Prelude: the Maccabean Revolt In 332 BCE Judea was conquered by
Alexander the Great, and after his death it became a contested territory among the
Hellenistic successor states. For over a century
Ptolemaic Egypt ruled the southern Levant, until c. 200 BCE, when the
Seleucid Empire, based in Syria, gained control of the region. Initially, the Seleucids treated the Jews favorably:
Antiochus III the Great granted them autonomy and the right to live according to their ancestral laws. The situation deteriorated under his successor,
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who sold the high priesthood to the highest bidder, transformed Jerusalem into a Hellenized
Polis, and deepened divisions between pro-Hellenists and traditionalists loyal to the
Torah. in 162 BCE, where the Maccabean rebels suffered a temporary setback. Illustration by
Gustave Doré in 1866. When Antiochus, humiliated after a failed Egyptian campaign, issued decrees banning Jewish practices and desecrated the
Jerusalem Temple in 167 BCE, rebellion erupted. According to 1 Maccabees, the uprising began in the town of
Modi'in, where the priest
Mattathias the Hasmonean killed both a Hellenized Jew and a royal official who ordered him to sacrifice to the
Greek gods. Mattathias and his sons—the Maccabean brothers—then fled to the wilderness, rallying others to resist both the Seleucid authorities and their local collaborators. After Mattathias's death, leadership passed to his son Judah Maccabeus. Judah proved an exceptional commander, winning victories over Seleucid forces at
Beth Horon,
Emmaus, and other sites between 166 and 164 BCE. These successes enabled the rebels to retake Jerusalem and purify the Second Temple, which had been defiled by pagan worship. The rededication, on the 25th of Kislev 164 BCE–three years to the day after its desecration–is commemorated to this day on the Jewish festival of
Hanukkah. Although the new Seleucid regime under
Antiochus V revoked the religious decrees and again recognized the Jews as an ethnos, the Hasmonean struggle for independence continued. In subsequent years, Judah faced renewed Seleucid attacks. At
Beth Zechariah, his brother
Eleazar died heroically fighting
war elephants. When the Seleucid general Lysias temporarily besieged Jerusalem, political turmoil in the Seleucid capital,
Antioch, forced him to withdraw. The Seleucid commander
Nicanor initially negotiated with Judah but later fought against him, culminating in Nicanor's
defeat and death at Adasa. In 161 BCE, the Jews sent two ambassadors to
Rome, where they secured a treaty of friendship and alliance between the Jewish people and the
Roman Republic. In 160 BCE, Judah was killed during the
Battle of Elasa, where he fought the army of Seleucid general
Bacchides. His death marked a setback for the revolt.
Jonathan Apphus (160–143 BCE) After Bacchides' renewed suppression of the Hasmonean party, Jonathan assumed leadership of the survivors. He and his followers escaped to the wilderness of
Tekoa, established a base in the
Judaean Desert at Bor Asphar, fought off Seleucid pursuit across the
Jordan River, and gradually rebuilt the movement's strength. Bacchides soon withdrew, and fighting subsided for a time. It resumed in 157 BCE when Jonathan's Hellenist opponents called on the Syrians for aid. Bacchides returned, but Jonathan and his brother Simon fortified themselves at Beth-Basi near
Bethlehem and successfully resisted his siege. After suffering heavy losses, Bacchides made peace with Jonathan, who settled in
Michmas. A decisive change came in 153 BCE when a civil war broke out in Syria between
Demetrius I and the pretender
Alexander Balas. To prevent Jonathan from siding with Balas, Demetrius released the hostages held in the
Akra citadel in Jerusalem and allowed Jonathan to raise troops and reside in Jerusalem. Jonathan rebuilt Jerusalem's walls and also those of the
Temple Mount. The fortresses Bacchides had built were dismantled as Demetrius needed his troops for the dynastic struggle, leaving only garrisons in the Akra and Beth-Zur. In 152 BCE Balas sought Jonathan's support by appointing him High Priest and formally recognizing him as the ruler of Judea, also adding him to the order of the "king's friends", one of the honorifics of the Seleucid regime. As a High Priest, Jonathan received permission to wear a purple robe and a golden crown sent by Alexander Balas, and appeared in them at the Jewish festival of
Sukkot. Demetrius I was defeated in the summer of 150 BCE, but a few years later, around 147 BCE, his son
Demetrius II renewed the Seleucid civil war. Jonathan defeated his general Apollonius near
Ashdod, stationed a garrison in the port city of
Jaffa, and burned the temple of
Dagon in Ashdod. Balas granted him the city of
Ekron and its territories, which now made Judea the ruler of the entire ancient region of Philistia. After Balas was defeated and killed, Demetrius II became sole ruler of the Seleucid kingdom. Jonathan maintained a firm stance toward Demetrius II and even besieged the Akra. Meeting with the king at
