person · P0444
Antigonus II Mattityahu מתתיהו אנטיגונוס
Son of Aristobulus II and the last Hasmonean king: set on the throne by Parthian arms in 40 BCE, he mutilated his uncle Hyrcanus to bar him from the priesthood and held Jerusalem three years against Herod. When the city fell he was executed by Marc Antony — the first king, Josephus notes, that Rome put to death this way. His coins preserve his Hebrew name, Mattityahu.
I. Who
- Hebrew
- מתתיהו אנטיגונוס
- Also known as
- Antigonus II Mattathias, Matisyahu Antigonus
- Era
- second-temple
- Parents
- Aristobulus II
II. When
- Traditional
- c. 3680–3724 AM (ruled 3720–3724)
- Academic
- ruled 40–37 BCE; executed 37 BCE
- Lifespan (traditional)
- ≈44 years
- Precision
- approximate
III. Where
- Places
- Jerusalem
V. How do we know
| Claim | Evidence | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Josephus: the Parthians installed him as king (40 BCE); he disfigured Hyrcanus's ear to disqualify him from the high priesthood; after Herod and Sosius took Jerusalem (37 BCE) he was taken to Antioch, where Antony beheaded him — "the first Roman to execute a king so." | external | ★★★★☆ | |
| His bilingual coins read "Mattatyah the kohen gadol and the chever of the Yehudim" in Hebrew and "of King Antigonus" in Greek — preserving the Hebrew name that Josephus never gives, and claiming priesthood and kingship at once as the dynasty fell. | external archaeology | ★★★★☆ | |
| AM placement (ruled 3720–3724) is schematic: conventional Josephus- based dates mapped onto the atlas timeline at AM ≈ 3760 − BCE / 3760 + CE, consistent with the Second Temple's destruction at 3828 AM. The lifespan band is widened around the attested career. | reconstruction | ★★☆☆☆ |