The Rise and Fall of Aristobulus: A Tale of Ambition and Betrayal

From Empire to Ruin (Part 1): The Maccabean Revolt and the Surprising Victory

From Empire to Ruin (Part 2): The Dangerous Alliance That Toppled the Kingdom of Judah

From Empire to Ruin (Part 3): Yohanan Hyrcanus' Stunning Victory over Antiochus

From Empire to Ruin (Part 4): The Decisive Battle between the Sages of the Torah and the Sadducees

Shortly after Yohanan the High Priest established the Sadducees over the Temple and Jerusalem, he was near death. In his will, he commanded that his wife would rule after him. In 104 BCE, Yohanan died, 174 years before the destruction of the Temple. The Sadducees did not fulfill his will; they wanted a king to stand with them, so they imprisoned his wife and appointed his son, Judah Aristobulus, as king. Aristobulus took his brother Antigonus as his army chief and imprisoned his other brothers along with his mother...

Aristobulus quickly declared himself 'King of the Jews,' whereas his father called himself only 'President' and 'High Priest.' His conduct was cruel and not in accordance with Jewish values. He ordered that no food be given to his mother until she died of starvation. Such was his lust for power and fear of having to fulfill his father's will by allowing his mother to rule, that he starved her to death!

Upon ascending to the throne, Aristobulus marched on the Galilee and purged it of non-Jews. The remaining non-Jews were forced to convert. However, some of the victories were due to his brother, Chief of the Army Antigonus. Aristobulus, who quickly developed a tyrannical personality, began to fear Antigonus would take his place. His advisors and those around him decided to 'help' him get rid of his brother. They advised him that since his brother might seize the kingship, he should demand that he come unarmed when visiting. Aristobulus accepted the idea and instructed to pass the message to Antigonus, telling the guards: if he arrives looking armed, kill him. But the advisors sent a reversed message to Antigonus: the king wants to see you fully armed. Antigonus came innocently as requested, and the guards immediately killed him.

King Aristobulus realized too late that he had been deceived, and blamed himself, quite rightly. He became ill with grief and, when clothes were brought to him for a change, the person carrying them slipped on the spot where Antigonus had been killed. The clothes were stained with his dead brother's blood, and Aristobulus went mad with sorrow and died after reigning for about a year.

His wife Shlomtzion was a dedicated follower of Jewish law. Since her husband died without children, she was required to perform yibbum, or levirate marriage, and therefore released her late husband's brother from prison. She proposed to the eldest brother, Alexander Jannaeus, to marry her according to the Torah's commandment of yibbum and take the throne. In 103 BCE, 173 years before the destruction, the era of King Jannaeus began.