party of the Jews, known as the Hasideans, the forerunners of the
later party of the Pharisees, were inclined to accept peace at any
cost. The result was that from this time on Judas lost many of his
followers. Even the apostate Alcimus, appointed high priest by the
Syrian king, was at first accepted by the Hasideans. His deceptions
and persecution of the faithful, however, soon drove many back into
the ranks of those who, like Judas, were struggling to gain not merely
religious freedom, but also complete political independence. In
response to the demands of the Syrian party in Judea, a certain
Nicanor, formerly master of the elephants in the Syrian army, was sent
to check the growing power of Judas and his followers. An engagement
was fought at Caphersalama, evidently somewhere near Jerusalem. Many
of the Syrian soldiers were slain and the rest fled to the City of
David, which had been, from the days of the great Hebrew king, the
designation of the hill of Ophel, in the southeastern part of the
city. It is exceedingly probable, therefore, that Caphersalama is to
be identified with the modern Kefr Silwan,^{(98)} the little village
on the eastern side of the Kidron, just across the valley from the
City of David.
=Victory Over Nicanor.= Alarmed by this victory, Nicanor sent for
another Syrian army, which he met at Beth-horon. Thence he took the
main road that leads over the pass toward Jerusalem. Judas, with his
followers, had taken his position near the village of Adasa, at the
point where the Beth-horon road joins the central highway southward to
Jerusalem. Nicanor fell in the first charge, and his army was so
demoralized by the loss of its leader that they threw away their
weapons and fled back along the highway toward Gazara, the ancient
Gezer. The Jews in the villages along the way attacked the fleeing
Syrians with the result that none of them escaped. Profiting by this
signal victory, Judas sent an embassy to Rome. His aim was to secure
in his unequal contest with the Syrian kingdom the aid of this power,
which already was beginning to dominate the politics of the eastern
Mediterranean; but before he could receive a reply from Rome, the
Jewish champion fought his last fatal battle.
=Death of Judas.= After the defeat and death of Nicanor, the Syrian
king, Demetrius, sent another army into Judah. It entered the land by
the way that leads to Gilgal, which was probably either the Gilgal on
the Plain of Sharon, north of Antipatris, or else the better-known
Gilgal near the ancient Shiloh. In either case the army appears to
have reached the central plateau by the road which runs through the
valley somewhat north of the Valley of Ajalon and therefore through
territory under the control of Syria. Thence the Syrians approached
Judea and Jerusalem directly from the north. Meantime, Judas was
intrenched not far from his home at Modein. The decisive battle was
fought at Elasa, or Eleasa, a half mile north of the steep descent
from Upper to Lower Beth-horon.^{(84)} Terrified by the overwhelming
numbers of the Syrian army, Judas's small force of three thousand men
was soon reduced by desertion to only eight hundred. The courageous
Jewish leader made the grave mistake of venturing a battle under these
conditions. Even as it was, he was apparently on the eve of victory
when he fell slain within the sight of the field on which he had won
his first great battle. With his fall the battle was lost and the
Syrians were left for a time in almost undisputed possession of Judea.
With great lamentation and mourning his followers buried him in the
tomb of his fathers at Modein, chanting in modified form the words of
David's lamentation over Saul:
How is the hero fallen,
The saviour of Israel.
=Judas's Character and Work.= There are many analogies between the
character and work of Saul and of Judas. Both were devoted patriots
and courageous warriors. Both laid the foundations for a kingdom, but
fell on the battle-field before their task was completed. Both
inspired their people with the ambition for independence and taught
them how to fight effectively in securing it. Of the two, Judas
appears to have been the more balanced and unselfish character. In
view of the obstacles with which he contended, he was unquestionably
the greatest general that Israel ever produced. The peculiar
topography of Judea enabled him to contend successfully with strong
armies, but in a prolonged struggle with the Syrian kingdom the
advantages were all with the latter. The barren, limited territory of
Judea was incapable of supporting a large people or of furnishing the
resources for a protracted war. On the other hand, Antioch, which had
as its base the great plain between the Lebanons, possessed almost
unlimited resources and was the natural centre from which to rule both
Syria and Palestine. Judas was able to win his victories not merely
because of his dauntless courage and leadership, but because the
Syrian kingdom was fatally weakened by the moral corruption and
constant dissensions of its rulers. These two elements, courageous and
able leadership on the side of the Jews and corruption and
inefficiency in the Syrian kingdom, enabled Judas's followers in time
to overcome geographical conditions and to build up, as in the days of
David, a large and independent kingdom.
