ladies were absent came the Macedonian lords in forme and shew of ladies and perfourmed the wil of Alexander in all points when they saw occasion offred At this time Pisistratus that gouerned Athens had a sonne named Hippias which was banished his countrey for his crueltie toward the citizens and was with Darius who hearing that his brother Hipparchus was slaine made meanes to Darius that hee would vouchsafe to ayde him to his countrey which was the rather granted for that Darius was offended with the Athenians for that they aided the Ionians against him in that warre called bellum Ionicum when they tooke Sardis and burned it He caused presently a hundreth thousand footemen and tenne thousand horsemen to accompany Hippias to Athens who whē they came within two mile of Athens the Athenians with these newes were sore afrighted stood in great doubt whether to yeelde or to resist them vntill Miltiades a famous captaine comforted them by the coūsell of Callimachus tooke in hand to fight with the Persians He had tenne thousand of Athens and ten thousand Platenses here was his whole force but in that battel that noble fellow Miltiades and Callimachus with his Greekes gaue the ouerthrowe to the Persians in the fields called Marathon to the nomber of sixe thousand three hundreth by the counsel of Callimachus Thus much Melancthon affirmeth but Iustinus saith that there were sixe hundreth thousande Persians of the which saith hee two hundreth thousande were slaine and the rest put to flight but this warrewas after that which was at Marathon when Darius vpon the hearing of these newes was three yeeres in preparing for it With this Miltiades flourished in this warre Themistocles a gallant yong gentleman of Athens this Themistocles was wont to say after that fielde fought in Marathon and the Persians vanquished that the victories and triumphes of Miltiades could not suffer him to sleepe but his sonne Xerxes perfourmed it as it shal be spoken hereafter In Esdras it is referred to Artaxerxes sirnamed Mnemon whom the Hebrewes tooke to be Asuerus Hitherunto Eusebius doeth agree In this warre Pisistratus two sonnes died Hipparchus and Hippias Hipparchus Plato so commended him that he was cōuersant with learned men he loued Simonides he brought Homers Iliads first to Athens caused the Grecians in any solemne meeting to sing Homers verses his delight was to preferre learned men and to reuerence wise men and for that onely cause he was esteemed the wisest man of Athens But to Darius againe whom Zonaras saide that he was the husband of Esther which in the Scripture is called Asuerus Melancthon writeth that Darius Histaspis was that Assuerus that maried Esther and here the history of Esther might be well brought in sauing it is in the Bible for Herodotus saith that Darius maried two women the one named Aristona which may be the name of Esther as wel as the name of Vasthi to be Atossa which was Cyrus daughter on whom he got Xerxes who succeeded after him though Artabazanes the eldest sonne by Aristona or Esther made claime to the kingdom and opposed himselfe against Xerxes yet whē Darius made warres with the Grecians and afterward with the Egyptiās in the which iourney Darius died he appointed Xerxes to gouerne Persia in his absence and to be king after him if he should die in warres for that his mother was Cyrus daughter and for that Cyrus was called by the Persians Pater patriae The goodnes of this king was fully proued at what time the Church was miserably afflicted by that wicked Haman and hindred by that cruel Cambyses against the decree of Cyrus he confirmed the decree and gaue licence and full libertie for the Iewes to build their temple according to Cyrus decree for God raised Cyrus Darius Artaxerxes Nabuchodonosor Euilmerodach to be pillars and defenders of his Church When Darius had raigned 36. yeeres he died in whose dayes the kings of Rome ended their kingdom and their monarchie fel to a new forme of state called Aristocratia In the time of Darius raigned Aristodemus in Cuma a towne of Italy not as king but as a tyrant with whom the barbarous nations had open warres This cōtention betwene Artabazanes Xerxes was ended by Instaphernes but Herodianus saith by Demaratus Ariston to both their liking iudging the crown to be Xerxes according to Darius will and the request of Persia and Artabazenes so satisfied that one loued another In Darius Histaspis time raigned in Madonia Alexander Amintas sonne their 10. king Herodotus also this age wrote his history which after it was read in Athens he was of more credite amongst the Grecians though Strabo called his booke Mythistoriam fabulous histories as Budeus writeth Sophocles and Euripides liued in Darius time and Socrates was borne Darius Histaspis a litle before he died after he had heard the newes of the Grecians victorie at Marathon being before offended with the Athenians for that they inuaded Sardis now ten times more kindled to reuenge these iniuries posting all Asia and sending to all his prouinces prepared such force that he was three yeeres in prouiding men and munitions against the Grecians at which the Egyptians reuolted from Darius which were by Cambyses before subdued he then had thought to make his voyage to Egypt and appoynted Xerxes his sonne by Cyrus daughter Atossa to gouerne in his absence Persia betweene whome and his brother Artabazanes some strife as you heard before grewe about the gouernment But Xerxes after his fathers death was the fourth king of Persia who taking that warre in hande against the Egyptians which his father Darius thought to haue taken had hee not bene by death preuented not yet thinking to reuenge the Greekes vntill Mardonius his aunts sonne had perswaded him He gathered such an armie as the like is not read sauing of Tamberlane the Scythian king of whom the history is publike this great preparation of Xerxes was consulted and throughly waighed before it was taken in hand for Artabanus Xerxes owne brother thought it not a necessarie warre Mardonius his neere kinseman perswaded the contrary saying that Xerxes with that force might bring all Europe subiect to the Empire of Asia Mardonius sentence preuailed Xerxes made readie his armies the nomber were so many as scant could bee accompted for hee had twelue hundreth and seuen Nauies the Scythians and the Persians the Phaenicians which dwelt in the lande of Palestine brought three hundreth nauies the Egyptians two hundreth the Cyprians one hundrerh the Silicians one hundreth and the Licians brought fiftie nauies Dores which dwell in Asia brought thirtie they of Caria brought seuentie the Ionians an hundreth nauies the Aeolians threescore and the inhabitants of Helespont brought an hundreth nauies so that Herodotus accompts the whole nomber of the nauies to be three thousand but Iustine writeth that Xerxes had in his companie towardes Greece
the left shoulder he caused the like picture to be made for himselfe and commanded all his souldiers to call him Alexander This Emperor died as he was preparing a voyage against the Parthians at Edessa when hee had liued 43. yeeres Presently after the death of Caracalla Opilius Macrinus and his sonne Diadumeus were created Emperours who after they had reigned ioyntly fourteene moneths they were both slain in a sedition which fel among the souldiers without doing any thing worth the writing After them stept to the empire Marcus Aurelius surnamed Heliogabolus well so named for in all beastlinesse he resembled his predecessors these vnderwritten Nero Caligula Sergius Vitellius Domitianus Commodus This Heliogabolus was supposed to be the sonne of Caracalla he likewise defamed himselfe with all kind of shame and reproch whose filthinesse and lewd behauiour you may reade in Herodian He was slaine in an vprore which the souldiers made at what time also his mother Semia Sira called of some Semiamira died after he had liued very vnchastly and filthily for 4. yeres but Eutropius saith 2. yeres 8. moneths During the raigne of these 3. last emperors there were no good things done in Rome but vprores and sedition of souldiers creating whom they would to be Emperour one day and the next day deposing them from life empire Only this happened that the Amphitheator was set on fire and few fellowes were quiet at Rome The great men of authority then were these Titus Saturninus Marcus Noninus Mutianus Cornelius Amulinus Lu. Torpilius Dexter C. Gallus Gentianus and Bassus Gentianus Clodius Albinus Balbinus chosen Emperour against Maximinus Aur. Alex. Seuerus and Maximus were both made Emperours Aurelius Alexander Seuerus was chosen Emperour when he was but twelue yeeres of age whome the souldiers named Caesar and the Senate created Augustus he was a very vertuous Prince and one that fauoured all good men he gaue him selfe to martiall pollicie and tooke in hand about the 9. yeere of his raigne warres against Artaxerxes king of Persia who had before vanquished Artabanus king of the Parthians who then gouerned the Persians And as Artaxerxes ouercame Artabanus was the first king of Persia after Darius who before was conquered by Alexander the great so this Artaxerxes was subdued by this Alex. Seuerus with great glorie and had his triumph graunted him in Rome being but 21. yeeres of age he had such care of the Empire and such diligence that he committed the charge of Armenia to a noble captaine called Iunius Palmatus he committed the prouince of Illyrica vnto Varus Macrinus and the countrey of Mauritania to Furius Celsus Of these 3. Captaines victories in these countreys reade Lampridius This was the first Emperour that fauoured Christians and being so yong an Emperour he associated with him to assist him in iudgement Vlpianus a great Ciuilian a lawe maker and had an office called Magister Scrinii as it were Master of the Rowles he had in those dayes in his Court a number of learned men whose names Lampridius setteth down in this sort whome he vsed as Counsellers Fabius Sabinus Domitius Vlpianus Aelius Gordianus Iulius Paulus Modestinus Pomponius Alphenus Africanus Florentinus Proculus Martianus Callistratus Hermogenes Tryphonius Metianus Celsus The most part of these were Ciuilians and scholers to Papinianus Besides these lawyers florished in Seuerus Court Quintilius Caius Marcellus Aelius Seuerianus Cutilius Seuerus three singuler learned Romanes but he reigned not long for he was slaine in Fraunce in a tumult that grewe amongst the souldiers hee and his mother Mammea in a towne called Moguntia after he had reigned 13. yeeres After this good Emperor Seuerus succeeded Iulius Maximinius a man of meane parentage whose beginning was to be a shepheard in Thracia and after came to be a souldier and in processe of time came by the meanes of the souldiers to be Emperour without consent of the Senators who in the beginning had some good successe against the Germanes but not long after slaine by Pupienus at Aquilea and his yong sonne called also Maximinius when hee had reigned three yeeres After him succeeded Pupienus Balbinus Gordianus three Emperours together in Rome but Pupienus and Balbinus were slaine at Rome and Gordianus obtained the empire and held it sixe yeeres alone he espoused Tranquillina Masetheus daughter and after tooke his voiage into Persia and ouerthrewe Sapores king of Persia tooke diuers cities and in many sundrie skirmishes did greatly afflict the Persians But as hee returned thence he was likewise slaine through treason of one Philip who succeeded him in the Empire but his monument is erected vp by one of his souldiers in memoriall of him and that place is called Gordianus graue Marcus Iulius Philippus after he had slaine Gordianus he and his sonne Philip came to the empire and reigned ioyntly fiue yeeres In the time of these two Philips there was celebrated in Rome great solemnitie and preparation of Gunnes and shewes with such pompe and magnificence as Capittollius affirmeth that the like before in Rome scant had beene seene Philip builded a towne in Thracia named it after his owne name Not long after both the father and the sonne were slaine the father at Verrona and the sonne at Rome being of the age of 12. yeeres About this time liued Iulius Africanus a great Historiographer and that godly man Origen wrote his booke of Martyrs After these two Philips succeeded Decius borne at Bubalia a Towne in Hungaria a man well instructed in all kinde of sciences but hee was the eight Emperour that persecuted the Christians and beside commaunded by an Acte that all that worshipped Christ shoulde be slaine hee repressed some warres that were cōmenced in Fraunce and made one voyage against the Gothes at what time hee caused his sonne to be created Caesar. This Decius founded Bathes in Rome who when he had reigned two yeeres both he and his sonne died in Barbaria Some iudged that hee was swallowed vp in an earthquake and some affirme that hee was drowned in a riuer of Thracia called Abricium Then were created Emperours in Rome Gallius Hostilianus and Voluntianus his sonne they committed no act worthie of writing but they were likewise persecutors of the Christians and in their time fell great plagues and sundrie other diseases in the Romane Empire and after they had reigned scant two yeeres they were slaine and within three moneths after them Aemilianus who succeeded them in the Empire was in like sort slaine so that of 30. Emperours which reigned since Octauius Augustus time vntill Licinius Valerian sixe of them escaped not the handes of murtherers Such was the enuious estate of Rome from time to time such was their tyrannie and auarice vntill the Romanes fame and dignitie was much obscured and so little esteemed of the kings about ouer whome they had before so long triumphed euen
the first king borne of those that were called Galli for hitherunto the lineal sucession of Francus endured 36 After him his sonne Robert raigned 34. yeeres In the beginning of whose time the kingdome of Hungarie beganne 37 Henry the sonne of Robert succeeded and raigned after his father 30. yeeres 38 Philippe the first of that name and sonne to Henry raigned 49. yeeres In whose time beganne the kingdome of Bohemia In the time of this Philippe the first two most famous men and worthie Captaines tooke their voyages the one named Godfrey of Bullen with an armie from Fraunce into the holy Land which was Ierusalem so called after Christs time on earth this warre is called bellum Sacrum the sacred warres against the Saracens Reade Tilius Chronicles of the French kings where you shall finde a Catalogue of the nobles peeres and gentlemen of France and of diuers other countreys that went on that voyage with Godfrey of Bullen to Hierusalem the other Captaine came to England William the bastarde of Normandie afterward called William Conquerour of whom our English chronicles can testifie But I wil briefly passe ouer the kings 39 Lewes sirnamed Crassus raigned 28. yeeres 40 Lewes sirnamed Iunior 43. yeeres 41 Philippus Augustus sirnamed Deodatus 43. yeeres In whose time the Iewes were banished out of Fraunce 42 Lewes the eight of that name 4. yeeres 43 Lewes the ninth sirnamed Holy 43. yeeres 44 Philip the 3. sirnamed Audax son to Lewes 9. 15. yeres 45 Philippus the 4. sirnamed Pulcher the faire and sonne to Philip the thirde raigned 28. yeeres In this kings raigne began the kingdome of Ottoman the Turke 46 Lewes the 10. sirnamed Vtinus king both of Fraunce and of Nauarre raigned almost 2. yeeres 47 Philip the 5. sirnamed Longus raigned 5. yeeres 48 Carolus Pulcher king of Fraunce and Nauarre 7. yeeres Now after this Philip the first of the house of Valois began in the 1328. yeere of our Sauiour whose line hath continued euen frō this Philip of Valois the first king of that house vntill Frances Valois last king of Fraunce and the last of that stocke which continued 263. yeres whose names successiuely are here set downe in Tilius Chronicles as followeth 49 Philip of Valots the first king of that name 22. yeres 50 Whose eldest sonne named Iohn was the first Dolphine of Fraunce which to this day doeth continue Hee raigned after his father king of Fraunce 14. yeeres 51 Carolus the 5. sirnamed the wise raigned 18. yeeres Whose brother named also Philip was made duke of Burgūdy About this time Iohn Wicleue opened much falshoode yet vnknown of Papistrie both disputing writing against it 52 Carolus the sixt sirnamed Bene amatus raigned 42. yeeres this ordeined first the 3. Floure deluce This time raigned in England Richard the second 53 Charles the seuenth raigned 38. yeeres This king commenced warre against England at what time Henry the 5. raigned who subdued all Fraunce and was crowned king in Paris 54 Lewes the eleuenth raigned 23. yeeres 55 Carolus the eight raigned 14. yeeres 56 Lewes the 12. raigned 17. yeres in France being the 1500. yeere of our Sauiour Christ Reade of this king Arnoldus Ferronus all his thirde booke which hee onely wrote of this Lewes the 12. At what time raigned in England Henry the 7. Thus farre briefly Iranne ouer the state of France omitting many thinges willingly and wittingly which I particularly touch in the historie of Spaine for I tooke not in hand to write at large or to set foorth great volumes of superfluous histories but onely as I saide before to note the antiquities and first beginning of kingdomes and to marke the errours of prophane histories in many things dissenting from Moses from Daniel and from the Propheticall writings who opened all Chronicles for they coulde not agree in the chiefest pointes of all true Chronicles neither the Romanes in the building of Rome from whence they ground their histories neither the Greekes by their Olympiads neither the Persians of Cyrus time neither Spaine in their accompt of A. E R. A neither the Arabians of their Hegyra In fine vnpossible it is to finde the trueth of Antiquities in prophane writers without conferring of the same with the Sacred histories of the Prophets who reueiled the trueth of time by their Iubilees A BRIEFE FOR BRITAINE SEeing that I haue written of other countreys I can not tell how to answere my countreymen well if I should not also somewhat speake of the Britains though in trueth many haue sufficiently written of the comming of Brutus vnto this land of his kingdome and succession of kings and continuance which though of some denied which do now as they then did in the time of Halicarnassaeus who after he had trauailed his histories from Sempronius Fabius Pictor and from M. Cato and proued euidently the comming of Aeneas into Italy of his kingdome and posteritie in Alba longa vntill Romulus being 17. discents after him yet some gens inuidiosa Traianis as Halicarnassaeus calleth them seemed not to allow the historie though they knewe it themselues also read it by so many proued because they would be named antiquaries and the credite of the histories should come from them Such was Polidor Virgil in his history of Britaine such was Berosus in the historie of Hetruria being two strangers and such was Manethon to write of Spaine So there were among the Iewes Talmudists who among other matters which they wrote for they were the onely men among the Iewes would also by this credit that they had amōg the people write what they listed that they became thereby very fabulous in their histories So among the Egyptians their superstitious priestes filled their bookes with lies and so of diuers other countreis men wrote rather fables then histories of their coūtreys But these are reiected from sound approued authors tanquam Mithici for in reading of histories I find nothing so readie as errors in antiquities of countreys and in original of nations And surely it is not to be wondered at concerning the antiquities of time euen from the beginning of the world and the late beginning of writers from Cyrus time or rather Alexanders time for in the first age from Adam to the flood no trueth is had nor knowen but onely by Moses in the Genesis and 1650. yeeres frō the flood vnto the time of the Olympiads men wandered in no true accompt of time nor of histories excepting that which is written in the bookes of Moses and the Prophets nothing seemed sound nor certaine but cōiectures and fained fables as in the historie of the Chaldeans Assyrians Aegyptians and diuers other nations many things are written which is named Mythycum very licentiously and to liberally and after the time of the Olympiads how vntrue prophane historians wrote vntil Daniels time who seeth it not Since which time a briefe of al true
