Towards the end of 690 Pompeius in person arrived in Syria,( 15) and remained there till the summer of the following year, resolutely interfering and regulating matters for the present and the future.

He sought to restore the kingdom to its state in the better times of the Seleucid rule; all usurped powers were set aside, the robber-chiefs were summoned to give up their castles, the Arab sheiks were again restricted to their desert domains, the affairs of the several communities were definitely regulated.
The Robber-Chiefs Chastised The legions stood ready to procure obedience to these stern orders, and their interference proved especially necessary against the audacious robber-chiefs.

Silas the ruler of Lysias, Dionysius the ruler of Tripolis, Cinyras the ruler of Byblus were taken prisoners in their fortresses and executed, the mountain and maritime strongholds of the Ityraeans were broken up, Ptolemaeus son of Mennaeus in Chalcis was forced to purchase his freedom and his lordship with a ransom of 1000 talents (240,000 pounds).

Elsewhere the commands of the new master met for the most part with unresisting obedience.
Negotiations and Conflicts with the Jews The Jews alone hesitated.

The mediators formerly sent by Pompeius, Gabinius and Scaurus, had--both, as it was said, bribed with considerable sums--in the dispute between the brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus decided in favour of the latter, and had also induced king Aretas to raise the siege of Jerusalem and to proceed homeward, in doing which he sustained a defeat at the hands of Aristobulus.