power, he sent some back to their homes, joined others in marriage with one another, and kept possession of still others.  I shall omit most of these cases and mention only two.  He freely restored Iotape to the Median king, who had found an asylum with him after the defeat, but refused the request of Artaxes that his brothers be sent him, because this prince had put to death the Romans left behind in Armenia.  This was the disposition he made of such captives.

The Egyptians and Alexandrians were all spared, and Caesar did not injure one of them.  The truth was that he did not see fit to visit any extreme vengeance upon so great a people, who might prove very useful to the Romans in many ways.  He nevertheless offered the pretext that he wished to please their god Serapis, Alexander their founder, and, third, Areus a citizen, who was a philosopher and enjoyed his society.  The speech in which he proclaimed to them his pardon he spoke in Greek, so that they might understand him.  After this he viewed the body of Alexander and also touched it, at which a piece of the nose, it is said, was crushed.  But he would not go to see the remains of the Ptolemies, though the Alexandrians were extremely anxious to show them, for he said:  “I wanted to see a king, and not corpses.”  For the same reason he would not enter the presence of Apis, declaring that he was “accustomed to worship gods and not cattle.” [-17-] Soon after he made Egypt tributary and gave it in charge of Cornelius Gallus.  In view of the populousness of both cities and country, and the facile, fickle character of the inhabitants, and the importance of grain supplies and revenue, so far from daring to entrust the land to any senator he would not even grant one permission to live in it, unless he made the concession to some one nominatim.  On the other hand, he did not allow the Egyptians to be senators in Rome, but after considering individual cases on their merits he commanded the Alexandrians to conduct their government without senators; with such capacity for revolution did he credit them.  And of the system then imposed upon them most details are rigorously preserved to the present day, but there are senators in Alexandria, beginning first under the emperor Severus, and they also may serve in Rome, having first been enrolled in the senate in the reign of his son Antoninus.

Thus was Egypt enslaved.  All of the inhabitants who resisted were subdued after a time, as, indeed, Heaven very clearly indicated to them would occur.  For it rained not only water, where previously no drop had ever fallen, but also blood.  At the same time that this was falling from the clouds glimpses were caught of armor.  Elsewhere there was the clashing of drums and cymbals and the notes of flutes and trumpets.  A serpent of huge size was suddenly seen and gave a hiss incredibly loud.  Meanwhile comet stars came frequently into view and ghosts of the dead took shape.  The statues frowned:  Apis bellowed a lament and shed tears.  Such was the status of things in that respect.