Having been denied his victory prize in Egypt by the Roman Senate, Antiochus returned home. Passing through Judea on the way, he vented his frustration on them in declaring their religion and customs illegal. He sent soldiers to destroy the City of Jerusalem. Men were killed, women and children were sold into slavery. Greek-speakers were imported to rebuild the city and make it completely Hellenist. Only Jews who could pass for Greeks were allowed back. The internal conflict within the ruling class in Judea in the midst of oppression from Antioch served to paralyze their response. Further, the seductive call of Hellenism had already subverted many. One of Antiochus' appointed High Priests had a gymnasium built near the Temple, and Jewish boys were pressured to train there -- naked, by Greek custom. This exposure was the impetus for many to drop circumcision, to avoid being distinctive from the fashionable Greeks. It was the violent reaction to these actions that brought the wrath of Antiochus. The attack came on a Sabbath, when resistance was most unlikely.
It took an outsider to find the resolve to lead against this evil. Northwest of Jerusalem stood the ancient twin cities of Upper and Lower Beth-horon. Both occupied the south bank above the same wadi. Further down that valley stood the tiny village of Modin. In AD 168, officers dispatched by Antiochus fanned out across Judea, and began forcing all to submit to worship of the god Zeus. In each place, the people would be called together. The decree against Judaism would be read. An altar would be constructed, and a pig sacrificed to Zeus. Then the residents would be forced to cook and eat its flesh. Aside from a few heroic examples, there was no significant resistance.
The decree required the village leadership would lead off in this sacrifice. If there was a priest, he would be required to conduct the ritual. In Modin, there lived an aging priest who vociferously refused to take part. This in spite of offers of power and wealth. When the village elder stepped up to do it, the old priest snatched the ceremonial knife from him and stabbed the man. He then turned and killed the Syrian officer sent from Antiochus. The old priest was named Mattathias.
Naturally, this was an act of rebellion and warranted execution. The old man fled with his family into the Judean Highlands. This had been David's refuge fleeing from Saul. From this base, they went about destroying the other altars, sending collaborators fleeing, and circumcising Jewish boys, among other things. As with David, many chose to join the rebel force. Before long the old priest died, but he passed on his passion and vision to his sons. The third was named Judas, who organized an armed resistance. They conducted guerilla raids on the Syrian soldiers of Antiochus. The hit and run raids gained him the nickname of "Hammer" -- in Hebrew maqqaba, now usually spelled Maccabees. In a complete under-estimation of Jewish resolve, Antiochus sent a rather small force to counter this armed revolt. This force was quickly slaughtered, and he sent a much larger unit. This army, too, was defeated. The combat leadership of Judas Maccabees was legendary.
Within seven years, the rebels had completely delivered Jerusalem. The Temple was cleansed in 164 BC, giving birth to the celebration today known as Hannukah. The candles symbolize the dramatic entrance into the temple of the light of God's presence returning, three years to the day from its profaning. The battles continued for some time. During the next two decades, Antiochus IV died. When a contest broke out over succession to the Selucid throne, the current leader of the brothers, Jonathan, took the opportunity to favor one of the claimants sufficiently to win. This was Demetrius, who in exchange gave in to Judean demands in 142 BC. By that time, the leadership had passed through the five sons of Mattathias to Simon, as each of the others had died in battle. His main problem was driving out the supporters of an opponent of Demetrius still vying for the throne.
Simon's success against that opponent brought universal acclaim from the Jews. Having made Judea essentially independent under Selucid protection, he was proclaimed both ruler and High Priest around 140 BC. We refer to this dynasty as the Hasmoneans, a name derived from the Hebrew phrase for "following Mattathias." From here on out, things get rather muddy and complicated. Another Selucid rises up with no respect for the Hasmoneans, and there is more war. Simon is murdered, and his adult sons are assassinated. The surviving third son is the next to hold the office of High Priest. His name was John Hyrcanus.
As the power of the Syrians ebbed and flowed, this John Hyrcanus managed to conquer much of David's old realm. He destroyed the rival Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim. When he had humbled the Idumaeans (formerly called Edomites) he forced them to accept circumcision. This turned out to be the path of doom for Judea's independence. Also, during his reign we see the rise of the Pharisees and Sadducess. John favored the latter before he died in 105 BC. His son was even more ignoble. John had split his office, giving his wife civil control, and his son Aristobulus the high priesthood. This son seized the civil control, and had his mother and brothers thrown in prison. He assumed the actual title of King. His life ended a short year later, and his eldest surviving brother, Alexander Jannaeus became High Priest. Alexander expanded the territory in spite of his incompetence in battle. His feuding with the Pharisees saw bloodshed, and he died in 78 BC.
Following a previous pattern, but with more success this time, Alexander left his wife Salome in charge of civil government. She ruled by the advice of the Pharisees her husband had hated. Her son Hyrcanus II was High Priest, and after her death in 69 BC, he fought with his brother, Aristobulus II. The civil war continued until 63 BC, when it brought Rome's attention. By now Judea was within the Roman Empire. The Selucid realm had been divided up between petty rulers, clients of Rome. In keeping with their pattern of conquest, Rome drafted soldiers from Syria. These Syrian conscripts were the bulk of Roman troops in Judea from that time. Their appearance in Jerusalem to keep the peace was the end of Judean independence. The first Roman commander favored Aristobulus, but the next -- Pompey -- favored Hyracanus. In 63 BC, the Roman troops marched into the city, as the Hyrcanus held the gates open. However, it took three months to break through the fortified Temple Mount where Aristobulus holed up, and many defenders died. In the process, the Idumaeans, still circumcised, were brought in on the party. By struggling so hard to gain their own position, the brothers jeopardized the future of Judea by involving foreigners. The Hasmonean Household was whittled down through assassinations, executions and battle with these resurgent Idumeans. Herod was their king, and beginning around 37 BC, he committed most of the murders, and even forcibly married into the dynasty to enable a more or less legitimate claim to the throne as the surviving relative. Having murdered his wife, he later murdered his own sons by that marriage. By 7 BC, no more Hasmoneans lived.
Note that Herod wisely renovated the Temple for the Jews, but inside the fortress on the north wall, now staffed by mostly Syrian conscripts of Rome, he lavished great expense on a shrine to emperor worship. He hardly winced at the idea of murdering huge numbers of his subjects, which happened at least once during his reign. He died in 4 BC.
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Ed Hurst
11 September 2005
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