Acre, he secured exemption of Judea from taxation and annexation of three toparchies already inhabited by Jews—Ephraim,
Lod, and
Ramathaim—that were previously part of Samaria, in return for lifting the siege and paying 300 talents. He also sent Jewish troops to assist Demetrius in suppressing a revolt in Antioch. Relations later deteriorated, as Demetrius refused to evacuate the Akra. Jonathan shifted his allegiance to the Seleucid general
Diodotus-Tryphon, tutor of Balas' young son
Antiochus VI. Tryphon confirmed Jonathan's authority and appointed his brother Simon commander of the coastal region from
Tyre to the Egyptian border. The brothers campaigned against Demetrius' supporters, with Jonathan going as far as Galilee, northern Syria, and the Eleutherus River (today's
Nahr al-Kabir, Lebanon). Simon captured Beth-Zur, replacing the Syrian garrison with a Jewish one; He also stationed Jewish troops in Joppa, and fortified Hadid in the Shephelah. Jonathan, returning from the north, strengthened Judea's defenses and tightened the siege of the Akra. Jonathan also renewed Judea's alliance with Rome and reportedly corresponded with the city-state of
Sparta.
Simon Thassi (143–135 BCE) In 143 BCE, Tryphon lured Jonathan to Acre under pretense of ceding control on the city; however, Jonathan's bodyguard was massacred and he was taken captive. Simon immediately assumed leadership; He completed Jerusalem's fortifications, dispatched a Jewish garrison to Jaffa, expelled its Gentile inhabitants, and resettled Jews there. Tryphon advanced against Judea, claiming Jonathan was held only as a hostage for a state debt. Simon paid the demanded ransom and even sent Jonathan's sons as hostages, but Tryphon continued his campaign without freeing him. Simon then forced Tryphon's army onto indirect routes, and heavy snowfall ultimately blocked its advance toward Jerusalem and its effort to relieve the Akra garrison. He eventually withdrew to
Gilead and executed Jonathan at
Baskama. Simon later recovered his brother's body and buried it in a new family mausoleum at Modi'in honoring his brothers and parents. Simon renewed relations with Demetrius II, receiving gifts, the right to mint coinage, and full tax exemption for Judea. This was regarded by the Jews as the beginning of Judea's independence, and from 143/142 BCE onward, the years were counted according to the Hasmonean rulers. According to
1 Maccabees, in that year "the yoke of the Gentiles was lifted from Israel, and the people began to write on their records and their contracts, 'in the first year of Simon, the great high priest, commander and leader of the Jews'." Simon conquered
Gazara, expelled its Gentile inhabitants, and settled Jews there. He also cultivated diplomatic relations with the Roman Republic and Sparta. In 142/1 BCE Simon achieved the principal goal of his predecessors by capturing the Akra in Jerusalem; its inhabitants were expelled. Both
1 Maccabees and ''Megillat Ta'anit
note that the day of its capture was declared a festival. The Hellenist party was never mentioned again. Josephus reports that Simon ordered the hill on which the Akra stood to be leveled so it would no longer overlook the Temple. However, 1 Maccabees'' states that he fortified the site and settled Jews there. In September 140 BCE, a public assembly ratified a decree formalizing Simon's rule. It praised the achievements of his brothers and his own deeds, proclaiming him High Priest, national leader, and military commander, with hereditary succession in his family. It forbade repealing the decree or convening assemblies without his consent. The only limitation was "until a true prophet should arise," a clause perhaps reflecting acknowledgment that Hasmonean rule did not fulfill messianic hopes or serving as a compromise with groups uneasy about their legitimacy. Meanwhile, conflict in Syria continued. In 139 BCE Demetrius II was captured by the
Parthians, and his brother
Antiochus VII Sidetes became king. After defeating Tryphon, Antiochus confirmed all Simon's privileges and even granted him the right to mint coinage—though Simon apparently never used it. Around 138 he besieged Tryphon at
Dor, likely with Simon's help; Tryphon escaped but died at
Apamea in 137 BCE. Antiochus then demanded the return of the Akra, Gezer, and Jaffa, or a payment totaling one thousand talents. Simon rejected the demands, declaring that the Jews had merely regained their ancestral land:
"We have neither taken foreign land nor seized foreign property, but only the inheritance of our ancestors, which at one time had been unjustly taken by our enemies", instead offering just a token of 100 talents. Antiochus sent his general Kendebaios against Judea, but Simon's sons John and Judah defeated him near
Kedron and Ashdod. In 134 BCE, Simon was assassinated at a banquet in the
fortress of Dok near
Jericho by his son-in-law Ptolemy ben Abubus, governor of the plain of Jericho, in an attempt to seize power. Ptolemy also took Simon's wife and two of his sons hostage, but his third son, John Hyrcanus, was warned in advance and escaped, soon succeeding his father as ruler of Judea.
