Hasmonean dynasty: Difference between revisions

The Hasmonean Kingdom (Hebrew: Hashmonai) (140 BCE–37 BCE) , an autonomous Jewish state in ancient Judea, and its ruling Hasmonean dynasty were established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE. The Kingdom was the only independent Jewish state to exist in the four centuries after the Kingdom of Judah was destroyed by Babylonia in 576 BCE, and was one of the last prior to the modern State of Israel. It survived for over 100 years before becoming the Kingdom of Judea, a client Kingdom of the Roman Empire, in 37 BCE.

According to historical sources such as the books 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, and the first book of The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus, (37–c.100 CE), the Hasmonean Kingdom rose after a successful revolt by Jews against the Seleucid Antiochus IV. Antiochus had successfully invaded Egypt from Asia Minor, apparently without Jewish support, but after the Roman Republic intervened on behalf of Ptolemaic Egypt, Antiochus retreated and vengefully sacked Jerusalem, removing sacred objects from the Jerusalem temple, suppressing public observance of Jewish laws, and imposing Hellenistic practices.

The Maccabbee Revolt established an independent Jewish Kingdom, recognized by the de facto regional authority, the Senate of the Roman Republic, about 139 BCE, when the delegation of Simon Maccabeus was in Rome. Ultimately, rivalry between Simon's descendants, Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus, who took sides in a Roman proxy war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, brought about civil war and ended with the forfeiture of the freedom of the Jewish people, as Iudaea Province fell under the sway of Rome and was placed under the supervision of the Roman governor of Syria. Local instability, along with the upheavals associated with Julius Caesar's rise and fall, led to the installation of Herod the Great as King of a Roman client state in 37 BCE, ending the dynasty.

Background

The Seleucid Empire (territory in yellow) expanded to include Judea at the beginning of the 2nd Century BCE, at the expense of Ptolemaic Egypt (blue).

The territory of the previous Jewish kingdom had for centuries been occupied by Babylonia, the Achaemenid Empire, and then Alexander the Great's Hellenic Macedonian empire (c. 330 BCE), leaving it a province heavily contested between the subsequent satrapys of the Seleucid Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt during the six Syrian Wars of the 3rd-1st Centuries BCE: "After two centuries of peace under the Persians, the Hebrew state found itself once more caught in the middle of power struggles between two great empires: the Seleucid state with its capital in Syria to the north and the Ptolemaic state, with its capital in Egypt to the south...Between 319 and 302 BC, Jerusalem changed hands seven times."

The Seleucid-Ptolemaic conflict raged over Judea during the six Syrian Wars of the 3rd-1st Centuries BCE. Under Antiochus III the Seleucids wrested control of Judea from the Ptolemies for the final time, defeating Ptolemy V Epiphanes at the Battle of Panium in 198 BCE. Seleucid rule over the Jewish parts of the region then resulted in the rise of Hellenistic cultural and religious practices.

Historical Sources

Wojciech Stattler's Machabeusze (Maccabees), 1844

The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the books 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees, which are viewed differently by several major Western religious traditions: They are considered part of the Biblical canon by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches, deuterocanonical by most Protestant Christians, and generally reliable historical sources by Jews, although not part of the Hebrew Bible. They include historical and religious material from the Septuagint which was codified by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians.

An additional source is the first book of The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus, (37 – shortly after 100 AD/CE), who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius Josephus. Notably, Josephus, a survivor of the Roman-Jewish wars of the 1st Century AD, was a Jew who was captured and cooperated with the Romans, leaving some to question his impartiality and credibility as a historian.

According to 1 Maccabees, Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress the practice of basic Jewish religious law, resulting in a Jewish revolt against Seleucid rule. The book covers the whole of the revolt, from 175 to 134 BCE and highlights how the salvation of the Jewish people in this crisis came from God through Mattathias's family, particularly his sons Judas Maccabeus, Jonathan Apphus and Simon Thassi, and his grandson John Hyrcanus.

