Other messengers, this time on behalf of the people, begged for Pompey to end the rule of Kings over the land. Again, both parties sent messengers to Pompey, Antipater on behalf of Hyrcanus and a man called Nikodeimos on behalf of Aristobulus. Scaurus left Judea after those events.Īfter his war in Armenia, Pompey arrived in Syria and received a gift of 500 talents of Gold from Aristobulus.
Following the departure of Aretas, Aristobulus led his army against Hyracus and they engaged in a battle at Papiron and killed 6,000 of them, including Phalion, brother of Antipater. This led to Aretas departing leaving Hyrcanus without Nabatean support. The two brothers sent messengers to Scaurus trying to convince him to align with them, but the 300 talents of silver (or 400) sent to him by Aristobulus as well as the fact that Jerusalem would be too hard to breach, persuaded him to fight against Hyrcanus and Aretas. Pompey sent Marcus Aemilius Scaurus to Syria while Pompey fought against Armenia. Roman involvement Negotiations with Scaurus Aristobulus fell back to Jerusalem, which was laid under siege at Passover of that year. Some switched sides and joined Hyrcanus' army. Aretas' men began advancing towards Jerusalem, defeating Aristobulus' forces. He made a deal with Aretas, offering to return to Nabataea 12 cities that had been taken from them by his father Alexander Jannaeus.Īretas gave Hyranus 50,000 cavalrymen and infantrymen. One night, Hyrcanus escaped and traveled to Petra, capital of the Nabataeans, where he gave many gifts to please Aretas. He convinced Hyrcanus to fight for the crown, and spoke to Aretas III, king of the Nabataeans, about the great qualities of Hyrcanus and his birthright and convinced him to support him.
However, eventually after negotiations the brother made peace and Hyrcanus abdicated the throne to Aristobulus, who ensured Hyrcanus' safety.Īntipater the Idumean, a rich Idumean and an influential person in the Judean politics strongly disliked Aristobulus and preferred Hyrcanus as king. The two brothers' forces engaged nearby Jericho, in which many of Hyrcanus' men joined Aristobulus, after that Hyrcanus quickly escaped to the Antonia Keep where his brother's family was being held. She died shortly after, following which Hyrcanus was crowned King of Judea. Alexandra, who favored her elder son Hyrcanus, ordered the jailing of Aristobulus' wife and sons in the Antonia Keep in Jerusalem, to the north of the Temple Mount. For this reason, Aristobulus began making connections with military officials and owners of bastions even during his mother's lifetime.Įarly stages Brothers prepare for conflict Īlexandra was very sick at the end of her days and Aristobulus began using his connections to take over the walled cities and bastions of the Hasmonean realm and used the money he found there to further hire mercenaries and declared himself king when she was still alive. Hyrcanus, the elder son, was not as popular with the people and mostly sided with the Pharisees, while his younger brother Aristobulus was very ambitious and popular and tended to side with the Sadducees. The kingdom reached its greatest extent during the reigns of Alexander Jannaeus and Salome Alexandra, who had two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. The Hasmonean Dynasty had been established after the Maccabean Revolt and had gained independence from the Seleucid Empire, after which it became a powerful regional kingdom.