THE BRITISH ACADEMY

C a m p a i g n s in P a l e s t i n e from Alexander the Great

By

Israel Abrahams
M.A. (Camb. and L o n d . ) Reader in Talmudic and Rabbinic Literature in the University of Cambridge ; Hon. L i t . D . , Western Pennsylvania; Hon. D . D . , Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati

ARGONAUT, C H I C A G O

INC

PUBLISHERS M C M L X V I I

Library o f Congress Catalogue Card No. 67-31061

PREFACE

H E S E three lectures on Campaigns i n Palestine f r o m

{

Alexander

the G r e a t ' were delivered by the late

D r . Israel Abrahams before the British Academy i n London, on December 14, 18, and 19, 1922. H e continued to w o r k at

t h e m , so far as other engagements and increasing ill-health permitted, but was not spared to give t h e m the touches. finishing A t his lamented death on October 6, 1925, the

manuscript was practically ready for p r i n t i n g , and l i t t l e remained to be done when I was requested to see i t through the press. P r o m conversations w i t h h i m I had gathered that he contemplated a map, and a map has accordingly been provided, for w h i c h acknowledgements are due to the Cambridge University Press. Further, he i n tended to reproduce at least one coin, and i t is hoped that what has been done i n this respect would have met his
f

wishes.

Thanks are due to D r . G. F. H i l l , of the B r i t i s h

Academy, Keeper of Coins and Medals, B r i t i s h Museum, for his courtesy i n providing casts of the coins on the Plate. I t is k n o w n too that, had he lived, D r . Abrahams w o u l d have made some expansions and added appendices, e. g. on Bar Cochba's revolt (p. 38). I believe also, f r o m a certain conversation, that he w o u l d have had something to say on evidence for the way i n w h i c h the Eomans i n the course of billeting soldiers upon the Jews had helped to provoke
Unchanged reprint o f the Schweich Lectures o f 1922 Published by the British Academy i n 1927.

the Jewish R e v o l t ;

and I conceive that the query on

p. 31 (middle), concerning the elephants who were shown the blood of grapes, implies that he m i g h t have had more

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE I
for,

LECTURE

T H E Schweich Trust allows a wide choice of subjects;

though Archaeology properly stands first i n the list, H i s t o r y also appears i n i t . I t would be a mistake, indeed, to treat Archaeology, even i n its narrower sense, as l i m i t e d to the w o r k of past. the excavator's spade, or to the discovery of concrete relics of the Such objects merely arouse curiosity, or, as i n the new Archaeology Thebes finds, excite attention as treasure-trove, u n t i l t h e i r place i n the history of the h u m a n s p i r i t is determined. is, i n fact, a branch of the science of history. Hence, though i n the present course much reliance is u l t i mately placed on topographical research, yet its m a i n purpose is less to present facts t h a n to explain t h e m ; less the actual description of campaigns t h a n the u n r a v e l l i n g of t h e i r deeper causes and more l a s t i n g effects i n history remote and recent. The circumstance t h a t the lecturer has no expert m i l i t a r y competence may, i t is hoped, be less detrimental t h a n must at sight appear inevitable. his l i m i t a t i o n s even w i t h i n the lines indicated. L e t me begin w i t h S i r E d w a r d Creasy, whose book, The Decisive recently Authors'. Fifteen Battles of the World, was at one t i m e v e r y w i d e l y read. been included i n the ' O x f o r d Editions of Standard Surveying the recorded scenes of carnage from Just first Y e t the lecturer is f u l l y conscious o f

I t has possibly acquired a new lease of popularity, for i t has

Marathon to Waterloo, Creasy does not include a single conflict on Palestinian soil. I n one sense this is a j u s t exclusion. as Palestine is a unique land, so i t s battles have been unique. U n t i l Allenby's great hour the campaigns i n Palestine had been somewhat, t h o u g h not e n t i r e l y , u n i m p o r t a n t f r o m the m i l i t a r y point of view. True, no area of the earth's surface has so often
B

re-echoed to the t r a m p of armed men as the short strip w h i c h

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE E v e n the migrations of races For The

LECTURE I of T u r k e y and to the detriment of Mohammed A l i , or

3 had

stretches f r o m T y r e to Gaza.

abstained f r o m bombarding the Palestinian coast i n the interests A l l e n b y been deterred b y the theorists of the Western F r o n t from his glorious sweep f r o m Cairo to Damascusany of these events, contrary to the actual event, must have m a t e r i a l l y altered the whole aspect of h i s t o r y . A d m i t t e d l y , along this line of reasoning lies the open road o f exaggeration. Gibbon shows us an example when he a t t r i b u t e s the to Charles Martel's v i c t o r y over the Saracens at Tours
1

were of the nature of campaigns; the ancient w o r l d knew no peaceful penetrations, but rushes red i n tooth and claw. and caravans m o v i n g by this road to battle and to trade. more than four thousand years the story is continuous of armies secular antagonisms of N o r t h and South, the great rivalries o f the Near East, found here battle-grounds or routes to b a t t l e grounds. I f ever soil should have been i n d e l i b l y incarnadined, Yet, t h o u g h we find here the clearest i t was the sand-dunes o f the Palestinian shore, and the low h i l l s bordering the Shephelah. signs of the ruinous effects of wars i n the destruction of ancient cities, we find the barest m i l i t a r y traces, and even excavations have brought to l i g h t few of the relics of struggle such as the Flanders fields are constantly revealing. And if sparsely inhabited mounds now replace once densely populated sites,

delivery of Christian c i v i l i z a t i o n from the domination of I s l a m . B u t for Charles the Hammer ', says Gibbon, ' perhaps the i n to a circumcised terpretation of the K o r a n would be t a u g h t i n the schools of Oxford, and her pulpits m i g h t demonstrate people the sanctity and t r u t h of the revelation of Mahomet*. S i m i l a r l y i t is too much to claim, w i t h H a t c h , for t h a t earlier Hammer, Judas the Maccabee, that b u t for his victories t h e w o r l d would have lost the i n s p i r a t i o n of Hebraism, so that w h i l e Christendom m i g h t s t i l l have possessed the Nicene would never have had the Sermon on the Mount. Creed i t Nevertheless,

t h r i v i n g agricultural colonies nowadays m a r k the track so often devastated by w a r r i n g hordes: the new land itself is t r i u m p h i n g over its olden ravagers and despoilers. I f , then, Creasy's verdict as to decisiveness of battles were decisive c r i t i c i s m , we would seem, i n this course of lectures, to be engaged on an insignificant survey. B u t modern i n q u i r y has altogether changed our estimate of values, and Creasy himself relieves our premonitions of f u t i l i t y by c i t i n g a remark of Hallam's i n d e f i n i t i o n o f ' decisive' as applied to wars. Decisive battles are those of w h i c h i t may be said that ' a contrary event w o u l d have essentially varied the drama of the w o r l d i n a l l its subsequent stages '. A p p l y i n g this test, and even i f we l i m i t our Alexander and attention to the second h a l f only of the recorded campaigns i n Palestine, to the period stretching between among the most decisive of history. A l l e n b y , i t is clear that the campaigns i n Palestine are actually H a d Alexander the Great resisted failed to take Tyre, had the Seleucids overwhelmed the Maccabees i n the Beth-horon passes, had Jerusalem successfully T i t u s ' onslaught from Scopus, had J u l i u s Severus met his match i n Bar-Cochba, had E i c h a r d the F i r s t penetrated to the H o l y C i t y , had Napoleon not been foiled at Acre, had Napier's guns

w h e n we consider the lasting influence of the Maccabean c a m paigns on the relations between H e l l e n i s m and Hebraism, we may doubt the judgement w h i c h impels Creasy to a d m i t as decisive the v i c t o r y of General Gates at Saratoga over B u r g o y n e i n the A m e r i c a n W a r of Independence i n 1777, and to o m i t Judas' t r i u m p h over Nicanor at Adasa i n the Judean W a r Independence some 2,000 years sooner. of The effects of Judas' The

success were s t i l l i n f l u e n t i a l when mother E n g l a n d retired f r o m the contest w i t h her daughter Colony across the A t l a n t i c . science of Theology is often decried by historians, b u t i t has been the theologians and not the historians who have understood i n this matter. The incidents of our own t i m e prove that battles are not t o be priced by t h e i r immediate results. apparent finality We have witnessed the of Sedan undone on the Marne. Napoleon's

seemingly decisive v i c t o r y at Jena was even shorter-lived t h a n v o n Moltke's. H i s t o r y teaches us to distrust the decisiveness of
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CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE been an impassable

LECTURE I barrier. The water-supply has

5 been a

h u m a n decisions.

On the morrow of the Moorish conquest of f r o m his list of decisive

Spain i n the e i g h t h century, the Christian reconquest began. On the other hand, Creasy excluded battles the Crusades, conceiving Palestine i n Mohammedan affairs. no doubt that as they l e f t

recurrent trouble ; A l l e n b y also experienced i t . W e know, again, that the armies i n v o l v e d i n these early campaigns were s m a l l ; rarely exceeding 20,000 men. S i m i l a r l y , Alexander the Great B u t we started out to conquer E g y p t w i t h but 10,000 more, and Napoleon commanded about as many i n his S y r i a n campaign. must pass over a l l these early E g y p t i a n campaigns, n o t i n g , h o w ever, that Thotmes I I I once captured Jaffathe scene of the Perseus-Andromeda m y t h by i n t r o d u c i n g picked soldiers i n t o
4

hands as they found i t before the

Crusade began, they therefore had left no impress on human I n p o i n t of fact t h e y left a great impress, i l l u s t r a t i n g , The Maccabean campaigns as no other Palestinian campaigns have done, the romantic action and reaction of East on West. and Occidental forces. show us the s p i r i t u a l action and reaction of the same Oriental The Maccabees have an interest for the history of culture, the Crusades for the story of c h i v a l r y . To deal f u l l y w i t h our subject, i t would seem imperative to survey the history of the near East for several thousands of years. This is impossible, and fortunately i t is not necessary. I t would be fascinating to picture the scenes enacted on Palestinian soil i n the first recorded invasion of i t by E g y p t when, three-and-ah a l f m i l l e n n i a before the Christian era, Pepi's troop-ships carried an a r m y to iri&ke reprisals on the B e d u i n raiders, ' Sand-dwellers of the L a n d of the Gazelle Nose '. Seemingly the Palestinian ' I came and and the highlands as w e l l as the coast were penetrated. boasts Pepi's general. of sea-power. This occurred circa

the t o w n , concealed i n panniers, borne by a t r a i n of donkeys \ Breasted sees i n this tale a probable prototype of the story of A l i Baba and the F o r t y Thieves. of the Wooden Horse at Troy. B u t we must pass a l l this over, nor may we stay to consider the wars between E g y p t and n o r t h e r n dynrsts for control o f Palestine and S y r i a ; we must deny ourselves the spirited narrative of the y o u t h f u l Rameses I I w i n n i n g , as the Court poet puts i t , a single-handed victory over the H i t t i t e s at Kadesh ; we cannot witness the appearance of the Ass; rians, nor discuss the p i t i f u l struggles o f Israel and J u d a h against each other and against the Philistines, nor rest on the norther? invasions w h i c h inspired eighth-century prophets, the m i g h t y J c y t h i a n raids w h i c h forced Jeremiah to speak, the campaigns of Sennacherib, Sargon, and Nebuchadnezzar, or the coming of Persia w h i c h gave substance to the noble dreams of Deutero-Isaiah. W h a t a marvellous tale all t h i s would be, f r o m Merneptah's v a i n boast that he had made a final end of Israel, to the R e t u r n f r o m the Babylonian E x i l e . I t is because of the need to confine ourselves to reasonable l i m i t s , and because the effects of a l l these earlier events are so clearly seen after Alexander, that we make h i m our s t a r t i n g - p o i n t . For, whatever be our verdict on Alexander's actual achievements, his name is r i g h t l y associated w i t h a v i t a l change i n the aspect of the w o r l d . Asiatic Hellenism preceded his campaigns, Yet i t is f u t i l e to legend \ M r . Wells protests that Alexander and its f u l l organization succeeded his death. deny to h i m the epithet great. ' created I t also reminds us of the stratagem

smote t h e m a l l , and every revolter among t h e m was slain 'so 2800 B . c.; record is of interest because we observe thus early the influence Command of the sea has never sufficed of i t s e l f On the of the sea, land-successes were land-power. They to hold Palestinethis was proved i n the Crusades. other hand, w i t h o u t command The older Pharaohs

equally futile, as was proved by the fate of Napoleon at Acre. combined sea- w i t h garrisoned and provisioned the coast-cities, and, besides storing t h e m w i t h spare masts and spars for naval repairs, used them as bases for land-marches. The Pharaohs W h a t we k n o w of t h e i r methods throws l i g h t on subsequent campaigns of w h i c h we really know less. exacted supplies from the neighbouring tribes, Otherwise the desert would have fortified the wells and defended the cisterns on the desert route from E g y p t i n t o Palestine.

no t r a d i t i o n , n o t h i n g more t h a n a personal

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE c i v i l i z a t i o n is reared. I t was j u s t particularly affected For

LECTURE I

H o w could he create a t r a d i t i o n , w h e n he died at an age w h e n most men have not y e t begun to find themselves ? his
1

Regarded, anyhow, as the t u r n i n g - p o i n t

i n the relations of East to West, Alexander's campaign along the Palestinian coast, his seven months' siege of T y r e and his t w o months' siege of Gaza, must be placed first for importance among the episodes of his amazing career, among the decisive moments i n a l l history. A n d here a fascinating problem confronts us. campaign ? D i d he v i s i t Jerusalem ? D i d Alexander come i n t o direct contact w i t h the Jews d u r i n g his Palestinian The Greek historians are silent on the matter, and f r o m this silence i t has been inferred t h a t the legend-coloured statements of Josephus and the T a l m u d are altogether untrue. criterion. curiosity about Judaism. B u t the silence of the Greeks is no no Polybius certainly intended to w r i t e B u t the with Herodotus, curious as he was about cults, had

personal l e g e n d ' t h a t counted, and gave Ptolemies and inspiration and o p p o r t u n i t y . I

