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tulated, and Nectanebis fled to Memphis, his capital; but on the approach of Ochus, he retired from Egypt into Ethiopia, thus abandoning his country, to which he never afterwards returned. He was the last native king who reigned in Egypt, for ever since that devoted country has been in the hands of foreigners. By this a remarkable prophecy of Ezekiel is fulfilled.* (Ezek. xxix. 13-16.) Mentor the Rhodian, having been of great service in this war, Ochus rewarded him with a hundred talents, and made him governor of the provinces in Asia Minor, where he acted with great fidelity to the king, and brought over to him his two brothers, Memnon and Artabazus, who were also men of extraordinary talents, who had been engaged in the war against Ochus. These brothers were of the greatest service to the king's interest, by bringing back to their allegiance many revolted provinces.

In the eleventh year of Ochus, (348 B. C.,) which answers to the 108th Olympiad, died the celebrated Athenian philosopher, Plato. Among his scholars, Aristotle was by far the most eminent, the founder of the Peripatetic sect. This man was born at a small town on the river Strymon, called Stagira; on which account he is often called the Stagirite. But the successor of Plato in the school was Speusippus. Aristotle, after the death of his master, went into Asia, and lived with the king of Atarna, a city of Mysia, whose niece he married; but after the death of this person, he went to Mytilene, and from thence to Macedonia, and became preceptor to Alexander the Great, with whom he remained eight years. After this he returned to Athens, and taught the Peripatetic philosophy for twelve years. in the Lyceum. But being accused of teaching something contrary to the established religion of the State, and being unwilling to expose himself to the fate of Socrates, he retired to Chalcis, a town in Euba, where he died, two years afterwards, in the sixty-third year of his age. Josephus informs us that Aristotle, while he resided with Hermias, in Mysia, became acquainted with a learned, Jew, from the upper parts of Asia, who had come there on business. This fact, he says, he learned from a book written by Clearchus, one of Aristotle's principal scholars.

After Ochus had brought Egypt and all his other revolted provinces into subjection, he gave himself up entirely to ease and luxury, and took no more concern about the government of the empire, which he committed to Bagoas, his favourite eunuch, and Mentor the Rhodian. In the eighteenth year of this reign, (341 B. C.,) died Johanan or John, the high-priest of the Jews, after holding the office for thirty-two years. He was succeeded by his son Jaddua, who held it twenty years. Ochus came to

* See Newton on the Prophecies.

his end by means of poison, administered by his favourite eunuch Bagoas, (338 years B. C.,) after a reign of twenty-one years.

Bagoas, after the death of Ochus, having the whole power in his hands, raised Arses, the youngest of the king's sons, to the throne, and then murdered all the rest; thinking to free himself from all control by placing one upon the throne who was a king merely in name. About this time, Philip king of Macedon, having made himself master of all Greece, determined to carry on war against the Persians, by an invasion of their country. With this view he called a general assembly of the States of Greece, at Corinth, where he caused himself to be chosen captain-general of the Grecian forces, and required every city to furnish a certain number of men. But while he was making these preparations, intending shortly to put himself at the head of his troops, he was slain, at the nuptials of his daughter Cleopatra with Alexander king of Epirus. The assassin was Pausanias, a young Macedonian, who having received great injury from one of the king's favourites, and obtaining no satisfaction from Philip, he watched his opportunity, and slew the king as he was passing in great pomp to the theatre. He was succeeded by his son Alexander, then only twenty years of

age.

Bagoas, finding that Arses, whom he had placed on the Persian throne, began to suspect his villainy, resolved to be beforehand with him, and accordingly destroyed him. After producing a vacancy in this iniquitous manner, he elevated to the throne Codomanus, who assumed the name of Darius, after he was made king. He was descended from Darius Nothus. As Ochus, on his accession to the throne, had killed nearly all the descendants of Darius Nothus, it is not certainly known how Codomanus escaped. The first appearance which he makes in history is, in the character of courier, in the early part of the reign of Ochus. When this king was engaged in a war with the Cadusians, a champion of that nation challenged the whole Persian army to send out a man to fight him, in single combat. When all declined this challenge, Codomanus accepted it, and killed his antagonist; as a reward for which, he was made governor of Armenia.

Bagoas, however, finding that Darius was not a man to suit his purpose, determined to put him out of the way, as he had done his predecessors; but the king being informed of his purpose to poison him with a certain potion, when it was brought, forced Bagoas to drink it himself; and thus the traitor fell by his own artifice. In regard to personal appearance, courage, and bodily strength, Darius had no superior in all his empire. He was also, it is said, of a mild and generous disposition; but

it was his misfortune to have to contend with that irresistible conqueror, Alexander the Great.

SECTION IV.

REIGN OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT-INVASION OF ASIA BY ALEXANDER-CONQUEST OF THE PERSIAN EMPIRE-SIEGE AND CAPTURE OF TYRE-ALEXANDER'S VISIT TO JERUSALEM-IS MET BY JADDUA AND THE OTHER PRIESTS-HIS STRANGE BEHAVIOUR-HIS KIND TREATMENT OF THE JEWS-CONDUCT TOWARDS THE SAMARITANS DEATH OF DARIUS-INVASION OF INDIA-VOYAGE OF NEARCHUS-CAPRICIOUS AND VIOLENT CHARACTER OF ALEXANDER-HIS DEATH.

ALEXANDER, having been appointed successor to his father as generalissimo of all the forces of Greece destined to go against Persia, after subduing all his enemies at home, set off for Persia, with no more than thirty thousand infantry and five thousand horse. Encountering the Persian army at the river Granicus, he totally defeated it, though five times more numerous than his own. His victory put him in possession, not only of all the treasures of Darius, in Sardis, but all the provinces of Asia Minor came over to him, or were subdued by force. Before he went into winter quarters, he gave permission to all his newly married soldiers to return home, and spend the winter with their wives; which custom being found among no other but the Jews, it is probable that it was borrowed from them.