John Hyrcanus (135–104 BCE) After escaping Ptolemy's plot, Hyrcanus fled to Jerusalem, where the citizens refused to admit Ptolemy. He gained power by mobilizing his forces and was accepted as high priest. He then besieged Ptolemy in the fortress of Dok, but failed to capture it. Ptolemy then murdered Hyrcanus's mother and brothers before fleeing to
Philadelphia. Soon afterward, Antiochus VII besieged Hyrcanus in Jerusalem. Antiochus allowed a truce during
Sukkot and sent offerings for the Temple. The two eventually agreed that Judea would pay tribute for Joppa and other border towns. Antiochus also ordered Jerusalem's walls demolished and demanded a garrison, which Hyrcanus declined on religious grounds; instead, he sent hostages and additional silver to secure an agreement. Josephus reports that Hyrcanus opened
David's Tomb to obtain funds. The money was apparently used to hire mercenaries, marking the first known use of such troops by a Jewish ruler. Relations between Hyrcanus and Antiochus remained positive, and around 130 BCE, Hyrcanus joined the king's campaign against the Parthians, commanding a Jewish contingent. Antiochus was killed in battle against the Parthian king
Phraates II in about 129 BCE, after which his brother Demetrius II was released and restored to the Seleucid throne. '' of
John Hyrcanus: Hebrew legend "Yehohanan (John) the High Priest and the Council of the Jews" within a wreath; reverse with double
cornucopiae and a pomegranate between the horns After Antiochus VII's death in 129 BCE, internal conflicts within the Seleucid Empire allowed Hyrcanus to act independently. He stopped paying tribute and began expanding Judea's territory. First, he captured the town of
Medaba in
Moab, followed by Samoga, which seems to have been located in the same area. He then turned to the region of
Samaria, capturing
Shechem and
Mount Gerizim, where he destroyed the
Samaritan temple—archaeological evidence supports this event around 112 BCE. Hyrcanus next conquered
Idumaea, capturing the towns of
Maresha and
Adoraim, annexing the region, and requiring the Idumaean population to adopt Judaism. While it remains debated whether this conversion was enforced or undertaken voluntarily, it appears to have been effective, as the Idumaeans subsequently became integrated into the Jewish people. Hyrcanus then besieged the city of
Samaria, a Macedonian colony, and assigned the operation to his sons Aristobulus and Antigonus. Josephus claims that the people of Samaria had attacked Maresha, though this is doubtful given the distance between them; more likely, Hyrcanus aimed to eliminate a major Seleucid stronghold. After a year-long siege, Samaria fell around 108 BCE despite assistance sent by
Antiochus VIII or
IX and Ptolemaic allies. With its capture, Hyrcanus extended Judea's control north to
Scythopolis and west to
Mount Carmel, securing dominance over the country's center. Archaeological surveys suggest that the Eastern Galilee was likewise brought under Hasmonean control by Hyrcanus, likely in the final years of his reign. Archaeological evidence indicates that, following its conquest, the then-sparsely populated area became Jewish largely through immigration from Judea rather than through conversion of the local inhabitants. John Hyrcanus enjoyed great admiration. According to Josephus, God had granted him three exceptional gifts: rule over the nation, the high priesthood, and prophecy. A story found both in Josephus and in the Talmud relates that when his sons defeated the Seleucids in battle, he heard a
heavenly voice announcing their victory. Josephus further records that for most of his reign Hyrcanus was close to the Pharisees, beloved by them, and regarded as their disciple; the
Mishnah even attributes legislative acts to him. Conversely, another account in Josephus (mistakenly attributed in the Talmud to Alexander Jannaeus) tells of a conflict between Hyrcanus and the Pharisees, when they imposed only a mild penalty on a man who had slandered him.
