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of the Sadducees and Essenes, seeming to be more pious, and to these she entrusts the administration of affairs as being dear to God. And the enjoyment of power belonged to the Pharisees, binding and loosing as they wished, but the difficulties belonged to the woman, although she was more severe and feared by outsiders. Nevertheless she ruled the 356 many and was ruled by them. And as she had two sons, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, 356 she, around the time of her death, entrusted the kingdom to Hyrcanus the elder, but to Aristobulus the younger the high priesthood. But he, as his mother was ailing, seized the opportunity and with many servants took possession of the fortresses, and gathering mercenaries from these with the money proclaimed himself king. And Salina, pitying the suffering Hyrcanus, imprisoned the wife of Aristobulus with their children in the fortress Baris, in the northern part of the temple; and in these circumstances she died before punishing Aristobulus for the rebellion against Hyrcanus, having administered the rule for 9 years, as has been said before, and leaving Hyrcanus as its heir. Against him Aristobulus drew up for battle, engaged near Jericho, and was victorious in the war, and the greater part of Hyrcanus' faction went over to him. But he, having fled with a few friends and pre-occupied the said fortress of Baris in Jerusalem near the temple, holds the family of Aristobulus with his children and wife; and Aristobulus, hastening, arrives and makes an agreement with Hyrcanus in the temple that he should be king, since he seemed superior in competence, but that Hyrcanus, as the first brother of the king, being otherwise more sluggish, should abdicate the kingship, while enjoying every honor. And upon these terms, while the crowd stood around, they embraced one another and exchanged their houses, as once Glaucus and Diomedes in Homer, and Aristobulus went to the palace, while Hyrcanus withdrew to the dwelling of Aristobulus. From this, fear and grief fell upon the friends of Hyrcanus, as Aristobulus had prevailed contrary to expectation, and especially upon a certain Antipater, the father of Herod who afterwards became king of the Jews, who was a foreigner, an Idumaean according to Josephus, but according to Africanus, an Ascalonite, the son of a certain temple slave called Herod, of those assigned to the temple of Apollo in Ascalon. Idumaean robbers had captured this Antipater while he was robbing among them, hoping to receive a ransom from his father Herod. And because his father was poor and was unable to give a ransom, he spent a long time robbing with them and being brought up in their