Simon the Hasmonean’s Consolidation of Power

After Jonathan’s death in 142 BCE, Simon became high priest, and Simon’s negotiations with the Seleucid ruler Demetrius II (r. 146–139 BCE) afforded Simon more power. Soon after, a Great Assembly made Simon’s offices hereditary, thereby establishing the Hasmonean dynasty, which remained in power until about 37 BCE, when Herod and Gaius Sosius conquered Jerusalem and seized King Antigonus, son of Aristobulus II, a Parthian puppet.

Among Simon’s early accomplishments were the conquest of Gezer and the Akra, the Seleucid fortress in Jerusalem. Simon was acclaimed ethnarch, army commander, and high priest, “until a trustworthy prophet should arise” (1 Maccabees 14:41). First Maccabees 14 describes Simon’s reign using tropes from biblical prophecy that anticipate an eschatological era of peace, with Simon at times depicted in messianic terms. This consolidation of power under the authority of a strong ruler reveals how the high priesthood came to be legitimized not by Zadokite descent but by political election.

While Antiochus VII Sidetes, also known as Antiochus Euergetes (r. 139–129 BCE), had previously recognized Simon as high priest and ethnarch over the Jews, the Seleucid ruler later conspired against the Jewish one. Simon responded by ambushing Antiochus’ men and forming an alliance with the Romans. In the end, an aging Simon was slain (ca. 135 BCE) in an act of treachery by his own son-in-law Ptolemy during a banquet held at the Dok fortress near Jericho. Simon’s son John Hyrcanus managed to escape and assume leadership.