Seleucid rule over Judea

Hellenization

Coin of Antiochus IV. Reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. The Greek inscription reads ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ (Antiochus, image of God, bearer of victory).

Some years later, after successfully invading the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt (apparently without Jewish support), Antiochus IV attacked Jerusalem and removed the sacred objects from the Jerusalem temple, slaughtering many Jews:

"And after that Antiochus had smitten Egypt, he returned again in the hundred forty and third year, and went up against Israel and Jerusalem with a great multitude,
And entered proudly into the sanctuary, and took away the golden altar, and the candlestick of light, and all the vessels thereof...And when he had taken all away, he went into his own land, having made a great massacre, and spoken very proudly. Therefore there was a great mourning in Israel, in every place where they were."

He then imposed a tax and established a fortress in Jerusalem. Antiochus tried to suppress public observance of Jewish laws, apparently in an attempt to secure control over the Jews, desecrating the Temple Mount by setting up an idol, and forbidding both circumcision and possession of Jewish scriptures, on pain of death. According to Josephus,

"Now Antiochus was not satisfied either with his unexpected taking the city, or with its pillage, or with the great slaughter he had made there; but being overcome with his violent passions, and remembering what he had suffered during the siege, he compelled the Jews to dissolve the laws of their country, and to keep their infants uncircumcised, and to sacrifice swine's flesh upon the altar."

He also outlawed observance of the sabbath and the offering of sacrifices at the Jerusalem temple and required Jewish leaders to sacrifice to idols; punitive executions were also instituted.

Antiochus also introduces practices of Hellenistic culture, see also Hellenization, such as gymnasiums into Jerusalem. This discourages the forbidden Jewish practice of circumcision, since a man's state can't be concealed in the gymnasium where men socialize in the nude. Jews even engage in non-surgical foreskin restoration in order to pass in Hellenic culture.

Maccabee revolt

See also: Hannukah

The name Maccabee probably means "hammer" and is properly applied only to the first leader of the revolt, Judas, third son of the priest Mattathias, although it came to be used for his brothers as well. It may also be derived from the Jewish battle cry "Mi Kamocha B'elim, YHWH" ("Who is like you among the heavenly powers, YHWH!" (Exodus 15:11), which forms a Hebrew acronym "MKBY" (Mem, Kaf, Bet and Yud).

Mattathias called the people forth to holy war against the invaders, and his three sons began a military campaign against them. One thousand Jews (men, women and children) are killed by Antiochus when they refuse to fight on the Sabbath, and other Jews then reason that they must fight even on the sabbath when attacked.

In 165 BC the Temple in Jerusalem is freed and reconsecrated: "After having recovered Jerusalem, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one, and new holy vessels to be made." The celebratory festival of Hanukkah is instituted: "When the fire had been kindled anew upon the altar and the lamps of the candlestick lit, the dedication of the altar was celebrated for eight days amid sacrifices and songs," in a similar fashion to Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles which also lasts for eight days, and at which during the time of the Second Temple the lighting of lamps and torches featured prominently.

Dynasty founded

Judas sought an alliance with the Roman Republic to remove the Greeks, and was killed in battle. His brother Jonathan becomes high priest and also seeks alliance with Rome and Sparta.

When Jonathan fell into the power of Diodotus Tryphon, Simon assumed the leadership (142 BCE), and after the murder of Jonathan took the latter's place. Simon, who had made the Jewish people semi-independent of the Seleucid Greeks, reigned from 142 to 135 BCE.

Simon received the double office of high priest and prince of Israel. The leadership of the Hasmoneans was established by a resolution, adopted in 141 BCE, at a large assembly "of the priests and the people and of the elders of the land, to the effect that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until there should arise a faithful prophet" (I Macc. xiv. 41). Ironically, the election was performed in Hellenistic fashion.

Simon and his successors form the Hasmonean dynasty. Recognition of the new dynasty by the Romans was accorded by the Senate circa 139 BCE, when the delegation of Simon was in Rome.

