Seder Olam Revisited: C31a- Hasmonean
- Albert Benhamou
- Jul 22
- 19 min read
Updated: Aug 25
CHRONOLOGY OF JEWISH HISTORY
Generation 31: Hebrew years 3600-3720 (160-40 BCE)
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Introduction
This 31st chronological generation sees the history of the Hasmonean Jewish dynasty in the Land of Israel.
Hebrew Year | BCE | Event | Source |
3600 | -160 | After Judah Maccabee's death, his brother Jonathan succeeds him | Maccabees II, 10 |
3601 | -159 | Death of Alcimus, the high priest of Greek choice | |
3603 | -157 | The Maccabean war resumes | Maccabees II, 9:57 |
3608 | -152 | Alliance between Jonathan and Alexander son of Epiphanes | Maccabees II, 10 |
3608 | -152 | Creation of the Essenes sect | |
3609 | -151 | Onias IV establishes a temple in Leontopolis, Egypt | |
3610 | -150 | Alexander Balas rules over the Seleucid | Maccabees II, 10:57 |
3613 | -147 | Demetrius Nicator challenges Alexander's rule | |
3615 | -145 | Death of Alexander Balas ; Demetrius reigns | Maccabees II, 11:19 |
3617 | -143 | Jonathan Maccabee is executed by Tryphon in Akko | Maccabees II, 25 |
3618 | -142 | Simon Maccabee allies with Demetrius and starts the Hasmonean dynasty | Maccabees II, 13:41 |
3619 | -141 | Simon cleanses Jerusalem | Maccabees II, 13:51 |
3620 | -140 | Demetrius campaigns in Media, taken prisoner by Mithridates | |
3621 | -139 | Simon is elected High Priest | Maccabees II, 14:27 |
3622 | -138 | Antiochus son of Demetrius reconquers his kingdom | |
3625 | -135 | Simon Maccabee and his two sons are assassinated ; Hyrcanus rules | |
3648 | -112 | Hyrcanus converts Idumea | Maccabees V |
3849 | -111 | Hyrcanus converts Idumea | Maccabees V |
Year 3601 – 159 BCE – Death of Alcimus the High Priest
When Bacchides started to put down the walls around the Temple of Jerusalem, Alcimus was struck with ailment and died. He was the High Priest who had favored Hellenism and had, just before his death, threatened to execute the head of Sanhedrin, Yose ben Yoezer, as they had both been in constant conflict one against the other about religion and assimilation.
According to some theory, the person who succeeded Alcimus proclaimed himself “Teacher of Righteousness” and, once expelled, founded the Essenes sect in the Inter-Sacerdotium period between 159 and 152 BCE.
Bacchides returned to Antioch to seek orders from Demetrius who, at this time, was more concerned by the situation on the Eastern front against the Parthians.
Year 3608 – 152 BCE – Jonathan Maccabee
Several months later, Bacchides came back against Judea with a large army. But he struck a deal with Jonathan Maccabee whereas the latter was accepted by Demetrius as the High Priest and Governor of the Judean province of the Seleucid empire. In other words, Judea finally achieved autonomy, even if it was under the umbrella of the Seleucid empire. Obviously, Demetrius did not wish to have Rome go after his rule if he had attempted to subjugate Judea by force, while Judah Maccabee had sealed an alliance with Rome. The Seleucid kingdom remembers that Rome had previously threatened them in their campaign against Ptolemaic Egypt (see document C30b, year 161 BCE).
Peace ensued and Jonathan could finally clean the land from Hellenistic influence and destroy the high places that pagans had built in Judea. The agreement did not include Jerusalem yet, as the city was still sheltering a Seleucid (or Hellenized Jews) garrison protected by the high towers of the Acra fortress.
Furthermore, as the Seleucid army was now busy in the Eastern front, Jonathan proposed his protection to some territories and cities close to Judea (such as Lod/Lydda, Ramatayim, the county of Ephraim) and incorporated them in the Judean dominion. He extended it further with the addition of the southern cities on the border with Judea.
