DURING this siege, the priests only of all the Jews cast in their lot with Aristobulus. The contest dragged on, and was rendered noteworthy by more than one atrocious act. There was a man named Onias, who had great fame for “prevailing prayer.” Tradition says of him that, at a time of drought, he drew a circle round him in the sand and declared he would not move, and did not move, out of its limits until his prayer was heard and rain was given! From this circumstance he was called Onias Ham-meaggel, “the circle drawer.” The besiegers sought to turn his piety to account; they brought him to their camp that he might pray against the king and the priests. He refused. The multitude was clamorous; so at last Onias stood up and said, “O God, King of the whole world, since those that stand now with me are Thy people, and those that are besieged are Thy priests, I beseech Thee that Thou wilt neither hearken to the prayer of those against these, nor bring to effect what these pray against those.” It is said that he was instantly stoned to death.
The Passover drew on, and the city had no beasts for the sacrifice. The priests came to terms with the besiegers; the latter promised to supply the cattle, though they demanded the extortionate price of a thousand drachmas for every beast. The money was passed over the walls, but the beasts were impiously withheld.
The siege was raised in an unexpected way. Roman forces under Scaurus and Gabinius had been sent by Pompey (then in the height of his military successes) into Syria, and when they came to Damascus, each section of the Jews sought help from the Romans against the other. Bribery and intrigue were resorted to in order to gain the required assistance; under Roman threats the Arabians retreated, and were pursued and defeated by Aristobulus. Then Pompey himself came to Damascus, and the Jews sent to him a present of a golden crown valued at goo talents. A little later (B.C. 63), Antipater went from Hyrcanus, and Nicodemus from Aristobulus, to plead the cause of the brothers with Pompey. The nation, too, was represented, and pleaded against both brothers as usurping authority which did not belong to them. The charges and counter— charges were heard, and Pompey deferred judgment till a later day. Throughout the proceedings Aristobulus carried himself rather insolently, and when he, suspecting the soundness of his cause, and that judgment would go against him, fled to Alexandrium, a stronghold, Pompey pursued him thither. The king hesitated about fighting, and at the Roman general’s command, submitted that and other fortresses to him. Nevertheless, failing back upon Jerusalem, he prepared for war. Pompey advanced upon the capital, but was met by the vacillating king, who offered to surrender, and to pay whatever indemnity was required. His offer was accepted, and he was detained by Pompey, while Gabinius was sent to enter the city, and to receive the sum agreed upon. But when the Roman forces reached the city, they found the walls manned for defense, and the soldiers refused to accede to the king’s agreement. Aristobulus was thereupon put in prison by Pompey. The Jews themselves were divided, some wishing to surrender, others to resist. In the end, part of the city surrendered, and that which held out―the Temple Hill―was put in a state of siege. Trenches were cast, banks were thrown up, battering-rams were put in position, and assaults were made. The Romans soon became aware of the Jewish rule to abstain from all offensive warfare on the Sabbath; so, finding that they would be free from attack on all seventh days, they spent them in strengthening and improving their own position. Even under such circumstances, the citadel held out for three months. At last a battering ram brought down one of the greatest towers, and in its fall a breach was made. A body of Romans speedily entered, and the city was given up to slaughter. Twelve thousand persons perished by sword and fire. During all the horrors of the siege and capture, the Divine worship had been religiously carried on, so that many of the priests fell at their appointed stations.
Pompey entered the city and temple, profaning the sacred building by his presence. But he laid hands on none of the treasures; on the contrary, he commanded the temple to be sanctified and the offerings to continue. He restored the high priesthood to Hyrcanus, not deprived him of the kingly diadem; he cut off those who had been leaders in the war; dispossessed the Jews of those cities which they had captured from the neighboring countries and reduced Judea to its former limits. Moreover (and it meant the loss of independence) he imposed tribute upon Judea and Jerusalem. The brief period of independence and freedom had run its course; Judæa was now only a province of Rome. The false step (as we must judge it) of Judas in entering into an alliance with Rome had led to its bitter end; the descendants of Judas had followed his example in seeking Rome’s help, and now they were in subjection to its yoke.
Judæa and Coele-Syria were put under the government of Scaurus, supported by two Roman legions. Pompey returned to Rome. A public triumph was decreed in his honor, and it was solemnized (B.C. 61) in the most splendid manner. Among the three hundred and twenty-four noble captives who were led before “Pompeius Magnus” were Aristobulus, the last of the Maccabean kings, and his son Antigonus. Alexander, a younger son, who should have graced that procession, had escaped on the way to Rome.
Some attempts were made to recover Judæa from the Roman grasp. That they were utterly futile might be expected. First (B.C. 57), the escaped Alexander gathered together some thousands of men, but they were powerless before the legions led by Gabinius. The Jews were defeated, the fortresses surrendered, and in the subsequent disposing of affairs Gabinius divided the land into five parts, governed by as many councils, constituted on the model of the Sanhedrim, and meeting respectively at Jerusalem, Gadara, Amathus, Jericho, and Sepphoris. “So the Jews were freed from monarchic authority,” say: Josephus, “and were governed by an aristocracy (or nobles). That is to say, Aristobulus (who reigned for only three and a half years) was the last of the kings of Jewish descent.
The people themselves did not mourn the loss of their kings. From the days of John Hyrcanus downwards, discontent had gathered in the minds of the people against their sovereigns, and they had even besought Pompey to free them from their power. It was a sad close to what had promised so well; the piety of Mattathias, the valor of Judas, and the capable administration of Jonathan and Simon, the first of the Maccabees, were clouded by the misrule and incompetency of subsequent members of that family, and it was with little regret that the Asmonean dynasty passed away. A few descendants lingered on, but without royal authority.
A further revolt was made by Aristobulus, who had escaped from Rome, but it ended in his re-capture and return to Rome in bonds. A second (B.C. 55) by Alexander ended with equal disaster; he was defeated at Mount Tabor. In all these events Antipater the Idumean bore an active part; the friend of Hyrcanus, he was on that account, and as a matter of policy, the ally of the Romans; rich, powerful, and exceeding crafty, he greatly influenced Gabinius in the administration of affairs.
In the year B.C. 55, Crassus, being consul of Rome with Pompey, obtained from the Roman people a decree, which assigned to him for five years Syria and the adjoining countries. He journeyed into Syria the next year, and marched upon Jerusalem to seize the treasures deposited in the Temple, which had been sent by the faithful from all parts of the world. The custodian was a priest named Eleazar, and he sought to ransom the treasures by revealing the place where a very valuable ingot of gold was hidden away. Crassus declared upon his oath that he would be satisfied with this, but broke faith, and carried away to Rome all the treasure upon which he could lay his hands. It is estimated at ₤2,000,000.
In 52, Crassus returned to Judea, and again forced Alexander, the son of Aristobulus, to terms of peace. In 50, Scipio was president of Syria. At Rome Cesar and Pompey were at swords drawn, and the former, in order to embarrass the latter, liberated Aristobulus, the captive king, and sent him with two legions of soldiers into Judaea. Alexander, in expectation of his father’s arrival, also raised forces. Scipio, a partisan of Pompey, caught and beheaded Alexander at Antioch, and other of Pompey’s friends poisoned Aristobulus on the way.
Antigonus, the elder son of Aristobulus, still lived, and Hyrcanus, brother of the latter, still filled the priesthood, with Anti-pater nominally his minister, but actually his master. Jr.