Josippon

In those days, God began to magnify the fourth kingdom over the third kingdom, that is, the kingdom of the Romans, who were aroused against the kingdom of Greece, and he magnified the name of the Romans among all the kingdoms. This is the fourth beast that Daniel, the "man greatly beloved," foresaw that devoured, crushed, and trampled the rest underfoot. This nation of Romans devoured and crushed all the kingdoms.

They fought King Antiochus of Greece, who had 120 elephants, an immense army, and numerous horses and chariots. The Romans broke him in battle, subdued him, and made him pay tribute to them.

These are the ones who broke the pride of Anibal (Hannibal), king of Africa, who ruled in the city named Carthage, for Hannibal had come with a very large army, as many as the sand on the seashore, and with him a whole Berber force and all the armies of Kush, Put, Lub (Libya), and many other nations. He crossed the sea strait between Africa and Spain, invaded Spain, and broke the pride of the nation of Goths. He traveled from there throughout the whole land of Germania, which is the land of the West, and broke the pride of the Franks and Saxons and all the inhabitants of Germania, and he subdued the Bretons, who live by the ocean. He traveled from there, invaded Italy, and fought the Romans. The Romans advanced against him, and a major battle was fought, and an immeasurable number of Romans fell there on that day. The Romans fought another eighteen battles with Hannibal over ten years, but they could not stop Hannibal. Finally they mustered a whole army of warriors led by two dictators, one named Aemilius and the second Varos (Varro), who went to fight Hannibal. They found him making war against the city of Canusium, a large city, and they fought by the River Aufidus. An immense battle ensued there; and on that day, ninety thousand of the most valiant Romans fell dead. Aemilius, a valiant Roman, ended his days in that battle; but Varro fled and took refuge, entering Benusia (Venusium), the city that sits between the mountains and the plain. Also in that battle, forty thousand corpses of Hannibal's troops were spread out in the field. Hannibal pursued the Roman force unto the gate of Roma; he besieged the city for eight years, building houses before the gate, and fought for the city.

The counselors of the city said to one other: "Let us open the gate and cross over to Hannibal and make a covenant with him; so we shall live and not die." This they intended to do.

There rose up from the city a youth named Sipio (Scipio), and he said to the 320 city counselors: "Heaven forbid that we should do this and cross over to Hannibal." They said to him: "So what can we do? We have not been able to stand our ground against Hannibal for the past eighteen years." Whereupon Scipio said: "Let us take counsel: give me about five valiant legions, and I will go to his land of Africa and fight against it and destroy it; perhaps he will then leave you and come to me to save his land from my hand; then there will be relief for you."

And they did so. He took thirty thousand valiant Romans and marched to Hannibal's land, which is Africa, and fought, killing Asdrubal (Hasdrubal), his brother; he cut off his head and brought it to Roma. He mounted the wall and said to Hannibal: "Why have you coveted our land and did not come to save from my hand your own, which I have ruined? Behold, here is your brother's head!" And he threw his brother's head at him. Hannibal recognized his brother's head, and, hardening his spirit and strengthening his heart, he fortified the position and swore: "I will not desist from besieging the city until I have captured it!" He continued to besiege it for many days more.

Scipio continued to advance in Africa, destroying the whole country. He came to Carthage and laid siege to it. The Carthaginians sent a letter to Hannibal in Roma, saying: "Why do you covet a foreign land while your land is being taken from you? If you do not come quickly and save us from the hand of Scipio, we shall open the gate at once and surrender the city of Carthage and your entire household to him."

Hannibal, upon reading this letter, wept and lifted the siege on the city. He went to Aufidus, where his boats were waiting, and killed there innumerable Romans—men, women, and children—from the captives he had with him. Boarding a ship, he sailed to Africa with all his army. Scipio came to confront Hannibal, and a great battle broke out, and Scipio defeated him in that battle. Up to fifty thousand men were killed in that battle, and he beat him three times in that battle. Hannibal fled from Scipio to Egypt, and Scipio pursued him to Egypt; Ptolemy handed him over to Scipio, and Scipio brought him with great honor to Africa. When Hannibal arrived in Africa, he drank deadly poison and died and was buried there. Scipio conquered all the land of Africa and every source of silver and gold there, and the nation of the Romans was made greater than all the nations of the earth.

These are the words of the letter that the Romans sent to Yehudah, son of Mattathias: "Quintius Memmius Titus Scipius Manilius, commanders of Roma, to Yehudah Anointed War Leader and to all the elders of Yehudah: Greetings. Let it be known to you that we have heard of your valor and your battles, and we have rejoiced. All that Antiochus and Lysias gave to you and all that they have written unto the Jews we shall write thus throughout our land. It suits you to be known as our friends and renowned and not to the Greeks, who persecuted you. Since we shall go against Antioch in war, hasten to send us a letter saying who are your enemies and who are your friends."

These, then, are the words of the treaty that the nation of Romans swore with the people of Yehudah: "Let each one love and unite and aid his comrade, the nation of Romans and the people of Judaea on land and sea forever. If war be waged against the nation of Romans, let the Judaeans assist them according to their strength and not give unto the enemies of the Romans either weapons or wheat or any sustenance, just as the Elder and the 320 counselors decreed. And if war breaks out against the nation of Judaea, let the Romans assist them according to their strength and not give to the enemies of the Judaeans any weapons, neither wheat nor any sustenance. And neither shall they take from the Judaeans any sustenance but rather come to their aid in any crisis that they have, and neither add to these words nor subtract just as the Elder and his 320 counselors decreed."