ways. 357 This man, having later been befriended by Hyrcanus, surpassed the many in wealth and reputation on account of his competence and his cleverness in public affairs; who persuades Hyrcanus to win back the rule of the Jews by fleeing to Aretas, the king of the Arabs. And so taking Hyrcanus out of the city with him by night, he escapes to Aretas who was at Petra, the royal city of the Arabs, and with many gifts persuades him to ally with him and restore him to the rule that was unjustly taken away. And when Aretas sent a force of cavalry and infantry of fifty thousand men with them, Aristobulus, not withstanding the first engagement, flees to Jerusalem; and he was being besieged by them. And having been abandoned he would have been taken by force, if Scaurus, as general, had not arrived at that time in Damascus—which had recently been taken by Gemellus and Dollius, Romans themselves—and sent a message to Hyrcanus and the Arabs, threatening them with the anger of Pompey and the whole senate if they did not lift the siege against Aristobulus, Scaurus disregarding what was just for three hundred talents given by Aristobulus. Aretas, being struck with terror, withdraws to Arabia, having lifted the siege. But Aristobulus engaged with the party of Hyrcanus and Antipater near Papyron and kills Phallion, the brother of Antipater, and more than six thousand. From this point on, of the Jewish alliance

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Σαδδουκαίων καὶ Ἐσσηνῶν, εὐσεβέστερον εἶναι δοκοῦν, καὶ τούτοις τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων ἐγχειρεῖ διοίκησιν ὡς θεοφιλής. καὶ ἦν ἡ μὲν ἀπόλαυσις τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν Φαρισαίων δεσμούντων καὶ λυόντων ὡς ἤθελον, αἱ δὲ δυσχέρειαι τῆς γυναικός, καίπερ οὔσης δεινοτέρας καὶ φοβερᾶς τοῖς ἔξω. πλὴν ἦρχε τῶν 356 πολλῶν καὶ ἤρχετο ὑπ' αὐτῶν. δύο δὲ παίδων Ἀριστοβούλου καὶ Ὑρκανοῦ 356 ταύτῃ προσόντων αὐτὴ τὴν βασιλείαν Ὑρκανῷ τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ ἐπέτρεπε περὶ τὸν θάνατον, Ἀριστοβούλῳ δὲ τῷ νεωτέρῳ τὴν ἀρχιερωσύνην. ἀλλ' οὗ τος ἀσθενούσης τῆς μητρὸς ἁρπάσας τὸν καιρὸν μετὰ πολλῶν οἰκετῶν κρατεῖ τῶν ἐρυμάτων καὶ μισθοφόρους ἐκ τούτων ἀθροίσας τοῖς χρήμασιν ἀνεῖπεν ἑαυτὸν βασιλέα. Τὸν δὲ Ὑρκανὸν οἰκτείρουσα Σαλίνα πονούμενον τὴν Ἀριστοβούλου γαμετὴν σὺν τέκνοις καθεῖρξε πρὸς τῷ βορείῳ κλίματι τοῦ ναοῦ εἰς Βαρεῖς τὸ φρούριον· καὶ ἐν τούτοις τελευτᾷ πρὶν Ἀριστόβουλον τιμωρήσασθαι περὶ τῆς καθ' Ὑρκανοῦ ἐπαναστάσεως, διοικήσασα, ὡς προείρηται, τὴν ἀρχὴν ἔτεσιν θʹ καὶ τὸν Ὑρκανὸν ταύτης κληρονόμον καταλιποῦσα. πρὸς ὃν Ἀριστόβουλος παραταξάμενος πολέμῳ νικᾷ πρὸς Ἱεριχοῦντα συμβαλών, καὶ μεταβαίνουσι πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ πλείους τῆς