NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

(A.) THE ASMONEAN FAMILY.

Chasmon (" of the sons of Joarib," comp. 1 Chron. xxiv. 7).

than, were buried in the family tomb, and over them Simon erected a structure which is minutely described in the Book of Maccabees (xiii. 25-30), and, with less detail, by Josephus (Ant. xiii. 6, § 6). (See below.)

This place is not mentioned in either Old or New Testament, though rendered immortal by its connection with the history of the Jews in the interval between the two. It At Modin the Maccabæan armies was the native city of the Maccaba- encamped on the eve of two of their an family (1 Macc. xiii. 25), and as most memorable victories-that of a necessary consequence contained Judas over Antiochus Eupator (2 their ancestral sepulchre (ii. 70, ix. Macc. xiii. 14), and that of Simon 19). Mattathias himself, and sub- over Cendebeus (1 Macc. xvi. 4)— sequently his sons Judas and Jona- the last battle of the veteran chief

before his assassination. indication of the position of the place to be gathered from the above no- The medieval and modern traditices is contained in the last, from tion places Modin at Soba, an emiwhich we may infer that it was near nence south of Kuriet el-enab; but "the plain," i. e., the great maritime this being not more than 7 miles lowland of Philistia (ver. 5). By from Jerusalem, while it is as much Eusebius and Jerome it is specified as 25 from Lydd and 30 from the sea, and also far removed from the plain of Philistia, is at variance with every one of the conditions implied in the records.

The only its name may retain a trace of the monument.

as near Diospolis, i. e., Lydda; while the Mishna states that it was 15 (Roman) miles from Jerusalem. At the same time the description of the monument seems to imply (though for this see below) that the spot was so lofty as to be visible from the sea, and so near that even the details of the sculpture were discernible therefrom. All these conditions, excepting the last, are tolerably fulfilled in either of the two sites called Latrûn and Kubáb. The former of these is, by the shortest road-that through Wady Ali-exactly 15 Roman miles from Jerusalem; it is about 8 English miles from Lydd, 15 from the Mediterranean, and 9 or 10 from the river Rubin, on which it is probable that Cedron-the position of Cendebeus in Simon's battlestood. Kubáb is a couple of miles further from Jerusalem, and therefore nearer to Lydd and to the sea, on the most westerly spur of the hills of Benjamin. Both are lofty, and both apparently-Latrûn certainly command a view of the Mediterranean. In favor of Latrûn are the extensive ancient remains with which the top of the hill is said to be covered (Rob. B. R. iii. 151), though of their age and particulars we have at present no accurate information. Kubáb appears to possess no ruins, but on the other hand

The descriptions of the tomb by the author of the Book of Maccabees and Josephus, who had both appar ently seen it, will be most conveniently compared by being printed together.

1 Macc. xiii. 27-30. "And Simon made a building over the

sepulchre of his fa

Jos. Ant. xiii. 6, § 6.

"And Simon built a very large monu

ment to his father

ther and his brethren, and his brethren of

and raised it aloft to white and polished
view with polished stone. And he raised
stone behind and be it up to a great and
fore. And he set up conspicuous height,
upon it seven pyra- and threw cloisters
mids, one against an- around, and set up
other, for his father pillars of a single
and his mother and stone, a work won-
his four brethren. derful to behold: and
And on these he near to these he
made engines of war, built seven pyramids
and set great pillars to his parents and
the pillars he made each, terrible to be-
round about, and on his brothers, one for
suits of armor for hold both for size
a perpetual memory; and beauty.
and by the suits of
armor ships carved,
so that they might
be seen by all that

sail on the sea. This
sepulchre he made at And these things are
Modin, and it stands preserved even to this

unto this day."

day."

The monuments are said by Eusebius (Onom.) to have been still shown when he wrote-A.D. circa 320.

1. Change for the worse in Jewish history-ARISTOBULUS I. assumes the royal title-Conquest of Ituræa-Deaths of Antigonus and Aristobulus. § 2. ALEXANDER JANNEUS-Judæa invaded by Ptolemy Lathyrus, and rescued by Cleopatra-Conquests and defeats of Alexander-His civil war, and dying reconciliation with the Pharisees-Honors to his memory. § 3. ALEXANDRA, with Hyrcanus II. as high-priest-Ascendancy of the Pharisees, undermined by a secret opposition. § 4. HYRCANUS II. is deposed by his brother Aristobulus-Defeat of the party of the Pharisees. § 5. ARISTOBULUS II.-Rise of ANTIPATERHyrcanus flies to Aretas, King of Arabia, who besieges JerusalemThe paschal lambs-The prayer of Onias. § 6. Intervention of Rome -The Mithridatic War-Tigranes expelled from Syria by Lucullus -Antiochus XIII. deposed, and Syria made a Roman provincePompey as arbiter between the Jewish princes-Resistance of Aristobulus-Pompey takes Jerusalem, profanes the Temple, and carries off Aristobulus to Rome. § 7. HYRCANUS II. restored to the high-priesthood-Revolt of Alexander put down by Gabinius-New Constitution -The five Great Sanhedrims-Escape and defeat of Aristobulus and Antigonus-New revolt and defeat of Alexander-Crassus plunders the Temple. § 8. The Great Civil War of Rome - Deaths of Aristobulus and Alexander-Hyrcanus ethnarch and Antipater procurator of Judæa-Family of Antipater-HEROD governor of Galilee-His early boldness. § 9. Death of Cæsar-Judæa oppressed by Cassius-Murder of Antipater and revenge of Herod-Unsuccessful risings of the stricter Jews-Herod marries Mariamne, the granddaughter of Hyrcanus, and defeats Antigonus-Mark Antony makes Herod and Phasaël tetrarchs of Palestine The Parthian Invasion-Flight of Herod -Death of Phasaël and mutilation of Hyrcanus. § 10. Nominal reign of ANTIGONUS-Herod named by the triumvirs King of Judæa-His war with Antigonus-Capture of Jerusalem-Execution of Antigonus -END OF THE ASMONEAN DYNASTY.

