Lecture 12- 5/6/10

Today's lecture covered Jerusalem during the Hellenistic and Hasmonean eras. During the Hellenistic period, Jerusalem was stuck in the middle of a territorial battle between the Seleucids to the north and the Ptolemies to the south following the death of Alexander the Great. Although the Ptolemies gained control of Jerusalem first and allowed for a significant amount of autonomy, the conquest by the Seleucid dynasty after the defeat of Ptolemy V at Paneas in 198 BCE brought a period of strict Hellenization to Jerusalem. This forcible conversion of the Jewish people to Greek religion and culture created immense internal and external strife, conflict that boiled over into the revolt known as the "Maccabean Revolt".

Led by Judas Maccabeus, "the hammer", the revolt brought down the Seleucid army through the use of brutal guerilla tactics and established a 100 year period of Jewish self-rule. While the revolt was hailed as a religious movement, the nationalistic ulterior motivation came out during the later attempts by the Hasmonean leaders to rapidly expand the empire, forcibly "Judaizing" conquered peoples. Eventually, the corruption within the Hasmonean dynasty (cant be both king and priest according to tradition) led to a complete loss of confidence among the Jewish people, fueling internal dissent that allowed for the end of self-rule around 63 BCE.