In the meanwhile Mithridates II. of Parthia had defeated and captured Demetrius II. in 139. Antiochus VII. (Sidetes 138-129), the brother of Demetrius, fought Trypho, who was beaten. As a result Antiochus VII. sent an army into Judaea, demanding tribute from Simon. After the death of the latter, Hyrcanus continued the resistance. He was besieged in Jerusa lem but, in 132, made peace with Antiochus VII. They became allies and Hyrcanus furnished a contingent for the army of An tiochus. When Antiochus VII. died, Hyrcanus increased his power. He forced the Idumeans to accept Judaism and he de stroyed the Samaritan Temple on Garizim. During Hyrcanus's rule Judaea prospered and in the Diaspora, e.g., in Egypt and Cyprus, the condition of the Jews was good. Hyrcanus quarrelled with the Pharisees (q.v.), who objected to the combination of the High Priesthood with temporal power, and joined their oppo nents, the Sadducees (q.v.). He died in 105, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Judas Aristobulus, who conquered Ituraea and planted Judaism there by force. Judas was succeeded by another son of Hyrcanus, Alexander Jannaeus (103-78), whose continued support of the Sadducees rendered him disliked. Alexander in trigued with Cleopatra of Egypt and with Ptolemy. His reign was full of warfare, rebellion and bloodshed. On his deathbed he directed his wife Alexandra (76-69) whom he had destined for the succession, to reverse his policy and make peace with the Phari sees. As a result, her elder son, Hyrcanus, became High Priest. The Pharisees, whom Alexander's massacres had driven to flight, returned. The queen was supported by Simon ben Shatah and Judah ben Tabbai, whose famous mottoes, inculcating care and impartiality in the judicial office, are preserved in Aboth i., 8, 9. (See Singer, Authorized Daily Prayer Book, London, p. 135, all eds.) When Alexandra died in 69 B.C., Aristobulus disputed the succession of Hyrcanus, his brother. War ensued, in which Hyr canus besieged Aristobulus in Jerusalem, having, on the advice of his Idumean councillor, Antipater, enlisted the help of Aretas (1-iarith) the king of the Nabataean Arabs.
In 66 B.c. Pompey had defeated Mithridates VI. of Pontus and his son-in-law Tigranes. Learning of the war in Judaea he sent in 65 B.c. M. Aemilius Scaurus, Sulla's stepson, to intervene and to him both Hyrcanus and Aris tobulus appealed. The latter won by bribery. Aretas retired and Aristobulus appeared to have triumphed. But Scaurus's superior was at hand. Pompey reached Damascus and immediately deputa tions followed him there. Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, the latter exploited by Antipater, sent their delegations and one more came from the Jewish nation, begging for the abolition of the kingship and the restoration of the sacerdotal theocracy. Pompey made Hyrcanus High Priest and so Antipater secured power. Warfare broke out between the adherents of the two brothers : the Roman legions participated. Pompey captured Jerusalem and a terrible massacre ensued, the priests being slain at the altar. Over 12,000 Jews perished.
Rome now became the ruler. Aristobulus, his daughters and his sons, Alexander and Antigonus, were taken by Pompey to grace his triumph, but on the journey Alexander es caped and raised a revolt in Judaea. In this the Pharisees took no part : no religious issue was at stake. Aulus Gabinius, the pro consul, crushed the revolt. Hyrcanus was appointed guardian of the Temple and the country was split up into five districts gov erned by synods. Alexander and Aristobulus continued their raids. Antipater supported Gabinius and in return could do as he liked. In 54 B.C. M. Crassus, who succeeded Gabinius, plundered the Temple. He was defeated and slain by the Parthians in the next year. Cassius opposed the Parthian invasion of Syria and
Antipater, whose policy was to stand well with Rome whatever happened, aided him. In 51 B.C. Taricheae was captured and 30, 000 Jews, who had espoused the Parthian cause, were sold as slaves. When Julius Caesar made himself master of Rome, he re leased Aristobulus and sent him, with two legions, to Judaea, in 49. But Pompey's emissaries contrived to poison him on the journey and Pompey beheaded his son Alexander at Antioch. In 48 B.c. Pompey himself was defeated and slain, whereupon Antipater joined Caesar's party. Hyrcanus was confirmed as High Priest and Antipater made procurator of Judaea. Caesar conferred privileges on the Jews and Suetonius (Caesar 84) mentions that his death was lamented by them especially.
At this point one of the most remarkable figures in the history of Judaea becomes prominent. This was Herod, one of Antipater's sons, who, at the early age of 25, was appointed prefect of Galilee, his brother Phasael being prefect of Jerusalem. After Caesar's departure, one Hezekiah attacked the Syrians. Josephus, whose source was Nicolaus of Damascus, de picts Hezekiah as a brigand. But Nicolaus was a client of Herod and it is not unlikely that his estimate was biased and that Hezekiah was fighting for patriotic motives. Herod seized and executed him and a number of his followers. For this he earned the gratitude of Sextus Caesar, the governor of Syria, and the detestation of the Jews. He was summoned to appear before the Sanhedrin (q.v.) but he came to his trial with an armed body guard, overawing his judges with the exception of Shammai (see Aboth,
10-15. Singer op. cit., p. 185), who warned his col leagues of the future. Sextus promoted Herod, who raised an army to attack Hyrcanus, but at Antipater's request he desisted. In 43 B.C. Antipater was poisoned. Confusion arose in Judaea. Herod repulsed a raid by Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus.
After the defeat of Cassius at Philippi (42 B.c.) Antony became master of Asia. Deputations approached him in Bithynia, one from the Jews accusing Herod and Phasael of usurping the power of Hyrcanus. But the last-named was aware of the power of Anti pater, Antony's friend and of his sons. These became virtually kings of the Jews. Step by step the Hasmonean dynasty was giving place to the Idumean Antipater. In 4o B.C. the Parthians, with Antigonus, invaded Syria. They captured Hyrcanus and Phasael, but Herod escaped to Rome. Hyrcanus was carried away to Parthia and mutilated so as to make him unfit for the High Priesthood. Antigonus took his uncle's place, and Herod was recognized as ruler by the Roman senate. Herod returned and cap tured Jerusalem with Roman aid. Antigonus was beheaded. Herod strove to conciliate the Jews. He married the grandniece of Hyrcanus, not only because he loved her passionately, but be cause he hoped to gain favour by allying himself with the Has moneans. When, in a fit of insane jealousy, he had her put to death, he was plunged into uncontrollable remorse. Her image haunted him all his life. He rebuilt the Temple with great mag nificence and at enormous cost. He encouraged the Pharisees and he conformed to Judaism. Religion was free so long as poli tics were eschewed. Abtalion's words of caution (see Singer, loc. cit.) evidently apply aptly to the conditions of the day. During this period the Diaspora increased and converts multiplied. Saints such as Hillel were among the notable teachers of the people. For the influence of these men, A. Bachler's Types of Jewish-Pales tinian Piety, from 70 B.C.E. to 70 C.E. (1922) may be consulted. Herod preserved peace in his dominions until his death in 4 B.C.