Wars, politics & history

Maccabean Revolt

from 167 BCE to 160 BCE

The Maccabean Revolt was an uprising by Jews in Judea against the Seleucid Empire, which then ruled the region. It began when King Antiochus IV Epiphanes tried to impose Greek religious practices and banned Jewish rites, and when the priest Mattathias and his sons, above all Judas Maccabeus, took up arms. Fighting guerrilla campaigns in the hills, the rebels recaptured Jerusalem and purified and rededicated the Temple, an event commemorated by the festival of Hanukkah. The revolt continued for years under Judas's brothers Jonathan and Simon, ending with a largely independent Jewish state. This was ruled by the Hasmonean dynasty until the Romans took control in the first century BCE.

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This moment belongs to the Ancient civilizations (3,200 BCE to 500 CE), writing, cities and empires. You can also browse everything in the 2nd century BCE.