XXII
THE MACCABEAN AND HERODIAN AGE
=Jonathan's Policy.= Jonathan, who succeeded his brother, Judas, in
the leadership of the Jewish rebellion, combined great skill and
energy with a certain craftiness, which enabled him to profit by every
turn in the tortuous politics of Syria. It was an exceedingly corrupt
age, and Jonathan adopted the standards and methods of his day. The
secure hiding-places in Palestine enabled him to elude the Syrians and
to recover from the shock which his cause had received as a result of
the death of Judas. Jonathan and his followers took refuge first in
the wilderness of Judea^{(24)} and the dry, barren wadies that lead
down to the Dead Sea, and later in the jungle of the lower
Jordan.^{(36)} Into this thicket of reeds and bushes the Syrian
general pursued them. On this strange battle-field Jonathan and his
followers were defeated, but by swimming across the Jordan succeeded
in escaping pursuit. At another time he was shut up in the fortress of
Beth-basi, which Josephus identifies with Beth-hoglah, in the midst of
the Jordan valley, a little southeast of Jericho. It is more probably
to be identified with some one of the many natural strongholds along
the Wady el-Bassah, which leads through the eastern part of the
wilderness of Tekoa down toward the Dead Sea.
=Basis of Agreement With the Syrians.= Finding that pursuit was
futile, the Syrian general made a treaty with Jonathan, according to
which he was allowed to establish his head-quarters at the ancient
fortress of Michmash^{(85)} on the northern borders of Judah and to
rule in peace as a local chieftain. He in turn was to refrain from
attack upon the Syrians, who were intrenched in certain strategic
strongholds. Jericho guarded the eastern bounds of Judah. The border
fortresses on the north included Beth-horon, the ancient sanctuary of
Bethel, Timnath, north of Beth-horon, Pharathon, which is without much
doubt to be identified with Farata, southwest of Shechem, and Tephon,
which probably represents the ancient Tappuah, a little west of the
main highway that leads southward from Shechem. The western border
fortresses were Gazara in the northwest and Bethsura, the ancient
Bethzur,^{(114)} in the southwest.
=Concessions to Jonathan.= As a result of the rivalry between the
different claimants for the Syrian throne, Jonathan was suddenly
raised from his position of comparative unimportance to the virtual
rulership of all southern Palestine. A certain Alexander Balas, who
claimed to be the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, the arch persecutor of
the Jews, finally gave Jonathan the title of high priest and the
control not only of Judea, but of the Philistine coast. Jonathan, by
the sword, quickly made valid these concessions. Joppa, the natural
seaport of Jerusalem, was first seized. Then Azotus, the ancient
Ashdod, was captured after a Syrian army had been defeated on the
plain before its walls, and the famous temple of Dagon was burned.
=Jonathan's Conquests.= When Jonathan's patron, Alexander Balas, was
overthrown by a Ptolemy of Egypt, the Jewish leader readily
transferred his allegiance to the Syrian king, Demetrius II. Ignoring
the fact that he himself was struggling for freedom, Jonathan
disgraced the Jewish cause by sending troops to aid this tyrant in
carrying through a great massacre of his subjects in the streets of
Antioch. Already personal ambitions were beginning to obscure the
nobler patriotic ideals that had at first actuated the warlike sons of
the old priest, Mattathias. In a short time a son of Alexander Balas
appeared on the political horizon and won the allegiance of Jonathan
by granting him control of the entire coast land from the Ladder of
Tyre to the border of Egypt. The Jewish leader improved this
opportunity to complete the conquest of the Philistine cities and to
capture the stronghold of Bethsura. An army of Demetrius II was also
defeated on the Plain of Hazor, west of Lake Huleh. A little later
Jonathan led an army into the country of Hamath, between the Lebanons,
but met with no serious opposition. Returning to Jerusalem, he tore
down a part of the eastern wall opposite the citadel and with the
stones built a high rampart in order to cut off the heathen garrison
from all contact with the rest of the city. Jonathan, however, soon
fell a prey to craft and treachery, which he himself had repeatedly
used. Lured into the city of Ptolemais by an ambitious general, who
had placed on the Syrian throne the young son of Alexander Balas,
Jonathan was captured and later put to death.
