Aided by Roman forces provided by Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony), Herod was able to capture the city and depose Antigonus II Mattathias, ending Hasmonean rule.

The Parthians invaded Roman Syria, took Judea, captured Hyrcanus and Phasael and installed Antigonus II on the Judean throne.

[5][7] Between 39 and 38 BC, the Roman general Publius Ventidius Bassus defeated the Parthian army,[8][9] sending troops under the command of Poppaedius Silo to await the arrival of Herod.

[9] Herod landed at Ptolemais and began his campaign against Antigonus with the conquest of the Galilee, marched down the coast to take Jaffa and then relieved Masada, where his family was still holed up.

He operated in Judea, Samaria and the Galilee instead, fighting against both insurgents and bandits, while sending his brother Joseph to deal with Idumaea.

By late 38 BC, reinforced by several Roman legions and having fought two years of counter-insurgency, Herod was finally able to pacify the Galilee and march south towards Jerusalem.

[10][11] Herod had pitched his camp north of the Temple, near a saddle allowing access to the city walls, the same location chosen by Pompey 26 years earlier.

[11] The besieged suffered from lack of provisions, compounded by a famine brought about by the sabbatical year,[14] but were nevertheless able to put up an effective defense.

[11][17] Herod also attempted to prevent Roman soldiers from desecrating the temple's inner sanctuary, eventually bribing Sosius and his troops in order that they do not leave him "king of a desert".

Antony, who recognized that Antigonus would remain a permanent threat to Herod, had the Hasmonean beheaded in Antioch, the first time the Romans had executed a subjugated king.