Seleucids t h e i r

m e n t i o n these, because the Hellenization w h i c h most

history concerned E g y p t and Syria, w i t h Palestine between. w o n at Arbela but at Issus.

this reason, the most significant of Alexander's victories was not E a r l y i n the spring o f 334 B . C . Alexander left Macedonia w i t h not much over 30,000 i n f a n t r y and 5,000 cavalry, crossed the Hellespont, t r i u m p h e d at t h e Granicus, cut the Gordian k n o t , w o n the battle of Issus, and then turned, not northwards into the i n t e r i o r of Asia M i n o r , but southwards towards the Palestinian coast-route to E g y p t , where his stay i n the w i n t e r of 332-331 was made memorable for a l l t i m e by the foundation of Alexandria. Insufficient note has been made by historians of a remarkable coincidence. I k the earlier campaign w h i c h culminated i n his peaceful occupation of E g y p t , Alexander passed t h r o u g h several of the sites associated afterwards, i n the reverse order, w i t h the momentous journeys of Paul. the Acts and Epistles, A r r i a n ' s Anabasis The chief places f a m i l i a r to us i n Sardis and Ephesus, Tarsus, W i t h o u t pushing t h e Eome of course excepted, occur also i n

an account of Jerusalem, but he e i t h e r ^ a n d o n e d the i n t e n t i o n , or the chapters i n w h i c h he fulfilled i t have been lost. most significant instance is Plutarch. he seriously raised the question H i s whole concern

the Jews was w h a t he called their idleness on the Sabbath, w h i l e whether t h e y worshipped Dionysus, and whether they abstained f r o m swine's flesh because they venerated or loathed the creature. paign of Caesar's r i v a l . I n his life o f Pompey, Plutarch e n t i r e l y omits the perfectly-authenticated Judean camPlutarch says n o t h i n g of Pompey's I t is thus quite improbable that entry into Jerusalem, w h i c h produced among other consequences the so-called Psalms of Solomon. the Greek historians of Alexander w o u l d have t h o u g h t i t w o r t h t h e i r w h i l e to record an excursion to Jerusalem even i f i t occurred. A priori, such an excursion is probable enough. Alexander His had a genuine, i f romantic, interest i n foreign shrines.

of Alexander

Miletus, Halicarnassus, and the rest.

parallel too closely, i t may be said that Paul's spiritual campaigns were the return march of the m a r t i a l campaigns of Alexander. The Macedonian was the forerunner of the Christian, Paul's missionary ancestor between. was Alexander. B u t much was necessary I f the East was to reassert itself on the West, the The f i r m establishment of Hebraism as a force i n

East bad first to organize itself i n the heart of the Oriental Hellenization. the Hellenic w o r l d had to come before C h r i s t i a n i t y could enter i n t o the legacy both of Greece and Judea w i t h o u t superseding either. I t is a false epigram t h a t Athens and Jerusalem died N e i t h e r Greece nor Judea t h a t the w o r l d m i g h t live by them.

history is f u l l of that interest, t h o u g h on this occasion I must o m i t most of the evidence, except i n so far as i t affects Palestine. One of his motives for d e t e r m i n i n g to enter Tyre and not merely to accept its submission, was his desire to v i s i t the temple of the Phoenician M e l k a r t or Baal. I m m e d i a t e l y after he left Palestine, and on his first arrival i n E g y p t , he offered sacrifice to A p i s and

d i e d to give b i r t h to western c i v i l i z a t i o n f o r both are i m m o r t a l , each i n and for itself, and i t is on that i m m o r t a l i t y that western

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE H i s orgies i n Oriental costume are w e l l k n o w n . Alexanders Greek soldiery

LECTURE I There is another a priori i t , really confirms i t . p o i n t i n favour of Josephus.

9 There

summoned f r o m Greece the most famous artists to take part i n a musical display. A l l this repeats itself i n Napoleon.

is a legendary element i n his story w h i c h , so far f r o m d i s c r e d i t i n g Josephus relates t h a t d u r i n g the siege of Tyre, Alexander wrote to the Jewish H i g h Priest, Jaddus, or Jaddua, asking for auxiliaries and supplies, and b i d d i n g h i m transfer allegiance from Persia to Macedonia, ' f o r he would never repent of so d o i n g ' , a promise w e l l kept i n the sequel. B u t Jaddus refused, on the ground of his oath of fealty to Darius. Scorn has been poured on this plea, and indeed Judea had l a t t e r l y had good reason to hate the Persians.
4

were disgusted at t h e i r leader's buffoonery, just as Napoleon's troopers laughed w i t h ribald h u m o u r at his Oriental masquerades. The invaders of Palestine were on the whole an arrogant group, and we can not only pardon b u t even approve the olden Hebrew prophet's scathing attack on the v a i n g l o r y of some of the earlier megalomaniacs. Omar. A noble exception, i n much later times, was W h e n i n A . D . 637 the Caliph's generals captured Jerusa4

D u r i n g the century before

l e m , Omar yielded to the pressure of friend and foe alike and travelled to accept the submission of the H o l y C i t y . s i m p l i c i t y of his journey,' writes Gibbon, ' is more t h a n the royal pageants of v a n i t y and oppression. The illustrious

the coming of Alexander, the Persian satraps and t h e i r underlings plundered the land, w h i l e a succession of Persian generals on food w h i c h t h e y demanded'. Even nearer to t h e i r way to E g y p t brought i t near famine t h r o u g h the vast supplies of Alexander's siege of Tyre, the Temple was defiled by the Persian general Bagoses, and i t has been held t h a t Jews j o i n e d i n the revolt i n 363, as they certainly d i d a few years later. Hyrcania b y the Caspian^Sea. Large numbers of Jews were enslaved, some being deported as far as This was only a generation before Alexander, so that the statement t h a t Alexander was refused help f r o m Judea because of that country's allegiance to the Persian k i n g Darius seems unhistorical. B u t we must remember that revulsions of feeling w i t h regard to despotic rulers were frequent and sudden. There is no record of unkindness to Judea on the I n the course of the intrigues between the part of Darius.

The conqueror

of Persia and S y r i a was mounted on a red camel, w h i c h carried, besides his person, a bag of corn, a bag of dates, a wooden dish, and a leathern bottle of water. repast was consecrated Wherever Omar halted, the company was i n v i t e d to partake of his homely fare, and the b y the prayer and exhortation of the Commander of the F a i t h f u l . ' Alexander c e r t a i n l y was not gifted w i t h the s i m p l i c i t y of this c h i l d of the desert, yet was not altogether the v i c t i m of luxurious display. He was, as P l u t a r c h shows us, t w o men i n one. I n his dealings w i t h Asiatics, he was arrogant enough, as one ' f i r m l y convinced of his d i v i n e parentage'. dealings w i t h the Greeks. B u t - he was modest i n his P a i n f u l l y wounded by an arrow, he

Samaritans and Darius, i t is quite possible that the H i g h Priest had given Darius a pledge of fealty, i n order to counter a similar offer from the other side. Crusade. r i v a l proposals for peace. W e have an exact parallel i n the t h i r d The same t h i n g may w e l l have Saladin was approached by R i c h a r d and Conrad w i t h

s a i d : ' This, m y friends, is blood t h a t flows f r o m m y wound, and not the ichor that courses t h r o u g h the veins of gods.' Altogether, we discern i n Alexander a genuine curiosity as to foreign ways, an appreciation of Eastern cults, w h i c h not even his contemporary, Aristotle, matched. Jerusalem. A priori, then, i t is probable t h a t , w h i l e Even i n Palestine, he w o u l d have been attracted to the Temple i n H e must have heard much about i t i n Persia. Graetz, who is sceptical as to the h i s t o r i c i t y of Alexander's visit to Judea, admits t h a t i t is a ' psychological p o s s i b i l i t y ' , and nowadays psychological possibilities seem to be the o n l y facts.

happened i n the case of Darius. Be t h a t as i t may, Joscphus records that Alexander, incensed at the refusal of Judean aid, a n g r i l y threatened to secure his demands by force, w a i t i n g only t i l l he had stormed T y r e and occupied Gaza. I m m e d i a t e l y after the latter exploit, Alexander Jaddus, at first alarmed, was made haste to go up to Jerusalem.

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CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE

LECTURE I Precisely the ' visionary ' s e t t i n g i n both cases supports i t . Alexander was above a l l a visionary. P l u t a r c h tells us

11 For how,

reassured by a dream, w h e r e i n he was admonished to march out, himself arrayed i n purple and gold, m i t r e d , and bearing on his forehead the gold plate on w h i c h was inscribed the D i v i n e Name. W i t h h i m he was to take the priests i n sacerdotal attire of fine linen, and a mass of laymen, to greet Alexander as a f r i e n d . Alexander was accompanied by a large f o l l o w i n g of Phoenicians and Chaldeans, bent on plunder. saluted its bearer. Parmenio. To the astonishment of t h e m a l l , and Parmenio i n particular, Alexander adored the Name and ' W h y this adoration of the priest,' asked For I saw this very ' I adored not h i m , ' replied Alexander, but the God

the T a l m u d do not disprove the fact u n d e r l y i n g both accounts.

' d u r i n g the seventh m o n t h of the siege of T y r e , Alexander dreamed t h a t Heracles greeted h i m i n a f r i e n d l y manner f r o m the c i t y walls and called upon h i m to enter.' Again, when p l a n n i n g the b u i l d i n g of a c i t y i n E g y p t , ' he dreamed t h a t a man w i t h long hair and venerable aspect appeared to h i m ', a n d advised the choice of Pharos as the site of his new foundation. A n d A r r i a n , who is on the whole a sober historian, constantly records Alexander's reliance on omens, w h i l e the Greek troops readily accepted t h e m as v a l i d . conqueror's Josephus is thus

who has h o n o u r e d - h i m w i t h his office.

person i n a dream i n these v e r y robes, when I was at D i u m i n Macedonia, who, when I was considering w i t h myself whether I m i g h t obtain the d o m i n i o n of Asia, exhorted me to make no delay, b u t b o l d l y to cross over, for he would conduct m y a r m y and give me d o m i n i o n over the Persians.' t h a t his ambitions were to be fulfilled. and was shown Daniel's prophecies. Seeing the v e r y person of his dream i n the robes of his vision, he felt confident He t h e n w e n t up to the N e x t day he assented to their Temple, and under the H i g h Priest's direction offered sacrifice, Jaddus' p e t i t i o n t h a t ' t h e y m i g h t follow t h e laws of concessions should be made to Jews elsewhere.

i n l i n e w i t h an authentic t r a d i t i o n of Alexander's temperament, and the visionary setting of his appearance at Jerusalem is q u i t e true to type. B u t i t has been strongly argued t h a t the Greek historians leave no loophole for a digression to Jerusalem, that i n fact t h e time-scheme of Alexander's movements along the Palestinian This argument is based on what, I submit, The rapid When On coast makes i t physically impossible for any excursion i n t o the Judean h i l l - c o u n t r y . is a complete misreading of A r r i a n and the rest of the authorities. I must again o m i t here a f u l l discussion of the evidence. b y a forced march of seven days to Pelusium. This argument assumes t h a t d i r e c t l y Gaza fell, Alexander proceeded advance towards E g y p t certainly seems to leave no room for a detour to Jerusalem. B u t A r r i a n tells us no such t h i n g . he moved his a r m y f r o m Gaza to E g y p t , Alexander's march was r a p i d , but he d i d not leave Gaza immediately on its f a l l . the contrary there was much to be done before he left the place, and there is n o t h i n g i n A r r i a n or Curtius to i m p l y t h a t t i m e failed for such an experience as Josephus describes. E q u a l l y inadmissible is the contentionrepeated ad nauseam by modern c r i t i c s t h a t the falsity of Josephus is shown by his i g n o r a n t l y placing the meeting between Alexander and Jaddus i n the n o r t h of Jerusalem, w h i l e Alexander must have approached the c i t y f r o m the south. This is an entire misconception. c2 Both

fathers', pay no t r i b u t e every seventh year, and t h a t similar Alexander ' w i l l i n g l y promised to do what was asked. A n d when he said

to the people, t h a t i f any of t h e m w o u l d enlist i n his army, on condition that t h e y should continue i n the laws of t h e i r forefathers, he was w i l l i n g to take t h e m w i t h h i m , manj^ enlisted i n his service.' This story is no doubt fantastic, and may (as D r . Buchler has argued) contain composite elements, especially i n its reference to the Samaritans. M y own conviction is that the Samaritan trouble was r e c u r r e n t ; t h a t i t was as active i n the f o u r t h century as i t was i n the second. B u t I am now discussing the broader question. main statement as I t seems to me that the fantastic details provide no adequate ground for refusing to accept Josephus' h i s t o r i c a l ; j u s t as the differences i n detail between Josephus and

12

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE P a r t i c u l a r l y noteworthy is i t that even before Alexander.

