King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II becomes king under Roman suzerainty.

Hyrcanus II is removed from power, while Antigonus the Hasmonean becomes king of Judea under Parthian rule.

King Judah Aristobulus II removed from power, while his brother John Hyrcanus II is reappointed king ( ethnarch ) under Roman suzerainty and high priest, until 40 BC.

Upon her death her elder son Hyrcanus sought support from Pharisees, and her younger son, Aristobulus, sought the support of the Sadducees.

Simon was murdered in 134 BCE by his son-in-law Ptolemy, and was succeeded as high priest and king by his son John Hyrcanus I. Antiochus conquered the entire district of Judea, but refrained from attacking the Temple or interfering with Jewish observances.

The books are written from the point of view that the salvation of the Jewish people in a crisis which came from God through the family of Mattathias, particularly his sons Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Apphus, and Simon Thassi, and his grandson John Hyrcanus.

For the next two decades of his reign, Hyrcanus continued, like his father, to rule semi-autonomously from the Seleucids.

When, in 50 BCE, it appeared that Julius Caesar was interested in using Aristobulus and his family as his clients to take control of Judea from Hyrcanus and Antipater, who were beholden to Pompey, supporters of Pompey had Aristobulus poisoned in Rome and executed Alexander in Antioch.

The timely aid from Antipater and Hyrcanus led the triumphant Caesar to ignore the claims of Aristobulus's younger son, Antigonus the Hasmonean, and to confirm Hyrcanus and Antipater in their authority, despite their previous allegiance to Pompey.

Josephus noted, " Antigonus ... came to Caesar ... and accused Hyrcanus and Antipater, how they had driven him and his brethren entirely out of their native country ... and that as to the assistance they had sent Caesar into Egypt, it was not done out of good-will to him, but out of the fear they were in from former quarrels, and in order to gain pardon for their friendship to enemy Pompey.

By agreement with his wife, Akiva spent twelve years away from her, pursuing his studies under Eliezer ben Hyrcanus and Joshua ben Hananiah.

* 40 BCE: Antigonus, son of Hasmonean Aristobulus II and nephew of Hyrcanus II, offers money to the Parthian army to help him recapture the Hasmonean realm from the Romans.

The book covers the whole of the revolt, from 175 to 134 BC, highlighting how the salvation of the Jewish people in this crisis came through Mattathias ' family, particularly his sons, Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Maccabaeus, and Simon Maccabaeus, and Simon's son, John Hyrcanus.

Antipater ’ s legacy of shrewdness stems from his craftiness with Hyrcanus and his foresight over the Near East ’ s growing subordination to Rome.

Hyrcanus II from Guillaume Rouillé's Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum

Arion, Joseph's representative in Alexandria, however, refused to allow Hyrcanus money, and the latter accordingly put him in chains, not only escaping punishment from the king, but even winning both his favor and that of the courtiers, whose aid his brothers had secretly invoked against him.

In 125 BCE the Hasmonean King John Hyrcanus subjugated Edom and forcibly converted the population to Judaism.

Their temple was built at Mount Gerizim in the middle of fifth century BC and was destroyed by the Macabbean ( Hasmonean ) John Hyrcanus late in 110 BC, although their descendants still worship among its ruins.

Sidetes managed to bring the Maccabees to heel ; frighten the Anatolian dynasts into a temporary submission ; and then, in 133, turned east with the full might of the Royal Army ( supported by a body of Jews under the Maccabee prince, John Hyrcanus ) to drive back the Parthians.

* Aristobulus I succeeds John Hyrcanus, becoming king and high priest of Judea, until 103 BC.

* John Hyrcanus, prince ( ruler ) and high priest of Judea.

* Massacre of over 12, 000 Jews on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem by Roman troops, in support of John Hyrcanus II against Aristobulus II.

* John Hyrcanus becomes high priest and prince ( ruler ) of Judea, until 104 BC, following the murder of his father Simon Maccabaeus by Ptolemy the son of Abubus in 135 BC.

After defeating the Seleucid forces, Judas Maccabaeus's nephew John Hyrcanus established a new monarchy in the form of the priestly Hasmonean dynasty in 152 BCE — thus establishing priests as political as well as religious authorities.

According to Josephus the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents, which he then paid Antiochus to spare the city.

Marching east, with what would prove to be the last great Seleucid Royal Army ( including a force of Judean mercenaries under John Hyrcanus ), he defeated Mithridates in two battles, killing the aged Parthian king in the last of these.

* John Hyrcanus

at: 110 text: John Hyrcanus gains full independence ~ and begins conquests, 110 BCE.

