THE HASMONEAN DYNASTY
The last kings of Judea set the stage for the coming of Christ in the fullness of time
by John Martin
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We may wonder about how bad it could have been for God himself to send his own Son into the world to intervene. Did the “fullness of time” really require Christ to enter human history specifically two-thousand years ago? In an attempt to better understand the historical circumstances behind Christ’s earthly years, this essay will examine the history of the Hasmonean dynasty, the last truly independent kings of Judea. This historical period is, at times, stranger and more entertaining than fiction. Filled with envy, wrath, machiavellianism, and a passionate and bitter war between Hellenism, the Jews, and the later Roman empire, this story is an epic that even Homer himself would be hard-pressed to write.
Around 400 BC, the ancient world was feeling the influence of an ever-increasing Greek empire; the region known as Judea (which includes Jerusalem) is no exception. Our story begins with the Seleucid king Antiochus IV. At the time, Antiochus had brought much of Greek culture into the area and heavily encouraged Hellenistic culture and ways of life. This stood in stark contrast to the Jews who had their own way of life and were very orthodox in their religious loyalty to God.
Antiochus, upset by this fact, thought they needed to be pushed to become more Hellenized since, compared to the other cities and people, Jerusalem and the Jews were slow to embrace it. Antiochus sent his general Apollonius to take control of the city of Jerusalem, built a fort outside called Akra, and Antiochus ordered that there be a statue of Zeus put in the Temple of which the statue’s face resembled himself (the Abomination of Desolation as described in the Book of Daniel).
Amigoni, Jacopi. The Emperor Alexander meeting the Grand Priest Jaddus. Musée de l’Hospice Saint-Roch. Issoudun.
Amigoni, Jacopi. The Emperor Alexander meeting the Grand Priest Jaddus. Musée de l’Hospice Saint-Roch. Issoudun.
Antiochus took it even further and banned the Torah, commanding that any found copies be burned. He also made the circumcision of young boys, observing the Sabbath, and celebrating Jewish holidays punishable by death. All of this was in an attempt to eradicate the Jewish traditions and writings so that as the more strict orthodox Jews died out, the impressionable young ones could be indoctrinated into Hellenism (Judea Weeping, Brauer, 7).
This mass conversion was not met with idleness, however. An example of the fight that began to brew is with the father of the soon to be high priests and rulers of Judea, Mattathias. He was a priest and a member of the aristocratic family known as the Hasmonaeans who lived in a town called Modin. One day, a Seleucid commissioner came to the town demanding that they make pagan sacrifices. As a Jew went up to obey the order, Mattathias, filled with rage and disgust, killed the unfaithful Jew. “The revolt against the God Manifest had begun” (Brauer, 8).
Mattathias and his five grown sons escaped to the wilderness and were soon joined by many other Jews hungry for rebellion against their tyrant ruler. One of Mattathias’ sons, Judas, rallied the rebels and began using guerilla warfare against the mightier Seleucid forces. Facing mounting pressure to end the fighting, a Seleucid governor called a truce and allowed Judas and his troops to return home to Jerusalem. Despite their heroic fighting, they weren’t greeted quite as warmly as they would have thought. The battle-wearied Jews were shocked to see the fortress of Akra still standing near. Judas, however, would have the last laugh as he destroyed the image of Zeus in the Temple and purified the altar from its pagan defilement.
From there, the only thing left standing between them and their freedom was the fortress Akra. As the years continued, they had frequent battles against Seleucid soldiers stationed there. The Jews, in response, used the Temple Mount as their own fortification. At around the same time, Eleazar, one of Judas’ brothers, died by being crushed under the weight by a war elephant. To make matters worse, in a battle against the Seleucids, the Jews were outnumbered seven to one and most deserted the fight. All who stayed perished, including Judas.
This devastating blow would not be the death of the cause, however. Turmoil in the ranks of the Seleucids allowed the Jewish rebels to strengthen themselves. During this critical time, a contender for the throne offered Johnathan, one of Judas’ brothers, the title of high priest for their family’s bravery. Compared to the time of Matthias, the Hasmonaean house became very powerful in Judea. Simon, Jonathan’s brother, helped extend its territory and gains even further since the Seleucids had broken out into civil war. When Johnathan died, the high priesthood was given to Simon who, as one last blow to the Seleucids, starved the Akra fortress into submission, making all of the Seleucids’s control of Judea gone and allowing them to be an independent government. Judea refashioned itself as a theocracy with Simon as high priest at the center. “The Jews would later look back on Simon’s administration as an idyllic age” (Brauer, 10). However, as much of ancient history and politics goes, this time of peace would begin to fade.
