Seder Olam Revisited: C31c- Pompey

CHRONOLOGY OF JEWISH HISTORY

Generation 31: Hebrew years 3600-3720 (160-40 BCE)

Previous page < Navigation > Next page

To return to the list of chronological generations from Seder Olam Revisited, click here.

Introduction

This 31^st chronological generation sees the history of the Hasmonean Jewish dynasty in the Land of Israel.

Hebrew Year	BCE	Event	Source
3695	-65	The zugot Shemaiah and Avtalyon
3697	-63	Pompey's campaign in the Levant ; Hyrcanus II restored as king ; his brother Aristobulus is sent to Rome	Maccabees V, 36
3702	-58	Alexander son of Aristobulus rebels
3711	-49	Alexander is executed	Maccabees V, 39
3711	-49	Aristobulus is poisoned by Antipater
3712	-48	Murder of Pompey in Egypt
3713	-44	Siege of Alexandria and burning of the library
3716	-44	Assassination of Julius Caesar ; start of the Roman civil war
3718	-42	Antipater is poisoned

Year 3695 – 65 BCE – The zugot Shemaiah and Avtalyon

When Simeon ben Shetach died, he was replaced by Shemaiah as nassi and Avtalyon became av beth din. Both were converts of Assyrian descent, from Sennacherib who had destroyed the kingdom of Samaria and later repented of his deeds (see document 26b, year 681 BCE).

Descendants of Sennacherib gave public expositions of the Torah. Who were these? Shemaiah and Avtalyon. (Talmud, Gittin, 57b)

The main teaching of Shemaiah was:

Love work, hate acting superior, and do not bring yourself to the knowledge of the ruling authority. (Talmud, Avot, 1:10)

In their time, the high priesthood was more remote from faith and was offered as an honorific position to some of the royal or Sadducee nobility. The teaching of the two Sages may be echoed by the following anecdote showing the arrogance and jealousy displayed by the High Priest when he made a hurtful comment aimed to remind the two Sages that they came from conversion:

It happened with a High Priest that, as he came forth from the Sanctuary, everybody followed him, but when they saw Shemaiah and Avtalyon, they forsook him and went after Shemaiah and Avtalyon. Eventually Shemaiah and Avtalyon visited him to take their leave of the High Priest. He said to them: "May the descendants of the heathen come in peace!" — They answered him: "May the descendants of the heathen who do the work of Aaron arrive in peace, but the descendant of Aaron, who does not do the work of Aaron, he shall not come in peace!" (Talmud, Yoma, 71b)

Their tombs have been placed together in Jish (Gush Halav), Northern Israel, near the tombs of other scholars of their time.

Tombs of the Zugot Shemaiah and Avtalyon (source: Wikipedia)

Year 3697 – 63 BCE – The campaign of Pompey

In parallel to the war of succession in Judea, which caused the death of 100,000 people, the Roman general Gnaeus Pompeius, who is known as Pompey the Great, was campaigning against the kings Tigranes of Armenia and Mithridates of Parthia who had taken control of the Seleucid kingdom.

In 65 BCE, Pompey made a separate treaty with Tigranes to defeat Mithridates separately, which he did, and made Parthia a Roman province.

In 64 BCE, he deposed the last Seleucid ruler, Antiochus XIII Asiaticus, and made Syria a Roman province. He then moved south, into Judea, in 63 BCE while the civil war still raged between the two brothers. Both sought support from Pompey and the Roman general chose to support Hyrcanus, although he was first inclined to support Aristobulus as the current ruler of Judea. The reason for this change is in the arguments that Antipater, Hyrcanus' envoy, had told Pompey:

And Pompey (who is Gnaeus) was inclined to help Aristobulus [because of a big present that he sent to Pompey]. Which when Antipater saw, he looked for an opportunity that he might speak with Pompey alone, and he said to him: "In truth, that present which you have received from Aristobulus needs not be restored to him, even though you should not assist him; yet Hyrcanus offers you twice so much: and Aristobulus will not be able to bring the Jews into subjection to you [because the Jews considered Hyrcanus as the rightful legitimate heir], but this Hyrcanus will do." And Pompey supposed the matter to be so as Antipater had said, and rejoiced to think that he could bring the Jews under his dominion. (Maccabees, Book V, 36:12-16)

After taking the city, Pompey entered Jerusalem and the Temple but was respectful of the religious practice of the Jews, encouraging them to cleanse the holy place and restore the divine service. Conquerors always had great wish and expectations to enter the Temple, but only to be deceived:

As victor he [Pompey] claimed the right to enter the Temple, and this incident gave rise to the common impression that it contained no representation of the deity—the sanctuary was empty and the Holy of Holies untenanted. (Tacitus, Histories, 5:9)

In the Temple, Pompey only found the holy Menorah, pouring vessels and lots of spices. This content is depicted in many Jewish artifacts of which a carved stone that was found in 2009 in the antique synagogue of Migdal in Israel which was in use at the time of Pompey’s visit. This synagogue is one of the seven only known ones in Israel that date from the Second Temple period, all the others having been destroyed by the Romans in subsequent wars.

