Pompey in the East

Pompey is commissioned to finish the war with Mithridates, and he rebuilds the whole east of the Mediterranean: Pontus is crushed, the remnant of the Seleucid realm is turned into the province of Syria, the neighbouring kingdoms are left as dependants. In Judea at that moment the brothers of the Hasmonean house are contending for power, and both sides appeal to Rome; Pompey besieges Jerusalem, takes the Temple Mount and — as Josephus tells it — enters the Holy of Holies, but touches none of the Temple's vessels. Judea loses her independence, pays tribute, and part of her lands are cut away for the neighbouring cities. From this time Roman power in the east is permanent.