Crassus, governor of Syria, entered the Temple and looted the treasury (54 B.C.). Shortly afterwards he fell in battle and the Jews rebelled again, but the uprising was cruelly suppressed, 30,000 being sold into slavery (53 B.C.). Cæsar, who was now the ruler of Rome, liberated Aristobul to use him against his rival Pompey, but Aristobul was poisoned and his son Alexander executed (49 B.C.). Hyrcan and Antipater joined Cæsar, who confirmed the former as Ethnarch and bestowed high distinction on the latter (47 B.C.). Antipater’s son, Herod, was made governor of Galilee, and as such executed the insurgent leader, Hezekiah, and put down the rebellion. Called before the Sanhedrin for executing a citizen without trial, he defied the court, knowing that he had the support of the Romans. After Cæsar’s assassination Antipater joined Cassius, but was himself assassinated (42 B.C.). His sons, however, remained in power, and after the battle of Philippi they joined Antony, who confirmed them as governors (42 B.C.). Antigonus, the son of Aristobul, now returned, assisted by the Parthians, enemies of Rome, and was made high priest, combining again the dignity of king and high priest (40-37 B.C.). Herod fled to Rome, where he was appointed King of the Jews by the Senate. Returning to Palestine he defeated Antigonus and reigned as king (37-34 B.C.). He married Mariamne, the granddaughter of Hyrcan and Aristobul, and appointed her brother, Aristobul, as high priest. Becoming jealous of his popularity, he caused him to be assassinated soon afterward. Herod’s reign was marked by its splendor, but he was hated by the people for his extreme cruelty. He had his wife, Mariamne, three of his sons, the old High Priest Hyrcan II, and various other members of his family, assassinated. His unpopularity grew in spite of the fact that the country was prosperous and that he rebuilt the Temple in magnificent style. As a descendant of the Idumæans, whom Hyrcan I had converted to Judaism, he was considered a foreigner who held his power only through the assistance of Rome. From this time the name Edom became a synonym for Rome in Jewish Literature.