Читать книгу A Class-Book of New Testament History - G. F. Maclear - Страница 19

BESIDES the new high-priest, Alexander had left another son named Aristobulus, a man of an ardent and impetuous temper, who took no pains to conceal his dislike of his mother’s proceedings. Placing himself at the head of the now offended and persecuted Sadducees, he encouraged them in their opposition to the triumphant Pharisees, and so far prevailed with the queen, that the leaders of the Sadducaic faction were allowed to retire to the frontier fortresses of the kingdom. Shortly afterwards he himself was sent on an expedition to Damascus, to check the depredations of Ptolemy, who governed a small independent kingdom at Chalcis57. The young prince did not lose the opportunity thus afforded him of ingratiating himself with the soldiers, and began to form designs of usurping the kingdom.

After a successful reign of 9 years, queen Alexandra died, B.C.69, and the Pharisaic party immediately placed HyrcanusII. on the throne. This was regarded as the signal for definite action by Aristobulus. Quickly summoning his adherents from the frontier cities, he marched towards Jerusalem, where the partisans of Hyrcanus seizing his wife and children, placed them as hostages in the Tower of Baris, and then prepared to meet the invader at Jericho58. But so strongly did the feeling of the army declare itself in favour of Aristobulus, and so many were the desertions to his side, including even not a few members of the Sanhedrin, that Hyrcanus fell back upon Jerusalem, and with such of his adherents as still remained faithful took refuge in the fortifications of the Temple. But provisions failing them, they were unable to stand a lengthened siege, and were soon compelled to yield to Aristobulus, who thus obtained possession of the entire kingdom, while his brother, who was of a feeble and indolent disposition, retired into private life after a brief reign of three months.

But now a different actor appeared upon the scene, destined to prove a far more fatal enemy to the Asmonean dynasty, and to raise his own house upon its ruins. This was Antipater, the son of an officer who had been high in the confidence of Alexander Jannæus, and had been appointed governor of Idumæa. A man of great courage, astuteness, and decision, he had acquired a complete mastery over the feeble Hyrcanus, and in concert with the Pharisees repeatedly urged him to attempt the recovery of his throne, but for a long time the indolent prince absolutely refused to listen to his suggestions. At length, by representing that his life was in danger, he succeeded in persuading him to fly with himself to the court of Aretas, king of Arabia, whom he induced, by promising to restore twelve frontier cities which Jannæus had taken and united to Judæa, to espouse his cause. At the head of 50,000 men Aretas marched into the country, and being joined by the partisans of Hyrcanus, defeated Aristobulus, and closely besieged him in the Temple-fortress at Jerusalem59. The feast of the Passover drew near, during which even heathen generals had been wont to allow the sacrificial victims to be introduced into the city. But such was the fury of the rival claimants for the supreme power that even this indulgence was refused to the besieged. When Aristobulus let down baskets from the top of the wall with 1000 drachmas of silver for each victim, the besiegers took the money, but returned the baskets empty, or, as some say, even laden with swine60.

At this juncture news reached Jerusalem that a Roman army had seized Damascus, and was advancing towards the country. Bent on their plan of establishing a universal empire, the great republic of the West was now busily engaged in those wars, which gradually placed at her feet the old Asiatic monarchies. The Syrian kingdom, since B.C.83, had passed into the power of Tigranes, king of Armenia. This monarch, as well as Mithridates, king of Pontus, was utterly defeated by Pompeius, B.C.66, and the ancient realm of the Seleucidæ was now reduced to a Roman province. Retiring himself into lesser Armenia, the conqueror placed his lieutenants Scaurus and Gabinius at Antioch and Damascus, the two great capitals of the Syrian Empire.

This intelligence determined both brothers to try and secure the aid of these powerful arbitrators, and their emissaries soon appeared before Scaurus at Damascus, with 400 talents. The Roman general at first hesitated which side to espouse, but at length reflecting that Aristobulus was in possession of the Temple-fortress, and therefore of the treasures, he ordered Aretas to withdraw, and break up the siege61. The Arabian chief was forced to comply, and taking with him Hyrcanus and Antipater marched away with his army, but not before Aristobulus had sallied forth and inflicted upon it a considerable loss.

His triumph, however, was shortlived. Before long Pompeius arrived in person at Damascus, and twelve kings crowded together to pay him homage. The king of Egypt brought him a crown worth 4000 pieces of gold. Aristobulus sent him a golden vine upon a square mount, the leaves and branches most skilfully wrought, beneath which were lions, deer, and other animals in life-like attitude62. His present was accepted, but instead of his own name, that of his father was inscribed upon it, and after hearing the ambassadors of each brother, the conqueror declared that they must attend and plead their cause before him in person early in the following year B.C.63.

At the time appointed the brothers appeared, attended by numerous witnesses in support of their respective claims, as also by representatives of the Jewish people. Pompeius listened with attention to their arguments, and then closed the conference by announcing his purpose of settling the question in person at Jerusalem, intending first to subjugate Aretas and to conquer Petra. The impetuous Aristobulus, divining that the decision would be adverse to his interests, prepared for resistance by flinging himself into the fortress of Alexandrium, on the road between Jericho and Jerusalem, a position well adapted for resisting an approach to his capital.

