Antigonus II Mattathias

Antigonus II Mattathias ( Antígonos; Mattiṯyāhū), also known as Antigonus the Hasmonean (died 37 BCE) was High Priest of Israel, and also the last Hasmonean king of Judea. He was the son of King Aristobulus II. In 37 BCE, Herod the Great handed him over to the Romans for execution, after Antigonus's three-year reign, during which he led the Jews' fierce struggle for independence against the Romans.

Rome Antigonus was the second son of Aristobulus II. He and his father were taken to Rome as prisoners by Pompey in 63 BCE. Antigonus escaped and returned to Judea in 57 BCE. After an unsuccessful attempt to oppose the Roman forces there, and despite his refusal to surrender his dynastic rights, the senate released him. After the death of his older brother Alexander, Antigonus claimed that his uncle Hyrcanus II was a puppet of Antipater the Idumaean and attempted to overthrow him with the help and consent of the Romans. He visited Julius Caesar in 47 BCE, complaining of the usurpation of Antipater and Hyrcanus II. In 42 BCE, he attempted to seize the government of Judea by force with the assistance of his brother-in-law, Ptolemy, but was defeated by Herod.

Parthian support The excessive taxation wrung from the people to pay for the extravagances of Mark Antony and Cleopatra had inspired a deep hatred against Rome. Antigonus gained the allegiance of both the aristocratic class in Jerusalem and the leaders of the Pharisees. The Parthians, who invaded Syria in 40 BCE, preferred to see an anti-Roman ruler on the throne of Judea. When Antigonus promised them large sums of gold as well as five hundred female slaves, the Parthians put five hundred warriors at his disposal. After Antigonus, with Parthian help, conquered Jerusalem, Hyrcanus was sent to Babylon after having his ears mutilated, which rendered him unfit for the office of High Priest of Israel. Herod fled from Jerusalem, and in 40 BCE Antigonus was officially proclaimed king and High Priest by the Parthians. On Herod's return to Judaea from Rome in 39 BCE he opened a campaign against Antigonus and laid siege to Jerusalem. In the spring of 38 BCE, Herod wrested control of the province of Galilee and eventually all of Judaea, except for Jerusalem. Due to the approach of winter, Herod postponed his siege of Jerusalem—where Antigonus and the remnants of his army took refuge—until spring. Herod and a supporting Roman army were kept out of Jerusalem for 3–5 months but the Romans eventually captured the city. The supporters of Antigonus fought until the Romans reached the inner courtyard of the Temple. Antigonus was taken to Antioch and executed, ending Hasmonean rule. In his Life of Antony, Plutarch claims that Antony had Antigonus beheaded, "the first example of that punishment being inflicted on a king."

Disputed tomb in Jerusalem In 1971, bulldozers removing earth in East Jerusalem for a construction project uncovered a tomb with an inscription that suggested that this was the tomb of King Antigonus, the last Hasmonean king. However, according to anthropologist Joe Zias, former Curator of Archaeology and Anthropology for the Israel Antiquities Authority, this theory is just little more than an urban myth, since the only beheaded skeleton found in 1971 and at the later re-examination of the previously untouched tomb, belonged to an elderly woman. In his view, no other set of remains found there could be associated with King Antigonus II and it is only due to the efforts of the owner of the building located on top of the tomb that the myth is still being promoted.

Qumran Scrolls connection Biblical scholar Gregory Doudna proposed in 2013 that Antigonus II Mattathias was the figure known as the Wicked Priest in the Qumran Scrolls. According to Doudna, Antigonus was the figure underlying the 'Wicked Priest' of the Habakkuk Commentary and the doomed ruler of the Nahum Commentary, documents found at Qumran.