the maintenance of the interests of her own children by him, married his brother, Antiochus Sidetes, who at first courted the assistance and countenance of Simon, making him many splendid promises; but as soon as he came into Syria, he rescinded the whole, and sent Athenobius, one of his generals, to demand the restoration of Gazara, Joppa, and the fortress of Jerusalem, and various other places. Simon offered to pay him one hundred talents for Gazara and Joppa, but claimed all the others as cities belonging to the Jews.* Antiochus having dispatched Cendebæus with an army to enforce his pretensions, that general fortified Kedron; whereupon Judas and John, two of the sons of Simon, marched to meet him, and defeated the Syrian with the loss of two thousand men, and following up his advantage, John took Azotus and other fortresses, and burned them with fire. Judas was wounded, but both brothers returned in triumph to Jerusalem, having driven the Syrians out of the country.† Simon had married one of his daughters to Ptolemy, son of Abubus, and made him governor of Jericho; and making a progress through the cities of Judah with his sons, Judas and Mattathias, in order to inspect their situation, was invited by his son-in-law to take up his abode in a castle which he had lately built. Simon apprehending no evil, accepted the invitation, but after an entertainment, and when Simon and his party had drank freely, Ptolemy assassinated them all, and immediately sent parties of soldiers to surprise John at Gazara, and the city of Jerusalem. This plan was arranged in union with Antiochus Sidetes, for the purpose of placing Ptolemy in the sovereignty of Judea. John, however, received information of the fate of his father and brethren, just time enough to be on his guard, and to arm the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and being declared high priest and prince of the Jews, he prepared to defend the territories. * Prid. ii. 345. + Prid. ii. 316. Prid. iii. 353. or prefecture of Heliopolis,* upon the site of an old temple of Bubastis, wherein he placed an altar of incense, a shewbread table, and other utensils, like those at Jerusalem, and having persuaded the Jews that he was at liberty to do so from the prophecy of Isaiah,+ he prevailed on the priests and Levites to administer the Jewish ritual therein; and afterwards built a city in the vicinity; which after his own name he called Onion.§ Alexander, the usurper and impostor, having given himself up to debauchery and luxury, Demetrius Nicator, the son of Demetrius Soter, who had been secretly preserved and educated at Cnidus, made an effort to recover his father's throne; and landing in Cilicia, was joined by Apollonius, who then governed in Cole-Syria and Phoenicia for Alexander. The first step which this officer took to shew his devotion to the youthful adventurer, was to attempt to reduce Jonathan and his poor Jews, who remained firm in their allegiance to Alexander. Having collected a large army, he encamped in Jamnia, whence he sent an insolent defiance to Jonathan; Thou alone liftest up thyself against us, and I am laughed to scorn for thy sake, and reproached: and why dost thou vaunt thy power against us in the mountains? Now, therefore, if thou trustest in thine own strength, come down to us into the plain field, and there let us try the matter together; for with me Or the city of the sun. Prid. ii. 316. ; where see many curious particulars relating to the erection of this temple, and its name. See Jos. ii. 271. Prid. ii. 315-318. "On, therefore, was Heliopolis, the chief city of the canton of that name, called by Ptolemy, Onium, distant about twenty miles from Memphis, the metropolis. Un. Hist. i. 453. note U. is the power of the cities. Ask and learn who I am, and the rest that take our part; and they shall tell thee that thy foot is not able to stand before our face for thy fathers have been twice put to flight in their own land. Wherefore, now, thou shalt not be able to abide the horsemen and so great a power in the plain, where is neither stone nor flint, nor place to flee unto.* Jonathan immediately marched out of Jerusalém with ten thousand men, and took Joppa in the face of the Syrian army; and then, having defeated Apollonius in a pitched battle, pursued him to Azotus, and burned that town, with its temple of Dagon, to the ground, killing and destroying more than eight thousand men. Having reduced several other cities in the neighbourhood, he returned to Jerusalem, laden with great spoils; upon which Alexander sent him a buckle of gold, and gave him the city of Ecron, with its territories, for a possession.