Year 3608 – 152 BCE – The Essenes
The High Priest, whose exact name had not been recorded in Jewish History, was ousted by Jonathan, who was a Levite, in 152 BCE who took the role. Embittered by this situation, this man left Jerusalem and founded a sectarian community in the Judaean desert, northwestern side of the Dead Sea, in a location now called Qumran, where the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in the 1950’s in nearby mountain caves. This Essene community followed the Jewish Scriptures but also introduced new rules leading to a more drastic and secluded lifestyle. This community had existed roughly between 150 BCE and 73 CE when the Jewish nation was destroyed by the Romans. Some documents clearly demonstrate their bitterness towards the person who, in their eyes, usurped the role of High Priest, Jonathan Maccabee: they referred to him as the Wicked Priest:
Interpreted, this concerns the Wicked Priest who was called by the name of Truth when he first arose. But, when he ruled over Israel, his heart became proud, and he forsook God and betrayed the precepts for the sake of riches. (Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Commentary on Habakkuk, VIII:9-12, Penguin Books edition 2004, p. 513)
Most of the Dead Sea Scrolls documents related to the rules of the Essenes community are being assumed to date from this period. A later piece, called the Damascus Document, was written some years later, probably about 100 BCE, and contains some details about the origin and timing of this sect of the Essenes. But, for them, the origin of their movement started 390 years after the destruction of the First Temple by Nebuchadnezzar, although, at this time, the community (they called it Yahad, which means ‘together’ in Hebrew) was not structured, and it was just the birth of a man who will later give offspring to the founder of the community:
And, in the age of wrath, three hundred and ninety years after He had given them [Israel] into the hand King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, He visited them, and He caused a plant root to spring from Israel and Aaron to inherit His land and to prosper on the good things of His earth. And they perceived their iniquity and recognized that they were guilty men, yet for twenty years they were like blind men groping for the way. (Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Damascus Document, I:5-10, Penguin Books edition 2004, p. 129)
Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the First Temple in 587 BCE so 390 years later corresponds to the year 197 BCE. This was about the time when Judea passed from the governance of the Ptolemaic kingdom (Hellenized Egypt) to the one of the Seleucid (Hellenized Syria) (see document C30a, year 198 BCE). This change led to catastrophic results for the Jewish nation. The text from the Essenes community also mentions a period of 20 years during which the Jews were like blind men groping for the way. It corresponds to the 20 years of Seleucid rule, with growing Hellenistic influence, which culminated in 175 BCE with the rise of the king Antiochus IV Epiphanes whose policy was ultimately to force the Jews to abandon their religion. Thus, the Essenes considered that their spiritual leader was born around 197 BCE (390 years from the destruction of the First Temple) before he founded their community around the year 175 BCE. In these times, the main oppressor was Seleucid. There is some controversy among scholars between those who believe that the Rule of War of the Essenes applies to the Greeks and those who believes that it applies to the Romans, but the following text seems to indicate that it rather refers to the Greek Seleucids:
For the M[aster. The Rule of] War on the unleashing of the attack of the sons of light against the company of the sons of darkness, the army of Belial: against the band of Edom, Moab, and the sons of Ammon, and [against the army of the sons of the East and] the Philistines, and against the Kittim of Assyria and their allies the ungodly of the Covenant. [...]
[The king] of the Kittim [shall enter] into Egypt, and in his time he shall set out in great wrath to wage against the kings of the north, that his fury may destroy and cut the horn of [Israel]. This shall be a time of salvation for the people of God, and age of dominion for all the members of His company, and of everlasting destruction for all the company of Belial.
The confusion of the sons of Japheth shall be [great] and Assyria shall fall without help. The dominion of the Kittim shall come to an end and iniquity shall be vanquished, leaving no remnant; [for the sons] of darkness there shall be no escape. (Geza Vermes, The Complete Dead Sea Scrolls in English, The War Scroll, I:5-10, Penguin Books edition 2004, pp. 165-166)
There is little doubt that the above text refers to the Seleucid kingdom, and especially at a time of Antiochus Epiphanes: the words sons of the East, Belial (as the Babylonian god Bel) and Assyria (which gave root to Syria) refer to the Seleucid dominion, whereas their allies the ungodly of the Covenant refer to the Jews who wanted assimilation to Hellenism.
The invasion of Egypt was carried out by Antiochus Epiphanes before he had to abandon his gain and took revenge against the Jewish nation in great wrath (see document C30b, year 175 BCE). He later led a doomed campaign against the northern borders of his kingdom (Parthia, Armenia), the so-called kings of the north.
The text also refers to the Kittims as the sons of Japheth which traditionally points to the Greeks, whereas the Romans are associated with Edom.
