20. Herod wiped out the male Hasmonean line to consolidate his power.
Mark Anthony executed Antigonus shortly after the siege of Jerusalem, as he perceived that Herod’s gratitude would make him a useful Eastern ally- and that while he remained alive, Antigonus would remain a threat. Over the next few years, Herod also took steps of his own to ensure that no Hasmonean Prince could claim the throne of Judea again. In 36 BC, he invited the deposed and maimed Hyrcanus II back from exile to live as an honored guest at his court. That same year, he killed Hyrcanus’s grandson, Aristobulus- and in 30 BC executed Hyrcanus himself.