Simon leads the people in peace and prosperity, until in February 135 BCE, he was assassinated at the instigation of his son-in-law Ptolemy, son of Abubus (also spelt Abobus or Abobi), who had been named governor of the region by the Seleucids. Simon's eldest sons, Mattathias and Judah, were also murdered.

Later generations

John Hyrcanus, Simon's third son, assumes the leadership and ruled from 135 to 104 BCE. As Ethnarch and High Priest of Jerusalem, Hyrcanus annexed Trans-Jordan, Samaria, Galilee, Idumea (also known as Edom), and forced Idumeans to convert to Judaism.

He desired that his wife succeed him as head of the government, with his eldest of five sons, Aristobulus I, becoming only the high-priest. Upon Hyrcanus' death, however, Aristobulus, jailed his mother and three brothers, including Alexander Jannaeus, and allowed her to starve there. By this means he came into the possession of the throne, but died one year later after a painful illness in 103 BCE.

Aristobulus' brothers were freed from prison by the his widow; Alexander reigned from 103 to 76 BCE, and died during the siege of the fortress Ragaba.

Alexander was followed by his wife Alexandra, who reigned from 76 to 67 BCE. Against her wishes, she was succeeded by her son Aristobulus II. (67-63 BCE), who during the illness of his mother had risen against her, in order to prevent the succession of the elder son, Hyrcanus.

During the reign of Alexandra, Hyrcanus had held the office of high priest, and the rivalry between him and Aristobulus brought about a civil war, which ended with the forfeiture of the freedom of the Jewish people. Judaea had to pay tribute to Rome and was placed under the supervision of the Roman governor of Syria. From 63 to 40 BCE the government was in the hands of Hyrcanus II as High Priest and Ethnarch, although effective power was in the hands of his adviser Antipater the Idumaean.

Fall of the Hasmoneans

File:Hasmonean-map.jpg

The Hasmonean Kingdom

In the early years of Hyrcanus and Antipater's rule, Aristobulus and his elder son Alexander made several efforts to regain the throne which were defeated by Roman intervention.

Intervention of the Romans

Pompey in the Temple of Jerusalem, by Jean Fouquet

During the civil war, the Roman general Marcus Aemilius Scaurus went to Syria to take possession of the kingdom of the Seleucids in the name of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus. Scaurus was approached by each of the brothers, who offered gifts and promises to win his allegiance. At first Scaurus, moved by a gift of four hundred talents, decided in favor of Aristobulus. Aretas was ordered to withdraw his army from Judea, and while retreating suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Aristobulus. But when Pompey came to Syria (63 BCE) a different situation arose. Pompey, who had just been awarded the title "conqueror of Asia" due to his decisive victories in Asia Minor over Pontus and the the Seleucid Empire, had decided to bring Judea under the rule of the Romans. He took the same view of Hyrcanus' ability, and was actuated by much the same motives as Antipater: as a ward of Rome, Hyrcanus would be more acceptable than Aristobulus. When, therefore, the brothers, and delegates of the people's party, which, weary of Hasmonean quarrels, desired the extinction of the dynasty, presented themselves before Pompey, he delayed the decision, in spite of Aristobulus' gift of a golden vine valued at five hundred talents. The latter, however, fathomed the designs of Pompey, and entrenched himself in the fortress of Alexandrium; but, soon realizing the uselessness of resistance, surrendered at the first summons of the Romans, and undertook to deliver Jerusalem over to them. The patriots, however, were not willing to open their gates to the Romans, and a siege ensued which ended with the capture of the city.

When, in 50 BC, it appeared as though Julius Caesar was interested in using Aristobulus and his family as his clients to take control of Judea against Pompey's puppets Hyrcanus and Antipater, supporters of Pompey had Aristobulus poisoned in Rome, and executed Alexander in Antioch.