LECTURE I

13

Titus and R i c h a r d I approached Jerusalem from the south, and yet reached i t on the n o r t h . R i c h a r d arrived at B e i t Nuba f r o m Ascalon, j u s t as Alexander arrived at Scopus f r o m Gaza. There was certainly a southern route f r o m Gaza t h r o u g h Beersheba and the Hebron road to Jerusalem, and this was on the old caravan road. the normal B u t w h a t was probably route, w i t h an invader both acquainted w i t h the

the presence of an organized Jewish c o m m u n i t y i n the F a y y u m Evidence is, i n fact, accumulating t h a t Ptolemy I , Alexander's immediate successor i n E g y p t , d i d , as an unjustly-suspected fragment of Hecataeus records, f i r m l y settle Jews i n N o r t h e r n E g y p t . A l l this tends to suggest t h a t t h e favour w h i c h Hellenistic rulersboth E g y p t i a n and S y r i a n showed to the Jews was a legacy f r o m Alexanders similar policy, derived f r o m the support that his clemency w o n from the J e w i s h contemporaries of his invasion of the H o l y L a n d . W h e n , however, I spoke of favourable treatment by Hellenistic rulers, I was r e f e r r i n g to the Diaspora rather t h a n to Palestine itself. There was l i t t l e peace i n that country w h i l e E g y p t and N o t h i n g i n the history They Syria were s t r u g g l i n g for its possession.

i n t e r i o r and i n f u l l command of the coast, was to advance up the f a m i l i a r coast, and to t u r n i n eastwards from the neighbourhood of Jaffa. Thus Joseph/us was probably r i g h t i n m a k i n g k i n g A n d w i t h a l l respect to our about and priest meet n o r t h of Jerusalem.

learned moderns, though Josephus perhaps knew l i t t l e

scientific geography, and may have thought G e r i z i m higher than Ebal, yet he possibly knew as much as we do of the practicable routes of his native land. detect.
1

of Palestine is more painful reading t h a n these struggles.

He w o u l d h a r d l y have allowed his

were fruitless i n themselves ; they were dictated by no generous policy, but by motives of personal ambition or i m p e r i a l expansion. F r o m the moment of Alexander's death, as D r i v e r expresses i t , Phoenicia and Palestine were i n an^a~nrbiguous position, a debateable borderland between powerful rivals.
1

narrative to contain so obvious a topographical ' h o w l e r ' as some I n fact i t is no howler ' at a l l . upon The subsequent influence of Alexander's Palestinian campaign on the c i v i l i z a t i o n of the East does not, i t is true, depend a visit to Jerusalem. B u t I have i n v i t e d your close a t t e n t i o n to

I am not tempted to

t e l l the tale i n its details, as u n e d i f y i n g as t h e y are complicated. On the whole, however, except d u r i n g some b r i e f intervals, Palestine remained subject to E g y p t , u n t i l Antiochus the Great defeated the forces of Ptolemy Epiphanes i n 198 B . C. at Paneion under the foot of H e r m o n , and near the sources of the Jordan. A f t e r that date Palestine passed permanently i n t o the power of Syria. On the whole the E g y p t i a n suzerainty had not been resented, b u t there was a reason domination was welcomed. w h y the change to S y r i a n

this detail, p a r t l y because we should l i k e i t to be true, and even more because we shall do w e l l to avoid W i l l r i c h ' s frame of m i n d , w h i c h makes i t quite enough for Josephus to make a statement for the statement to be false. Moreover, i t is w o r t h w h i l e protesting against the tendency to subject an ancient historian to meticulous examination, and to conclude that his m a i n assertions are overthrown i f some of the details can be proved inaccurate. Documents of the past should not be so treated, and when they are, facts have a way of exacting t h e i r revenge. W i l l r i c h , i n his onslaught on Josephus' contrary assertion, would have i t that, apart from isolated instances, there were no Jewish settlers i n E g y p t u n t i l Ptolemy V I I i n the middle of the second century after Alexander. an Recent discoveries have disproved t h i s contenas old as t i o n . I n 1902 there was found, w i t h i n an easy w a l k of A l e x a n d r i a , i n s c r i p t i o n dedicating a synagogue at least Ptolemy I I I . B u t beyond t h a t , the Elephantine p a p y r i reveal

A t a l l events, t h o u g h Rome over-

t h r e w Antiochus the Great at Magnesia, and imposed a h u m i l i a t i n g peace on the harbourer of H a n n i b a l , i t d i d not interfere w i t h the S y r i a n lordship over Palestine, u n t i l Pompey i n 63 B . C. practically reduced i t to the condition of a Roman province. D u r i n g t h i s long and senseless struggle between S y r i a and E g y p t , the country suffered materially, whatever the v a r y i n g fortunes of the rivals. The people lost, whichever a r m y won. The Judeans, and the inhabitants of Palestine generally, were so

14

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE

LECTURE I defilement of the Temple and an attack on Judaism.

15 He seems

harassed that to cite Josephus' figure for the last pre-Maccabean phase, the land was ' l i k e a ship i n a storm, tossed by the waves on both sides'. the Egyptians W h e t h e r Antiochus the Great t r i u m p h e d or Y e t when Antiochus defeated at Paneion,
1

anticipated the ill-starred designs of Antiochus I V , b o t h by a to have been quite u n - E g y p t i a n i n his p l a n to make citizenship dependent on religious conformity, an oppressive p o l i t y from w h i c h the West itself has b u t recently emerged, i f i t has yet emerged. This is the sense i n w h i c h I read the historical kernel Book of the Maccabees. U n d e r l y i n g i t is Judea of the so-called Third

endured reverses mattered l i t t l e . opposition i n t o Jerusalem,

the Jews received h i m w i t h o u t gave p l e n t i f u l provision to a l l his

a r m y and to his elephants', anda deed fraught w i t h f u t u r e disasterhelped to expel the E g y p t i a n garrison f r o m the J e r u salem citadel and m replace i t by a S y r i a n force. Maccabees. This S y r i a n garrison of the citadel was long a t h o r n i n the side of the The concessions of Antiochus I I I were real enough, The and i t is possible t h a t but for the w i l d schemes o f Antiochus I V Judea m i g h t have settled down to peaceful l o y a l t y to Syria. Judeans showed no a n t i p a t h y to Hellenism as such. forced i n t o an u n n a t u r a l antagonism. i n his conclusion orthodox that They were

a l i t t l e - k n o w n Palestinian campaign w h i c h was not u n i m p o r t a n t , Thus the Jews were t h r o w n i n t o the arms of the Syrians. i n the end paid dearly for the change. worse master than Ptolemy Philopator. W e have thus briefly surveyed the Palestinian campaigns for the century and a h a l f t h a t separated Alexander's descent on the coast to Antiochus I V ' s ascent by the same route. the moment of victory. The one marched to E g y p t i n t r i u m p h , the other returned t h w a r t e d i n Inside the circle marked out on the Delta sand by the Roman legate, and forced to decide w h i l e he stood thus circumscribed, Antiochus yielded to Rome, but w i t h an ill-grace that poured its bitterness ^n^Judea. He m i g h t be restrained by Rome f r o m occupying E g y p t , but he would not be diverted by a small h i l l - f o l k f r o m H e l l e n i z i n g the Orient. Alexander had probably dreamed of a s i m i l a r project, but he would have sought fusion rather t h a n absorption. scheme would have been premature. I f so, his age, I n Alexander's Antiochus I V proved a

Freudenthal seems r i g h t There are a

Hellenism had made way among the

Jews as w e l l as among the unorthodox.

distinct indications of Hellenic t h o u g h t i n so conservative w r i t e r as the author of Ecclesiasticus. antagonism was demonstrated later.

That there was no n a t u r a l Philo found for his form N o r d i d he stand

of Hebraism inspiration as much i n Greek as i n Jewish thought. H i s system is a harmonization of the two. alone. M u c h later, Maimonides was almost as much dependent

on A r i s t o t l e as on Moses for his ethical and metaphysical theories. Medieval scholasticism as a whole is an i l l u s t r a t i o n of the possib i l i t y of b r i n g i n g the Hellenic and Hebraic streams to a confluence. Hence, I feel justified i n declaring that i t was Antiochus I V who was responsible for m a k i n g the inspirations of Greece and Judea seemed opposed and antagonistic. There is another point. W h i l e Judea r e l u c t a n t l y passed from Persian to Macedonian suzerainty i n the f o u r t h century, i t seems to have been more easily inclined to pass from the Ptolemaic to the Seleucid overlordship i n the second century. But the readiness o f the Judeans to transfer t h e i r allegiance from E g y p t must not be a t t r i b u t e d to fickleness nor charged w i t h i n g r a t i t u d e . The E g y p t i a n k i n g , Ptolemy Philopator, seems i n fact to have

Hebraism was not yet well-enough organized to secure its due place i n any scheme of fusion. I t was fortunate that the attempt was made b y a smaller man and at a moment more favourable for resistance. For the task of imposing Hellenism on the East Moreover, Hellenism d i d not w i n its true The real appeal of Greece has been b y Alexander m i g h t have found A n d thus Antiochus I V was not the man, nor was the East t h e n i n a receptive condition. victoriesthroughout the ages i t has not w o n its true victories i n the Seleucid way. compulsion charm, not by force, by the lure o f its i n t r i n s i c beauty, not by of physical assault. Hebraism too weak to exercise its proper influence; Antiochus found i t too strong to succumb to any other influence.

16

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE W i t h E g y p t decadent but resilient,

we reach, i n the Maccabean age, the most memorable and c r i t i c a l of the Palestinian campaigns. w i t h Syria pretentious b u t undermined, w i t h P a r t h i a hostile and Judea rousedwhile Rome looms on the horizon w a t c h f u l of a l l fourwe hear the clash w h i c h s t i l l reverberates i n our modern life. To the campaigns associated w i t h the Maccabees I shall soldier. t u r n i n m y second lecture.

LECTURE I I
W A R S are often as interesting to the psychologist as to the Students of character are, i n particular, as i n t r i g u e d I t is often said t h a t ancient Daniel BooJc of the Unfair they by the personalities of the Maccabean campaigns as are m i l i t a r y historians by the actual fighting. Jewish writers, whether apocalyptics l i k e the author of or sober narrators l i k e the author of the First Maccabees, were u n f a i r to Antiochus Epiphanes.

were, for they were ignorant of or suppressed his more amiable qualities, yet i t is to Polybius the Greek that we owe the fact that Antiochus Epiphanes (the God Manifest) was by the Syrians themselves nicknamed Epimanes (the Madman). I t is Polybius who presents the f o u r t h Antiochus to us as a freakish dilettante i n the arts, a genial and freakish boon-companion, a statesman, and a buffoon. H i s practical jokes i n the bath roused the wonder Antiochus I V the Seleucid reminds As Stanley and disgust of his courtiers.

us a good deal of W i l l i a m I I the Hohenzollern.

says of Antiochus, his w a n t of balance found expression i n ' an eccentricity t o u c h i n g i n s a n i t y on the left and genius on the right \ There were certainly many attractive features i n his H i s g a l l a n t r y as a y o u t h under his father's eyes at To the end, as Polybius j u s t l y says, and He disposition.

Paneion reminds us of 'the Black Prince under E d w a r d I l l ' s observation at Crecy. as D a n i e l confirms, he was s k i l f u l i n the a r t of war, t h o u g h he showed p o l i t i c a l weakness i n his ready surrender to Rome. was also successful i n the arts of peace. appears to have won D u r i n g his fifteen years

as hostage i n Rome, as w e l l as d u r i n g his stay i n Greece, he deserved popularity for his a m i a b i l i t y , Even more to his credit is the fact Syrian throne, he
D

public spirit, and address. that on his elevation

to the

practically

refounded his capital A n t i o c h , w h i c h u l t i m a t e l y played no mean

18

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE

LECTURE I I on the i n h a b i t a n t s of Jerusalem.

19

second role to Alexandria as a social and commercial centre. ' Raum-poesie'the Poetry of Spacethe process of l a y i n g out beautiful cities on sites already beautiful b y nature, was an a r t i n w h i c h the successors of Alexander excelled, and Daphne, the garden suburb of A n t i o c h , is described i n terms w h i c h befit a fairy realm.
1

two occasions he despoiled the Temple, and made a savage attack Encouraged by these unopposed He imagined successes, he mistook the temper of the people. triumph.

that he could w i n a s p i r i t u a l as simply as he had won a m i l i t a r y So he ' wrote to his whole n a t i o n t h a t they should be He one people, and that each should forsake his own l a w s ' . unique. This i t is t h a t gives to the Maccabean campaigns their special quality. cern. to our W e no longer deal w i t h dynastic struggles, nor w i t h m i l i t a r i s t rivalries i n w h i c h the Jews themselves had l i t t l e conW e are faced by a conflict of ideals, each of w h i c h has t i m e , and w h i c h , i n c i d e n t a l l y , gave rise to w h a t is M u c h of the the Books of its o w n inalienable rights, a conflict w h i c h has persisted down termed the Jewish Problem as we k n o w i t s t i l l , the problem of the relations between citizenship and r e l i g i o n . literature of the Maccabean ageEsther, Daniel, the Maccabeesagrees

On the other hand, the ambitious design to reduce as

the whole of his E m p i r e , i n c l u d i n g P a r t h i a and Palestine, to a monotonous u n i f o r m i t y of culture, reveals the megalomaniac H i s v e r y attack on Hebraism does not seem to have i r r i t a t i o n , of self-conceit. unmistakably as do his coins, w i t h t h e i r m i m i c k i n g s of d i v i n i t y . been, i n i t i a l l y , more t h a n the outcome of overwrought impulse, o f D a n i e l regards his h u m i l i a t i o n by Rome as the cause of his * i n d i g n a t i o n against the h o l y covenant \ Antiochus made three expeditions i n t o E g y p t i n the successive years 170, 169, 168 B . C . ; the first was successful, the second a false indecisive, the t h i r d foiled by Roman intervention. D u r i n g the second of these, i f we may r e l y on the Second Maccabees, the k i n g m i g h t easily interpret as a revolt. rumour of Antiochus' death led to events i n Jerusalem w h i c h He had previously been welcomed b y the Jewish Hellenists, and there can be no doubt that he was encouraged by t h a t welcome i n his later designs. I t is not clear how m a n y times Antiochus entered the he d i d so at least twice and perhaps thrice. On Holy City;
1

forgot t h a t neither the true, the good, nor the beautiful is the

i n representing the struggle as one, not I t was a fierce attack I cannot Ptolemy,

indeed between Hellenism and Hebraismr4nrgeneral, but between S y r i a n Hellenism and Judean Hebraism. on, and an equally fierce defence of, the Jewish L a w . d r a w n from the m i l i t a r y aspects o f the situation. A Jewish Sabbath for t h e i r attacks. incapable of such tactics.

