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Judah Aristobulus I, or Aristobulus I (; ), was the High Priest of Israel and the first Hasmonean king of Judaea, reigning from 104 BCE until his death the following year. He was the eldest of the five sons of John Hyrcanus, the previous leader. The Roman-Jewish historian Josephus states that he was the first Jew in "four hundred and eighty-three years and three months" to have established a monarchy since the return from the Babylonian captivity. Aristobulus was the first Hebrew king to claim both the high priesthood and the kingship. The Sadducees and the Essenes were not concerned about Aristobulus taking the title of king, but the Pharisees, believing that the kingship could only be held by the descendants of the Davidic line, strongly opposed this. They launched a massive rebellion, but Aristobulus died before any attempt to depose him could be made.
The major sources on Aristobulus's life from antiquity are Josephus's The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews. His reign is particularly noted for the Judaization of Galilee and the native Semitic people called the Ituraeans. Josephus, quoting from Strabo's Historica Hypomnemata, described Aristobulus's regime as kindly and "very serviceable to the Jews" on account of his conquests and the integration of "a portion of the Ituraean nation whom he joined to them by the bond of circumcision."
According to John Hyrcanus's instructions, the country was to be placed in the hands of his wife after his death, and Aristobulus was originally to receive only the high priesthood. Instead, Aristobulus had his mother imprisoned, where she starved to death, thereby securing for himself both the high priesthood and the kingship. Jewish Women’s Archive website, Hasmonean Women He then imprisoned all of his brothers, except for Antigonus, to protect himself from possible familial retaliation.
Josephus does not name Hyrcanus's wife. He states that Aristobulus and Antigonus were the eldest of the five brothers, with Aristobulus being the firstborn. The other three were Alexander Jannaeus, Absalom, and a fifth brother, whom Josephus mentions but does not name.
Josephus's Antiquities 13.319 is a quote from Strabo's Historica Hypomnemata, originally written by Timagenes, and states, "This man was a kindly person and very serviceable to the Jews, for he acquired additional territory for them and brought over to them a portion of the Ituraean nation, whom he joined to them by the bond of circumcision." This passage has been generally accepted as evidence of Josephus's reliance on Strabo and Timagenes's writings. The exact location of the confrontation and the territory that the Ituraeans occupied are unknown. Most scholars assume the Ituraean territory to be northern Galilee. According to Kenneth Atkinson, there is no evidence of forced Judaism in Galilee during Aristobulus's reign.
In his morbid state, Aristobulus fell prey to the factious influence of his wife, Queen Salome Alexandra, and conspirators. They had spread rumours about Antigonus attempting to seize the throne once he was seen in armour at the festival. Wearing a military uniform was considered unorthodox during the occasion. Aristobulus was then informed by "evil men" that his brother was sending soldiers to murder him, and Aristobulus became estranged from Antigonus after hearing this rumour. Believing the report, he lowered himself into the fortified citadel Baris, which was besieged and had defensive towers.
The majority of Aristobulus's coins were discovered primarily in the regions of Galilee and Golan, with the largest quantity originating from Gamla. By 2016, archaeologists had unearthed thirty coins at Gamla, the largest quantity to date. Most of these coins were minted during his actual reign, while a small number were minted afterward.
The Numismatics evidence does not suggest that Aristobulus assumed the title of king. There is also the possibility that the coins could be attributed to Aristobulus II (67–63 BCE), who was also a king and high priest. However, the longstanding debate has leaned more towards Aristobulus I, as new numismatic evidence indicates that Aristobulus I had his coins minted with the name "Judah".
Due to his short reign of one year, only a small number of coins bearing the name "Judah" are available. Ya'akov Meshorer categorised them into two groups. Twenty coins are inscribed with "Jehudah the high priest and the assembly of the Jews", and another seven with the same inscriptions. Each coin has a value of one prutah and bears the inscriptions in a wreath. On the opposite side, there is a cornucopia with Pomegranate between them. The inscriptions on his coins are almost identical to those on the coins of his father and his brother Alexander Jannaeus.
Doubts concerning Josephus's assertion that Aristobulus was the first Hasmonean monarch are indicated by his coins, which do not contain the title of "king." Josephus's statement also conflicts with Strabo, who states that Alexander Jannaeus was the first king rather than a high priest. However, no Hasmonean relinquished the high priesthood in favour of the kingship.
According to Kenneth Atkinson, Alexander Jannaeus faced opposition for having the kingship title minted on his coins. Alexander had many of those coins overstruck to replace the kingship title with that of the high priesthood. Atkinson considers the overstruck coins as evidence that the title of "king" was still problematic during Alexander's reign. Atkinson concludes that "the absence of any royal designation on Aristobulus's coins does not indicate that he was never an actual monarch."
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