Maccabean Revolt

The Maccabean Revolt (Hebrew: ‫ )מרד החשמונאים‬was a

Maccabean Revolt
Jewish rebellion, lasting from 167 to 160 BCE, led by the
Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and the Hellenistic
influence on Jewish life.

Contents
Timeline
Studies
Aftermath
Legacy
See also
References
External links Judea under Judas Maccabeus during the revolt

Date 167–160 BCE

Location Judea (then part of Coele-Syria)
Timeline
Result Revolt succeeded[1]
In the narrative of I Maccabees, after Antiochus IV issued his
decrees forbidding Jewish religious practice, a rural Jewishpriest Judean sovereignty, later developed
from Modiin, Mattathias the Hasmonean, sparked the revolt into the independent Hasmonean
against the Seleucid Empire by refusing to worship the Greek dynasty
gods. Mattathias killed a Hellenistic Jew who had stepped
Belligerents
forward to take Mattathias's place in sacrificing to an idol.
Afterwards, he and his five sons fled to the wilderness of Judah. Maccabees Seleucid Empire
After Mattathias's death about one year later in 166 BCE, his son
Commanders and leaders
Judah Maccabee led an army of Jewish dissidents to victory over
the Seleucid dynasty in guerrilla warfare, which at first was Mattathias Antiochus IV Epiphanes
directed against Hellenized Jews, of whom there were many. The Judah Maccabee (KIA) Antiochus V Eupator
Maccabees destroyed pagan altars in the villages, circumcised Jonathan Apphus Demetrius I Soter
boys and forced Hellenized Jews into outlawry.[2] Judah's Eleazar Avaran (KIA) Lysias
nickname "Maccabbeus," now used in popular culture to Simon Thassi Gorgias
describe the Jewish partisans as a whole, is taken from the John Gaddi (KIA) Nicanor (KIA)
Hebrew word for "hammer".[3] Bacchides
Units involved
The revolt itself involved many battles, in which the light, quick
Judean/Maccabean Seleucid army
and mobile Maccabean forces gained notoriety among the slow
rebels
and bulky Seleucid army, and also for their use of guerrilla
tactics. After the victory, the Maccabees entered Jerusalem in
triumph and ritually cleansed the Temple, reestablishing traditional Jewish worship there and installing Jonathan Apphus, Judah's
youngest brother, as high priest. A large Seleucid army was sent to quash the revolt, but returned to Syria on the death of Antiochus
IV. Beforehand, Judas Maccabbeus made an agreement with Rome and became allied, tying the hands of the weaker Seleucid
Empire. Its commander Lysias, preoccupied with internal Seleucid affairs, agreed to a political compromise that restored religious
freedom. [4]
 Battle of Wadi Haramia (167 BCE)
Battle of Beth Horon (166 BCE)
Battle of Emmaus (166 BCE)
Battle of Beth Zur (164 BCE)
Battle of Beth Zechariah(162 BCE)
Battle of Adasa (161 BCE)
Battle of Elasa (160 BCE)

Studies Tomb of the Maccabees near

present-day Mevo Modi'im
In the First and Second Books of the Maccabees, the Maccabean Revolt is described
as a response to cultural oppression and national resistance to a foreign power.
Modern scholars, however, argue that the king intervened in a civil war between
traditionalist Jews in the countryside and Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem.[5][6][7] As
Joseph P. Schultz puts it:

"Modern scholarship ... considers the Maccabean revolt less as an

uprising against foreign oppression than as a civil war between the
[8]
orthodox and reformist parties in the Jewish camp."

Professor John Ma of Oxford University argues that the main sources indicate that the
loss of religious and civil rights by the Jews in 168 BCE was not the result of religious
persecution but rather an administrative punishment by the Seleucid Empire in the
aftermath of local unrest, and that the Temple was restored upon petition by the High
Priest Menelaus, not liberated and rededicated by the Maccabees.[9] Sylvie Honigman of Mattathias slaying the Jewish
apostate, painting by Philippe De
Tel Aviv University advances similar arguments.[10]
Loutherbourg

Aftermath
After the success of the Maccabean Revolt, kings of the Hasmonean dynasty continued their conquest to the surrounding areas of
Judea. Those who remained of the Jewish party favoring Hellenistic influence, forced to submit to Mosaic Law, repeatedly called
upon the Seleucid Empire for assistance. At the time, however, the Seleucid Empire was weakened by political infighting and other
wars, including against Ptolemaic Egypt, reducing their ability to reconquer Judea. In one particular instance, however, Jonathan
Apphus (son of Mattathias) was convinced byDiodotus Tryphon, a Seleucid general, to dismiss 40,000 of his men for a "conference",
which turned to be a trap. He was captured and later executed, against a deal he had made with Jonathan's brother Simeon for
Jonathan's liberation, in exchange for one hundred talents and Jonathan's two sons as hostages. Simeon was later murdered by his
son-in-law, Ptolemy son of Abubus. Afterwards, Simeon's third son,John Hyrcanus, became ruler and High Priest of Israel.[4]

Legacy
The Jewish festival of Hanukkah celebrates the re-dedication of the Temple following Judah Maccabee's victory over the Seleucids.
According to Rabbinic tradition, the victorious Maccabees could only find a small jug of oil that had remained uncontaminated by
virtue of a seal, and although it only contained enough oil to sustain theMenorah for one day, it miraculously lasted for eight days, by
which time further oil could be procured.[11]

See also
Jewish military history
List of conflicts in the Near East
Second Temple period
References
1. Maccabees (https://www.britannica.com/topic/Maccabees#ref72906) at Encyclopædia Britannica
2. Nicholas de Lange (ed.), The Illustrated History of the Jewish People, London, Aurum Press, 1997,ISBN 1-85410-
530-2
3. The Maccabees/Hasmoneans: History & Overview(166 - 129 BC) (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Histor
y/Maccabees.html) Jewish Virtual Library
4. Schurer, Emil (1891). A History of the Jewish People in the Times of Jesus Christ. 1. Hendrickson Publishers.
ISBN 1565630491.
5. Telushkin, Joseph (26 April 1991).Jewish Literacy: The Most Important Things to Know about the Jewish Religion,
Its People, and Its History. W. Morrow. p. 114. ISBN 0-688-08506-7.
6. Johnston, Sarah Iles (2004).Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Harvard University Press. p. 186.ISBN 0-674-
01517-7.
7. Greenberg, Irving (1993).The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays. Simon & Schuster. p. 29. ISBN 0-671-87303-2.
8. Schultz, Joseph P. (1981). Judaism and the Gentile Faiths: Comparative Studies in Religion
. Fairleigh Dickinson
Univ Press. p. 155. ISBN 0-8386-1707-7.
9. Ma, John. "Re-examining Hanukkah"(http://marginalia.lareviewofbooks.org/re-examining-hanukkah/3)
, The
Marginalia Review of the Book, July 9, 2013
10. Linda Zollschan, "Review of Sylvie Honigman, 'T
ales of High Priests and Taxes'", in Bryn Mawr Classical Review(htt
p://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2015/2015-08-07.html)], 2015.08.07
11. Talmud, Tractate Shabbat (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Talmud/shabbat2.html)

External links
Maccabean Revolt at Oxford Bibliographies
Maccabean Revolt at the Aish HaTorah website
Texts on Wikisource:

Book XII of the Antiquities of the Jews

Book I of The Jewish War

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Maccabean_Revolt&oldid=874004327

"

This page was last edited on 16 December 2018, at 14:19(UTC).

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.