cheenc03a.pdf

SIEVE
sirge operations of the second century B.C. In th, consisted in letting down sacks of chaff to meet the
4. Details in siege of Mt. Zion described in r Mace impact (5 20). h an effective mode of defence rcald-
651 f we read of ztntlonr to~hoat fran ing oil wa~ poured upon the Roman ~oldiecr and
and Josephua, (pAoo?boe~~. probnbly embankments penetrated within their armour.
mih) and en~nes of war for the dir We have no spnce to describe further the varied ex.
charge of fire-brand; (rupopdha) and stones (hr80~6ho)
as well as oxopr16ia which seem to have been a smalle
kind of onopriar or great cross~bow (called also yaarpo
pedients in offence and deience in this memorable siege.
nor to recount other phases of warfare that present
themrelves either in the investment of Gamala or in the
$ 6 'stomach-bow').l
~ ~ ~ Lastly we have slings (sn operations carried on by T~tus around Jerusalem. These.
SLING). Engines werealso constructed by the besieged tr like the account of the siege of Alerin in Casar, de Brii
repel thesrattacks. -In the days of Simon the Mnccabet Gall. 768.80, belong - to classical rather than biblical
strongholds were erected in Judaa ,fortified with higt archaology.
towers, great rvalls, gates, and bars' and well pro. The efhirr of ancient *-ariare are almost univerrnlly
visioned. In r Macc l3,, we 14 that Simor conzpicuous by their absence. The religious sanction of
besieged Gaza and inverted it with intrenched camp:
klrem (see
6, No
BAX) was given to wholesale
and brought a particular engine called iAJaoAir (01 sieges. daughter which the Hebrews like other
'city taker') to bear against the city, and hattered one
Semites ruthlessly inflicted on the captured
of the towers and captured it. 'The occupantr of the inhabitants (Joshua, pasrim. I S. 15x3 z S. 8s ; co 2 K.
>Adsohis then leaped into the city and there was a grea,
commotion in the city and the inhabitants rent theit
clothes and went on the wallr with their wives and
children and cried with a loud voice beseechinp town that reiiated rhbuld be &r to the sword, but
Simon.'
women, children, and cattle should be carried away as
This ihirohrr war invented by Demetrius Poliorcete:
in tlie siege of Salamis in Cyprus in 306 %.c. It was a
captives. Assyrian monuments dr~icthe terrible clortower
1x0 feet high and measured 60 feet laterally. 11
war carried on four wheels, each 12 feet in diameter,
war divided into nine stories, and waa manned by mercy was scant. AIur-najir-abal, after storming a
200 soldiers, who moved it by pushing the parallel mountain stronghold. boasts that he cur off the heads
beams at the bare (\liarre-Cornish). An even larger of 260 warriors and built them up into a pyramid (col.
machilie was employed at the siege of Rhodes in the 164). In the capture of Hulai 3000 prisoners were
following year, pyramidal in shape and with iron plates burnt (1. 108). The strong fortress of Tela with three
on the three rider.
encircling walls received a fearful punishment. Many
The use of riins~in " sieees " to which 2 K. 311; I Mace. prisoners were burnt. Others were deprived of hand.'
651 bar witncsr was also characteristic of the Roman arm, nose, ears, or eyer. The ~rsyrian boarts that he
period of domination. When Sabinun the Roman pro. erected a column of writhing agony (/ 118). Boys nnd
curator was berieeed " bv * the lewr, the attackers used girls were burnt in the flamer icol. 21). That all the
2
slingers nr well as archers (Jos. Ant. xvii. lo*) and they survivors became slaver wasihe natk outcome of
were also employed by Pampey with considerable effect UD~Y~TSBI CUI~O~. Walls were razed to their founwhen
he besieged Arirtobulur in Jerusalem (10s. U/ dations, the city totally demolished. while cattle and
i. 79). Thir riege was memorable for the enormous valuables were carried off as spoil. The fruit-trees
labour involved in filling up not only the ditch in front around the city were utterly destroyed by the invader.
of the N, side of the temple. but the deep valley as well. Thus Tiglath-pilerer 111. in descril,ing his operntionn
Josephus in hir Dr BrNo fudaico furnishes abundant against Chinzer (Rawl. Nimrud-inrc. 11.. 67, s4) says.
material for detailed description - though not in. (ij") kiri (igu) musukkani Sa dlh dnriiu akirma iitcn "1
frequently exaggeratedd-of a Roman siege. Eswcially erib: 'The plantations of palm which abutted on his
interes~inq are the vivid oarriculars. derived from rampart I cut do,,.", not a single one did I leave.'
Though Elisha recommended a like course in the war
against Moab (2 K. 3 4 , the growing humanitarian
spirit graduaily broke into the old ruthleis tradition of
mountains for the protection of the soldiers in the con. h#"#rern. The fruit-trees around the city uere to be
struction of the embankment Meanwhile the Jews spared (Dt. 20q f ). Yet the old spirit of waifare rtiii
hurled darts and stones at the troops so engaged. remained in full force (uu. Z~-II). especially in reference
Vesparian, on the other hand, set up 160 engines which to Cnnmnite towns. But this was after all a trait of
discharged javelins, stones a talent in weight, arrows.
and fiery missiles, and thus made the walls untenable by
the dead past. Greater meicv was to be shown in wars
the defenderr, when they came within range. Sallies,
however, were made from the wallr. the hurdles dragged
away, and the workers at the embankment killed. The an episode already narrated (54).
In response to the/;
attempt made by Josephus to raise the height of the entreaties he becomes reconciled.
city walls was carried 061, in spite of the volleys of The duration of a siege v~rried with the resisting
missiles, by the ingenious expedient qf covering fixed power of the walls and its defenderr as well as the strict-
'pilei with raw hides from newly killed animals, wh~h
6, Duration ness of the investment. Other factors
owing to their moisture were ~ ~ ~ ~ f ~ fire. g aAnother
i ~ s t or a siege. ro-operated, such as the provisions stored
device, to neutralire the shock of the batterlag ram,a
~n the city and the water-supply. Disease
also might accelerate the end. The sir;; bf Samnria
1 See Warre-Cornish. CoKisc Did. of GI.?& ~d Rome Lasted more than two years. The siere of the island
A-tirq., 'Tormentum,'Kj6 d.
2 E.