A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. By various writers. Ed. by William Smith. Illustrated by numerous engravings on wood.

HYRCANUS. HYRCANUS. 543
tivity in Parthia, and re-established himself on who in one place assigns to Hyrcanus a reign of
the throne of Syria, after the death of his brother, thirty-one years, in another one of thirty-three:
Antiochus, was preparing to direct his arms against Eusebius, on the contrary, allows him only twentyJndaea, when he was prevented by the breaking six: it appears probable that he reigned in fact
out of the civil war, which ended in his own de- between twenty-nine and thirty years, and died in
feat and death, B. c. 125. Hyrcanus afterwards B.C. 106, or the beginning of 105. He left five
concluded an alliance with the pretender, Alex- sons, of whom the eldest, Aristobulus, succeeded
ander Zebina, but does not appear to have afforded him. (Joseph. Ant. xiii. 10. ~ 5-7, B. J. i. 2.
him any active assistance: his object was not to ~ 8; Euseb. Arm. p. 94.)
take part in the civil wars that distracted the Although Joannes Hyrcanus did not himself
Syrian monarchy, but to take advantage of these assume the title of king, hlie may be justly regarded
to strengthen and extend his own power, for which as the founder of the monarchy of Judaea, which
the ceaseless contests of the Seleucidae among continued in his family till the accession of Herod.
themselves left him free scope. A long interval The foregoing genealogical table exhibits the line
elapsed, during which he appears to have been of the kings and princes of the Asamonean race, as
content to govern Judaea in peace, and the country well as their descent from'the Maccabees. [E.H.B.]
is said to have enjoyed the utmost prosperity under HYRCANUS II. ('Tpicavo's), high priest and
his mild and equitable rule, while he himself king of the Jews, was the eldest son of Alexander
amassed vast treasures. At length, he felt suffi- Jannaeus, and his wife, Alexandra. On the death
cient confidence in his own strength to invade Sa- of Alexander (B. c. 78) the royal authority demaria, and lay siege to the city of that name, volved, according to his will, upon his wife Alexwhich had been for ages the rival and enemy of andra, who immediately appointed Hyrcanus to
Jerusalem. The Samarians invoked the assistance the high-priesthood - a choice which he probably
of Antiochus Cyzicenus, who advanced with an owed not so much to his seniority of age, as to his
army to their support, but was defeated by Anti- feeble, indolent character, which offered a strong
gonus and Aristobulus, the two sons of Hyrcanus; contrast to the daring, ambitious spirit of his
his generals, Epicrates and Callimander, were younger brother, Aristobulus. Accordingly, durequally unsuccessful: and Samaria, at length, fell ing the nine years of his mother's reign, he acinto the hands of Hyrcanus, who razed to the quiesced uniformly in all her measures, and atground the hated city, B. C. 109. (Joseph. Ant. xiii. tached himself to the party of the Pharisees, which
9. ~ 3. 10. ~ 1-3. B. J. i. 2. ~ 7.) The tran- she favoured. On the death of Alexandra (B. C.
quillity of the latter years of his reign appears to 69), he succeeded, for a time, to the sovereign
have been in some measure disturbed by the dis- power, but Aristobulus, who had already taken
sensions between the two powerful sects of the his measures, quickly raised an army, with which
Pharisees and Sadducees; Hyrcanus, who had he defeated him near Jericho, and compelled him
been at first attached to the former party, quitted to take refuge in the citadel of Jerusalem, where
them on some disgust, and threw himself into the he was soon induced to consent to a treaty, by
arms *of their rivals. But these disputes did not which he resigned the sovereignty into the hands
break out into open insurrection, and Hyrcanus of Aristobulus, and retired unmolested into a priclosed his long reign in peace and prosperity. There vate station. The easy, unambitious disposition
is much confusion in the chronology of Josephus, of Hyrcanus would probably have led him to acquiesce permanently in this arrangement: but he was
MATTrATHrATS, worked upon by the artifices and intrigues of Andied Oc. ili. tipater, who succeeded in exciting his apprehenI sions, and ultimately induced him to fly from JeJoannes. Simon. Judas Maccabaeus. Eleazar Jonathan, and take r
high priest died..60. high V, rusalem, andtakerefuge at the court of Aretas,
dAC.i 144. id 1.c. king of Arabia Petraea, B.C. 65. That monarch
died D. c. 14.
135. now assembled an army, with which he defeated
I E i Aristobulus in his turn, and blockaded him in the
Judas, Mattathias, A daughter JoANNES HVRCAiASu, temple of Jerusalem, Hyrcanus and his partisans
put to put to death married to high priest and prince
death c. 135; Ptolemy, of Judaea,.c. 136, being masters of the rest of the city. But their
B.C. 135. gjov~ern or of died B C. 106.. 135 gerof died progress was now stopped by the intervention of
I Pompey's lieutenant, M. Aemilius Scaurus, who
AnuSTOBULUS I. Antigonus, Two other ALEXANDER had arrived at Damascus with a Roman army, and
king of Judaea, put t o death s....es A1...
king of Judaea put to death sns, names JNAs, being gained over by the bribes and promises of.c1..gdied by his brother, unknown. king of Judaea,
sB. C. 105. Aristobulus, Bc.105. Married Aristobulus, ordered Aretas and Hyrcanus to withB.c. 105. Alexandra.
Died s. c. 78. draw from Judaea. The next year, Pompey himself arrived in Syria, and the two brothers hasHYRCANU II. ARsrToeu,'s Il tened to urge their respective claims before him:
high priest and king, king of Judaea, but Aristobulus to the Roman
B. C. 69 a. c. 68. Poiso bt Aristobu gave offece general
B. C. 49. by his haughty demeanour, and the disposition of
I I Pompey to favour Hyrcanus became so apparent,
mAlexandra Alexander, mdaugrried ANTIONUS, that Aristobulus, for a time, made preparations for
acousin Alex- ofyranus I. B. C. 40. Put resistance. But when Pompey returning victorious
ander. Put Put to death at An- to death by M.
to death by tioch a. c. 49. Antony, nc. from his campaign against the Nabathaean Arabs,
Herod. entered Judaea at the head of his army, he abanI i -doned all hopes of defence, and surrendered himM.ariamne, mar- ARSTOBUus. sa
*ried to Herod the appointed high into the hands of the Roman general. The
Great. Put to priest by Herod Jews, however, refused to follow his example: they
death by him. the Great, B.C. 36.
(For their de- Assassinated B. c. shut the gates of Jerusalem, and prepared to hold
scendant, see 5.ong an artinodots.) sout to the last; nor was it till after a long and ar