biography
pronunciation:
[heerkaynus]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (2nd-c BC)
|
| biography:
| High priest of Israel, and perhaps also a king subject to Syrian control (c.134–104 BC), the son of the high priest Simon, and in the line of Hasmonean priestly rulers. He consolidated his own hold over Israel, destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mt Gerizim, and forced the Idumeans (residents of S Judea) to adopt Judaism. Eventually he supported the Sadduceans against the Pharisees, who opposed his combination of political and religious leadership. |
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