History of the Jews (Vol. 1-6). Graetz Heinrich

years with Philometor and had conspired to destroy him, sought, after his death, to obtain the crown in spite of the existence of a rightful heir. The novelty-loving, fickle and foolish populace of Alexandria was inclined to recognise as king the deformed and wicked Physcon. The widowed queen, Cleopatra, who had governed during her son's minority, had likewise many adherents, and in particular Onias was devoted to her cause. When war broke out between Cleopatra and her hostile brother, Onias with his Judæan army received as their share of the spoil one district or province. At last a compromise was effected, in virtue of which Physcon was to marry his sister, and both were to reign together. This doubly incestuous marriage was most unhappy. No sooner had the inhuman Physcon entered Alexandria than he put to death, not only the followers of the rightful heir, but also the youth himself, who was slain on the very day on which Physcon married Cleopatra. Bitter enmity between king and queen, brother and sister, was the consequence of this cruel deed. The sensual and barbarous monster violated his wife's daughter, and filled Alexandria with terror and bloodshed, causing the greater part of the inhabitants to flee from the city. Was it likely that he would spare the Judæans who, as he well knew, were the supporters of his hated sister and wife? Having heard that Onias was bringing an army to her assistance, he ordered his soldiers to seize all the Judæans in Alexandria, with their wives and their children, and to cast them bound and naked upon a public place, to be trampled to death by elephants. The animals were intoxicated with wine in order to irritate and excite them against their helpless victims. But the latter were rescued from impending death in a manner which seemed miraculous to the trembling, unhappy Judæans. The enraged beasts rushed to the side where the king's people were seated awaiting the cruel spectacle, and many of them were killed, while the Judæans were unhurt. The Alexandrian Judæans kept the day of their heaven-sent deliverance as a perpetual memorial. From this time, indeed, Physcon appears to have left the Judæans unmolested. Indeed, during the remainder of his reign their literary ardour and their zeal for the acquisition of knowledge increased greatly, and their writers appear to have applied themselves undisturbed to their works. Physcon himself was an author, and wrote memoirs and memorabilia, dealing with historical events and facts in natural history. A Judæan called Judah Aristobulus is said to have been his or his brother's master.

      Whilst the Alexandrian-Judæan community was occupying a high intellectual position, the Judæan people in their own land attained a lofty political eminence, from which they could look proudly back on their former abject state. What progress they had made during the reign of Jonathan is clearly shown by the simple comparison of their condition after his death, with that in which they found themselves at the fall of Judas. Judas's successor at first had been able to draw around him only a handful of faithful followers; a leader without right or title, he possessed neither fortresses, nor means of defence or attack, and was hard pressed by enemies at home and abroad. Jonathan's successor, on the contrary, Simon Tharsi, the last of the heroic sons of Mattathias, inheriting a recognised title, and being invested with the dignity of high-priest, became at once the ruler of a powerful people. He found strong fortresses in the land, and but one enemy in his path, who had already been much weakened by his predecessor. Jonathan's death, therefore, was followed by no disastrous results to the nation, but served to inflame the whole people to avenge the noble Hasmonæan high-priest upon his crafty murderer. Simon had simply to step into the vacant leadership. Although approaching old age at the time when he became the leader of his people, he still possessed the freshness of youth and the fiery courage which marked him when his dying father directed him to be the wise counsellor in the then impending war against Syrian despotism. So vigorous was the Hasmonæan race that few indeed of their members could be accused of cowardice or weakness, and the greater number of them evinced till their last breath the strength and courage of youth. By the side of Simon stood his four sons, Jonathan, Judah, Mattathias, and one whose name is unknown, who had all been moulded into warriors by the constant fighting in which they had been engaged. Simon, following the policy of his brothers, took advantage of the weakness of the enemy to increase the defences and strength of his country, and to extend the dominion of Judæa; but he achieved even more, for he delivered his people completely from Syrian rule and raised Judæa to the rank of an independent nation. Simon's government, which lasted almost nine years, was therefore rightly described as glorious. The aged were allowed to enjoy their closing days in peace, while the young rejoiced in the exercise of their activity and strength; "they sat every one under his vine and fig tree, with none to make them afraid."

      Simon's first step was an act of independence. Without waiting, as had been the custom hitherto, for the confirmation of the Syrian princes, he accepted at once the office of high-priest offered him by the people. To provide against the war which this step of his might bring on, he hastened to provision and place in a state of defence the fortresses of Judæa. He also opened negotiations with the dethroned king Demetrius II., although the latter had repaid Jonathan's assistance with base ingratitude. Simon sent him, through a solemn embassy, a golden crown as an acknowledgment of his regal power, and promised him aid against Tryphon on condition that the independence of Judæa should be fully recognised by a complete release from payment of taxes and services. The result justified his calculations. Demetrius willingly accepted Simon's offer, hoping to assure himself of a faithful ally, who would assist him in a possible war against Tryphon. He wrote "to the high-priest and Friend of the King, to the elders and the people of Judæa," as follows: "We have received the golden crown which you have sent us, and we are ready to make a lasting treaty of peace with you, and to write to our administrators that we remit your taxes. What we have granted you shall remain yours. The fortresses that you have erected shall be yours. We give you absolution for all the offences, intentional as well as unintentional, that you have committed against us up to this day; we release you from the crown which you owe us, and we remit the taxes that were laid on Jerusalem. If there be any among you anxious and fit to enter our army, they may be enlisted, and let there be peace between us." The day on which this immunity had been granted was considered by the Judæans so important and valued an era, that its date, the 27th of Iyar (May), was recorded among the half-holidays commemorative of victory.

      The people looked upon these concessions of Demetrius as the inauguration of their independence, and from that epoch the customary manner of counting time according to the years of the reigning Syrian king was discontinued. They now reckoned from the date of Simon's accession to the government. All legal documents of the year 142 were dated "In the first year of Simon, the High-Priest, Commander of the Army and Prince of the Nation." Confident of their strength, the people anticipated this royal prerogative for their leader, who was not at that time entitled to it, for he had as yet been recognised as the legitimate prince neither by Syria nor by the nation. Simon himself does not appear to have looked upon the concessions received as sufficient to bestow complete independence upon his country, but dated his reign from a later year, when he obtained the right of coining money. The joy experienced by the inhabitants of Jerusalem at the recovery of their freedom, the loss of which they had bitterly bewailed since the destruction of the Judæan kingdom under their last king Zedekiah, was so great that the elders or members of the Great Council felt impelled to communicate the all-important event to the Judæans in Egypt. In doing so, however, they had to overcome a serious difficulty: so to word their communication as not to offend Onias, the founder of the Onias Temple, the descendant of the family of high-priests which, by the acts of the Hasmonæans in Judæa, had been completely and hopelessly supplanted. Even supposing that Onias or his sons had entirely relinquished the prospect of ever possessing the office of high-priest, it must have been painful to remind them, and their followers in Egypt, that their family had been thrust aside by the people in Judæa.

      The representatives of the nation managed to pass lightly over this difficult subject, and descanted upon the fact that, after their long sufferings and persecutions, God had heard their prayer, and had once more given them the power of offering sacrifices, of rekindling the holy lights, and of placing the shew-bread in the Temple, which had been spoiled by the enemy and polluted by the shedding of innocent blood. This delicate statement, which carefully avoided giving any offence to the Judæans in Egypt, appears to have produced a very favourable impression upon them. They likewise rejoiced at the recovered independence of Judæa, and ascribed great importance to the year in which it was obtained.

      The second noteworthy act of Simon consisted in driving out the remaining Hellenists from their various hiding-places in the Acra at