=Simon's Achievements.= By this act Simon, the oldest and most
judicious of the five famous brothers, was called to the leadership of
the Jewish people. Profiting by the weakness of Syria, he devoted
himself to expanding and strengthening his kingdom. The strong western
border fortress of Gazara^{(61)} was captured after a short but
energetic defence. The heathen population was expelled and Jewish
colonies were settled both here and at Joppa. Thus Simon established a
direct line of communication between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean
trade routes, and opened the way for that foreign commerce which soon
brought great wealth to the Jewish kingdom. At last, for the first
time in centuries, the citadel at Jerusalem was captured and held by
the Jews. The temple mount beside the citadel was made stronger than
before and the Jews at last felt that sense of security which came
from complete possession of their land and of its fortified outposts.
=His Strong and Prosperous Rule.= Simon's reign was one of comparative
peace and prosperity. A Syrian army invaded the Philistine Plain and
took their position at Kidron, which is probably to be identified with
Katrah, three and one-half miles southwest of Ekron. Simon sent a
strong army against the invaders, under the leadership of his two
oldest sons, Judas and John. The battle was fought in the plain
between Kidron and Modein. Boldly advancing to the attack the Jewish
army put the Syrians to flight, pursuing them to Kidron and the towers
near Azotus, which they quickly captured. In gratitude for his
patriotic services and beneficient rule, the Jews confirmed Simon in
the title of high priest, general, and governor. His rule and that of
his son who succeeded him were the fruitage of the earlier struggles
and the calm before the storm of foreign invasion that before long
again swept Palestine. Like his other brothers, Simon died a violent
death. He was the victim of the treachery of one of his sons-in-law,
who slew him at the little stronghold of Dôk, in the Jordan valley, on
the edge of the western hills about three miles north of Jericho.
=Growth of the Two Rival Parties.= Simon was followed by his son, John
Hyrcanus, who drove his father's assassin from the land. With the
military skill of his illustrious father and uncles he combined a
strong personal ambition. This is shown not only by his conquests, but
also by his employment of foreign mercenaries. His long reign of
thirty-one years witnessed the development of the two great parties in
Judaism, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were the expression of
the conflicting ideas and ideals ever present in Jewish life, but now
brought into clear relief. The party of the Sadducees comprised the
high priestly nobles, whose rank, wealth, and ambitions made them
conservatives and led them to support the political ambitions of the
Maccabean kings. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were the party of
the people. They were the strenuous champions of the law. While the
question of freedom of worship was at issue, they had upheld Judas,
but they cared little for political glory and preferred to submit to
foreign rulers rather than to fight for their independence. They also
considered it a sacrilege that warriors like John Hyrcanus should
perform the sacred high-priestly functions. Hence from the days of
John Hyrcanus the history of the Judean kingdom was that of a house
divided against itself.
=Wars and Conquests of John Hyrcanus.= During the early part of John's
reign Judea was again invaded by the Syrians. Jerusalem was besieged
and the Jews were again obliged to recognize the old suzerainty.
Fortunately for them the Syrian king was intent upon invading Parthia
and, therefore, in order to secure the support of John Hyrcanus, left
him in possession of his kingdom. After the death of Antiochus Sidetes
in this eastern campaign, John was free to complete the conquest of
the ancient foes of his race. His first campaign was east of the Dead
Sea and resulted in the capture of the old Moabite city of Medeba. He
then marched against Shechem and Mount Gerizim, the home of the
Samaritans. Their temple was left in ruins and their territory was
joined to the Jewish kingdom. The Idumean stronghold, Marissa,^{(108)}
on the borders of the Philistine Plain, and Dora, or Adora, a few
miles southwest of Hebron, were captured and the Idumeans were
completely subdued. These close kinsmen and hereditary foes of the
Jews were compelled to submit to the right of circumcision and to
accept the Hebrew laws. Thus at the point of the sword was brought
into the Jewish nation an element which was destined in the end to
prove its undoing. Last of all, Hyrcanus conquered, by means of a
protracted siege, the then Greek city of Samaria. The Syrian army sent
to its relief was vanquished and the city completely demolished.
