ASMONEANS (Hebr. Ḥašmōnim; Lat. Hasonnaei). — The name by which Flavius Josephus and later Jewish writers designated the dynasty descended from the Maccabees (q.v.). The great-grandfather of Mattathias, father of the Maccabees, was called Šumēw ‘Asmōwōzōs (Antiq. Iud., XII, 6, 1; but cf. 2 Macc. 2, 1); however, it is unclear whether “Asamonoe” is an appellation of Simeon or refers to a different person. The meaning of the name remains obscure; some derive it from a Hebrew Ḥašmanūm, in the sense of “greater” (cf. Ps. 67 [68], 32).
Mattathias, who initiated the armed revolt against the fierce persecution of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (q.v.), had five sons: John surnamed Gaddis, Simon called Thassis, Judas called Maccabeus, Eleazar called Auran, Jonathan called Apphus.
With the death of Simon in 134 B.C., the heroic period ended, giving way to one marked by a lack of religious fervor, dynastic quarrels, and civil strife. The Asmonean kings, about whom we have only the information provided by Flavius Josephus, were: John Hyrcanus I (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, beheaded in 36 B.C. by Antony at the request of Herod the Great, the new king of Judea.