who caried them prisoners vnto other strange countreies and set strangers to dwell in Samaria CHAP. VI. Of the continuance of the kings of Iuda after the kingdome of Israel was destroied Samaria taken and the 10. tribes of Israel carried captiue by Salmanassar into Assyria THis time reigned in Ierusalem Ezechias a godly zealous king who destroied idols and brake in peeces the brasen serpent he tooke away the high places cut downe the groues the altars their images and idols and walked before God vprightly and in the 14. yeere of his reigne came Senaherib with an huge host to Iuda spoiling and destroying Libna Lachis and other cities laide siege to Ierusalem threatned the king and blasphemed God most horribly challenging the gods of the nations and defying the God of Israel preferring the armies of flesh and the strength of his hoste But his bragging boasting was sharply punished by the Angel of God who slew at that time of the Assyrians an hundreth foure score and fiue thousand and Senacherib him selfe before his idoll Niseroch whom he worshipped preferred before the liuing God was slaine of his owne sonnes Adramelech Sarezer the iust iudgement of God for blasphemie After this Ezechias fell sicke and was restored to health in signe whereof God brought the Sunne 10. degrees backe in Achas diall this good king repaired the Temple instructed the Leuites in the religion he and all his princes of Iuda frequented the Temple sacrificed daily to their God oblations of thanks giuing and he commanded all the Nobles of Israel and Iuda from Dan to Bersheba to repaire to Ierusalem to keepe the Passeouer to the Lorde which Passeouer was so great that the like was not in Israel This Passeouer vnder Ezechias was 775. yeeres after the Passeouer of Moses and 775. yeeres before the Passeouer of Christ our Sauiour in the Newe Testament Now after that Ezechias had destroied idolatrie and had appointed Priestes and Leuites according to the commandement of God praied for his people and prouided for the Leuites liuings and ordained ouerseers to distribute to euery Leuite his portion Israel prospered all the daies of Ezechias and all things went well with Iuda But Ezechias being deade Manasses his sonne succeeded him not in religion nor in godlines for he followed not his father Ezechias in vertue but his Grandfather Achas in all kinde of vices for this most wicked king restored idolatrie in Israel vsed great crueltie and he erected altars to Baal and set vp images in groues he practised witchcraft and sorcerie and frequented the companie of them that had familiar spirits and those that were soothsayers This king did much euill in the sight of God he martyred the Prophet of God Esay and consecrated his sonne in fire to his idoll he shed innocent blood and filled Ierusalem with iniquitie Beholde such a good father to haue such a wicked sonne But the Lord God stretched ouer Ierusalem the line of Samaria the plummet of the house of Achab and promised to destroy Iuda as he had destroied Israel so he did with Manasses and gaue him to Assur and to his Captaines who brought him in fetters and bound in chaines to Babylon But when he was in tribulation in Babylon he called then vpon God and God heard him and deliuered him and restored him to his kingdome so merciful is God when he is called vpon for by this God instructed him to know him selfe and to humble him selfe before God whome he much abused You may read in the bookes of the Kings in the Chroniches the histories of the kings of Israel at large Manasses died and left behind him Amon his sonne who reigned 2. yeeres in Ierusalem he forsooke God also walked in the waies of Achas and he was slaine by his owne seruants which conspired against him in his owne house the people made Iosias his sonne king ouer Iuda who beganne to reigne in Ierusalem in the 8. yeere of his age and in that age he was instructed by God to haue care ouer the people of Israel he sent messengers vnto all the townes cities and countries territories to cal the Priests the Leuits the Nobles and all men of what degree soeuer to come to Ierusalem where he him selfe read the bookes of Moses vnto the people with oblations and sacrifices vnto God for the sinnes of Israel and those Priests that were not of Aarons stocke that serued idols and images he commanded them to be slaine and whatsoeuer he found in Israel of the reliques of Ieroboam he destroied and burned the bones of the false prophets vpon the altars that Ieroboam erected his zeale was prophesied of by Iaddo 300. yeeres before Iosias was borne Iosias hauing repaired the Temple and hauing found the booke of the Law he maketh a couenant with the Lord that he and his people should walke before God vprightly and iustly After that he killed their Priestes he brought downe their idols he slew the coniurers sorcerers and soothsayers and he burned the Priestes of Baal called Chemarims whome the kings of Iuda had founded to burne incense in high places euery place of Iuda to the Sunne to the Moone to the planets and to all the hostes of heauen His zeale encreased more and more he threw downe the altars of Achas and the altars of Manasses hee had put also downe the horses the charets which the idolatrous kinges had dedicated to the Sunne he ouerthrewe the abominable idolatrie of Salomon in the mount of Oliues called also in the Chronicles the mount of corruption where Salomon builded vp altars and groues to Ashtaroth the idoll of the Sidonians for Chemosh the idol of the Moabites for Milchom the idol of the Ammonits In Iosias time all Iudea flourished with the seruice of God and the lawes of the Countreies were put in practise for there was in euery citie among the Hebrewes a chiefe Magistrate as a Prince or Iudge to determine causes in equitie iustice among the people But in the Metropolitane Citie which was Ierusalem were 70. wise graue men whose court or consistorie was kept in Gazith The Iewish Talmudists named these Sanhedrin these passed both in nomber in dignitie other Magistrates these first gouerned in Silo after in Ierusalem elected by Moses by the expresse word of God these were Iudges for life death according to the custome lawes of the Hebrewes they were to condemne offendors 4. kind of waies by running vpon a man to death by stoning by burning and by strangling That day that these iudged any offender to death they obstained from meate These Councellers continued vntill Herods time and kept their Court at Gazith Beside these Sanhedrioth which were 71. were also twelue Princes ouer the people of euery tribe of Israel one which gouerned the whole twelue tribes of the people Some write that in euery Citie were
of Cyrus which he also established by the meanes of Zorobabel in pleasing the king for his probleame as it is written in Esdras But God still exercised his people with some crosses because of their stubbernes for from the time they came home vnder Zorobabel they had maried with the Gentiles and offended God vntill the comming of Esdras from Darius with authoritie to build to repaire and to inhabite Ierusalem for so doth Bucholcerus in his Chronicles write saying that Daniel doeth comprehend in two words Ierusalem inhabitabitur aedificabitur the whole summe of Esdras bookes Nowe in the time of Darius of Cambyses before him and of Cyrus before Cambyses God stirred vp diuers excellent men to helpe his people to restore his Church and to builde his city againe as Zorobabel Esdras Nehemias with others whose care delight and zeale are extant in their owne bookes which they wrote For after their returne from Babylon there was peace and tranquilitie in Iudea vntil Ochus time for Nehemias liued 130. yeres and saw being very old a new broile and a greater calamitie of his coūtrey for though the posteritie of Dauid cōtinued vntil the time of the Machabees as gouernors Iudges of the people not naming themselues kings for the reuerence and feare which they bare vnto the kings of Persia. Salathiels sonne first gouernor of the Iewes after the captiuitie of Babylon Zorobabel of whom mention is made in Zacharie ruled Israel wisely discreetly 50. yeres Resa Mesulla the 2. gouernour in whose time Nehemias and Esdras came from Babylon to Ierusalem After him succeeded Iohanna Benresa the third Iudge who gouerned Israel 53. yeres The 4. was Iudas Hircanus the first of that name and thought of Melancthon to be so called for that Ochus king of Persia brought with him a nomber of the Iewes to Hircania and therfore Iudas was sirnamed Hircanus This iudged Israel when Alexander conquered Darius raigned 14. yeres Then Ioseph the first ruled the Iewes 7. yeeres The 5. ruler after Ioseph came Abner to gouerne the Iewes in whose time Ptolomeus the sonne of Lagi the first king of Egypt after Alexander the great vnder pretence to do sacrifice vpon the Sabboth day tooke the towne spoiled the temple slew imprisoned the Iewes and brought to Egypt infinite treasure Now after this Abner the 6. Iudge since the time of Alexāder succeeded of Dauids stock frō Abner to Ianna Hircanus the 2. who was the last of 15. gouernors ouer the Israelites after the captiuitie for they cōtinued euen vnto the time of the Machabees After this Haman plaied his part and thought to haue al the Iewes slaine cōmanded a gallowes to be made for Mardocheus the historie hereof is found in the booke of Esther for about the time of Cyrus death the gouernment was then altered in Rome Consuls were made after the building of Rome 244. yeres in the 67. Olympiad in the beginning of the 9. Iubilie at what time Cambises had subdued Egypt brought them subiects to the lawes of Persia After Cambises Darius went against the Getes and ouerthrew them and his chiefe captaine Zopirus sonne Megabisus vanquished the Thracians and subdued the Peonians and tooke Perinthus During this time the Lacedemonians had warres against Policrates the tyrant of Samos The Philosopher Pythagoras and Hippocrates the Phisition liued this time While the Iewes as you heard were in planting themselues in Ierusalem againe the Graecians were busie one with another Tyrants ruled Greece and gouerned by the bloodie law of Draco for Hipparchus and Hippias vsed tyrannie in Athens and were slayne both by Hermodius and Aristogiton Aristagoras a tyrant reuolted and rebelled against Darius which mooued Darius in armes against the Ionians and ouerthrew them and tooke their chiefe citie called Miletum A litle after Miltiades the chiefe captaine of Athens by the councel of Callimachus the famous Graecian ouerthrewe Darius king of Persias lieutenant called Hippias in the battell of Marathon where he slewe 6300. Persians as both Thucidides and Iustine doe report This ouerthrow of the Persians was at that very time when Tarquinius superbus made his last battel with the Romane Dictator Posthumius where he was put to flight and after died in exile Aristides surnamed the Iust was banished this time from Greece and Alcibiades called backe to Athens from his banishment Now Nehemia causing the law of Moses to bee read as an ordinance to serue God and reproouing them for their disobedience in ioining themselues with strangers they were in some quietnesse for a time though sometime murther and slaughter were betweene themselues committed for the which cause Bagoses the generall of Artaxerxes armie vnderstanding that the high Priest slewe his brother in the Temple being a deare friend to Bagoses he plagued the Iewes againe for the space of seuen yeeres and reuenged his death with slaughter and tribute he placed Iaddus in the office of the priesthood in his fathers place This high priest had to his brother one named Manasses which was sent to Samaria by Darius the last king of Persia. A little while after this Alexander the great after that his father Philip died hauing brought his armie ouer the Grecians sea called Helespont vnto the riuer of Granicus hauing subdued the Lydians Tyre besieged and taken Thebes wasted and spoiled al Asia he ouerthrew Darius the king of Persia carying his souldiers through Caria inuaded Pamphilia came ouer Euphrates vnto Syria tooke Damascus besieged Tyre and Sidon and he wrote to Hierusalem to the hie Priest Iaddus that his souldiers might haue passage without interruption and also requiring the tribute that was paied to Darius to be paid to him and to the crowne of Macedonia for that Alexander had vanquished Darius and had caried the Empire of Persia vnto Greece they of Hierusalem were frighted and much amased what to doe But cōcluding among themselues they opened the gates and the hie Priest came out with all the Priestes the Elders and Nobles of the Citie in most solemne sort to meete Alexander out of Hierusalem vnto a place named Sapha and saluted Alexander most humbly being in precious garments and pontifical robes with his sacred mitre whereupon was written the name of the God Iehoua The solemnitie and state whereof made Alexander to light from his horse and to yeelde to the hie Priest more honour and reuerence then his countreymen the Macedonians thought wel of so great a king so mightie a cōquerour euen Alexander the great to humble himselfe to a silie priest Parmenio demaunding the cause of Alexander why he honoured the priest somuch he answered that he reuerenced God whom the hie Priestrepresented at that time for I dreamed of these men euen as I behold them nowe when I was yet in Macedonia This Priest exhorted me then to be of good courage and bade me goe forward with my armie to Persia. Thus with great honor
and solemne sacrifice was Alexander receiued vnto Ierusalem where Daniels prophecies were brought vnto him and where also it was read vnto him that a king of Greece shoulde bring the Monarchie of Persia vnto Greece which was himselfe After all these things were done Alexander shewed great courtesie enlarged their common wealth quieted the Samaritans their enemies and brought all the Prouinces about vnder the Iewes Againe hee graunted them what they woulde aske of him permitted them to vse their religion to obserue their owne lawes and also promised that those Iewes which were scattered amongst the Caldeans Assyrians and Medes should haue such libertie to vse their religion and lawes as they had in Ierusalem and this continued during the time of Alexander which was but short For when he died the Empire was deuided betweene his Nobles Antigonus had Asia Seleucus had Babylon Lysimachus had Hellespont Cassander had Macedonia and Ptolomeus Lagi had Egypt These successors of Alexander hauing continuall warres one with an other which continued long Ptolomeus king of Egypt came vpon the Sabbath day to Ierusalem vnder pretence to offer sacrifice to the God of Israel tooke the towne vsed the Citizens hardly handled the Iewes most seuerely and sharpely they mistrusting him not imprisoned them and brought them with him in heapes to Egypt Thus still was Ierusalem exercised with tribulations and crosses but God stirred vp this kings sonne Ptolome philadelphus to them a friende louing and beneficiall wise learned and most desirous not onely to doe them good but also most willing to admit their lawes their Religion to come to Egypt and made a decree that all the Iewes wheresoeuer they were by his father imprisoned and captiuated shoulde be enlarged be set at libertie which were aboue 100000. Iewes as Ptolome in his Epistle written to the high Priest Eleazar doeth testifie where lie entreateth Eleazar to send to Egypt sixe of euery tribe of the best wisest and skilfullest men to translate the Bible then being onely in the Hebrewe tongue into the Greeke tōgue for that Ptolome was most desirous to haue the Bible in Greeke to be in his studie where he had a hūdred twentie thousand bookes in his Librarie In the dayes of this Ptoleme Lagi florished Theophrastus the Philosopher and Theodorus Athenaeus he sent messengers for this purpose to Ierusalem Aristaeus and one Andreas captaine of the Kings garde with whome he sent 100. talents of siluer to honour the Temple and to doe sacrifice therein besides viginti phialas aureas triginta argenteas quinque crateras mensam auream which in Iosephus all at large are described and set foorth worth the reading which things being most gratefull vnto the high Priest hee receiued them most louingly and vsed them with all humanitie and fauour and sent with them 70. wise and discreete men which shoulde translate the Bible as Philadelphus request was These seuentie men came to Alexandria where after much welcome long feasting great conference and disputations so much he ioyed of their comming and delighted in their company that the king Philadelphus continued his feast 12. dayes where wisedome and learning were exercised disputations practised arguments propounded the questions whereof you may reade in a booke which Aristeus wrote only concerning the meeting and comming togeather of these learned men These seuentie interpreters so named translated the Bible from Hebrue into Greeke in the yere of the world 3695. in the 24. Iubile and in the 127 Olympiad in the 12. yeere of Philadelphus reigne About this time Megasthenes the Persian writeth his histories Aratus the great Astrologer wrote his booke entituled Pheonomenon Nowe when Philadelphus had this sacred booke thus in Greeke translated he reioyced much and thought himselfe happy to haue such a booke in his Librarie and so conferring with Demetrius mused greatly that neither Historiographers Philosophers or Poets had not translated this booke before But Demetrius tolde the cause to the king saying that the Heathens durst not attempt it for diuers were punished for their rash enterprises to meddle therein as Theopompus who for writing of some sentences of the Scriptures amongst his owne prophane writings was xxx dayes depriued of his memorie distracted of his minde vntill by a vision in his sleepe he was warned to knowe his faults and to reconcile himself for the same Euen so Theodecta the Poet for putting a sentence of Gods booke presumptuously with his owne in a tragedie which he made was mad for a time and blind This learned king Philadelphus rewarded these 70. interpreters at their departure in this sort euery one of them had two talents of gold 3. sutes of costly and rich apparell and a standing golden cup which wayed a whole talent which by Budeus computation is 600. crownes if it be golde and euery of them had of him a precious costly and delicate bed wrought with all silke Moreouer he sent by them to Eleazar the hie Priest 10. riche tables with siluer feete with all things belonging thereunto a Chalice of 30. talents a diademe or a crowne ful of precious stones two golden cuppes to be dedicated to the altar 10. sutes of purple with 100. basens and censers of gold for sacrifice Thus much doth Iosephus report of this Ptolomeus Philadelphus but within a short time after this came Antiochus magnus who had al Asia Syria vnder his sword he vexed the Iewes spoiled the countrey slue the Citizens taketh the kingdome of Iudea subdued Egypt he full of all wickednes setteth vp Idols altars groues and Chappels of Idols he polluted the Sanctuarie defiled the Sabbath and the feast hee offered vp swines flesh and vncleane beastes Antiochus thus played the part of a tyrant that Ierusalē was desolate the Citizens fled the women and their children taken captiues and Antiochus forced Israel to forsake their God and to doe sacrifice to his Idoles sending commissioners to all Iudea to see the execution of them so great difference was betweene two heathen kings Alexander the great and Antiochus the great the one honoring the hie Priest sacrificed in the Temple brought all things vnder the Iewes againe vsed great courtesie the other Antiochus the great stealed wasted robbed the Temple the Citie all the Cities of Iuda vntill Mattathias a godly zealous man borne in the citie of Madis saw how Antiochus blasphemed God committed idolatrie in all Iudea somed in blood and practised al mischiefe and wickednesse He consulted with his fiue sonnes Iohn Iudas afterwarde called Machabeus Simon Eleazar and Ionathas to whom hee opened the calamities of his countrey the defacing of Moses lawes the blasphemie and idolatrie that were vsed by Antiochus in all Syria and Iudea and where that their predecessours euen from Abrahams time defended the Church with their owne blood so now it was as necessarie to stop the rage of
