What was one effect of the Maccabean Revolt? However, the familiarity of Judea was a huge advantage for the Jewish army. [1][3], In 170168 BCE, the Sixth Syrian War between the Seleucids and the Ptolemaic Egyptians arose, for unclear reasons. The Qumran religious community was not on good terms with the Hasmonean religious establishment in Jerusalem, and is believed to have favored the Zadokite line of succession to the High Priesthood. Judah was severely outnumbered. As Judah stood there looking at the masses, so the story goes, he prayed to God for victory. The Revolt of the Maccabees. However, it greatly impacted the Near East's geopolitical situation at the time and left a legacy that can still be seen today. During the era of the Hasmonean kingdom, Hanukkah was observed prominently; it acted as a "Hasmonean Independence Day" to commemorate the success of the revolt and the legitimacy of the Hasmonean rulers. Using the slight hills and the superior knowledge of the area, they outmanoeuvred the Seleucids and slowly they picked them off. Answer The Maccabean Revolt was a Jewish rebellion against their Greek/Syrian oppressors in Israel, c. 167160 BC, as well as a rejection of Hellenistic compromises in worship. The Seleucids were bereft of hope as Judah drove the enemy out of the Holy City. Definition of Maccabean in the Definitions.net dictionary. The origin of Hanukkah is traced back to the Maccabean Revolt. He then destroyed the altar. To understand the impacts that the Maccabean Rebellion had on the Near East, it is important to examine some of the factors that led to the rebellion and the revolt itself. Daniel predicts the king will go insane; Antiochus's title, "Epiphanes" ("Chosen of God"), was mocked by his enemies as "Epimanes" ("Madman"), and he was known to keep odd habits. Still, the bribe was not enough, so he decided to loot the Temple to pay for the balance's remainder. Shortly afterward, the Maccabees won a more substantial victory at the Battle of Emmaus. Either way, Pompey put Jerusalem under a three-month siege and reduced it to direct Roman control. Among other effects, . The Maccabees avoided direct conflict with the Seleucids, but the internal Jewish civil struggle continued: the rebels harassed, exiled, and killed Jews seen as insufficiently anti-Greek. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Continuing strife between rival Seleucid rulers made a government response to formal independence of the new state difficult. [25] Alcimus was accepted into Jerusalem, and proved more effective at rallying moderate Hellenists to the pro-Seleucid faction than Menelaus had been. He appears to have done little to antagonize the region at first, and the Jews were largely content under his rule. [5] The good relations that had developed between the Jews and Greeks of Syria, though, would quickly come to an end during the kingship of Antiochus IV. During the Seleucid Period of the rule of Judea, the most important political position in that region was the high-priest of Jerusalem. The Hellenistic idea of masculinity was shown in the rule that one must be naked to enter the gymnasium. [46] The council of elders - which some see as a precursor to the Sanhedrin - ceased to be an independent check on the monarchy. The state understood this, and therefore, made it a legal requirement for anybody who could afford it to go at least once. The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ("Dedication") commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE . Soon after 167 BCE, the family of Mattathias became known as the Maccabees or the hammer. The degree to which diaspora Jews celebrated Hanukkah in the centuries after the revolt but before the medieval age is unclear and disputed, however. World History Encyclopedia, 29 Oct 2015. The Ptolemies gave the Jewish people their civil rights, and they lived contently under their rule. Judea was now free from the Seleucid rule, and the death of Antiochus VII in 129 BCE confirmed this. It has been conjectured that one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, . The Book of Judith is a historical novel that describes Jewish resistance against an overwhelming military threat. Greek Epigraphy Numismatics Archaeology Maccabean Revolt Dov Gera LAST REVIEWED: 19 April 2023 LAST MODIFIED: 30 July 2014 DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0031 Introduction In 167 BCE the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reign from 175-164 BCE) ordered the religious persecution of the Jews living in the satrapy of Coele