now enter f u l l y i n t o this subject, b u t the same conclusion m a y b e a Seleucid, a Roman, were agreed for instance i n choosing the Alexander would have been ' I steal no victories', he exclaimed on

Poetry of Space. T h e t e r m Raum-poesie was a h a p p y i n v e n t i o n of B u r c k h a r d t . I t led to schemes o f t o w n - p l a n n i n g f a r b e y o n d w h a t was reached b y us u n t i l very m o d e r n t i m e s . T h e new Greek c i t i e s were l a i d o u t on a r e g u l a r scheme : w i t h b r o a d streets i n t e r s e c t i n g at squares ( r e a l squares, n o t r o u n d ones), a n d a t t h e centre were t h e t e m p l e a n d t h e t h e a t r e . A l l these new cities were v e r i t a b l e g a r d e n cities ; t h e gardens were as picturesque as the houses, w h i c h is t o say m u c h . Mahaffy r i g h t l y sees i n these b r i g h t , t a s t e f u l cities, f u l l o f a n a m p l e a n d r i c h l i f e , a n d connected b y g o o d roads, one of t h e m a i n causes w h y H e l l e n i s m was so a t t r a c t i v e t o Jews a n d Pagans a l i k e . Jerusalem m u s t have been very i n f e r i o r i n t h e respects n a m e d n o t o n l y t o A n t i o c h , b u t also t o t h e m a n y H e l l e n i c cities w i t h i n Palestine a n d on t h e borders of Judea. A n t i o c h u s deserves considerable c r e d i t for his devotion t o Raum-poesie. The craze t o - d a y i n A m e r i c a f o r t h e civic centre is a relic of t h e Greek R a u m poesie ; the civic c e n t r e i n m a n y cases contains i n a h a r m o n i o u s g r o u p a l l t h e p u b l i c b u i l d i n g s , f r o m w h i c h r a d i a t e t h e m a i n streets i n a well-considered p l a n . Our o w n g a r d e n cities a n d schemes o f t o w n - p l a n n i n g are also p a r a l l e l s t o i t , a n d i m i t a t i o n s o f t h e Raum-poesie o f t h e p e r i o d we are c o n s i d e r i n g .

a famous occasion. Ptolemy Soter seized Jerusalem on a Saturday ; the Judeans suffered s i m i l a r l y f r o m Antiochus' garrison i n the C i t y of D a v i d , w h i c h made a Saturday r a i d on the refugees. carry on a defensive war on the Sabbath day. Judean Mattathias, hearing of this, decided t h a t Jews m i g h t B u t this com-

promise was turned to advantage b y Pompey, a century later. He abstained from direct attack on the Saturday, but used the day for r a i s i n g , unmolested, banks and towers, b r i n g i n g up his engines i n t o position for a Sunday execution. and defensive warfare cannot be discriminated. D 2 Clearly, offensive Other Romans.

20

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE Plutarch, however, adds i n s u l t

LECTURE I I of A n t i o c h u s ; a l l subsequent

21

Sosius and Titus, took similar advantage, w h i c h is justifiable no doubt b y m i l i t a r y considerations. to i n j u r y i n his sarcastic comment on one of these incidents. 'God,' writes Plutarch, ' is the brave man's hope, and not the cowards excuse. The Jews indeed once sat on t h e i r tails it being forsooth t h e i r Sabbath dayand suffered t h e i r enemies to rear t h e i r scaling-ladders, and make themselves masters of the walls, and so l a y s t i l l u n t i l t h e y were caught l i k e so many trout i n the drag-net of their o w n superstition/ Generosity to a fallen Trojan I n passing, i t foe was not an ancient v i r t u e , t h o u g h Euripides i n his Women gives a noble instance to the contrary.

martyrologies derive f r o m the

Jewish books w h i c h record the suffering of those who i n t h a t day were strong and d i d exploits.' The ' e x p l o i t s ' referred to i n this last phrase, quoted from Daniel, must have been the early achievements of the Father of the Maccabees, Mattathias. The moral fortitude of the Mother of the Maccabees, as the medieval Church h y m n terms her, who set an example * merendi perpetuam v i t a m b r e v i m o r t e d i d n o t fill the heroic picture. A figure is missing, t h a t of the Son of We
4

both, the man who knew both how to live and to die nobly. t u r n f r o m Antiochus ' the l i t t l e h o r n ', to Judas Maccabeus, man of the h a m m e r ' . Maccabee to a more appropriate occasion.

the

may be remarked that the weekly day of r e s t w h i c h modern society regards as one of its most precious of Hebraic i n s t i t u t i o n s was peculiarly obnoxious to Roman opinion. the satirists l i k e Juvenal t h a t mako Nor is i t o n l y m e r r y on the matter.

I must leave the discussion of the w o r d B u t I do venture to D a n i e l per-

interpolate a suggestion about the ' l i t t l e h o r n ' .

sistently describes the k i n g s f r o m Alexander onwards as horns, and this metaphor is usually explained from the B i b l i c a l usage of the h o r n as a type of strength and arrogance. B u t I suggest t h a t Daniel was also influenced b y the frequency of the horned types on Macedonian and particularly Seleucid coin^i^seems strange that no commentator on D a n i e l has perceived this, even t h o u g h i t has been seen by commentators on the K o r a n t h a t numismatics account for the appellation ' the t w o - h o r n e d ' applied b y A r a b writers to Alexander. I t was Alexander who introduced the horned types into Greek coinage. On some of his coins are seen t w o rams' horns c u r l i n g This emblem was adopted i n honour of the Horns, round his ears.

Seneca, who should have k n o w n better, describes the weekly rest as a pernicious custom, whereby a m a n by his idleness wastes a seventh part of his life. Y e t cowardice was scarcely a t r a i t of the Maccabees, or idleness of the Jews of Nero's age. I t is hard to decide whether i t was not, after a l l , the passive resistance of the Jews that w o n the real victory. campaign. The story o f martyrdom is at a l l events not the least heroic feature of the W h e n the ' A b o m i n a t i o n of D e s o l a t i o n ' w i t h ' i t s broth of loathed things 'was set up i n Jerusalem, and Dionysiac processions paraded the streets, m a n y conformed under the stress of compulsion. B u t as M r . E d w y n Bevan so eloquently and so generously says: ' there also shone out i n t h a t intense moment the sterner and sublimer qualities w h i c h later Hellenism, and above a l l the H e l l e n i s m of Syria, knew n o t h i n g ofuncompromising fidelity to an ideal, endurance raised to the p i t c h o f They were utter self-devotion, a passionate c l i n g i n g to p u r i t y . could not compensate. by Christendom.

E g y p t i a n god A m m o n , i n whose cult the r a m was sacred. to Ptolemy Soter. type his own. elephant.

w i t h a higher curl, also appear on the E g y p t i a n coins of Alexander B u t i t was the founder of the S y r i a n empire, i t was Seleucus, Alexander's cavalry leader, who made the horned A horned horse's head, and a horned helmet, are characteristic of the Seleucid coinage, and so is the tusked Hence, I suggest, Daniel's horns as types of Alexander and his successors. Perhaps we may here discover the significance of Daniel's ' little h o r n ' applied to Antiochus I V , perhaps w i t h a note of contempt. The ' l i t t l e h o r n ' ir usually explained to

qualities for the lack of w h i c h a l l the riches of Hellenic culture The agony created new h u m a n types, and new forms of literature w h i c h became permanent were i n h e r i t e d The figure of the m a r t y r ( I am s t i l l q u o t i n g M r . Bevan), as the Church knows i t , dates f r o m the persecution

22

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE
1

LECTURE I I On the later ferza del paleo'.

23

mean ' l i t t l e i n the beginning, t h o u g h soon increasing i n power \ B u t something fresh is suggested b y the coinage. t h a n the horns of Alexander's mintage. Seleucid coins the h o r n continues to appear, but i t is far smaller I n a silver tetradrachm of Antiochus I V pictured i n Babelon, the small horse's head w i t h yet smaller horns is a mere excrescence to the design; s i m i l a r l y w i t h the tusked elephant: i t becomes much reduced i n size.
4

Maccabee, and gladness was the lash to the t o p ' : ' e letizia era Whence d i d Dante derive his ' l e t i z i a ' ? Clearly Maccabees, where we are t o l d Dour from the L a t i n version of the First

that Judas and his men ' f o u g h t w i t h gladness the battle of I s r a e l ' ' et proeliabantur proelium Israel cum laetitia '. fighters barbarities, they possessed the saving q u a l i t y of them w i t h the lyre and the dance. I f , however, Judas possessed this q u a l i t y of w h i c h they ascribe to h i m . enemies on the field.
4 1

as the Maccabees were, g u i l t y as t h e y were of cruel cheerfulness.

Little h o r n ' may allude to this. This suggestion of mine is, I fancy, confirmed b y another

Cromwell's Ironsides droned psalms, the Maccabees accompanied l e t i z i a ' w h i c h his have

example of w h a t seems to me the influence of coins on metaphors. I n the previous century, Theocritus i n his E p i t h a l a m i u m compared the rose-red H e l e n to a mare of Thessalian breed i n a c h a r i o t ; a figure used also b y the contemporary author of the Song of Songs when praising the Shulammite's loveliness. ' I have likened thee, 0 m y love, to a team of horses i n Pharaoh's chariots.' The delicate beauty of the horses on the S i c i l i a n coinsTheocritus was a Siciliancoins whereon N i k e drives steeds w h i c h for grace and refinement are unsurpassed i n numismatic a r t ; herein we have a possible explanation for the use by Theocritus (and of his B i b l i c a l contemporary) of w h a t may at first sight seem a perverse and grotesque poetical figure. Thus, i f I am r i g h t , the horned types w o u l d not stand alone as a numismatic help to the understanding of ancient poetical imagery. To r e t u r n to Judas Maccabeus, there is a feature of his character w h i c h even his extreme panegyrists are w o n t to overlook. Dante saw i t . I n his Paradiso Yet Dante beheld Judas among ' the In

panegyrists mostly overlook, he lacked a f a u l t f o r i t is a f a u l t B o t h Judas and Alexander been w r o n g l y conceived as merely impetuous assailants of t h e i r He leaped suddenly on the foe/ says the L i k e Alexander, he had Maccabean historian, and i t has been inferred t h a t his successes were due solely to his leonine leaps. indeed a disinclination to acting on the defensive, but, l i k e Alexander's again, t h o u g h i n a m i n o r degree, his offensive was deliberate: a good deal preceded the leap. Judas' masterly campaigns against the n e i g h b o u r i n g tribes, especially i n Galilee, prove this ; these were the most b r i l l i a n t of his successes, rapid sweeps, yet most carefully prepared for. So, too, was his sudden charge at There was no sign of a
c

Emmaus followed a l o n g n i g h t march, leading h i m to the p o i n t where he m i g h t strike a d i v i d e d enemy. guerrilla chieftain i n the prudence w h i c h restrained his v i c t o r y intoxicated men f r o m disorganized l o o t inasmuch,' said he, ' as there is a battle before u s ' . qualities of a capable leader. He lacked, however, one of the He was weak i n commisariat; more The rest

spirits blessed, who below, ere they came i n t o heaven, were of a great name, so that every Muse would be enriched by them.' this vision of the W a r r i o r s of God, Dante places the Maccabee between Joshua and Charlemagne, a most significant position, r e m i n d i n g us i n part of the Pageant of the N i n e W o r t h i e s , but also suggestive of the thought that w h i l e Joshua founded Hebraism i n the p o l i t y of the ancient w o r l d , Charles the Great consolidated the empire of the daughter Church i n medieval Europe. a sense impossible. B u t for Judas, Joshua w o u l d have been wasted, but for Judas, Charles i n Dante saw the m o v i n g wheel of the l o f t y

t h a n once he failed to feed his army, a fault w h i c h the Syrians, more experienced i n the a r t of war, never committed. of the qualities Judas possessed. It is no longer difficult to believe or even to explain his victories over much larger forces. supplied a very close parallel. The last South A f r i c a n W a r

The h o l d i n g of inner lines, the

knowledge and choice of ground, added to innate fighting q u a l i t y and power of endurance, backed by fanatical enthusiasm for t h e i r

24

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE The Boers failed for two another case.