17. Dynasteia of the Egyptians which endured 103. yeeres During which time the shepherds had gouernment 7 Gerion surnamed Deabus raigned 35. yeeres he inuented the vse of many good things found first the vse of mynes of gold siluer and other mettals 8 After whom succeeded his three sonnes surnamed Lomuini which builded a towne after their owne name Lomuinia they also raigned 42. yeeres after their father 9 Hispalus the sonne of Hercules Libyus and the 9. king of the Celtiberians he raigned 11. yeeres he beganne his gouernment in the 36. yeere of Baleus Iunior the II. king of the Assyrians he did nothing but builded a towne and named it after his owne name Hispalis 10 After Hispalus succeeded the tenth king named Hispanus which raigned 32. yeeres by whom the whole countrey was called Hispania This time Iacob with his children went to Egypt when the great famine was almost ouer the whole world so long the name of Hispaine continued 11 Hercules after the death of Hispanus being verie aged raigned 19. yeeres at what time Mamitus the 13. king of the Assyrians gouerned at Niniuie 12 Hesperus raigned after Hercules 11. yeeres In Egypt began this time to raigne Mispharmutosis about which time Ioseph being an hundred yeres old died in Egypt Narbon raigned in that part of Fraunce which was called Celta after whome the countrey was after called Narbon 13 Kittim called in some places Atlas after hee had forced his brother Hesperus to forsake the kingdome and to flie into Italie raigned in Spaine 11. yeeres With this Kittim beganne to raigne in Assyria Maucaleus the 14. king and ouer the Argiues Crassus the fiftking 14 Sicorus raigned after Kittim Atlas who raigned 45. yeres for Kittim hauing his sonne in his steede to gouerne Spaine went to Italie and raigned there and was called for his great vertue and excellencie of minde of that countrey Italus This maried his daughter Electra to Cambo Blaston a Prince of the Ianigenes During the time of Sicorus Kittims sonne in Spaine raigned in Egypt Amenophis a cruel king who made a lawe that all the male children of the Israelites which then were in great cruell bondage in Egypt should be drowned in the riuer Nilus at which time Moses beyng borne then in Egypt was throwen to Nilus but he was preserued by the appoyntment of God This time reigned in Assyria Spherus the 15. king 15 Sicanus the sonne of Sicorus raigned after his Father 12. yeres king of Hispaine Phorbas the sixt king of the Argiues began in his kingdome to raigne and Sparetus the 17. king of the Assyrians 16 After Sicanus succeeded Siceleus which raigned in Spaine 44. yeeres this king came with the Sicilians to aide Iasius against Dardanus who both were in armes for the kingdome of Italie and did no other great thing In the beginning of this Siceleus raigne the kingdome of Athens beganne vnder Cecrops their first king in the fourth yeere of Sparetus the seuenteenth king of the Assyrians and in the sixte yeere of Marathus the thirteenth King of Peloponesus At what time Troyphas raigned the seuenth king of the Argiues and Acengeres raigned king of Egypt Functius sayeth that Mercurius Trismegistus an Egyptian Philosopher flourished about this time a great learned Priest whose bookes yet are to this day extant though some doe doubt of the same as in so ancient a thing men may easily doubt I thinke there was not so much diuinitie then in Egypt as Trismegistus seemeth to write in his bookes 17 After that Siceleus had raigned 44. yeeres his sonne named Lusus succeeded him and reigned thirtie yeeres this dwelt in that part of Spayne which he called after his owne name Lusitania thither he brought manie from Italie and other places to inhabite This Lusus beganne to reigne in Spayne in the thirteenth yeere of Ascatades the 18. King of the Assyrians in the verie yeere that Dardanus slue by deceit his brother Iasius and after fledde to Samothracia In the beginning of the reigne of this King the Israelites were deliuered from their bondage and great miserie vnder Pharao in Egypt after they had continued foure hundred thirtie yeeres there in seruitude This time reigned in Athens Cranaus their seconde king and ouer the Argiues Crotopus their eight king 18 Siculus the eighteenth king of Spayne succeeded Siceleus and reigned 64. yeeres That time that he beganne to gouerne Spaine then Dardanus beganne to erect a kingdome in Dardania which afterwarde was called Troy which was in the last yeere of Ascatades the 18. king of Assyria 830. yeeres after the flood of Noah This Dardanus after he was fledde to Samothracia for the killing of his brother Iasius for the gouernment of Italie he sought no right in Italie but resigned the same to Turrhenius who sailed into that part of Italie called Ianigena and possessed it and reigned 51. yeeres and Dardanus began his kingdome and was the first king of Dardania after called Troy This time Faunus Priscus reigned ouer the Latines then called Aborigenes for Latinus was the fift king after Faunus after whom they were called Latins after Latinus name their first king 19 Testa succeeded Siculus in Spaine and reigned seuentie yeeres During which time Manethon which onely writeth of the first 24. kinges doeth set downe nothing worth the writing for these kings were not heard of any way out of Spaine they liued so simply vnpeopled without any war or other exploits done the best is the noting of time thereigne of other kings the histories of the East coūtreys are by this historie briefly passed ouer During the 70. yeres of these kings Bellopares the 21. king and Lamprides the 22. king of the Assyrians reigned at Niniue Menophis gouerned Egypt Minos in Creete Abas ouer the Argiues Erictheus the sixt king of the Athenians In the latter yeeres of this king Samgar which succeeded Ehud iudged Israel after Samgar Debora and Barac 20 Romus the twentieth king that gouerned in Spaine he raigned three and thirty yeeres at what time raigned in Assyria Lampares the 24. king and ouer the Argiues Agrisius their fourteenth and last king In Dardania raigned Tros their thirde king who enlarged the citie of Dardania verie much and altered the name of Dardania after his owne name and called it Troia I take little heede to Manethon for hee doeth much differ from others in manie thinges and I make as much haste as I can to come to an ende Nowe after that Romus dyed Palatinus succeeded and raygned eighteene yeeres in whose time the kingdome of the Argiues was translated into Mycena where for a long time it continued 21 This time raigned in Troy Ilus after whose name Troy was called Ilion and in Assyria gouerned Paninas their 25. king Gedeon iudged Israel This Palatinus beyng a young man was driuen out of his kingdome by Cacus into Italie from whence
was two discents after Iacobs children but as I sayd before hard it is to correct an errour of such antiquitie for where true records want then coniectures of men doe grow About this time Isaac died and was buried in Hebron hard by Rebecca his wife hee was accepted of God and walked in his wayes vertuous and godly he liued one hundred eightie yeeres three yeeres longer then his father Abraham liued Which Isaac liued With Sem 110. yeeres With Sara his mother 37. Arphaxat 48. Sarug one yeere Salah 78. Iacob his brother 120. Heber 139. Ismaeel his halfe brother by Abraham liued with Isaac 75 Agar 123. Thare his grandfather 35. Ioseph 29. Isaac sawe the prosperitie of his sonne Esau which gouerned all the land of Seir for the appointment of GOD was Maior seruiet Minori when Iacob had no certaine place in the world but tossed from one affliction to an other Isaac before he died saw the trauell and triall of Iacob About this time was Ioseph sold by his brethren and laied in prison in Egypt euen then Tiphon the Egyptian conspired the death of his brother Osiris with the helpe of certaine tyrants Busiris of Phoenicia Antens of Lybia Melinus of Creete with others hee killed the king vsurped the kingdome and was called thereby as Berosus affirmeth Tiphon tyrannus but he was well requited and all his confederats for they all were slaine by Orus Magnus Osiris sonne in a towne of Arabia named Anteos Rhodes was builded about this time which was named before Opheinissa the great famine of the 7. deere yeres in Egypt and in all the world began likewise about the time of Isaacs death In Assyria reigned Baleus the 11. king a man of the greatest fame after Semiramis in the 41. yeere of this Kings reigne Hercules surnamed Lybius draue all cruell tyrants and gyants out of Italy for he with continual warres for 10. yeres space wearied them and subdued them and afterward reigned peaceably 20. yeeres as both Berosus and Functius doe affirme In the 18. Dinasteia of Egypt began the Kings of Egypt to be called Pharaones a name of great dignitie not proper names but as the Romanes Alexandrians the Latines with other kingdomes vsed to name their kings Caesars Siluij Ptolomeis Arsaces so like wise the Egyptians named their kings Pharaones which began about the latter end of Isaac Sparta a famous towne amongst the Lacedemonians was builded of Pharoneus sonne whose name was Sparta and therefore after his owne name named it Sparta Alitle after this time the going of Iacob vnto Egypt was in the 130. yeres of his age where he continued with his sonne Ioseph 17. yeeres in great fauour with Pharaoh and then died after Abrahams being in Egypt 215. yeeres and before Moses went to Egypt to deliuer the children of Israel out of bondage 215. yeeres Nowe while Iacob and his familie were in Egypt with his sonne Ioseph who was solde by his brethren and by his father thought to be slaine then dwelled in Iudea Hethits Iebusites Amorites Chananites Amalakites and Pheresites this land flowed with milke and hony fertile and full of all plentifulnes for after Ioseph died in Egypt Moses was borne within 65. yeeres and in the fourescore yeere of Moses age the 145. after Ioseph died and were in the wildernesse fourtie yeeres and after had the possession of the lande of Chanaan as it shall bee hereafter said But for that the histories of the Patriarches are written in the Genesis at large and in Iosephus and specially Frigius Mosaicus in his booke De historijs patrum leaueth nothing vntouched I will forward to the birth of Moses CHAP. II. Of the birth of Moses of his fauour with God of his gouernment ouer Israel for 40. yeeres in the wildernes and deliuerance of them from Pharaoh by the direction and inctruction of God of Ioshua his successor and of his warres and victories and of his good gouernment ouer Israel for 32. yeeres and of the Common-wealth of the Hebrewes during the time of Moses and Iosua which were 72. yeeres MOses the sonne of Amri being borne in Egypt in the time of Israels bondage and throwen according to the commandement of Pharaoh vnto Nilus but by the prouidence of God Pharaohs daughter named Thermutis walking for her pleasure with her maides about the bankes of Nilus beheld a thing houering vpon the water commaunded her maide to see what it was there Miria Moses sister tended to see what should become of the childe when Pharaohs daughter sawe that it was a goodly child she much delited in him and caused an Egyptian woman to giue him dugge which the childe refused his sister Miria said Ifan Hebrew woman were there he would sucke Thermutis willed her straight to bring one and she brought the mother of Moses to whome the Kings daughter saide Take this childe and bring him vp for me and she adopted him her sonne This childe grewe both goodly and godly of whom many things are written of while yet he was in Egypt being but a childe in Thermutis armes she put the Kings diademe vpon the childes head and he threwe it to the dirt not esteeming pompe and regall shewe But after he grewe to be a man he was made a Captaine ouer the Egyptians against the Aethiopians and he ouerthrewe the Aethiopians where the kinges daughter of Aethiope called Tharbis beholding his magnanimitie with admiration of his great actions fell in loue with Moses offred him mariage and to be a kings sonne and a king himselfe afterward of Aethiope the condition he accepted vpon yeelding vp of the towne to spare blood which was done But enuie of the Aegyptians against Moses disgrasing and disdaining his fortune and threatning him to the death after the killing of the Aegyptians fearing it should come to light fled vnto the Madianits wher he maried Iethroes daughter and continued fourtie yeeres vntill the Angell appearing in a flaming bush commaunded him to goe to Pharaoh to deliuer Israel from captiuitie with whome Aaron his brother which was the first Priest after the lawe giuen was ioyned with Moses in commission to execute the commaundements of God for to Moses was granted wisedome counsel and power to doe miracles to Aaron eloquence learning and power to speake what he would Nowe by Gods mercie which to the Israelites was alwaies great and by the which they were nowe deliuered from the handes of Pharaoh after many miracles done which Nazianzenus setteth forth in few Greeke verses in Latine by Frigius Mosaicus briefly written in two lines the ten plagues of Egypt in these wordes Sanguis Rana Culex Muscae Pecus Vlcera Grando Vermes Tenebrae Pestis primogenitorum Euen then Moses caried the bones of Ioseph to be buried in Hebron by his progenitors as Ioseph had commanded when he prophecied of an other Pharaoh which shoulde entreate Israel euill This
singular man of God Moses to whome the lawe in Mount Sinai was giuen and by whome the lawe had full execution with whome GOD talked so familiarly that hee alone continued with GOD fourtie dayes in Mount Sinai the moste auncient Chronographer of the worlde the verye light of prophane Histories and the onely teacher of time as by his 5. bookes appeare but for that Moses must be spoken of almost in euery place for the recourse and triall of time I will nowe goe forward with the historie Nowe reigned ouer the Assyrians Ascatades the 18. king in Niniue and in the 8. yeere of this Ascatades Cancres Pharaoh the king of Egypt with all his great armie were drowned in the red sea In Moses time happened two great floods the one called Deucalion flood 784. yeeres after Noahs flood the other in Thessalia after which followed such earthquakes in Thessalie that many thousands of beasts men women and children townes and cities were destroied as both Berosus and Xenophon doe agree After which earthquake fire wasted many townes and cities in Greece called incendium Phaetontis In Moses time the kingdome of Athens beganne wherein Cecrops was the first king of Athens 350. yeeres before the destruction of Troy From Abraham to Moses 450. from Moses to the first building of the Temple 480. yeeres Thus farre Berosus writeth euen from the beginning of Noah out of the arke vntil the going of the Israelites out of Egypt yet a litle farther vntill the falling of Dathan with 250. more which held with Abiran and Chore for their murmuring against Moses After this went Moses vp from the plaine of Moab to mount Nebo where the Lorde shewed vnto Moses all the lande of Canaan according to his promise saying thou shalt see the lande of Canaan with thine eies but thou shalt not goe ouer thither and there Moses the seruant of the Lorde died for whome Israel wept 30. daies and after whome Iosua succeeded Moses was 120. yeeres of age when he died Nowe you must vnderstande that when Ioseph was dead and the Hebrewes began to be multiplied the Egyptians both feared and hated them oppressed them as you heard with all toile and slauerie and not yet contented but a law was made among the Egyptians that euery male childe of the Hebrewes should be throwen to Nilus This lawe continued from Moses birth and before vntill their God deliuered them by Moses God had appointed with Moses and after with Iosua wise and graue men as Elders Iudges Magistrates to gouerne the Common-wealth of the Hebrewes vnder Moses as Iethro his father in lawe had councelled him the head of any tribe or of any citie Conuocauit populos Israel Senatum eorum principes eorum iudices eorum Ios. 23. Hee had also the Leuites the Priest and the high Bishop a state of Common-wealth chaunged from Oligarchia which was in Abrahams time into Aristocratia by the expresse commandements of God in all the lawes of the Hebrewes Morall and Iudiciall And after God gaue the Ceremoniall Lawes to Moses at mount Sinai for the Common-wealth of the Hebrewes were of all others most principally to be allowed for that God ordeined all their lawes ordered their Iudges al their Kings and their high Priestes for these three states gouerned the Hebrewes from Moses the first Iudge vntil the last high Priest though by Moses other officers were appointed as Tribunes Centurions and Captaines some ouer a 1000. some ouer a 100. some ouer 50. by the Greekes named Chiliarchi Hecatontarchi Pentecontarchi Decatarchi The offerings which were gold siluer and brasse blewe silke purple and scarlet fine linnen Goates haire and Rammes skinnes coloured red oile spices perfumes of sweete sauour the Tabernacle the Arke the stone table and the rod of Aaron and Manna which were testimonies of Gods presence Read of these Ceremoniall lawes in Exod. 25. About this time reigned in Egypt Ramesses afterwards hauing vanquished his brother Danaus from Egypt Egyptus vsurped the kingdom of Egypt named it Egyptus after his owne name Amongst the Argiues Stelenus their 9. King and after him succeeded Danaus being driuen out of Egypt by the foresaid Egyptus his brother giuing that name to the Countrey of Egypt being before named Mizraim Nowe in Creete gouerned Axit and in Athens the 4. king Ericthonius in these daies Nowe Memphis in Egypt of one Epaphus as Eusebius doth name was builded Dardanus builded Dardania in the sixt yeere of this king Egyptus this afterwarde was called Troy-Cyrene at this time was likewise builded in Libya and Nisa a great citie in India by Dionysius In Niniue Amintes the 19. king of the Assyrians gouerned It is written by Orosius that Danaus king at this time of the Argiues hauing fiftie daughters who being married to fiftie brethren sonnes to his owne brother Egyptus wrought meanes by these his daughters to requite the iniurie of his brother they agreeing with their father conspired the deathes of their husbandes and slewe them all in one night This historie is diuersly written which I leaue to euery mans iudgement After that Moses had gouerned the people of God 40. yeeres in the wildernes hee made choise of Iosua as you heard to be their Gouernour and Iudge for there was no succession of Gouernors no election of states no Prince no Iudge to claime right amongest the people of Israel but the lawe of God was the Iudge that gouerned Israel So Gedeon saide Non dominabor vestri nec dominabitur vestri filius meus sed Dominus he was the onely ruler so they prospered all the time of good Iudges This Iosua the second Iudge of Israel whome God raised after Moses was adorned with excellent giftes as with counsell to gouerne Israel and with strength to defend Israel this bringeth them after all difficulties vnto the land of Canaan which Iosua diuided among the people he appointed their borders he established lawes and ordinances assuring them of Gods fauour if they would obey God and contrariwise of his plague and vengeance by disobedience To this good Iosua God saide my seruant Moses is dead nowe therefore arise goe ouer Iordan thou and all this people vnto the lande which I gaue them for euery place where you shall tread vpon haue I giuen you there shall be no man able to withstande thee all the daies of thy life bee thou strong and be of good courage I will not leaue thee nor forsake thee This was great comfort to Iosua to haue God to be with him to assist him to strengthen him to defend him Then Iosua commanded his hoste with their Captaines and officers to passe ouer Iordan he exhorteth the Rubenites the Gadites and the halfe tribe of Manasses to execute their charge saying the Lord your God hath giuē you this land which was somtime in the possession of Sihon king of the Amorites and in the hands of Og king of Bashan goe you
