While Julius Caesar and Pompei struggled with each other for rule of the Roman Empire, a parallel struggle raged on between the last of the Hasmoneans dynasty. These complex events intertwined and set the conditions that brought about the end of Hasmonean rule, the rise of Herod, and Roman domination over the Land of Israel.

• Hyrkanus vs. Aristobulus - Alexander Yanai's sons fight for the throne
• Julius Caesar vs. Pompei - cutthroat political rivalry
• Antipater's manipulations to get Herod into power
• Hillel, the great yet humble rabbi who stood apart from it all