Antipater in fear of Ariftobulus. Yr. of Fl. 2283. Ante Chr. 65. Cabals with the difcontent ed Phari jees. Carries Hyrcan in. to Arabia. profelyte, and had been appointed governor of Idumæa by Alexander Jannæus. This perfon, though, in all likelihood, indifferent as to the diftinction between Pharifee and Sadducee, was in as great danger of feeling the refentments of Ariftobulus, as any of the former fect. His peculiar skill and and address, backed by an unmeasurable ambition, had long before recommended him to the favour of the late king Alexander, and of his queen Alexandra, who had bestowed the government of Idumæa upon him; and, as he had ftill looked upon Hyrcan as their fucceffor, the hopes of advancing himself ftill higher under that foft prince, had betrayed him into a more than ordinary zeal for his intereft; fo that, when he came to fee his brother on the throne, he had all the reason in the world, not only to despair of further advancement, but to dread his refentment. This confideration determined him to join the difcontented Pharifees, whom he took care to fill with fears and jealoufies, from that prince, whom they ftyled an ufurper; and who, he told them, would never think himself secure, till he had cut off his brother, and, with him, all that had been in his interest. As foon as he had gained Hyrcan's confent, he readily offered to negotiate that affair with Aretas, king of Arabia; and this commiffion he executed with fuch privacy and dispatch, that he came back very foon, took Hyrcan with him in the night, and, by long journeys, conveyed him to Petra, the metropolis of Arabia, where he prefented him to the king. It is likely that Antipater, at his first interview with Aretas, had only engaged him to protect Hyrcan against his brother; but now they were both at his court, he began to open to him the other part of his defign, and to convince him how much it would be his intereft to affift him in the recovery of his kingdom, by affuring him that he should have all the places reftored to him, which had been heretofore taken from him by the Jewish kings, which were very many and confiderable, and which he must never hope to recover, as long as Ariftobulus was on the throne. Hyrcan was eafily perfuaded to confirm all his minifter Aretas in- had faid, and to ratify all the engagements he had made vades Ju- to the Arabian king, who came foon after with them into Judæa, at the head of an army of five thousand men, where he was joined by thofe of Hyrcan's party. Ariftobulus marched against him, and an obftinate fight enAriftobulus fued, in which he was totally defeated, and forced to flee defeated. into Jerufalem. Aretas purfued him thither, and, entering that metropolis without oppofition, drove him and his daa. few few men, most of them priefts, into the precinct of the Befieged in temple, and there closely befieged him, whilst the rest of the temple. the people declared for the conqueror 1. SECT. IV. The Hiftory of the Jews, from their being fubdued by the Romans to the Reign of Herod the Great. ARISTOBULUS, being thus ftreightly befieged by Yr. of Fl. 2283. Ante Chr. 65. The Ro mans in lus. Ariftobu lus. the Arabian king, and forfaken by all his party, was forced to have recourfe to the Romans. Pompey, having by this time overcome Tigranes, was retired into the Leffer Armenia, and from thence had dispatched Gabinius into Judæa; and this last, having received three hundred talents from Ariftobulus, was gone back without having vited by taken any steps either for or against his intereft. Scaurus Ariftobucame next from Syria into Judæa, and, in his way, was met by fome ambaffadors from the two contending brothers, each to implore his friendship and affiftance, for which they offered him four hundred talents. Scaurus, Scaurus who knew Ariftobulus to be the more liberal, and the bought by braver of the two, fuffered himself to be gained by him; befides, he rightly judged it would be the eafier tafk to restore him, fince he need but oblige Aretas to raise the fiege, and depart out of Judæa, and Hyrcan would foon be abandoned by his party. He therefore wrote a threatening letter to Aretas, in which he told him, that, if he did not immediately withdraw his troops, he fhould be declared an enemy to Rome, and oblige Pompey to turn his arms against his country. Aretas, who had no mind to exafperate the Roman general, readily obeyed, and led his army out of Judæa: Scaurus returned to Damascus ; and Ariftobulus, being thus timely relieved, affembled a body of forces, and purfued the Arabian king. He overtook him, and his brother Hyrcan, at a place called Papyrion, where he engaged and defeated him, after hav- Aretas deing killed feven thousand of his men, and amongst them feated. Cephalion, the brother of Antipater V. Much about the The two fame time Pompey, being come to Damafcus, received brothers ambaffadors from all the neighbouring ftates, especially fend prethofe of Judæa, Syria, and Egypt. The princes of thefe fents to three being but a kind of ufurpers, were extremely defir ↑ Antiq. lib. xiv. cap. 4. Bell. Jud. lib. i. cap. 5. K VOL. III. Iid. ibid. ous Pompey. Send a fecond embally. Yr. of Fl. 2285. Ante Chr. 63. cause in perfon. A fet of Jews plead against them both. ous to bring the Romans over to their intereft, and endeavoured to gain their general by most magnificent prefents (N). Soon after this occafion, the two contending brothers fent feparate embaflies to Pompey, on his coming into Coelefyria, each to implore his friendship and patronage against the other; Antipater in behalf of Hyrcan, and Nicodemus in behalf of Ariftobulus. Both were heard with feeming equanimity, difmiffed with fair promifes, and the two brothers ordered to appear in perfon, and to plead their caufe before him. After a full hearing, he engaged to decide the controversy as juftice should direct. Early in the following year Pompey returned to Syria, where he depofed feveral petty tyrants, took several fortreffes, particularly that of Lyfiad, of which Silas a Jew had made himself mafter, and came at length to DamasPlead their cus Here he found the two brothers, who were come to plead their caufe and pretenfions before him, and had brought a great number of witneffes to their respective pleas. But, befides thefe, there came another fet of Jews, to plead against them both, alleging, that their nation had been for a long