by Ioab to Dauid After this Dauid had foure great battels with the Philistines slew them and subdued them vnto the last Thus was Dauid deliuered by God from all daungers tyrannie and treason and saued from Saul Absalon and many others When Dauid had gotten by the sword peace and quietnesse and brought all nations subiect vnto him hee tooke his rest and thanked God in Psalmes Hymnes Odes Verses which Dauid sang vnto God in praise of victories which God gaue him But yet more troubles came on Dauid The Lord so suffered Satan to tempt him that Dauid commaunded Ioab to number all Israel and Iuda from Dan to Beersheba which Ioab did the people were in number of able fighting men 1100000. Gods wrath was kindled against Israel so that much it offended God that Dauid should trust in mē sithence onely God had oftentimes deliuered him and the Lord sent Gad Dauids seer with three things to take his choise Pestilence Famine or Warre Dauid chose rather to fal to Gods mercy then to trust to man Then fell pestilence in Israel from the one side of the countrey to the other and there died 70000. men Now after this Dauid waxed old and hee caused Salomon his sonne to bee annointed king before he died whom hee charged to walke before God vprightly exhorting him to serue God to vse iustice and iudgement in Israel Dauid commanded Salomon his sonne to kill Ioab for his murthering of Abner and Amasa and to take the like punishment of Semei which railed cursed me when saith he I was at the worst Dauid left to his sonne more welth in Israel to build a temple to the Lorde then Alexander the great had in Babylon by the conquest of Darius for Iosephus doth write that Hircanus the high priest a 1000. odde yeeres after Dauids death opened the graue of Dauid and brought 3000. talents to satisfie the rage of Antiochus Demetrius sonne who laying siege to Ierusalem was contēted to returne with some of these talents without any harme done And Dauid died being 70. yeres of age after he had bene 40. yeeres king of Israel seuen in Hebron and 33. in Ierusalem Dauid died 803. yeres after the death of Abrahā after the death of Adam 2000. after the birth of Christ 1070. During this time of Dauid raigned in Assyria Eupales the 32 king in Lacedemonia Argis the second king of the Lacedemonians Now failed the state of kings in Athens and there began a new forme of common wealth gouerned by Iudges which now began by Codrus sonne named Medon after whose name they were named afterward Medontidae for a while Latinus Sylaius raigned the 6. king ouer the Latines in Corinth raigned Ixeon the second king of Corinth About Dauids time there was builded in Asia a citie called Magnesia and another in Italie called Misene now called Cuma Salomon the sonne of Dauid the third king of Israel of the tribe of Iuda a man endued with singular wisdome in great fauour with God as soone as he had sit on his fathers throne he remembred the words of Dauid and with care and zeale he followed his fathers steps in seeking to please the Lord Notwithstanding the Israelites being froward and stubborne euer reuolting from their GOD were alwayes forgetfull of Gods benefites as after the death of Dauid fell out for in Dauids time Israel flourished and all things prospered in Iuda But scant had Salomon bene annointed king but Adoniah Salomons brother aspired to the kingdome secretly and subtillie seeking the good will of Bethsheba Salomons mother and by her meanes to haue Abishag which Dauid his father loued tenderly to wife But his craft was found out and his pretensed treason spied by Nathan the prophet and by Salomon himselfe who perceiuing that Adoniah was the elder brother and had Abiathar the priest on his side and Ioab who tooke Adoniahs part when he would haue vsurped the kingdome Salomon hereby was mooued to make sure waies and remembring his fathers charge before he died concerning Ioab and Semei he executed iustice first vpon Adoniah afterward commaunded Benaiah to fall vpon Ioab for the murthering of Abner Sauls chiefe captaine and Amasah a nigh kinseman of Dauid who enuying their fauour credite with the king slew them and was now iustly punished for sheading of bloud Now Adoniah and Ioab two great enimies of the king being dead Salomon banished Abiathar the priest and called to be a priest Sadock in the roome of Abiathar so the office of the high priest was taken away from the house of Eli and restored to the house of Phineas After that Salomon called Shemei and charged him with the breaking of his othe in passing ouer the riuer of Cedron being forbidden by the king charged him further with wickednesse against his father Dauid in reuiling and cursing of him and he was likewise slaine by the sonne of Iehoida called Benaia By this meanes the kingdome of Israel was established in Salomons hands and Salomon obeied God in all things and then he taketh Pharaoes king of Egypts daughter to wife Iosephus in his eight booke and 2. chapter saieth that the kings of Egypt were al called Pharaones from Minaeus time that builded Memphis vntil the time of Salomon which was 1300. yeeres for Minaeus raigned in Egypt many yeeres before Abraham came to Egypt this is the cause why Herodotus doth omit the names of the kings of Egypt euen 330. kings Salomon repaired the wals of Ierusalē and went to Gibeon to sacrifice for there their tabernacle was at that time there was no temple yet builded to the Lord in Ierusalem In Gibeon the Lord appeared by dreame to Salomon and gaue him wisedom more then any prince of the world had as by his sentence vpō the two harlots appeared Salomon flourished and prospered and farre excelled all the kings of the world for his wisedom was so abundant as the sand that is on the sea shore No Philosopher no Astrologer no Chaldean magi no Egyptian priest might apprehend Salomons iudgement for God was his schoolemaster Salomon was famous throughout the whole world hee wrote 3000. Prouerbes and bookes of Odes and Verses 1000. and made fiue and twentie songs which perished in Ierusalem when Israel was taken captiue vnto Babylon the temple then being burned and the citie destroyed He wrote of all kind of trees from the Cedar tree that is in Libanon vnto the Hysope that groweth on the wall He spake of beastes fowles and fishes He wrote of incantations and of other secret artes which Iosephus affirmeth at large And there came of all countries to heare the wisedome of Salomon and all the kings about him sent vnto him and sought his fauour Now coucerning the princes rulers and officers which were vnder Salomon the purueiance for victuals the number of his horses and the order of his house they
said vae mihi This Iosephus saw with his eies heard with his eares who wrote this historie A greater wonder then all these The true Messias Christ 40. yeeres before told of this yet was not beleeued Ierusalem as it was oftentimes was neuer destroied but they were warned before by the prophets of God but they would not know the time of their visitation and therfore came these euils vpon the Iewes the towne sackt and made euen to the ground their temple burned themselues slaine destroied and scattered from the face of the whole earth Now Ierusalem being thus destroyed the temple burned the people slaine and the king Zedechia taken prisoner and brought to Babylon where he died Nabuchodonosor like a fierce Lion proceedeth forward inuaded Syria subdued the Ammonites and the Moabites brought his armie to Egypt slew the king subdued the countrey and brought those Iewes backe to Babylon that had fled from Ierusalem to Egypt This was the miserie of the Iewes and the last confusion of Iuda The historie of this king concerning the last end of the Iewes no where may be better read then with the Prophets Nabuchodonosor had a sonne called Euilmerodach who after the death of his father enlarged Iechonia from prison and vsed him princely for Iechonia in respect of Ierusalem and the people therein being by Ieremie the prophet perswaded thereto yelded himself his wife his children his nobles and all the two tribes vnto the hands of Nabuchodonosor Ieremie Ezechiel and Daniel haue laid downe the ful historie of Nabuchodonosor and of Euilmerodach and of Balthasar the three last kings of the Chaldeans in whose time the empire of Babylon was had away from the Chaldeans vnto the Persians by Cyrus This was the stocke of Dauid being 21. kings after Dauid lineally from his bodie descending ended whose names are these 1 Salomon 2 Rehoboam 3 Abia. 4 Asa. 5 Iosaphat 6 Ioram 7 Ochosias his mother 8 Athalia 9 Ioas. 10 Amazias 11 Azaria 12 Iotham 13 Achas 14 Ezechias 15 Manasses 16 Ammon 17 Iosias 18 Ioachas 19 Eliacim 20 Ioachim 21 Zedechias The kingdome of Iuda caried cap◅ue by Nabuchodonosor into Babylon after it had continued After the death of Salomon 395. yeeres After the flud 1709. yeeres After the natiuitie of Abraham 1416. After the burning of Sodom and Gomorrha and the other three Cities 1317. After the departure of the Israelites out of Egypt 912. After the destruction of Troy 577. From the natiuitie of Dauid 505. From the dedicating of Salomons temple 412. And after the taking of Samaria and the destruction of the ten tribes of Israel 133. yeeres CHAP. VII Of the returne of the Iewes into Ierusalem after the captiuitie first by the decree of Cyrus after by Darius and last by Artaxerxes of the second building of the Temple by Esdras Nehemia and Zorobabel and of the gouernment vnder the high priests AFter the captiuitie of the Iewes Daniel grew in great fauour with Nabuchodonosor being by God instructed to expound the dreames of the king and to vanquish Bel and all his priests and to conuert Nabuchodonosor to acknowledge God after he saw a dreame of foure beastes which came vp from the sea one differing from another The first was a Lion which had Eagles wings and the wings thereof were pluckt off and a mans heart was giuen him meaning the Chaldeans and the Assyrians which were strong and fierce and yet their power ouerthrowen by the Persians power The second beast like a Beare which had three ribs in his mouth betweene his teeth meaning the Persians which were barbarous and cruell The third was like a Leopard which had vpon his backe foure wings of a fowle this beast also had foure heads signifying Alexander the great with his foure captains which after Alexanders death had the empire among them for Cassander was king of Macedone and Antipater after him Saleucus had Babylon and Asia the great and Antigonus had Asia the lesse and Ptolomeus had Egypt The fourth beast which Daniel sawe was fearefull and terrible it had iron teeth it deuoured and brake in pieces and stampt the residue vnder his feete This was meant by their Romane empire a monster exceeding all kind of beasts for the tyrannie and greedines of the Romanes excelled the rest for that which the Romanes could not quietly enioy in other countries they would giue it to other kings vpon condicion to take them again when it pleased the Romanes To this Daniel was the vision of the 70. weekes opened by the angel Gabriel who enformed him and instructed him of the time of the Messias comming saying 70. weekes are determined vpon the people and vpon the holy Citie to finish the wickednes to seale vp sinnes to bring euerlasting righteousnes and to annoint the most holy Now at what time the 70. weekes began some controuersie there is some from the first edict of Cyrus some from Darius and some from the time that Daniel spake it and others from the 7. yeere of Artaxerxes Longimanus which was 80. yeeres after the first commandement of Cyrus The captiuitie of Babylon fell at that time when Tarquinius Priscus raigned in Rome after whom the Romanes had no more kings after but two so that the Iewes and the Romanes were gouerned by a state called Aristocratia of the Iewes The 70. weekes and the very last yeere of the captiuitie was likewise the last yere of the Assyrians Chaldeans for euen they which saw the destruction of Ierusalem sawe also the destruction of Babylon and what spoile soeuer Nabuchodonosor brought from Ierusalem vnto Babylon the same did Cyrus in the last yeere of his raigne restore with a commaundement giuen to all the princes that ruled vnder Cyrus to suffer the Iewes againe frō all places where they were scattered to returne to Iudea to builde vp Ierusalem againe and to repaire the temple and if any were not able through pouertie to returne king Cyrus commanded that they should be furnished with necessaries for God raised vp Cyrus to bee a friend to his people and hee called Zorobabel who was the chiefe gouernour of the Iewes The nomber of them that returned from the captiuitie of Iuda with the bountifulnes of Cyrus towardes them you may in the booke of Esdras reade at large For after that Cyrus was slaine by Tomiris in the warres of the Massegits his sonne Cambyses succeeded him who by the Samaritans complaint commaunded the Iewes to staye from the building and from their repairing of Ierusalem which continued 9. yeeres after Cambyses returning from Egypt died at Damascus after hee had subdued Egypt succeeded Darius the sonne of Histaspis Hee againe in the 2. yeere of his raigne authorized the Iewes to do as Cyrus had commanded them for so Darius found in a coffer of Cyrus in Ecbatana a booke wherin the acts of the kings of Medes Persians were written and the decree
Therefore Pompei the great being a heathen man and driuen to flight in the the battell at Pharsalia by Iulius Caesar desirous to know of Cratippus the Philosopher the euents of the warres betweene Iulius Caesar and himselfe demaunded of him an sit prouidentia whether the decree and purpose of God is vnchangeable Cratippus answered him though a heathen Philosopher yet like a true Christian saying Fatales esse imperiorum periodos the prouidence of God is most sure and certeine for then the Romane Monarchie beganne by Iulius Caesar the first Emperour of Rome which Pompei founde true within a while after and so Chaldea first and Assyria after so the Medes so the Persians so the Grecians and last of all the Romanes came to destruction by not confessing God neither acknowledging his prouidence as you shall reade in their seuerall histories But nowe to speake of the rest of the kings of Assyria for that they were at one time and gouerned together Belus the sōne of Nimrod after he had as you haue heard laid the fundations of Babylon by his father Nimrod before appointed a peaceable prince quiet gentle curteous vnto his subiects vntil about the latter end of his reigne hee became to bee ambitious most cruelly giuen to enlarge the Empire of Babylon and as Berosus saith to bring all Nations vnder the Chaldeans he went about first to destroy a mightie great king in those dayes which much hindred Belus purposes named Sabatius king of Saga This Sabatius perceiuing that Belus laid secret snares euery way for him and seeing that he could by no meanes escape the hads of Belus he hid himself in a secret place with the Caspiis Annius saith in the 5. booke vpon Berosus that this Sabatius was Saturnus Now Belus being old hauing reigned 62. yeeres grew so great and so mightie that al the nations about honored him as a god he commanded Nynus his sonne a little before he died by al meanes possible to destroy Sabatius Saga and by the sword to compell all nations and countries and al people to be vnder the Empire of Babylon for that it was the first kingdome after the flood When he had reigned king 62. yeeres he died to whom the Assyrians after his death erected his statue or image they made so many monumēts to Belus after his death that thereby they began to commit idolatry to put vp images naming them Baal Bel after the name of Belus Nynus succeeded his father Belus the third king of the Assyrians imitating his father both by nature and by cōmandement lost no time but streight in armes where his father subdued the most part of Assyria and Asia this king went further hauing conquered euery where vntill the coasts of Libya finding the people yet not able to resist him not acquainted with wars but seeking meanes to fortifie their kingdomes being as yet weake and tender without any great force not so strong as to resist Nynus being at that time the greatest king in the worlde which ouercame Aricus king of Arabia but some say king of Ellasar and after conquered Barzanes king of Armenia as Berosus affirmeth After he returned to Media where Pharnus king of the Medes and his seuen sonnes were slaine with their armie thence proceeded forward to Bactria where Zoroastres remained as king to whom Iustine ascribeth the first obseruations of the starres naming him the first Astrologer of the worlde after the flood this gaue Nynus a great ouerthrowe in the first battell putting the enemies to flight after he had slaine 100000. of the Assyrians Nynus hauing this foile returned with greater force ioyned againe in battel ouercame the Bactrians slue their king possessed the kingdome by the pollicie of Semiramis whō afterward he maried which historie you shall finde in Diodorus Siculus at large This Nynus excelled his father augmenting the Empire of Assyria by the conquestes hee did of all Asia and of all the East kingdomes vnto the Indians hee amplified the Citie of Niniue which Assur the sonne of Sem began to builde as Iosephus and Philo Iudaeus doe affirme but Melancthon saith that Nynus two hundred yeeres after builded Niniue after Assur began it that Nynus enlarged it beautified and made it so great that it conteined foure hundred furlongs of ground which is fiftie miles after our accompt it had a thousand and fiue hundred wonderfull great towres vpon the walles it had the onely soueraignetie of the worlde and there Nynus and all the kings of Assyria kept their Courtes this was called by Nynus after his owne name Niniue it was builded in the valley of Aturia not farre from the riuer Tygris this Niniue was farre greater then Babylon as you may reade in Herodotus at large and was the chiefe seate of the kings of Assyria a thousand and two hundred yeeres some write one thousand three hundred and more Howe true Berosus writes of the pilgrimage and iourneys of Noah I referre it to the reader but hee sayeth that in the tenth yeere of Nynus the third king of Babylon after that Noah had trauailed many Countries had giuen them lawes he came to Africa from Africa after that heehad taught the people for a time he came into Italie in the nineteenth yeere of Nynus at what time Noah was eight hundred and three score yeeres olde and liued after in Italie and in Hetruria 92. yeeres for so long liued Noah which was in all 950. Many Monuments and Townes builded by Noah in diuers Countries are set written by Berosus lib. 5. and by Annius in his Comentarie Abraham was 57. when Noah died After this Nynus had reigned 52. yeeres he died and was buried in his owne Citie of Nynus where his wife Semiramis buried him so honorably with such a sumptuous Toumbe that it was the onely paterne which Artimesia the queene of Caria made for her husbande Mausolus and counted for the rarenes thereof one of the seuen woonders of the worlde Wee reade in Zenophon that Semiramis caused an Epitaph to bee set vpon one of the pillars of this graue with these wordes Mihipater Belus Iupiter Auus Saturnus Babylonicus proauus Chus Saturnus Ethiops Abauus Saturnus Aegyptus atauus Caelus Phoenix Ogiges repeating the petigree of Nynus to be the sonne of Belus the sonne of Nimrod the sonne of Chus the sonne of Cham the sonne of Noah Archilogus writeth that he beganne to reigne a king ouer the Assyrians 250. yeeres after the flood In this Nynus time Abraham was borne Semiramis after her husband was dead beganne to fortifie the walles of Babylon ruled and gouerned most stoutly the Assyrians and the Caldeans 42. yeeres adding to the Empire more Regions and Countries after her husbands dayes subdued the Ethiopians ouercame the Indians and their king Staurobates which neuer was done or by any enterprised beside Semiramis but onely by Alexander the great
