banished their countrymen, sacked cities, slew their
brothers, wives, and parents, and committed all the usual kingly
crimes. But this only fostered the hold of the Jewish religion, since
the kings had strengthened their authority by assuming the priesthood.

Cnaeus Pompeius was the first Roman to subdue the Jews and set foot 9
in their temple by right of conquest.[498] It was then first realized
that the temple contained no image of any god: their sanctuary was
empty, their mysteries meaningless. The walls of Jerusalem were
destroyed, but the temple was left standing. Later, during the Roman
civil wars, when the eastern provinces had come under the control of
Mark Antony, the Parthian Prince Pacorus seized Judaea,[499] and was
killed by Publius Ventidius. The Parthians were driven back over the
Euphrates, and Caius Sosius[500] subdued the Jews. Antony gave the
kingdom to Herod,[501] and Augustus, after his victory, enlarged it.
After Herod's death, somebody called Simon,[502] without awaiting the
emperor's decision, forcibly assumed the title of king. He was
executed by Quintilius Varus, who was Governor of Syria; the Jews were
repressed and the kingdom divided between three of Herod's sons.[503]
Under Tiberius all was quiet. Caligula ordered them to put up his
statue in the temple. They preferred war to that. But Caligula's death
put an end to the rising.[504] In Claudius' reign the kings had all
either died or lost most of their territory. The emperor therefore
made Judaea a province to be governed by Roman knights or freedmen.
One of these, Antonius Felix,[505] indulged in every kind of cruelty
and immorality, wielding a king's authority with all the instincts of
a slave. He had married Drusilla, a granddaughter of Antony and
Cleopatra, so that he was Antony's grandson-in-law, while Claudius was
Antony's grandson.[506]

The Jews endured such oppression patiently until the time of 10
Gessius Florus,[507] under whom war broke out. Cestius Gallus, the
Governor of Syria, tried to crush it, but met with more reverses than
victories. He died, either in the natural course or perhaps of
disgust, and Nero sent out Vespasian, who, in a couple of
campaigns,[508] thanks to his reputation, good fortune, and able
subordinates, had the whole of the country districts and all the
towns except Jerusalem under the heel of his victorious army. The next
year[509] was taken up with civil war, and passed quietly enough as