him, possessed all the cunning, resourcefulness and unbridled ambition of his son Herod the Great. He had an open eye for two things—the unconquerable strength of the Rom power and the pitiable weakness of the decadent Asmonean house, and on these two factors he built the house of his hopes. He craftily chose the side of Hyrcanus II in his internecine war with Aristobulus his brother (69 BC), and induced him to seek the aid of the Romans. Together they supported the claims of Pompey and, after the