Judah Aristobolus (104–103 BCE) After John Hyrcanus's death, his son Judah Aristobulus came to power. According to Josephus, he was the first of the Hasmonean line to assume the royal title. In contrast, the Greek historian and geographer
Strabo, writing in the age of
Augustus, attributes this act to Alexander Jannaeus—a view supported by Jannaeus's coins, which are the first to bear the title "king," while Judah's own coins refer to him only as high priest. However, Strabo may have been mistaken, given the limited information available about Judah's brief reign. Josephus reports that Aristobulus imprisoned his mother and brothers, killing one of them, Antigonus, amid court intrigue that may have contributed to his early death. It is also reported that under Aristobolus, the
Itureans, an Arab tribe centered in southern Lebanon, were forced to convert to Judaism. However, this claim is disputed, as no corroborating sources or archaeological evidence confirm such a conversion. Aristobulus's reign was brief; he died after only one year on the throne.
Alexander Jannaeus (103–76 BCE) After Judah's death, his widow helped his brother Alexander Jannaeus ascend to the throne. By the time Jannaeus came to power, most of the country's interior was already under Hasmonean control. He therefore turned to securing the country's key strategic points, many held by Hellenistic cities along its borders, as well as confronting neighboring powers with competing interests, especially the
Nabataean Kingdom to the south. One of his first campaigns targeted the Greco-Phoenician city of Acre. The inhabitants called on the exiled Egyptian king
Ptolemy IX for aid, who arrived from
Cyprus with a large army. Jannaeus in turn sought help from Ptolemy's mother, Queen
Cleopatra III of Egypt. Ptolemy defeated Jannaeus near the Jordan and invaded Judea, but was eventually driven out by Cleopatra's forces. Her advisers urged her to annex Judea, yet the Jewish commander Ananias, serving in her army, warned her of a Jewish mutiny if she did so. Jannaeus ultimately secured an alliance with Egypt. with an anchor and the Greek inscription "King Alexander" Jannaeus then launched a campaign against the Hellenistic cities. He captured
Gadara and the fortress of
Amathus. Later, in 96 BCE conquered the southern coastal plain—including
Rafah,
Anthedon, and
Gaza, then a major trade hub allied with the Nabataeans. Gaza fell after a long siege despite Nabataean aid, though with heavy Jewish losses. Jannaeus spared
Ashkelon, an ally of the Ptolemies, and had earlier secured control of
Strato's Tower (later Caesarea) and Dor. His campaign against the Nabataean king
Obodas I in the Transjordan ended in a major defeat, forcing him to retreat. This defeat triggered a
violent civil war between Jannaeus and his Jewish opponents, during which the Seleucid king
Demetrius III intervened. One reason for the rebellion against Jannaeus appears to have been his attempt to consolidate absolute power. His alignment with the Sadducees also provoked the Pharisees, especially amid disputes over Temple ritual and Jewish law. According to Josephus, during
Sukkot he was pelted with
citrons by worshippers who accused him of being unfit for the high priesthood, claiming that he was of captive descent—an episode some scholars associate with a Talmudic account of a Sadducee who was likewise struck with citrons after pouring the water libation on his feet instead of on the altar, in defiance of Pharisaic practice. The resulting civil war was bitter and prolonged, reportedly lasting six years and claiming around 50,000 lives. Eventually, Demetrius withdrew to face his brother
Philip's challenge in Syria, leaving Jannaeus to besiege the remaining rebels. After their defeat, Josephus recounts that Jannaeus had their families killed before their eyes and crucified about 800 of them while he feasted with his concubines. These events prompted some 8,000 to flee Judea for as long as Jannaeus lived. Jannaeus relinquished his Transjordanian conquests to guard against further Nabataean incursions and was unable to prevail over
Antiochus XII Dionysus of Syria, who invaded Judea and breached the newly built defensive line stretching from
Chapharsaba to Jaffa. By the late 80s BCE, however, Jannaeus's fortunes improved. With Ptolemy IX dead and the Seleucid capital Antioch under
Armenian control, he renewed his eastern campaigns. Between 83 and 76 BCE he conquered
Dion,
Pella, and
Gerasa in the Transjordan, gained control of
Gamla, Seleucia, and
Gaulana in the
Golan Heights, the "
Valley of Antiochus", and reclaimed territories in Gilead and Moab that he had previously ceded to the Nabataeans. By the time of his death during a siege of
Ragaba, the borders of his kingdom had reached their greatest extent, representing Israel's largest territory since the biblical monarchy.
