on the approach of Alexander with his army, he completely defeated and slew him, but died himself a few days afterwards of a wound received in the same battle; whereupon Demetrius succeeded quietly to the throne.* On the death of Ptolemy Philometer, his brother Physcon, or Ptolemy Euergetes II, attempted to take possession of the vacant throne; when Onias and Dositheus came with an army of Jews to the assistance of Cleopatra, alike the sister and wife of the deceased monarch, and her infant son. By the mediation of Thermus, a Roman ambassador, it was agreed that Physcon should marry Cleopatra, and that her infant son should succeed his uncle, to the exclusion of his own children. On the day of the nuptials, however, Physcon murdered the child in its mother's arms; for which, and his other enormities, the inhabitants of Alexandria called him Kakergetes, instead of Euergetes.† Jonathan being left undisturbed in Judea, laid siege to the fortress of Acra in Jerusalem; upon which Demetrius came to Ptolemais, and summoned Jonathan to attend him there. Without delaying the siege, the Jewish leader, with several of the other priests and elders, obeyed the summons; and by presents and judicious conduct appeased the monarch's wrath, who sent him back to Jerusalem laden with favours; confirming him in the high priesthood, and adding to Judea the three toparchies of Apharema, Lydda, and Ramatha, formerly belonging to Samaria; besides remitting all taxes and revenues for three hundred talents.‡ Jonathan not being able to take the fortress of Acra, applied to Demetrius to withdraw his garrison, which he promised to do, if Jonathan would send him some troops to assist him against the Antiochians, who were in rebellion against him. Jonathan accordingly sent three thousand Prid. ii. 324. + Prid. ii. 326. Prid. ii. 328. men as a body guard to the tyrant, who so well performed their duty, that when a tumult broke out they slew one hundred thousand Antiochians, and thus restoring, for that time, the peace of the city, returned home with riches and credit.* This vile monarch, however, kept none of his promises to the Jews, for he not only did not withdraw the garrison from Acra, but broke his treaty at Ptolemais, and threatened them with war and devastation if they did not pay the tribute as formerly.† Diodotus, or Tryphon, who had been a lieutenant of Alexander's, having set up Antiochus, a son of that usurper, and defeated Demetrius in battle, Jonathan acknowledged the new adventurer for his sovereign, who renewed and confirmed all his former advantages, and made his brother Simon his.commander, from the ladder of Tyre‡ to the borders of Egypt.§ Jonathan having marched to Damascus, and secured all the country for Antiochus, the forces of Demetrius invaded Galilee, when Jonathan marched to oppose him, leaving Simon in Judea. Having avoided an ambush that was laid for him, he defeated Demetrius, and Simon at the same time took the fortress of Bethsura, which had been long held by the heathen. On his return to Jerusalem, Jonathan sent Numenius and Antipater as ambassadors to Rome, to renew the league which the senate had made with his brother Judas, and also to the 46 The ladder of Tyre is a mountain so called, lying on the sea coast between Tyre and Ptolemais. Prid. ii. 330. It is a picturesque spot, the road being cut in the side of the perpendicular cliff on the sea shore, several hundred feet above the level of the water." Irby and Mangles, 197. Maundrell (p. 70.) says it was the work of Alexander the Great. Lacedemonians; and they were received by both states with great honour.* Another and larger army of Demetrius having now collected together, Jonathan proceeded as far as Amathis to meet them and having disappointed the enemy in an attempt to storm his camp by night, they fled, by means of false fires, beyond the river Eleutherus. Jonathan then defeated some Arabians of the party of Demetrius, and marching towards Damascus, reduced all the country into subjection to Antiochus; and Simon, at the same time, invading the land of the Philistines, took Joppa.† On the return of both the brothers to Jerusalem, they assembled a national council, in which it was determined to restore the walls of the city, and thoroughly fortify the place; and in order to blockade the Syrian garrison in Acra, they erected a wall or mount between that fortress and the rest of the city; besides which, they restored and strengthened most of the other fortified places in Judea.