When Pompey was defeated by Julius Caesar, Hyrcanus was succeeded by his courtier Antipater the Idumaean, also known as Antipas, as the first Roman Procurator. In 57-55 BCE, Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria, split the former Hasmonean Kingdom into Galilee, Samaria & Judea with five districts of sanhedrin (councils of law)

Thus, between the weakness of Hyrcanus and the ambition of Aristobulus, Judea lost its independence. Aristobulus was taken to Rome a prisoner, and Hyrcanus was reappointed high priest, but without political authority. This, however, was restored to him by Gaius Julius Cæsar, who made him ethnarch (47 BCE); but Hyrcanus left all authority in the hands of Antipater, who used it for the promotion of the interests of his own house. Indeed, Hyrcanus' incapacity and weakness were so manifest that, while he was defending Herod (whom he had previously saved from the hands of the Sanhedrin) before Mark Antony, the latter stripped him of his nominal political authority and of his title of ethnarch, and bestowed them upon the accused.

Caesar's victory and the Hasmoneans

After Caesar's victory in the Civil Wars, Antipater and Hyrcanus were able to gain Caesar's favor by giving him aid in his Egyptian campaign. This led Caesar to ignore the claims of Aristobulus's younger son, Antigonus, and to confirm Hyrcanus and Antipater in their authority. Although Hyrcanus was still officially in control, Antipater continued to increase his power, appointing his sons to positions of influence - Phasael became Governor of Jerusalem, and Herod Governor of Galilee. This led to increasing tension between Hyrcanus and the family of Antipater, culminating in a trial of Herod for supposed abuses in his governorship, which resulted in Herod's flight into exile in 46 BC. Herod soon returned, however, and the honors to Antipater's family continued.

Both Caesar and Antipater were killed in 44 BCE. Unrest and confusion spread throughout the Roman world, including to Judaea. In this atmosphere, Antipater the Idumean was assassinated in 43 BC by a rival, Malichus. However, Antipater's sons managed to kill Malichus and maintain their control over Judea and their father's puppet Hasmonean, Hyrcanus.

Parthian invasion

File:Coin issued by Mattathias Antigonus c 40BCE.jpg

A coin issued by Mattathias Antigonus circa 40 BCE featured a Menorah.

However, the Parthians invaded Syria in 40 BC, and decided to support the claims of Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, to the Judean throne.

The Idumean Herod the Great, Antipater's son, was designated "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in that year.. He didn't gain military control of Judea till 37 BC. During his reign the last representatives of the Maccabees were eliminated, and the great port of Caesarea Maritima was built. He died in 4 BC, and his kingdom was divided among his sons, who became tetrarchs ("rulers of fourth parts"). One, Herod Archelaus, ruled Judea so badly that he was dismissed in 6 CE by the Roman emperor Augustus, after an appeal from his own population. Another, Herod Antipas, ruled as tetrarch of Galilee and Perea from 4 BC to 39 AD.

When Phasael and Hyrcanus set out on an embassy to the Parthians, the Parthians instead captured them. Antigonus, who was present, cut off Hyrcanus's ears to make him unsuitable for the high priesthood, while Phasael was put to death.

Antigonus, whose Hebrew name was Mattathias, bore the double title of king and high priest for only three years, as he had not disposed of Herod, the most dangerous of his enemies. Herod fled into exile and sought the support of Mark Antony. The struggle thereafter lasted for some years, as the main Roman forces were occupied with defeating the Parthians and had few additional resources to use to support Herod, but after the Parthians' defeat, Herod was victorious over his rival in 37 BC. Antigonus was delivered to Antony and executed shortly thereafter. The Romans assented to Herod's proclamation as King of the Jews, bringing about the end of the Hasmonean rule over Judea.