=Reign of Aristobulus I.= Notwithstanding its independence and
political strength, the Jewish kingdom was at this time largely
Hellenized. Aristobulus I, the son of John Hyrcanus, was, as his name
indicates, a man strongly influenced by the Greek culture and ideas
that were pressing into Palestine from every side. Following the
example of the Greek states, he assumed in 104 B.C. the title of king.
His brief reign was characterized by great brutality. His mother he
allowed to starve to death in prison, and through his insane jealousy
he slew his favorite brother. By far the most significant event of his
reign was the conquest of Galilee. Its Iturean or half-Arabian
population was assimilated to Judaism and the foundations laid for
that freer, more virile life which was the background of early
Christian history.
=The Cruel Rule of Alexander Janneus.= Alexander Janneus, the brother
who succeeded Aristobulus, was known among the Jews as "the Thracian,"
and he well deserved the title. His chief interests were war and
revelry. By his rash attacks upon the neighboring peoples he
repeatedly brought disaster upon his kingdom. He succeeded in
alienating his subjects so completely that they called in the king of
Damascus to free them from this inhuman monster. In the hour of their
success, however, they repented of their action, brought Janneus back
from the mountains whither he had fled, and restored him to the
throne. Instead of showing gratitude he hung upon crosses eight
hundred of the Pharisees who had opposed him, first slaying their
wives and children before their eyes. Notwithstanding his rashness and
his unmeasured excesses, he succeeded by sheer persistency in
extending the bounds of his kingdom, so that at his death his
authority was paramount along the Mediterranean coast from Mount
Carmel to the borders of Egypt, in central Palestine from upper
Galilee to the South Country, and in the east-Jordan land from east of
the Sea of Galilee to the Arnon. The outlying Greek cities which he
conquered were many of them laid in ruins and the land given up to
bands of robbers. At the moment when the Maccabean kingdom reached its
widest bounds its decay had already begun and distress was the lot of
most of its citizens.
=The Rivalry of Parties Under Alexandra.= Alexander Janneus was
succeeded by his wife Alexandra. The only other woman who had sat on
an Israelite throne was Athaliah of Judah, although reigning queens
were not uncommon in oriental history. She reversed the policy of her
husband and placed the Pharisees, the party of the people, in control.
They made the great mistake, however, of using their power to take
bloody revenge upon their Sadducean rivals. The result was that the
fatal breach between the two parties was broadened rather than healed.
The Sadducean and military party rallied about Aristobulus, while the
Pharisees upheld the cause of Alexandra's older son, Hyrcanus. Both of
her sons were lacking in kingly qualities. Hyrcanus was inefficient
and without ambition, more eager to enjoy a quiet life than to assume
the responsibilities of government; Aristobulus was imperious and
greedy of power.
=The Influence of Antipater.= At the death of Alexandra, Hyrcanus was
made high priest while Aristobulus II assumed the kingship. The
division was wise and equable, although in the circumstances a
permanent truce between the rival parties was impossible. It was at
this crisis that Antipater, the father of Herod the Great, became a
power in Jewish politics. Antipas, his father, an Idumean, had been
made governor of Idumea by Alexander Janneus. Antipater was suspicious
of Aristobulus and eager to secure power at any cost. In the weak
Hyrcanus he recognized a tool adapted to his aim. Accordingly he
persuaded the high priest to flee from Jerusalem, and enlisting the
support of his friend, Aretas, the powerful Nabatean king whose
capital was at Petra, he advanced to Jerusalem with a large army, in
order to wrest the kingdom from Aristobulus and to make Hyrcanus
nominal king. In the first engagement Aretas defeated Aristobulus, who
then took refuge with his army in the temple.
=Advance of Rome.= It was at this juncture that Rome advanced to the
conquest of the lands along the eastern Mediterranean. Already this
growing world-power had gained possession of Egypt and a foothold in
eastern Asia Minor. In 66 B.C. Pompey was sent to crush the allied
rival powers of Pontus and Armenia. After accomplishing this mission
he advanced southward toward Damascus. Already his lieutenant had
ordered the Nabatean army to leave Judea. The contest between the two
brothers, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, gave Rome, which had already acted
as a patron toward the Judean kingdom, the desired opportunity to step
in and assume control of the much coveted territory. Again Palestine
and Syria were the bone of contention between two great world-powers.
