IX.
Romanorum primus Cn. Pompeius Iudaeos domuit (Cn. Pompeius Iudaeos domuit: in 63 B.C.) templumque iure victoriae ingressus est: inde vulgatum nulla intus deum effigie vacuam sedem et inania arcana. (nulla intus deum effigie vacuam sedem et inania arcana: ‘that the temple (sedem) inside was without any images of the gods and that the inner sanctum was empty’; effigie vacuam: ‘devoid of’ or ‘free from images’; effigie is abl. of lack or privation after adjectives expressing want or freedom; see A.G. 402, a. inania arcana: lit. ‘empty secret places’: the plural sounds grander than inane arcanum.) Muri Hierosolymorum diruti, (muri …diruti: king Antipater, the father of king Herod the Great mentioned below, later obtained permission from Caesar to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.) delubrum mansit. Mox civili inter nos bello, (civili inter nos bello: first between Pompey and Caesar, then between Marc Antony and Octavian) postquam in dicionem M. Antonii provinciae cesserant, (postquam in dicionem M. Antonii provinciae cesserant: ‘after the [eastern] provinces had come under Antony’s control’. Antony and Octavian (later emperor Augustus) came to an agreement to divide the empire between themselves, Octavian getting the western and Antony the eastern provinces. postquam is always followed by indicative.) rex Parthorum Pacorus (rex Parthorum Pacorus: in fact Pacorus was the son of the king, Orodes. Pacorus was killed in 38 B.C.) Iudaea potitus interfectusque a P. Ventidio, et Parthi trans Euphraten redacti: Iudaeos C. Sosius (a P. Ventidio … C. Sosius: both were Antony’s lieutenants.) subegit. Regnum ab Antonio Herodi datum victor Augustus auxit. Post mortem Herodis, nihil expectato Caesare, (nihil expectato Caesare: abl. abs.: ‘the emperor not having been waited for at all’, i.e. ‘without waiting for the emperor’s decision’; nihil is here adverb, not noun. ) Simo quidam regium nomen invaserat. Is a Quintilio Varo obtinente Syriam (a Quintilio Varo obtinente Syriam: ‘by Quintilius Varus holding Syria’, i.e. the governor of Syria; this same Varus years later in 9 A.D. lost three legions and his life in an ambush set by Arminius, a German chief, in the Teutoburgian forest in Lower Saxony.) punitus, et gentem coercitam liberi Herodis tripertito rexere. (gentem coercitam liberi Herodis tripertito rexere: ‘Herod’s sons ruled over a chastened nation with power divided into three parts’. The three sons were Archelaus, Antipas, and Philip.) Sub Tiberio quies. Dein iussi a C. Caesare effigiem eius in templo locare arma potius sumpsere, quem motum Caesaris mors diremit. Claudius, defunctis regibus aut ad modicum redactis, (ad modicum redactis: ‘reduced to little significance’; modicum is noun, not adj., ‘a small amount’.) Iudaeam provinciam equitibus Romanis aut libertis permisit, e quibus Antonius Felix per omnem saevitiam ac libidinem ius regium servili ingenio exercuit, Drusilla Cleopatrae et Antonii nepte in matrimonium accepta, ut eiusdem Antonii Felix progener, Claudius nepos esset. (Drusilla Cleopatrae et Antonii nepte in matrimonium accepta, ut eiusdem Antonii Felix progener, Claudius nepos esset: ‘the granddaughter of Antony and Cleopatra, Drusilla, having been accepted in marriage, Antonius Felix thus was the grandson-in-law and emperor Claudius the grandson of Antony himself’. Claudius’ mother Antonia was the daughter of Antony by his second wife Octavia. Tacitus, the relentless castigator of freedmen and their power in Roman politics, seems to relish this juxtaposition of ex-slave and emperor, intimately connected by family ties. In his eyes, another grim sign of Roman decadence.)