The Hasmoneans are a dynasty that came to power in Judea during the revolt of the Maccabees.<hr>
       The Maccabees were a Jewish family, supported by a section of the Hellenized Jewish elite, who led resistance against the policy of Hellenization practiced by the Seleucids in the 2nd century BC. They founded the dynasty of the Hasmoneans.<hr>
       Judea is the historical and biblical name for a mountainous region extending today from southern Israel to part of the West Bank. Its name comes from the Tribe of Judah, whose territory it constituted.<hr>
       Hyrcanus II or John Hyrcanus II was a high priest of the temple of Jerusalem and a king belonging to the Hasmonean dynasty. He played a role in the seizure of control of the kingdom of Judea by the Romans in 63 BC, and later enabled Herod the Great to become king in 37 BC. The latter executed him a few years later.<hr>
       Barzapharnes was a Parthian general, a people settled in the northeast region of Iran, in the second half of the 1st century BC. He assisted Antigonus II Mattathias in seizing the throne of Judea. Through cunning, Barzapharnes imprisoned Hyrcanus II. According to the writings, Herod fled with his family before becoming a prisoner of the Parthians.<hr>
       The Parthians are a people related to the Iranians who, after wandering in Scythia, settled in Parthia in the 1st millennium BC, where they constituted a warrior aristocracy.<hr>
       Aristobulus III or Jonathan Aristobulus, known in the Hebrew tradition under the name of Jonathan, born in 53 and died in 35 BC in Jericho, is the last representative and high priest of the Hasmonean dynasty. Appointed to the high priesthood of the temple of Jerusalem at seventeen, his popularity leads to his assassination by his brother-in-law, King Herod the Great.<hr>
       Mark Antony was a Roman politician and military man. He appointed Herod governor after his coronation, which made Herod a ruler of one of the four parts of Judea. Complaints were raised against Herod, but the latter justified himself only by pouring a large sum of money onto Mark Antony, who accepted without question.<hr>
       Cleopatra VII Philopator, later Thea Neotera, was a queen of ancient Egypt of the Ptolemaic dynasty born around 69 BC and died on August 12, 30 BC. She is the last wife of Mark Antony who turns away from the Roman Empire to live with her.<hr>
       Laodicea was the capital of Phrygia, a western region in Asia Minor, separated from the Aegean Sea by Lydia. Its ruins can be found in Turkey.<hr>
       Salome was the sister of Herod the Great. Enjoying her brother Herod's full trust, she played a major role in the decisions that devastated her brother's court. Through her denunciations, she was responsible for the execution of many high-ranking individuals, including members of the Hasmonean dynasty.<hr>
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