LECTURE I I

25

cause, gave the Boers j u s t the same advantages against us as the Judeans enjoyed against the Syrians. reasons. F i r s t they lacked capacity for bold offensive i n the Judea d i d not suffer from W h e n , eventually, Syria

made by i n v a d i n g troops ignorant of the country ; Judas was i n H i s first local successes, w o n by this device, were so surprising, they were so insistent, t h a t the Syrians were compelled to take serious action. Accordingly through Seron advanced from Samaria, turned east The L y d d a , up the same road down w h i c h Joshua had

open, and secondly t h e i r successes were only w o n w h i l e E n g l a n d was unable to exert her f u l l strength. the first cause ; i t d i d f r o m the second.

used her utmost resources, Judea was retaken. B u t the real t r i u m p h had been won before Judas himself fell at the head of a handful of men on the fatal field of Elasa. for a l l t i m e . Religious l i b e r t y had been his true objective, and that objective he attained Rome m i g h t replace Syria as temporal suzerain, but never w o u l d the Hebrews surrender their spiritual autonomy. * H u m a n l y speaking,' writes Mahaffy, 'we may t h a n k Antiochus I V for h a v i n g saved for us t h a t peculiar Semitic type w h i c h has influenced so strongly the literature and politics of the Western world.' Clearly then, we must include the fights of Judas among field. the ' decisive battles' o f the w o r l d . Y e t the v i c t o r y was secure even before Judas took the Just as a gun-shot at F o r t Sumter precipitated the American C i v i l W a r and sounded the doom of the South, so Mattathias' stroke at Antiochus' commissioner at Modin initiated the Maccabean revolt and ensured its success. N o t a l l the zealots

chased the Canaanites w h i l e the sun stood s t i l l on A i j a l o n .

road between the Beth-horons is rough and steep, and Seron's progress was slow, slower t h a n Judas desired or anticipated. * W e for our part are faint,' moaned his men, ' h a v i n g tasted no food this d a y ' . So flagrant a lack of rations must have been due to ' For our lives fight', cried Judas ; and the event justified the A t t a c k i n g the advancing enemy on Two things are clear. the unexpected deliberation of Seron's approach. and our laws we n o b i l i t y of his watchword.

both sides of the pass, the Judeans t h r e w the Syrians i n t o disorder, from w h i c h they could not recover. Judas l i v e d up to his reputation for t a k i n g the offensive, and the Syrians were inefficient i n m o u n t a i n warfare. Indeed the Macedonian tactics, on w h i c h the S y r i a n tactics were based (except t h a t the Syrians used elephants, w h i c h Alexander d i d not), needed level spaces for cavalry skirmishes, supported by the charges of the phalanx. There is no h i n t heavy t h a t the Syrians

effected f o r t h w i t h a j u n c t i o n w i t h Mattathias. H e and his band made for the open hills, characteristic this of the f a m i l y d a r i n g ; the others sought hiding-places i n the caves of the wilderness. I t was these others who suffered from the mean attack on the Sabbath d a y ; i t was Mattathias who took steps to prevent a repetition of the manoeuvre. Persuaded of his capacity for leadership, the H a s i d i m thereupon t h r e w i n t h e i r l o t w i t h h i m , and he made warriors out of scribes. d i d this. for service', says the author of Or rather, his gallant son
1

modified these dispositions essentially to suit the Judean hills. Alexander, as A r r i a n tells us, knew how to abandon the r i g i d phalanx i n h i l l fights, i n w h i c h he made good use of his bowmen. I n a deep, wooded glen Alexander sent on his slingers. bowmen nor slingers are ever mentioned. l i g h t e r N u m i d i a n s under Hannibal. We have too, no i n d i c a t i o n that the Syrians adopted similar measures; neither The Romans, were slow to adapt t h e i r tactics and formations to meet the Curiously enough, w h i l e the Syrians, r e l y i n g on Greek m i l i t a r y t r a d i t i o n , were doing the w r o n g t h i n g for their side, Judas by r e l y i n g on Hebrew m i l i t a r y t r a d i t i o n was doing the r i g h t t h i n g for his side. The old Hebrew formations, w i t h t h e i r captains of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens, the m e n armed w i t h far l i g h t e r weapons t h a n the l o n g and ponderous S y r i a n sarissa, a spear which prevented

H e d i d not rely on rude levies, but trained his men the Second Maccabees. In

particular he developed the n i g h t attack, of w h i c h A r r i a n so strongly disapproved. was j u s t enough. N i g h t attacks were disastrous i n the Boer n i g h t attacks were W a r , and A r r i a n ' s approval of Alexander's abstention f r o m them B u t these unsuccessful

26

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE

LECTURE I I

27

its holder from .meeting a foe on the f l a n k t h i s Hebrew formation and armament was far more mobile and agile t h a n the Syrian. The Judeans again were not encumbered by numbers. N u m e r i c a l superiority, w h e n i t goes beyond a usable l i m i t , is b y no means an advantage i n narrow defiles. Hence Seron was forced to retreat headlong down the h i l l s , and only recovered f r o m the disaster when the open plains were reached. Antiochus chose t h i s very moment to lead an expedition i n t o Persia, w i t h the Elymais. object of l o o t i n g the temple of A r t e m i s i n Hence his a t t e n t i o n was disPossibly he had his m i n d set also on recovering

far f r o m h a v i n g been robbed by former invaders, former invaders had added to the r i c h stores of precious metals i n E l y m a i s and elsewhere. On the other hand, Antiochus himself had already despoiled Jerusalem, and l i t t l e more could be extorted f r o m i t . Indeed his generals merely hoped to obtain money f r o m the Judean campaigns by selling t h e i r anticipated prisoners as slaves. For t h i s reason, though we can w e l l imagine that he w o u l d have preferred to proceed himself against the upstart Judas, Antiochus relegated the conduct of the Judean campaign to his viceroy Lysias. Lysias had some attractive qualities; i n the end he W e shall n o t I have Slaveyielded religious l i b e r t y l i k e a gallant gentleman, w h i l e i n the meantime campaigning l i k e an expert soldier. Nicanor and Gorgias. now follow i n detail the proceedings of Lysias' two generals, B u t one detail is interesting. already referred to i t . W i t h the new S y r i a n a r m y came a group of coast slave-dealers, provided w i t h cash and fetters. dealing was a regular i t e m of Phoenician trade, and the Syrians conceived that, as the price of Israelites taken and sold, t h e y m i g h t extract f r o m these dealers money enough to pay the overdue Roman tribute. I t was Nicanor who originated this amiable The b i t t e r idea, bearing, as one o f our sources says,' a deadly hatred unto I s r a e l ' , and e x c i t i n g a similar animosity i n r e t u r n . ness was accentuated by the fact, i f i t be a fact, that Nicanor at first was well enough disposed to Judas, but the latter, fearing treachery, refused to second his f r i e n d l y advances. A t a l l events, the overthrow of Nicanor is treated by the Second Maccabees a retaliation for his dastardly attempt to enslave a people. Nicanor, three years later, was finally as When

Parthia for the Seleucid empire.

tracted f r o m the south. Jerusalem was not the only shrine to be wasted ; Judea not the only part of his dominions i n revolt. The edict of Antiochus, enforcing a common r e l i g i o n throughout his realm, must have been as hateful to Zoroastrianism as to Judaism. There was no lack of sympathy w i t h Hellenism i n Later on, t h a t other stronghold of Persia, b u t the r e l i g i o n of Persia resented suppression at the mot d'ordre of a Seleucid. Zoroastrianism, Parthia, l o n g held out against Pome. Eventually, Zoroastrianism f e l l an easy prey to Islam, w i t h w h i c h i t had close affinity. I n the almost concurrent opposition to S y r i a n by P a r t h i a and Judea may be detected a Tacitus, b l i n d to the and south gave the pseudo-Hellenism

spiritual as w e l l as a political coincidence. Antiochus* distraction between Maccabees t h e i r chance. the Boohs of the Maccabees. the Temple of Jerusalem. north

importance of the Judean revolt, is r i g h t i n his judgement that Strange is i t to contrast Polybius w i t h A c c o r d i n g to Jewish sources, the According to Polybius, his fate was A f t e r a l l , the two versions

death of Antiochus was a d i v i n e r e t r i b u t i o n for his defilement of due to manifestations of divine w r a t h i n the course of his wicked attempt on the temple of Elymais. are not inconsistent. cases. Antiochus conducted the n o r t h e r n campaign i n person, because there was more chance of r i c h booty. He was i n financial diffiSo culties, and the Persian temples had h i t h e r t o been spared. Antiochus showed the same s p i r i t i n both

conquered and slain b y

Judas, i n 161 B . C . , Nicanor's Day, the anniversary o f his f a l l , was observed as a public holiday, every t h i r t e e n t h of Adar. B u t we must r e t u r n to the earlier t r i a l of strength between Nicanor and Judas. I n association w i t h Gorgias, Nicanor was A f t e r his v i c t o r y commissioned to make the attempt at w h i c h Seron had failed, and to overwhelm the forces led by Judas. an o p p o r t u n i t y to re-enter Jerusalem.
E

over Seron, Judas must have hovered on the Judean hills, w a t c h i n g T h a t c i t y was strongly 2

28

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE The persistent marches o f the Syrians to

LECTURE I I p l a i n ' as soon as i t was dawn. This is a fine touch.

29 As the

held by the Syrians, and attracted not only Judas, b u t also the S y r i a n invaders. Jerusalem as an objective, w h i l e the Judeans were not i n occupat i o n of Jerusalem, must have been caused by t w o thoughts : first, t h a t Judas and his men w o u l d be caught on the w a y ; second, that Jerusalem was a good centre for combing out the rebels i n the Judean h i l l s and wadys. I demonstrated t h i s i n m y own I found that b y v i s i t to Judea, made for the purpose of carefully g o i n g over on foot a l l the scenes of the Maccabean campaigns. m a k i n g Jerusalem a centre I could cross and recross a l l Judea, w h i l e never being more t h a n some twelve hours distant f r o m the H o l y C i t y . To r e t u r n to the fight between Nicanor and Gorgias. Judas and Lysias
1

modern traveller approaches Emmaus by Judas' route, the p l a i n of Emmaus does indeed come suddenly i n t o view. Emmaus was I f J udas* a very different affair to Beth-horon. Here below l a y a ramparted, well-patrolled camp, showing i n the m o r n i n g l i g h t . the S y r i a n panic. attack was a surprise, surprise was not the whole explanation of Judas, i n l i g h t formation, attacked on the h i m from the east or n o r t h . south, w h i l e Nicanor expected

Now on the south the ground is broken and steep, ill-suited to Syrian battle tactics. Nicanor had, moreover, encamped too near the hills, as is indicated b y the statement t h a t after the m o r n i n g panic he ' fled to the p l a i n ' . Seeing The pursuit was not d r i v e n home. Y e t Judas' anxiety as to the oncoming of Gorgias was wasted. what had occurred to Nicanor, Gorgias declined the battle, w h i c h Judas on the lower ground was unable to compel. Gorgias either retraced his steps to Jerusalem or w i t h d r e w southwest to Azotus. I w o u l d o n l y remark t h a t i n the v i e w here taken of the Battle of Emmaus, Gorgias d i d not lose his way i n ^ a n i g h t - m a r c h , but failed to catch up w i t h Judas u n t i l too late to help Nicanor. Signal as was Judas' v i c t o r y at Emmaus, Jerusalem was s t i l l barred to h i m . He could n o t venture on e n t e r i n g the c i t y w h i l e I t needed a t h i r d v i c t o r y to so the Syrians held the citadel, and m i g h t be succoured b y another S y r i a n advance f r o m the p l a i n . City. assure h i m s e l f of the latter p o i n t as to r i s k entering the H o l y I n 165 B.C., a year glorious i n the annals of Judea, and indeed of the w o r l d , this t h i r d v i c t o r y arrived, at Bethzur. Lysias himself led a large army i n t o Judeafar too large. The Syrians, throughout, would have had a better chance w i t h smaller forces. Mass or shock attacks, i n w h i c h the formidable phalanx could operate, were impossible i n Judea. combats So, too, the hand-to-hand detrimental on of olden times were not helped b y numbers i n the Panic mostly seized those

generals,

This I interpret as a combing-out process. Gorgias was

I find i t hard to understand i t i n any other way. involved i n that colleague's defeat.

a better soldier t h a n his colleague Nicanor, and was scarcely H e does not seem to have eastwards f r o m the been i n Nicanor's camp at a l l , b u t to have moved westwards from Jerusalem w h i l e Nicanor advanced coast, on the very lines followed b y R i c h a r d I i n his march from Acre nearly fourteen centuries later. Nicanor encamped his m a i n forces on the lower slopes, for the hills on the Jaffa road have h a r d l y begun when Emmaus is reached. I t was at Emmaus that he awaited Judas' expected attack, though he also undertook an i n i t i a t i v e of his own, by a r r a n g i n g for Gorgias' concentration. H e had learned his lesson f r o m Seron's fate, and declined to entangle h i m s e l f i n the h i l l passes. He held at Emmaus an ample g r o u n d for using his cavalry and phalanx, w h i l e the f l a n k i n g movement of Georgias coming f r o m Jerusalem would compel Judas to attack on the site chosen by the Syrians. of Judas' r a p i d i t y and resource. The best view of what followed is that the Syrian plan failed because He actually marched i n front of Gorgias and on the same road, covered at a great pace the t w e n t y miles between Mizpah and Emmaus, rested his troops overnight, and then, l o o k i n g over the h i l l s , and catching a glimpse of the S y r i a n camp facing east, showed h i m s e l f i n the
1

moment of battle, w h i l e mere numbers were marches and s t i l l more so i n retreats.

who, i n the rear, were t a k i n g no part i n the actual fighting, and t h e i r nanic reacted on the fierhtinff line.

