Last year at this time I shared an essay in this space that detailed the tragic fall of the Hasmoneans following their glorious early successes and restoration of the Second Temple.
In that article (“A Tragic, Shameful End,” December 6, 2013) I described the sequence that followed the death of Yehuda Maccabee, including the rise and fall of his brothers Yonansan and Shimon, the reigns of Shimon’s descendants Yochanan Hyrcanus and Yannai, and the civil war that developed between Yannai’s (and his wife Shlomtzion’s) sons Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. The essay concluded:
Such was the continued decline of the Hasmoneans. After a brief respite during the reign of the righteous Shlomtzion, this royal family continued to display the morally corrupt behavior that would eventually plunge the people into foreign subjugation and exile. Not again until the Great Rebellion of 66 CE would the Jewish people possess even fleeting political independence. By then it would prove to be too little, too late.
A primary outgrowth of the civil war at the time of Hyrcanus and Aristobulus was the introduction of foreign influence in Judean governance. At first, the younger and stronger Aristobulus had wrested control of the throne from his older brother. Hyrcanus would have remained content to leave matters alone, if not for the influence of Antipater, a scheming, power hungry Idumean who had served for many years as governor of his own people (a warring tribe that resided in the country’s south and had been forcibly converted to Judaism following their defeat at the hands of Yochanan Hyrcanus).
Neither side was able to resolve this fraternal conflict militarily. In 63 BCE, Pompey appeared in Syria with his legions. Exhausted, desperate, and concerned about what they perceived to be inevitable Roman intervention, both brothers appealed to Pompey in hope of a favorable decision. With this fateful decision, eighty-plus years of hard-earned Hasmonean independence would soon end.
After initially deciding in favor of Aristobulus (his larger bribe held sway with the greedy leader), the Roman changed his position in favor of Hyrcanus. He appointed him as ethnarch and high priest. Despite Hyrcanus’s titles, however, it was Antipater who held the real power.
Some years later, when it became apparent that Julius Caesar would defeat Pompey, Antipater backed Caesar. Due largely to his political maneuverings and support, Caesar appointed Antipater regent of Judah in 47 BCE. With that he became its ruler. Antipater used his new position to grant his sons the most important offices of state. The elder son, Phasael, was appointed governor of Jerusalem, while the younger son, Herod, occupied the same position in Galilee.
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Herod began his rise to power and prominence at the age of twenty-five in an inauspicious location. Galilee was an area known for its patriotic fervor; its inhabitants did not easily submit themselves to Idumean/Roman policy. Indeed, soon after he took office an underground movement developed. It was led by a certain Chizkiyahu, and was committed to resistance against Rome and its officers, including the new governor.
Against this resistance Herod took quick and decisive action. He ruthlessly crushed the revolt, and, despite lacking official Roman sanction, ordered the rebel leaders put to death without trial. By authorizing this mass murder, Herod made a grievous error. In his eagerness to demonstrate strong leadership, he had shocked and offended the people, who were unwilling to tolerate such barbarity. At their urging, Hyrcanus convened a special panel of sages and leaders in Jerusalem to arraign and try him. Had he been found guilty, he would have faced the death penalty.
Initially it was uncertain as to whether Herod would actually stand trial. The Jewish courts no longer possessed sufficient power to force those accused to appear before them. But Herod came. It was unlike the new governor to resist a challenge, even at the risk of his own life. Using a display of force and courage that would be the hallmark of Herod’s reign, he intimidated the court, and soon after used Hyrcanus’s weakness to escape. Herod would later return, at tremendous cost to the Jewish people.
