the maccabees

Click on any name on the chart below for a brief description of the person's
relevance to Jewish history during the Hellenistic/Maccabean Era.
The Maccabean Era lasted from 164-63BC

The Hasmoneans or Maccabees (means "hammerer") served as political and religious leaders over Judea (and some of the surrounding provinces) for roughly a century, beginning in 164BC when the forces of the Seleucid king Antiochus Epiphanes IV were expelled from Jerusalem and the temple was purified and rededicated to Yahweh. Their influence over Judea ended in 63BC when, ironically, two feuding brothers solicited aid from the Roman general Pompey, who proceeded to conquer the region for Rome. During this time, the Maccabees were increasingly hated by their Jewish subjects, partly because they began to claim titles of power for themselves to which many believed they were not entitled, and partly because they became increasingly Hellenistic.

Read about the Maccabees from our primary sources:

The Deuterocanonical/apocryphal books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees.
Josephus's description of the Hellenistic and Maccabean era begins in Antiquities Book 12, chapter 1, which can be found here.

Mattathias the Hasmonean was the patriarch of the Maccabees, a simple country priest who became a military leader and symbol for Jewish independence when he resisted a cultural indoctrination campaign initiated by Antiochus IV in 167 BC. At that time, Judea had been under Seleucid control for three decades. The first Seleucid king to rule the region, Antiochus III, had wrestled control from the Ptolemies in 198 BC after decades of fighting between the two empires (both of which were regions of Alexander the Great's fractured Macedonian Empire- for more information, click here), and had been a generally benign ruler over the Jews. However, in 190 BC, Antiochus III lost a disastrous war to the Roman Empire at Magnesia and was forced to pay a heavy tribute that devastated the Seleucids financially. Antiochus III left a nearly bankrupt empire to his descendants. His son, Antiochus IV, sought to strengthen the weakened empire through cultural unification or "syncretism" which amounted to forcing the various peoples under Seleucid control to abandon their own beliefs and customs and become Hellenized. Antiochus's campaign was particularly brutal in Judea, where the monotheistic Jews were forced to abandon the Mosaic law and adopt idolatrous pagan practices or face death- which many did. Antiochus IV was also responsible for the infamous "horrible abomination" (referred to in 1 Maccabees and the book of Daniel), a statue of Zeus erected on the altar of the Jerusalem temple.

In 167BC, Antiochus's soldiers arrived in the Judean village of Modein, twenty miles outside of Jerusalem to the northwest. There they built an altar and demanded that the village's residents offer sacrifice to the king's gods. Knowing that Mattathias was a respected leader, he was singled out by the soldiers, who invited him to offer sacrifice in front of the gathered crowd. When Mattathias refused, another man from the crowd came forward to offer the sacrifice in his place, inciting an angry Mattathias to kill the man on the altar the king's men had built. Mattathias then ran through the village calling for those who still held to the law to join him in a revolt against the Seleucids. Mattathias died shortly after the revolt began, but he passed its leadership on to his son, Judas Maccabeus ("the Maccabee"). Judas was one of five brothers, each of whom played a role in the revolt.

John was the oldest son of Mattathias. Mentioned briefly in the biblical book of 1 Maccabees, John apparently supported his father's revolt and continued to support and fight alongside his brother Judas, although he is not specifically named. His death at the hands of the "sons of Jambri from Medaba" is narrated in 1 Maccabees 9.

Simon was the second oldest son of Mattathias, and he became High Priest after the youngest brother, Jonathan, was assassinated by Trypho in 142 BC. Simon successfully managed to remove Seleucid troops from the city of Jerusalem and to declare Judea as an independent nation, the first time it had been seen as such since the 8th century BC. Simon and two of his sons were assassinated by his brother-in-law in 134 BC. He was succeeded by his surviving son, John Hyrcanus.

Judas Maccabeus was the son chosen by Mattathias to lead the revolt after his death. In 164 BC, Judas and his forces were able to expel the Seleucids from Jerusalem and to purify and rededicate the temple, removing the "horrible abomination"- probably a statue of Zeus placed their by Antiochus IV. The feast day of Hannukah was established by Jonathan to com- memorate this event. In 160 BC, Judas died in battle with the Seleucids and was succeeded by his youngest brother, Jonathan.