30 had proved

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE (used by the Egyptians). and Nicanor. He advanced

LECTURE I I fought, b u t the elephants themselves

31 engaged i n the conflict,

8

Lysias abandoned the n o r t h e r n passes and lower ranges w h i c h disastrous to Seron possibly t h r o u g h Beersheba and thence, after a l o n g Idumean detour, f r o m the south by the H e b r o n road. A l l e n b y used this very road, but he also used the Beth-horon route, as we shall see. R e t u r n i n g to Lysias, we now hear of the elephants for the first t i m e , and naturally. E v e n the Syrians would have shrunk from The first t h i n g t h a t The Syrians and t r y i n g to b r i n g up elephants by any other approach t h a n the comparatively broad and level Hebron road. suitable ground for an elephant-led assault. struck me on the site o f Beth Zacharias was that here was a very Egyptians were great believers i n elephants ; the Romans, after much perturbation, eventually proved t h a t these beasts were more dangerous to f r i e n d t h a n foe. I t has been objected t h a t the Jewish sources are unhistoric i n t h e i r references to Antiochus I V s elephants, seeing that by the t r e a t y w i t h Rome, a quarter of a century earlier, Antiochus I I I had contracted to discontinue the use of elephants. B u t such agreements are soon broken. We have a similar case w i t h the Gallic horses. The Romans imposed conditions on the Gauls w i t h regard to the breeding of horses w h i c h very soon were modified. To clinch the matterbefore the Roman legates a r r i v e d ! P o l y b i u s himself records the presence of a large number of elephants i n the great festival celebrated by Antiochus I V i n his capital. Here again the facts are dead against certain critics. For we are t o l d i n 1 Mace. i i i . 34 t h a t while only a part of the S y r i a n a r m y was employed i n Judea, all the elephants were so used i n 163 B . c. F u r t h e r on, i n 1 Mace. v i . 30, we are t o l d t h a t t h i r t y - t w o This agrees w i t h Polybius, who
B.C.),

N o t only the soldiers i n the howdahs

pushing each other forehead to forehead, u n t i l one or other prevailed, t u r n e d aside its rival's t r u n k , and so got a chance to pierce The his r i v a l w i t h his tusks as a b u l l would w i t h his h o r n s ' .

smaller L y b i a n elephants gave way i n this manner before the bigger I n d i a n beasts at Raphia, afraid, says Polybius, of t h e i r size and their trumpetings and smell. The Romans, as Polybius also records, stood i n great terror of the Carthaginian elephants, u n t i l they learned how to deal w i t h them.
1

The Judeans had no such fear as the Romans, but from They elephantseven

the first faced the elephants w i t h extraordinary daring. were not for a moment perturbed by Lysias' and mulberries '. Why ?

t h o u g h t h e y were excited by being shown ' the blood of grapes Lysias t h e n w i t h his men and elephants marched round Judas' flank and rear, h o p i n g to catch h i m between his own troops and the hostile Idumeans. B u t Judas was not at Lysias' mercy. His former successes had given h i m more t h a n fame. an army, w i t h arms captured from Nicanor. He now had

Lysias was forced Judas took the

to retreat, felt the impossibility of c o n t i n u i n g the struggle against Judas, and left the road to Jerusalem open. o p p o r t u n i t y , rededicated the Temple amidst a scene of joyous t r i u m p h , raised fortifications against the citadel s t i l l held by a well-provisioned S y r i a n garrison, fortified Bethzur, and entered on the most b r i l l i a n t of his exploits, the campaign i n Galilee. B u t we cannot now follow those events closely. waning. Judas was to w i n other victories, but i t w o u l d seem t h a t his p o p u l a r i t y was The people on the whole were content w i t h w h a t had been won, and w h e n Bacchides four years after the rededication of the Temple met Judas at Elasa, the Maccabee was supported by a mere handful of die-hards. W h e t h e r t h i s was because of the u n p o p u l a r i t y of Judas' p o l i t i c a l designs, or because Bacchides caught h i m for once unawares, Judas f e l l ; but he had not fought i n vain.
1

elephants were used i n Judea.

(in the procession at A n t i o c h i n 165

i n a d d i t i o n to a few The coincidence o f

chariot elephants, describes the presence o f ' t h i r t y - s i x elephants i n single file w i t h a l l t h e i r f u r n i t u r e on numbers is almost exact. These elephants were of value chiefly against other elephants. Polybius gives us a spirited account of the superiority of the I n d i a n elephants (used by the Syrians) to the A f r i c a n v a r i e t y

The Syrians henceforth sought to conciliate, not to

As a l a r m e d as Germans at t h e first s i g h t of
1

tanks.'

32 conquer, Judea.

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE Hebraism had been saved, and the event was The most momentous of the

LECTURE I I by the early Christians. two masters.

33

Rome, entering i n t o the legacy of U n d e r a single master the

confirmed by r o y a l proclamation. humanity.

Hellenism, found, i n Mommsen's words, t h a t the w o r l d was under A n d this was well. world is never safe. The campaigns w h i c h we have surveyed

Palestinian campaigns was the most successful i n its issues for One of Judas' last acts was to send an embassage to Rome. The a u t h e n t i c i t y of this embassage is now generally a d m i t t e d by historians. Mommsen suggests that Rome assented to the recogF o r the first t i m e since Solomon, On the Maccabean mausoleum at Rome had something very Romanized. n i t i o n of Jewish autonomy because i t desired to establish a buffer state between E g y p t and Syria. the Jews controlled the coast.

to-day were, at least i n part, responsible for the fact t h a t the w o r l d emerged into the Christian era w i t h two masters, not w i t h one ; w i t h God enthroned as w e l l as Caesar.

M o d i n were engraved realistic figures of ships, t y p i f y i n g the fact t h a t Judea at last was a naval power. definite to g a i n f r o m an alliance. This continued for a century,

u n t i l first S y r i a and then E g y p t was completely

W h e n Rome controlled both S y r i a and E g y p t , Judea was no longer needed as a buffer state, and the fate of a useless buffer state was a n n i h i l a t i o n or absorption. I t was Pompey who, i n 63 B . C . , practically reduced Judea to a Roman province. Pompey advanced on Jerusalem from the n o r t h , by the east of the Jordan. out a blow. B u t the Temple H e crossed that river near

ScythopoliSjjthenee entered Judea, and occupied Jerusalem w i t h itself was defended, and the Like A defended Temple was a formidable fortress, as T i t u s found.

Titus, Pompey assaulted the Temple f r o m the n o r t h and west, the only sides vulnerable to ancient instruments of war. massacre of priests followed, w h i l e far more disastrously the coast towns from Raphia to Dora, and the Hellenic cities f r i n g i n g Judea east and west of the Jordan, were freed from Judean authority. conqueror's The Judean k i n g Aristobulus walked i n front of the chariot w h e n i n 61 B . C . Pompey celebrated his A n d though Pompey introduced no funda-

t r i u m p h at Rome.

mental change i n the i n t e r n a l government of Judea proper, the country was henceforth vassal to Rome. B u t Rome could never undo what the Maccabees had achieved. N o Roman Emperor was ever deified i n Jerusalem, and i n Rome itself the p i n c h of incense implored at pagan shrines was refused

LECTURE I I I commanded.

35

were necessary i n order to provide the three legions w h i c h T i t u s A curious parallel between the campaign of Titus and that o f A l l e n b y may be noted i n this connexion. D u r i n g the last phase A similar of the Great W a r , the exigences of the Western F r o n t necessitated

LECTUEE I I I
I F a m i l i t a r y expert had been addressing you, you would probably have often heard f r o m his lips the terms ' s t r a t e g y ' and ' t a c t i c s ' . A p p r o a c h i n g as I now do the campaign of Vespasian and Titus, I feel impelled to use these technical words for once. ( I learn f r o m the Oxford Dictionary) Strategy is the higher leadership, the

a transference of troops between Palestine and Europe. incident occurred i n the first century A . D .

T W O of the legions

usually serving i n Syria had been dispatched to the Caspian, b u t the outbreak of the Judean revolt forced the Romans to h u r r y these legions back to E g y p t . Thence T i t u s led t h e m to j o i n Vespasian To replace the two at Ptolemais i n the b e g i n n i n g of 6 7 ; thus b r i n g i n g Vespasian's Judean army to a total of three legions. transferred legions, Nero moved troops f r o m B r i t a i n , the legion so moved w i n t e r i n g i n Rome, where the disturbed condition of affairs rendered its presence opportune. This is by no means the Julius only instance of B r i t a i n reacting to events i n Judea.

direction of campaigns, w h i l e tactics is the art of h a n d l i n g troops i n the immediate presence of the enemy ; strategy is the comprehensive plan, tactics the detailed execution. tactics. The Romans excelled t h e Judeans i n strategy, the Judeans surpassed the Romans i n I n general i t may be said that the Judeans were better tacticians than strategists; they allowed, for instance, the Romans to hem t h e m i n t o Jerusalem, but h a v i n g made t h i s strategic blunder, they showed a tactical i n g e n u i t y and strength t h a t almost compensated for t h e i r strategic weakness. I n reading Josephus' v i v i d narrative of Titus' siege of the H o l y C i t y , one knows not whether to wonder more at the resourcefulness of the defenders or the conventionality of the assailants. but deserted to t h e i r enemy i n the course of the operations. In We D i o n Cassius' account, the Roman i n f a n t r y was not always steady, must n a t u r a l l y allow for the difference i n s p i r i t i n the opposing forces; the legionaries had not the same impulse to attack as the Zealots to defend. genius. B u t i t is Titus' tactics t h a t seem to lack He was prompt enough i n countering the Judean devices The attack was made by rule ; the defence H a d there been u n i o n w i t h i n the walls,

Severus, Hadrian's legate, was actually summoned f r o m B r i t a i n to Judea to act against B a r Cochba, and the record of Julius' subsequent t r i u m p h mentions on one and the same i n s c r i p t i o n his services i n B r i t a i n and i n Judea. W h e n we add the heroic part played by E n g l i s h princes i n the Crusades, w h i c h strangely enough reverberated i n the Crimean W a r , i t is no new departure for this country to have a unique concern i n the care of the H o l y Land. A t former times E n g l a n d participated i n Palestinian wars ; its Mandate now is of Peace. The Roman campaign w h i c h ended i n the destruction of the Temple and C i t y of Jerusalem i n A. D. 70 is usually pronounced inevitable. T h a t problem is really more i n need of discussion No m a r t i a l episode has ever t h a n the actual campaign itself. larity.

been described w i t h more graphic power and pathetic p a r t i c u I n his history of this campaign Josephus proves himself I t must suffice to say t h a t Titus marched from a master of style.

after they had done t h e i r damage ; he showed less foresight i n anticipating them. broke t h r o u g h a l l rules.

the north-west, and encamped on the north-east and west of J e r u salem, thus c o n t r o l l i n g the approaches on all sides but the south. This we may assume was also strongly patrolled, for, though the historians o m i t a l l m e n t i o n of Roman operations to the south of
F2

T i t u s , even w i t h the aid of famine, could hardly have taken the c i t y w i t h o u t heavy reinforcements, and Rome could not have supplied them. As i t was, considerable movements of troops

36

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE W i t h his wings

LECTURE I I I to arise masters of the w o r l d .

37

the c i t y , they are equally silent as to any attempt to relieve or provision the c i t y f r o m the Hebron direction. attack the Temple fortified edifice. any previous siege. resting on A n t o n i a and the upper c i t y , Titus was i n a position to f r o m the n o r t h to the south-west of t h a t There was o n l y one better plan possible, The B r i t i s h General succeeded i n T i t u s ' plan, then, was good B u t the A l l this was w e l l planned, better planned t h a n

the belief t h e n current throughout the East t h a t i n Judea were This, says he, referred bo Rome as Such the event proved ; but the Jews applied i t to themselves. Vespasian was nominated as emperor on Judean soil. Josephus stand alone i n such an interpretation.

a belief Josephus, too, w o u l d have regarded as fulfilled w h e n Nor did Johanan, son of

and t h a t was Allenby's.

Z a k k a i , is said i n a Jewish source to have prophesied Vespasian's i m p e r i a l destiny j u s t as Josephus d i d . N o w Johanan was a foremost leader to the Pharisees, and he, no more t h a n Josephus, advocated war w i t h Rome. Temple?' Josephus. So, as the story goes, Johanan escaped f r o m the c i t y i n a coffin, and i n Jamnia, as the facts go, he, d u r i n g the war, refounded Judaism l i k e a second Ezra. Thus these t w o foremost men, superficially dissimilar, the Josephus and Johanan, otherwise
1

manoeuvring the T u r k s out of Jerusalem w i t h o u t f i r i n g a single shot at the hallowed precincts. enough; the conduct of the siege was less efficient.

Ye fools !' he cried to the w a r - p a r t y to t h a t used by

terrible end came, as Josephus records i t , and we may draw a v e i l over the g r i m story. The end, due to dissension w i t h i n as B u t though, I t is I perHe much as to prowess w i t h o u t , was indeed inevitable.

w i t h i n Jerusalem, ' w h y seek ye to destroy the c i t y and b u r n the This is almost identical language

under the p r e v a i l i n g conditions, the end was inevitable, i t is not so certain that the b e g i n n i n g could not have been avoided. not an easy question. opposition to the revolt was based on a wise foresight.
1

Josephus clearly was a pacifist, but his

v oived that we were on the eve of war,' he tells us i n his A u t o biography ; ' I saw t h a t many were elated at the i d e a ' . pleaded for peace. * I desired t h e m to refrain f r o m rashly r i s k i n g the most t e r r i b l e woes for t h e i r country, their families, and t h e m selves. This I urged w i t h eager exhortation, for I foresaw t h a t But I the end of the war would be most unfortunate for us. carried the d a y /

statesman and the Rabbi, agreed i n t h e i r desire to make terms w i t h Vespasian, and i n t h e i r estimates of state and Temple on one side and of w h a t state and Temple enshrined on the other. Johanan stands above Josephus i n his abhorrence of war, as became a disciple of t h a t gentle-hearted peace-lover H i l l e l , b u t Josephus as l i t t l e as Johanan t h o u g h t this particular war inevitable. not to avoid i t . No war, I submit, is inevitable, except to those who are determined U n l u c k i l y , t h o u g h i t takes t w o sides to make a peace, one side is enough to make a war. The f u l l consequences of the catastrophe engineered by Vespasian and Titus were not f e l t for h a l f a century, when Bar Cochba failed i n his bold effort to undo i t under H a d r i a n . catastrophe was covered i f not blunted.
1

could not persuade them, for the madness of desperate men V e r y u n j u s t l y as i t seems to me, Josephus has been censured for a lack of patriotism, because he feared that the firebrands were more l i k e l y to i n j u r e Judea t h a n Pome. Josephus' faults are beyond defence, but lack of patriotism was not one of them. I n real patriotism, l o y a l t y to his people's s p i r i t , and pride i n its institutions, no one, not even Philo, ranks higher. Josephus wrote not only a h i s t o r y of the Jews but an apologia for Judaism w h i c h has stood the test of centuries as a sincere constructive effort. Seeing the cause of the revolt i n the According s t u p i d i t y of Florus, Josephus t h o u g h t that a different governor to Florus m i g h t make Soman government tolerable. to Suetonius the cause of the revolt lay deeper. He speaks o f

U n t i l that

failure, the hope of recovery was so v i v i d t h a t the p o i n t of the Iudaea devicta ' of the Yet Roman coins belongs i n date to 70, but i n effect to 135.

i m p o r t a n t as was the campaign of w h i c h B a r Cochba was hero, D i o n Cassius probably exaggerates its m i l i t a r y significance, though i t was significant enough for Rome to use its greatest general and to place four legions under his command. Simon bar Cochba

38

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE

LECTURE I I I

39

figures i n Jewish legend as a true superman, of gigantic physical and messianic power.
1

result was l i t e r a l l y subterranean ; i n modern phrase, the Judeans dug themselves i n , occupying a series of caverns interconnected by trenches. A t first contemptuous, the Romans (so D i o n asserts) were roused to energy when they realized that the movement was spreading out of these holes to dimensions coterminous w i t h the inhabited w o r l d . Jewish He adds the i n t e r e s t i n g detail that n o n the revolutionary ranks. This sympathizers joined

Bar Cochba's revolt was the aftermath of Jewish insurrections i n Greece, Cyprus, and E g y p t at the end of Trajan's r e i g n (A.D. 114117). As the p a p y r i now f u l l y attest, Trajan was much troubled W o r d y arguments led to more tragic encounters, by r i v a l complaints of each other by the worshippers of Jehovah and Serapis. and throughout the Orient at the b e g i n n i n g of the second century A . D . we are confronted by fierce t r i u m p h s by Jews, countered by y e t more ferocious retaliations. As to the extent of these atrocities i n the Diaspora on both sides, D i o n exaggerates. i n t o a world-movement. S i m i l a r l y he elevates the Palestinian revolt of Bar Cochba under H a d r i a n D r . Blichler has made i t certain t h a t JudeaB a r Cochba's insurrection was local and restricted to

reminds us of the F o r e i g n Legions i n modern wars, t h o u g h i n Hadrian's day the attraction was hope of booty, not, as i n our times, love of adventure. On the other hand, i f non-Jews j o i n e d Justin Bar Cochba, the Jewish-Christians were less compliant.

