Sacred History, Book 2
From Simon to Pompey
After Jonathan, then, his brother Simon, as we said above, ruled over the Hebrews with the power of high priest. That honor was given to him at that time both by his own countrymen and by the Roman people. He began to rule over his countrymen in the second year of King Demetrius, but eight years later he was caught in a plot by Ptolemy and killed. His son John succeeded him. Because he had fought with distinction against the Hyrcanians, a very powerful nation, he was given the surname Hyrcanus. He died after holding the supreme power for twenty-six years.
After him Aristobulus was made high priest. He was the first of all who lived after the captivity to take the title of king and to have a crown placed on his head. He died at the end of a year. Then his son Alexander, who was both king and high priest, reigned twenty-seven years; but I have found nothing in what he did worth mentioning except his cruelty. He left two young sons, named Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, and his wife, Salina, or Alexandra, held the sovereignty for three years. After her death, terrible struggles for the supreme power broke out between the two brothers. At first Hyrcanus held the government, but before long he was defeated by his brother Aristobulus and fled to Pompey.
That Roman general had finished the war with Mithridates and settled Armenia and Pontus. He was in fact the conqueror of every nation he had come to, and he wanted to march inland and add all the neighboring regions to the Roman empire. So he looked into the causes of the war and the means of gaining the mastery. He therefore readily received Hyrcanus, and with him as guide he attacked the Jews. When the city was taken and destroyed, he spared the temple. He sent Aristobulus to Rome in chains and gave the right of the high priesthood back to Hyrcanus. He fixed the tribute the Jews were to pay and set over them as governor a certain Antipater of Ashkelon. Hyrcanus held the chief power for thirty-four years, but while he was making war on the Parthians he was taken prisoner.