Eleazar was the fourth son of Mattathias, and is briefly mentioned in the biblical book of 1 Maccabees. Eleazar apparently supported his father's revolt and continued to support and fight alongside his brother Judas, although he is not specifically named.

Jonathan was the youngest son of Mattathias, and succeeded Judas when he died in 160 BC. He was known as a fierce and determined soldier, but also as a politically ambitious leader. In 159 BC, the High Priest Alcimus died, and no successor was chosen for seven years. Jonathan, by switching political allegiances between two rivals for the Seleucid throne (Demetrius I and Alexander Jannaeus), was able to take the title of High Priest for himself with Seleucid endorsement, despite not being a descendant of Aaron. In 142 BC, he was assassinated by Trypho, who sought the Seleucid throne. According to Josephus, it was during Jonathan's reign that Jews became divided in their opinion of the Maccabees, and the various sects of Judaism (Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes) began to appear.

John Hyrcanus was the only son of Simon to survive the assassination attempt on his family that took his father and two brothers. He reigned as High priest over Judea from 134-104 BC. A capable military leader, Hyrcanus ambitiously sought to expand the borders of the newly independent (if only for a brief time) Jewish nation to those attained by David. Among the territories he conquered were the regions of Idumea (south of Judea, and the future home of Herod the Great), Samaria (north of Judea- Hyrcanus also destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mt. Gerizim), and Galilee (north of Samaria, and future home of you-know-who). Hyrcanus died in 104 BC, his eldest son Aristobulus I succeeded him.

Aristobulus I was the oldest son of John Hyrcanus and succeeded his father as High Priest of Judea for one year from 104-103 BC. Aristobulus was the first of the Maccabees to take the title "king" for himself, although he was not a descendant of David. He was succeeded in 103 BC by his brother Alexander Jannaeus.

Alexander Jannaeus was the younger son of John Hyrcanus, and the most brutal and hated ruler of all the Maccabees. He reigned from 103-76 BC. His military campaigns took a great toll on the Jews in terms of resources and manpower, so great that many of the Jews sought the outside assistance of the Seleucid king Demetrius to come into Judea and depose him. Demetrius accepted the invitation and successfully exiled Jannaeus, but was forced to withdraw from region, allowing Jannaeus to regain control. Jannaeus executed those who had opposed him, including a mass crucifixion of 800 Jews (possibly Pharisees) whose wives and children were slaughtered before them as they hung on the cross. Jannaeus lived out the rest of his reign unchallenged, and when he died, he left his throne to his wife, Salome Alexandria, rather than to either of his sons.

Salome Alexandria was the wife of Alexander Jannaeus, and only the second queen to rule over the Jews in their history. She reigned from 76-67BC. Learning from the troubles of her husband, she sought an alliance with the Pharisees, to whom she granted great power. They took advantage of this by capturing and executing all those involved in the crucifixions and executions ordered by Alexander Jannaeus (see above). Alexandria appointed her son, Hyrcanus II, as high priest of the Jerusalem temple. Another son, Aristobulus II, revolted against her. She died before the revolt ended.

Hyrcanus II was one of two sons of Alexander Jannaeus and Salome Alexandria. Although not chosen to succeed his father as king when he died in 76 BC (his mother reigned as queen), Hyrcanus II was chosen to serve as high priest by his mother. When his mother died during a revolt led by his brother Aristobulus II, Hyrcanus II was bribed by his brother to relinquish his claim to the throne and the high priesthood. Initially, Hyrcanus II agreed, but was convinced by an advisor (Antipater, an Idumean and father of Herod the Great) to rebel against his brother. The two brothers were still fighting in 63 BC when the Roman general Pompey arrived in Jerusalem and took control of the region for Rome.

Aristobulus II was one of two sons of Alexander Jannaeus and Salome Alexandria. In 76 BC, when his father chose to pass on the throne to his wife rather than to one of his sons, Aristobulus revolted against his mother, who died before the revolt ended. Aristobulus II bribed his brother Hyrcanus II to relinquish his claim to the throne, but Hyrcanus II was advised to do otherwise and revolted against his brother. he two brothers were still fighting in 63 BC when the Roman general Pompey arrived in Jerusalem and took control of the region for Rome.

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