It is also possible that some documents, such as the War Scroll, would have been composed of different texts written at various times to complete a topic. Therefore, other passages of the text would point to a war against the Romans, while the earliest part of the text (section I) would be based on the war waged by the Seleucids against Judea. Last, as the Dead Sea Scrolls were in such a big quantity (about 950 scrolls), it is difficult to believe they all belonged to a small community in Qumran. Some researchers believe that most of the scrolls were part of the Temple's library of manuscripts: they may have been entrusted by the Temple staff to the Essenes to be hidden in the desert, like other treasures depicted in the Copper Scroll, as an anticipation of the Roman siege of 69 CE.
Year 3608 – 152 BCE – The Seleucid wars of succession
Alexander Balas, a possible usurper, claimed to be the youngest son of Antiochus Epiphanes, and took some city of the Seleucid kingdom. So, Demetrius wanted to engage in a war to defeat the new claimant to the throne. He thus sought to strengthen his peace with Jonathan to avoid having the Jews join forces with Alexander. Jonathan agreed to the peace at the condition that Jerusalem would be returned to the Jews, to which Demetrius gave his consent:
And Jonathan settled himself in Jerusalem and began to build and repair the city. And he commanded the workmen to build the walls, and the mount Sion round about with square stones, for fortification: and they did so. Then the strangers who were in the fortresses which Bacchides had built, fled away: insomuch that every man left his place, and went into his own country. Only at Betsoura, certain of those [Hellenized Jews] who had forsaken the law and the commandments, remained still: for it was their place of refuge. (Maccabees, Book II, 10:10-14)
Parts of the city walls built by the Hasmonean kings are still visible today in parts of the Old City of Jerusalem. As of Betsoura, it is the ancient hilltop village of Beth-Zur, near Hebron, where a battle took place in 164 BCE between Judas Maccabee and Lysias. The Greeks had built a fort there.
But Alexander also sought Jonathan’s alliance by acknowledging him as High Priest for the Jewish nation and sending him a gold crown. Upon this, Demetrius raised the stakes by promising dignities to Jonathan and removing all duties and taxes for the Jewish state. Furthermore, he offered to pay 15,000 shekels of silver every year to maintain his alliance with the Jewish state. He also promised to respect the Jewish festivals as days of immunity (Maccabees, Book II, 10:34). Yet Jonathan and his counsel did not believe the words of Demetrius, owing to the great evil he had caused to the Jews in the past. So, they approved the alliance with Alexander instead. In addition, Alexander’s claims to the throne were also accepted by Rome which started to see the vast Seleucid empire as an obstacle to their own expansion to the East. Perhaps due to this Roman position, Alexander Balas was indeed believed to be the son of Antiochus Epiphanes at the time of the Byzantine in the 4th century by Christian scholar Eusebius (to read his Chronicles for the 2nd year of the 157th Olympiad, click here).
In 150 BCE, Alexander finally defeated Demetrius and reigned over the Seleucid realm. He also sealed an alliance with the Ptolemaic king, with obvious blessing from Rome, the patron of both kingdoms, and married Cleopatra Thea, a daughter of Ptolemy Philometor. Alexander also met with Jonathan and honored him as an ally.
But, in 147 BCE, Demetrius’ son, called Demetrius Nicator, came from Crete to contest the rule of Alexander Balas. His army commander, Apollonius, landed near Jaffa and taunted Jonathan to come down to the lowland and fight a battle. Jonathan and Simon Maccabee raised their army and defeated him near Jaffa. Demetrius Nicator fled south but the Hasmoneans pursued him and defeated the remains of his army. Alexander was greatly pleased with Jonathan having been able to remove the threat from Demetrius Nicator alone and sent to him gold gave him as well the possession of Ashqelon and of the Southern coast. Jonathan also obtained an official role for his (last surviving) brother Simon who was named by the Seleucid king as "Stratagos of Peralia" (ruler over the coastal cities).
Year 3609 – 151 BCE – The Jewish temple of Leontopolis
Onias IV, son of former high priest Onias III, establishes a Jewish temple in Leontopolis for the Jewish exiles in Egypt. This temple will last for 224 years, until it was destroyed in year 73 CE.
Year 3615 – 145 BCE – The deaths of Alexander Balas and of Ptolemy Philometor
Ptolemy, father-in-law of Alexander Balas, decided to fight against him as he now considered that the throne of the Seleucids was usurped. He made an alliance with Demetrius Nicator, raised a great army and crossed the Levant region, setting up garrisons in the cities he entered. Ptolemy also conquered the Seleucid capital Antioch while Alexander was campaigning in Cilicia, Asia Minor. Ptolemy even gave to Demetrius the daughter he had previously married to Alexander Balas.
