The last of the five Hasmonean brothers. Ruler and high priest from 142 to 135 BCE. He exploited the unrest in the Syrian kingdom, whose rule was withdrawn from Eretz Israel, to obtain its recognition of Judean independence (142 BCE). In the process, he drove the Syrian-Greek garrison from its Jerusalem fortress. At a later celebratory gathering of the priest and leaders of the people, he and his descendants were given the leadership of the nation, and so he became the ruler, the high priest and commander of the army (140 BCE). He expanded the boundaries of the state by conquest of key border towns and assured Judea of an outlet to the sea by capturing Jaffa (Joppa). Jews were settled in places where idolators were expelled. The brief period of his bold and aggressive rule was one of rapid development, the First Book of the Maccabees giving the following idyllic description: "The land gave of its crops and the trees of the field of their fruit. The old sat at crossroads and they all conversed of good things, while the young dressed finely and in the panoply of war." Simeon was murdered by his son-in-law, Ptolemy ben Abubus, governor of Jericho, who wanted to seize power with the help of Syria.
