Herodium Described in the Works of Josephus

Herod Flees from the Parthians and Defeats Antigonus at the Place He Would Later Call Herodium

While the Parthians deliberated what they should do—for they did not like the idea of openly attacking so powerful a man—and postponed the matter to the next day, Herod, who was in great perturbation and gave more weight to what he had heard about his brother and the Parthians’ plot than to the other side, decided when evening came to take this opportunity to flee and not to delay as if there were some uncertainty of danger from the enemy. Accordingly he set out with those soldiers whom he had there, and mounted the women on beasts of burden, including his mother and sister and the daughter of Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, whom he was to marry, and her mother, who was a daughter of Hyrcanus; he also took his youngest brother and all the servants and the rest of the crowd that was with them, and unknown to the enemy followed the road to Idumaea. And no enemy would have been found so hard of heart that on witnessing what was taking place at that time he would not have pitied their fate as the wretched women led their infants and with tears and wailing left behind their native country and their friends in chains; nor did they expect anything better for themselves.