2. Jonathan and Simon

The leadership was assumed by Jonathan, the youngest of the five brothers, who from beyond the Jordan carried terror among the Syrians and Arabs. With Jerusalem and the entire land in the hands of the enemy, only hope and courage seemed left. The situation was suddenly changed by the entrance of Alexander Balas, an alleged son of Antiochus IV., who sought the kingdom and assailed Demetrius. Both the contestants sought the favor of Jonathan as that of a weighty leader. Demetrius restored the Jewish hostages and withdrew many of the Syrian garrisons, so that Jonathan regained possession of the temple. Alexander made him high priest, and sent him princely robes and rich insignia of office. Thus Jonathan was at once in possession of priestly and temporal power. He was master of Judea and an officer in the Syrian army. When Demetrius II. (147 B.C.) overthrew Alexander, he chose Jonathan as his friend in spite of the hostility of the latter at the beginning of the struggle of Demetrius with Alexander. A young son of Alexander, Antiochus VI., instigated by Trypho, a general of Alexander, arose against Demetrius, and after varying fortunes was slain by Trypho, who also slew Jonathan (143 B.C.). This left as the only survivor of the sons of Mattathias Simon, already celebrated for wisdom, energy, and statesmanship. He assumed the leadership, and at once declared the independence of his people, taking the titles of high priest, general, and prince (I Macc. xiv. 47). The union of these offices marked a change in the policy of Jewish affairs, in which hitherto the chief interest had been in the priesthood and a pure theocracy. Simon's rule was short, but fortunate, since his own people appreciated his worth. In a popular assembly his honors and position were secured to him as hereditary rights, and the fact made public in tablets of brass affixed to the sanctuary (I Macc. xiv. 27-17). The independence of the country was signified by the issue of a series of coins and by the reckoning of a new era dating from Simon's accession. It seemed as if Simon's end was to be peaceful when his own stepson, Ptolemy, who sought Simon's place, treacherously murdered him, while Antiochus VII., brother of Demetrius and then on the Syrian throne, attempted to regain possession of Judea.

3. John Hyrcanus, Aristobulus I

Simon's son, John Hyrcanus (note the Greek names assumed by the successive members of the family; it is a sign of the times), who succeeded his father, was at first compelled to become a vassal of Syria, surrender Jerusalem, and give hostages. When Antiochus fell (128 B.C.), John took full advantage of the circumstance, began a series of conquests, destroyed the temple on Gerizim, united Samaria with his own territory, subdued the Idumeans, and Judaized the country. Josephus accredits him with three honors, high-priesthood, rulership, and prophecy (Ant. XIII., x. 7). But a question was raised about the legitimacy of his possession of the high-priesthood. At the death of John Hyrcanus (105 B.C.) the family fell upon evil days. What external power was retained for his successor, Aristobulus I., was due to the weakness of the Seleucids and the Ptolemies, who became involved in the strife of the Jewish parties on internal matters. Hyrcanus had become alienated from the Pharisees, for the Pharisee Eleazar had advised him to lay aside his highpriesthood and be content with the temporal power. On his death he left the rule to his widow, while Aristobulus was to be high priest. Aristobulus starved his mother to death, threw three of his brothers into prison, and killed the fourth, whom he had made coregent. But he died the next year (104 B.C.). The event of his reign most noteworthy was the conquest of Galilee and the beginning of its Judaizing.

His widow, Alexandra, the most celebrated of that name in this family, released his brothers and made one of them, the third son of her 4. Alex- husband, king, with the title of Alexander ander I. Jannaeus. His rule was as Jannaens, unfortunate as it was long (104-78 Hyrcanus B.C.). His desire was to shine as a con- II., Aristo- queror as his father had done, but bulus II. without the same means, since he had to rely upon an army of mercenaries. The Pharisees withdrew more and more from the support of a rule which continually drew its sources of strength from the outside and estranged its own subjects, while the king was made to seem a betrayer of his father's religion. He was grossly insulted at a festival, and took bloody revenge. Civil war arose, which lasted for six years, during which 50,000 Jews were slain. At his death in 78 he left the succession in the hands of his widow, Alexandra, with the injunction to make friends of the Pharisees. She followed his counsel, banished the Sadducees from Jerusalem, put the Scribes into the seats of the Sanhedrin, and ruled with cleverness until her death in 69. During her life her oldest son, Hyrcanus II., had been high priest, while at her death Aristobulus Il. desired the kingdom and assailed his brother. Shortly after this the Syrian kingdom fell into the power of the Romans. Hyrcanus fled, on the advice of Antipater, the father of Herod, to the Arabian prince Aretas, at Petra, by whose help Aristobulus was besieged in Jerusalem and slain. Meanwhile Pompey's general, Scaurus, and then Pompey himself were besought both by Aristobulus and by his opponents, and by the people against both. Pompey captured Jerusalem, ended the kingdom, and made Hyrcanus high priest and ethnarch (63 B.C.), taking Aristobulus and his children to Rome in triumph.

The remaining history of the Hasmoneans is a series of tragedies. Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, escaped from imprisonment and assailed the Roman power in Syria. Meanwhile the Roman civil war had broken out, and Caesar released Aristobulus in order to give trouble to his opponents,

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