ged and destroyed the country with them about
Masada; yet when he persuaded them to undertake greater things, he could
not prevail with them so to do; for as they were accustomed to dwell in
that citadel, they were afraid of going far from that which was
their hiding-place; but he affecting to tyrannize, and being fond of
greatness, when he had heard of the death of Ananus, he left them, and
went into the mountainous part of the country. So he proclaimed liberty
to those in slavery, and a reward to those already free, and got
together a set of wicked men from all quarters.

4. And as he had now a strong body of men about him, he overran the
villages that lay in the mountainous country, and when there were still
more and more that came to him, he ventured to go down into the lower
parts of the country, and since he was now become formidable to the
cities, many of the men of power were corrupted by him; so that his army
was no longer composed of slaves and robbers, but a great many of the
populace were obedient to him as to their king. He then overran the
Acrabattene toparchy, and the places that reached as far as the Great
Idumea; for he built a wall at a certain village called Nain, and made
use of that as a fortress for his own party's security; and at the
valley called Paran, he enlarged many of the caves, and many others he
found ready for his purpose; these he made use of as repositories for
his treasures, and receptacles for his prey, and therein he laid up the
fruits that he had got by rapine; and many of his partizans had their
dwelling in them; and he made no secret of it that he was exercising his
men beforehand, and making preparations for the assault of Jerusalem.

5. Whereupon the zealots, out of the dread they were in of his attacking
them, and being willing to prevent one that was growing up to oppose
them, went out against him with their weapons. Simon met them, and
joining battle with them, slew a considerable number of them, and drove
the rest before him into the city, but durst not trust so much upon his
forces as to make an assault upon the walls; but he resolved first to
subdue Idumea, and as he had now twenty thousand armed men, he marched
to the borders of their country. Hereupon the rulers of the Idumeans
got together on the sudden the most warlike part of their people, about
twenty-five thousand in number, and permitted the rest to be a guard
to their own country, by reason of the incursions that