Festivals | Chanukah
| Backgrounder - Dates and History
Backgrounder - Dates & History
Dates
| 333 BCE |
Alexander the Great conquers Eretz Israel
|
| 175 BCE |
Antiochus Epiphanes comes to power |
| 168 BCE |
Antiochus Epiphanes in Jerusalem; desecration of the
Temple; Antiochus' edicts Matityahu the Hasmonean leads
the revolt against the Greeks |
| 164 BCE |
Judah Maccabee enters the Temple and reinstitutes
the sacrifices; Reconsecration of the Temple
|
| 160 BCE |
Death of Judah Maccabee |
| 152 BCE |
Jonathan the Hasmonean leads the people |
| 142 BCE |
Shimon the Hasmonean becomes ruler and high priest |
| 135 BCE |
Jonathan Hyrcanus (son of Shimon) - ruler and high priest
|
| 103 BCE |
Alexander Yannai is king and high priest |
| 76 BCE |
Salome Alexandra (Shlomzion - Yannai's wife) comes to
the throne |
| 67 BCE |
Civil war for control of Judea; Pompey, the Roman
commander, conquers Jerusalem |
| 37 BCE |
Death of Antigonus, last of the Hasmonean kings |
The Historical Background to the Maccabean Revolt
In 333 B.C.E., with the conquest of Judea, Alexander the Great
instituted Greek rule over all of Judea and of Israel. Alexander
allowed the Jews to maintain their traditions and accorded them
religious and national autonomy.
After his death, the kingdom was divided between the Ptolemies,
who ruled in Egypt, and the house of the Seleucids, who ruled
in Syria. Both kingdoms fought for control of Judea. In 198 B.C.E.
Antiochus III, king of Syria, conquered Judea and reconfirmed
the religious and national autonomy of the Jews.
The situation changed in 175 BCE with the rise to power of Antiochus
IV, Antiochus Epiphanes, in Greece. Antiochus Epiphanes
saw himself as the representative of Greek (Hellenistic) culture
which he wished to disseminate throughout his empire.
In this period there were two positions in Judea: "Hellenists"
and "Hasidim".
- * The supporters of Greek culture, who spoke Greek and adopted
Greek customs, were known as Hellenists( See also: Hellenists.
Most of this group came from the middle or upper classes.
- * The great majority of the people remained faithful to the
Jewish religion and tradition and rejected Greek culture.
A popular movement arose of people who wished to preserve
Jewish national and religious values. They called themselves
"Hasidim". The "Hasidim" opposed the domination of Hellenistic
culture, which they realized would lead to the annihilation
of Jewish culture.
Antiochus Epiphanes wished to make
Jerusalem a Greek city. He imposed edicts against the Jewish religion,
banning Sabbath observance, circumcision and Torah study. He built
an altar in the Temple and forced the Jews to sacrifice to the
Greek gods. The Greeks also erected altars to their gods in the
streets of Jerusalem.
The resentment among the Jews grew steadily, culminating in 167
BCE with the outbreak of a revolt against Greek rule in Judea.
The rebellion, which began in
the village of Modi'in, was led by the old Hasmonean priest, Matityahu.
Matityahu slew a Greek soldier who attempted to sacrifice swine
on the altar in the village, destroyed the altar set up by the
Greek soldiers and escaped to the mountains, accompanied by his
five sons: Yohanan, Shimon, Judah, Jonathan and Elazar. Many Jews,
mainly farmers, gathered around Matityahu and his sons in order
to combat the Greeks. At the head of this army stood Matityahu's
son, Judah Maccabee.
The slogan of the Jewish fighters was: Who is like you among the
gods, O Lord (mi kamocha ba'elim hashem), a Hebrew acrostic for
the word Maccabee. The Jews fought heroically. This was a war
between unequal forces: few against many, unarmed peasants against
a regular, trained army. It was a popular, partisan war, in which
many Jews fell, including Elazar the Hasmonean.
Judah Maccabee defeated Antiochus' army and liberated Jerusalem
in 165 BCE. He purified the Temple and reinstituted the sacrifices.
On the 25th of Kislev
the Jews inaugurated the Temple and offered up the first sacrifice
to the Almighty on the new altar. The inauguration festival for
the Temple lasted eight days.
After the inauguration of the Temple, the fighting went on. Judah
Maccabee fell in battle. Following his death, his brothers Jonathan
and Shimon continued to strengthen the country. They repealed
Antiochus' edicts and proclaimed Judea an independent state.
Shimon became the first Prince of Judea, instituting the Hasmonean
dynasty. The Hasmonean kings expanded the borders of
the kingdom, which in the time of King Alexander Yannai stretched
from the desert east, beyond the River Jordan to the Mediterranean
Sea in the west, and from Lebanon in the north to Rafiah in the
south. The country extended over most of the area of historical
Eretz Israel.
The Hasmonean dynasty continued to reign also after the Roman conquest
of Eretz Israel in 67 BCE and until the death of the last Hasmonean
king in 37 BCE.