The Wars of the Maccabees

by John D. Grainger

Overview

By the early second century BC, Israel had long been under the rule of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. But the policy of deliberate Hellenization and suppression of Jewish religious practices by Antiochus IV, sparked a revolt in 167 BC which was led initially by Judah Maccabee and later by his brothers and their descendants. Relying on guerrilla tactics the growing insurrection repeatedly took on the sophisticated might of the Seleucid army with mixed, but generally successful, results, establishing the Maccabees as the Hasmonean Dynasty of rulers over a once-more independent Israel. (It is Judah Maccabee's ritual cleansing of the Temple after his victories over the Seleucids that is celebrated by Jews every year at Hannukah). Internal disputes weakened the revived state, however, and it eventually fell victim to the Romans who replaced the Seleucids as the local superpower. John D Grainger explains the causes of the revolt and traces the course of the various campaigns of the Maccabees, first against the Seleucids and then the Romans who captured Jerusalem in 63BC and partitioned the kingdom. The last chapters consider the continued Jewish resistance to Roman rule and factional fighting, until the crowning of Herod, marked the end of the Hasmonean dynasty.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781781599464
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/31/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

John D. Grainger is a former teacher turned professional historian. He has over thirty books to his name, divided between classical history and modern British political and military history. His previous books for Pen & Sword are Hellenistic and Roman Naval Wars; Wars of the Maccabees; Traditional Enemies: Britain's War with Vichy France 1940-42; Roman Conquests: Egypt and Judaea; Rome, Parthia and India: The Violent Emergence of a New World Order: 150-140 BC; a three-volume history of the Seleukid Empire and British Campaigns in the South Atlantic 1805–1807.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

List of Maps viii

Maps ix

Genealogical Tables xiii

Abbreviations xvi

Introduction xvii

Chapter 1 The Dispute 1

Chapter 2 Terrorism and Guerrilla War 9

Chapter 3 Victories 17

Chapter 4 The Beginnings of Imperialism 27

Chapter 5 Defeat 39

Chapter 6 Achieving Independence 51

Chapter 7 The Defence of Independence 67

Chapter 8 Early Conquests 77

Chapter 9 The Samarian War 85

Chapter 10 Internal Upheavals and the Ptolemaic War 93

Chapter 11 Gadora and Gaza 101

Chapter 12 War in the East 109

Chapter 13 The First Civil War 113

Chapter 14 The Second Eastern War 119

Chapter 15 A War for Damascus 131

Chapter 16 The Second Civil War 135

Chapter 17 The First Roman War 143

Chapter 18 The Second Roman War 149

Chapter 19 The Parthian War - and Herod 157

Chapter 20 Conclusion: a Belligerent Dynasty 165

Notes 167

Bibliography 181

Index 185

Editorial Reviews

As informed and informative as it is inherently interesting and expertly presented, The Wars of the Maccabees is an extraordinary and detailed introduction to the ancient Judaic/Hellenistic conflict that would result in the independence of Israel until the coming of the Romans.

Midwest Book Review