The Siege of Jerusalem (63 BC)

After the death of Hasmonean Queen Alexandra Salome , a civil war broke out in Judea between her two sons, Hyrcanus and Aristobulus. After Aristobulus expelled his older brother, depriving him of the throne and the dignity of the high priest , Antipater the Idumaean advised Hyrcanus to seek help from the Nabataean king Aretha III . In exchange for the promise of territorial concessions, Aretha sent 50,000 soldiers to help Hyrcanus, and their combined forces besieged Aristobulus in Jerusalem ^{[1] [2]} .

Pompey, after the successful completion of the Third Mithridates War, spent 64 and 63 years in the newly created Syrian province , putting things in order in the region ^[3] . After the events in Judea began, Emilius Skavr , the legate of Pompey in Damascus , arrived in Jerusalem. Both Hyrcanus and Aristobulus were negotiating with Scaurus, but Scaurus bowed to the side of Aristobulus after a bribe ^[4] , and Scaurus ordered Arrest to end the siege of the city. After the army of the Nabatians began to move towards Amman , Aristobulus began the persecution and ultimately defeated them at Papyron ^[1] .

When Pompey personally came to Damascus in the year 63, he met with both warring brothers. Pompey informed the opposing parties that he would solve their problem after he arrived in Judea. Aristobulus did not wait for the decision of Pompey and left Damascus to take refuge in the fortress of Alexandrion . This outraged Pompey and he set out with an army in Judea. At the sight of his forces, Aristobulus had to surrender. However, when Aulus Gabinius led his soldiers to Jerusalem, the supporters of Aristobulus refused to let the Romans into the city. This angered Pompey even more, and he ordered the arrest of Aristobulus and the preparation of the siege. ^[5]

When Pompey arrived at the walls of Jerusalem, he personally assessed the situation in the city:

Luckily for him, Hyrcanus still had supporters in the city. They opened the gates, which were probably in the northwestern part of the city walls, and let the Romans in. This allowed Pompey to gain a foothold in the upper city, including the Royal Palace, while Aristobulus's supporters continued to hold the eastern part of the city, including Temple Mount and the City of David ^[5] . The Jews strengthened their position by breaking down the bridge across the Tyropeon Valley connecting the upper city with the Temple Mount ^[6] . Pompey offered the defenders to surrender, but when they refused, he continued the siege with renewed vigor. He ordered his troops to erect a fortified line around the positions held by the Jews and then camped inside the city walls, north of the Temple. There was also a pass through which you could go to the Temple, which was guarded by a fortress known as Baris , and fortified by a moat ^{[7] [8]} . The second camp of the Romans was located southeast of the Temple ^[5] .

Then the Roman troops began to throw a moat near the northern part of the Temple fence and erected two ramparts, one next to Baris, and another to the west, while the defenders, taking a more advantageous position, tried to interfere with the efforts of the Romans. When the mound was over, Pompey built siege towers and brought siege weapons and rams from Sura . Under the guise of warriors armed with slings that knocked out defenders from the walls, the remaining Roman troops began to ram the wall around the Temple ^{[5] [9] [10]} . After three months, the soldiers of Pompey finally managed to destroy one of the towers of the fortress and make their way to the Temple, both from the citadel and from the west. Favst Cornelius Sulla, the son of a former dictator and one of the senior officers in the army of Pompey, was the first to break into the walls. Immediately he was followed by two centurions , Fury and Fabius, each of whom led his own cohort . In the ensuing battle, the Romans defeated the Jews, 12,000 of whom were killed, while the Romans suffered minor losses ^{[5] [11]} .

Pompey personally entered the holy of holies of the Temple, where only the main priest could enter, thereby desecrating this place. He didn’t take any treasures from there, and the next day ordered to put the Temple in order and continue the services in it ^{[12] [13] [14] [15]} . Then Pompey hurried to Rome , taking Aristobulus with him to participate in the triumphal procession ^[5] .

For the Hasmonean kingdom, the siege and capture of Jerusalem was a real disaster. Pompey restored Hirkan II as the High Priest, however, took the royal title from him, although later, in the 47th year, Rome recognized him as an ethnarch ^[16] . Judea remained autonomous, but its inhabitants became obliged to pay tribute and were subordinated to the Roman administration in Syria. The kingdom was divided: the Jews were forced to cede land by the sea, thereby remaining without access to the Mediterranean, as well as parts of Edom and Samaria . Several Hellenic cities located in the former territory of Judea gained autonomy and formed the Decapolis ^{[1] [2] [5]} .

• The Siege of Jerusalem (37 BC)

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