The Hasmoneans, Chapter Three: The conflagration also fell on Shimon

The first step taken by Shimon as a leader was to expel all the residents of Jaffa and settle the Jews. It was an unprecedented move, although his "gentlemen" (Yehuda and Jonathan) gradually built the infrastructure of the retroaction, and this was a preparatory step towards Shimon's initiative. And we will see how his son, Yochanan Hyrcanus, will forcefully convert the Reds and his successor, Yehuda Aristobulus, will do the same for the Gentiles in Galilee.

Shimon was the last of the Matthew brothers. He was trained for military tasks by Jonathan, who sent him on important trial missions such as the Ashkelon area and the fortresses and the conquest of the port city of Jaffa, as well as "Simon built Hadid (in the south of the Judean Lowlands) and Bizra and erected gates and bars" (Maccabim 38:142 XNUMX). And when Jonathan was captured by his rival Tryphon in Acre, in XNUMX BC, the Shimon community brought the people to Jerusalem in order to encourage him and strengthen his spirit.

In response, the public announced, spontaneously and full of emotion, but apparently it was an agreed decision of the council of elders and the priesthood, that Shimon would be the registrar of Judah and Jonathan as president and as the commander-in-chief of the rebel army, "and whatever you command will be done" (Maccabim 9:XNUMX). His appointment as president, to Athanasius, was an innovation and a precedent, since neither Yehuda nor Jonathan had served as presidents, nor had their predecessors. At this stage it is an indefinite political title. However, Shimon is not appointed high priest, unlike his predecessors, and thus the weight of the title he received is greatly lost. This is not surprising since the priesthood was usurped by the initiative of Matthias and his two sons from the historic House of Zadok.

The first step taken by Shimon as a leader was to expel all the residents of Jaffa and settle the Jews. It was an unprecedented move, although his "gentlemen" (Yehuda and Jonathan) gradually built the infrastructure of the retroaction, and this was a preparatory step towards Shimon's initiative. And we will see how his son, Yochanan Hyrcanus, will forcefully convert the Reds and his successor, Yehuda Aristobulus, will do the same for the Gentiles in Galilee.

With Jonathan's death, Shimon builds a tomb estate in Modiim and adorns it with the best Hellenistic architecture in the East, such as the construction of seven pyramids, mechanical installations for siege warfare and large columns decorated with paintings of naval battles.
Shimon was therefore the first to break significant ground in the cultural-social aspect towards the adoption of Hellenistic norms and ways of behavior. His predecessor, his brother Jonathan, paved the way for political Hellenization, including the internal aspect - his appointment as high priest, no less and no more, by the potential "boss", the Seleucid king, and Shimon, as mentioned, added the cultural and social aspect to this.

In 140 BC, the Syrian king Demetrius sends an epistle to Shimon in which he crowns him as a high priest and the king's lover, just like his predecessor Jonathan, but makes sure to emphasize that on Shimon's side is the council of elders and the people's assembly, thereby fundamentally undermining Shimon's status.
The matter of the High Priesthood raises a somewhat problematic interest, since Shimon was not crowned by the public representatives as a High Priest. This problem may be clarified and explained with the help of one of the following options, or alternatively a combination of a pair of them: one - this is a chronological confusion. The second - Shimon sends a request to Demetrius to be appointed high priest and Demetrius responds accordingly. The third - Shimon is appointed earlier by the public representatives and Demetrius confirms his appointment, although, as mentioned, with a significant bite, due to Shimon's political power.
In any case, the fact that Demetrius mentions in his letter that he thanks Shimon for the "golden crown and palm branch" that Shimon together with the council of elders and public representatives in Jerusalem sent to him, to Demetrius, which may strengthen Shimon's courtship, similar to his brother Jonathan at the time, in front of the Seleucid king, in order to , so similar, to win the desired appointment.
And it was not without reason that the following was given in the book of Maccabim 42 immediately after: "In the year seventy and one hundred the yoke of the Gentiles was removed from Israel. And the people of Israel began to write in books and bills (that is, in documents) - 'in one year for Simon the high priest and the minister of the army and the president of the Jews'" (Maccabim 41:XNUMX-XNUMX). This is not about independence but about the strengthening of Judea's autonomy, and what is important is that the Council of Elders and the representatives of the People's Assembly are omitted from Shimon's title, and this is probably on the basis of the mutual connection between Shimon and Demetrius. The end of this is the removal of the political and social factors that could erode Shimon's character, status and expected initiatives.

After he took control of the city of Gezer, he expelled all the city's inhabitants from youth to old man, cleansed the houses of idolatrous "debris" and installed God-fearers in them, he set out to cleanse the citadel of Hellenistic power and pagan elements and held a colorful ceremony that expressed his physical and ideological takeover. The ceremony was saturated with Hellenistic symbols such as the use of palm palms.

One year later, in 140 BC, after Shimon took control of the Hellenistic citadel that weakened the Jerusalem temple, expelled the garrison that served there and staffed the place with Jews, the priests, the council of elders and the people's assembly approved Shimon's status and titles and especially the His status as a high priest and with the addition of a new title: "Sher-am-El". This title gave Simeon an unprecedented meaning, because in this Simeon was compared to none other than the biblical Jacob, who, after his struggle with the "angel", earned the name "Israel" which means - wrestled-with-God and won, or if you will - the father of the people.

Simon thus becomes a figure likened to a king and thus has the right to wear a scarlet robe and a button made of gold to purchase it, which was acceptable to the Hellenistic kings. The Seleucid king Antiochus VII, Siddes, (128-138 BC), son of Demetrius, confirms the positions and titles of Simeon, but is careful not to call him king, and this for obvious political reasons. Simon is even blessed by the Romans. Even here for imperial political reasons, as the stamp was sent to both the Ptolemaic and the Syrian-Seleucid royal houses and to all kinds of rulers and leaders in Greece, the islands of the Aegean Sea and the west of Asia Minor.

The result is not long in coming. When Antiochus demanded that he withdraw from those places that were conquered by Simon and his predecessors and that belonged to the Seleucid Empire, such as Jaffa, Gezer, the citadel in Jerusalem, and more, the king made a significant claim against Simon, who was his enslaved subject, such as: "You set the boundaries (of those areas) and did evil greatness in the land and you will dwell in many places in my kingdom" (29 Maccabees XNUMX:XNUMX). Antiochus demanded that Simon return these territories, or convert the evacuation into a payment, and Simon's army would face the price of a Seleucid attack.

The Syrian king's emissary arrived in Jerusalem and was stunned by the size of Shimon's wealth, which together with Shimon's high status explains the reason for Shimon's refusal to comply with the Syrian king's demand and proposal. The military campaign that took place between Judah and Syria in the Modiim-Kedron-Ashdod area did indeed end with the victory of Shimon's sons and the expected victory of the warriors, but the price that Judah will pay for Shimon's arrogance will be high, and more on that later.

Shimon's end was similar to that of his predecessor Jonathan. Shimon's son-in-law, Ptolemy ben Khabuvo, was an army commander in the Jericho area and due to his family proximity to the top amassed a lot of money. Greedy Ptolemy, hiding the status and power of Shimon, invited them to stay in his palace, and there, after Shimon and his sons got well drunk from the feast that Ptolemy held, they were murdered by Ptolemy's men.

Whoever dips his hands in the mud will be surprised if his hands are stained.