page_title: Hyrcanus II
section_title: Roman intervention
hierarchical_section_title: Hyrcanus II / Roman intervention
caption_attribution_description: nl:Categorie:Kaart nl:Categorie:Afbeelding oudheid (Original text: Judea tussen 63 en 37 v.Chr.)
context_page_description: John Hyrcanus II, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch of Judea, probably over the period 47–40 BCE.
context_section_description: During the Roman civil war, the Roman general Pompey defeated armies of the kingdoms of Pontus and the Seleucids. He sent his deputy Marcus Aemilius Scaurus to take possession of Seleucid Syria.
  As the Hasmoneans were allies of the Romans, both brothers appealed to Scaurus, each endeavouring through gifts and promises to win him over to his side. Scaurus, moved by a gift of 400 talents, decided in favour of Aristobulus and ordered Aretas to withdraw his army. During his retreat, the Nabateans suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Aristobulus. Scaurus returned to Damascus.
  When Pompey arrived in Syria in 63 BCE, both brothers and a third party that desired the removal of the entire dynasty (according to some sources, these may have been the representatives of the Pharisees), sent their delegates to Pompey, who delayed making a decision. He favoured Hyrcanus over Aristobulus, deeming the elder, weaker brother a more reliable ally of the Roman Empire.
  Aristobulus, suspicious of Pompey's intentions, entrenched himself in the fortress of Alexandrium, but when the Roman army approached Judea, he surrendered and undertook to deliver Jerusalem over to them. However, since many of his followers were unwilling to open the gates, the Romans besieged and captured the city by force, badly damaging city and the temple. Aristobulus was taken to Rome a prisoner and Hyrcanus restored as high priest in Jerusalem.
caption: Roman Judea under Hyrcanus II
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