1   Antiochus son of King Demetrius sent a letter from overseas to Simon the high priest and ethnarch of the Jews, and to the whole nation. 2   The contents were as follows:

  King Antiochus to Simon, High Priest and Ethnarch, and to the Jewish nation, greeting.

   3   Whereas certain traitors have seized my ancestral kingdom, I have now decided to assert my claim to it, so that I may restore it to its former condition. I have raised a large body of mercenaries and fitted out ships of war. 4   I intend to land in my country and to attack those who have ravaged my kingdom and destroyed many of its cities. 5   Now therefore I confirm all the tax remissions which my royal predecessors granted you, and all their other remissions of tribute. 6   I permit you to mint your own coinage as currency for your country. 7   Jerusalem and the temple shall be free. All the arms you have prepared, and the fortifications which you have built and now hold, shall remain yours. 8   All debts now owing to the royal treasury and all future liabilities thereto shall be cancelled from this time on for ever. 9   When we have re-established our kingdom, we shall confer the highest honours upon you, your nation and temple, to make your country's greatness apparent to the whole world.

The high-priesthood of Simon

10   In the year 174, ^note Antiochus marched into his ancestral domain, and all the armed forces came over to him, leaving very few with Trypho. 11   Antiochus pursued him, and Trypho came as a fugitive to Dor by the sea. 12   He knew that his position was desperate now that all his troops had deserted. 13   Antiochus, at the head of a hundred and twenty thousand trained soldiers and eight thousand horsemen, laid siege to Dor. 14   He encircled the town, and his ships joined in the blockade from the sea. He thus exerted heavy pressure on it from both land and sea, and prevented anyone from leaving or entering.

15   Numenius and his party arrived from Rome with a letter to the various kings and countries, which read as follows:

   16   Lucius, Consul of the Romans, to King Ptolemy, greeting.

   17   Envoys have come to us from our friends and allies the Jews, sent by Simon the High Priest and the Jewish people, to renew their original treaty of friendship and alliance. 18   They brought a gold shield worth a thousand minas. 19   We have decided, therefore, to write to the kings and countries, requiring them to do no harm to the Jews, nor make war on them or their cities or their country, nor ally themselves with those who so make war. 20   And we have decided to accept the shield from them. 21   If therefore any traitors have escaped from their country to you, hand them over to Simon the High Priest to be punished by him according to the law of the Jews.

22   The same message was sent to King Demetrius, to Attalus, Ariarathes, 23   Arsakes, Sampsakes, and the Spartans, and also to the following places: Delos, Myndos, Sicyon, Caria, Samos, Pamphylia, Lycia, Halicarnassus, Rhodes, Phaselis, Cos, Sidé, Aradus, Gortyna, Cnidus, Cyprus, and Cyrene. 24   A copy was sent to Simon the high priest.

25   King Antiochus laid siege to Dor for the second time, ^note and launched repeated attacks against it; he had siege-engines constructed, and blockaded Trypho, preventing all movement in or out of the town.

26   Simon sent Antiochus two thousand picked men to assist him, with silver and gold and much equipment; 27   but he refused the offer.

The high-priesthood of Simon He repudiated all his previous agreements with Simon and broke off relations. 28   He sent Athenobius, one of the Friends, to parley with him. This was his message: ‘You are occupying Joppa and Gazara and the citadel in Jerusalem, cities that belong to my kingdom. 29   You have laid waste their territories, and done great damage to the country, and have made yourselves masters of many places in my kingdom. 30   I demand the return of the cities you have captured and the surrender of the tribute exacted from places beyond the frontiers of Judaea over which you have assumed control. 31   Otherwise, you must pay five hundred talents of silver on their account, and another five hundred as compensation for the destruction you have caused and for the loss of tribute from the cities. Failing this, we shall go to war with you.’

32   Athenobius, the King's Friend, came to Jerusalem, and when he saw the splendour of Simon's establishment, the gold and silver vessels on his sideboard, and his display of wealth, he was amazed. 33   He delivered the king's message, to which Simon replied: ‘We have not occupied other people's land or taken other people's property, but only the inheritance of our ancestors, unjustly seized for a time by our enemies. 34   We have grasped our opportunity and have claimed our patrimony. 35   With regard to Joppa and Gazara, which you demand, these towns were doing a great deal of damage among our people and in our land. For these we offer one hundred talents.’

36   Athenobius answered not a word, but went off in a rage to the king; he reported what Simon had said, and described Simon's splendour and all the things he had seen. The king was furious.

37   Meanwhile Trypho boarded a ship and made good his escape to Orthosia. 38   The king appointed Kendebaeus as commander-in-chief of the coastal zone, and gave him infantry and cavalry. 39   He instructed him to blockade Judaea, to rebuild Kedron and strengthen its gates, and to make war on our people, while he himself continued the pursuit of Trypho. 40   Kendebaeus arrived in Jamnia and began to harass our people by invading Judaea, and by capturing and killing the inhabitants. 41   He rebuilt Kedron, stationing cavalry and troops there to sally out and patrol the roads of Judaea, in accordance with the king's instructions.

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