d disorders in his family, on account of his wife, of whom he was so
very fond. For when he came to the government, he sent away her whom
he had before married when he was a private person, and who was born at
Jerusalem, whose name was Doris, and married Mariamne, the daughter of
Alexander, the son of Aristobulus; on whose account disturbances arose
in his family, and that in part very soon, but chiefly after his return
from Rome. For, first of all, he expelled Antipater the son of Doris,
for the sake of his sons by Mariamne, out of the city, and permitted him
to come thither at no other times than at the festivals. After this
he slew his wife's grandfather, Hyrcanus, when he was returned out of
Parthin to him, under this pretense, that he suspected him of plotting
against him. Now this Hyrcanus had been carried captive to Barzapharnes,
when he overran Syria; but those of his own country beyond Euphrates
were desirous he would stay with them, and this out of the commiseration
they had for his condition; and had he complied with their desires,
when they exhorted him not to go over the river to Herod, he had not
perished: but the marriage of his granddaughter [to Herod] was his
temptation; for as he relied upon him, and was over-fond of his own
country, he came back to it. Herod's provocation was this,--not that
Hyrcanus made any attempt to gain the kingdom, but that it was fitter
for him to be their king than for Herod.

2. Now of the five children
which Herod had by Mariamne, two of them were daughters, and three were
sons; and the youngest of these sons was educated at Rome, and there
died; but the two eldest he treated as those of royal blood, on account
of the nobility of their mother, and because they were not born till he
was king. But then what was stronger than all this was the love that he
bare to Mariamne, and which inflamed him every day to a great degree,
and so far conspired with the other motives, that he felt no other
troubles, on account of her he loved so entirely. But Mariamne's hatred
to him was not inferior to his love to her. She had indeed but too
just a cause of indignation from what he had done, while her boldness
proceeded from his affection to her; so she openly reproached him
with what he had done to her grandfather Hyrcanus, and to her brother
Aristobulus; for he had not spared this Aristobulus, though he were but
a child; for when he had given him the high priesthood at the age of
seventeen,