h

Anno 114.

John Hyr

canus 22.

Antiochus Grypus, while he was preparing for a war against the Jews, was prevented by a war at home, raised against him by Antiochus Cyzicenus, his half brother. He was the son of Cleopatra by Antiochus Sidetes, born to him of her while Demetrius her former husband was a prisoner among the Parthians. But, on Demetrius' returning again, and repossessing his kingdom, after the death of Sidetes, Cleopatra, fearing how Demetrius might deal with him, should he fall into his hands, sent him out of his reach to Cyzicus, a city lying on the Propontis in the Lesser Mysia, where he was bred up under the care and tuition of Craterus, a faithful eunuch, to whose charge he was committed; and therefore from hence he had the name of Cyzicenus. Grypus, being jealous of him, endeavoured to have him taken out of the way by poison; which being discovered, forced Cyzicenus to arm against him for his life, as well as the crown of Syria. And it is often the hard case of princes, to be thus brought to a necessity either to reign or die, without having any medium between for their choice.

Anno 113.

John Hyr

canus 23.

Cleopatra, whom Lathyrus was forced to divorce, after that separation, disposed of herself in marriage to Cyzicenus, and, having gotten together an army in Cyprus, instead of a dowry, carried that with her to him into Syria, for his assistance in this war against his brother, whereby his forces being made equal to those of his brother, he came to a battle with him; but, having had the misfortune to be overthrown, he fled to Antioch, and having there left his wife, as he thought, in a safe place, he went thence to other parts for the recruiting of his broken forces. Hereon Grypus laid siege to Antioch, and he having taken the place, Tryphana, the wife of Grypus, earnestly desired to have Cleopatra delivered into her hands, that she might put her to death, so bitterly was she enraged against her, though her own sister both by father and mother, for that she had mar

h Joseph. Antiq. lib. 13, c. 17. Appian. in Syriacis, Justin. lib. 39, c. 2. Porphyr. in Græcis Euseb. Scaligeri, p. 61.

i Justin. lib. 39, c. 3.

ried her husband's enemy, and brought an army to his assistance against him. But Cleopatra having taken sanctuary in one of the temples at Antioch, Grypus was very unwilling to comply with the rage of his wife in this matter. He urged against it the sacredness of the place where she had taken refuge, and further told her, that the putting her to death would serve to no purpose; that the cutting her off would no way weaken or hurt the interest of Cyzicenus, nor the keeping of her alive be of any strengthening to it; that, in all the wars, whether domestic or foreign, which he or his ancestors had been engaged in, it had never been their usage, after victory obtained, to execute cruelty upon women, especially upon so near a relation; that Cleopatra was her sister, and also his own near kinswoman; and therefore he desired her to press this thing no further, for he could not comply with her in it. But Tryphæna, instead of being dissuaded hereby from what she so cruelly intended against her sister, was the more excited to the executing of it; for, suspecting this to proceed from some love Grypus had contracted for the lady, rather than barely from a pity for her case, she added jealousy to her anger; and therefore, being driven by a double passion to work her destruction, in the heat of both, she forthwith sent soldiers into the temple, who, by her command, there slew the unfortunate lady, while embracing the image of the god to which she fled thither for refuge. This shews how great the rage of this sister was against the other. And thus it often comes to pass, when enmity happens between those of the same family and kindred, the nearer is the relation, the bitterer often is the hatred between them; of which many instances may be found within every man's observation. And the same may also be observed in differences of religion, they that are at the greatest distance herein being seldom so incensed as the nearest of the subordinate sects usually are against each other.

In the interim Cleopatra, queen of Egypt, who was mother to both these two sisters, expressed no regard

k Physcon, her father, was uncle to Cleopatra, the mother of Grypus.

or concern for either of them; for her mind being actuated wholly by ambition and the love of reigning, she employed all her thoughts this way, that is, how she might best support her authority in Egypt, and there continue to reign without controul as long as she should live. And therefore, for the better strengthening of herself for this purpose, she made Alexander, her younger son, king of Cyprus, that she might from thence be assisted by him against Lathyrus his brother, whenever occasion should require.

m

Anno 112.

canus 24.

But the death of Cleopatra in Syria did not long go unrevenged. For Cyzicenus, having drawn another army together, fought a second battle John Hyrwith his brother, and having gained the victory, and in the pursuit of it gotten Tryphæna into his power, he sacrificed her to the ghost of his murdered wife, by putting her to such a death as her cruelty to her well deserved. Grypus, by this overthrow, being driven out of Syria," fled to Aspendus in Pamphylia, from whence he had also the name of Aspendius.

canus 25.