Salome Alexandra (76–67 BCE) Salome Alexandra (also Shelamzion) succeeded her husband Alexander Jannaeus and ruled Judea for nine years, a period later remembered by rabbinic tradition as a "golden age" of prosperity. According to Josephus, she followed her husband's reported deathbed advice to reconcile with the Pharisees, whose influence came to dominate her reign. Pharisaic legal norms were reinstated, and their leaders, such as
Simeon ben Shetach, held significant authority in both religious and civic life. While this strengthened popular support, it also alienated parts of the Sadducean faction, some of whose members were purged or sidelined, though as a group the Sadducees generally remained loyal to the Hasmoneans. Alexandra proved an able administrator. She expanded the army, maintained peace with neighboring powers, and managed foreign affairs prudently; she sent a force to defend allies in Damascus from the Itureans and concluded diplomatic understandings with
Tigranes of Armenia who conquered much of Syria and besieged Acre. Her governance preserved internal stability and prosperity, and even hostile sources acknowledge her administrative competence. Tension within the royal family, however, grew toward the end of her life. Her elder son, Hyrcanus II, served as high priest and was regarded as her heir, while the younger Aristobulus II, more ambitious and militarily inclined, gathered supporters opposed to Pharisaic influence. As Alexandra's health declined, Aristobulus seized control of more than twenty fortresses and their treasuries to raise an army, and declared himself king. His wife and children were detained by the queen in Jerusalem's
Baris fortress. Alexandra died soon afterward at the age of 73, leaving her sons' rivalry to plunge Judea back into civil war.
Civil war and Roman conquest (67–63 BCE) After Alexandra's death, Aristobulus defeated Hyrcanus near Jericho and seized power in Judea.
Antipater the Idumaean warned Hyrcanus he was at risk, prompting him to flee to the Nabataean kingdom and return with
Aretas III's army to besiege Aristobulus in Jerusalem. Both brothers then appealed to Aulus Scaurus, one of Pompey's officers; Scaurus backed Aristobulus, ordered the Nabataeans to withdraw, and Aristobulus exploited their retreat to defeat Hyrcanus. When Pompey arrived in Damascus, he met with delegations from Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. Hyrcanus claimed the throne as the lawful heir by primogeniture and charged Aristobulus with fomenting wars and piracy. Aristobulus replied that he had taken the kingship out of necessity, since his elder brother was unfit to hold it. According to Josephus and
Diodorus Siculus, a third delegation representing "the Jewish nation" also appeared, demanding the abolition of monarchy and the restoration of priestly rule. Pompey deferred a final decision and moved to enter the country; Aristobulus, having paid a large bribe, began defensive measures and withdrew to Jerusalem. Pompey advanced as far as Jericho; Aristobulus met him and promised money and entry, but Aristobulus's followers shut the city to the Romans. Aristobulus opponents opened the gates while his supporters seized the Temple Mount. Pompey besieged it for three months and, taking advantage of the Sabbath to advance siege works, captured the sanctuary. Pompey entered the Temple's
Holy of Holies without touching its treasures and ordered the Temple cleansed, and worship resumed the next day. With the Roman conquest in 63 BCE, Judea ceased to be a sovereign kingdom, and did not regain national independence for nearly two millennia.
Roman client state (63–40 BCE) Following the Roman conquest, Pompey confirmed Hyrcanus as high priest but not king and took Aristobulus and his sons as captives to Rome. He also reduced Judea's territory, assigning many Hellenistic cities to the province of Syria with polis status, some becoming part of the
Decapolis. Alexander, son of Aristobulus, escaped captivity, rebelled against his uncle Hyrcanus, and quickly seized large swathes of the country.