M a r t y r informs us (and as a contemporary he was i n a position to know) that the Christians i n Palestine refused to t h r o w i n t h e i r lot w i t h the Jews against Rome. I n this fact we may detect the actual separation of Church from Synagogue. I f so, Bar Cochba's campaign, w i t h o u t a t t a i n i n g the m i l i t a r y dimensions ascribed to i t , was of the utmost i m p o r t for the future. There is only one other p o i n t to w h i c h I w o u l d now call your attention before passing on. D i o n states that more t h a n halfThis must be pure a - m i l l i o n Jews fell i n the Bar Cochba W a r , and this exclusive of those who died f r o m p r i v a t i o n and disease. legend. I n fact the whole story of Bar Cochba is f u l l of such conveyed B a r Cochba to I r e l a n d , where he l i v e d Thus the Seder Olam assert t h a t the This is too reminiscent of Yet

W h a t may have misled D i o n is the fact that Hadrian's consent to the r e b u i l d i n g of the Temple was a matter i n w h i c h the Jews o f the Diaspora were a l l interested. There is no basis for the statement t h a t Rabbi Akiba's travels were designed to excite the Jews outside Palestine to participate i n Bar Cochba's movement. The Diaspora had no concern i n the revolt, w h i c h , however, may have arisen out of the disappointment when Hadrian's disposition towards r e b u i l d i n g the Temple changed from favour to opposition. Instead of r e v i v i n g a Jewish home i n Jerusalem, H a d r i a n converted the c i t y i n t o a Roman centre, A e l i a Capitolina, w i t h a new temple dedicated to the Capitoline Jupiter. According to D i o n , A t first the this was indeed the immediate cause of the rising.
1

m y t h i c a l embellishments, and w h e n i n his novel Son of a Star Richardson happy ever afterwards, he was keeping pace w i t h the older f a i r y tales regarding t h a t hero. war lasted three-and-a-half years.

V e r y r e m a r k a b l e is t h e f a c t t h a t A k i b a accepted B a r Cochba as Messiah, t h o u g h no c l a i m was made by h i m to D a v i d i c descent. Krauss's statement t h a t t h e older N i z z a h o n records B a r Cochba's D a v i d i c lineage is u n f o u n d e d . The Nizzahon s i m p l y i n f e r s t h e f a c t on a r g u m e n t a t i v e grounds : I t w o u l d seem \ says t h a t a u t h o r i t y , ' t h a t B e n K o z i b a who r e i g n e d i n B e t h a r was o f t h e f a m i l y o f D a v i d , f o r lo ! he said, I a m Messiah ! a n d t h e Sages d i d n o t r e t o r t o n h i m : T h o u a r t n o t of t h e House o f D a v i d \ Thus t h e Nizzahon has n o t even a t r a d i t i o n o f B a r Cochba's D a v i d i c d e s c e n t ; i t is o n l y a m e d i e v a l inference o f no h i s t o r i c a l i m p o r t a n c e . W e have a p a r a l l e l w i t h Las Casas a n d N a p o l e o n . F o r l o n g t h e f o r m e r devotee t o t h e B o u r b o n s refused t o accept t h e l a t t e r as r i g h t f u l emperor. H e e x p l a i n e d his change o f m i n d t o Napoleon i n t h e words : 1 was conquered b y y o u r g l o r y . ' T h e same m a y have happened to A k i b a w i t h r e g a r d t o B a r Cochba. H e was conquered b y h i s g l o r y .
1 4

the three-and-a-half years of D a n i e l and the Maccabees. paign also lasted exactly three-and-a-half years.

I dare say i t could be made out that the recent Palestinian camLegend and fact do often kiss each other. B u t the i m p o r t a n t p o i n t regarding Dion's huge estimate of the Jewish casualties between A . D . 131 and 135 is this. I f Josephus' numbers of those who perished i n 70 be I n other words, we must true, how d i d Judea recover i n the i n t e r v a l sufficiently to provide such immense forces for Bar Cochba ? gravely distrust the numbers given by classical and other ancient

40 historians.

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE In

LECTURE I I I occurred i n 639, when A m r , a n t i c i p a t i n g Nelson's recall.

41 contrivance

I t may be doubted whether very large armies ever unprece-

faced each other i n the field u n t i l the American C i v i l War. t h a t war the numbers engaged on both sides reached dented proportions.

nnder a l i k e contingency, t u r n e d a b l i n d eye to his master's The v i c t o r y of the Arabs at the Y a r m u k i n 636 settled I t is curious the fate of Western Palestine for several centuries.

S i m i l a r l y , i t may be questioned whether

ancient deportations ever equalled the numbers attained bv the removals of Greeks w h i c h have recently occurred, or have been contemplated. H a d r i a n drew the plough over the Temple h i l l , founded his brand-new A e l i a Capitolina, and wrote finis over the ruins of Jerusalem. B u t destiny laughs at short-sighted finalities, and w h i l e A e l i a Capitolina as a name for Jerusalem is k n o w n only to antiquaries, Jerusalem is the name w h i c h i t continued to bear. So far from r e m a i n i n g a pagan c i t y , Jerusalem the H o l y , or el-Kuds, was destined to be a meeting-place of the daughter faiths born out of Judaismtoo often the battle-place of children f i g h t i n g over t h e i r mother's grave. B u t there was a noble side to the struggle after Constantino had erected his basilica and Omar his mosque. Jerusalem became the object of pious venerat i o n to others besides St. Helena, and the possession of the H o l y L a n d thenceforward changed i n t o an ideal i n and for itself. This is by no means true throughout the M i d d l e Ages but i t is true
;

to note that at the siege of Beisan w h i c h followed the f i g h t at the Y a r m u k , the Byzantines held up the Moslem advance for a whole w i n t e r by flooding the marshes w i t h Jordan w a t e r The Byzantines t h r e w away t h e i r a device w h i c h proved so serviceable i n saving Calais i n the first w i n t e r of the Great W a r . advantage, advanced beyond the marshes w h i c h gave t h e m safety, suffered a complete rout, and left the Moslems w i t h an open road to Jerusalem. Seleucids. Then we come upon a medieval analogue to the Palestinian conditions d u r i n g the struggles of Ptolemies and A g a i n rivalries between E g y p t and Syria for central a u t h o r i t y i n I s l a m t h r e w Palestine not only into the hands of regular armies, but also of marauding bands independent alike of both Syria and E g y p t . As to the effects of a l l these countless conflicts f r o m the t e n t h to the t w e l f t h century on the internal c o n d i t i o n of Palestine, m u c h new i n f o r m a t i o n is now available. This new i n f o r m a t i o n comes from E g y p t , and i f i t is not as gorgeous as L o r d Carnarvon's sensational discoveries i n the V a l l e y of the K i n g s at Thebes, i t is coloured by an interest of its own. Cambridge, and This new i n f o r m a t i o n derives from Hebrew documents of the Cairo Geniza, now i n several students, notably D r . Jacob M a n n , F u t u r e historians of have p r i n t e d and annotated the documents.

enough to differentiate the newer from the older Palestinian campaigns. The older campaigns had for the most part been Under The new this motivated by e v e r y t h i n g but love for the land itself. Byzantine rule, such love was strongly developed. feeling was intensified b y the Moslem conquest.

I n between,

the Persians under Chobroes had again sacked Jerusalem

Medieval Palestine w i l l find here much to add that was p r e viously u n k n o w n , and means of g i v i n g greater vividness to w h a t was k n o w n already. These Hebrew documents describe the events at an angle different to t h a t f r o m w h i c h the Christian and Moslem sources regard t h e m , and thus the first supplements the other two. The t r a m p of armies as of yore is heard along the Palestinian l i t t o r a l , but for the first t i m e we have f u l l records of the economic and the social, as distinct from the m i l i t a r y , results of the campaigns. I felt bound to allude to this new i n D r . Mann formation, but I can do no more t h a n allude to i t to-day.

was i n 614, so t h a t what l i t t l e of the c i t y had persisted under the Byzantines had long vanished when Saladin came into possession. As a result of the many sieges, nearly a l l of the ancient c i t y now lies deep underground. Thus the desolation of Palestine preceded and d i d not follow the Crusades ; the latter had t h e i r share i n the devastation, but t h e y were not solely responsible for i t . To the Jewish i n h a b i tants, the Crusading era was an era of severe t r i a l , but so were previous eras, i f to a lesser degree. The Arab conquest of E g y p t

42

C A M P A I G N S TN P A L E S T I N E

LECTURE

I I I

43 B u t this

has certainly empowered historians to envisage more definitely t h a n before the exact condition of Palestine at the outbreak o f the first Crusade. I n particular he shows us the h o r r o r and the Cargoes of enslaved Jews and corsairs f r o m Byzantine g l o r y of the Levantine piracy. ships.

disastrous to the European Jews ' ; t h e y d i d not recover f r o m t h e i r effects t i l l the end of the eighteenth century. they produced also a Bernard of Clairvaux. F r o m the m i l i t a r y standpoint, we m i g h t assert that the The Crusades are a footnote to Mahan's theory of sea-power. was left unconquered b y R i c h a r d I , who had i t . much must, I t h i n k , be added : i f they gave us a fanatic R a n d u l p h ,

Christians were carried by Saracenic

I f this piracy was the curse of the age, the method of

dealing w i t h i t by generous ransomers m a y be set down on the scroll of honour. Regarded f r o m their most serious aspect, the Crusaders merely continued on a large scale the conditions which, on a smaller scale, had long established themselves. Before the Crusades, we see men of l i t t l e a b i l i t y for war or peace seeking power at the end of lance or scimitar, and d y i n g by the weapons b y w h i c h t h e y sought to live. The Crusaders were abler and stronger, but they too, on t h e i r route to the olden home of the Jews, massacred Jewish congregations i n Europe, and when they reached t h e i r goal helped to complete the r u i n of the Jewish communities i n Palestine. B u t the idealism of the Crusading impulse was This idealism is apparent not, as some historians contend, altogether smirched b y the realism of w h a t actually occurred. f r o m the first march of peasants and princes under Godfrey i n 1026 to the very last of its series some three centuries later. The Crusading impulse was no ephemeral emotion. One of the first These delays things that strikes the student of the Crusading records is the slow deliberation w i t h w h i c h the armies moved. were of themselves endures must be deep-seated. tests of s i n c e r i t y : an enthusiasm t h a t so Some f e l l out by the way, others B u t , as Archer

possession of the coast was essential, yet Saladin, who had i t not, Saladin suffered much because of his failure to take Acre before Richard's arrival. This failure to take Acre would have been decisive against Saladin but for an ally more powerful t h a n a l l the reinforcements w h i c h Cairo or Damascus could have sent to Saladin's aid. a l l y was malaria. This R i c h a r d I had no sooner landed at Acre t h a n

he was attacked by the disease, and later, at the last c r i t i c a l moment w h e n he could have won the war at a stroke, he was again incapacitated by the same disease. General Allenby's a r m y Much changes w i t h suffered considerably f r o m the disease. car. B u t the malaria had remained.

t i m e : thus A l l e n b y could reach Jerusalem f r o m Cairo by motorThe whole of this subject of malaria and Palestinian wars deserves fuller treatment, b u t w i t h o u t a bare m e n t i o n of i t m y account of Palestinian campaigns w o u l d have been even more hopelessly incomplete t h a n i t is. To return, Saladin succeeded i n the end, t h o u g h he had lost the command of the coast. On the other hand, the Crusades failed on the whole because they relied too much on the mastery of the sea. As Sir M a r k Sykes w e l l says: ' Because the Moslems lost command of the sea, the Crusades were possible ; but a power based solely on sea-power cannot penetrate far i n t o a continent where (as i n the case of Asia M i n o r ) the valleys r u n parallel to the l i t t o r a l . The Crusaders held the coast, but never established themselves i n the strategic centre of what should have been t h e i r E m p i r e . ' emerges. To m i l i t a r y historians this is all-important, to other students a more h u m a n factor This factor is the revelation of personalities. I t is this factor that makes the T h i r d Crusade the most fascinating G 2

( i f the p u n be allowed) fell out w i t h each other.

t r u l y says: The Crusades ' were p r i m a r i l y wars of an idea\ under the i n s p i r a t i o n of w h i c h (despite lower motives) the Crusaders ventured t h e i r lives. The results of the Crusades are hard to gauge, b u t they assuredly formed a true and sound l i n k i n t h a t intercourse of East and West w h i c h has r e c u r r e n t l y influenced civilization, w h i l e the travellers and geographers prepared the way for Columbus and Vasco da Gama. of the epoch ' Economi-

cally and socially', writes Joseph Jacobs, ' t h e Crusades were

44 of the series.

