1 Maccabees 15
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Antiochus,
the son [1] of Demetrius
the king, sent a letter from the islands of the sea to Simon, the priest
and ethnarch of the Jews, and to all the nation; 
its
contents were as follows: "King Antiochus to Simon the high priest and
ethnarch and to the nation of the Jews, greeting. 
Whereas
certain pestilent men have gained control of the kingdom of our fathers, 
and
I intend to lay claim to the kingdom so that I may restore it as it formerly
was, and have recruited a host of mercenary troops and have equipped warships, 
and
intend to make a landing in the country so that I may proceed against those
who have destroyed our country and those who have devastated many cities
in my kingdom, now therefore I confirm to you all the tax remissions that
the kings before me have granted you, and release from all the other payments
from which they have released you. 
I
permit you to mint your own coinage as money for your country, 
and
I grant freedom to Jerusalem and the sanctuary. All the weapons which you
have prepared and the strongholds which you have built and now hold shall
remain yours. 
Every
debt you owe to the royal treasury and any such future debts shall be canceled
for you from henceforth and for all time. 
When
we gain control of our kingdom, we will bestow great honor upon you and
your nation and the temple, so that your glory will become manifest in
all the earth."
In the one hundred
and seventy-fourth year [Seleucid
Era; 138/137] Antiochus set out and invaded the land of his
fathers. All the troops rallied to him, so that there were few with Trypho. 
Antiochus
pursued him, and he came in his flight to Dor, which is by the sea; 
for
he knew that troubles had converged upon him, and his troops had deserted
him. 
So Antiochus
encamped against Dor, and with him were a hundred and twenty thousand warriors
and eight thousand cavalry. 
He
surrounded the city, and the ships joined battle from the sea; he pressed
the city hard from land and sea, and permitted no one to leave or enter
it.
Then Numenius
and his companions arrived from Rome, with letters to the kings and countries,
in which the following was written: 
"Lucius,[2]
consul
of the Romans, to King Ptolemy [VIII
Euergetes Physcon], greeting. 
The
envoys of the Jews have come to us as our friends and allies to renew our
ancient friendship and alliance. They had been sent by Simon the high priest
and by the people of the Jews, 
and
have brought a gold shield weighing a thousand minas. 
We
therefore have decided to write to the kings and countries that they should
not seek their harm or make war against them and their cities and their
country, or make alliance with those who war against them. 
And
it has seemed good to us to accept the shield from them. 
Therefore
if any pestilent men have fled to you from their country, hand them over
to Simon the high priest, that he may punish them according to their law."
The consul wrote
the same thing to Demetrius the king and to Attalus[III
Philometor, the king of Pergamon] and Ariarathes
[V Philopator, the king of Cappadocia]
and
Arsaces [Mithradates I the Great, the king of the
Parthian
Empire], 
and
to all the countries, and to Sampsames, and to the Spartans, and to Delos,
and to Myndos, and to Sicyon, and to Caria,
and to Samos, and to Pamphylia,
and to Lycia, and to Halicarnassus,
and to Rhodes, and to Phaselis, and to Cos, and to Side,
and to Aradus and Gortyna and Cnidus and Cyprus and Cyrene. 
They
also sent a copy of these things to Simon the high priest.
Antiochus the king
besieged Dor anew, continually throwing his forces against it and making
engines of war; and he shut Trypho up and kept him from going out or in. 
And
Simon sent to Antiochus two thousand picked men, to fight for him, and
silver and gold and much military equipment. 
But
he refused to receive them, and he broke all the agreements he formerly
had made with Simon, and became estranged from him.
He sent to him
Athenobius, one of his friends, to confer with him, saying, "You hold control
of Joppa and Gazara and the citadel in Jerusalem; they are cities of my
kingdom. 
You
have devastated their territory, you have done great damage in the land,
and you have taken possession of many places in my kingdom. 
Now
then, hand over the cities which you have seized and the tribute money
of the places which you have conquered outside the borders of Judah; 
or
else give me for them five hundred talents of silver, and for the destruction
that you have caused and the tribute money of the cities, five hundred
talents more. Otherwise we will come and conquer you."
So Athenobius,
the friend of the king, came to Jerusalem, and when he saw the splendor
of Simon, and the sideboard with its gold and silver plate, and his great
magnificence, he was amazed. He reported to him the words of the king, 
but
Simon gave him this reply: "We have neither taken foreign land nor seized
foreign property, but only the inheritance of our fathers, which at one
time had been unjustly taken by our enemies. 
Now
that we have the opportunity, we are firmly holding the inheritance of
our fathers. 
As
for Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, they were causing great damage
among the people and to our land; for them we will give you a hundred talents."
Athenobius did not answer him a word, 
but
returned in wrath to the king and reported to him these words and the splendor
of Simon and all that he had seen. And the king was greatly angered.
Now Trypho embarked
on a ship and escaped to Orthosia. 
Then
the king made Cendebeus commander-in-chief of the coastal country, and
gave him troops of infantry and cavalry. 
He
commanded him to encamp against Judah, and commanded him to build up Kedron
and fortify its gates, and to make war on the people; but the king pursued
Trypho. 
So Cendebeus
came to Jamnia and began to provoke the people and invade Judah and take
the people captive and kill them. 
He
built up Kedron and stationed there horsemen and troops, so that they might
go out.
>> to chapter 16 >>
Antiochus VII Sidetes was in fact Demetrius' brother.
Note 2:
There was no consul with this first name in these years, and it is
uncommon to use first names. A possible explanation is a writing error:
"Lucius" instead of "Lepidus", i.e. Marcus Aemilius Lepidus Porcina, consul
in 137.
Latest revision: 6 December 2006