But the next year after, he returning from thence with an army, again recovered Syria; and Anno 111. the two brothers thenceforth parting the John HyrSyrian empire between them, Cyzicenus reigned at Damascus over Cole-Syria and Phoenicia, and Grypus at Antioch over all the rest. Both brothers were very excessive in their luxury and other follies; and so were most of the other later Syrian kings; and to this and their divisions they owed the loss of their empire; for they were truly men most unworthy of it.

While these two brothers were thus harassing each other in war, or else wasting themselves in Anno 110. the luxury of peace, John Hyrcanus grew John Hyrin riches and power; and, finding he had nothing to fear from either of them, resolved to reduce

1 Pausanias in Atticis. Porphyr. in Græcis Euseb. Scaligeri. in Justin. lib. 39, c. 3.

n Porphyr. ib. p. 62.

canus 26.

o Porphyr. ib. p Diodorus Siculus in Excerptis Valesii, p. 385. Athenæus, lib. 5, p. 210,

lib. 12, p. 540.

q Joseph. Antiq. lib. 13, c. 17.

Samaria under his dominion; and therefore sent Aristobulus and Antigonus, two of his sons, to besiege the city; whereon the inhabitants sent to Antiochus Cyzicenus, king of Damascus, for his relief; who, coming with a great army to raise the siege, was met by the two brothers, and, being vanquished by them, and pursued as far as Scythopolis, he hardly escaped out of their hands.

The two brothers, after the gaining of this victory, Anno 109. having again returned to the siege, pressed John Hyr- it so hard, that the besieged were forced a canus 27. second time to send to Cyzicenus for relief; but he, having not forces enough of his own for the attempt, desired the assistance of Ptolemy Lathyrus, king of Egypt, who sent him six thousand auxiliaries, much to the dislike of Cleopatra his mother. For Chelcias and Ananias, two Jews, sons of that Onias who built the Jewish temple in Egypt, being her chief favourites, and ministers that commanded all her forces, and directed all her councils, for their sakes she much favoured the Jews, and was averse to any thing that might tend to their damage; and she had like to have deposed Lathyrus from the throne for acting against her will in this matter. When the Egyp tian auxiliaries arrived, Cyzicenus joined them with what forces he had, but durst not openly face the enemy, or make any attempt upon the army that lay at the siege, but spent himself wholly in harassing and plundering the open country, hoping thereby to draw the Jews from the siege for its relief; but, failing of his expectations herein, and finding also that his army, what by surprises, desertions, and other casualties, was much diminished in the carrying on of this sort of war, he durst not trust himself abroad in the field any longer with it, but retired to Tripoly, leaving Callimander and Epicrates two of his prime commanders, to pursue the remainder of the war; the former of which, rashly venturing upon an enterprise too hard for him, was cut off with all his party; whereon Epicrates, finding that nothing further was to be done, made the best advantage of it that he could for his own interest. r Joseph. Antiq. lib. 13, c. 18.

$ Ibid. & c. 17.

For, coming to an agreement with Hyrcanus, for a sum of money he delivered up unto him Scythopolis, and all other places which the Syrians had in that country, and thereby basely betrayed the interest of his master for his own gain. Whereon Samaria, being deprived of all further hopes of relief, was forced, after it had held out a years' siege, to surrender into the hands of Hyrcanus, who forthwith demolished the place, causing not only the houses and walls to be pulled down and razed to the ground, but also trenches to be drawn through and across the ground whereon it stood, and to be filled with water, that it might never again be built. They are mistaken who think this was done out of the hatred which the Jews bore to the sect of the Samaritans; for none of that sect then lived in that place. All the inhabitants of that city were then of the Syro-Macedonian race, and the heathen superstition. For the ancient Samaritans, who were of the sect that worshipped God in Mount Gerizim, had been long before all expelled thence by Alexander for the revenging of the death of Andromachus his governour of Syria, whom they slew in a tumult, as hath been afore related in the first part of this history: After this, these expelled Samaritans retired to Shechem, which hath been the head seat of their sect ever since. And Alexander new planted the city with a colony of Macedonians, Greeks, and Syrians, mixed together, and they were of their posterity that then inhabited the place, when Hyrcanus made this war against it. From this time, Samaria continued in its demolished state, till Herod rebuilt it, and gave it the name of Sebaste," in honour of Augustus, as will be hereafter related. After this victory, Hyrcanus became master of all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and of several other places in the outskirts of the country round him; whereby he made himself one of the most considerable princes of the

t So saith Josephus in the place last quoted. Salianus cavils much at him for it, because Samaria stood upon an high bill. But Benjamin of Tudela, who was on the place, tells us, in his Itinerary, that there were upon the top of this hill many fountains of water; and from these water enough might have been derived to fill these trenches.

Η Σεβαστος is Greek for Augustus : hence Σεβαστη.