One of the first steps of the new monarch was to secure the co-operation of Jonathan and his people. Accordingly he not only confirmed all former grants made to the Jewish nation, and remitted all arrears of tribute, but sent him a purple robe and gold chain, and invested his brother Simon with the command of all the royal forces between the “ladder of Tyre” and the frontiers of Egypt. Jonathan, who had every reason to resent the ingratitude of Demetrius, readily accepted his proposals, and at the head of a large army speedily subdued the entire country, as far as Damascus, to the power of Antiochus, while Simon captured the fortress of Beth-zur, and garrisoned it with Jewish soldiers (1 Macc. xi. 65, 66)[42].
Resolved to make the most of the present advantageous turn of events, the Jewish prince now sent ambassadors to Rome, renewed the previous treaty, and at the same time concluded another with the Lacedæmonians (1 Macc. xii. 1, 2)[43]. Meanwhile Demetrius had assembled an army, with which he encamped at Hamath on the extreme north of Palestine. Thither Jonathan quickly went forth to meet him, and gaining information that a night attack on his camp was meditated, made such a disposition of his troops that the enemy gave up their design, and retired beyond the river Eleutherus. Returning thence he fell upon the Nabathæan Arabs, who had espoused the cause of Demetrius, and defeated them, while Simon attacked and succeeded in taking Joppa (1 Macc. xii. 25–35).
Never did the fortunes of the Jewish patriots appear brighter than at this period. Masters of the entire province of Judæa, strong in the confidence of the Syrian monarch, invested with the command of numerous trained warriors, the Maccabæan brothers seemed on the verge of restoring their country to a condition of complete independence. Accordingly they convened an assembly of the elders, and consulted on the present state of affairs. The reduction of the garrison in the Acra was the great object of the national hopes. It was clear that this could never be accomplished so long as the garrison was able to communicate, as had hitherto been the case, with the city and the country, and there buy provisions. While therefore Simon was sent to fortify several of the more important towns, Jonathan himself remained in the city, and superintended in person the erection of new defences. Accordingly the wall of the Temple was repaired, especially on the eastern side, towards the valley of the Kidron, while a new wall was built between Mount Zion and the rest of the city, of such a height and strength as to cut off the hostile garrison from all communication with the city on the west, and the country on the east[44] (1 Macc. xii. 36, 37).
It soon appeared that these precautions had not been unreasonable. Tryphon, though he had placed Antiochus on the throne, now resolved to usurp the royal authority for himself. The only serious obstacle to his design was the faithfulness of Jonathan to the Syrian king. At all risks, therefore, he determined to get the Jewish prince into his power, and for this purpose advanced into Palestine as far as Beth-shan or Scythopolis, with a considerable force. Here Jonathan met him with an army of 40,000 men. Afraid to confront so numerous a force, Tryphon resorted to treachery, and pretended that the sole object of his coming was to mark his gratitude for Jonathan’s services in the cause of Antiochus, by placing him in possession of Ptolemais[45]. Completely deceived, the Jewish prince disbanded all his forces, excepting 3000 men, and having left 2000 of these in Galilee, set out with the scanty remainder for Ptolemais. No sooner however had he entered the city, than the traitor Tryphon ordered the gates to be shut, butchered Jonathan’s retinue to a man, and flung him loaded with chains into a dungeon (1 Macc. xii. 37–52).
CHAPTER VI.
SIMON MACCABÆUS.
B.C. 144–135.
NEWS of these occurrences filled the Jews with the deepest sorrow and the utmost consternation. For 17 years their late leader had conducted the affairs of the country with prudence, vigour and success. Now all their fair hopes seemed destined to be crushed, if the perfidious Tryphon should succeed in following up the success he had already gained. In this emergency the eyes of all were turned towards Simon surnamed Thassi, the elder and only surviving brother of Jonathan, whom the aged Mattathias on his death-bed had commended for his prudence in council. He therefore assumed the command of the patriot forces, and was acknowledged as their leader.
His first step was to finish the walls and fortifications of Jerusalem and to place the country in a complete posture of defence (1 Macc. xiii. 10, 11). He then went forth to meet Tryphon, who taking Jonathan with him, had moved up from Ptolemais with a large force, and encamped at Adida or Adithaim (Joshua xv. 36), a town on an eminence overlooking the low country of Judæa. No sooner however did he find a Jewish army ready to oppose him, than he once more had recourse to treachery, and representing that Jonathan was merely held in custody on account of a debt of 100 talents, offered to deliver him up on condition of receiving the money and two of his children as hostages. Though he was certain this was nothing more than an artifice, Simon determined that it never should be said he had left any means untried for the release of his brother (1 Macc. xiii. 17–19), and accordingly sent the money and the hostages. But, as he had expected, Tryphon failed to fulfil his word, and began to ravage the neighbouring country.
Meanwhile the Syrian garrison in Jerusalem, suffering severely from the long-continued blockade, sent messengers begging Tryphon to come to their aid. Thereupon the other ordered his cavalry to press forward instantly to their relief, but a heavy fall of snow rendered the roads impassable, and Tryphon finding it impossible to render the required assistance, retired across the Jordan into the land of Gilead. Here he put the heroic Jonathan to death at the city of Bascama, and hurrying into Syria, murdered the young king Antiochus, and seized the supreme power, which he exercised with cruelty and violence (1 Macc. xiii. 23). As soon as he retired Simon sent to Bascama, and brought thence the body of his brother to Modin, where he laid it with great pomp in the ancestral tomb, and erected over it a magnificent monument, consisting of seven pillars, and adorned with the beaks of ships, a conspicuous sea-mark for all the vessels which sailed along the coast (1 Macc. xiii. 27–30).
The continued tyranny of Tryphon once more raised the hopes of Demetrius, and the Jews resolved to espouse his cause in preference to that of his treacherous enemy. Accordingly Simon sent an embassy offering to acknowledge his supremacy, and to aid him against the usurper. Demetrius received the proposition with alacrity, and in a royal edict formally drawn up and ratified, agreed to recognize Simon as the high-priest and prince of Judæa, to renounce all claims on the Jewish nation for tribute, customs, and taxes, and to grant an amnesty for all past offences against himself. This amounted to a virtual recognition of the complete independence of the country, and the year B.C. 143, in which it was granted, was regarded as the first year of the “freedom of Jerusalem” (1 Macc. xiii. 42).