Alexander hurried back to Antioch to fight against Ptolemy but lost the battle outside the city. He fled to Arabia but was caught there and killed by the local ruler. His head was sent to Ptolemy as a token of allegiance. But Ptolemy's victory was short-lived because he had also been wounded at the battle for Antioch. He died soon after from his wounds. But finally, the legitimate Demetrius Nicator could reign over the Seleucid empire (Maccabees, Book II, 11:19).
Year 3617 – 143 BCE – Death of Jonathan Maccabee
Another Seleucid army commander, called Diodotus Tryphon, took the young son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea to challenge the throne of the Seleucid kingdom back from Demetrius Nicator. As Jonathan Maccabee failed to side, he came under threat from Tryphon. War seemed inevitable but Tryphon lured Jonathan with peace talks into the city of Acre/Akko, which in these times was called Ptolemais. Once Jonathan got there, Tryphon took him prisoner.
Simon Maccabee, the last son of Mattathias, raised to rule the Jewish affairs. Tryphon, on his side, was preparing his army ready to invade Judea, but snow fell over the land. So, he instead decided to lead his army north against Antioch. He then killed Jonathan on the way back. Simon recovered the corpse of Jonathan and buried him with his family in Modi'in:
Simon also built a monument upon the sepulcher of his father and his brethren, and raised it aloft to the sight, with polished stone behind and before. Moreover, he set up seven pyramids one against another, for his father and his mother, and his four brethren. And on these he made cunning devices, about which he set great pillars, and upon the pillars he placed all their armor for a perpetual memory, and by the armor ships carved, that they might be seen by all who sail on the sea. This is the sepulcher which he made at Modin, and it stands yet unto this day. (Maccabees, Book II, 13:27-30)
The sepulcher of the Maccabees has recently been found in 1999 on a hill near Modi'in in Israel, and a monument have been placed there to commemorate the seven pyramids that Simon had built in his time. But the real site of burial is located a few hundred yards farther up a dirt road.
Year 3618 – 142 BCE – Simon Maccabee starts the Hasmonean dynasty
After finally conquering Antioch, Tryphon also deceived his protégé, Antiochus the young son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea: he killed him to usurp the crown. Tryphon became very unpopular from this act and Simon Maccabee took the opportunity to make an alliance with Demetrius who granted immunity and independence to the Jewish nation in 142 BCE. Independence meant that the nation could choose its own king. After consulting with the Sanhedrin, Simon took the role. But he was not supposed to be king because he was not from Davidic descent. Simon's family was from priestly (Levite) descent.
With his kingship, Simon started to count his years of reign as official years (Maccabees, Book II, 13:42). The Hasmonean royal dynasty, as Simon called it, continued until 37 BCE when the last ruler of this family was deposed. It is assumed that the name Hasmonean came from an ancestor called Hesmai, or Assamoneaus, grandfather of Mattathias (Maccabees, Book V, 6). Or it was adopted as a double reminder of the miraculous "eight" days of Hannukah because the word Hasmonean is written חשמואי thus composed of the letter ח which has the value of 8 and of the word שמונה which means 8.
Simon then engaged in a campaign to cleanse the land of its idols. He took Gaza, but Jerusalem still had a number of Hellenized Jews who refused to return to the Jewish faith. They were entrenched in the Acra fortress, under siege with no access to food nor supplies. They finally asked for peace and Simon granted it to them. He cleansed the city after they departed from the citadel and finally razed the Acra fortress to the ground. This took place in the year 141 BCE, on the 23rd day of the month of the 2nd month (Iyyar), which was an observed festival in the times of the Jewish nation (Maccabees, Book II, 13:51).
