jews in a graeco- roman world 101
such sentiments correctly, Pompey ignored these pleas and chose to sup-
port the claims of Hyrcanus, entering Jerusalem easily with the aid of
Hyrcanus’ supporters but breaking into the Temple Mount only after a
long siege. Josephus reported with admiration that ‘during the siege the
priests were not hindered from performing any of the sacred ceremonies
through fear, but twice a day, in the morning and at the ninth hour, they
performed the sacred ceremonies at the altar,’ and that these offerings
continued even once the wall was breached and the Roman soldiers
rushed in and began their slaughter.^19
With Pompey’s victory, Judaea came under Roman jurisdiction exer-
cised through Hyrcanus II, who was in turn subject to control by the
Roman governor of Syria. Hyrcanus fulfilled this role for twenty- three
years, from 63 to 40 bce, but his position was always precarious. Dan-
ger lurked both in continued opposition by his brother Aristobulus and
Aristobulus’ son, Antigonus, and in the volatile state of the Roman
world in general during these years which culminated in the outbreak of
civil war between Pompey and Julius Caesar in 49 bce.
A dependent ruler like Hyrcanus had no stake in the elite aristocratic
power struggle which thrust the Roman world into turmoil. Bribes and
negotiations conducted through his chief minister Antipater, father of
the future king Herod, enabled Hyrcanus to retain his position by sup-
porting first Julius Caesar, then (after the Ides of March 44 bce) his
assassins, and, finally, his political heirs, Mark Antony and Octavian,
when the assassins had been defeated at Philippi in autumn 42 bce. But
all these negotiations with powerful Romans were of no avail when in
40 bce the Parthians, who had taken advantage of Roman disarray to
occupy northern Syria from the east, were persuaded by Antigonus, the
son of Hyrcanus’ brother Aristobulus, to invade Judaea and to install
him as the new ruler. Hyrcanus was taken back to Parthia as a captive,
and, since any physical defect would render him unable to serve again
as a High Priest, his ears were mutilated.^20
The coins of Antigonus from 40 to 37 bce have the title ‘King Anti-
gonus’ in Greek on one side and ‘Mattathias the High Priest’ in Hebrew
on the other. It is clear that the new High Priest had high hopes for a
restoration of Hasmonaean independence as in the time of his grand-
parents Alexander Jannaeus and Alexandra. Such hopes did not allow
for the continuing ambitions of Rome. The senate saw this loss of terri-
tory as an affront to Roman majesty and took for granted the need to
restore Judaea to the Roman sphere of influence. Lacking access to any
member of the Hasmonaean dynasty to impose as a ruler in place of