JOSEPHUS, Flavius.

Alle De Werken…

      3 Parts in 1. folio. pp. 18 p.l., 482; 1 p.l., 483-782, [30]index; 113, [11]index. first title in red & black with engraved vignette portrait. engraved title, 2 folding double-page engraved maps, 12 double-page engraved plates (2 with 4 images), & over 200 engravings in the text by Jan & Kaspar Luyken. woodcut tailpieces & initials. text in double columns. contemporary sprinkled calf, gilt back, sometime rebacked with gilt spine mounted & corners repaired (rubbed, tear to headpiece & leather on 1 raised band damaged, edges of the map of the Holy Land browned, chipped & repaired with slight loss, dampstain in outer margin of outer leaves). Amsterdam: Pieter Mortier, 1704. First Edition Illustrated by Jan and Kaspar Luyken. Attractively illustrated Dutch edition, translated by W.Sewel, of the works of the most celebrated of Jewish historians. Josephus, a Jewish priest and Pharisee, opposed the revolt against Rome, but accepted the government of the two Galilees, and in 67 A.D. defended the city of Jotapata against the powerful Roman army under Vespasian. The only survivor, his life was spared because of his prediction that Vespasian would become Emperor. Included here are his history of the Jews from creation to the outbreak of the war with Rome in 66 A.D., his chronicle of the Jewish war from the capture of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes to 73 A.D., his two books written against Apion, &c. "Without [these writings] little would have been known of the history of the Second Temple nor would it have been possible to write such a history. In point of literary talent Josephus ranks among the leading writers in world literature. His style is epic, his portrayals plastic, his gift of description captivates the reader alike by its fidelity and its colorful presentation" (Encyc. Judaica). Graesse III 482.