Syria and Phoenicia. [32], From 152141 BCE, the rebels achieved a state of informal autonomy akin to a suzerain. They defeated two minor Seleucid forces at the Battle of the Ascent of Lebonah in 167 BCE and the Battle of Beth Horon in 166 BCE. Judas opted to attack the right flank of the Seleucid army hoping to kill the commander, similar to the victory over Nicanor at Adasa. Portier-Young suggests 165160 BCE for a more specific guess as to the date of authorship of the Book of Dreams on p. 388, but the matter is disputed. The events were obviously an affront on many levels to the more traditional Jews. The persecution of Antiochus IV directly contradicted this teaching: for the first time, Jews were suffering precisely because they refused to violate Jewish law, and thus the most devout and observant Jews were the ones suffering the most. [27] Nicanor gained the hatred of the Maccabees after reports surfaced that he had blasphemed in the Temple and threatened to burn it. [26] Bacchides returned to Syria, and a new general, Nicanor, was appointed military governor of Judea. [51][52] They continued to be known by Greek names, would use both Hebrew and Greek on their coinage, and hired Greek mercenaries, but also restored Judaism to a place of primacy in Judea and fostered the new sense of Jewish nationalism that had sprouted during the revolt.[4]. The Jewish people were forced to worship in secret or be exiled. Meaning of Maccabean. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Login . While the parallels are not as stark as Daniel, some of its depictions of oppression seem influenced by Antiochus's persecution, such as General Holofernes demolishing shrines, cutting down sacred groves, and attempting to destroy all worship other than of the king. [38][39][40], In 135 BCE, Simon and two of his sons (Mattathias and Judas) were murdered by his son-in-law, Ptolemy son of Abubus, at a feast in Jericho. They recruited tough Jewish people on the way and began a guerrilla war as they started to take over the northern villages of Judea. Antiochus VII sent an army to Judea at some point between 139 and 138 BCE under command of a general named Cendebeus, but it was repulsed. [106] Diaspora Jews celebrated it as well, fostering a sense of Jewish collective identity: it was a liberation day for all Jews, not merely Judean Jews. He then outlawed certain practices such as circumcision and the Sabbath. Both sides were influenced by Hellenistic army composition and tactics. While unable to directly strike Seleucid power at first, Judas's forces could maraud the countryside and attack Hellenized Jews, of whom there were many. The Seleucids besieged Beth-Zur and took it without a fight, as it was a fallow year and food supplies were meager. In this book, you will learn about the Seleucid Empire, the factors that led to the Maccabean revolt, key battles over the century of the Maccabean revolt, key players, and the effects on Jerusalem. The social structure of Jerusalem was run by the Jewish aristocracy such as the priests and the high priests. [28], Judas had been negotiating with the Roman Republic and extracted a vague agreement of potential support. If this person even existed, they lost their position after Jonathan Apphus, backed by his Maccabee army and his new alliance with Seleucid royal claimant Alexander Balas, took over the High Priest position in 152 BCE. Bacchides then returned to Syria in 160 BCE. [72] 2 Maccabees also represents an attempt to take the cause of the Maccabees outside Judea, as it encourages Egyptian Jews and other diaspora Jews to celebrate the cleansing of the temple (Hanukkah) and revere Judas Maccabeus. The situation then took an even more drastic turn when another Hellenized Jew named Menelaus paid even more for the position. She advances the view that the loss of civil rights by the Jews in 168 BCE was an administrative punishment in the aftermath of local unrest over increased taxes; that the struggle was fundamentally economic, and merely interpreted as religiously driven in retrospect. The commentary (pesher) describes a situation wherein a "Righteous Teacher" is unfairly driven from their post and into exile by a "Wicked Priest" and a "Man of the Lie" (possibly the same person). The Temple of Jerusalem was filled with Greek statues. The date of the treasury raid is disputed. The copyright holder has published this content under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Judas Maccabeus died in 160 BCE at the Battle of Elasa against the Greek general Bacchides, and the Seleucids reestablished direct control for a time, but remnants of the Maccabees under Judas's brother Jonathan Apphus continued to resist from the countryside. 