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Hyrcanus, having been deprived, together with Antipater takes Damascus and goes to Magnus Pompey, who at that time had occupied Syria from Armenia after his much-celebrated valor against Mithridates and Tigranes, Albania and Iberia and Colchis and the Assyrians themselves, and without gifts, by reasonable justifications alone, they persuade Magnus Pompey, truly and a lover of truth, to assent to helping Hyrcanus. But Aristobulus, having himself also come with his hopes in Scaurus, misses the favor of Pompey who was coming towards Jerusalem and Palestine, and having secretly departed from Diospolis, out of folly he makes Pompey more hostile to himself. For being indignant, 358 he gathers again the Roman and Syrian force, having heard that he had also pre-occupied Alexandrion, the fortress, the garrison situated upon a high mountain, and he commands him to come, although he was unwilling. But since he feared the irresistibility of his power, saw the multitude was terrified, and yielded to the counsel of his friends, he [Pompey] forced him to come down and, after justifying himself concerning the rule, to go back up to the stronghold. And indeed, when this had happened not once or twice, and Hyrcanus had disputed with him before Pompey on the grounds that he had wronged him and usurped the rule, Aristobulus is ordered to withdraw from the fortresses. But when the garrison commanders did not receive him, he seizes Jerusalem and tries to wage war against the Romans who were encamped at Jericho, the most fertile, palm-bearing and balsam-bearing place of Judaea; and Aristobulus, astonished at their attack, beseeches with money to appease Pompey who was hastening to Jerusalem. But when Gabinius was sent by Aristobulus to collect the money and did not even gain entrance to the city, he guards Aristobulus, and besieges Jerusalem, Pompey's general Piso, who had been entrusted with the capture, being helped not a little against its difficult capture by the services and devices of Hyrcanus and Antipater and those with them inside and outside the city. And in the third month, having with difficulty demolished one of the towers, the Romans leapt through the wall into the temple, with Faustus Cornelius, son of Sulla, daring first, and followed by Furius and Fabius the centurions with their own troops, who surrounded the Jews, killing them throughout the whole city, but mostly those fleeing in the temple; but many were also slaughtered by their fellow countrymen of the opposing faction. Then twelve thousand Jews are said to have been killed by the Romans, with very few of the latter being killed because of their orderly and mutually supportive bravery; for disorder in battles is the work of rashness, not of bravery, as it is the cause of defeat for those who rush forward without formation. Pompey, therefore, when the city was taken, entered the temple with his friends as far as the sanctuary but touched none of the sacred vessels or the money, which was a manifest 2,000 talents, except for the spices, the lampstand and the lamp, and 359 the libation bowls and censers, all of which were of solid gold, but he also ordered the temple-keepers to cleanse the temple of the blood. On the next day, having appointed Hyrcanus high priest, he held Aristobulus in chains with his father-in-law, putting to the sword all those responsible for the battle and rewarding with splendid gifts those who had allied with him, especially Faustus, the noble son of Sulla, and those around him. He made the Jews tributaries to the Romans, taking from them all the Greek cities of Coele-Syria, which they had taken in the time of the Maccabees, and confined them to their own borders alone. In addition to these, he also freed the inland cities from the rule of the Jews, of which these were the more notable: Scythopolis or Basan, Hippos, Pella, Samaria, Marisa, Azotus, Jamnia, Arethusa, and the coastal cities of Gaza, Joppa, Dora, Strato's Tower or Caesarea. Having returned these to their rightful citizens, he placed them under the Syrian province, along with Judaea from the borders of Egypt

