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Antigonus the Hasmonean

 

 
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Antigonus the Hasmonean
 
 
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Antigonus II Mattathias (Antigonus the Hasmonean) was the son of King Aristobulus II
Aristobulus II

Aristobulus II was the Jewish Kohen Gadol and King of Judea, 66 BC to 63 BC, from the Hasmonean Dynasty....
 of Judea
Judea

Judea or Jud?a is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel , an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank ....
. In 40 BC he led, along with Barzapharnes
Barzapharnes

Barzapharnes was a Parthian Empire general during the latter half of the first century BCE. In 40 BCE Barzapharnes commanded a Parthian invasion of the Levant, commanded and aided by Pacorus who allied himself with the Roman outlaw Quintus Labienus and seized Syria....
, a Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
n-supported invasion of Judea, seized Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
, and sent his uncle Hyrcanus II
Hyrcanus II

Hyrcanus II, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was the Jewish Kohen Gadol and King of Judea in the 1st century BCE....
 to Babylon
Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
 in chains (after biting or cutting off his ears to render him ineligible for the office of High Priest
Kohen

A kohen is a Jew who is a direct male descendant of the Bible Aaron, brother of Moses, with a separate status in Judaism. Another term for the descendants of Aaron are the Aaronites or Aaronids....
).

In 37 BC, Herod the Great
Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great , was a Roman Empire client state of Israel. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple....
 took back Judea with Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 support and beheaded Antigonus , ending the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty.






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Coin Issued By Mattathias Antigonus C 40bce
Antigonus II Mattathias (Antigonus the Hasmonean) was the son of King Aristobulus II
Aristobulus II

Aristobulus II was the Jewish Kohen Gadol and King of Judea, 66 BC to 63 BC, from the Hasmonean Dynasty....
 of Judea
Judea

Judea or Jud?a is the name given to the mountainous southern part of the historic Land of Israel , an area now divided between Israel and the West Bank ....
. In 40 BC he led, along with Barzapharnes
Barzapharnes

Barzapharnes was a Parthian Empire general during the latter half of the first century BCE. In 40 BCE Barzapharnes commanded a Parthian invasion of the Levant, commanded and aided by Pacorus who allied himself with the Roman outlaw Quintus Labienus and seized Syria....
, a Parthia
Parthia

Parthia is a region of north-eastern Iran, best known for having been the political and cultural base of the Arsacid dynasty, after which the Arsacid Empire is then also known as the 'Parthian Empire'....
n-supported invasion of Judea, seized Jerusalem
Jerusalem

Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and its List of Israeli cities in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if Positions on Jerusalem East Jerusalem is included....
, and sent his uncle Hyrcanus II
Hyrcanus II

Hyrcanus II, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was the Jewish Kohen Gadol and King of Judea in the 1st century BCE....
 to Babylon
Babylon

Babylon was a city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, sometimes considered an empire, the remains of which can be found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Governorate, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad....
 in chains (after biting or cutting off his ears to render him ineligible for the office of High Priest
Kohen

A kohen is a Jew who is a direct male descendant of the Bible Aaron, brother of Moses, with a separate status in Judaism. Another term for the descendants of Aaron are the Aaronites or Aaronids....
).

In 37 BC, Herod the Great
Herod the Great

Herod , also known as Herod I or Herod the Great , was a Roman Empire client state of Israel. Herod is known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and other parts of the ancient world, including the rebuilding of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, sometimes referred to as Herod's Temple....
 took back Judea with Roman
Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
 support and beheaded Antigonus , ending the rule of the Hasmonean dynasty. Antigonus II Mattathias was the last legitimate King of Judaea of the Hasmonean dynasty, which had recovered Jewish independence from the Hellenistic Seleucid monarchy of Syria.

Antigonus was handed over by Herod to the Romans for execution in 37 BC, after a short reign of three years during which he had led a fierce struggle of the people for independence against the Romans and Romanizers such as Herod.

Antigonus II Mattathias was the only anointed King of the Jews (messiah) historically recorded to have been scourged and crucified by the Romans. Cassius Dio's Roman History records: "These people [the Jews] Antony entrusted to a certain Herod to govern; but Antigonus he bound to a cross and scourged, a punishment no other king had suffered at the hands of the Romans, and so slew him.".

External links

  • entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
  • entry in online Jewish Encyclopedia