‡ The only object which Tryphon had in setting up the youthful Antiochus, was in order to open a way for himself to the throne of Syria, intending to put that prince to death at a convenient opportunity. Aware, however, that he dared not attempt the execution of this villainous purpose, whilst the Jewish leader was in strength and power, he, by stratagem, prevailed on him to disband his army, and inveigled him into Ptolemais with only one thousand men, under pretence of putting him into possession of that place; when he suddenly assassinated his soldiers, and put Jonathan himself into chains.§ Simon having collected together the remains of the army, marched against Tryphon, who ventured not however to * Prid. ii. 331. + Prid. ii. 332. Prid. ii. 333. § Prid. ii. 333. engage him in battle. The garrison in Acra being reduced to extremities for want of provisions, Tryphon made an ineffectual attempt to relieve them, after which he quitted the neighbourhood, having first put Jonathan to death, at Bascama,* in the land of Gilead, and shortly after caused his protégé Antiochus to be assassinated, and declared himself king of Syria.† Simon having been invested with the office of high priest, sent the same ambassadors who had been so successful for his brother Jonathan, to Lacedemon and Rome, in both which cities they were received with the greatest respect, and Simon was recognized as the high priest and head of his nation.‡ He also sent a crown of gold to Demetrius, who thereupon confirmed him in all his privileges, both civil and ecclesiastical; and soon afterwards he was solemnly elected, by the whole Jewish nation, sovereign prince of Judea, as well as high priest, and both dignities vested in him and his successors.§ Simon sent and fetched his bones from thence, and buried them in the sepulchre of his father at Modin, over which he afterwards erected a very famous monument of a great height, all built of white marble, curiously wrought and polished; near which he placed seven pyramids, two for his father and mother, four for his four brothers, and the seventh for himself; and then encompassed the whole with a stately portico, supported by marble pillars, each of an whole piece. All which was a very excellent work, and being erected on an eminence, was seen far off at sea, and was taken notice of as a remarkable sea mark on that coast, whereby seafaring men who sailed that way directed their course. Josephus (1 Macc. xiii. 25. 30. Jos. Antiq. lib. 13. c. 11.) tells us that it was remaining entire in his time, and then looked on as a curious and very excellent piece of architecture; and Eusebius also speaks of it as still standing when he wrote, which was above two hundred years after Josephus. Prid. ii. 335. § Prid. ii. 337. In a public act or instrument which was made upon the occasion, engraven on tables of brass, and hanging up in the Having assumed the sovereignty, he put all his fortifications into repair, especially Bethsura and Joppa, and furnished them with well appointed garrisons, and constituted the latter the seaport of Jerusalem, being at the distance of about forty miles.* He then laid siege to Gazara which had revolted, and having taken it, built himself a palace there.† The heathen garrison who had held the fortress of Acra nearly twenty-six years, having at length surrendered, Simon not only demolished the place, but took away and levelled the hill itself whereon it was built, and in the course of three years brought it to the level of the hill whereon the temple was built, at the same time, refortifying the mountain of the house of Jehovah, and making it stronger than ever.‡ John, the son of Simon, and afterwards called Hyrcanus, having shewn himself of approved valour and conduct, his father sent him to reside at Gazara, and appointed him general of all the forces.§ Simon also sent a third embassy to Rome for the confirmation of all his former alliances, and which he obtained, as well as letters written by L. C. Piso, at the command of the senate, to the kings of Syria, Egypt, and other states, declaring the Jews to be their allies and under their protection.|| Demetrius having been taken prisoner by the king of Parthia, and afterwards married one of that monarch's daughters, his own queen Cleopatra, out of revenge, and for sanctuary, the good deeds of Simon and his family were enumerated. From this time he took on him the state, style, and authority of prince, as well as high priest of the Jews, and was served in much plate of gold and silver, had many attendants, and in all things else appeared in the same manner of splendour and glory as other princes did. Prid. ii. 341. 345. * Prid. ii. 337. + Prid. ii. 339. + Prid. ii. 338. Strabo calls it Gadaris. || Prid. ii. 344. |