Professing the greatest indignation at this conduct, and relieved from the necessity of invading Arabia by the timely submission of Aretas, Pompeius marched through the country east of the Jordan, and besieged the impetuous Asmonean in his stronghold. After three fruitless interviews, Aristobulus was forced to sign written orders for the surrender of all his strongholds, and on promise of obedience was liberated. Fleeing to Jerusalem, he now betook himself to the Temple-fortress, and prepared for a siege. Pompeius advanced to Jericho63, where his soldiers were struck with admiration by the beautiful palm-groves and balsam-trees of that tropic region, and then pressed on to Jerusalem. The partisans of Hyrcanus, who were the most numerous, threw open the gates, those of Aristobulus remained within their stronghold, and resolutely refused the summons of the Roman general to surrender.

On this Pompeius sent to Tyre64 for his military engines, and prosecuted the siege with the utmost vigour for three months65. It might have been protracted still longer, but for the suspension of hostilities by the Jews on the Sabbath-day. At length the largest of the towers was thrown down by one of the battering engines, and Cornelius Faustus, a son of Sylla, mounted the breach, and the day was gained B.C.63. A terrible carnage now ensued, during which the priests remained unmoved at the altar, and continued their solemn services, pouring their drink-offerings, and burning their incense, till they were themselves stricken down. The conqueror entered the Temple, and, amidst the horror of the Jews, explored the total darkness of the Holy of Holies, and found, to his great amazement, neither symbols, nor statues, nor representation of any deity66. He surveyed with interest the sacred vessels, the golden altar of incense, the golden candlestick, and the Temple treasures, but with politic generosity left them untouched. He then ordered the sacred enclosure to be cleansed from the profanation of his soldiers, nominated Hyrcanus to the high-priesthood, though without the royal diadem, and confined the limits of his jurisdiction to Judæa. The walls of the city having been demolished, he then set out for Rome, taking with him the captive Aristobulus, as also his two sons and two daughters to grace his splendid triumph.

On the way, however, Alexander, the eldest son of the captive king, managed to effect his escape, and returned to Judæa, where, rallying round him the partisans of his father, he seized the fortresses of Alexandrium, Hyrcania, and Machærus, and began to attack the adherents of Hyrcanus. Alarmed at the progress of the invader, and unable to make head against him themselves, the ethnarch and Antipater called in the aid of the Romans, and Gabinius, who had been appointed prefect of Syria, B.C.57, deputed Marcus Antonius, his master of the horse, to render the required assistance. Antonius, having defeated the invader in a short engagement, shut him up in the stronghold of Alexandrium, and on the arrival of Gabinius forced him, after a somewhat protracted siege, to purchase his life by the surrender of the three fortresses, which were now demolished67.

Gabinius now employed himself in completely reorganizing the government of the country. Hitherto the nominal power had centred in Hyrcanus. Now he was deprived of even this semblance of authority, which was placed in the hands of the aristocracy, five independent senates or Sanhedrins being established, the first sitting at Jerusalem, the second at Jericho, the third at Gadara, the fourth at Amathus, the fifth at Sepphoris67. These arrangements made for destroying the influence of the capital as a centre of union, Gabinius returned to Syria. But scarcely had he done so, when Aristobulus himself reappeared, having escaped from Rome with his younger son, Antigonus. He was, however, more quickly disposed of even than Alexander had been, for the prefect of Syria instantly dispatched a force against him, and having overpowered his adherents, sent him back as a prisoner to Rome with his son, who was afterwards, however, released.

Gabinius now proceeded with Antonius to Egypt to place Ptolemy Auletes upon the throne, and both generals were strenuously assisted by Hyrcanus and Antipater, who sent supplies for their armies, and urged the Jews at Leontopolis to befriend them in like manner. Taking advantage of the absence of the legions, Alexander made a second attempt to recover the supreme power, but only to be a second time defeated near Mount Tabor by the Roman commanders on their return from Egypt, with a loss of 10,000 men.

The next year, B.C.54, the prefect was recalled to Rome, where numerous charges of rapacity and extortion were preferred against him, and though defended by Cicero he was ignominiously banished68. The celebrated triumvir Marcus Crassus now succeeded to the prefecture of Syria, a man of mean abilities, but enormous wealth, and unbounded avarice. Armed like Pompeius with proconsular authority for five years, and empowered to maintain as large a force as he might see fit, and to carry on wars without consulting the senate and people of Rome, Crassus resolved on entering upon a war with Parthia. Hurrying to his province, with some of the troops he had already collected, he entered Jerusalem, attracted by the well-known fact that the treasury of its Temple contained 2,000 talents, equivalent to nearly £2,000,000 sterling, besides vessels of gold and silver to an almost equal amount. The Jews were powerless to resist his intentions, but Eleazar, the guardian of the Temple, offered him a solid bar of gold weighing nearly 1000 pounds, concealed in a beam of wood, on condition that he left the rest of the treasures untouched. Crassus solemnly promised to be satisfied with this huge ingot, took it, and then, in defiance of his plighted faith, robbed the Temple of all the treasures he could lay his hands on, not sparing even the sacred vessels. The total amount he carried off is said to have been worth upwards of 10,000 Attic talents, and consisted of the gifts and offerings which during a hundred years the annual contributions of Jews from well-nigh every quarter of the world had amassed69. He then set out against the Parthians, crossed the Euphrates, and plunged into the sandy deserts of Mesopotamia, to be defeated with the loss of nearly his entire army at the disastrous battle of Carrhæ, B.C.53.