History of the Jews (Vol. 1-6). Graetz Heinrich
the fortresses of Gazara and Bethsur, and in completely destroying any influence they may have possessed. Gazara surrendered unconditionally. Simon allowed the Hellenists to leave the place, and ordered their dwellings to be cleared of their idolatrous images. The Hellenists in the Acra, however, had fortified their position so well that Simon was obliged to lay siege to it, and to reduce its defenders by famine. At last they were overcome, and the victors entered the Acra to the sound of music and with solemn hymns of praise. In commemoration of the taking of the Acra, the 23rd Iyar (May 17) was ordered thenceforth to be kept as a day of rejoicing. The taking of Bethsur appears to have caused little difficulty. Of the expelled Hellenists, some, it seems, found refuge in Egypt, others renounced their idolatrous practices, and were again received into the community, whilst those who remained unchanged fell victims to the religious zeal of the conquerors. It is related that the 22nd Elul (September) was set apart among the days of victory, because it saw the death of those idolators who had allowed the respite of three days to elapse without returning to their faith. Thus at length disappeared the last vestiges of that party which, during nearly forty years, had shaken the foundations of Judaism, and which, in its apostate zeal, had called down upon the people the calamities of civil contests and cruel religious persecution, and brought a country to the verge of ruin. The fortresses which Simon had taken from the Hellenists, Bethsur and Gazara, were remodelled, so as to serve as places of defence. Of great importance, likewise, was the capture of Joppa (Jaffa), by the acquisition of which seaport the State received a large revenue; the export and import duties, which the Syrian kings had introduced, now fell to the share of Judæa.
The Acra underwent a peculiar change at the hands of the last of the Hasmonæan brothers. The wrath of the people against this fortress was too intense to allow of its standing intact. Apart from political considerations, there was also a religious sentiment adverse to its continuing unaltered. The fortress, with its lofty towers, which the Syrians had erected to keep the city in check, overtopped the Temple-capped mount itself, and this was not to be. According to the prophecies of Isaiah, "in the last days the Mountain of the House of the Lord was to be established on the top of the mountains, and be exalted above the hills." This was literally explained to mean that no mount or building was to overtop the Temple, and Simon, even if unconvinced himself, was obliged to bow to that belief. On the other hand, however, it seemed imprudent to destroy a fortress which, like the Acra, was so conveniently situated for the accommodation of troops, and so well fitted to serve as a storehouse for arms. Simon and his counsellors hit upon a middle course in dealing with it. The towers and bastions of the fortress were taken down—a work of destruction which, it is said, it cost the people three years to accomplish; the walls, courts and halls, on the contrary, were left standing, but the hated name of Acra or Acrapolis was no longer used, but changed for that of Birah (Baris), which had first been introduced by Nehemiah. In this transformed edifice the Judæan soldiers were quartered, and there they kept their weapons. Simon himself dwelt in the Birah in the midst of his soldiers, while his son Johanan (John), as governor of the sea-coast, resided at Gazara.
In spite of the favourable position in which he found himself, Simon was obliged to remain armed and prepared for war. At present the two pretenders to the throne, whilst they weakened each other, left him in peace. Demetrius II. (Nicator), who had granted independence to Judæa, was now engaged in an adventurous expedition in the east against Persia. His brother, Antiochus Sidetes, governed in his place, and was at strife with Diodotus Tryphon, who, having treacherously killed Jonathan and the young Antiochus, the son of Alexander Balas, had made himself ruler over Syria. Simon, urged by political motives to weaken this cunning, evil-minded enemy, assisted Antiochus Sidetes, and received from him the confirmation of the privileges granted to Judæa by his brother in the hour of his need. In addition thereto, Antiochus gave Simon the right of coining money, which was the especial mark of independence.