Ὑρκανοῦ μοίρας. ὁ δὲ μετ' ὀλίγων φίλων τὸ λεχθὲν ἐν Ἱερουσαλὴμ πρὸς τῷ ναῷ τῆς Βάρεως φρούριον φυγὰς προκαταλαβών, κρατεῖ τὰ προσόντα τῷ Ἀριστοβούλῳ σὺν τέκνοις καὶ γυναικί· Ἀριστόβουλός τε σπεύσας φθάνει καὶ διαλύεται πρὸς Ὑρκανὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ πρὸς τὸ βασιλεύειν μὲν αὐτόν, ἐπεὶ καὶ κρείττων ἐδό κει τῇ ἐντρεχείᾳ, τὸν δ' Ὑρκανόν, ὡς βασιλέως πρῶτον ἀδελφόν, τἄλλα νωθέστερον ὄντα, τῆς βασιλείας ἐκστῆναι, πάσης τιμῆς ἀπολαύοντα. κἀπὶ τούτοις περιεστῶτος τοῦ πλήθους ἀλλήλους περιπτυξάμενοι διήμειψαν τὰς οἰκίας, ὡς ὁ παρ' Ὁμήρῳ ποτὲ Γλαῦκος καὶ ∆ιομήδης, καὶ Ἀριστόβουλος μὲν εἰς τὰ βασίλεια, Ὑρκανὸς δὲ εἰς τὴν Ἀριστοβούλου ἀνεχώρησεν οἴκησιν. Ἐντεῦθεν δέος καὶ λύπη τοῖς Ὑρκανοῦ φίλοις ἐπιπίπτει παρ' ἐλπίδα κρατήσαντος Ἀριστοβούλου, καὶ μάλιστα Ἀντιπάτρῳ τινί, Ἡρώδου πατρὶ τοῦ βασιλεύσαντος ἔπειτα Ἰουδαίων, ὃς ἦν ἀλλόφυλος Ἰδουμαῖος κατὰ Ἰώσηππον, κατὰ δὲ Ἀφρικανὸν Ἀσκαλωνίτης, υἱός τινος ἱεροδούλου καλουμένου Ἡρώδου τῶν περὶ τὸν νεὼν τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος τεταγμένων ἐν Ἀσκαλῶνι. τοῦτον Ἰδουμαῖοι λῃσταὶ τὸν Ἀντίπατρον εἶχον αἰχμαλωτίσαντες ἐν αὐτοῖς λῃστεύοντα, λαβεῖν ἐλπίζοντες ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ Ἡρώδου λύτρα. διὰ δὲ τὸ πτωχὸν εἶναι τὸν αὐτοῦ πατέρα καὶ λύτρα δοῦναι ἀπορεῖν ἐχρόνισε συλλῃστεύων καὶ τοῖς αὐτῶν ἐντρεφόμενος ἤθεσιν. 357 Οὗτος ὕστερον Ὑρκανῷ φιλωθεὶς πλούτῳ καὶ δόξῃ τῶν πολλῶν προεῖχεν ἐντρεχείας χάριν καὶ τῆς περὶ τὰ κοινὰ πράγματα δεινότητος· ὃς ἀναπείθει τὸν Ὑρκανὸν Ἀρέτᾳ τῷ τῶν Ἀράβων προσφυγόντα βασιλεῖ τὴν Ἰουδαίωἀρχὴν ἀνακτήσασθαι. καὶ δὴ σὺν αὐτῷ νυκτὸς ἀναλαβὼν τῆς πόλεως τὸν Ὑρκανὸν ἀποδιδράσκει πρὸς Ἀρέταν ὄντα κατὰ τὴν Πέτραν πόλιν Ἀράβωνβασίλειον, καὶ πολλοῖς πείθει δώροις συμμαχήσοντα καταγαγεῖν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀδίκως ἀφαιρεθεῖσαν ἀρχήν. Τοῦ δὲ Ἀρέτα δύναμιν ἱππικὴν καὶ πεζικὴν πεντακισμυρίων ἀνδρῶν σὺν αὐτοῖς πέμψαντος, οὐκ ἐνεγκὼν Ἀριστόβουλος ἐκ πρώτης συμβολῆς εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα φεύγει· καὶ ἦν πολιορκούμενος ὑπ' αὐτῶν. κατὰ κράτος τε ἂν ἐλήφθη λειφθείς, εἰ μὴ Σκαῦρος ἐνδημήσας τηνικαῦτα τῇ ∆αμασκῷ προσφάτως ὑπὸ Γεμέλλου καὶ ∆ολλίου Ῥωμαίων καὶ αὐτῶν ληφθείσῃ στρατηγῶν ἐπεκηρυκεύσατο πρὸς Ὑρκανὸν καὶ τοὺς Ἄραβας, ὀργὴν ἀπειλῶν αὐτοῖς Πομπηίου καὶ τῆς ὅλης συγκλήτου μὴ λύουσι τὴν κατὰ Ἀριστο βούλου πολιορκίαν, τριακοσίοις ταλάντοις ὁ Σκαῦρος τοῖς παρὰ Ἀριστο βούλου δοθεῖσι παραβλεψάμενος τὸ δίκαιον. Ἀρέτας καταπλαγεὶς ἐπὶ τὴν Ἀραβίαν ἀναχωρεῖ λύσας τὴν πολιορκίαν. Ἀριστόβουλος δὲ τοῖς περὶ τὸν Ὑρκανὸν καὶ Ἀντίπατρον συμβαλὼν περὶτὸν Παπυρῶνα κτείνει Φαλλίωνα τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἀντιπάτρου καὶ πλείους ἢ ἑξακισχιλίους. Ἐντεῦθεν λοιπὸν τῆς Ἰουδαίων συμμαχίας