Hasmonean dynasty
The Hasmonean dynasty (/hæzməˈniːən/; Hebrew: חַשְׁמוֹנָאִים Ḥašmōnāʾīm; Greek: Ασμοναϊκή δυναστεία) was a ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during the Hellenistic times of the Second Temple period (part of classical antiquity), from c. 140 BCE to 37 BCE. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE the dynasty ruled Judea semi-autonomously in the Seleucid Empire, and from roughly 110 BCE, with the empire disintegrating, Judea gained further autonomy and expanded into the neighboring regions of Perea, Samaria, Idumea, Galilee, and Iturea. The Hasmonean rulers took the Greek title basileus ("king") as the kingdom became a regional power for several decades. Forces of the Roman Republic intervened in the Hasmonean Civil War in 63 BCE and made it into a client state, marking the decline of Hasmonean dynasty; Herod the Great displaced the last reigning Hasmonean client-ruler in 37 BCE.
Hasmonean dynasty ממלכת החשמונאים Mamleḵeṯ hāḤašmonaʾim | |||||||||
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| 140 BCE–37 BCE | |||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital | Jerusalem | ||||||||
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| Religion | Second Temple Judaism | ||||||||
| Government | Semi-constitutional theocratic monarchy | ||||||||
| Prince, later Basileus | |||||||||
• 140–134 BCE | Simon Thassi | ||||||||
• 134 (110)–104 BCE | John Hyrcanus | ||||||||
• 104–103 BCE | Aristobulus I | ||||||||
• 103–76 BCE | Alexander Jannaeus | ||||||||
• 76–67 BCE | Salome Alexandra | ||||||||
• 67–66 BCE | Hyrcanus II | ||||||||
• 66–63 BCE | Aristobulus II | ||||||||
• 63–40 BCE | Hyrcanus II | ||||||||
• 40–37 BCE | Antigonus | ||||||||
| Legislature | Early Sanhedrin | ||||||||
| Historical era | Hellenistic Age | ||||||||
• Maccabean Revolt | 167 BCE | ||||||||
• Dynasty established | 140 BCE | ||||||||
• Full independence | 110 BCE | ||||||||
• Pompey intervenes in Hasmonean civil war | 63 BCE | ||||||||
• Parthian invasion | 40 BCE | ||||||||
• Herod overthrows the Hasmoneans | 37 BCE | ||||||||
| Currency | Hasmonean coinage | ||||||||
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| Today part of | |||||||||
Simon Thassi established the dynasty in 141 BCE, two decades after his brother Judas Maccabeus (יהודה המכבי Yehudah HaMakabi) had defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt of 167 to 141 BCE. According to 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, and the first book of The Jewish War by historian Josephus (37 – c. 100 CE), the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175–164) moved to assert strict control over the Seleucid satrapy of Coele Syria and Phoenicia after his successful invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt (170–168 BCE) was turned back by the intervention of the Roman Republic. He sacked Jerusalem and its Temple, suppressing Jewish and Samaritan religious and cultural observances, and imposed Hellenistic practices (c. 168–167 BCE). The steady collapse of the Seleucid Empire under attacks from the rising powers of the Roman Republic and the Parthian Empire allowed Judea to regain some autonomy; however, in 63 BCE, the kingdom was invaded by the Roman Republic, broken up and set up as a Roman client state.
Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, Simon's great-grandsons, became pawns in a proxy war between Julius Caesar and Pompey. The deaths of Pompey (48 BCE) and Caesar (44 BCE), and the related Roman civil wars, temporarily relaxed Rome's grip on the Hasmonean kingdom, allowing a brief reassertion of autonomy backed by the Parthian Empire, rapidly crushed by the Romans under Mark Antony and Augustus.
The Hasmonean dynasty had survived for 103 years before yielding to the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE. The installation of Herod the Great (an Idumean) as king in 37 BCE made Judea a Roman client state and marked the end of the Hasmonean dynasty. Even then, Herod tried to bolster the legitimacy of his reign by marrying a Hasmonean princess, Mariamne, and planning to drown the last male Hasmonean heir at his Jericho palace. In 6 CE, Rome joined Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea into the Roman province of Judaea. In 44 CE, Rome installed the rule of a procurator side by side with the rule of the Herodian kings (specifically Agrippa I 41–44 and Agrippa II 50–100).