End of the dynasty

Antigonus was not, however, the last Hasmonean. The fate of the remaining male members of the family under Herod was not a happy one. Aristobulus III, grandson of Aristobulus II through his elder son Alexander, was briefly made high priest, but was soon executed (36 BC) due to Herod's jealousy. His sister, Mariamne was married to Herod, but fell victim to his notorious jealousy. (Her sons by Herod, Aristobulus and Alexander, were also executed by their father). As for Hyrcanus, he was released by the Parthians in 36 BC and returned home, and at first treated by Herod with respect, being granted a place in the palace. As the last remaining Hasmonean, he was too dangerous a potential rival for Herod, but he too fell victim to Herod, executed on trumped up charges of bribery and treason in 30 BC.

It is worth noting, however, that the later Herodian rulers Agrippa I and Agrippa II both had Hasmonean blood, as Agrippa I's father was Aristobulus, son of Herod by Mariamne I.

Legacy and scholarship

While the Hasmonean dynasty managed to create an independent Jewish kingdom, its successes were rather short-lived, and the dynasty by and large failed to live up to the nationalistic momentum the Maccabee brothers had gained.

Jewish nationalism

The fall of the Hasmonean Kingdom marked an end to a century of Jewish self-governance, but Jewish nationalism and desire for independence continued under Roman rule, leading to a series of Jewish-Roman wars in the 1st-2nd Centuries CE, including the "The Great Revolt" (66–73 CE), the Kitos War (115–117), and Bar Kokhba's revolt, (132–135).

A temporary commonwealth was established, but ultimately fell against the sustained might of Rome, and Roman legions under Titus besieged and destroyed Jerusalem, looted and burned Herod's Temple (in the year 70) and Jewish strongholds (notably Gamla in 67 and Masada in 74), and enslaved or massacred a large part of the Jewish population. The defeat of the Jewish revolts against the Roman Empire notably contributed to the numbers and geography of the Jewish Diaspora, as many Jews were scattered after losing their state or were sold into slavery throughout the empire.

Jewish religious scholarship

Jewish tradition holds that the claiming of kingship by the later Hasmoneans led to their eventual downfall, since that title was only to be held by descendants of the line of King David. The Hasmonean bureaucracy was filled with men with Greek names, and the dynasty eventually became very Hellenised, to the annoyance of many of its more traditionally-minded Jewish subjects. Frequent dynastic quarrels also contributed to the view among Jews of later generations of the latter Hasmoneans as degenerate. A member of this school is Josephus, whose accounts are in many cases our sole source of information about the Hasmoneans.

List of Judaean Rulers

Follows is the list of Hasmonean leaders, kings, queens, and high priests beginning with Mattathias, with the dates of their individual rule:

Leaders of the Macabees

1. Mattathias, 170 BC – 167 BC
2. Judas Maccabeus, 167 BC – 160 BC
3. Jonathan Maccabeus, 153 BC – 143 BC (first to hold the title of High Priest)
4. Simon Maccabeus, 142 BC – 141 BC (promoted to prince by Rome)

Princes of Judaea

5. Simon, 141 BC – 135
6. Hyrcanus I, 134 BC – 104 BC

Kings and High Priests of Judaea

7. Aristobulus I, 104 BC – 103 BC
8. Alexander Jannaeus, 103 BC – 76 BC
9. Salome Alexandra, 76 BC – 67 BC (Queen of Judaea)
10. Hyrcanus II, 67 BC – 66 BC
11. Aristobulus II, 66 BC – 63 BC
12. Hyrcanus II, 63 BC – 40 BC (restored)
13. Antigonus, 40 BC – 37 BC
14. Herod I, 37 BC – 4 BC

Tetrarchy

15. Herod II, Ethnarch of Judaea, 4 BC – AD 6
— Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee, 4 BC – AD 39
— Herod Philip, Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, 4 BC – AD 34
16. Agrippa I, King of Iudaea 41 – 44
— Agrippa II, Tetrarch of Chalcis, 48 BC – 53
— Aristobulus II, Tetrarch of Chalcis, 57 – 92

Sources

• Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews

See also

• Maccabee
• Hanukkah
• Menorah
• Temple in Jerusalem
• History of ancient Israel and Judah

External links

• Jewish Encyclopedia: Hasmoneans