had
eight commanders, among whom those of greatest fame were Jacob the son
of Sosas, and Simon the son of Cathlas. Jotre, who had seized upon the
temple, had six thousand armed men under twenty commanders; the zealots
also that had come over to him, and left off their opposition, were
two thousand four hundred, and had the same commander that they had
formerly, Eleazar, together with Simon the son of Arinus. Now, while
these factions fought one against another, the people were their prey
on both sides, as we have said already; and that part of the people who
would not join with them in their wicked practices were plundered by
both factions. Simon held the upper city, and the great wall as far as
Cedron, and as much of the old wall as bent from Siloam to the east,
and which went down to the palace of Monobazus, who was king of the
Adiabeni, beyond Euphrates; he also held that fountain, and the Acra,
which was no other than the lower city; he also held all that reached to
the palace of queen Helena, the mother of Monobazus. But John held the
temple, and the parts thereto adjoining, for a great way, as also Ophla,
and the valley called "the Valley of Cedron;" and when the parts that
were interposed between their possessions were burnt by them, they left
a space wherein they might fight with each other; for this internal
sedition did not cease even when the Romans were encamped near their
very wall. But although they had grown wiser at the first onset the
Romans made upon them, this lasted but a while; for they returned to
their former madness, and separated one from another, and fought it out,
and did everything that the besiegers could desire them to do; for they
never suffered any thing that was worse from the Romans than they made
each other suffer; nor was there any misery endured by the city after
these men's actions that could be esteemed new. But it was most of all
unhappy before it was overthrown, while those that took it did it a
greater kindness for I venture to affirm that the sedition destroyed the
city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition, which it was a much harder
thing to do than to destroy the walls; so that we may justly ascribe our
misfortunes to our own people, and the just vengeance taken on them to
the Romans; as to which matter let every one determine by the actions on
both sides.

2. Now when affairs within the city were in this posture, Titus went
round the city on the outside with some chosen ho