aid these words, he presently died, when he had reigned no
longer than a year.

CHAPTER 4.

What Actions Were Done By Alexander Janneus, Who Reigned
Twenty-Seven Years.

1. And now the king's wife loosed the king's brethren, and made
Alexander king, who appeared both elder in age, and more moderate in his
temper than the rest; who, when he came to the government, slew one of
his brethren, as affecting to govern himself; but had the other of them
in great esteem, as loving a quiet life, without meddling with public
affairs.

2. Now it happened that there was a battle between him and Ptolemy, who
was called Lathyrus, who had taken the city Asochis. He indeed slew a
great many of his enemies, but the victory rather inclined to Ptolemy.
But when this Ptolemy was pursued by his mother Cleopatra, and retired
into Egypt, Alexander besieged Gadara, and took it; as also he did
Amathus, which was the strongest of all the fortresses that were about
Jordan, and therein were the most precious of all the possessions of
Theodorus, the son of Zeno. Whereupon Theodopus marched against him, and
took what belonged to himself as well as the king's baggage, and slew
ten thousand of the Jews. However, Alexander recovered this blow, and
turned his force towards the maritime parts, and took Raphia and Gaza,
with Anthedon also, which was afterwards called Agrippias by king Herod.

3. But when he had made slaves of the citizens of all these cities, the
nation of the Jews made an insurrection against him at a festival; for
at those feasts seditions are generally begun; and it looked as if he
should not be able to escape the plot they had laid for him, had not his
foreign auxiliaries, the Pisidians and Cilicians, assisted him; for as
to the Syrians, he never admitted them among his mercenary troops, on
account of their innate enmity against the Jewish nation. And when he
had slain more than six thousand of the rebels, he made an incursion
into Arabia; and when he had taken that country, together with the
Gileadires and Moabites, he enjoined them to pay him tribute, and
returned to Areathus; and as Theodorus was surprised at his great
success, he took the fortress, and demolished it.

4. However, when he fought with Obodas, king of the Arabians, who had
laid an ambush for him near Golan, and a plot against him, he lost his
entire army, which was crowded together in a deep valley, and broken to
pieces by the multitude of camels.