130 - FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS and ARNAULD D'ANDILLY, Robert (trans.). History of the Jews. [Followed by] The Jewish War.

FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS and ARNAULD D'ANDILLY, Robert (trans.). History of the Jews. [Followed by] The Jewish War. Amsterdam, Published by Pierre Mortier, 1700. 2 parts in 1 folio volume, marbled brown calfskin, ribbed spine, panels richly decorated with small ironwork, double gilt fillet framing the covers stamped with the gilt coat of arms of the Marescot family, red edges. 12 unnumbered folios and 464 pp.; 10 unnumbered folios, pp. 477–758, and 11 unnumbered folios (table of contents). Engraved title page, 2 fold-out maps, one fold-out plate with 16 vignettes, and 228 intaglio engravings in the text. Spine and covers restored and rebound (girdle entirely redone in lighter sheepskin), upper corners worn, small loss of leather at the top cap, some foxing. New edition translated from the original Greek by Arnauld d’Andilly. It is highly sought after for its remarkable and abundant copperplate engravings: 1 allegorical frontispiece title page, 2 large fold-out maps by Pierre Mortier (Map of the Holy Land and Map of the Four Great Monarchies), 1 large fold-out plate (separate from the text) depicting Jewish ceremonies and Temple furnishings (divided into 16 vignettes), and 228 half-page engraved figures. [Brunet III, 572]. This edition brings together, in continuous pagination, the two masterpieces by Flavius Josephus (37–c. 100 CE): *Antiquities of the Jews*, a monumental epic tracing the history of the Hebrew people from Genesis, and *The Jewish War*, a crucial account of the siege of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE. Presented in the famous translation by Robert Arnauld d’Andilly (1589–1674), a leading figure of Port-Royal, these secular texts are essential for understanding biblical sources and the origins of Christianity. The Dutch publisher Pierre Mortier displays all the virtuosity of Amsterdam’s Golden Age, creating—with this impressive cycle of 228 engravings—a veritable visual theater of Antiquity. A carefully restored 18th-century binding, bearing the coat of arms of the Marescot (or Marescotti) family, originally from Bologna and later settled in Normandy and Île-de-France. A copy in beautifully fresh condition.