Of this queene and of her doings her warres and her great workes you shall reade in Diodorus and Annius how she became so great so terrible and so luckie in any warre she tooke in hand that she excelled farre all the Assyrian and Caldean kings in victories and triumphs vntil Nabuchodonosors time but slaine at last by her sonne called Nynus or Nynias as Melancthon and Annius and Ruffinus writeth the 5. king of the Assyrians who liued with his mother and had no gouernment for that he was a simple man and who succeeded his mother being neither like to his father nor to his mother a king giuen to slouthfulnesse full of idlenesse of whom we reade nothing worth the writing sauing that he repaired beautified the temples of their idols and made much of the Chaldean magi which were accompted wise men obseruing the turne of Astrologers who began then in those dayes to vse diuination he reigned 38. yeeres who a litle before he died Camesenus being forced to flee frō all the partes of the world came to Bactria and there strengthened himselfe with the Bactrians that he prepared a great army to inuade the Assyrians but he was slaine and his armie ouerthrowen euen of this king Ninias as Berosus affirmeth yet Diodorus Iustinus Orosius say that this was done by Nynus the father of Ninias Let the reader beleeue whō hee list I had rather follow Berosus though he is supposed not to be Berosus yet the best writer vseth him in this historie for he is best to be beleeued for that hee knoweth better the Chaldean histories being a Chaldean borne then others This Ninias or Ramisninias is takē to be that king which is called Amraphel in Genesis king of Shinar which is Babylon for in the daies of Amraphel came Arioch king of Ellasar who came with the king of Shinar against the kings of Sodom Gomorrha together with two other kings Chedor king of Elam and Tidal king of the nations gathered of diuers countries These foure kings made warre with Bera king of Sodom with Byrsha king of Gomorrha with Shemeber king of Seboim and with the king of Bela in the vale of Siddim At this very warre Lot the nephew of Abraham for hee dwelt then at Sodom was taken with the king of Sodom the rest was rescued by Abraham his vncle he all his goods al his substance men women Abraham recouered frō Amraphel king of Shinar his company By this time Egypt began to florish and the kings of Egypt beganne to be strong they were all named Pharaohs as the Romanes called their Emperors Caesars names of great dignitie While this conflict and these great armies of fiue kings against foure were in the field you must vnderstand they were but gouernors of cities for in these daies skant the names of kingdoms were knowen but a kind of gouernment called Oligarchia by reason it was within 350. yeres of the flood At that time Abraham comming backe with Lot Melchisedec king of Shalem came to meete him blessed him to whom Abraham gaue tithe of al that he had This Melchisedec is taken to be Sem the sonne of Noah king of Shalem afterward called Ierusalem After this Ninias succeeded his sonne Arius the sixt king of the Assyrians as Functius writeth but Ruffinus the fourth and yet they vary not but in this that Functius beginneth from Nimrod which Ruffinus saith began in Babylon not in Niniue Againe Functius numbreth Semiramis reigne for that she reigned 40. yeres after her husband Nynus which Ruffinus omitteth coumpting Nynus reigne for both for both the gouernment of Semiramis and Ninus forward stil of the rest of the kings of Assyria Ruffinus omitting these two Nimrod Semiramis maketh Functius to say sixe and Ruffinus to accoumpt foure but in this I will follow Functius This Arius after that his father Ninias was dead hee gathered a great host of souldiers against the Bactrians and the Caspians with whom his father and his forefathers were enemies alwayes hee inuaded them againe spoyled their countrey slue their king and brought Bactria and Caspia subiect to the Assyrians in this kings time died Noah about twelue yeres after Abraham was called from Vr in Chaldea and came to Haran where hee staied foure yeres Thus florished the kingdome of the Assyrians being still augmented with more Prouinces Cities and Countries by Arius and his predecessors and when hee had reigned 30. yeeres he died and after him succeeded Aralius the seuenth king of the Assyrians a warlike prince a man of great prowesse skilfull in militarie discipline full of martiall exploites of whom Berosus affirmeth that it was he that first vsed triumphs and pompes with great honor dignitie and rewards to souldiers that deserued praise began to be delicious in bankets and feastes and inuented many engins of warres that then were not knowen In this kings fathers time there dwelt in Celtiberia a great wise man expert in many things whose name was Druyas of whom as Berosus writeth the auncient priests and wise men were called Druyades so doth Plinie write and Caius Iulius Caesar in his booke de bello Gallico This Aralius ruled Assyria fourtie yeeres and died Then beganne in Niniue the reigne of Baleus surnamed Xerxes the eight king of the Assyrians this surmounted farre his predecessour Aralius for hee brought vnder the scepter of Assyria twise asmuch people Nations and Countries as his predecessour did and therefore he was called Xerxes that is the conquerour the triumpher which long after were names of great dignitie among the Persians This king was both fierce and fortunate and enlarged the confines of his kingdome with many Nations he conquered al Countries vnto India he made the kings to bee feared so much of all kingdomes that he was named of the Assyrians Xerxes victor triumphator this reigned as Berosus doth write thirtie yeeres In this Baleus dayes Inachus the first king of the Argiues and their first kingdome began After Baleus reigned in Assyria a king named Armatrites the ninth of him there is no great thing to bee read to his commendation hee was giuen much to wicked lust and slouthfulnesse consuming his time in feasting and banquetting from one pleasure vnto another more cōuersant with women then with men and more delicious in apparell then hardie in warres and more giuen as Berosus saith to a lewde life then to vertuous exercise he reigned 38. yeeres In these dayes Sem the sonne of Noah died and the king of Salem being sixe hundred yeeres olde for Sem was a hundred yeere olde when the flood began and hee liued before the flood with three of his olde fathers with Noah Methusalem and Lamech and after the flood he liued in the second age vntill Iacobs time and died in the fiftie yere of Iacobs age seuen hundred yeeres iust before Dauids birth
Egypt so that the king of Egypt came no more out of his lande as it is written against the king of Babylon hee layde siege to Tire and wasted all the regions there about he brought vnder the king of Babylon all Libya the most part of Asia vnto the land of Armenia This king grewe so great that Philostratus doeth so set him in his histories that he passed Hercules in force and power Strabo saith that the Chaldeans esteemed more of Nabuchodonosor then the Grecians did of Hercules Nabuchodonosor made kingdomes to shake the earth to tremble and the whole worlde a forest and left almost no where vnconquered but Iudea where after all his other warres and conquests hee sendeth his deputie Nabuzaradan generall of his armie he commeth with a huge armie of the Chaldeans a great band of Aramites of Moabites of Ammonites for Nabuchodonosor had heard that Iehoiakim had rebelled after hee had payed tribute for three yeeres This was the cause of the destruction of Iehoiakim after he had raigned three yeres he was deceiued much trusting to haue ayde by Necho king of Egypt and so lost both the kingdome and himselfe This was the iudgement of God for the sinnes of Manasses and the idolatrie of Iuda not weighing the crying out of Ieremie though night and day he perswaded them to yeelde vp the Citie and to followethe Lorde for Ierusalem was full of innocent blood and therefore God vsed these wicked tyrants to execute his commandement After this Iehoiakin the sonne of Iehoiakim when he had reigned three moneths being 18. yeeres of age Nabuchodonosor fearing least he shoulde become false and so reuenge his fathers death came against him he and his mother his princes and his seruants yeelded to Nabuchodonosor by the councell of Ieremie And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah king in stead of his nephewe Iehoiakin and changed his name to Zedechia who likewise offended the Lord and would not be councelled by Ieremie but hee and his people mocked the messengers of God despised his word and misused his Prophets so long that Nabuchodonosor came and slue their young men with the sworde kild all and spared none But for the rest of Nabuchodonosors tyranny his crueltie and slaughter specially of Iewes they are read in the fourth booke of Kings Chap. 24. and 25. in in Esai in Ieremie This king is euery where mentioned with the Prophets and in Ecclesiasticall histories Likewise Iosephus orderly setteth downe his seuerall warres against Ierusalem first in the eleuenth yere of Iechonias he came with great force and slue the most part in Ierusalem killed the king and buried him in sepulchro asini threw him dead vnburied out of the Citie according to the prophecie of Ieremie saying Iehoiakim shal be buried as an asse is buried euen drawne and cast foorth without the gates of Ierusalem like a carrion neither shall any lament him neither mourne for him he tooke also the chiefe men of the Citie euen 3000. and carried them vnto Babylon amongst whom Ezechiel being yet a very young man was lead likewise captiue This was before tolde of by Ieremie the Prophet but not beleeued The second time hee came against Iehoiakin whom Nabuchodonosor aduaunced vnto his fathers seate but fearing hee would reuoult by being mindfull of his fathers death hee tooke him his mother his familie his nobles and others to the number of tenne thousand eight hundred thirtie and two and carried them vnto Chaldea yet Nabuchodonosor sware to the king to his counsell that he would spare them vpon their submission to the which the king by the perswasions of the Prophet Ieremie yelded but the tyrant kept no promise With this king Daniel Anania Azaria and Misael being of the kings stocke were taken prisoners and commaunded by the king that they shoulde bee brought vp in the Chaldean tongue to serue the king afterward The third and last comming of Nabuchodonosor was against Zedechia the last king of Iuda hee layde siege to Ierusalem eighteene moneths during which time great famine and plague with manifolde miseries more befell them and at last the destruction of the Citie men women and children slaine before the King his Princes and Nobles put to the sworde the wealth and treasure of the Citie caried to Babylon the Temple burned the King himselfe taken his children killed before the kings face then his eyes put out and caried in chaines to Babylon where hee died most miserably in prison Thus God did put his sworde in Nabuchodonosors hand as an instrument of his wrath to punish sinne Of this matter more is spoken of in the historie of the Iewes otherwayes called the Hebrewes When Nabuchodonosor had reigned fourtie three yeeres Metasthenes saith fourtie fiue yeeres the Chaldean historie reporteth that hee prophecied the destruction of Babylon being by Daniel taught and by God called to bee one of his chiefe instruments in his Church In a little before hee died hee confessed the glory and maiestie of God saying I giue thankes vnto the most High I prayse and honour him that liueth for euer who restored vnto me my kingdome my honour and my vnderstanding whose works are all trueth and his wayes iudgements for nowe I confesse that he is able to abase those that walke in pride he liued in Tarquinius Priscus time the fift king of Rome and in the eighteene Iubilee of the Iewes and in the fourtie nine Olympiads In the time of Nabuchodonosors father Dracos lawes was written in Athens Solon Thales Milesius florished the seuen Sages of Greece liued this time the Prophet Ezechiel beganne to prophecie in Babylon the fift yeere of the captiuitie For as you shall reade of the Medes and Persians and of the Romanes that they were made by God executours instruments and hammers for so the Lord spake of them saying Thou art my hammer and weapons of warre for with thee will I breake the nations and with thee will I destroy kingdomes by thee will I breake man and woman and by thee will I breake young olde you shall finde this phrase often rehearsed by God in the mouthes of the Prophets so God calles Nabuchodonosor his seruant saith I wil put my sword in Nabuchodonosors hand so Senaherib so Salmanasser and so Satan himselfe is Gods seruant to worke his will to obey his commandement and to execute his iudgements After this Nabuchodonosor succeeded his sōne Euilmerodach he reigned 30. yeres he reigned one yere together with his father it seemeth that this Euilmerodach was instructed by Daniel to feare God for after that Nabuchodonosor had turned to the Lord began to be a benefactor to the Church to the mēbers thereof this his sonne likewise when he became king of Babylon after his father in the first yere of his reigne brought Iehoiakin king of Iuda out of prison hee restored him to libertie and aduanced him to
to the people of Egypt then his brother was who in like sort vsed them with toile and with all kinde of bondage as Cheops did and therefore the like praise they had For after they had raigned both an hundred sixe yeres during which time Egypt suffered great calamitie they disdained after their death to call them by the names of kings but suffered shepherds to lodge in their stately Piramides loathing once to thinke vpon these two kings By this time ended the gouernment of 177. vnder the Potentats during which time many things happened in other kingdomes as erection of the kingdome of Israel after Samsons time their last Iudge by appointing Saul their first king about the 60. yeres of these last Potentats of Egypt At what time the kings of Peloponesus in Greece and their gouernment of Monarchia ended priestes which were called Carni were appointed magistrates After 26. kings had raigned in Scicionum about the 80. of this gouernment the kingdome of Lacedemonia and the kingdome of Corinth beganne both at one time at what time raigned in Athens Codrus their last king after whom the state altered into the gouernment of Iudges in the 114. yeere of this Dynastia during which time raigned in Assyria foure kings and ouer the Albanes otherwise called the Latins raigned sixe kings this was the twentie Dynastie of the Egyptians this began tenne yeeres before the sixt Iubilee and ended 19. yeeres after the beginning of the ninth Iubilee In Egypt gouerned by this time Mycerinus or Cerinus in Diodorus the sonne of Cheops a iust king and gentle vsing the people with much more clemencie then either his father or his vncle did before him he opened the temples which of an hundreth and sixe yeeres were shut vp he restored all Egypt into her former libertie which had bene long in calamitie and misery vnder his father he commaunded the people to be free from their taxes and toiles and vsed them with greatlenitie hee iudged iustly and shewed himselfe such a king that all the Egyptians thought themselues happie of his gouernment for he loathed tyrannie and crueltie and was much ashamed of his fathers reproche amongst the people This Mycerinus in the middest of his good gouernment had onely one daughter that died of whom her father to shewe the great loue which hee bare vnto her made such a monument for her buriall that it past all the burials of the kings of Egypt hee caused a coffine of the likenes of an oxe to be made set ouer all with golde wherein hee layed his daughter and hanged the same vp from the ground in his pallace at the citie of Sai where euery day the priestes came with frankincense and other sweete odours to doe sacrifice the oxe of Apis which was the God of Memphis and the oxe Mneum which was the God of Heliopolis were not so set foorth as this oxe of Sai where Mycerinus daughter was buried An other misfortune was denounced by an Oracle vnto Mycerinus that hee likewise should be buried within sixe yeres after his daughter for that he altered the state of Egypt and eased the Egyptians from such bondage as they were to abide for an hundreth and fiftie yeeres of the which Cheops and Cephrim two brethren perfourmed an hundreth and sixe remayning yet behinde fourtie and foure yeeres of the calamitie which by an Oracle was appointed for Egypt and to seeke to please the Oracle Mycerinus became a little better then his father Cheops or his vncle Cephrim two tyrants that plagued Egypt After this king the priests of Egypt doe set downe a king named Asichis of whom I finde in Herodotus that he past the rest of the kings of Egypt in building and vexing of his subiects in so much that hee made one Piramides to excell the rest with this inscription This Piramides doeth passe the rest as farre as Iupiter doeth excell the rest of the gods This king is named also Anisis in Melancthon and in Functius but in Herodotus Anisis or Asichis a king who came not to be king of Egypt by succession of blood but by election of the priestes who after he had raigned sixe yeeres was driuen out of Egypt by Sabacus an Aethiopian which raigned after Anisis 50. yeeres king of Egypt this king is called Sesac in the booke of the Kings of whom you may reade more for in the fift yeere of Roboam king of Iuda this Sesac king of Egypt is spoken of After Sabacus succeeded Sethon a priest of Vulcan this king after many ouerthrowes being left and forsaken of his owne people made his complaint to Vulcan of whom he was certified in a dreame that he should haue ayde and helpe if he would meete the king of Arabia and his armie and giue him battel Being thus encouraged with a smal cōpany of Egyptiās that folowed him he camped before the city of Pelusiū where the armie of the Arabians pitched their tents while the first night they lay in their tents rats vermine and myse of al the coūtrey about deuoured their arrows their bowstrings their quiuers their targets their instrumēts which they prepared for the warres so that the Arabians in the next morning fled In memory of this victory Sethon when he died caused himselfe to be buried in the temple of Vulcan and commaunded that his statue should be made in a stone with a rat in his hand with this sentence written about it In me quis intuēs pius esto In that place where Herodotus doth intreat of this Sethon he seemed very fabulous saith that the Isle of Foemis swimmeth on a lake and that the priests of Egypt affirme that from the first king of Egypt vntil this kings time 341. kings are past which are 11. more kings then Manethon before affirmed during which time the sunne foure times altered his course rising in the West and going downe in the East with such other vaine and friuolous fables cōcerning their antiquities This Sethon is named of Eusebius Spethon with whom Manethon supposeth in his chronicles that it was he that Sannaherib had warres with and after ouerthrew him for I reade in Eusebius and Iosephus who make mention of one Tarachus king of Aethiopia which came to ayde Sethon king of Egypt against Sanneherib at what time God had raised many enemies to plague Israel and Iuda for their transgressions against their God which so mercifully had saued them oftentimes as Assar Salmanasser which in the histories of the Prophets is called Tiglat Assar to whose hands God gaue ouer Samaria and tenne tribes of Israel and afterward Ierusalem to the hands of Nabuchodonosor with the other two tribes of Iuda Beniamin for both the kings of Assyria and of Egypt made a pray of Iuda as in the history of the Assyrians is more at large declared In Egypt after Sethon the priest of Vulcan died the gouernment