Aulus Gabinius, the Roman governor of Syria, came to Hyrcanus's aid and defeated Alexander after he fortified himself at Alexandrium. Gabinius then reorganized the country and rebuilt many damaged cities, while Hyrcanus again served as high priest. Meanwhile, Aristobulus escaped Roman captivity, returned to Judea, and raised a new revolt, which Gabinius also suppressed. Alexander rebelled again and was again defeated. In 54 BCE
Marcus Crassus assumed the Syrian governorship and plundered the Temple treasury, which the Romans had hitherto left untouched. Soon after, he was killed fighting the Parthians. His successor Cassius, focused on checking the Parthians after Crassus's defeat, seized Tarichaeae in Galilee and enslaved many Jews, and—at Antipater's instigation—executed the turncoat Peitholaus; these actions may have been connected to suppressing a renewed Aristobulan revolt. In 49 BCE
civil war broke out between
Julius Caesar and
Pompey. Caesar prepared to send Aristobulus, then a captive in Rome, back to Judea to wage the war in his interest, but Aristobulus was poisoned by Caesar's enemies before he could depart; Pompey's supporters also killed his son Alexander in Antioch. After Pompey's defeat and death in Egypt, Caesar took control of the East. After Pompey's death in 48 BCE, Antipater backed Caesar and, by securing Arab and Syrian support, persuading the Jews of the Onias district, and commanding in battle alongside
Mithridates of Pergamum, helped the Roman forces take Egypt, earning notice for courage and strategy. Caesar kept Hyrcanus in power in Judea (possibly now with the title "ethnarch"), permitted the rebuilding of Jerusalem's walls ruined by Pompey. He also granted Antipater
Roman citizenship and tax exemption, and entrusted him with Judea's administration as "procurator". Caesar reduced the tribute owed by the Hasmoneans in 47 BCE. Many passages depict Hyrcanus as overshadowed by Antipater, though Josephus is inconsistent and other evidence shows Hyrcanus retained some agency. Around 44 BCE, Antipater's son
Phasael became governor of Jerusalem, and his other son,
Herod, governor of the Galilee, where he crushed a revolt with extrajudicial killings; when leading Jews pressed charges against Herod, Roman governor Sextus Caesar intervened and the case was dropped. In 44 BCE
Julius Caesar was assassinated and
civil war resumed in Rome.
Cassius came to the region to raise troops and funds for war against
Octavian and
Mark Antony, levying 700 talents from Judea. Herod delivered Galilee's quota and gained favor. His father Antipater was then poisoned by Malichus, a Jewish aristocrat; Herod then had Malichus executed. Later he also suppressed a revolt against Phasael. Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, rebelled in the Galilee with Tyrian aid but was defeated by Herod. After these successes Herod was betrothed to Hyrcanus's granddaughter, the Hasmonean princess
Mariamne. In 42 BCE, Antony and Octavian defeated Cassius and
Brutus at
Philippi. When Antony arrived in the East, Jewish envoys accused Herod and Phasael of ruling with Hyrcanus as a puppet; Antony instead confirmed the brothers as
tetrarchs, and had troops kill many from one of the delegations.
Antigonus Mattathias (40–37 BCE) and the rise of Herod In 40 BCE the Parthian Empire seized the Levant from the Romans. The Parthians restored Hasmonean rule by installing Antigonus Mattathias as king of Judea for a large bribe he promised. He and the Parthians besieged Jerusalem, lured Phasael and Hyrcanus into their hands, and captured them. Phasael committed suicide; Hyrcanus was spared but Antigonus cut off his ears to disqualify him from the high priesthood. Meanwhile, Herod escaped Jerusalem by night, reached Idumaea after a pursuit, secured refuge for his family in Masada, and later sailed to Rome. Antigonus became the last Hasmonean king to rule Judea. In late 40 BCE Herod reached Rome, where Antony and Octavian presented him before the
Senate, which declared him king of Judea. Early in 39 BCE Herod landed in Galilee and began his war for the throne. He secured Antony's backing, and the Roman general Sosius brought forces to assist. In Herod's absence Antigonus won several victories, and Herod's brother Joseph was killed. In 37 BCE Herod, with Sosius, defeated Antigonus's forces and besieged Jerusalem, which fell that summer. Herod's effective reign over Judea thus began, and the Hasmonean state came to an end. In the following years many Hasmonean descendants were eliminated. Herod appointed Mariamne's brother
Aristobulus III as high priest; when the adolescent became too popular, Herod had him drowned by his servants at his Jericho palace. Hyrcanus, who had been in
Babylonia after Parthian captivity, was enticed back by Herod and later executed. In 29–28 BCE, Mariamne was executed amid court intrigues, and her mother
Alexandra was put to death after a suspected bid for power during Herod's illness. Lastly, in 7 BCE Herod also executed his two sons by Mariamne,
Alexander and
Aristobulus IV, after being persuaded that they, too, conspired against him. Much of the former Hasmonean realm was later organized as the Roman province of
Judaea in the early first century CE. == Politics ==