36 languages The Maccabean Revolt ( Hebrew: ) was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. Other kings were Ptolemy I, who received Egypt, and Lysimachus was given Thrace. [82][100], Later scholars and archaeologists have found and preserved various artifacts from the time period and analyzed them, which have informed historians on the plausibility of various elements in the books. In the revisionist view, the heroes and villains were both Jews: a majority of the Jews cautiously supported Hellenizing High Priest Menelaus; Antiochus IV's edicts only came about due to pressure from Hellenist Jews; and the revolt was best understood as a civil war between traditionalist Jews in the countryside and Hellenized Jews in the cities, with only occasional Seleucid intervention. This repression triggered exactly the revolt that Antiochus IV had feared, with a group of Jewish fighters led by Judas Maccabeus (Judah Maccabee) and his family rebelling in 167 BCE and seeking independence. The Ptolemies gave the Jewish people their civil rights, & they lived contently under their rule. he Maccabees burned villages, forcibly circumcised boys, destroyed Greek altars, and drove Hellenized Jews off their land. The Maccabees had accomplished their pursuit of religious liberty and were going after political independence. The meaning of words is subject to change over time. The revolt was led by a country priest called Mattathias, and his military followers became known as Maccabees. These orders were universally ignored, and Antiochus had the most prominent recusants butchered. As Judas did not expect Antiochus to take this lying down, he not only marshaled the available Jewish forces but took the bold step of allying himself with Rome. From 168 to 140 BC, Judaea, now known as Israel, was in full revolt against the Greek-Seleucid Dynasty that ruled over the region. Jason, resentful, turned against Antiochus IV; additionally, a rumor spread that Menelaus had sold golden temple artifacts to help pay for the bribe, leading to unhappiness, especially among the city council Jason had established. . After the Parthians took the Seleucids possessions in Mesopotamia, the Romans incorporated Syria into their growing empire in 64 BC, which put an end to the Seleucid Empire and meant that the Hasmoneans were living on borrowed time. After the death of Alexander the Great, his kingdom was divided into four during the Wars of the Diadochi; Egypt, the Seleucid Empire, the Kingdom of Pergamon, and Macedon (including Greece). . He recruited devout Jews and sent them into Judea to concentrate his allies where they could be protected, although this influx of refugees would soon create food scarcity issues in the land the Maccabees held. As a response, he set out to exterminate the Jewish population in Judea. [54], In terms of army size, the respected historian Polybius reports that in 165 BCE, a military parade near the Seleucid capital Antioch held by Antiochus IV consisted of 41,000 foot soldiers and 4,500 cavalrymen. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Maccabean forces employed guerrilla tactics emphasizing speed and mobility. In 198 BCE, all of the goodwill of the Jewish community towards the governing body turned to hatred as the Seleucid Empire defeated the Ptolemies, taking control of all Judea. The Greeks may have thought of their culture as superior, but they also believed that it could be given to others, especially those from older, venerated cultures. Judah, a wise and courageous military general, defeated them with consummate ease. He soon became independent of the Seleucids as high priest, ruler . Our publication has been reviewed for educational use by Common Sense Education, Internet Scout (University of Wisconsin), Merlot (California State University), OER Commons and the School Library Journal. For the reprieve and donation, Antiochus VII was referred to as "Eusebes" ("Pious") by the grateful populace. "[33] The Maccabees were handed an opportunity as the Seleucids broke into infighting in a series of civil wars, the Seleucid Dynastic Wars. The Ptolemies ruled in Israel from (320-198 BC), and they treated the Jews well. As such, they focused on being able to win open battles, with additional trained heavy infantry. Beginning in 338 BCE, Alexander the Great began an invasion of the Persian Empire. [3], In general, the ruling Greek policy during this time period was to let Jews manage their own affairs and not interfere overtly with religious matters. Portier-Young 2011, p. 346352. The Maccabees ( / mkbiz / ), also spelled Machabees ( Hebrew: , Makkabbm or , Maqabbm; Latin: Machabaei or Maccabaei; Ancient Greek: , Makkabaioi ), were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. Still, both the Jews and the Greeks had a fair amount of misunderstanding that exacerbated the situation. 