The Hasmonaeans
The Syrians
recognized the government of John Hyrcanus on condition that he consider himself
subject to Syria and promise help in Syrian military campaigns. Certain coastal
cities annexed by Jonathan and Simon were also to be relinquished. The efficient
rule of Hyrcanus, however, quickly effected the re-conquest of these cities and
the addition of Idumaea ( Old Covenant Edom) to Judean territory. These
conquests insured the use of ancient trade routes by the merchant class, but
they posed problems to the religiously oriented Jews. Hyrcanus compelled the
Idumaeans to become circumcised and accept the Jewish faith, a practice which
later Judaism disavows. There is something ironical in the thought of a grandson
of Mattathias forcing religious conformity on a people conquered by Jewish arms!
Hyrcanus also campaigned in Samaria where he destroyed the temple on Mount
Gerizim. The success of Jewish arms might be applauded by the nationalistic
element in Judea, but the religious fervor of the earlier Maccabees was no
longer evident.
Before John
Hyrcanus died in 104 B.C., the borders of the state had been extended on every
side. The Maccabean struggle was long past and new rivalries developed. The
older Hellenists were discredited, but their ideas were perpetuated in the party
of the Sadducees. The orthodox of Maccabean times became the Pharisees of
pre-Christian Judaism and the New Covenant. Hyrcanus, himself, was devout and
law-abiding, but his children had little sympathy with traditional Hebrew
thought. They numbered themselves among the aristocrats, and they came to look
with distain on the rigidly orthodox Pharisees. Ironically these heirs of the
Maccabees became thoroughly Hellenized.
The death of John
Hyrcanus precipitated a dynastic struggle among his children. His eldest son,
who preferred his Greek name Aristobulus to his Hebrew name, Judah,
emerged as victor and cast three of his brothers into prison-two of whom are
thought to have starved to death. Another brother was murdered in the palace. In
the short reign of but one year, Aristobulus pushed the borders of Judea north
to Mount Lebanon and took the title of king to himself. His life was cut short,
however, by drink , disease, and the haunting fear of rebellion.
At the time of Aristobulus
' death he had but one brother living, and he was in prison. Although his Hebrew
name was Jonathan, history knows him by his Greek name Alexander Jannaeus.
Under Jannaeus the policy of territorial expansion continued. The frontiers of
Judea were extended along the Philistine coast toward the Egyptian frontier and
in the Transjordan region. The Jewish state approximated the territory
controlled by Israel in the days of David and Solomon. It included the whole of
Palestine and adjacent areas from the borders of Egypt to Lake Huleh, north of
the Sea of Galilee. Perea in Transjordan was subject to Jannaeus, as were the
city of the Coastal Plain except for Ascalon.
The territories
incorporated into the Hasmonaean kingdom were, for the most part, quickly
Judaised. The Idumaeans came to exercise an important place in Jewish life, and Galilee
became an important center of Judaism. The Samaritans, however, continued to
resist assimilation and cities such as Apollonia and Scythopolis ( Old Covenant
Beth-shean), with only a small Jewish element in their population, kept their
non-Jewish character.
Partisan strife, however,
marred the reign of Alexander Jannaeus, who showed open contempt for the
Pharisees, precipitating civil war. The Pharisees accepted aid from the Syrians
in their conflict with Jannaeus and for a time Jewish independence was in the
balance. When the Pharisees felt that they had gained their point they withdrew
their alliance with Syria and hoped for a Jewish state that would be both free
of foreign control and tolerant of their viewpoint. Jannaeus, however, sought
out the leaders of the rebellion and crucified eight hundred Pharisees.
Tradition says that Jannaeus repented on his death-bed, instructing his wife Salome
Alexandra to dismiss his Sadducean advisors and reign with the help of the
Pharisees. The tradition may have no historical basis, but Salome
Alexandra did turn
to the Pharisees for support.
Salome
Alexandra had been married successively to Aristobulus and to Alexander Jannaeus.
The widow of the two Hasmonaean rulers, she reigned in her own right for seven
years. She was a woman of seventy when she came to the throne, dividing royal
responsibilities among her two sons. Hyrcanus, the elder son, became High
Kohen-(Priest), and his brother Aristobulus received the military command.
Her brother, Simeon ben Shetah, was a leader among the Pharisees and this
fact may have disposed her to seek peace between the opposing factions of
Judaism.
Under Alexandra, the
Pharisees had their opportunity to make a constructive contribution to Jewish
life. In many areas, particularly education, they were eminently successful.
Under the presidency of Simeon ben Shetah the Sanhedrin ( the Jewish
Council of State) decreed that every young man should be educated. A
comprehensive system of elementary education was inaugurated so that the larger
villages, towns, and cities of Judea would produce a literate, informed people.
This education was centered in the Hebrew Scriptures.
The wounds of earlier strife were not
healed during Alexandra's reign. Although the Pharisees were happy in their
new-found recognition, the Sadducees were resentful of the fact that they had
lost power. To compound the problem, the Pharisees sought to avenge the massacre
of their leaders by Alexander Jannaeus. Sadducean blood was spilt and the
makings of another civil war were in the air.
The Sadducees found in Aristobulus, the younger son of
Jannaeus and Alexandra, the man they could support as Alexandra's successor. He
was a soldier and appealed to the party that dreamed of imperial expansion and
worldly power. Hyrcanus, the elder brother and rightful heir, was acceptable to
the Pharisees. With the death of Alexandra the partisans of the two sons were
ready for a showdown.
When his mother died, Hyrcanus (II) who had
been serving as High Kohen succeeded to the throne, but his brother
Aristobulus led an army of Sadducees against Jerusalem. Neither Hyrcanus not
the Pharisees were ready for war, and Hyrcanus surrendered his honors to
Aristobulus (II) who became king and High Kohen. Hyrcanus and Aristobulus
thereupon vowed eternal friendship, and Aristobulus' eldest son Alexander
married Hyrcanus' only daughter, Alexandra. Peace between the brothers was
short-lived however. Hyrcanus had to flee and Antipater, governor of Idumea
espoused his cause. With civil war threatening, Pompey appeared with his Roman
Legions to insure the peace of Judea and further the aims of Rome.