No soldier could miss his place, either in battle, on a march, or in the
perfect square camps which they set up wherever they halted; they obeyed
the least word, and feared nothing; and nothing could hold out against
their steady skill, perseverance, and progress. Wherever they went they
built fortresses, and made wonderful straight solid roads, some of which
remain to this day; and their ships and messengers going for ever from
one province to another, made their empire all like one country; where
the stern Roman was the lord, and the native was crushed down under his
feet,
They had just at this time put down the kingdom of Syria, and conquered
nearly all Asia Minor. Their great general, Pompey, was holding a court
at Damascus, whither, among ten other suppliant princes, Hyrcanus and
Aristobulus came to lay their cause before him, thus asking a heathen
who should be the Priest of the Most High. Pompey took the part of the
elder, as the rightful heir, and led an army against Jerusalem. The
siege lasted three months, and so strong was the place, that it would
have held out much longer, but that the Jews would not defend themselves
on the Sabbath, at least no more than enough to protect their own lives.
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