Editing Demetrius III Eucaerus (section)

===Judaean campaign===

Following the defeat of Alexander Jannaeus at the hands of the Nabataeans, Judaea was caught in a civil war{{sfn|Bar-Kochva|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=1bowDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA138 138]}} between the king and a religious group called the [[Pharisees]].{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 175}} According to Josephus, Alexander Jannaeus' opponents persuaded Demetrius III to invade Judaea as it would be conquered easily owing to the civil war.{{sfn|Atkinson|2016b|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=r3BYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 48]}} Josephus gave two accounts regarding the numerical strength of Demetrius III; in ''Antiquities of the Jews'', the Syrian king had 3,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. In the Jewish War, Demetrius III commanded 3,000 cavalry and 14,000 infantry. The latter number is more logical; the number given in ''Antiquities of the Jews'' could be an error by a copyist.{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 176}}

The date of the campaign is unclear in Josephus's account.{{sfn|Atkinson|2016a|p= 13}} 88 BC is traditionally considered the date of Demetrius III's Judaean campaign, but numismatic evidence shows that coin production increased massively in Damascus in 222 SE (91/90 BC) and 223 SE (90/89 BC).{{#tag:ref|Hoover considered the apparent increase a result of a poor sample coverage, and thus not an actual evidence for an increase in production.{{sfn|Hoover|2011|p= 254}}|group=note}} This increase indicates that Demetrius was securing the necessary funds for his campaign, making 89 BC more likely as the date of the invasion.{{#tag:ref|Coins of Demetrius made of lead, were probably minted during the preparations for the campaign; it is possible that Demetrius III did not have sufficient bronze to mint.{{sfn|Hoover|Iossif|2009|p= 47}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Atkinson|2016a|p= 13}} The political situation in Syria in 89 BC helped Demetrius III initiate his invasion of Judaea; Antiochus X was in Antioch while Damascus was firmly in the hands of Demetrius III and there is no indication of a war with his brother Philip I.{{#tag:ref|Historian [[:pl:Edward Dąbrowa|Edward Dąbrowa]] preferred the traditional dating; in 88 BC Demetrius III was in control of most of Syria following the death of Antiochus&nbsp;X and had Philip&nbsp;I as his only rival, making him an attractive choice for the Pharisees.{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 177}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Atkinson|2016b|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=r3BYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 47]}}{{sfn|Hoover|2007|pp= 294, 295}}

The motives of Demetrius III are not specified in Josephus's account;{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 176}} the historian gives the impression that Demetrius III helped the Pharisees free of charge, which is hard to accept. The Syrian king's help must have been conditioned on political concessions by the Jewish rebels.{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 176}} Evidence for Demetrius III's motives is provided by the Pesher Nahum,{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|pp= 177, 178}} which reads: ''[Interpreted, this concerns Deme]trius king of Greece who sought, on the counsel of [[The Seekers after Smooth Things|those who seek smooth things]], to enter Jerusalem'';{{sfn|VanderKam|2012|p=[https://archive.org/details/deadseascrollsbi0000vand/page/110 110]}} the academic consensus identifies "Demetrius king of Greece" with Demetrius III.{{#tag:ref|The historian Isaac Rabinowitz rejected this identification and preferred Demetrius I.{{sfn|Rabinowitz|1978|p= 398}} The arguments of Rabinowitz were rejected by the historian [[Hanan Eshel]], who noted that Demetrius I controlled Jerusalem, and did not need to seek its entry.{{sfn|Eshel|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=t05okj1LB3QC&pg=PA123 123]}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 177}} The motive leading Demetrius III to attack Judaea might not have had anything to do with the call of the Pharisees. If Alexander Jannaeus took advantage of Demetrius's absence in 93 BC to wrest control of Damascus, then the invasion was probably in retribution against Judaea.{{sfn|Atkinson|2016b|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=r3BYCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA48 48]}} It is also possible that Demetrius wanted to take advantage of Judaea's human resources in the struggle against his rivals to the Syrian throne. Finally, the Syrian kings, including Demetrius III's father, never fully accepted the independence of Judaea and entertained plans to reconquer it; the campaign of Demetrius III can be seen in this context.{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 179}}

Demetrius III was the first Seleucid king to set foot in Judaea since [[Antiochus VII Sidetes|Antiochus VII]] (died 129 BC);{{sfn|Dąbrowa|2011|p= 175}} according to Josephus, the Syrian king came with his army to the vicinity of [[Shechem]] (near [[Nablus]]), which he chose as the site for his camp.{{#tag:ref|An interesting find from Khirbat Burnaṭ, near modern [[Asira ash-Shamaliya]], just north of Nablus, is a coin of Demetrius, which are rarely found in [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], most of them in the north. The coin from Khirbat Burnaṭ is the only specimen found that far south.{{sfn|Bijovsky|2012|p= 147}}|group=note}} Alexander Jannaeus marched to meet his enemy; Demetrius III tried to persuade Alexander Jannaeus's mercenaries to defect as they were Greeks like him, but the troops did not answer his call. Following this failed attempt, the two kings engaged in battle; Demetrius III lost many troops but decimated Alexander Jannaeus's mercenaries and gained victory.{{sfn|Josephus|1833|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=9sA5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA421 421]}} The Judaean king fled to the nearby mountains and according to Josephus, when the 6,000 Judaean rebels in Demetrius III's ranks saw this, they felt pity for their king and deserted Demetrius to join Alexander Jannaeus. At this point, Demetrius III withdrew back to Syria.{{sfn|Josephus|1833|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=9sA5AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA422 422]}}

The account of Josephus indicates that Demetrius III ended his Judaean campaign because his Jewish allies deserted him, but this is hard to accept; Josephus probably inflated the numbers of Judaeans in the Syrian army, and Demetrius III still had enough soldiers to wage wars in Syria after he departed Judaea. It is more likely that events in Syria forced Demetrius III to conclude his invasion of Judaea.{{sfn|Atkinson|2016a|p= 14}} Probably in 88 BC, Antiochus X died while fighting the [[Parthian Empire|Parthians]], and this must have forced Demetrius III to rush north and fill the power vacuum before Philip I.{{sfn|Atkinson|2016a|p= 14}}{{sfn|Hoover|2007|p=295}} Demetrius III may have feared that his brother would turn on him and try to take Damascus for himself; if it was not for the death of Antiochus X, Demetrius III would probably have conquered Judaea.{{sfn|Atkinson|2016a|p= 14}}