The reign of Simon Maccabee was quiet, owing to the civil war between the neighboring Seleucid factions supporting either Tryphon or Demetrius:
As for the land of Judea, that was quiet all the days of Simon; for he sought the good of his nation in such wise [way], as that evermore his authority and honor pleased them well. And in addition to all his glory, he took Joppe [Jaffa] for a haven, and made it an entrance to the isles of the sea, and enlarged the bounds of his nation, and recovered the country. (Maccabees, Book II, 14:4-6)
In addition, Rome renewed with Simon the pact previously made with his brother Jonathan. As of the Lacedonians (the Spartans), they considered themselves descendants from the patriarch Abraham and thus brethren to the Jews. They wrote to Simon:
The rulers of the Lacedaemonians, and the city [Sparta], unto Simon the high priest, and the elders and priests, and residue of the people of the Jews, our brethren, send greeting. The ambassadors who were sent unto our people, certified us of your glory and honor; wherefore we were glad of their coming; and did register the things which they spoke [of] in the council of the people in this manner: Numenius, son of Antiochus, and Antipater son of Jason, the Jews' ambassadors, came unto us to renew the friendship which they had with us. And it pleased the people to entertain the men honorably, and to put the copy of their ambassage in the appointed records of the people; to the end the people of the Lacedaemonians might have a memorial thereof: furthermore, we have written a copy thereof unto Simon the high priest. (Maccabees, Book II, 14:20-23)
Year 3620 – 140 BCE – Joshua ben Perachiah
After the death of the president of the Sanhedrin (titled the nassi) Yose ben Yoezer in 140 BCE, Joshua ben Perachiah replaced him. With him, Nittai the Arbelite (also called Mattai of Arbela) was elected av beth din, meaning the vice-president of the Sanhedrin. Both formed the second Zugot (pairs) as heads of this religious institution (the model of zugot was started in 170 BCE, see previous document). Joshua ben Perachiah is known for the following wisdom:
Appoint a teacher for yourself. And get yourself a study companion. And judge all men in the scale of merit. (Talmud, Pirke Avot, Mishna 1:6)
His tenure as nassi lasted for 40 years until he fled to Egypt in 100 BCE with all the religious leaders to avoid persecutions from the Hasmonean ruler of the time, Alexander Jannai. Some saw such persecutions as divine punishment towards the religious authorities who had endorsed a royal dynasty which was not acceptable by Jewish law.
Year 3621 – 139 BCE – Simon Maccabee is chosen High Priest
Three years after the beginning of his kingship, Simon was also confirmed as High Priest by the Jewish nation, as well as Keeper of the Sanctuary in Jerusalem. It was the first time that an individual held both the kingship and the priesthood because, by Jewish law, the former was to be from Davidic descent and the second from the priestly Pinhas family within the Kohanim cast. As a reminder, Levi son of Jacob had a son called Amran, who had two sons: Aaron and Moses. The descendants of Amran are all Levites, but the descendants of Aaron are the Kohanim who were the only ones authorized to enter the sanctuary. Aaron had two sons: Eleazar and Ithamar. One of Eleazar's sons was Pinhas: it is from his descendants that the High Priest was selected, and not from any other member of the Kohanim or, of course, from any of the Levites.
A year later, Antiochus son of Demetrius succeeded to reconquer the Seleucid kingdom from the hands of Tryphon and reigned as Antiochus VII Sidetes.
Tryphon fled to a city that Antiochus besieged. Acting in good faith, Simon sent reinforcements to Antiochus to support him, but the latter refused the Jewish help. Furthermore, he sent a messenger to Jerusalem to ask Simon for a tribute in exchange for the cities he had taken possession of, which, he claimed, belonged to the Seleucid kingdom. Otherwise, he threatened Simon with war. Simon replied:
We have neither taken other men's land, nor held that which appertains to others, but the inheritance of our fathers, which our enemies had wrongfully in possession at a certain time. Wherefore we, having the opportunity, hold the inheritance of our fathers.
But as for Joppe [Jaffa] and Gazara [Gaza] which you demanded, although they did great harm unto the people in our country, yet will we give a hundred talents for them. (Maccabees, Book II, 15:33-35)
Antiochus was not pleased with the response and sent an army led by his general Hyrcan to the coast of Judea while he pursued the siege against Tryphon. Simon was too old at the time to engage in any war, so he entrusted his youngest son, John (or Johanan), to defend the nation. He succeeded in defeating the Seleucid army and took the surname Hyrcanus after the commander he defeated.
Year 3625 – 135 BCE – Death of Simon Maccabee
Simon and his two older sons, Judas and Mattathias, came down to the Hasmonean palace in Jericho to a banquet arranged by Simon's son-in-law, Ptolemy son of Abulus, who actually wanted to take over their kingdom.
The host killed all three of them deceitfully and sought to get rid of Simon’s surviving son, John, and build an alliance with Antiochus VII by asking his support to take over the Judean kingdom.
Year 3626 – 134 BCE – John Hyrcanus makes a pact with Antiochus VII
Antiochus VII came in person to lead the siege of Jerusalem but was defeated by John Hyrcanus. Rather than pursuing a war which already proved to be uncertain, Antiochus proposed a peaceful settlement: Hyrcanus paid him a large sum of money, taken from the sepulcher of the Judean kings, and Antiochus accepted to be the protector of the Jewish nation which gained him a surname, “Pius” or “Euergetes” (the Benefactor) according to different sources.
