Aristobolus I, Judah

   Hasmonean king of Judea 104–103 BC. The ethnarch and high priest HYRCANUS I was succeeded by his son Aristobolus I, who ruled for only one year before he died. His father meant him to be high priest, but he seized secular power, imprisoned his mother and brothers and took the title of king, the first of the Hasmonean dynasty to do so. At about this time Galilee was occupied and annexed to Judea, but it is uncertain whether this was done before or after the death of Hyrcanus I.