The Maccabees - World History

The Maccabees ( 175 ) Antiochus IV persecutes Judaism and Judas Maccabee rebels.

The Jews had been away from historical events for many years. They had accommodated themselves to Persian rule, Alexander passed through Judea without causing a stir, then after a few hustles Judea was left to the Ptolemies, who ruled gently, and finally, when they saw that Antiochus III had the upper hand, the Jews they sided with him and after the Fifth Syrian War they were well treated. Things in Canaan were more or less as at the beginning of this period: Jews populated Judea, and to the north, in the territory that was once Israel, were the Samaritans, who practiced a primitive version of the Israelite religion, untouched by modifications. that Judaism incorporated in Babylon. Jews and Samaritans regarded each other as heretics and radically hated each other. To the north of Samaria was Galilee, where some Jews also lived, but the population was mostly Gentiles. The old idolatries against which the Jews had always abhorred had long since disappeared, but in their place a much more dangerous idolatry had come to their lands: Greek culture. Greek customs were spreading throughout the world. Even the Romans, who defeated the Greeks in battle, were defeated by the Greeks in the cultural field, and were adopting the Greek forms in religion, literature, customs, etc. The process of Hellenization in Judea had been slow when it depended on Egypt, but it accelerated under the Seleucids. At the same time, the more conservative Jews were shocked to see some of their fellow citizens Hellenized and clung radically to the old ways.

Antiochus IV inherited his brother's monetary problems and continued to see a possible remedy in the temple of Jerusalem. He did not like the priest Onias III, perhaps because of his determination not to give up the treasures or perhaps because Antiochus IV had heard rumors of his dealings with Heliodorus. The case was that Onias III's brother, named Josué, proposed a pact to Antiochus IV: he could name him high priest (which would give him great power over the Jews and the opportunity to enrich himself) and in exchange he would give him a part generous from the Temple treasury. To further tempt Antiochus IV, he promised that he would promote Greek culture in Judea. He himself decided to change his Hebrew name from Joshua to the Greek name of Jason.

Antiochus accepted the deal. in 175 Onias III was taken under arrest to Antioch and Jason held the high priesthood. He soon began to fulfill his part of the bargain. Antiochus IV obtained the money from him and Jason created a gymnasium in Jerusalem, where young people came to exercise in the Greek manner. Conservative Jews were shocked by the arrest of Onias III and the looting of the Temple, but what shocked them most was the gym. Greek tradition required athletes to exercise in the nude, and public nudity was immoral for Jews. Moreover, many young men put on false foreskins so as not to show that they were circumcised, thus denying the fundamental hallmark of Judaism. For his part, Jason pocketed the profits generated by the gym.

In 173 Cleopatra, the mother of Ptolemy VI, died, but the king was still a minor and fell under the influence of generals who dreamed of recovering the territories lost in the last Syrian war, and so Egypt began to prepare for an offensive.

In 172 King Eumenes II of Pergamum alerted the Romans to the intentions of King Perseus of Macedonia, and Rome soon launched the Third Macedonian War. Perseus counted the Greeks and the Bitinians as allies, but they soon came to the conclusion that it was not a good idea to confront Rome. Despite this, Perseus prepared to fight alone and assembled the largest army that Macedonia had formed since the time of Alexander the Great. With him he resisted the armies sent by Rome for several years.

A cousin of Jason named Onias, but who, following the path marked out by his relative, came to be called Menelaus, offered Antiochus IV another portion of the Temple treasury if he appointed him high priest, and the king accepted again.

Parthia was still ruled by the descendants of Arsaces, all of whom officially took the name Arsaces upon accession, but were often known by their true names as well. For example, in 171 Arsaces V or Phraates I died and Arsaces VI or Mithridates I ascended the Parthian throne . Parthia was theoretically part of the Seleucid Empire, but since Antiochus III died that meant nothing in practice. It did not take long to extend its territory at the expense of Bactria.