1 Maccabees suggests the Temple treasury was raided in 169 BCE after the first expedition to Egypt. Regent Lysias, preoccupied with internal Seleucid affairs, agreed to a political compromise that revoked Antiochus IV's ban on Jewish practices. Please note that some of these recommendations are listed under our old name, Ancient History Encyclopedia. The Jewish people were forced to worship in secret or be exiled. Hellenistic Successor Kingdoms c. 301 BCESimeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-SA). Soon after 167 BCE, the family of Mattathias became known as the Maccabees or the hammer. The Maccabean Rebellion was a conflict that pitted Hellenism against Abrahamic monotheism, leaving several long-lasting impacts on the Near East and a few that can still be seen today. [2]. These changes did not immediately appear to rouse any particular complaint from the majority of the citizenry in Jerusalem, and presumably he still kept the basic Jewish laws and tenets. [58] It is speculated that diaspora Jews in countries hostile to the Seleucids, such as Ptolemaic Egypt and Pergamon, may have joined the cause as volunteers, bringing their own local talents to the rebel army. Greek authors in the third century BCE who wrote about Judaism did so mostly positively. Toward the end of summer in 165 BCE, Antiochus IV departed for Babylonia in the eastern half of his empire, and left Lysias in charge of the western half as regent. This tactic would force Judas to respond in open battle, lest his reputation be damaged by inaction and Alcimus's faction gain strength by claiming he was better positioned to protect the people from future killings. Help us and translate this article into another language! Although many of the Jewish community were at this point Hellenized, the persecution of the Jewish people and the destruction of practicing Judaism united the Jewish people in Judea. Hanukkah would gain new prominence in the 20th century and rekindle interest in its origins in the Maccabees. In 141 BCE, Simon Thassi succeeded in expelling the Greeks from their citadel in Jerusalem. The company of Greek officers who arrived at Modi'in intending to enforce the king's ordinances addressed Mattathias first, for he was held in high esteem by the villagers. Entirely new cities were built and named after these kings (Alexandria, Antioch, Lysimachia, etc. The Romanized Jewish historian, Josephus, wrote about the event. You can read about it in the First Book of Maccabees which is found in the Apocrypha, a collection of books included in Catholic Bibles and other places. [10] A new citadel garrisoned by Greeks and pro-Seleucid Jews, the Acra, was built in Jerusalem. The Hasmoneans, while of the priestly line (Kohens), were seen by some as usurpers, did not descend from Zadok, and had taken the office originally only via a deal with a Seleucid king. We know the details of the Jewish fight against the Greeks and Hellenism from the two Books of the Maccabees as well as the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus. [8] Sylvie Honigman argues that the depictions of Seleucid religious oppression are misleading and likely false. One of the most notable and unusual aspects of the book of 1 Maccabees by absence is the lack of any direct mention of God. [61], Much of the combat in the revolt took place in hilly and mountainous terrain, which complicated warfare. The Seleucids eventually relented and unbanned Judaism, but the more radical Maccabees, not content with merely reestablishing Jewish practices under Seleucid rule, continued to fight, pushing for a more direct break with the Seleucids. World History Encyclopedia. . [79] Additionally, all those who had died under the king of the north would be revived, with those who suffered rewarded while those who had prospered would be subjected to shame and contempt. The conference was a trap; Jonathan was captured and executed, despite Jonathan's brother Simon raising the requested ransom and sending hostages. A Greek translation of the scriptures, the Septuagint, was also created during the third century BCE. He accepted a bribe and approved