Unfortunately, as is but too often the case, the hand that planted the tree of liberty, also placed the gnawing worm in the noble blossom. Wanting as he was in that far-sightedness which belonged to the genius of the prophets of old, and guided only by present emergencies, Simon believed that he would ensure the hard-won independence of his country if he obtained for it the protection of that people which, never tired of making conquests and aggrandising itself, was constantly and everywhere the foe of liberty. In order to put an end to the ceaseless provocations given by the petty Syrian tyrants, Simon entrusted the welfare of his country to the mighty tyrant, Rome, in whose close embraces the nations that sought protection were unfailingly suffocated. Simon despatched as delegates Numenius, the son of Antiochus, and Antipater, the son of Jason. They carried with them a heavy golden shield and a golden chain, which, in the hope of gaining for the Judæans the favour of being received as allies of Rome, they were to present as a mark of homage.
The Roman Senate was not indisposed to enroll the most insignificant nation among their allies, being well aware that in granting the favour of their protection they had taken the first step towards reducing it to vassalage. Rome resembles an unfaithful guardian, who takes infinite care of the property of his ward, only to gather riches for himself. The Roman Senate made known to their friends and vassals that they had accepted Judæa as their ally, and the Syrian rulers were forbidden to attack it (140). Scarcely two hundred years later, a shameless, bloodthirsty Roman Emperor will insist upon being worshipped in the Temple at Jerusalem, and after another thirty years will have passed, Rome will break the strength of the Judæan nation, kill its heroes, and hunt its sons like wild beasts. But these dire results of the Roman alliance were unsuspected by Simon or his contemporaries, who rejoiced at being called friends, brothers and allies of the great Roman nation. In order to show their gratitude to their leader for the boon he had procured for them, the Jewish people conferred upon him, with great solemnity, supreme and permanent sovereignty over themselves.
One can hardly find, in all antiquity, a similar example of absolute power thus bestowed upon a prince, and of a quiet, peaceful transformation of a republic into a monarchy like that carried into effect by the people of Judæa at that time. The deed which endorsed this gift of the monarchy to Simon is preserved in a record, which places strikingly before us the gratitude felt towards the Hasmonæans by the newly-constituted nation.
On the 28th Elul (September) of the year 140, the third year of Simon's tenure of the high-priesthood, the priests, the elders and representatives of the nation, and all the people of Jerusalem were assembled, probably upon the Temple Mount, and there agreed, in recognition of the great services rendered by Simon and the Hasmonæans to the people and the Sanctuary, to consider him and his descendants as their leader (Nassi) and High-Priest, "until such time as a prophet should arise." As the outward sign of his dignity, Simon was to wear a purple mantle with a golden clasp. All public acts were to be in his name; peace and war were to be decided upon by him; he was to have sole power to appoint the commanders of the army and the fortresses, as well as the managers of the Temple and all its sacred trusts. Whoever opposed him was liable to punishment.
This decree of the people, a copy of which was deposited in the Temple archives, was engraven on brass tablets, which were placed in a conspicuous position in the Temple court; and besides, memorial columns in its honor were erected on Mount Zion. In spite of their antipathy to the customs of the neighbouring Greeks, the Judæans had learned from them the art of immortalising their deeds in stone and metal. Unlike the Greeks, however, they were not capricious in the honours and favours they granted. Those to whom monuments were erected one day were not bespattered with mud the next, but, on the contrary, lived forever in the grateful hearts of their countrymen. Israel had now again a prince lawfully chosen by the people, having been deprived of a ruler for the space of nine jubilees, ever since the captivity of Zedekiah. If the nation did not give Simon the title of king, but only that of prince, it was not done in order to lessen his power in any way, but that they might remain faithful to the house of David. According to the views held at that time in Judæa, it was only a descendant of David who could be king, he being also the expected Messiah. The deed which gave the sovereign power to Simon contained the proviso that he should, therefore, retain it until the appearance of the true prophet Elijah, who was expected to be the precursor of the Messiah.
It was not until Simon had been formally recognised as ruler, that he made use of the right to coin money granted him by Antiochus Sidetes. This was the first time that Judæan coins were struck. On one side was stamped the value of the