Antigonus Beheaded

How Sosius and Herod took Jerusalem by force, and how besides that they took Antigonus captive, we have related in the previous book. We will now go on with the narrative. Since the government of all Judea had now been put into Herod’s hands, he promoted those private citizens of the city who had been of his party, but he never stopped avenging himself every day on those who had chosen the party of his enemies, and punishing them. But Pollio the Pharisee, and Sameas, a disciple of his, were honored by him above all the rest; for when Jerusalem was besieged they had advised the citizens to receive Herod, and for this advice they were well rewarded. This Pollio, at the time when Herod was once on trial for his life, had foretold to Hyrcanus and the other judges, by way of reproach, that this Herod, whom they were now letting escape, would later inflict punishment on them all. In time this came true, as God fulfilled the words he had spoken. [a]

At this time Herod, now that he had Jerusalem in his power, carried off all the royal ornaments and stripped the wealthy of what they had acquired. When by these means he had heaped together a great quantity of silver and gold, he gave it all to Antony and the friends around him. He also killed forty-five of the leading men of Antigonus’s party, and set guards at the gates of the city so that nothing would be carried out along with their dead bodies. They even searched the dead, and whatever was found, whether silver or gold or other valuables, was brought to the king. There was no end to the miseries he brought on them. This distress was caused partly by the greed of the ruler, who still wanted more, and partly by the sabbatical year, which was still going on and forced the country to lie uncultivated, since we are forbidden to sow our land in that year. Now when Antony had received Antigonus as his captive, he decided to keep him for his triumph. But when he heard that the nation was growing rebellious, and that out of their hatred for Herod they still kept their goodwill toward Antigonus, he resolved to behead him at Antioch, for otherwise the Jews could in no way be brought to be quiet. And Strabo of Cappadocia confirms what I have said, when he speaks as follows: “Antony ordered Antigonus the Jew to be brought to Antioch and beheaded there. And this Antony seems to have been the first of the Romans to behead a king, supposing that he could bend the minds of the Jews to accept Herod, whom he had made king in his place, in no other way; for by no torments could they be forced to call him king, so great was their fondness for their former king. So he thought that this dishonorable death would lessen the regard they had for Antigonus’s memory, and at the same time lessen the hatred they bore Herod.” So far Strabo. [c]