the takeover of Jason of the Oniad family to the now de facto client position of high priesthood. Even if it was entirely written in the first century CE, it was still likely influenced by the experience of Antiochus IV's reign. While he agreed the new find was an important discovery for the understanding of the period, Benedikt Eckhardt, a senior lecturer in ancient history at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, said the Israeli interpretation of them belonging to a refugee fleeing the Maccabee revolt was just one possibility. Modern defenders of more direct readings of the sources cite that evidence of such an unrecorded popular rebellion is thin-to-nonexistent. In 164 BCE, the Maccabees captured Jerusalem, a significant early victory. World History Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. Altars to Greek gods and idols were placed in every town, and those who did not pray to them and convert from practising Judaism were put to death. [9] Jason heard a rumor that Antiochus had perished, and launched an attempted coup against Menelaus in Jerusalem. [19] In comparison, Josephus did not want to offend Greek pagan readers of his work, and is ambivalent toward the Maccabees. His psychopathic tendency was exacerbated by resentment at what the siege had cost him, and he tried to force the Jews to violate their traditional codes of practice by leaving their infant sons uncircumcised and sacrificing pigs on the altar. The Seleucid Empire was too riven with internal unrest to stop this, and Ptolemaic Egypt maintained largely friendly relations. [82] She also argues that the moralistic slant of the sources means that their depictions of impious acts by Hellenists cannot be trusted as historical. (I Maccabees 2:27). The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167160 BCE and ended with the Seleucids in control of Judea, but conflict between the Maccabees, Hellenized Jews, and the Seleucids continued until 134 BCE, with the Maccabees eventually attaining independence. Many Jews adopted dual names with both a Greek name and a Hebrew name, such as Jason and Joshua. The sarissa was a powerful weapon; it was held in two hands and had great reach (approximately ~6.3 meters), making it difficult for opponents to approach a phalanx of sarissa-wielding infantry safely. 30 Jun 2023. Simon was appointed High Priest around 141 BCE, but he did so by acclamation from the Jewish people rather than appointment by the Seleucid king. Advertisement Answer 48 people found it helpful kgoldfarb Answer: In the aftermath of Antiochus IV issuing his decrees forbidding Jewish religious practice, a campaign of land confiscations paired with shrine and altar-building took place in the Judean countryside. In 2 Maccabees, intended for an audience of Egyptian Jews who still lived under Greek rule, peaceful coexistence was possible, but misunderstandings or troublemakers forced the Jews into defensive action. What was one effect of the Maccabean Revolt? The subsequent cleansing of the temple and rededication of the altar on 25 Kislev is the source of the festival of Hanukkah. Sign up for our free weekly email newsletter! [14] Afterwards, he and his five sons fled to the nearby mountains, which sat directly next to Modein. According to 1 Maccabees, the Seleucid Empire sent officials to the towns and villages of Judaea, including Modi'in, demanding that its inhabitants offer sacrifices to the Greek gods . World History Publishing is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. The rebellion marked the end of Seleucid control over the Levant and signaled the end of the Seleucid Dynasty. The Jewish revolt against the Greeks sets a precedent in human history - it becomes the world's first religious war. Simon would go on to establish an independent Hasmonean kingdom. In 333332 BCE, Alexander's Macedonian forces conquered the Levant and Palestine. Just before Antiochus IV died in 164 BC, Judas and his men retook the Temple on Kislev's twenty-fifth day. Josephuss passage noted two of the most immediate impacts the Maccabean Rebellion had: the celebration of the Temple's rededication, which became known as Hanukkah, and the increasing Roman presence in the region. At the same time, his son and successor, Antiochus I (ruled 281-261 BC), followed suit by building Antioch in Syria. Egypt, governed by Ptolemy I Soter allowed for Judaism in Jerusalem to flourish with very little intervening in the 3rd century BCE.
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what was one effect of the maccabean revolt
