could not possibly be taken without raising banks against it, he
distributed the several parts of that work among his army, and this
on the twentieth day of the month Lous [Ab]. Now the carriage of the
materials was a difficult task, since all the trees, as I have already
told you, that were about the city, within the distance of a hundred
furlongs, had their branches cut off already, in order to make the
former banks. The works that belonged to the four legions were erected
on the west side of the city, over against the royal palace; but the
whole body of the auxiliary troops, with the rest of the multitude that
were with them, [erected their banks] at the Xystus, whence they reached
to the bridge, and that tower of Simon which he had built as a citadel
for himself against John, when they were at war one with another.

2. It was at this time that the commanders of the Idumeans got together
privately, and took counsel about surrendering up themselves to the
Romans. Accordingly, they sent five men to Titus, and entreated him to
give them his right hand for their security. So Titus thinking that the
tyrants would yield, if the Idumeans, upon whom a great part of the
war depended, were once withdrawn from them, after some reluctancy and
delay, complied with them, and gave them security for their lives, and
sent the five men back. But as these Idumeans were preparing to march
out, Simon perceived it, and immediately slew the five men that had gone
to Titus, and took their commanders, and put them in prison, of whom the
most eminent was Jacob, the son of Sosas; but as for the multitude of
the Idumeans, who did not at all know what to do, now their commanders
were taken from them, he had them watched, and secured the walls by a
more numerous garrison, Yet could not that garrison resist those that
were deserting; for although a great number of them were slain, yet were
the deserters many more in number. They were all received by the Romans,
because Titus himself grew negligent as to his former orders for killing
them, and because the very soldiers grew weary of killing them, and
because they hoped to get some money by sparing them; for they left only
the populace, and sold the rest of the multitude, [28] with their
wives and children, and every one of them at a very low price, and that
because such as were sold were very many, and the buyers were few: and
although Titus had made proclamation beforehand, that no deserter should