod upon the bodies and the armor of
those that were dead, and dashed them to pieces. Accordingly, t