Epiphanes the sonne and heire of Philopator was young and not able to resist so great a King hee entred into Phoenicia and into other partes of Syria which yet liued subiect vnder the king of Egypt They of Alexandria sent to Rome to the Senators for ayde against Antiochus and against Philippe king of Macedonia for both these two kings affected the kingdome Ambassadors were sent from the Senators vnto Antiochus willing him to auoyde out of Egypt and not to doe iniurie to the yong king This messenger was litle esteemed of Antiochus and therefore the Senators pronounced him an enemie of the Romanes Antiochus being aduertised of this agreed with Ptolomey Epiphanes and gaue him Cleopatra his daughter in mariage supposing thereby the easier to get the kingdome of Egypt hee gaue Coelosyria Iudea Samaria and Phoenicia with his daughter to Epiphanes but he was deceiued and mist his purpose For he was preuented by the Romanes and kept off from Egypt hee was ouerthrowen and vanquished at Thermopila by Attilius and Glabrio Romane Consuls and the next yeere after he was quite driuen out of Syria and Asia by Lucius Cornelius Scipio at the citie of Magnesia Of this Antiochus the great and of his sonne Antiochus Epiphanes another monster Daniel before shewed their tyranny for during the time of these two kings Antiochus Epiphanes king of Syria and Ptolomey Epiphanes king of Egypt the Iewes were most miserably afflicted Reade Iosephus how also the Samaritanes molested them and sore vexed them And for that I spake of these kings before in the history of Assyria I will briefly runne ouer the rest of these kings Now after that Ptolomey Epiphanes had raigned 24. yeeres hee died leauing two sonnes behinde him the elder called Philometor the yonger called Phiscon the elder brother raigned king in Egypt 35. yeeres of whom his vncle Antiochus Epiphanes a subtile king vnder the pretence of loue and care of his nephew became his ouerseer and tutour rather aspiring the kingdome then respecting the king for hee furnished Egypt with men of armes hauing the strongest townes of Egypt in his owne hand as Pelusium and others The king being yet yong idle slow and of no courage addicted to all filthie vices without respect of himselfe or of his kingdome fled to his brother Phiscon to Alexandria where both were besieged by Antiochus vntill Popilius the Romane was sent from the Senators of Rome to commaunde Antiochus out of Egypt without further delay which hee was constrained to obey though he did much harme before his departure out of Egypt Philometor hauing recouered his kingdome into his hand and the Romanes to be his friends to auoyde further braules and to stablish himselfe strong in Egypt he maried his daughter Cleopatra to Alexander who had then obtained the kingdome of Syria but this friendship continued not long for Demetrius Nicanor the sonne of that Demetrius vanquished by Alexander came to Syria got certaine townes into his handes appointed Apollonius captaine of Coelosyria who trusting too much to himselfe was quickly vanquished by Ionathas Philometor vnderstanding of these warres in Syria betweene his sonne in law Alexander and Demetrius he also hasted with an armie to Syria thought to preuent both and to haue Syria with Egypt he tooke his daughter Cleopatra away from Alexander and gaue her to Demetrius and both wickedly and falsly dealt with his sonne in law But Demetrius had Syria and Alexander was slaine by Zabdiel the king of Arabia and his head sent to Ptolomey Philometor to Egypt who then was king both of Egypt and Syria but for three dayes for within three dayes after Alexander was slaine in Arabia Philometor died in Egypt and Demetrius Nicanor was receiued king into Syria This time gouerned in Ierusalem prince Iannaeus the last gouernour of Iudea of the house of Dauid he with many battel 's discomfited the Arabians In Parthia raigned now Mithridates the fift king and in Macedonia raigned Perseus the last king In Philometors dayes Ariarathes king of Thracia sought the Romanes fauour and made a league of peace with them Aristobulus a Iewe borne a great Philosopher of the sect of the Peripatetiks expounded the bookes of Moses to Ptolomey Philopator In the beginning of this kings raigne died two of the most famous warriours of the world Scipio Affricanus the Romane and Hannibal the Carthaginian It is supposed that they both died in one yeere and both banished from their countreis But to Egypt againe After Philometor raigned Ptolomey Euergetes the second of that name and as Functius saith sirnamed Phiscon for the deformitie of his body but others as Manethon and Iustine say that this Euergetes was the seuenth king of Egypt and that Phiscon was the eight king It is not much material and therefore I will follow Functius who setteth downe in his table this Phiscon by the name of Euergetes whom Epiphanius called Philologon he raigned 29 yeres king of Egypt a monstrous and incestuous beast farre passing all other his predecessours in filthie wickednesse he was not so foule in the shape of his body as he was filthy in his minde for he kept his owne sister of whom he got a daughter and after with that daughter borne of his sister committed abominable incest He muthered his owne children and cut them in small pieces and made his wife their owne naturall mother to eate them but he had the reward due for such offences he was thrust out of his kingdome and died a banished slaue hated and abhorred of all men After Phiscon was banished raigned his brother Ptolomey sirnamed Alexander as Melancthon saith but Alexander raigned not long but was likewise banished as his brother was Then succeeded in Egypt Ptolomey Lathurus who in the 3. yere of Alexander king of Iuda was expelled out of his owne kingdom by his mother Cleopatra who fauoring more her yonger sonne named Alexander intended to make him king of Egypt she taking Lathurus wife maried her vnto Alexāder yet he mistrusting the great cruelty which he saw in his mother fled secretly letting the gouernment to his mother and to his wife This Cleopatra after that both her sonnes were thus banished raigned 10. yeres Ptolomey Lathurus being now in Cyprus and sent for by the citizens of Ptolomais to defend them from Alexander king of Iuda which hearing of Lathurus cōming left his purpose raised his siege returned to Ierusalem fearing the great armie of Ptolomey who had thirtie thousande in the fielde The citizens of Ptolomais when Alexander departed changed their purpose and kept Lathurus out of the towne whereby he was thus mooued to send some of his armie to oppresse Iudea some to lay new siege againe to Ptolomais Alexander being aduertised that Lathurus with al his armie spoyled and wasted his kingdome he returned and met at the flood of Iordan where Lathurus gaue a very great ouerthrow to the king of Iuda and
Cyrus Metasthenes doeth not much dissent from the Greekes in his Cataloge sauing that he speaketh not of Cambyses because hee reigned in his fathers time for hee was appointed to be king in Persia in the absence of Cyrus who in his owne person went against the Scythians at that time Likewise Metasthenes omitteth to speake of Xerxes who for the like reason being in great warres at that time from home in Greece leauing behinde him to gouerne Persia his sonne Artaxerxes so that Metasthenes writeth that Darius Medus and Cyrus reigned together two yeeres and then passeth to Darius Hystaspis which is also called Assuerus making no mention of Cambyses name and then he goeth to Artaxerxes the long handed passing ouer the name of Xerxes his father the cause is layd downe by Melancthon in the rest Metasthenes doth agree with the Greekes After that the Persians the strongest and the greatest nations of the world had gotten the Monarchie of the Assyrians Chaldeans not by the sword of Cyrus but by the idolatrie of Balthasar whom God gaue ouer vnto Cyrus hand making an end of one and beginning with the other for the finger of God doth appoint Monarchies according to Sirach saying No kingdome shal be translated if wickednesse of the king and kingdome be not the cause thereof Nabuchodonosor was conuerted and confessed Gods power Euilmerodach his sonne acknowledged the Highest but Balthasar through blasphemie and idolatrie lost the Empire of Assyria Euen so in Persia while Cyrus Darius Medus Darius Hystaspis Artaxerxes gouerned Persia the Persians florished they were lordes of the whole world Nowe when Alexander had abated their pride and diminished their force had taken their Empire from them vnto Macedonia and had substituted lieutenants and gouernours vnder him in all kingdomes and countries where the Persians had before soueraigntie for as the Persians were obscure and of no fame before Cyrus time so after Alexander the great their renowne was lost their pompe and their pride decayed their kings afterward of small accompt for nowe Macedonia and the Grecians triumphed and the Persians being destroyed and scattered without any king or any prince of fame to gouerne them vntill the time of Alexander Seuerus Emperor of Rome fiue hundred fiftie yeres after Alexander the great at what time liued in Rome Vrbanus Bishop there at that time this Emperour had a mother named Mammea a wise and a discreete woman who hauing knowledge that Origen a great man in the Church of God was then at Antioche sent for him and so enterteined him as a rare iewell in those dayes At that time reigned in Persia one Artaxerxes who being of the name of the auncient kings of Persia was likewise wise and valiant and in processe of time grewe so strong that he ouerthrew Artabanus king of the Parthians and thereby restored to the Persians a beginning of a newe kingdome CHAP. V. Of the estate of the Persians vnder the Romanes after the time that they were conquered by Alexander the great vntil the time of Alexander Seuerus Emperour of Rome 550. yeeres after at what time began the newe kingdome of Persia by one Artaxerxes and of his successors vntill the Persians the fourth time were vtterly destroyed by the Saracens THe Persians againe began to take strength and to drawe together in the fourth yere of Alexander Seuerus reigne in the which time florished many great and famous learned men which were for their singularitie elected Counsellers to the Emperour as Fabius Sabinus Domitius Vlpianus Aelius Gordianus Iulius Paulus Pomponius Alphenus Florentius and Martianus Calistratus and Hermogenes Venulcius and Triphonius Metianus and Celsus Porculus Modestius professours of all the ciuill lawe and to Papinianus a singular rare man in those dayes but of this matter Lampridius doth write at large But let vs nowe returne to Persia and to the newe kingdome which had beene so long without king or kingdome but kept vnder of euery nation not daring to name a king from Darius vntill this Artaxerxes This first king of the newe kingdome of Persia after hee had slaine Artabanus king of Parthia and had reigned fifteene yeeres hee was ouerthrowen and subdued by the Romane Emperour Alexander Seuerus of whom hee triumphed in the ninth yeere of his Empire though some hold the contrarie that Alexander in that battell was discomfited by Artabanus In this time the Romanes had gotten three great victories one in Mauritania by Furius Celsus the seconde in Illirico by Varus Macrinus and the third in Armenia by Iunius Palinatus three famous Romanes of these victories Lampridius maketh mencion Herodianus sayeth that in Fraunce reigned Hildegastus a king much honoured of the Frenchmen by whose diligence and pollicie Fraunce which was then rude and barbarous both in liuing and in maners became ciuill and pollitike for vnto this time their building was very base and simple in Fraunce About this time Origene was called from Alexandria vnto Caesarea where he made his booke entituled De Martyrio And nowe was Iulius Affricanus of great estimation after Artaxerxes succeeded Sapores the second king of Persia this reigned thirtie one yeeres hee had sore warres with Gordianus king of Affrica this Gordianus pronounced open warres and commaunded their temple of Ianus to be opened as the Romanes did vse when warre was proclaimed hee destroyed many Cities and Townes and continued his warres against the Persians made great hauocke in all places and gaue the repulse to Sapores howe be it Gordianus was by conspirators deceiued and of him whome hee deserued well of by treacherie slaine of one Philip surnamed Arabs This Philip gouerned the Romanes fiue yeres and builded a towne of his owne named Thracia called Philippus Caesar at what time the plaies Ludi saeculares were set forth with such pompe in Rome as the like to that time were not seene The Parthians inuaded Armenia droue the king called Tyridas out of the countrie tooke his children possessed his countrie certeine sectes of heresie began in Arabia which Origen did ouerthrow in Affrike likewise questions grew whether heretikes being conuerted from their errors might be rebaptized of this Ciprian and the ecclesiasticall histories write and of a councell called concerning the same for Berilhis about this time bishop of Bostherna fell to a monstrous error denying the eternitie of Christ. In the twelfth yeere of Sapores reigne happened such a sicknesse in the most part of the world specially in Egypt and Alexandria that Ciprian thereby tooke an occasion to write a booke entituled De mortalitate About this very time the Gothes rushed into Asia spoiled townes and cities wasted many countries burned the great temple of Diana at Ephesus and did great harme the Germanes ioyned with the Frenchmen gathered a huge armie very strong against the Romanes ented into Italie made hauocke in all places vntill they came
Demosthenes to exclaime in these wordes Noctua populus Draco tria monstra Athenis for in Athens they esteemed more the seruants poore people straungers and specially mariners more then their Magistrates noble men officers or their chiefe Citizens The people grewe so strong and so headie in Athens that it was not lawfull to banish straungers or to punish seruaunts to be short of the common wealth of Athens and of Sparta reade Xenophon Nowe againe to the victorie at Cheronea the last and the sorest battell which brake the backe of the Citie of Athens Philip king of Macedon called together all the States of Greece into Corinth where by common consent hee was chosen and named Prince or rather Generall of all Greece against the Persians All Greece being nowe quiet in peace Philip beganne warres against the Persians and with great celeritie hee sent an armie into Asia While these things were doing Philip was slaine by Pausanias when hee was of the age of fourtie sixe yeeres after hee had reigned king twentie fiue yeeres Greece thought by the death of Philip againe to recouer their former libertie they little doubted Alexander being then but young neither Arideus which was Philips base sonne by Laryssea which for a time reigned after Alexander but according to their wonted maners full of innouations ambitions contencions and hatred neuer quiet but one Citie or other would be iarring the Persians power grewe great and the Greekes beganne to reuoult from Alexander which by succession after his father shoulde bee their chiefe Generall The Thebans offered themselues to ioyne with those Cities that woulde defende the libertie of Greece and exclude those Macedonian souldiers which Philip placed in the castle of Thebes called Cadmea Hereby Alexander tooke occasion to enter in armes ouerthrewe Thebes vnto the grounde wasted and spoyled diuers Cities in Boetia for at one time the Athenians the Lacedemonians and the Thebans reuoulted from Alexander by perswasion of Demosthenes being corrupted with rewardes of the Persians But when Thebes was destroyed Alexander sent to Athens offering peace vnto the Athenians vpon the yeelding vp of Demosthenes Lycurgus and others by the Citizens vnto Alexander Vnto this demaund of Alexander Demosthenes brought in the fable of the Woolfe who offered peace vnto the Shepheardes vpon condicion to haue the shepheards dogges away applying the morall hereof vnto the Oratours of Athens who by continuall barking to the people kept Greece frō forraine soueraigntie but the Athenians standing much in feare of Alexanders force and beside knowing their owne weakenes they sent Demades the Orator to entreate for peace which being obteined of Alexander by the meanes of Demades the Athenians the Lacedemonians the Thebans and the rest of the Cities of Greece hauing obteyned peace likewise by one consent they appointed Alexander their captaine and chiefe generall against the Persians At what time reigned Darius the tenth king of Persia to whom many of Philips children by other mariages fledde to see the euents and sequell of the warres betweene Alexander and Darius This last yeelding vp of Greece vnto Alexander was three yeeres after the great battell of Cheronea and after the warres of the Peloponesians three score yeeres Of this warre Thucydides diuided his eight bookes concerning the ciuill warres of the Grecians which continued twentie seuen yeeres euery booke comprehending three yeeres warres vntill twentie one yeeres expired at what time Thucydides died then Xenophon beganne where Thucydides ended Thus ended the glorie of Greece which florished in wisedome and knowledge from Solons time vntill Plato two hundred yeeres and from Platoes birth vntill this last conquest of Greece a hundred and twentie yeeres Though yet Greece brought many learned men after Alexanders time yet the fame and renowme of Greece was caried vnto Macedonia their Empire translated their libertie lost and all Greece made subiect vnto Macedonia at what time the Monarchie of Persia was lost and brought by Alexander vnto Macedonia OF THE KINGDOME OF Macedonia of the continuance lawes and gouernment of their Kings and of their warres vntil the time of Alexander the great AFter I haue briefely entreated of Greece and haue abridged many things which might haue beeue well in the histories of Greece yet I haue many times occasion to speake of Greece in handling of Macedonia neither neede I long to stay in Macedonia for of all the kings of Macedonia before Philips time little or nothing is to bee spokē of them so obscure a kingdom Macedonia was before Philpis time for that the warres of Philip of his sonne the great Alexander are mencioned in the Persian and in the Grecians historie I neede not much to write of them therefore I will begin with the descents of the kings of Macedon of the first names of the countrie which was called Emathia of one Emathius which was the first that obteined soueraigntie in Emathia which name continued vntil the time of Deucaleons nephew named Macedo he chā◅ged the name of Emathia called it after his owne name Macedonia Melacthō saith that the name of Macedonia is come of Kittim the sonne of Iauan the sōne of Iaphet Herodot other auncient writers affirme that the kings of Macedonia take their originall from Hercules Nowe the land which before was called Pieria Migdonia or Emathia is nowe called the Realme of Macedonia a countrie bounded on the East side with Thracia on the South with Thessalia on the West with the Illyrians hauing on the North side Peonia as Pomponius Mela saith the Macedonians inhabited many Cities of the which Pella was the most renowmed The kingdome of Macedonia in the beginning was of◅o great fame vntill Philips time which was Amyntas sonne and Alexanders father who first brought the name of Macedonia to be spoken of though before of sclender renowne and obscure fame rather deseruing the name of a Prouince then of a kingdome as Ruffinus writeth for as Cyrus reigne doeth much lighten the whole historie of the Persians and the very time of their kings in respect of Cyrus his decree and dealings with the Iewes by the meanes and traueile of Zorobabel Esdras and Nehemias mencioned in Scripture euen so doeth the name of the great Alexander reforme many errors in Xenophons histories for that the certeintie of the Macedonian historie depēdeth vpon the time of Alexāder which of necessitie must be within a 130. yeeres of Cyrus though many of the best writers erre much in this After Macedo succeeded Cranaus a captaine of certeine Peloponesians hee was the first that had the name of a king hee builded a Citie according to the Oracle that hee should followe a heard of goates and where they stand there to builde a Citie which he named Aegea others say that he came vpon a tempest to a towne named Edissa there beholding goates together he changed the name of Edissa vnto Egea there he builded and