Like his predecessors, Antiochus VII had indeed more pressing affairs: his eastern provinces were invaded by Phraates II king of the Parthians, so he had to go to war against this enemy. The Parthians had become a regional power since the rule of Mithridates, brother of Phraates II, who took over some of the Seleucid possessions in the East.
Antiochus VII overcame his enemies and restored the Mesopotamian territories to the Seleucid empire. But he was the last Seleucid ruler to reign over such a large empire after losing most of it, over time, to the Parthians, except for Syria until that land would eventually be conquered by the Romans.
Year 3648 – 112 BCE – John Hyrcanus converts Idumea
After the death of Antiochus VII, Hyrcanus intended to restore territories that used to belong to the Jewish nation. On the Eastern side of the Jordan River, he conquered the region of Mount Seir (south from Perea) which was the old Edomite land but then it was occupied by nomadic Arabian tribes (such as the Nabateans). After the destruction of the First Temple, Judea emptied itself from Jews (see document C27b, year 586 BCE). The Edomites moved to the Judean lands which were more fertile than their previous territory. So, the land of Edom/Seir was left empty until it was used by nomadic tribes who settled there.
Hyrcanus then turned against the pagan Edomites (by this time called Idumeans). Because they were descendants of Esau, son of Isaac the Patriarch according to the Scriptures, Hyrcanus did not kill them but proposed to them to convert to the Jewish faith. It is the only example of forced conversion by Jews in the Jewish history. Most of the Idumeans agreed to convert and they kept in the Jewish faith until the Judean nation was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.
Archaeology has found evidence of the conquest of Idumea and of its precise dating. In 1989, in the site of Tel Maresha in the Judean Hills, which was a Jewish town that the Idumeans occupied after its original population fled, was found a hoard of coins, some dated 113-112 BCE.
Tel Maresha had become a prosperous city at the time of the Idumeans, owing to their trade of olive oil and of doves (used for their meat but also for cultic needs and for fertilizing). At the time of the Persian rule, Sidonians also moved inland from the coast and settled, along the Idumeans, in Tel Maresha.
By the time of the conquest by John Hyrcanus, when the citizens were offered to convert, the Idumeans accepted conversion, but the Sidonians preferred to leave. The hoard was found in the house of a rich Sidonian merchant who, presumably, left in a hurry, buried his treasure with the hope that he would soon come back and recover his property. But this never happened. The finding of this hoard helped historians to agree on the precise timing of the conquest of Maresha and of the conversion of Idumea.
After his conquests, Hyrcanus also built several fortresses in his extended kingdom. One of them was Hyrcania, located in the Judean desert about 20km East from Jerusalem, on the border with Idumea. Another fortress was Doq, on the western side of Jericho, to control the Jordan Valley and access to the Prat valley (Wadi Qelt) towards Jerusalem.
Year 3649 – 111 BCE – The siege of Samaria
Then Hyrcanus attacked Samaria and its capital, the old Sichem which had been renamed Neapolis since the time of the Greeks (Neapolis, nea-polis, means New City in Greek and the name has remained today as Nablus). The region was inhabited by Samaritans soon after the conquest of the old kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians (see document C26a, year 718 BCE).
Hyrcanus and his two preferred sons, Aristobulus and Antigonus, started the siege of the capital of the Samaritans in 111 BCE in the pursuit to restore the previous Jewish land, as promised by their covenant with God. The Samaritans implored both the Syrians and the Egyptians for come to their rescue. Both Antiochus IX and Ptolemy IX marched respectively onto Judea against Hyrcanus. Antiochus IX “Cyzicenus” was the son of Antiochus VII Sidetes, and had regained his throne in 116 BCE while Ptolemy IX “Lathyros” also started to reign in 116 BCE but jointly with his mother Cleopatra III.
Hyrcanus went first to fight the Ptolemaic army and defeated them: Ptolemy IX returned to Egypt. There he was soon deposed by his mother who put his younger brother Alexander on the throne as Ptolemy X. But a few months later she reinstated Ptolemy IX.
The Jews eventually destroyed the city of Neapolis after two years of war and took over this land from the Samaritans.
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Albert Benhamou
Private Tour Guide in Israel
Tammuz 5785 - July 2025
