Aristobulus II אריסטובלוס השני
king for four years; his quarrel with his brother brought Rome to Jerusalem
He was abler than his brother and more decisive—and for that reason he ruined them both. Three months after their mother died he beat Hyrcanus's army and took the crown. The brothers' quarrel came before Pompey at Damascus; and there came to him a third embassy as well—from the people themselves, asking that no king be given to either, and that rule return to the priests. Josephus records that embassy separately, and it explains much: the nation had had enough of both.
Pompey chose Hyrcanus, besieged the Temple Mount where Aristobulus's men had shut themselves in, took it in the third month on a fast day, and entered the Holy of Holies. Aristobulus and his children were led in triumph through Rome. Later he escaped, fought again, was taken again; Caesar was about to send him back to Judea at the head of legions—and then Pompey's partisans poisoned him in Rome.
On the timeline
Places
Sources
Documents of the period
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14:4–79 — the war with his brother, the three embassies to Pompey, the siege and the fall
- Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 14:123–124 — his poisoning in Rome
- Josephus, The Jewish War 1:120–158 — the same course of events
Basis: documents and evidence.