Darius finding his empire so seriously menaced, exerted himself to prepare for the approaching contest, and mustered six hundred thousand men, near Babylon. He also had recourse to policy, for knowing that the Grecian States were not friendly to Alexander, he sent Memnon, the wisest of his generals, with a fleet to the Grecian seas, where the Athenians and Lacedemonians would have been ready to join him; but after taking possession of a few islands, he died, and the scheme was not prosecuted.

Darius, contrary to the advice of some of the most experienced and skilful of his generals, who advised him to wait for Alexander in the champaign country, marched to get possession of the straits which led from Cilicia into Syria. In consequence of the unfavourableness of the ground, Darius was unable to bring but a small part of his immense host into the field at once; and the Macedonians soon broke the first lines of the Persian army, and drove them back on the second, and then on the third; and thus the whole was soon thrown into perfect confusion. Such was the press of the crowd, in the narrow defiles of the mountains by which they were enclosed, that more perished that day, by being trodden to death by their own men, than were slain by the enemy. It was with the greatest diffi

culty that Darius made his escape; but his camp and baggage, with his mother, wife, and children, fell into the hands of the enemy. This battle was fought at Issus, in Cilicia, towards the close of the year. The result of this victory was the conquest of all Syria, and its capital, Damascus, whither Darius had sent his most precious treasures, with his concubines, and most of the ladies of his court. The governor of this town, as soon as he heard of the flight of Darius, delivered it up to Alexander, who sent Parmenio to take possession.

Alexander now pursued his march through Phenicia, where all submitted to his arms, except the Tyrians; who refused him admittance into their city, depending on its insular and inaccessible situation. Alexander, naturally impetuous, and now flushed with victory; resolved, that cost what it might, he would take the place. The first thing he attempted, was to raise a bank between the main land and the island on which Tyre was now built; and by this means, after some delay he took the city. In making this causeway, he employed the rubbish of the old town, which had stood on the continent, before it was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Since the time of Alexander, the island has disappeared, or rather forms a part of the main land. Among the captives taken at Damascus, there was one, who, by her extraordinary beauty, captivated the conqueror of the world. This was Barsena, the widow of Memnon, a famous Persian general, of whom mention has already been made. Her, Alexander married, and by her had a son whom he named Hercules.

Tyre, being altogether devoted to commerce, was dependant on other countries for her supplies of grain; which were commonly obtained from Galilee, Samaria, and Judea. Alexander, therefore, during the seige, was obliged to look to the same quarter for supplies for his army, and ordered the inhabitants to furnish him with all necessaries. The Jews pleaded, that they were bound by an oath to Darius, and refused to obey Alexander's commands. This answer greatly provoked him, who, as soon as he had finished the siege of Tyre, marched his army directly towards Jerusalem, with the intention of punishing the Jews as severely as he had done the Tyrians, for not obeying his orders. In this exigence, Jaddua the high-priest, and others who had now the chief authority in Jerusalem, being in great perplexity, and all Jerusalem with them, had no other resource, but to throw themselves on the merciful protection of God. Accordingly, they earnestly sought his favour, by prayers, sacrifices, and oblations. In answer to which, it is reported by Josephus, that God appeared to Jaddua by night, in a dream, directing him to go forth to meet Alexander, dressed in his pontifical robes, accompanied by all the priests

in their sacerdotal habits, and all the people of Jerusalem, clothed in white garments. This divine admonition they obeyed, and marched in procession to an elevated spot, not far from Jerusalem, called Sapha, where they arranged themselves in solemn order, and waited for the coming of Alexander; who, when he saw them, was struck with a solemn awe, and bending down, saluted Jaddua, with profound and religious veneration. All his attendants were astonished at this conduct, and the enemies of the Jews in his train were greatly disappointed, for they expected nothing else but to see the Jews devoted to destruction.

Parmenio could not refrain from asking him the reason, why he, whom all adored, should pay such reverence to the Jewish high-priest. He answered, that he did not worship the priest, but that God whom he served. For he said, that when he was at Dio in Macedonia, and was hesitating about undertaking this expedition, this very person had appeared to him in a dream, in the very same robes in which he now appeared, and had encouraged him to pass boldly into Asia; promising him, that God would guide him during the whole expedition, and would make him master of the Persian empire. Alexander then kindly embraced Jaddua, and entered Jerusalem with him in a friendly manner. Here Jaddua showed him the prophecies of Daniel, which predicted the overthrow of the Persian empire by a Grecian prince; (see Dan. chap. viii.) This, it is said, inspired him with the utmost confidence of success; not doubting but that he was the person intended in the prophecy. All which disposed him to treat the Jews with great kindness, so that when they petitioned for the freedom of their country, laws, and religion, and exemption from tribute every seventh year, he readily granted them all their requests. No sooner had he left Jerusalem, than the Samaritans met him with great pomp and parade, and begged that he would also visit their city and temple. Now the Samaritans had a strong ground for their plea, because when the Jews refused to send supplies to the army of Alexander, the Samaritans readily complied with his orders; and moreover, sent eight thousand men to assist him in the siege. Alexander answered them kindly, and told them that he was then hastening to Egypt, but on his return, would consider their petition, and grant to them what they desired, as far as was consistent. They then requested freedom from tribute, every seventh year. Upon which he asked them whether they were Jews, to which they answered they were Hebrews, who observed the same laws as the Jews; and neither sowed nor reaped, in the seventh year; and that as this immunity had been granted to the Jews, they hoped it would not be withheld from them. Alexander not being at leisure to make

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