The carved stone from Migdal synagogue ca. 100 BCE (photography: Ferrell Jenkins)

In terms of politics, Pompey divided the Judean kingdom into three parts. Two parts were ruled by pagan cities (polis since the Hellenistic times): these cities were in Galilee and on the eastern side of the Jordan River. The capital of Galilee region was Sepphoris, in Lower Galilee. The only part left of Judea was the rest of the former Hasmonean kingdom with Jerusalem as the capital. Judea, for the Romans, meant the country of the Jews, so any region that was inhabited by most of the non-Jewish population was a polis, and considered to be outside the dominion of Judea.

Year 3697 – 63 BCE – Hyrcanus II

Pompey appointed Hyrcanus as king Hyrcanus II and returned to Rome taking with him Aristobulus and his children except Alexander who had fled. In Rome, Pompey was celebrated in triumph for two days during which he exhibited the kings he had captured in his campaign that brought remote Eastern provinces for the first time into the Roman empire:

The captives led in triumph, besides the chief pirates, were the son of Tigranes the Armenian [king] with his wife and daughter, Zosime, a wife of King Tigranes himself, Aristobulus, king of the Jews, a sister and five children of Mithridates, Scythian women, and hostages given by the Iberians, by the Albanians, and by the king of Commagene; there were also very many trophies, equal in number to all the battles in which Pompey had been victorious either in person or in the persons of his lieutenants. (Plutarch, Pompey, 45:5)

The Triumph of Pompey in Rome, Nicolo Giolfino, ca. 1520 (Castelvecchio museum, Verona)

Many Judeans were also taken into slavery by Pompey and were sent to the colonies of Spain where the Roman general was popular. According to some historians, the presence of Jews in Spain dates from Pompey, so before the Common Era. But in fact, Jews had arrived to Spain much earlier, at the time when Solomon entertained a maritime trade with the Phoenicians (see document C23b, year 1015 BCE), with trading harbors such as Carthagena.

As a supervisor of the eastern provinces, Pompey had appointed Lucius Valerius Flaccus. The latter issued a decree to seize the gold paid by Jerusalem as a tribute to Rome, but Cicero, a friend of his and future co-conspirator, opposed the decision in front of the Senate:

As gold, under pretense of being given to the Jews, was accustomed every year to be exported out of Italy and all the provinces to Jerusalem, Flaccus issued an edict establishing a law that it should not be lawful for gold to be exported out of Asia. And who is there, O judges, who cannot honestly praise this measure? The Senate had often decided, and when I was Consul, it came to a most solemn resolution, that gold ought not to be exported. But to resist this barbarous superstition were an act of dignity, to despise the multitude of Jews, which at times was most unruly in the assemblies in defense of the interests of the republic, was an act of the greatest wisdom.

But Gnaeus Pompeius, after he had taken Jerusalem, though he was a conqueror, touched nothing which was in that temple. In the first place, he acted wisely as he did in many other instances, leaving no room for his detractors to say anything against him, in a city so prone to suspicion and to evil speaking. For I do not suppose that the religion of the Jews, our enemies, was any obstacle to that most illustrious general, but that he was hindered by his own modesty. (Cicero, Pro Flacco, 67-68 from M. Tullius Cicero. The Orations of Marcus Tullius Cicero, literally translated by C. D. Yonge, B. A. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden, 1856, source: Perseus)

Year 3702 – 58 BCE – The end of Alexander’s contest

In Jewish eyes, Flaccus was thus perceived as a greedy leader, and this helped Alexander to lead a rebellion against the Roman army left behind by Pompey in the eastern provinces, and their protégé Hyrcanus II.

When the Romans went to campaign in Arabia, Alexander took the opportunity to retake Jerusalem in 58 BCE but was driven out from it a few months later by a second Roman army, led by Aulus Gabinius, which came from Syria to restore Hyrcanus.

When Gabinius went to Egypt in 55 BCE on orders from Pompey, to also restore Ptolemy XII to the throne of Egypt, Alexander started to rebel again and a third Roman army, this time led by Mark Antony (who will become a famous triumvir and lover of Cleopatra), moved from Egypt to Judea to defeat the Jewish contender. Mark forced Alexander to retreat to a Judean fortress called Alexandrium (named after Alexander Jannai who built it, but, in the Talmud, it is called Sartaba and this name is still in use today) and besieged him until he surrendered. Alexander was sent prisoner to Egypt under the supervision of Gabinius.

In Judea, Gabinius pursued the policy of Pompey of "divide and conquer": he divided the Judean province into five parts. The centers in modern-day Israel were Jerusalem, Jericho and Sepphoris, while two other ones were in modern-day Jordan: 

And when he [Grabinius] had ordained five councils, he distributed the nation into the same number of parts. So, these councils governed the people; the first was in Jerusalem, the second in Gadara, the third in Amathus, the fourth in Jericho, and the fifth in Sepphoris in Galilee. So, the Jews were now freed from monarchic authority and were governed by an aristocracy. (Josephus, Antiquities XIV, 89)

Year 3711 – 49 BCE – Aristobulus is killed

In the Roman dominion, civil war started when the general Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 50 BCE and marched onto Rome which he seized in 49 BCE. He wanted to abolish the republic and establish an empire. This was considered as a dictature. But he prevailed against his opponents, of which Pompey who fled to Egypt and threatened to rule over the Eastern provinces he had conquered. Looking for allies, Caesar freed Aristobulus and his party and allowed them to return to Judea to counter Pompey’s efforts in the region.