The political horizon, however, had broadened and now the rivals were
Rome in the distant west, and Parthia, the successor of the ancient
Persian empire in the east.
=The Appeal to Pompey.= The Jews had long been aware of the importance
of Rome's influence in the territory lying along the eastern
Mediterranean. It was natural, therefore, that the claimants for the
Jewish throne should refer their case to Pompey. At Damascus
representatives of the two factions pleaded their case before him.
More indicative still of the spirit of the Jewish race was an embassy
representing the people and especially the Pharisaic party, demanding
that the claims of both the rivals be set aside, so that the Jews
might be allowed in quiet to worship their God in accordance with
their sacred laws, under the protecting rule of a foreign power.
Pompey reserved his decision until he arrived at Jerusalem. His line
of approach was apparently along the Jordan valley past Bethshean,
then known as Scythopolis, to Korea, which Josephus describes as the
"first entrance into Judea when one passes over the midland
countries." This is probably to be identified with the modern Karawa,
on the southwestern side of the beautiful plain through which the Wady
el-Farah finds its way to the Jordan. Through this wady the highway
runs westward to what was at that time the northern boundary of Judea.
Aristobulus, anticipating that Pompey's decision would be adverse to
him, had shut himself up in the fortress of Alexandrium, built by his
father, Alexander Janneus. Apparently this famous fortress stood on
the height of Karn Sartabeh, which rises over two thousand two hundred
feet above the Jordan valley, just south of Korea and opposite the
point where the Wady Farah enters the river. Its top is strewn to-day
with large, rough-dressed blocks of stone, which probably belonged to
the ancient castle.
=Pompey's Capture of the Temple.= Aristobulus surrendered when ordered
to do so by Pompey, but his followers refused to lay down arms when
the Romans approached Jerusalem. Instead, they intrenched themselves
on the temple hill. Pompey, aided by Hyrcanus and Antipater, attacked
this inner fortress from the north. The deep ravine which led up from
the Kidron and the deep cutting across the northern extension of the
temple hill made the approach, even at this, the most vulnerable
point, exceedingly difficult. By filling in the great rock-cut fosse
Pompey was able at last to bring up his battering rams and to surmount
the high walls and fortresses that were massed at this point.
=Palestine Under the Rule of Rome.= In the settlement which followed
the capture of Jerusalem, Pompey condemned Aristobulus to follow the
chariot as a captive in the great triumphal procession at Rome.
Hyrcanus was stripped of all political power, but was allowed to
retain his position as high priest. Many of the Greek cities, both
along the coast of the Mediterranean and east of the Jordan, were
rebuilt. All of them were separated from Judea and placed under the
immediate direction of the Roman governor of Syria. Galilee, Judea,
and Idumea were annexed to the Roman empire, but governed together as
a sub-province. Under Gabinius, who carried out the policy of Pompey,
they were divided into five administrative districts, with centres at
Jerusalem in the south, Jericho, Amathus, and Gadara along the Jordan
valley, and Sepphoris in Galilee.
=Rebellions Led by Aristobulus and His Sons.= The peace of Palestine
was repeatedly disturbed by the attempts of the survivors of the
Maccabean house to recover their kingdom. The first rebellion, in 57
B.C., was led by Alexander, son of the deposed king, Aristobulus II,
about whom the Sadducean nobility and the military class in Judea
quickly rallied. He rebuilt the fortress of Alexandrium, but his
followers were defeated by a Roman army before its walls and he was
taken prisoner. The next year Aristobulus, with his son Antigonus,
escaped from Rome and rallied his followers again at Alexandrium. He
soon, however, abandoned this stronghold for the more inaccessible
fortress of Machærus, built by his father, Janneus, on a hill in the
middle of a deep ravine which led up on the eastern side of the Dead
Sea.^{(38)} Being far away from the majority of their followers and
without proper equipment for a long siege, the rebels were soon
obliged to capitulate. The third rebellion, again led by Alexander,
was quickly put down as the result of a decisive battle near Mount
Tabor. For years after, bands of robbers and rebels kept central
Galilee in a constant state of unrest, until finally the Roman
general, Cassius, subdued the country and sold thirty thousand of them
into slavery.