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE The First Crusade

LECTURE I I I experiences i n similar ways. views the Promised L a n d w h i c h he is never to enter. not tread, t u r n s his head away. gaze, and he of the eyes averted !

45 Richard,

A n d this is true, though the F i r s t gained, w h i l e the

Moses, agaze on Pisgah, steadily

T h i r d failed to g a i n its objectiveJerusalem.

took Jerusalem from a divided Moslem power : R i c h a r d I had to face i n the T h i r d Crusade a u n i t e d Islam led by a consummate ruler of men. Indeed the T h i r d Crusade was unique, not merely i n its own series, but i n the whole series of Palestinian campaigns. Others of these campaigns produced great leadersan Alexander, a Judas, a Pompey, a Napoleon, an A l l e n b y . B u t i n none of these instances was there a r i v a l fit to face h i m . opposed i n Palestine to a W e l l i n g t o n . Napoleon was not I t is true that u l t i m a t e l y

w i t h i n seeing-distance of the H o l y C i t y , whose streets he must Heroic both, he of the steady

The Crusades were, as Stubbs r i g h t l y says, 'caused by a movement as religious as the Reformation, and much less connected w i t h political objects'. The Palestinian campaigns that followed Such was the case w i t h the t h e m were not so distinguished ; they were either predatory raids or moves i n the p o l i t i c a l game. Mongol invasions and w i t h Selim's campaign i n 1516, w h e n he wrested the country f r o m the Mamelukes, and incorporated i t i n the T u r k i s h E m p i r e , i n w h i c h i t remained, w i t h a short i n t e r v a l , u n t i l the coming of A l l e n b y . Abbasid Selim, ' finding the (last) And in Caliph cowering i n Cairo, bought the t i t l e , robe, and

Napoleon was foiled by Nelson and the N i l e , w h i c h was fought w h i l e the Emperor was i n E g y p t , about to advance into Palestine. B u t Napoleon's actual defeat i n Palestine was due to a much lesser man. I n the T h i r d Crusade, on the contrary, the duel was fought by rivals w o r t h y of each other. Despite the faults of both, B o t h were capable The finer Richard of the L i o n - H e a r t and Saladin Defender of the F a i t h outstand as types of chivalry and subtlety. soldier was R i c h a r d . near Jaffa, i n 1191. camp. temper. of savage atrocities, both of generous humanities.

office f r o m h i m for his (own) heirs and successors'. Angora coup de, main.

Selim's f a m i l y the Caliphate s t i l l remains, even after the recent There were rumours of campaigns animated by less p o l i t i c a l designs. The trade of Smyrna had declined w i t h the g r o w t h o f Constantinople ; but, i n the first h a l f of the seventeenth century S m y r n a rose i n t o new commercial prominence d u r i n g the war between T u r k e y and Venice. I t then became the centre of the Levantine trade, E n g l i s h houses established branches there, and a certain Mordecai Zebi was employed as agent by one of these E n g l i s h firms. Mordecai was thus w e l l informed as to t h e dreams of the F i f t h Monarchy men, i n London, w h i l e people i n L o n d o n heard a l l about the doings at Smyrna. English I t is therefore f r o m who correspondence that we hear most of the man

Saladin could beat a Raymond at H a t t i n , Saladin, however, was successful where

near Tiberias, i n 1187, but he was no match for R i c h a r d at Arsuf, R i c h a r d was a f a i l u r e i n m a i n t a i n i n g union w i t h i n his own fidelity by his sweetness of

Throughout his many and vast campaigns, Saladin was R i c h a r d , besides the ravages of sickness, was thwarted Stubbs, l i k e so many moderns, is inclined

l o y a l l y supported, w i n n i n g this

by the infidelities of allies; i n part he owed the disloyalty to his arrogant disposition. to exalt Saladin at the expense of Richard, h o l d i n g also that the Moslem should be judged by a more lenient standard. ' Saladin says Stubbs, ' was a good heathen, Richard a bad C h r i s t i a n ; set side by side there is not much to choose between t h e m ; judged each by his o w n standard, there is very much.' B u t we cannot For myself, consent to estimate values by t h i s method, for i t is based on a prejudiced estimate of the standards themselves. great i n his disillusionment. m y sympathy goes out to R i c h a r d , great alike i n his h i g h hopes, Noble souls do not react to similar

threatened to lead a new Crusadethis t i m e a Jewish Crusade. Here again E n g l i s h interest i n Palestine reveals itself. The F i f t h Monarchy men expected the Messianic year i n 1666, and Sabbathai the son of Mordecai Zebi was hailed by others besides his deluded brethren-in-faith as the destined redeemer, who would overthrow the Sultan and, r i d i n g on a l i o n w i t h a seven-headed dragon as its reins, w o u l d lead back the tribes to the H o l y L a n d .

46

CAMPAIGNS I N PALESTINE
1

LECTURE

I I I

47 A t Acre

' Believers i n London,' as Graetz expresses i t , i n E n g l i s h fashion offered odds of 10 to 1 that Sabbathai would be appointed K i n g at Jerusalem w i t h i n the year, and drew formal bills of exchange upon the issue'. I t is to Sabbathai's credit that his campaign U n l i k e the dreams of visions was never conceived i n m i l i t a r i s t terms.

the usual route, t h r o u g h e l - A r i s h to Gaza, Jaffa, Acre. o r d i n a r y sailor, Sidney S m i t h . brulots.

his advance was finally checked by the resource of that extraNelson had no h i g h opinion of h i m , w h i l e Napoleon called h i m a y o u n g fool and a captain of B u t S m i t h surprised both Nelson and Napoleon, and b y his s k i l f u l h a n d l i n g of his small naval force compelled Napoleon to raise the siege of Acre after s i x t y - t w o days of v a i n investment. Acre. W e pass to the last stage of our long journey. been necessary but for the penultimate stage? Palestine to E g y p t . W o u l d i t have I n 1831 I b r a h i m R e v i e w i n g the episode at St. Helena, Napoleon dated his f a l l , not f r o m his retreat f r o m Moscow, but f r o m his failure at

an A l r o y or similar figures of history or m y t h who play the role of Jewish conquerors of the H o l y LandSabbathai's were bloodless. H i s weapons were to be the magic mystery of H i s excited followers

the Sacred Name, and the c h a r m i n g power of music ; on pageantry he relied more t h a n on panoply of arms. swords. wound up t h e i r affairs, got ready t h e i r household goods, not t h e i r They conceived not a campaign, b u t an emigration. The end of a l l these ecstasies was disillusion : Sabbathai was not of the stuff of w h i c h heroes are made. I f there was scarcely any p o l i t i c a l colour to Sabbathai's dreams, there was n o t h i n g but political colour to Napoleon's, a century later. Napoleon's motives for m a r c h i n g f r o m Cairo to Acre were C e r t a i n l y he masqueraded as the He magnified by h i m , i n St. Helena, into gigantic purposes of Asiatic (including Indian) dominion. saviour of Islam, and, amid the r i b a l d laughter of his troopers at the pantomime, associated himself w i t h Mohammedan r i t u a l . permissible. proclaimed h i m s e l f a Crusader of the Crescent, i f the paradox be I n point of fact his true intentions (proclaimed b y h i m i n February, 1799, i m m e d i a t e l y before l e a v i n g Cairo) were three : (1) to consolidate his hold on E g y p t f o r Napoleon felt t h a t to h o l d E g y p t i t is necessary to hold Palestine also ; (2) to deprive E n g l a n d of S y r i a n bases; and (3) to overawe T u r k e y . the Battle of the N i l e , T u r k e y had shown indecision alliance w i t h E n g l a n d or w i t h France. secret of her resilience. U p to between

Pasha advanced f r o m A l e x a n d r i a , took Acre i n 1832, and annexed E n g l a n d again intervened, and the guns of The course of the Napier's fleet restored the country to T u r k e y .

Great W a r would, i n part at least, have been radically different had Palestine remained under E g y p t i a n control when E n g l a n d took charge of E g y p t after A r a b i Pasha's r i s i n g i n 1882. campaign m i g h t have been unnecessary. B u t i t was necessary. campaign was I have already given the reason w h e n Alienby's and most successful of a l l the comparing the tactics of A l l e n b y w i t h those of Titus. the greatest Had n o t E n g l a n d i n 1840 g i v e n Palestine back to T u r k e y , Alienby's

Palestine campaigns on record : greatest i n the numbers engaged, greatest i n the end attained. F r o m the m i l i t a r y p o i n t of view, Alienby's scheme was masterly. The T u r k i s h line stretched f r o m Gaza to Beersheba, and A l l e n b y , combining sea and l a n d power, resolved to drive the T u r k s from the former by capturing the latter. Beersheba fell on October 31, 1917, and Gaza a week after. I t is quite clear that T h e n came the advance on Jerusalem. dent.

T u r k e y has always been

moved by events of the h o u r ; her very indecision has been the Just as T u r k e y recently j o i n e d Germany Napoleon's E g y p t i a n because the Goeben reached Constantinople, so she j o i n e d E n g l a n d i n 1/99 because of the v i c t o r y of Nelson. w i t h France. campaign was r u i n e d by this i n t e r r u p t i o n of sea-communications Napoleon had started for Palestine, and his troops H e marched by were i n the desert, before he heard of the Nile.

Alienby's plan must have been affected b y the Maccabean preceThe Syrians attempted to reach Jerusalem by the B e t h horon passes and f a i l e d ; by the H e b r o n road, and failed again. A l l e n b y moved on both roads together, and succeeded. F i r s t he advanced i n t o Judea by the old road from Ramleh, t h r o u g h the Beth-horons, and by November 21 attained the ridge

48

CAMPAIGNS

I N PALESTINE He had done more t h a n

LECTURE I I I the spade of the archaeologist to uncover the old sites. is to be recolonized, and its mounds excavated. D a v i d is to be opened up.

49 Palestine The C i t y of

of Nebi Samwil, north-west of Jerusalem.

the Seleucids or Crusaders ever achieved, for as he himself wrote i n his dispatch of December 16, 1917: ' The narrow passes from the p l a i n to the plateau of the Judean range have seldom been forced, and have been fatal to many i n v a d i n g armies.' were not fatal. To A l l e n b y they A l l e n b y forced these passes and held them, w h i l e Thus

' N o t even the site o f Troy, nor t h a t

of the Mycenae o f Agamemnon, on both of w h i c h romance has been s t a r t l i n g l y converted into realism, can compete i n w e a l t h of f a m i l i a r association w i t h the Judean acres w h i c h are now to be investigated.' A n d so the golden corn w i l l rise i n the valleys, A n d Palestine, and the secrets of history be revealed on the hills. a battle-ground no m o r e !

a wide sweep north-eastwards was made i n a converging movement f r o m Beersheba b y the Hebron road on Jerusalem. Jerusalem was isolated w i t h a completeness w h i c h none but Titus had previously attained. B u t herein A l l e n b y differed from Titus. I have already pointed out that we may j u s t l y be proud of the strategy of the B r i t i s h commander w h i c h compelled the T u r k s to evacuate t h e i r defences of the sacred sites w i t h o u t a blow. manceuvred t h e m out w i t h o u t a fight. Jerusalem was not. of the city.
r

the age-long battle-ground of races, dynasties, and creeds, shall be

He

Reims w as bombarded,

i t has been computed ( I know not by w h a t Bloodless as i t

arithmetic) that t h a t f a l l of Jerusalem was the t w e n t y - t h i r d f a l l L e t us hope that i t w i l l be the last. was, let i t be a good omen for an undisturbed peace. To describe A l l e n b y as a Crusader is inept. three creeds to w h o m Jerusalem is sacred. g l o r y is k n o w n and w i l l endure. may not be superfluous. 38th and 39th R o y a l M u l e Corps. The latest Palestine Of t h e Christian and Their campaign was fought, on both sides, by representatives of a l l the Moslem troops engaged on our side I need say n o t h i n g .

B u t of the Jews engaged, a word

A p a r t from the ' J u d e a n ' battalions, the Fusiliers, there was the 40th battalion,

recruited e n t i r e l y i n Palestine on the basis of the older Z i o n B u t besides these, there were many Jews among the Australian and New Zealander detachments, whose services were so conspicuous an element i n Alienby's t r i u m p h . I t was assuredly f i t t i n g t h a t Jerusalem should have fallen, peaceably, t h o u g h after a fierce campaign, to representatives of Church, Synagogue, and Mosquea symbol of that u n i t e d love for the H o l y L a n d on w h i c h its future prosperity and significance depend. I t is now the function of the spade to operate where once the sword raged: the spade of the farmer to recover the old f e r t i l i t y ,
H

KEY

TO

PLATE
Silver t e t r a d r a c h m o f Silver t e t r a d r a c h m . Silver t e t r a d r a c h m Silver

1. Head of A l e x a n d e r w i t h ram's horns. Lysimaehus. 2. H e a d o f Seleucus I i n h o r n e d h e l m e t . 3. H e a d of h o r n e d horse.

Silver t e t r a d r a c h m o f A n t i o c h u s I .

4. A t h e n a i n q u a d r i g a of h o r n e d elephants. o f Seleucus I .

5. A p o l l o on omphalos. S y m h o l : head o f h o r n e d horse. t e t r a d r a c h m o f A n t i o c h u s I V . Paris Cabinet. 6. Zeus. S i l v e r t e t r a d r a c h m o f A n t i o c h u s I V . 7. N i k e d r i v i n g gentum. 8. ludaea capta. 9. l u d a e a devicta. four-horse car. Silver t e t r a d r a c h m o f

Agri-

Sestertius o f Vespasian. D e n a r i u s o f Vespasian. except No. 5, are i n t h e British

Note. A l l t h e above coins, Museum.