In 170 King Farnaces I of Pontus died and was succeeded by his brother Mitrídades IV.Meanwhile, Onias III had the courage to publicly denounce the prevarications of Jason and Menelaus, and immediately took refuge in a Greek temple in a suburb of Antioch. It seems that Menelaus bribed the district governor to convince Onias III to leave the temple, promising him safety, but he was assassinated as soon as he left. In Judea there were convulsions and disputes over who was or should be the high priest. Antiochus IV paid no attention, for with the money he had raised from the Jerusalem temple and from other sources he was raising an army with which he hoped to restore his empire to its former splendor.

Egypt gave him the excuse to start his campaign. In response to a minimal attack, Antiochus IV marched on Memphis, where he captured Ptolemy VI and declared himself king of Egypt. But Alexandria did not surrender, and he was made king Ptolemy VII, brother of Ptolemy VI. in 169Antiochus IV marched on Alexandria and laid siege to it, but then received the news that Jason had tried to wrest the high priesthood from Menelaus by force, and that Jerusalem was in a state of civil war. Antiochus IV's army, 550 kilometers from their borders, could not afford to have their lines of communication disrupted, so the king was forced to rush back to Judea, where he himself entered the temple at the head of a armed contingent and took whatever was of value.

In 168 Rome sent to Macedonia Lucio Emilio Paulo, son of the consul who had died in Cannae. He forced Perseus to engage in combat at Pydna, on the Aegean coast of Macedonia. It would be the last time the phalanx would face the legion. Paulo ordered his men to enter the cracks that were accidentally produced in the phalanx as soon as they appeared. The phalanx was neutralized and the Romans won a complete victory. Paulo received the nickname Macedonian.

Rome decided to definitively end Macedonia. Perseus was taken prisoner to Rome, where he later died. The monarchy was abolished and the territory was divided into four republics. He carried out several punitive operations in Greece because some Greek cities showed sympathy for Perseus. The Achaean League was pro-Roman, but a part of its component cities proposed that the League remain neutral during the Macedonian War. Rome preferred it that way because she wasn't sure she could trust the Greeks, but then she decided to punish them for their lukewarmness. A thousand of her leading men were taken to Rome as hostages. Among them was Polybius, that he had led a contingent of cavalry that the Achaean League had sent to the aid of the Romans, but this was not taken into account because Polybius was known to have been one of the main supporters of neutrality. However, Polybius was a cultured man who soon became friends with Paulo Macedónico and became the tutor of his children.

King Prusias II of Bithynia had not dared to support his brother-in-law Perseus and had remained neutral during the Second Macedonian War. Just in case the Romans did not find mere neutrality acceptable, he himself traveled to Rome and fell at the feet of the senators, some of whom he had previously presented with good samples of Bithynian gold. Roman support allowed him to expand his kingdom at the expense of Cappadocia.

Antiochus IV decided to free Ptolemy VI, and let him return to Egypt with an army, hoping that he would reclaim the throne from his brother and Egypt would be embroiled in civil war. However, the two brothers agreed to rule together, so Antiochus IV, irritated, marched again on Egypt and reached the capital again, but in the meantime it had asked Rome for help. Rome was busy in Macedonia, and did not send an army. Instead, when Antiochus IV arrived before the walls of Alexandria, a Roman ambassador came out to meet him. Antiochus recognized an old friend from the days when he had lived in Rome and dismounted from his horse to greet him with joy, but the ambassador was there to tell him only that if he did not leave Egypt he would have to face a war with Rome. Stunned, Antiochus IV asked for time to consider it, but the ambassador drew a circle around the king and said:"Think about it before you go through this circle."

Antiochus IV had marched victoriously through Egypt, and had an army with which he would undoubtedly have taken Alexandria, but had to turn back before a single unarmed Roman. There have been few such dramatic humiliations in history. In 167, back in Antioch, he decided that if the Romans had humiliated him, the Jews would not. He decreed that the temple in Jerusalem should be consecrated to Zeus, identified with Yahveh, and that sacrifices be made on his altar in the Greek manner. Jewish scriptures were to be destroyed, regulations concerning food and the Sabbath abolished, and circumcision was prohibited.

