Jerusalem suffered from four sieges in the troublous days when the Asmonæan power was waning and that of Rome was being established. The first was by Haretat, King of the Nabathæans, in 65 B. C., but was lifted without result.[276] The second was that of Pompey in 63 B. C. It resulted in the capture of the city and in considerable damage. The bridge across the Tyropoeon to the royal palace was broken down.[277] The third was that of the Partisans in 40 B. C., when they captured the city and placed Antigonus, son of Aristobulus II, on the throne.[278] The fourth was that by which Herod the Great became master of Jerusalem in 37 B. C. At this time a part of the two northern walls were broken down.[279] The topography of the city was in no way changed until after the conquest by Herod, who changed the face of Jerusalem in many ways.
=17. Herod the Great.=--The first work of Herod was to rebuild and strengthen the fortress to the north of the temple. This he did at the beginning of his reign while Mark Antony was still in power in the East. He accordingly renamed the castle Antonia.[280] Herod also rebuilt and strengthened the walls which he had battered down in taking Jerusalem, adding towers to make them more impregnable. At the southwest corner of the city he erected three new towers,--Hippacus, Phasael, and Mariamne.[281] These all probably stood in or near the space now covered by the Turkish fortress at the Jaffa Gate. Hippacus was apparently the northwest tower of the present citadel, Phasael the easternmost of the towers in the same structure, which still bears the name "Tower of David"; Mariamne lay to the east of these. Hippacus was 80 cubits high, Phasael 90, and Mariamne 50. On the north of these, perhaps near the point where the northwest corner of the present city wall is, stood Psephinus, an octagonal tower 70 cubits high.
(1) _Herod's Palace._--In connection with the towers Hippacus and Phasael and on the site of the present Turkish citadel, Herod built a new and splendid royal palace.[282] Its walls on the west and north were the same as the old city walls; on the east and south, walls of the same massiveness were erected. It contained two halls, each the size of the sanctuary, with couches within for a hundred guests. There were many other richly furnished chambers. The towers and the palace were faced with marble. Stretching to the southward, of the palace were colonnades which bordered on open courts, in which shrubberies, fountains, and long walks abounded. These fountains were fed by the High Level Aqueduct.