Hasmoneans

HASMONEANS (Hebrew Ḥašmānīm; Latin Hasmonae). - Name by which Flavius Josephus and later Jewish writers designated the dynasty of the descendants of the Maccabees (v.). The great-grandfather of Mattathias, the father of the Maccabees, was called Σιμσών Ἀσπωνκλίας (Antig. Ind., XII, 6, 1; but cf. II Mach. 2, 1); it is not clear, however, whether "Asamoneus" is an apposition of Simeon or indicates a different person. The meaning of the name escapes us; some derive it from a Hebrew ḥašmānīm, in the sense of "magnate" (cf. Ps. 67 [68], 32).

Mattathias, who began the armed insurrection against the fierce persecution of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (v.), had five sons: John surnamed Gaddis, Simon called Thassis, Judas called Maccabeus, Eleazar called Amaran, Jonathan called Affus.

With the death of Simon in 134 B.C. the heroic period came to an end, and there began that period, devoid of religious fervor, of dynastic squabbles and civil strife. The Hasmonean kings, about whom we have only the information of Flavius Josephus, were: the 3rd son of Simon, John Hyrcanus (134-104), Aristobulus I (104-103), Alexander Jannaeus (103-76), Alexandra Salome (76-67), Aristobulus II (67-63), Hyrcanus II (63-40); the last was Antigonus, who was beheaded in 36 B.C. by Antony, at the request of Herod the Great, the new king of Judea.

Salvatore Garofalo