=His Strong and Prosperous Rule.= Simon's reign was one of comparative peace and prosperity. A Syrian army invaded the Philistine Plain and took their position at Kidron, which is probably to be identified with Katrah, three and one-half miles southwest of Ekron. Simon sent a strong army against the invaders, under the leadership of his two oldest sons, Judas and John. The battle was fought in the plain between Kidron and Modein. Boldly advancing to the attack the Jewish army put the Syrians to flight, pursuing them to Kidron and the towers near Azotus, which they quickly captured. In gratitude for his patriotic services and beneficient rule, the Jews confirmed Simon in the title of high priest, general, and governor. His rule and that of his son who succeeded him were the fruitage of the earlier struggles and the calm before the storm of foreign invasion that before long again swept Palestine. Like his other brothers, Simon died a violent death. He was the victim of the treachery of one of his sons-in-law, who slew him at the little stronghold of Dôk, in the Jordan valley, on the edge of the western hills about three miles north of Jericho. =Growth of the Two Rival Parties.= Simon was followed by his son, John Hyrcanus, who drove his father's assassin from the land. With the military skill of his illustrious father and uncles he combined a strong personal ambition. This is shown not only by his conquests, but also by his employment of foreign mercenaries. His long reign of thirty-one years witnessed the development of the two great parties in Judaism, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were the expression of the conflicting ideas and ideals ever present in Jewish life, but now brought into clear relief. The party of the Sadducees comprised the high priestly nobles, whose rank, wealth, and ambitions made them conservatives and led them to support the political ambitions of the Maccabean kings. The Pharisees, on the other hand, were the party of the people. They were the strenuous champions of the law. While the question of freedom of worship was at issue, they had upheld Judas, but they cared little for political glory and preferred to submit to foreign rulers rather than to fight for their independence. They also considered it a sacrilege that warriors like John Hyrcanus should perform the sacred high-priestly functions. Hence from the days of John Hyrcanus the history of the Judean kingdom was that of a house divided against itself.