Simon Maccabeus and his two sons are assassinated at the instigation of his son–in–law Ptolemy (the Judean, not the Roman general of the same name).
However, Simon Maccabeus’s third son, John Hyrcanus, emerges from the maelstrom of the assassinations and assumes kingship. He incorporates an aggressive leadership style that includes the historically unusual forced conversion of the Idumeans (Edom) in the northeast regions of greater Israel, as well as a campaign against the Samarians (in middle–northern greater Israel) including the destruction of their temple on Mt. Gerizim.