In c. 135 BCE, John Hyrcanus, Simon's third son, assumed the leadership and ruled as high priest ( Kohen Gadol ) and took a Greek " regnal name " ( see Hyrcania ) in an acceptance of the Hellenistic culture of his Seleucid suzerains.

According to Josephus, John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents which he paid as tribute to spare the city.

In 110 BCE John Hyrcanus carried out the first military conquests of the newly independent Hasmonean kingdom, raising a mercenary army to capture Madaba and Schechem, significantly increasing his regional influence

The Hellenistic period settlement was constructed during the reign of John Hyrcanus, 134-104 BCE or somewhat later, and was occupied most of the time until it was destroyed by the Romans in 68 CE or shortly after.

De Vaux divided this use into three periods: Period I, the Hasmonean era, which he further divided in two, Period Ia, the time of John Hyrcanus, and Period Ib, the latter Hasmoneans, ending with an earthquake and fire in 31 BCE ( this was followed by a hiatus in de Vaux's interpretation of the site ); Period II, the Herodian era, starting in 4 BCE on up to the destruction of the site apparently at the hands of the Romans during the Jewish War ; and Period III, a reoccupation in the ruins.

Using de Vaux's Period 1a findings, his own excavations at Ain el-Ghuweir 15 km south of Qumran, and Mazar's level 2 at ' En-Gedi, Bar-Adon argued, " these fortresses to John Hyrcanus, who needed a strong, comprehensive defence system commanding vital water sources, agricultural fields, flocks, Jordan River crossings, the plains of Jericho and the caravan routes in the Judean desert.

The second vision portrays seven angels bringing Levi seven insignia signifying priesthood, prophecy, and judgement ; in the vision, after the angels anoint Levi, and initiate him as a priest, they tell him of the future of his descendants, mentioning Moses, the Aaronid priesthood, and a time when there would be priest-kings ; this latter point was of particular interest to the Maccabean period of John Hyrcanus, who was both a high priest, and warrior-king, though according to textual scholars this is to be expected, since the Testament of Levi was written during Maccabean rule, between 153BC and 107BC, and closer to the latter date.

before John Hyrcanus, and their temple was destroyed (" Antiq.

* 134 BCE: Sadducee John Hyrcanus becomes leader after his father Simon Thassi is murdered.

The Parthian Empire had supported Brutus and Cassius in the civil war, sending forces which fought with them at Philippi ; following Antony and Octavian's victory, the Parthians invaded Roman territory, occupying Syria, advancing into Asia Minor and installing Antigonus as puppet king in Judaea to replace the pro-Roman Hyrcanus.

Hyrcanus conquered Transjordan, Samaria, Galilee, and Idumea ( also known as Edom ), and forced Idumeans to convert to Judaism: " Hyrcanus ... subdued all the Idumeans ; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews ; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, ( 25 ) and of the rest of the Jewish ways of living ; at which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews.

Alexander Jannaeus ' son, Hyrcanus II, had scarcely reigned three months when his younger brother, Aristobulus II, rose in rebellion, whereupon Hyrcanus advanced against him at the head of an army of mercenaries and his Pharisee followers: " NOW Hyrcanus was heir to the kingdom, and to him did his mother commit it before she died ; but Aristobulus was superior to him in power and magnanimity ; and when there was a battle between them, to decide the dispute about the kingdom, near Jericho, the greatest part deserted Hyrcanus, and went over to Aristobulus.

" i. 291, note 2 ), but was to enjoy the revenues of the latter office: " but Hyrcanus, with those of his party who stayed with him, fled to Antonia, and got into his power the hostages ( which were Aristobulus's wife, with her children ) that he might perservere ; but the parties came to an agreement before things should come to extremes, that Aristobulus should be king, and Hyrcanus should resign, but retain all the rest of his dignities, as being the king's brother.

Hereupon they were reconciled to each other in the Temple, and embraced one another in a very kind manner, while the people stood round about them ; they also changed their houses, while Aristobulus went to the royal palace, and Hyrcanus retired to the house of Aristobulus.

However, Pompey's pawns soon had occasion to turn to the other side: " At the beginning of the civil war between and Pompey, Hyrcanus, at the instance of Antipater, prepared to support the man to whom he owed his position ; but when Pompey was murdered, Antipater led the Jewish forces to the help of Caesar, who was hard pressed at Alexandria.

Hyrcanus ' restoration as ethnarch in 47 BCE coincided with Caesar's appointment of Antipater as the first Roman Procurator, allowing Antipater to promote the interests of his own house: " Caesar appointed Hyrcanus to be high priest, and gave Antipater what principality he himself should choose, leaving the determination to himself ; so he made him procurator of Judea.