time governed only by the high-priefts of the God of Ifrael, without the regal dignity; and that, though the two brothers were of the facerdotal race, they had governed them contrary to their ancient laws, by taking the power and title of kings, and thereby reducing the Jewish nation into a state of flavery. Hyrcan spoke next, and complained, that being the elder brother, he had been unjustly depofed by Ariftobulus, and by him. forced into a private ftate, with only the income of a few paternal lands, whilft Ariftobulus, not contented with the revenues of the whole kingdom, committed continual depredations on his neighbours both by fea and land. For Hyrcan's defence. (N) Ariftobulus, for his part, fent him a golden vine, upon a fquare mount, with the fruit on it, and deer, lions, and other beafts about it, all of the fame precious metal. This curious piece had been formerly made by Alexander Jannæus, and was now fent to Pompey, who conveyed it to Rome, where it was depofited in the temple of Jupiter, in the Ca pitol. Strabo tells us that he faw it there, and that it was reckoned worth five thousand talents. However, the fenate, being neither willing to acknowlege Ariftobulus for king of Judæa, nor to return fo noble and curious a prefent, ordered it to be infcribed to his father Alexander, king of the Jews. proof proof of all which, he brought a thousand of the principal Jews, who had been gained by Antipater, to witnefs what he had alleged. To this charge Ariftobulus replied, that Ariftobuhe had indeed turned his brother out of the government; lus's reply.. but that it was, because he was incapable of holding it, and not from any ambitious views of his own; that Hyrcan was a perfon of fo inactive and fluggish a difpofition, and so despised by the people, that he had been forced to wreft the power out of his hands, left it should be tranfferred into another family. He added, that, as to the royal title, it was no other than his father Alexander had borne before him. However, Pompey, after a full hear- Pompey ing of all parties, wifely deferred giving his fentence, left puts off the Ariftobulus, against whom he defigned to declare, fhould decifion; obftruct his intended expedition against the Nabatheans; and contented himself with difmiffing them with a promife, that as foon as he had fubdued Aretas, he would come himself into Judæa, and there determine their controversy. Ariftobulus, who looked upon this delay as an and Arifto ill omen, and did not perhaps care to fee Pompey in Ju- bulus goes dæa, went away in disgust, firft to Delion, and thence off in difinto Judæa, without fo much as taking leave of the Ro- guf. man general", His abrupt departure incenfed Pompey, who forthwith affembled his troops, and marched directly to Judæa. Ariftobulus had raised a good army, and was himself at the caftle of Alexandrion, a place of no fmall ftrength (0), when Pompey entered Judæa. As foon as this laft had reached Corea, he fent for Ariftobulus to come to him; Is fummonwho would willingly have excufed himself, but was at ed to aplength prevailed upon by thofe that were about him to pear before obey the fummons, and prevent thereby a war with the him. Roman general. He came accordingly, more than once or twice, and conferred with him about the difpute between his brother and him, fparing neither compliments, promises, nor presents, to engage him on his fide. Pom- Pompey's pey as often difmiffed him with a fhew of friendship, and partiality fuffered him to return to his caftle. At length he pro- against pofed to him, that he should put all his fortreffes into his him. w Antiq. lib. xiv. cap. 5. & Bell. Judg. lib. i. cap. 5. (O) This fortrefs had been built by his father Alexander Jannæus, and was from him called Alexandrion; it was fituate on a high mountain, in the very entrance into Judæa, K 2 hands, Pompey comes a gainf Ferujalem. hands, and fend orders to all his governors to resign them to him without hesitation. It was eafy then for him to fee, that the Roman general was in his brother's intereft, and wanted only to put it out of his power to maintain himself against his decifion. But though he had long fufpected his partiality, and taken all poffible methods to fecure himfelf against it, yet was he forced, though much against his will, to comply with the proposal, being now in that general's hands. But, as soon as he found himself at liberty, he fled with all fpeed to Jerufalem, with full refolution to defeat his defign *. Pompey foon followed him to that metropolis; then Ariftobulus, repenting of what he had done, came out, and went to throw himself at his feet, and to beg of him to forbear any hoftilities against the Jewifh nation, promifing him a confiderable fum of money upon that condition. The general agreed to it, and, keeping him in his camp, fent Gabinius with fome troops to receive the money; but he was repulfed by the garrifon, who fhut the gates Keeps Ari- against him, and refused to perform the agreement. This fiebulus in difappointment fo exafperated Pompey, that he ordered chains, Ariftobulus to be kept in chains, and marched directly with his whole army against the city. and be The inhabitants being divided into the two factions of Hyrcan and Ariftobulus; the former, which was the more numerous, opened the gates; while the other took fhelter in the temple. Pompey fent Pifo, one of his generals, with a number of troops, to fecure the place, and the royal palaces, whilft thofe that were in the temple were bufy in fortifying every part of it that could be of fervice for fuftaining a fiege. He at firft offered propofals of peace; but finding them determined on hoftile meafeges the fures, he refolved to befiege the temple in form. He becity. gan with inclofing the place with a strong wall, to prevent either their flight, or their receiving any help from without; Hyrcan gladly furnishing him with all necessary implements to carry on the work. Battering rams, and other engines of war, being brought to him from Tyre, he ordered the attack to be made on the north fide of the temple, which was the weakeft, though inclosed with ftrong walls, high towers, and other fortifications; having a large deep ditch, and a fpacious valley beneath. As for the other fides of it, they were in a manner inaccef fible, after the bridges had been broken down. The bat × Antiq. lib. xiv. cap. 6. Bell. Jud. ubi supra. |