in reuerence This proude king entred into the temple of Salomon after hee had made such a slaughter of yong and olde of women and children that within three dayes 80. thousand were slaine and 40. thousand taken prisoners Menelaus the traitour the high priest a murtherer before of Onias and now a traitour to his countrey brought Antiochus into the citie guided him from place to place that after hee had taken 800. talents away from the temple he gate him away to Antiochia thinking in his pride to make men saile vpon the drie land and to walke vpon the sea The filthinesse and abomination of this beast is set foorth in the Macabees in the second booke the fift and sixt chapters from the beginning vnto the ende This was the second comming of Antiochus to Iudea and to Ierusalem in the eight yeere of his raigne two yeeres after his first being in Ierusalem whose comming and whose doings were by the Prophet Daniel before spoken for he saide that this tyrant should continue 3500. dayes in wasting and spoyling of Iudea in prophaning the temple in killing and murthering of Gods people The nomber of these dayes are sixe yeeres and sixe monethes so long endured this wolfe After this Habuit mercedem God rewarded him for he died in such torments that his bowels were eaten with wormes and himselfe brought in such miserie that he died according as he liued after hee had raigned twelue yeeres During his time the warres continued in Macedonia betweene Perseus the last king and Titus Aemilius the Consull and at length the conquerour of Perseus Prusias king of Bythinia came with his sonne Nicomedes to Rome where he commended his sonne to the Senators About this time Terentius flourished Nowe when Antiochus surnamed Eupator had entred in his fathers seate in the 150. yeere of the Greekes being in Syria and in the beginning of the 26. Iubilee he folowed his fathers steppes came with an armie to Ierusalem and besieged the castle of Sion but while he laied siege his generall Lysias tolde him that his kingdome was inuaded by the enemies Then he concluded peace with Iudea and returned in all haste into Syria brought Menelaus that wicked and cruell high priest with him who after much mischiefes done died at Beroea a towne of Syria Antiochus had not reigned but one yeere but Demetrius Soter fledde from Rome where he had bene a pledge during the whole gouernment of his brother Antiochus Epiphanes which was twelue yeeres and during some yeeres of his graundfather Antiochus the great he came to Syria entred the Citie of Tyrus where his souldiers apprehended both the king and his generall Lysias whom Demetrius commaunded to be killed before hee should see them though Eupator was his sisters sonne This Eupator ended his life after hee had reigned but two yeeres In the meane time Onias the sonne of Onias the high priest which was also slaine by Menelaus who succeeded him this Onias being of the Iewes surnamed the iust lamenting much the miserable estate of Iudea fled into Egypt to king Pto. Philometor and hauing licence of the king he builded a temple in the citie of Heliopolis to the likenesse of the temple in Ierusalem according to the saying of Esai In that day shall the altar of the Lord be in the middest of the land of Egypt and the Lord shal be knowen of the Egyptians and the Egyptians shall knowe the Lord. In that day Assur shall come to Egypt and Egypt into Assur This Demetrius sent Alcimus against Iudas Machabeus who by flatterie entred into Ierusalem and slue three score of the chiefe and greatest men of the citie after gathered a number of wicked persons together who did much harme in Iudea to whome king Demetrius sent Nicanor with an hoste of souldiers to ayde Alcimus This Nicanor blasphemed God prophaned the temple threatned the Iewes and came to Bethoron where Iudas Machabeus gaue him battell and ouerthrewe him This Demetrius was no lesse cruell to the Iewes then either his father or his brother were before him hee played the beare vntill Alexander Epiphanes Antiochus Eupators sonne came to the Citie of Ptolomais Iustine saith that this Alexander was a base man borne named Prompalus and that hee was made by others to take this name vpon him and to say that he was Antiochus sonne Atalus king of Asia Ptolome Philometor king of Egypt and Ariarathes king of Capadocia counselled Prompalus to inuade Demetrius kingdome which was done and a battell giuen in the which Demetrius was slaine after he had reigned tenne yeeres Now after Alexander had the victorie of Demetrius he claimed to be the king of Syria by succession fayning himselfe to be Antiochus Eupators sonne hee maried Cleopatra king Philometors daughter of Egypt the mariage was celebrated in the Citie of Ptolemais This Alexander was not ayded by these kings for any great affection they bare him but for the hatred they had towardes Demetrius who was so ambitious proude and cruell in the beginning of his reigne that these three kings of Egypt of Asia and Arabia had susteined losse and harme before Demetrius was ouerthrowen by Alexander he had two sonnes whom hee sent with great treasures to a friende of his named Gindius to auoide the daunger of the warres the elder of them was named Demetrius after his fathers name who hearing of his fathers death and of the riot and lust of this Alexander a man giuen to al vices and wickednesse came into Syria being aided by the king of Creete and possessed certeine Cities in Syria he appointed his generall one Appolonius who too much trusting his owne force and courage was in the first battell by Ionathas ouerthrowen Ptolome within a short time came with a great armie to see his sonne in lawe in Syria to whom all the cities opened their gates to welcome their king of Egypt they rather thinking that hee came to make peace betweene Demetrius and Alexander but Ptolome imagined howe hee might deceiue them both for a kingdome hee placed his souldiers in diuers Cities of Syria and because Alexander was then in Cicilia hee tooke occasion to offer him warres by taking his daughter away from him whome hee gaue in mariage againe to Demetrius Alexander hearing that his wife was taken from him and maried to Demetrius his mortall enemie summoned his father in lawe to battell wherein he had the ouerthrowe and was forced to flie to Arabia where Alexander was taken and slaine and his head sent by the king of Arabia to Egypt to king Ptolome Thus was Prompalus otherwaies named Alexander throwen downe from the throne of his kingdome deceiued by fortune and reuenged by iustice This reward he had to faine him selfe Antiochus sonne and falsely to alter his name from Prompalus vnto Alexander that Ptolome who ayded him to the kingdome and gaue his daughter in mariage to him the same Ptolome
kings in Italie at one time From this Italus whom the Greekes called Atlas and by whō the countrie was named Italia from which time to the last destruction of Troy were 454. yeeres from the ruine of Troy to the building of Rome foure hundred and thirtie yeeres So long Italie was by the Thuscans Hetrurians Samnites Sabines Fidenats Vuiens Volscans Latines with others inhabited before the name of the Romanes were knowen for first in Italie dwelt Greekes Arcadians Salentines Lacedemonians Cicilians Rutilians with many more nations as Myrsilus a Lesbian writer doth note of the which Annius in his institutions of the antiquitie of Etruria of their lawes and gouernment during the time of their magistrates called Lucumones hath more then is necessarie written In like maner Fab. Pictor a noble learned Romane of the stocke and house of Fabians endeuoured with all his studie to proue the antiquitie of olde Italie from Ianus time which he most surely accompted to be olde Noah attributing to the Thuscans so much as Annius before In his first booke hee entreateth from Ianus and Saturnus time vntill Romulus time in his second booke from Romulus forwarde for all agree that the late Romanes after Romulus time haue had their discipline their religion their lawes their diuination and all such ceremonies from the Hetruscans The like traueile M. Cato in in his fragments De originibus tooke the like paine as the before named Annius and Fab. Pictor did for the antiquitie of olde Italie I will come therefore to the kings of the Latines which were the first kings that wee reade of in Italie where reigned before Aeneas comming to Italie fiue kings as Ruffinus affirmeth but as Annius Fabius Pictor and M. Cato reigned twelue kinges and from Aeneas vntill the time of Romulus sixteene kinges reigned of the which briefely I meane to speake a litle setting downe the names of their kinges the number of the time that they reigned and for that Aeneas was prima Imperij Romani origo the first beginning and the originall of the Romane Empire and the onely authour of gens Iulia from whence Iulius Caesar Augustus and the Emperours of Rome come off I will therefore set downe the time of his comming into Italie his continuance and his posteritie after him vntill Romulus time the first builder and founder of Rome Aeneas after the Greekes had taken Troy hauing gathered the noblest and best men with all the strength and treasures of Troy tooke the Castle Ilion for his defence vntill hee perceiued that hee coulde not resist the violence of the Grecians determined to escape the enemies and to sende some of the best before with abundance of treasures to mount Ida and there to tarie vntill Aeneas and the rest sawe their time to escape which being perfourmed they departed from Ida tooke the sea Helespont into Thracia from Thracia to Macedonia as Beroaldus affirmeth from Macedonia to Cicilia from thence into Italie where then Latinus reigned King of the Countrie with whom the Rutiles people dwelling at Ardea a Towne distant from Rome a hundred and three score furlongs held warre Of this Latinus Aeneas was so enterteined and his armie that hee graunted Aeneas a place to inhabite not farre from Laurentum where Latinus might vse Aeneas aide in this warre Aeneas builded a Towne for his ayde against the Rutiles and named it after his wifes name Lauinium for hee grewe in such fauour with king Latinus then being in warres with Mexentius and with others that after two or three ouerthrowes by the Troianes giuen to Mexentius king of Tyrrhenum and to Turnus king of the Rutiles who shoulde haue maried Lauinia before Aeneas for that shee was espoused to Turnus first Aeneas good successe in warres was such being king ouer all the Troians and so named of his souldiers that Latinus gaue his daughter heire of the kingdom to Aeneas that after Latinus was slaine in battell Aeneas was the right and lawfull king of the Latines where he reigned three yeeres and died leauing his sonne Ascanius to succeede him king of the Latines Nowe before Aeneas time reigned fiue kings ouer the Latines by the names of Ianus Saturnus Picus Faunus Latinus the sixt Aeneas These kings reigned about 150. yeeres in Italie before Aeneas came to Laurentum which was about the time of Dauid who beganne his kingdome in the foure hundred thirtie foure yeere after that the Israelites left Egypt in the beginning of the eight Iubilee Yet Annius in his Chronicles of the Hetruscanes saith that after Hesperus died his brother succeeded him named Italus in Vetulonia the chiefe Towne at that time in Italie this Italus had a daughter named Roma who builded Capua in Latio in the place where nowe Rome is builded vpon the one side of mount Auentine as Fabius Pictor affirmeth in his booke De origine Vrbis Romae this doeth Annius set downe in this sort 1 Roma reigned in Latio yeeres 46. 2 After Roma her sonne Romanessus 79. 3 After him Picus Priscus 57. 4 After Picus Faunus Priscus 30. 5 After Fannus his daughter Agilla 54. 6 Then reigned Vulcanus 36. 7 After Mars surnamed Ianus iunior 23. 8 After Ianus succeeded Seculus surnamed Saturnus 36. 9 Picus Iunior 34. 10 Fannus Iunior 24. 11 Latinus Aeneas father in lawe 38 12 And after Latinus reigned Aeneas as his heire maried to his daughter 3. In this both Annius and Fabius Pictor do agree which yeres amount to 454. yeeres that Aeneas predecessors reigned before the destruction of Troy and before he was king of the Latines Of this Roma which was Italus daughter Rome was first named as Sempronius in his booke of the diuision of Italie affirmeth and sayth further that Romulus had his name giuen by the place named Roma and not Roma from Romulus But Ruffinus and Functius sayth that Ascanius beganne his kingdome ouer the Latines when Samson was Iudge in Israel in the sixt Iubilee after Moses which is an hundred yeeres before Dauids kingdome But omitting controuersies Ascanius being in quiet possession of the kingdome hee caused a monument to be erected vp in maner and sort like an arche or a pillar whereupon he caused this sentence to bee written rounde about that monument as followeth Patri deo Indigeti qui Numici amnis vndas temperat This pillar is made and consecrated to the god of the Latines who hath power and soueraigntie ouer the riuer Numicus Some say that Aeneas made this in memorie of his father Anchises other say it was Ascanius doing in memorie of his father Aeneas who vanished away at the riuer Numicus others say that the Latines did it in remembrance of their last king Latinus but howe so euer it is a graue there is as Halicarnassaeus sayth that it is composed fine and artificially made of wood and stone in most curious maner but I will be briefe and omitte these
to the very place where the wolfe gaue him sucke first Reade Plutarch of Romulus life They vsed at this feast a sacrifice in a denne vnder mount Palatine in the moneth of Februarie in the honour of god Pan and Faunus Now Rome hauing her first foundation by Romulus and much encreased by the policie and gouernment of Romulus that the confines of Rome extended into diuers parts of Italy and so enlarged by the warres of Romulus and yet not 8 miles from the towne of Rome that Numa Pompilius who succeeded him not in blood but by election for that hee was a Sabine borne in the citie of Cures and had maried Tacia the onely daughter and heire of Tatius the Sabine who before had gouerned Rome together with Romulus This Numa was entreated to accept the kingdome by ambassadours sent vnto him from the people of Rome with one consent who after a long negatiue oration made vnto Proclus and Valesus and being vrged thereunto both by Sabines and Romanes accepted against his will the gouernment of Rome after the Senators bare rule by the space of fiue dayes which was called interregnum betweene Romulus and Numa which was accompted one whole yeere This king was vertuous godly and religious addicted altogether to gouerne Rome with peace for during the whole time of his raigne Numu waged no warre but established lawes and framed such decrees and orders as kept the people which had bene so long accustomed with warres vnder Romulus in quietnes and tranquilitie which neuer happened in Rome but onely in Numas time and once in Augustus Caesars time When Numa was consecrated king of Rome by the Augurers hee beginneth with the seruice of his gods and therefore he instituted bishops and diuers kinde of priests he erected a colledge for the vestal virgines he appointed the holy and immortal fire with honour and reuerence to be kept by the vestal virgines These ceremonies he had from Greece for the like ceremonie was in Athens by old women in watching the holy lampe and in Delphos in the temple of Apollo Hee founded diuers temples in Rome with innumerable rites and ceremonies he first corrected the Kalender though not so exactly yet he so perfected it that then the Romane yere of tenne moneths was made twelue by adding Ianuary and February Which Numa not only added to the yere of tenne moneths but he mended also the 10. moneth and the dayes of the moneths he corrected the Kalenders which was also by Romulus begunne but finished by Numa This continued from Romulus vntill Iulius Caesars time by the name of Romulus yeere who then caused the yeere to beginne in March a moneth which he consecrated to his supposed father Mars not knowing then Aemilius to be his father whom hee slewe then But to Numa in whose time a great plague raigned in Rome at what time fell from heauen a brasen or copper target and lighted betweene Numas hand called Ancylia Of this target I shal speake in another place The lawes that Numa taught then to the people being rude and ignorant were no otherwise made then the lawes of Lycurgus in Sparta or of king Minos in Creete for Numa made the people to beleeue that the lawes which he gaue were frō the gods sent into him by the nimph Aegiria with whom he had sundry times conference in mount Auentine So did Lycurgus admonish the Spartans with the lawes from Apollo which Lycurgus as he saide brought from Delphos into Greece in like fort Minos made his people beleeue that his decrees and lawes were giuen to him by Iupiter in mount Curetes So did Silla make his souldiers beleeue that hee had some spirite in a litle table that hanged about his necke that instructed him in all his warres And so did Sertorius by his white hinde make his captaines thinke that hee was sent from the goddesse Diana Now Numa a peaceable and religious prince aduanced tillage in Rome and deuided his people into diuers occupations hee limitted bonds to the territories of Rome and tooke away all factions that helde before with Romulus and Tatius and gouerned Rome with such iustice and clemencie that all warres and dissentions were forgotten in Rome the temple of Ianus was shut which was an olde custome in the time of peace which continued the whole raigne of Numa which was 43. yeeres for the Romanes had no warres in all Numas time for as Plato saith there is true gouernment and there is a happy common wealth where the minde of a wise Philosopher is ioyned to the maiestie of a king where graue counsel is giuen and good lessons taught the vertuous man rewarded and the vicious man punished This good king liued of al others most happy in peace and quietnes all the dayes of his life and the misfortune of fiue other kings which after him succeeded caused the honour of Numa to shine with more glorie for as Plutarch saith foure of them died not their naturall death three were killed with treason and the fourth was striken with a thunder bolt and burnt with lightning and the 5. driuen out of his kingdome and died in exile so that of the seuen kings Numa onely excelled of whom some say that hee had no children but one daughter called Pompilia which was maried to C. Martius Coriolanus Of this Pompilia was borne Ancus Martius the fourth king of Rome some say againe that Numa had foure sonnes named Pompo Pinus Calpus and Mamercus and of these foure descended the noblest races and most ancient houses of the Romanes Reade of this king more in Plutarch and in Dionisius Halicarnassaeus In Aethiope raigned while Numa liued and ruled Rome a king called Tarachus which came to ayde the king of Egypt against Sanaherib king of the Assyrians at what time the Empire of Egypt was deuided into twelue prouinces by equall portions betwixt 12. princes When Numa beganne his kingdome in Rome Candaules the fourth king of Lydia gouerned the Lidians whose historie both of his wife and of his life together with the fable of Giges ring is written in Herodotus at large Manasses also king of Iudea for his wickednes against the Lorde was deliuered into the hands of Benmerodach king of the Chaldeans and was caried captiue into Babylon Deioces the fift gouernour that gouerned the Medes and the first king that raigned ouer them liued this time In Athens raigned Leocrates the fift magistrate Absander the 6. magistrate and Erixias the last magistrate of Athens in that gouernment of 10. yeeres to euery magistrate appointed which continued the time of 7. seuerall magistrats which was 70. yeeres Concerning this kings death he himselfe cōmanded that his body should be burned and therfore they made two coffines of stone in the one of them Numas body was layed in the other his bookes which were written with his owne hand twelue bookes were written
