structural:scholar_edition, information:extraction, information:filtering, structural:summarization
Re-organisation of the East

The final collapse of the Seleucid Empire allowed Pompey to annex Syria in 64 BC, but its dissolution destabilised the region, while many of its cities had used the power vacuum to achieve independence. In early 63 BC, Pompey left Antioch and marched south, occupying coastal cities like Apamea, before crossing the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and capturing Pella, Jordan and Damascus.

Pompey's incursion further south, into Judea, was occasioned on account of its inhabitants, under the leadership of Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, having ravaged Phoenicia and Pompey wanting to bring a stop to it. The initial onslaught was disrupted by the Hasmonean Civil War, in which Pompey backed Hyrcanus II over his brother Aristobulus II. When he compelled the latter to surrender Jerusalem, its defenders took refuge in the Temple, which the Romans first stormed, then looted. Judea became a client kingdom ruled by Hyrcanus, while its northern section was incorporated into the Decapolis, a league of semi-autonomous cities (see map). Both Judea and the League were made subordinate to the new province of Syria.

Other organisational changes included creating the province of Bithynia and Pontus, with the rest of Mithridates' territories distributed among Roman allies. Elsewhere, Ariobarzanes I of Cappadocia was restored to his throne, while Lesser Armenia was taken from Tigranes and incorporated into Galatia, with Pompey's client Deiotarus becoming ruler of the new kingdom. Finally, Cilicia received the coastal region of Pamphylia, previously a centre of piracy, along with other inland areas and reorganised into six parts. These actions significantly increased Roman state income and presented Pompey with multiple opportunities to increase his personal wealth and patronage base.