Conservative Jews were quick to rebel. The spark broke out in the small town of Modin, outside the limits of Judea, where an old priest named Mattathias had retired with his five sons. The third of these sons was to be the most famous, and was known as Judas Maccabee, so the whole family ended up being known as "the Maccabees". The other brothers were called Juan, Simón, Eleazar and Jonathan.When an officer of Antiochus IV came to Modin willing to have the new laws applied, he asked Mattathias as an eminent Jewish leader to set an example by performing a sacrifice to Zeus according to the Greek custom. Mattathias refused, and when another Jew offered to carry out the royal order, Mattathias killed him and the Seleucid officer.

The family immediately fled to the Gofna mountains, and were soon joined by other Jews opposed to the new laws, thus forming a guerrilla band. Mattathias soon died, and Judas Maccabee was left in command. They were soon joined by bands of Hasidians (pious), the most conservative section of Judaism, who had no political interest, and only took up arms now that he was prohibited from professing his religion. The Gofna mountains were in Samaritan territory, and the region's governor, Apollonius,he hastened to deal with the insurgents, but he thought it would be an easy thing and did not take many precautions. His army was taken by surprise in an ambush and Apollonius was killed.

Around this time the priests made up many stories about Jews once martyred for their religion and how Yahweh had helped and rewarded them duly. This is how the book of Judith and the book of Daniel arose, which, together with two books on the Maccabees, completed the biblical texts. The book of Daniel contains several stories that were first attributed to Abraham (although their origin was much later than the time of the patriarch), but which were updated and set at the time of the exile in Babylon. Actually there were five books about the Maccabees, but the remaining three were totally fictitious and were not included in the Bible.

The Roman Senate decreed that Roman citizens were free from direct taxes. Rome had enough to supply itself with the rents of the provinces and the spoils of war. He also took action against the island of Rhodes. Although she had been an ally of Rome, she seems to have faltered in the war against Perseus, so Rome established a trading port on Delos and diverted her trade there, dealing a severe blow to the Rhodian economy. Around this time , an astronomer who established such firm mathematical foundations for the geocentric theory (according to which the Sun and the other planets revolve around the Earth) was on the island , that it remained undisputed for seventeen centuries.

In 166 Antiochus IV sent a larger army to Jerusalem, but was ambushed by Judas Maccabeus again and the new army was destroyed like the old one. Antiochus IV was again running out of funds, so he decided to go east to recover some territory to exploit. He left the Jewish war in charge of his minister De he Lysias. In 165 Lysias assembled an army at Emmaus,halfway between Jerusalem and the territory controlled by the Maccabees. Judas remained waiting, since his 3,000 men were not enough to face the army of Lysias. He ended up getting impatient, but he made a mistake. He divided his army, and sent only half in search of the Maccabees. Then Judas made a surprise attack on the party that had remained in Emmaus, and then surprised the unsuccessful returning part of the expedition. That same year Lysias had a new army that was again defeated.

The victories of the Maccabees had drawn enough Jews to their side to try to take Jerusalem. Seleucid forces and Hellenized Jews still controlled the city's fortified posts, but in 165 the Maccabees managed to seize the Temple. Judas Maccabee proceeded to consecrate it again, purifying it from the Seleucid desecration. He tore down the altar where pigs had been offered to Zeus and burned the stones. He built a new altar, fitted it with new sacred vessels, and the proper sacrifices were made. Jews still celebrate the anniversary of this consecration today.

Next, Judas Maccabee and his brother Simon , marched north with their armies and little by little they were destroying all the Seleucid domain of the region.

In 164 Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VII quarreled, and the latter expelled the former to Cyprus, but in 163 Ptolemy VI managed to regain control of Egypt and installed his brother in Cyrene.