§ 1. No successive pages of history present a more painful contrast, than those recording the liberation of Judæa by the

Maccabees, and its misgoverment by their posterity. In the prosperous reign of John Hyrcanus, we see the seeds of that unholy ambition and religious discord, which broke out immediately upon his death. Hyrcanus had left the civil government by will to his wife ;-an example, among many soon to be met with, of the rise of those female influences which have always played an important part in eastern despotisms; -but it was seized, with the high-priesthood, by his eldest son Aristobulus, who imprisoned his mother and starved her to death. ARISTOBULUS I. (B.c. 106–105), assumed the diadem' and the title of king, and founded the Asmonæan monarchy, which lasted just 70 years; but the whole period was one of internal dissension, and for nearly its latter half the interference of the Romans made the royalty little more than nominal.

The brief reign of Aristobulus is marked by one important conquest, and a series of domestic tragedies. He subdued Ituræa (afterward called Auranitis), a district east of Jordan, at the foot of Antilibanus; and the inhabitants submitted to circumcision under the threat of banishment. A dangerous illness compelled him to return, leaving behind his favorite brother Antigonus; his other three brothers having been shut up in prison. Antigonus soon completed the conquest, and came back to Jerusalem. His appearance in arms, to pay his devotions in the Temple, was used by the queen Alexandra and the women of the court to rouse his brother's jealousy. Aristobulus summoned him to come unarmed into his presence, and stationed soldiers in the subterranean

passage from the Temple to the tower of Baris with orders to dispatch him if he appeared in arms. Antigonus was drawn into the trap by treacherous messengers, who told him that the king wished to see his splendid armor. The dying king, horror-struck at the crime, vomited blood; the

1 This word, now used in a vague poetical sense, had a specific meaning among the nations of antiquity. The diadem was a fillet of silk, two inches broad, bound round the head and tied behind, the invention of which is attributed to Liber (Plin. H. N. vii. 56, 57). Its color was generally white (Tac. An. vi. 37; Sil. Ital. xvi. 241); sometimes, however, it was of blue, like that of Darius, cærulea fascia albo distincta (Q. Curt. iii. 3, vi. 20; Xen. Cyr. viii. 3, § 13); and it was sown with pearls or

other gems (Gibbon, i. 392; Zech. ix. 16), and enriched with gold (Rev. ix. 7). It was peculiarly the mark of Oriental sovereigns (1 Macc. xiii. 82, τὸ διάδημα τῆς ̓Ασίας), and hence the deep offense caused by the attempt of Cæsar to substitute it for the laurel crown appropriated to Roman emperors.

2 It derived its name from Jetur, a son of Ishmael, who gave his name, like the rest of his brethren, to the little province he colonized (Gen. xxv. 15, 16).

slave who bore away the basin slipped upon the spot where Antigonus had been killed, and the blood of the two brothers was mingled upon the pavement-too true an emblem of the later history of the Asmonæans. The king compelled his attendants to tell him the cause of the consternation that he saw around him, and, on hearing it, expired in an agony of remorse. He was doubly obnoxious as a Sadducee, and for his leaning to the Greek party, whence he obtained the epithet of Philhellen; and it is possible that his character has been darkened by party hatred. His three brothers were released from prison after his death.

§ 2. ALEXANDER JANNEUS (B.c. 105-78), the eldest surviving brother of Aristobulus I., secured the succession to the throne and priesthood by putting his next brother to death, on a charge of aspiring to the diadem. The intestine commotions both of Syria and Egypt invited him to reduce the cities of Palestine which had not yet submitted: Ptolemais, Gaza, Dora, and the tower of Straton. On his besieging Ptolemais, the people asked aid from Ptolemy Lathyrus, who was now King of Cyprus, having been driven from the throne of Egypt by his mother, Cleopatra. The large force with which Ptolemy came to their relief excited the fears of the citizens, and they refused to admit him. He marched into Judæa, defeated Alexander's army with great slaughter, and ravaged the country with horrible cruelties. Judæa was rescued by an army which Cleopatra sent to its aid under two Alexandrian Jews, Chelchias and Ananias; and the queen, resisting the advice of her counselors to seize the country, was content with the capture of Ptolemais. When the foreign armies had retired, Alexander took Gadara, east of Jordan, but was defeated before Amathus. He next laid siege to Gaza, and after a desperate struggle took and utterly destroyed the city.

3

Meanwhile the Jewish factions were tending rapidly to civil war. The Pharisees incited a tumult against Alexander. As he was officiating at the Feast of Tabernacles, the people pelted him with citrons, and revived the insults upon his father's birth. Alexander called in his guards, and 6000 of the people were killed. To prevent the recurrence of such tumults, the court of the priests was railed off from the outer court of the temple, and Alexander enrolled a bodyguard of Pisidian and Cilician mercenaries. He then resumed

The influence acquired by the Jews in Egypt is further proved by the circumstance, that Ananias suc

ceeded in dissuading Cleopatra from seizing Alexander when he came to offer his congratulations at Ptolemais.