John Hyrcanus’ Conquests: A Forgotten Page of the Seleucid Fraternal War

It is generally assumed that the beginning of the conquests was a clear sign of the political independence of the Hasmonean rulers. In this paper, I consider together literary, numismatic and archaeological data to demonstrate that neither John Hyrcanus, nor Alexander Jannaeus, led their fights for their own purposes only. Their conquests must be evaluated in both their local and regional contexts. In the end, it appears that they acted as loyal vassals to their Seleucid and Lagid masters, taking their part in the civil war against the usurper Antiochos IX and his ally Ptolemy IX.