Fun with Holidays and History

Sun, 25 Dec 2005 07:21:16 -0600

This year, as many of you know, Christmas and Chanukah coincide more or less exactly, with the first light of Chanukah being kindled at sundown on 25 December.

The coincidence is more appropriate than most people appreciate, I think. The events commemorated by the kindling of the Chanukah menorah are direct antecedents to the events set in train by the birth of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Maccabee Rebellion against the Seleucids ultimately established Judah Maccabee's brothers and their descendents as a royal dynasty. Civil war between two rival claimants a century later left the door open for Roman annexation and the installation of Herod in their place.

The resulting discontent in the Jewish population, combined with the internal tensions between Saudecees and Pharisees, led to the rise of preachers and would-be rebels. The questionable legitimacy of Herod, and for that matter, the Hasmonean descendents of the Maccabees, none of whom were descendants of David, led people to hope for a true descendant to lead them. Jesus was born into this millieu, and less than a century after he lived, preached, and died, a full-fledged uprising led to the eviction of the Jews from Judea and nearly two millenia of diaspora.

The Rebellion of the Maccabees

In 165 BCE, the Land of Israel was a subject province of the Assyrian king Antiochus IV, who claimed succession from Alexander the Great. He had usurped the throne from his brother's son, however, and killed another son not long after.

For a couple hundred years, Israel had enjoyed considerable autonomy under first Persian and then Greek rule and had flourished. Internal tensions had begun building up, however, between those Jews who were happy to adopt and adapt to Greek ideas and customs (stopping short, of course, of Greek worship), and those who saw the Hellenistic influence as a corruption of Jewish culture and therefore, ultimately, Jewish religion.

165 BCE was a bad year, for Antiochus. Having tried to extend his authority to Egypt and Cyprus, he ran afoul of the expanding Roman Republic. The Roman envoy sent to 'negotiate' Antiochus' withdrawl grew tired of fruitless discussions and finally drew a circle in the sand around Antiochus' feet. Negotiation turned to ultimatum: if Antiochus stepped outside the circle without agreeing to withdraw, he would be declaring war upon Rome. Not willing to commit to such a war, Antiochus capitulated and withdrew.

Incensed, humiliated, and looking for someone to beat, Antiochus turned his attentions toward his subject province of Judea. The priest Mattathias had, a couple years earlier, refused to offer a sacrifice to the Greek gods at the temple, and even slain another Jew who had been willing to capitulate. He then killed the Assyrian representative and fled with his sons to found an insurgency campaign. Antiochus decided to crush this campaign, and the Jewish traditionalists, by sacking Judea and defiling the Temple.

The sacking of the temple catalysed the insurgency. Mattathias was dead, but his sons, led by Yehudah ha-Makabi—Judah the Hammer—rallied the people of Judea to a full-fledged uprising. The campaign was successful for a while, which merely fueled the idea that the traditionalists had been right all along and that G-d was on their side.

Nes Gadol Haya Sham: A Great Miracle Happened There

Judah Macabee's army recaptured Jerusalem at the battle of Beth Zur, and immediately set about restoring the Temple, destroying the statue of Zeus that had been erected and rebuilding the altar.

As part of the rededication, Judah and his followers wanted to light the oil lamps that illuminated the place of worship. But most of the oil had been destroyed or fouled by Antiochus' forces. Only one container—enough for one day's light— could be found sufficiently intact. Preparing more would take eight days. Despite this, Judah ordered the lamp lit.

The lamp burned for eight days, on one day's oil. This is, ostensibly, why the Chanukah menorah involves eight candles and a shamash—a helper.

Continued War and a New Dynasty

The reconquest of Jerusalem and rededication of the temple, however, were not the end of the war. An empire that claimed Alexander as its founder was not about to let a fundamentalist rabble have the last word if they could help it. The war lasted another two years, seeing both Antiochus and Judah dead before the end.

Judah's brother Jonathan led the Jewish forces after Judah's death at the battle of Elasa, returning to insurgency with the renewed success of the Seleucid forces under general Bacchides. Bacchides believed he had successfully pacified Judea again, and left the region. Jonathan and his followers continued to fight, mainly against the 'Hellinised' Jews, whom they saw as collaborators. Ultimately, the latter sued the Seleucid king Demetrius for assistance, and Bacchides returned.

But Jonathan was a smarter general now than he had been, and Bacchides found himself stalemated. Furthermore, Bacchides repeatedly took his frustrations out upon the Hellenists who had summoned him, driving more into the Maccabee camp. Ultimately, Jonathan and Bacchides reached a truce, and Bacchides went home.

Jonathan became the de facto ruler of a part of Judea. When conflicts elsewhere required Demetrius to withdraw his remaining garrisons from the rest of the province, Jonathan became High Priest, and recognised as a near-equal by both the Demetrius' successor Alexander Balas and Ptolemy VI, a recognition that was culminated when Alexandar Balas named Jonathan governor of the province, essentially granting Judea autonomy.

Jonathan was never crowned king, but ruled as one until 145BCE, when he was tricked, captured, and ultimately killed by Assyrian forces. His brother Simon was named both High Priest and Prince by a council gathered in 141BCE. Simon's title was recognised by the Roman Senate, which was enough to secure Israel's independence for a time. Although the Assyrian kings would never really recognise the Hasmonean title, they would never again be able to successfully challenge it.

Civil War and Roman Occupation

The title of king was seen by many Jews as being reserved for decendants of David, which the Hasmoneans were not. As a result, both Simon and his son John styled themselves 'nasi'—prince. Jonathan's grandson, Aristobulus, declared himself 'melech'—king, and all his successors retained this.

Aristobulus' successor was his brother, commonly named Alexander Jannaeus but whose Hebrew name was likely Jonathan, like his great-uncle. In the Talmud, he is remembered as the tyrant 'Yannai', for he was a strong partisan of the aristocratic Sauducees, and is remembered for severe oppression against the Pharisee faction.

Alexander chose on his deathbed to bequeath the throne not to his sons, but to his wife, Salome Alexandra. This was a wiser move than anything else he had done in life. His wife was herself related to the Pharisee faction, and her accession to the throne, unchallenged by either faction, brought a pause to the civil war. Pharisees gained not only freedom but increased political power, cemented when the queen installed her son, Hyrcanus, an adherent to the Pharisee party, as High Priest.

The death of Israel's first reigning queen was also the deathknell of the Hasmonean kingdom. Her sons, High Priest Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, fell into civil war over the throne, each appealing for help to the Romans, who were in the process of consolidating power over the old Seleucid Empire. The Romans in turn decidced instead to help themselves to Judea. For a time, Hyrcanus was allowed to rule as a puppet, but he was ultimately deposed by his nephew, Antigonus. After a brief reign, Antigonus was deposed by Herod the Great with Roman assistance, ending the Hasmoneon line.

Herod, in turn, would be the last recognised King of the Jews, dying shortly after the birth of Jesus. Pontius Pilate was installed as procurator over the province of Judea, and Herod's sons were bequeathed governorships over various territories King Herod. His son Herod Antipas, for example, became the governor of Galilee, in which role Pilate would send Jesus to him to be judged.

Thus the stage was set for the life and death of Jesus, the destruction of the Second Temple and Jerusalm in 70CE, and the final Roman expulsion of the Jews from the region after Bar Kochba's rebellion in 130CE.

What Happens When I Press This Button? - History

Fun with Holidays and History

The Rebellion of the Maccabees

Nes Gadol Haya Sham: A Great Miracle Happened There

Continued War and a New Dynasty

Civil War and Roman Occupation