† Ptolemy Philometer having marched into Palestine, at the instance of Alexander, was received into all the cities of that country as a friend, and was met at Joppa by Jonathan, whom he received with great kindness, notwithstanding many complaints were made against him by his enemies; and Jonathan accordingly accompanied him as far as the river Eleutherus. Ammonius, the prime minister of Alexander, having formed a design against the life of Ptolemy,‡ which that monarch had discovered, but in vain demanded him to be delivered up by Alexander, he marched on to Antioch; when the inhabitants having, in the absence of Alexander, slain Ammonius, and opened their gates to Ptolemy, he advised them to declare for Demetrius; which they did, and * 1 Macc. x. 70-73. + Prid. ii. 322. He suspected that the real object of the Egyptian was to possess himself of the Syrian monarchy, rather than to serve Alexander. on the approach of Alexander with his army, he completely defeated and slew him, but died himself a few days afterwards of a wound received in the same battle; whereupon Demetrius succeeded quietly to the throne.* * On the death of Ptolemy Philometer, his brother Physcon, or Ptolemy Euergetes II, attempted to take possession of the vacant throne; when Onias and Dositheus came with an army of Jews to the assistance of Cleopatra, alike the sister and wife of the deceased monarch, and her infant son. By the mediation of Thermus, a Roman ambassador, it was agreed that Physcon should marry Cleopatra, and that her infant son should succeed his uncle, to the exclusion of his own children. On the day of the nuptials, however, Physcon murdered the child in its mother's arms; for which, and his other enormities, the inhabitants of Alexandria called him Kakergetes, instead of Euergetes.† Jonathan being left undisturbed in Judea, laid siege to the fortress of Acra in Jerusalem; upon which Demetrius came to Ptolemais, and summoned Jonathan to attend him there. Without delaying the siege, the Jewish leader, with several of the other priests and elders, obeyed the summons; and by presents and judicious conduct appeased the monarch's wrath, who sent him back to Jerusalem laden with favours; confirming him in the high priesthood, and adding to Judea the three toparchies of Apharema, Lydda, and Ramatha, formerly belonging to Samaria; besides remitting all taxes and revenues for three hundred talents.+ Jonathan not being able to take the fortress of Acra, applied to Demetrius to withdraw his garrison, which he promised to do, if Jonathan would send him some troops to assist him against the Antiochians, who were in rebellion against him. Jonathan accordingly sent three thousand * Prid. ii. 324. + Prid. ii. 326. Prid. ii. 328. men as a body guard to the tyrant, who so well performed their duty, that when a tumult broke out they slew one hundred thousand Antiochians, and thus restoring, for that time, the peace of the city, returned home with riches and credit.* This vile monarch, however, kept none of his promises to the Jews, for he not only did not withdraw the garrison from Acra, but broke his treaty at Ptolemais, and threatened them with war and devastation if they did not pay the tribute as formerly.† Diodotus, or Tryphon, who had been a lieutenant of Alexander's, having set up Antiochus, a son of that usurper, and defeated Demetrius in battle, Jonathan acknowledged the new adventurer for his sovereign, who renewed and confirmed all his former advantages, and made his brother Simon his.commander, from the ladder of Tyre‡ to the borders of Egypt.§ Jonathan having marched to Damascus, and secured all the country for Antiochus, the forces of Demetrius invaded Galilee, when Jonathan marched to oppose him, leaving Simon in Judea. Having avoided an ambush that was laid for him, he defeated Demetrius, and Simon at the same time took the fortress of Bethsura, which had been long held by the heathen.|| On his return to Jerusalem, Jonathan sent Numenius and Antipater as ambassadors to Rome, to renew the league which the senate had made with his brother Judas, and also to the The ladder of Tyre is a mountain so called, lying on the sea coast between Tyre and Ptolemais. Prid. ii. 330. "It is a picturesque spot, the road being cut in the side of the perpendicular cliff on the sea shore, several hundred feet above the level of the water." Irby and Mangles, 197. Maundrell (p. 70.) says it was the work of Alexander the Great. |