When Aristobulus reached Judea, a large party gathered and showed their support to him, but he soon fell victim to the designs of Antipater who set agents to poison him while he was in Damascus. And his son Alexander was put to death by Gabinius in 49 BCE on orders from Pompey to remove any pretender to the throne of Judea. Alexandra, the wife of Alexander, survived him because she was his first cousin, daughter of Hyrcanus II.

Year 3712 – 48 BCE – Death of Pompey and the war in Egypt

The Roman civil war came to an end when Julius Caesar defeated Pompey at the battle of Pharsalus in Greece, in the middle of 48 BCE. Pompey fled again to Egypt where he was assassinated by orders of the young king Ptolemy XIII who wanted to gain favor from Caesar. Ptolemy was a young boy married to his older sister Cleopatra. But Ptolemy and his main advisor wanted to expel Cleopatra from Egypt. This happened at the time when Caesar, who was pursuing Pompey and his followers, arrived in Egypt. Caesar executed the advisor who had Pompey assassinated, an act which triggered a conflict with Ptolemy XIII. Caesar’s forces were outnumbered and entrenched in the city of Alexandria, in 47 BCE. It was at this time that the famous library went on fire, by accident according to Plutarch.

The burning of the library of Alexandria (source:  Dudley, Ambrose, Hutchinsons History of the Nation, 1910)

Reinforcements soon came from Mithridates and Antipater who both were eager to show support to Caesar after having been allies of Pompey. The victory, according to the Book of Maccabees, owed to the determination of Antipater and the neutral attitude of the Jews of Egypt who initially supported their ruler Ptolemy XIII:

But as they [Antipater’s army] departed thence, they found an army of the Jews who dwelled in Egypt, making a stand at the entrance, to prevent Mithridates from entering Egypt. And Antipater produced to them a letter from Hyrcanus, commanding them to desist, and not oppose Mithridates, the friend of Caesar. And they forbore.

But the others marched till they came to the city of the then reigning king [Ptolemy XIII] who came out to them with all the armies of the Egyptians, and when they engaged with him, he conquered and routed them; and Mithridates turned his back and fled; whom, when he was surrounded by the Egyptian troops, Antipater saved from death, and Antipater and his men ceased not to resist the Egyptians in battle, whom he routed and conquered, and won the whole country of Egypt. (Maccabees, Book V, 42:17-21)

This conflict ended with the death of Ptolemy XIII. Caesar reinstated his older sister Cleopatra on the throne of Egypt, along with her younger brother Ptolemy XIV. Caesar also had a liaison with Cleopatra and gave her a son, Caesarion.

Cleopatra before Caesar, Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1866 (private collection)

As of Antipater, his change of allegiance to Caesar and his decisive actions that secured the victory earned him a Roman citizenship granted by Caesar who also appointed him Procurator of Judea and changed Hyrcanus’ role back to High Priest, for him and his descendants.

Year 3716 – 44 BCE – Assassination of Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BCE by senators, including his adoptive son Brutus, during the Ides of Mars.

It is interesting to note that the Roman historian Suetonius mentioned that the Jews of Rome mourned his death. Indeed, a sizeable Jewish community was already established in the city at this time, from around 200 BCE, and spoke Greek rather than Latin, as shown in the Jewish catacombs which still exist in Rome. In fact, Caesar has been favorable to the Roman Jews during his tenure:

In this public mourning there joined a multitude of foreigners, expressing their sorrow according to the fashion of their respective countries, but especially the Jews who for several nights together frequented the spot where the body was burnt. (Suetonius, Lives of Caesars, Julius Caesar, chapter 84)

At this time, about 4000 Jews lived in the Trastevere, a borough of Rome on the other side of the Tiber River which still exists today. But Jews later moved to the other side of the river, closer to the city in which became the Jewish “Ghetto”.

Tombstone in a Jewish catacomb in Rome

Caesar’s assassination brought another period of unrest in the Roman dominion, and old enmities surfaced again. Cleopatra got rid of her brother Ptolemy XIV to secure her son’s future as Ptolemy XV. In 42 BCE, Antipater was poisoned by a party who supported Hyrcanus without the latter’s knowledge. Meanwhile Octavian, the adopted heir of Caesar, was gaining ground against those of the Senate who assassinated Caesar. He defeated Crassius’ rebellious army in Greece and killed Brutus. At this time, Hyrcanus sent ambassadors to Octavian to show allegiance to the new Roman ruler.

Hasmonean dynasty from John Hyrcanus to Herod, son of Antipater

Previous page < Navigation > Next page

To return to the list of chronological generations from Seder Olam Revisited, click here.

Albert Benhamou

Private Tour Guide in Israel

Tammuz 5785 - July 2025