ints of their armor Those who turned
to fly were pierced by the javelins of the Jews; for the Romans
carried no defensive armor on their backs, which were never
supposed to be turned towards an enemy.

Fresh troops poured up the breach, to take the place of their
agonized comrades; but the Jews threw down, upon the planks,
vessels filled with a sort of vegetable slime. Unable to retain
their footing upon the slippery surface, the Romans fell upon each
other, in heaps. Those rolling down carried others with them, and a
terrible confusion ensued, the Jews never ceasing to pour their
missiles upon them.

When evening came, Vespasian called off his men. He saw that, to
overcome the desperate resistance of the defenders, fresh steps
must be taken before the assault was repeated; and he accordingly
gave orders that the embankment should be raised, much higher than
before; and that upon it three towers, each fifty feet high and
strongly girded with iron, should be built.

This great work was carried out, in spite of the efforts of the
besieged. In the towers, Vespasian placed his javelin men, archers,
and light machines and, as these now looked down upon the wall,
they were enabled to keep up such a fire upon it that the Jews
could no longer maintain their footing; but contented themselves
with lying behind it, and making desperate sallies whenever they
saw any parties of Romans approaching the breach.

In the meantime, a terrible calamity had befallen the neighboring
town of Japha. Emboldened by the vigorous defense of Jotapata, it
had closed its gates to the Romans. Vespasian sent Trajan, with two
thousand foot and a thousand horse, against it.

The city was strongly situated, and surrounded by a double wall.
Instead of waiting to be attacked, the people sallied out and fell
upon the Romans. They were, however, beaten back; and the Romans,
pressing on their heels, entered with them through the gates of the
outside walls. The defenders of the gates through the inner walls,
fearing that these, too, would be carried by the mob, closed them;
and all those who had sallied out were butchered by the Romans.

Trajan, seeing that the garrison must now be weak, sent to
Vespasian, and asked him to send his son to complete the victory.
Titus soon arrived, with a thousand foot and five hundred horse
and, at once, assaulted the inner walls. The defense was feeble.
The Romans effected their entry but, inside the town, a desperate