When Simon died, his son John Hyrcanus took the high priesthood and with it he conquered the Idumaeans, fierce Arabic peoples that lived South of Judea. After conquering them, he forcefully converted them to Judaism. This would have drastic effects later in Judea’s history. John Hyrcanus was lax in his interpretation of the Law in Torah, leading him to do what many armies of other nations did at the time: he hired mercenaries from other ethnicities and religions who fought only for cash, not for Judea. This would be reflected in his son who took the high priesthood after he died named Aristobulus. Aristobulus was also called Philhellene meaning “Greek Lover” for his affections towards Greek ways and for the use of mercenaries. He followed in his father’s footsteps, conquering land north of Judea and forcefully converting the people to Judaism, though he died before he could do more.
A woodcut depcting Aristobulus I by the print-maker Guillaume Rouille in his 1553 work Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum ("Images of Renowned People").
The high priesthood went to one of Aristobulus’ brothers, Alexander Jannaeus, who went so far as to declare himself king, initiating military conquests and expanding his rule to about the same territory King David covered. Many of the people loathed the constant conquest and wars and the Pharisees spoke out about a high priest such as Alexander also being a soldier. When Alexander died, the throne went to his wife Alexandra Salome. However, she soon died and Judea experienced a civil war between the sons of Alexander.
The two main contesters of the throne during this civil war were Hyrcanus and Aristobulus II. Hyrcanus was the most likely to be king because of his cool and calm nature compared to the fiery aggressiveness that Aristobulus inherited from his father. During a battle, Hyrcanus’ men abandoned him to join Aristobulus, leading to a devastating shift in the struggle. Despite this and to avoid further bloodshed, the brothers made a deal to where Aristobulus would be king and Hyrcanus would become high priest. This deal would not last long, however, as the high priesthood was stolen by Aristobulus, forcing Hyrcanus to retire to private life.
With Aristobulus’ power all but secure, one man changed the course of this kingship. A wealthy Arab named Antipater of Idumaea, was just as power hungry as his neighbor King Aristobulus II. Seeing an opportunity to undermine the Hasmonean throne, he colluded with Hyrcanus, suggesting to him that he steal the throne and usurp his brother Aristobulus. Antipater found Hyrcanus suggestible and thought that “once Hyrcanus was king again, Antipater could direct the government from behind the throne” (Brauer, 14).
At the same time, the Roman Emperor Pompey had taken over the weak Syrian empire and made it a province of Rome. Aristobolus, aware of the plot by Hyrcanus and Antipater, knew that he needed the help of a powerful and wealthy patron if he was to retain his power. Artistobulus visits Pompey, asking for assistance and to form an alliance. Unbeknownst to Aristobulus, however, his brother Hyrcanus has the same exact idea in mind. Pompey preferred Hyrcanus and saw the same weak, suggestible nature that Antipater saw in him. Realizing that Pompey was plotting against him as well, Aristobulus fled back to Jerusalem where he made military preparations against Rome. Pompey quickly launched an offensive, setting up Roman camps outside Jerusalem. In a last ditch attempt to appease Pompey, Aristobulus offered him money and promised to surrender both the city and himself. Pompey thought this was a good deal but, when he sent his officer Gabinius to collect the money, Aristobulus’ allies would not let him in, greatly angering Pompey. Pompey took Aristobulus prisoner, inciting a small civil war between his and Hyrcanus’ supporters (Brauer, 15).
Aristobulus’ supporters were outnumbered and ran up the hill to the Temple. Hyrcanus’ supporters allowed the gates to be open for the Romans, letting them in. A three month siege of the Temple took place and all the while “the priests gave their offerings to God until the Romans and Hyrcanus’ men ran swords through them at the altar”(Brauer, 16).
This is only but a small portion of the lead up to the birth of Christ, but all this shows blatantly that unrest was brewing. Games of power were at play rather than God, it seems, in these days of Jerusalem. The story of the Jew's and the world's descent into sin doesn’t stop here. Rather, hope was still on the horizon to come eventually in the person of Jesus Christ. Time was the only thing between them and their Messiah.
Work Cited:
Brauer, G., 1970. Judaea Weeping. New York: Crowell.
John Martin (Class of 2025) was born in Kenner, LA and lives in Terrytown, LA. He is Vice President of the Chess club, a member of the Shaw Eagles band, the Shaw Choir and Dead Theologians Society.
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