Original: The Romans had allied themselves to the Maccabees and interfered again in 63 BCE , following the end of the Third Mithridatic War , when general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus stayed behind to make the area secure for Rome .
Simplified: After the defeat of Mithridates VI of Pontus , general Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ( Pompey the Great ) stayed behind to make the area secure for Rome .