The Death of Alexander Jannaeus

After this, Antiochus, who was called Dionysus and was Philip’s brother, laid claim to the throne, came to Damascus, got the power into his hands, and reigned there. But while he was making war on the Arabians, his brother Philip heard of it and came to Damascus, where Milesius, who had been left in charge of the citadel and of the people of Damascus, handed the city over to him. But Philip proved ungrateful to him and gave him nothing of what he had hoped for when he received him into the city. He wanted it to be believed that the city had been handed over out of fear of himself rather than by the kindness of Milesius, and he did not reward him as he ought to have done. So he became suspect to Milesius and was forced to leave Damascus again; for when he rode out to the hippodrome, Milesius shut the gates against him and kept Damascus for Antiochus. Antiochus, hearing how Philip’s affairs stood, came back from Arabia, and he came at once and marched against Judea with eight thousand armed foot soldiers and eight hundred horsemen. Alexander, fearing his coming, dug a deep trench, beginning at Chabarzaba, which is now called Antipatris, and running to the sea at Joppa, the only side from which he could be attacked. He also raised a wall and set up wooden towers with curtain walls between them for twenty miles, and there waited for Antiochus. But Antiochus soon burned them all and led his army through that way into Arabia. The Arabian king at first retreated, but afterward appeared suddenly with ten thousand horsemen. Antiochus met them and fought desperately. Indeed, he was winning, and as he was bringing help to the part of his army that was in trouble, he was killed. When Antiochus had fallen, his army fled to the village of Cana, where most of them perished by famine. [a]

After him Aretas reigned over Coele-Syria, having been called to the throne by those who held Damascus, because of the hatred they bore to Ptolemy, the son of Mennaeus. From there he also marched against Judea and defeated Alexander in battle near a place called Adida; yet on certain terms agreed between them, he withdrew from Judea. [f]

But Alexander marched again to the city of Dium and took it. Then he marched against Essa, where most of Zeno’s treasures were, surrounded the place with three walls, and took the city without a battle. After that he marched to Gaulana and Seleucia, and when he had taken these cities, he took besides them the valley called the Valley of Antiochus, as well as the fortress of Gamala. He also accused Demetrius, who was governor of those places, of many crimes and stripped him of his post. After he had spent three years in this campaign, he returned to his own country, and the Jews received him joyfully because of his success. [h]

At this time the Jews held the following cities that had belonged to the Syrians, Idumeans and Phoenicians. On the coast: Strato’s Tower, Apollonia, Joppa, Jamnia, Ashdod, Gaza, Anthedon, Raphia and Rhinocolura. Inland, toward Idumea: Adora, Mareshah and all Idumea; Samaria, Mount Carmel, Mount Tabor, Scythopolis and Gadara. In the region of Gaulanitis: Seleucia and Gabala. In the region of Moab: Heshbon, Medeba, Lemba, Oronas, Gelithon, Zoar, the Valley of the Cilicians, and Pella. This last they utterly destroyed, because its inhabitants would not agree to change over to the ancestral customs of the Jews. The Jews also held others of the principal cities of Syria, which they had subdued. [i]

After this King Alexander fell ill from heavy drinking and was seized by a quartan fever that held him for three years. Yet he would not give up campaigning until he was utterly spent by his labors, and he died in the territory of Gerasa while besieging Ragaba, a fortress beyond the Jordan. When his queen saw that he was about to die and had no further hope of recovery, she came to him weeping and beating her breast, and lamented for herself and her sons in the desolate condition in which they would be left. She said to him, “To whom are you leaving me and my children, who have no other support, and this when you know how much ill will your nation bears you?” He gave her the following advice. She had only to follow what he would suggest to her in order to keep the kingdom securely, with her children. She should conceal his death from the soldiers until she had taken that fortress. After this she should go to Jerusalem in splendor, as if from a victory, and put some of her authority into the hands of the Pharisees; for they would praise her for the honor she had done them and would reconcile the nation to her. He told her they had great authority among the Jews, both to harm those they hated and to benefit those to whom they were friendly; for they are believed best of all by the multitude when they say something harsh about others, even if it is only out of envy. And he said it was through them that he had incurred the displeasure of the nation, because he had mistreated them. “So when you come to Jerusalem,” he said, “send for the men of their faction, show them my body, and with every appearance of sincerity give them leave to use it as they please, whether they choose to dishonor my corpse by refusing it burial, since they have suffered severely at my hands, or in their anger to do my body some other outrage. Promise them too that you will do nothing in the affairs of the kingdom without them. If you only say this to them, I will receive a more glorious funeral from them than you could have given me; and when it is in their power to abuse my corpse, they will do it no harm at all, and you will rule in safety.” When he had given his wife this advice, he died, having reigned twenty-seven years and lived fifty-one. [m]