concerning the office of the priests and 12. other cōcerning Philosophie and the discipline of Numa He commaunded in his last will that these bookes should be buried with his body at the hill called Ianiculū and so after he had liued 80. yeres and raigned 43. yeres he died who in his life time instituted these lawes 1. He instituted the kinds of priests which were called Flamines of these were 4 one to Iupiter called Flamen dialis who only should be present at sacrifice done to Iupiter two vnto Mars called Flamines Martiales these in like maner should instruct the people the maner and order of sacrifice done to Mars 3. And the fourth he appointed in the honour of Quirinus called Quirinalis Flamen to celebrate the memorie of Romulus for so Romulus was honoured and called by the name of Quirinus After this these priests were all bishops archbishops cardinals and patriarkes by the names of Flamines Protoflamines Archiflamines c. 4. Then Numa instituted another order of priesthood called Faeciales which were peace makers to pacifie quarels to entreat of peace if they could else to denounce warres for without their licence the king might not commence warre with the enemies 5. Againe he appointed another nōber of priests which were 12. named Salij that should dance leape before the sacrifice in the moneth of March apparelled with pide cassocks girded with swords about them with copper helmets on their heads with Thracian targets and short daggers in their hands 6. He augmented the nomber of soothsayers by Romulus first instituted erected a colledge of soothsayers appointing one to be chiefe called Pontifex Max. that had the auctority of hie priest was master of al the pōtifical lawes 7. He also made a lawe that no stranger might be of this sacred societie but such holy deuout and religious men as Pontifex Max. with his colledge of soothsayers should elect by diuination 8. He also appointed 4. vestal virgins which should watch and attend the holy and immortall fire with reuerence and great honor consecrated to Vesta which vsed like ceremonies as the olde women did in Athens in watching the holy lampe 9. He decreed that the targets called Ancylia should be in the custodie of the 12. priestes called Salij in like maner as the custodie of the lampe was cōmanded to the virgins 10. After this he deuided his people into diuers occupatiōs some to tillage some to one science some to another 11. He instituted certaine priestes to Berecynthia which should be gelded which were named Galli aster the name of a riuer in Phrygia where they were gelded but this was Pesinuntia as Images brought to Rome by Scipio Nasica long after Numas time to whom these ceremonies were done in memorie of Claudia who with her girdle halde the shippe where the idole of Pesinuntia was Reade of these lawes and orders more in Pomp. Laetus and in Fenestella CHAP. II. Of the gouernment lawes and orders of Rome after Numa Pompilius time vntill the ende of Tarquinius the proude the last king of Rome of their warres victories during this time ouer their neighbours about them of the enlargement of the citie of Rome and of their territories and last of the banishment of their kings AFter this Numa succeeded Tullus Hostilius borne in the towne of Medullia the thirde king of the Romanes a man of cleane contrary disposition to Numa this followed the nature of his grandfather Hostilius Tullus a deare and a sure friend of Romulus of whom by his seruice against the Sabines and others hee well deserued to be esteemed this was the first in Rome that ware a garland of oken leaues in token and proofe of his victorie against the Fidenats Such one was this Tullus more bent farre to warre then to peace readie to take any quarrell in hande to defende the citie which happened vnto him as soone as hee had entred into his kingdome for C. Cluilius chiefe gouernour of the Albanes much enuying the good successe of Rome permitted the Albanes to robbe to spoile and to waste the territories of Rome most desirous of warres against the Romans but before he could do any exploit he was found dead in his tent After him succeeded in his place Metius Suffetius which likewise vsurped folowed his predecessour Cluilius among all the iniuries against Tullus Hostilius against his faith and promise to the Romane Empire who in right of blood were kings of the Albanes and to whom they then ought by law of armes to haue payed tribute but M. Suffetius had the like end as Cluilius had Reade the whole history in Dion Halicarnassus of this king Now Tullus hauing this occasion offred to him by the Albanes he waged warres against the Veients and Fidenats and gaue them such sharpe battels that after he had conquered them triumphed ouer them he also in like sort wēt against the Albanes ouerthrew them tooke their city which was builded in Aeneas time by his sonne Ascanius named Alba longa which had florished 487. yeres brought the people captiue to Rome after much slaughter so that by the ruine and spoile of the Albanes the Romans glory increased their kingdom was enlarged for that the Latins were the first stocke of the Romanes from whence they had their first beginning and ofspring A history worth the reading is written in Halicanassaeus how Tullus king of the Romanes and Suffetius gouernour of the Albanes consented to auoyd great slaughter and much effusion of blood which should happen to both parties if their armies would enter into battel to cōmit the battel to three men chosen of either parties 3. of the Romans and 3 of the Albanes and where the victory shal happen there the other partie should yeeld The king Tullus brought into the field 3. men that were brethren the sonnes of Horatius a noble Romane Suffetius likewise broght into the field 3. brethren the sonnes of Curiatius these 3. Albane brethren were cousine germaines to the 3. Romane brethren These sixe men after they had sacrificed vnto their gods and had taken leaue of their parents friends they entred the battel and after a long doutful combate betwixt both parties the Romans conquered the Albanes and so by law of armes Alba longa their chiefe citie and all the kingdome of Albania was made subiect to the Romanes though still they rebelled and held out against the Romans many battels sundry euents of warres vntil Tul. Hostilius did fully conquer them in the 28. Olympiad at what time mount Coelius was adioyned to Rome and made habitable by the king and there Tullus the king kept his court Now as soone as the Albanes were conquered the Sabines againe waged warres against the Romans and were vāquished in the battell of Malicusa After that Tullus Hostilius had conquered Alba longa which was distant 12. miles
frō the citie of Rome then Veiena and Fidena the one 6. miles the other 18. miles distant from Rome had enlarged the citie with these confines and territories more then Romulus did he was striken with lightning that both hee his wife and all his house were burnt when he had raigned 32. yeres in the 35. Olymp. When this king raigned in Rome Zaleucus gouerned the Locresiās who for his law making law keeping is much mentioned in histories for in that law against adulterie his owne sonne first offending should haue lost both his eyes but his nobles made great intercessiō for the kings sonne the king to satisfie their requests shewing himselfe a naturall father to his sonne and a iust king to his people caused one of his sonnes eyes and another of his owne eyes to be taken out to performe the lawe which he made In the time of Tul. Hostilius Manasses king of Iuda was conuerted vnto his God and thereby restored to his kingdome when he expelled idolatry and serued God the rest of his life In Chaldea raigned Nabuchodonosor the father of the great Nabuchodonosor and in Media Phaortes the 6. king of the Medes During the time of this king in Rome raigned in Lydia Ardis their 6. king and in Macedonia Philip their 6. king also for the Medes the Macedonians the Lydians and the Romanes began their Empires within 60. yeres together Tullus Hostilius the third king appointed two Quaestors as it were two Treasurers to sease by the pole euery citizen of Rome to leauie and to keepe the same money to the vse of the citie he created also 2. Iudges which were called Duum viri these should determine causes for life and death In like sort of Ancus Martius with his lawes Tarquinius Priscus and his decrees you may reade in Pomp. Laetus and Fenestella Euen so Seruius Tullus the 6. king of Rome perceiuing that the Senators had more to doe then they could well accomplish especially in priuat causes of the citie he instituted two men called Censors to record and to write the nomber of all men in seruice to take view of such offenders within the citie and to punish crimes and offences and if any Senators should not execute iustice he should be depriued out of the Senate If any of the magistrats created by Romulus should not imitate and liue within the lawe of Romulus they should be by the Censors punished If any of the religious officers and the priests which Numa instituted should transgresse the lawe of Numa he should also by these Censors be reformed this office cōtinued 5. yeres and vpon the fift yere new Censors were made this was called Lustrū at what time althe citie was visited all faults opened vnto them and all iniuries done reformed by them as C. Fabritius being Censor remoued frō the Senate P. Cornelius Ruffinus for the expences of 10. pound more then was allowed by these Censors and so M. Cato banished C. Flaminius brother from the Senators for the fauouring of a prisoner at the request of a woman The auctoritie of those Censors were such as might reforme all things by law The old Romanes vsed to accompt their actions to nomber their yeeres euery fift yeere which they called Lustrum as the Greciās vsed to nomber the yeres by their Olympiad which the Greekes named Penterides This office of Censors continued for a time in Rome being renued euery fift yeere which was a great day in Rome and appointed by Seruius Tullus the sixt king of Rome and endured vntil Vespatian the Emperours time the last conquerour of Ierusalem 650. yeeres yet I reade not but of 75. Lustrums which is 360 yeres For Eutropius saith that both Lustrum and the Olympiad endured no longer then Sillas time But yet compted vntil Constantines time Tarquinius the proud appointed 3. men to keepe the Sibillas books after they were augmented from 3. to 10. and at last frō 10. to 15. These were chosen out aswel of the Patricians as of the vulgar people they should once a yere in the moneth of Februarie reade these bookes and after they should see the bookes safelie kept vntil Februarie againe Now after that Tullus died succeeded in Rome Anc. Martius the 4. king one in nature like vnto his grandfather Numa Pompilius and one that in the beginning of his gouernment imitated Numa in all points commanding the people to obserue the lawes and ceremonies of his grandfather thinking therby to haue the like successe of quietnes and peace commaunded Numas lawes to be written in tables and be set on postes and pillars in the market place studied diligently to keepe his people in peace thoght to liue quietly with that litle territorie that then the city of Rome gouerned But it happened otherwise for scant he had established himselfe in his kingdom whē the Latins vnder their gouernour there waged warres against the Romans and brought an army to the very towne of Medullia which they tooke and possest for 3. yeres in spite of Ancus Martius Now this king was forced to forsake Numa which liued in peace and to folow Tullus his predecessor in warres and therefore he altered his minde and gathered force together and began stoutly to answere the Latins and to giue them so many battels that he destroyed vanquished and wan their chiefe cities as Politoriū Telena Ficania and diuers others he recouered Medullia gaue diuers ouerthrowes to the Latins then straight he was much troubled with the Sabines and Fidenats the Veients and the Volscanes these people euer warred against the kings of Rome for yet Rome was not come to any greatnes But when they had quite conquered the Sabines Latines Veients Volscanes Fidenats and other nations next vnto them which oftentimes they did and they stil reuolted then the citie of Rome began to looke vnto other kingdomes but during the time of their kings their owne neighbours annoyed them most This king Ancus Martius had no rest during his whole gouernment vntill he had brought these people before spoken vnto subiection then he began to build to enlarge the city of Rome by taking mount Auentine vnto it and the hil Ianicula a large ground of 18. furlongs about ful of diuers yong trees specially laurel but by An. Martius made habitable and populous there vpon the hil Auentine a faire temple was builded vnto Diana and to this moūt Martius brought frō Telena and Politorium and other townes men and women to dwell there After this the king builded a towne fast vpō the sea shore called Hostia 6. miles frō Rome made a bridge ouer the riuer of Tiber which ranne by Rome he also builded a prison house to punish offenders diuers other monumēts which you may read in Halicarnasaeus whē he had raigned 24. yeres he died leauing behind him 2. sōnes the one an infant and
shee was a Christian who laboured much with the king her husband to become a Christian and with as great care shee dayly solicited the king to reuenge her father and vncles death The thirde warre was against the Almanes at what time he vowed if God would giue him the victorie hee would become a Christian which he performed and obtained the victory and was baptized by Remigius bishop of Rheme The fourth warre was against Alaricus king of the Gothes whom he slew in the fielde and discomfited all his armie By these foure great victories Clodoueus had brought all Gallia to be all Fraunce for during his bastards sonnes time he subdued Turingia and enlarged his countrey from the riuer of Rhein vnto the riuer Sequana Theodoricus being by his father Clodoueus sent as President to Aquitania at what time he brought diuers people by the sworde vnder his fathers subiection as Albios Rhatenes Tolasates and the people called Auerni He subdued Vastonia and other places Reade more of the warres of Clodoueus of his vowes and conuersion to the faith and of his victories in Paul Aemilius and in Tilius who after he had raigned thirtie yeeres he died and was buried in Paris Hitherto reacheth Hunibaldus historie of the antiquitie of Fraunce which he wrote and deuided into 18. bookes conteyning the history of all the kings from the first Marcomirus which came from Scythia vntill the time of Clodoueus death which were 47. kings which raigned by sundry names for the space of 950. yeeres While this Clodoueus raigned the Saracens inuaded Phoenicia Syria and Thracia and did great harme This time raigned in Persia Lambases whom Procopius named Blasen and about this time Anastatius the Emperour builded a most strong citie in Mesopotamia and named it after his owne name Anastasia and walled the citie of Theodocia in Armenia which the Emperour Theodosius had builded In the time of this Clodoueus Arthur raigned in Britaine who did much annoy the Saxons and had if he had long liued restored the Britaines againe to their former libertie But to returne to the successors of Clodoueus who left behinde him foure sonnes Theodoricus Clodomirus Childebertus and Lotharius amongst whom the kingdome of Fraunce was deuided the whole kingdome made a Tetrarchia and so in processe of time the whole kingdome fell to Childebertus hand frō whom the lines of the kings of Fraunce descende vntill Hildericus though some say it doth descend from Lotharius yet raigned these 4. brethren in seueral Prouinces of Fraunce as foure Tetrarches for a time During which time reade Procopius and Paul Aemilius and see the euents of fortune the vncertaintie of states and change of earthly dignitie and how Theodoricus and Clodomirus two of the brethren with all their children died then Childebertus deuided the whole kingdome betweene him and his brother Clotarius In the meane season let vs see what was done in other countreys for while these foure brethren gouerned Fraunce Rome was taken being besieged by the Gothes and destroyed and left desolate by Totila king of the Gothes he also vanquished the Brutians and the Lucans hee tooke Apulia and Calabria and besieged Placentia This warre of the Gothes cōtinued 18. yeeres during which warre raigned 3. kings ouer the Gothes the first Vitiges who destroyed Rome in his time but reedified and builded againe by Belisarius the second king Alaricus who was slaine within few moneths so that the most time of this 18. yeeres were continued vnder Totila who plagued so sore Italy and Rome that after that time Rome was so decayed and possessed with strangers that sooner you should finde in Italy a Germane then a Romane and in Rome it selfe tenne Vandols tenne Gothes or tenne Longobards for one citizen in so much that they were not able to appoint a Consul to gouerne them who had gouerned them for the space of 447. yeres so long the Consuls of Rome gouerned the citie which was vntill the Emperours time and then they gouerned the whole worlde But now not onely the dignitie of Consuls was lost which were of long time languishing and decaying since ciuil warres betwene themselues with persecution of the godly and tyrannie of the wicked Emperors but the name it selfe vtterly perished and quite abolished by those nations of Germanie who were scant knowen in Augustus Caesars time and therefore valeat Roma cum Papa who entred into Rome and tooke possession thereof within 40. yeeres of Clotarius gouernment At what time he erected vp his Papacie in Rome when Mahomet aduaunced vp the kingdome of the Saracens The Pope beganne his Papacie in Rome 14. yeres before Mahomet beganne his kingdome ouer the Saracens in Arabia Nowe a Pope for an Emperour gouerned Rome a prophet for a king raigned in Arabia of whome I spake in the historie of the Church and in the historie of the Saracens And now I will make mention of Iustinianus who gouerned then as Emperour vnder whome Bellisarius annoyed Italy subdued Siracusa and tooke Catina and in the last yeere of his Consulship subdued Sicilia After that he passed into Affrica and deliuered Carthage from the siege of Stoze and appointed one Salomon gouernour ouer the towne This Bellisarius prooued so excellent a captaine vnder Iustinianus the Emperor that he aduanced the name of the empire through his victories gotten in diuers battels that some write that Bellisarius had a triumph graunted him at Rome appointed by the Emp. Iustinian much is writtē of this Bellisarius in the wars called Persicum which Iustinianus begā but Bellisarius ended This Bellisarius toke Catina Siracusa and subdued al Sicilie Rauenna Naples and was made generall vnder Iustinian in the East empire where he merited the name of a good souldier Iustinianus made the 4. bookes of the Institutes and other 50. bookes of ciuill lawe called the Pandects which Tribonianus ended and brought to perfection This time Cosroes king of Persia inuaded Cilicia and Syria he tooke Antiochia and now againe the fourth time after he had concluded peace with Iustinianus he inuaded the territories of the Romanes but he was now driuen thence by Bellisarius at what time Arethus king of the Saracens came and yeelded to Iustinianus both his kingdome and his children Totila king of the Gothes this time gaue an ouerthrow to Demetrius vpon the sea and tooke Neapolis During these 45. yeres Hunni inuaded Europe spoyled and wasted into Bizantium which is Constantinople in Britaine died Arthur the sonne of Vter Pendragon after whome succeeded Constantius a wicked lewde Prince about which time Narses a Persian with a great armie entred into Italie vanquished the Gothes at Tagira and againe the Gothes ouerthrowen by Narses at Necerium and at last driuen out of Italie and their king Totila slayne Thus farre Procopius writeth of the warres of the Gothes Nowe to Clotharius which raigned in Fraunce 5. yeeres after the death