That same year King Ariarates IV of Cappadocia died, and was succeeded by his son Ariarates V. Antiochus IV also died in Persia, probably of tuberculosis. In principle, the succession fell to his son Antiochus V, who was only nine years old, but a cousin of his claimed the right to the throne. Indeed, Seleucus IV had had a son, named Demetrius, who had been held hostage in Rome as his uncle Antiochus IV, but now he had managed to escape and gained some supporters among the Seleucid generals. Antiochus V was actually the asset of Lysias, who became his tutor to govern the Empire.

In 162 a larger Seleucid army faced the Maccabees at Betzacaría.The army had an elephant with them, and Eleazar thought that Antiochus V himself would ride on it, so he rushed at him and stabbed him through the belly, but the elephant fell on Eleazar and killed him. After all, the king was not riding the elephant. For the first time, Judas Maccabee was defeated, and he had to lead the remnants of his troops into the Gofna Hills again, while the Seleucid forces reoccupied Jerusalem. This time they were careful not to interfere in the Temple. Lysias did not want conflict with the Jews because he needed to concentrate his forces against Demetrius. However, that same year Demetrius managed to assassinate him and King Antiochus V, to then lead the Empire as Demetrius I.His first steps were aimed at winning the friendship of Rome through gifts. He then tried to control Judea in a less drastic way than his predecessors. The Jews claimed that since Solomon made Zadok High Priest, the office had remained uninterruptedly in his family. Even upon returning from exile in Babylon, he was appointed High Priest Joshua, who presumably belonged to the lineage of Zadok. Demetrius I found the right man to put in charge of the Temple. He appointed Eliakim high priest , who was accepted by the Jews as being of the lineage of Zadok and, at the same time, was a supporter of Greek culture, to the point that he adopted the Greek name of Alcimus.The Hasidians immediately gave up the fight, and only a small group of radicals in the Gofna, led by the Maccabees, remained. At first they were not a big problem, but Judas Maccabee had an extremely dangerous idea for Demetrius I: ask Rome for help. Book I of the Maccabees contains a very interesting passage because it shows the image that the world had of Rome at the time (the text contains exaggerations and inaccuracies):

And Judas heard about the reputation of the Romans, and that they were powerful, and they lent themselves to everything that was asked of them, and that they had made friends with all those who had wanted to join them, and that their power was very great. He had also heard of his wars, and of the feats they made in Galatia, of which they had ruled and made it their tributary; and of the great things done in Spain, and how they had become masters of the silver and gold mines that are there, conquering the whole country with the efforts of their prudence and perseverance, who had also subjugated remote regions, and destroyed kings who at the extremities of the world had moved against them, having struck them down entirely,[...] [he also speaks of Antiochus, Eumenes and the Greeks],but that with his friends, and with those who trustfully entrusted themselves into his hands, they kept friendship, and that they had lorded it over the kingdoms, whether they were neighbors or distant, because all who heard their name feared them; that those to whom they wanted to give help so that they could reign, reigned in effect; and on the contrary, they took the kingdom from whom they wanted; and that, in this way, they had risen to great power; that nonetheless none of them girdled his head with a crown, nor wore purple to exalt himself, and that they had formed a Senate composed of three hundred and twenty people, and that public affairs were dealt with in this council every day, in order that the convenient;[actually two] so that the whole state governed, and that all obeyed only one, without envy or jealousy among them. [I Mac. VIII, 1-16]

Demetrius I hastened to take action on the matter before Rome could intervene. In 161 he sent his general De he Bacchides to the Gofna hills with an army that overwhelmed the rebels. Judas Maccabee died in battle, and his brothers Jonathan and Simon were able to rescue his body and bury him in Modin.

In 160 the Indian chronicles speak of a King Milinda, who was actually Menander, lieutenant of King Demetrius of Bactria, who made an expedition to India and founded a kingdom with its capital in Singala. Menander converted to Buddhism. Apparently, there were other Hellenistic kingdoms in India at this time.

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