found, however, a troublesome enemy in Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus, who allied himself with the Parthi- ans, and for a time held Jerusalem and kept Herod in check. At jNIasada, also, a city on the west coast of the Dead Sea, Antigonus was nearly successful, until Herod at last compelled him to raise the siege. He aftenvards suffered a defeat by Herod, and was tuially vanquished by the Roman general Sosius, who, in derision, called him by the female name Antigona, and sent him in chains to Antony, by Avhom, at the request of Herod, he was put to death, B.C. 37. Thus fell the last of the Maccabees, who seemed to inherit something of their an- cient spirit. Hyrcanus, who, before this, had been inca- pacitated for the priesthood by having his cars cut ofl', was subsequently, B.C. 30, in his eightieth year, put to death by Herod. The latter, meanwhile, by Augustus and Antony, was made king of Judrea, and consolidated his throne by his marriage with Mariamne, a woman of incomparable beauty, the daughter of Alexander, son of Aristobulus, by Alexandra, the daughter of Hyrcanus H, and therefore granddaughter to both brothers. In her the race of the Asmonwans came to an end, and by her marriage passed into the Idumfean line of the Herodians.
7. Two of the first generation of the Maccaba'an fam- ily still remain to be mentioned. These, though they did not attain to the leadership of their countrymen like their brothers, shared their fate — Eleazar, by a no- ble act of self-devotion; John, apparently the eldest brother, by treachery. The sacrifice of the family was complete, and probably history offers no parallel to the undaunted courage with which such a band dared to face death, one by one, in the maintenance of a holy cause. The residt was worthy of the sacrifice. The Maccabees inspired a subject-people with independence; thej' found a few personal followers, and they left a na- tion.
HI. National Effects of the Maccahcean Rerolulion. — 1. The great outlines of the Maccabiean contest, which are somewhat hidden in the annals thus briefly epito- mized, admit of being traced with fair distinctness, though many points must always remain obscure from our ignorance of the numbers and distribution of the Jewish population, and of the general condition of the people at the time. The disputed succession to the Syrian throne (B.C. 153 ) was the political turning-point of the struggle, which may thus be divided into two great periods. During the first period (B.C. 1G8-153) the patriots maintained their cause with varying suc- cess against the whole strength of Syria; during the second (B.C. 153-139) they were courted by rival fac- tions, and their independence was acknowledged from time to time, thoug]i jiledges given in times of danger were often broken Mhen the danger was over. The paramount importance of Jerusalem is conspicuous throughout the whole war. The loss of the Holy City reduced the patriotic party at once to the condition of mere guerrilla bands, issuing from " the mountains" or '•tlie wilderness" to make sudden forays on the neigh- boring towns. This was the first aspect of the war (2 Mace, vii, 1-7 ; comp. 1 jNIacc. ii, 45) ; and the scene of the early exploits of Judas was the hill-country to the north-east of Jerusalem, from which he drove the in- vading armies at the famous battle-fields of Bcth-horon and Emmaus (Nicopolis). The occupation of Jerusalem closed the first act of the war (B.C. 1651 ; and after this Judas made rapid attacks on every side— in Idumaja, Ammon, Gilead, GaUlee — but he made no permanent settlement in the count lies which he ravaged. Beth- sura was fortified as a .lefence of Jerusalem on the south ; but the authority of Judas seems to have been limited to the immediate neighborhood of Jerusalem, though the influence of his name extended more widely (1 Mace, vii, 50, >'/ yTj '\ovCa). On the death of Judas the patriots were reduced to as great distress as at their first rising; and, as Bacchides held the keys of the '-moun- tains of Ephraim" (ix, 50), they were forced to find a refuge in the lo\vlands of Jericho, and, after some slight
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successes, Jonathan was allowed to settle at ISIichmash undisturbed, though the whole country remained abso- lutely under the sovereignty of Syria. So far it seemed that little had been gained when the contest between Alexander Balas and Demetrius I opened a new period (B.C. 153). Jonathan was empowered to raise troops: the Je^vish hostages were restored, many of the for- tresses were abandoned, and apparently a definite dis- trict was assigned to the government of the high-priest. The former unfruitful conflicts at length produced their full harvest. The defeat at Eleasa, like the Swiss St. Jacob, had shown the worth of men who could face all odds, and no price seemed too great to secure their aid. When the Jewish leaders had once obtained legitimate power they proved able to maintain it, though their general success was checkered by some reverses. The solid power of the national party was seen by the slight effect which was produced by the treacherous murder of Jonathan. Simon was able at once to occupy his place and carry out his plans. The Sj'rian garrison was withdrawn from Jerusalem, Joppa was occupied as a sea-port, and "four governments" {Ticrffcipec; i'o/.toi,yii, 57 ; xiii,37) — probably the central parts of the old king- dom of Judah, with three districts taken from Samaria (x, 38, 39), were subjected to the sovereign authority of the high-priest.