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Ὑρκανὸς ἀφαιρεθεὶς ἅμα τῷ Ἀντιπάτρῳ τὴν ∆αμασκὸν καταλαμβάνει πρὸς Μάγνον Πομπήιον τὸν τηνικαῦτα καταλαβόντα ἐξ Ἀρμενίας τὴν Συρίαν μετὰ τῆς πολυθρυλήτου ἀριστείας κατὰ Μηθριδάτου καὶ Τιγράνου Ἀλβανίας τε καὶ Ἰβηρίας καὶ Κολχίδος καὶ αὐτῶν Ἀσσυρίων, καὶ δώρων χωρὶς μόναις εὐλόγοις δικαιολογίαις πείθουσι τὸν Μάγνον ἀληθῶς καὶ φιλαλήθη Πομπήιον ἐπινεῦσαι τῇ Ὑρκανοῦ βοηθείᾳ. Ἀριστόβουλος δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς ἐλθὼν ταῖς εἰς Σκαῦρον ἐλπίσι διαμαρτάνει μὲν τῆς εὐμενείας Πομπηίου ἐρχομένου πρὸς τὰ Ἱερο σόλυμα καὶ τὴν Παλαιστίνην, ἐκ ∆ιοσπόλεως δὲ λάθρα χωρισθεὶς ἐπ αχθέστερον ἑαυτῷ καθίστησιν ἐξ ἀνοίας τὸν Πομπήιον. ἀγανακτήσας γὰρ 358 τὴν Ῥωμαϊκὴν καὶ Συριακὴν ἐπαναλαμβάνει δύναμιν, ἀκούσας αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν προκατειληφότα τὸ ὀχύρωμα τὸ ὑπὲρ ὄρους ὑψηλοῦ κείμενον φρούριον, ἐλθεῖν τε κελεύει καίπερ μὴ βουλόμενον. τὸ δ' ἀνύπ οιστον τοῦ κράτους φοβούμενον καὶ τὸ πλῆθος ὀρρωδοῦν ὁρῶντα τῇ συμ βουλῇ τε τῶν φίλων εἴκοντα κατελθεῖν καὶ περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς δικαιολογηθέν τα πάλιν ἐπανελθεῖν εἰς τὸ ἔρυμα κατηνάγκασε. καὶ δὴ τούτου πραχθέντος οὐχ ἅπαξ ἢ δὶς καὶ Ὑρκανοῦ διενεχθέντος πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ Πομπηίου ὡς ἠδικηκότος αὐτὸν καὶ τὴν ἀρχὴν πλεονεκτήσαντος προστάττεται τῶν φρουρίων Ἀριστόβουλος ἐξίστασθαι. τῶν φρουράρχων δ' αὐτὸν μὴ δεχομέ νων καταλαμβάνει τε τὰ Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ πόλεμον ἐξάγειν πειρᾶται κατὰ Ῥωμαίων στρατοπεδευόντων εἰς Ἱεριχοῦντα, τὸ πιότατον Ἰουδαίας φοινικοφόρον καὶ βαλσαμοφόρον χωρίον· ὧν Ἀριστόβουλος ἐκπλαγεὶς τὴν ἔφοδον χρήμασιν ἱκετεύει ἐξιλεώσασθαι τὸν Πομπήιον ἐπειγόμενον εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα. Γαβινίου δὲ πρὸς τοῦ Ἀριστοβούλου πεμφθέντος εἰς κομιδὴν τῶν χρη μάτων καὶ μηδὲ τῆς εἰσόδου τυχόντος τῆς πόλεως φρουρεῖ μὲν τὸν Ἀριστό βουλον, πολιορκεῖ δὲ τὴν Ἱερουσαλὴμ ταῖς Ὑρκανοῦ καὶ Ἀντιπάτρου καὶτῶν περὶ αὐτοὺς ἔνδον καὶ ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ὑπηρεσίαις καὶ ἐπινοίαις οὐ μικρὰ πρὸς τὸ δυσάλωτον αὐτοῖς βοηθούμενος ὁ Πομπηίου στρατηγὸς Πείσων τὴν ἅλωσιν ἐγχειρισθείς. μηνὶ δὲ τρίτῳ μόλις ἕνα τῶν πύργων καθελόντες Ῥωμαῖοι διὰ τοῦ τείχους εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν εἰσεπήδησαν, Φαύστου Κορνηλίου παιδὸς Σύλλα πρώτου τολμήσαντος, ἐπακολουθησάντων δὲ Φρουρίου καὶ Φαβίου τῶν ἑκατοντάρχων σὺν τοῖς οἰκείοις στίφεσιν, οἳ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους περιεῖχον κτείνοντες καθ' ὅλης τῆς πόλεως, τὸ πλεῖστον δὲ ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ φεύγοντας· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ὁμοφύλων ἀντιστασια στῶν ἀπεσφάττοντο πολλοί. τότε μυρίους πρὸς δισχιλίοις Ἰουδαίους λέγεται πεφονεῦσθαι Ῥωμαίοις, ὀλίγων πάνυ κτανθέντων αὐτοῖς ἐξ εὐτάκτου καὶ ἀλληλοσυμμάχου ἀνδρείας· τὸ γὰρ ἄτακτον ἐν μάχαις θράσους, οὐκ ἀνδρείας ἔργον, ὡς ἥττης πρόξενον τοῖς ἀσυμφράκτως προπετοῦσι. Πομπήιος οὖν ἁλούσης τῆς πόλεως εἰς τὸ ἱερὸν ἅμα τοῖς φίλοις εἰσελθὼν μέχρι τοῦ ἁγιάσματος οὐδενὸς τῶν ἱερῶν ἥψατο σκευῶν ἢ χρημάτων ὄν των προδήλων ταλάντων β ἐκτὸς ἀρωμάτων λυχνίας τε καὶ λύχνου καὶ 359 σπονδίων καὶ θυμιατηρίων ἁπάντων ὀλοχρύσων, ἀλλὰ καὶ καθαρθῆναι τῶν αἱμάτων τὸ ἱερὸν ἐπέταξε τοῖς νεωκόροις. τῇ ἐπαύριον ἀναδείξας Ὑρκανὸν ἀρχιερέα, τὸν δ' Ἀριστόβουλον δεσμήσας εἶχε σὺν τῷ πενθερῷ, πάντας ἀνελὼν σιδήρῳ τοὺς τῆς μάχης αἰτίους καὶ λαμπροῖς ἀμειψάμενος τοῖς συμμαχήσασι δώροις, Φαύστῳ μάλιστα Σύλλου παιδὶ γενναίῳ καὶ τοῖς ἀμφ' αὐτόν. Οὗτος Ἰουδαίους ὑποφόρους Ῥωμαίοις κατέστησεν, ἀφελόμενος αὐτῶν πάσας πόλεις Ἑλληνίδας Συρίας κοίλης, ἃς εἷλον ἐπὶ τῶν Μακκαβαίων, καὶ μόνοις περικλείσας τοῖς ἰδίοις ὅροις. πρὸς ταύταις καὶ τὰς ἐν τῷ μεσο γείῳ πόλεις ἠλευθέρωσε τῆς Ἰουδαίων ἀρχῆς, ὧν ἦσαν ἐπισημότεραι αὗ ται· Σκυθόπολις ἤτοι Βασάν, Ἵππος, Πέλλα, Σαμάρεια, Μάρισα, Ἄζωτος, Ἰάμνεια, Ἀρέθουσα, τάς τε παραλίους Γάζαν, Ἰώππην, ∆ῶρα, Στράτωνος πύργον ἤτοι Καισάρειαν. ταύτας ἀποδοὺς τοῖς γνησίοις πολίταις ὑπὸ τὴν Συριακὴν ἐπαρχίαν ἔταξε σὺν τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ ἀπὸ τῶν ὁρίων Αἰγύ πτου