Hasmonean
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The Hasmonean Kingdom (Hebrew: Hashmonai) in ancient Judea and its ruling dynasty from 140 BCE to 37 BCE was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army in 165 BCE.
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[edit] Historical Sources
The origin of the Hasmonean dynasty is recorded in the books of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. These books are not part of the Hebrew Bible, and are considered deuterocanonical by most Protestant Christians, but make up part of the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canon. They include historical and religious material from the Septuagint; this material was codified by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox.
[edit] Hanukkah and the origins of the Hasmonean Dynasty
The festival of Hanukkah was instituted by Judah Maccabee and his brothers in the year 164 BCE, to be celebrated annually with joy as a memorial of the dedication of the altar in the Temple in Jerusalem. (1 Macc. iv. 59). After having recovered Jerusalem, Judah ordered the Temple to be cleansed, a new altar to be built in place of the polluted one, and new holy vessels to be made. When the fire had been kindled anew upon the altar and the lamps of the candlestick lit, the dedication of the altar was celebrated for eight days amid sacrifices and songs (1 Macc. iv. 36) in a similar fashion to Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles (2 Macc. x. 6 and i. 9) which also lasts for eight days, and at which the lighting of lamps and torches formed a prominent part during the Second Temple (Suk.v. 2-4).
[edit] Etymology of "Hasmonean"
The family name of the Hasmonean dynasty originates with the ancestor of the house, Ἀσαμωναῖος Asamoneus or Asmoneus (see Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities: [1]; [2]; [3]), who is said to have been the grandfather of Mattathias, but about whom nothing more is known.
[edit] History
The leadership of the Hasmoneans was founded by a resolution, adopted in 141 BCE, at a large assembly "of the priests and the people and of the elders of the land, to the effect that Simon should be their leader and high priest forever, until there should arise a faithful prophet" (I Macc. xiv. 41). Ironically, the election was performed in hellenistic fashion.
Recognition of the new dynasty by the Romans was accorded by the Senate about 139 BCE, when the delegation of Simon was in Rome.
When Jonathan the Maccabee fell into the power of Diodotus Tryphon, Simon, his brother, assumed the leadership (142 BCE), and after the murder of Jonathan took the latter's place. Simon, who had made the Jewish people semi-independent of the Seleucid Greeks, reigned from 142 to 135 BCE. In February 135 BCE, he was assassinated at the instigation of his son-in-law Ptolemy.
Simon was followed by his third son, John Hyrcanus, whose two elder brothers, Mattathias and Judah, had been murdered, together with their father. John Hyrcanus ruled from 135 to 104 BCE. According to his directions, the government of the country after his death was to be placed in the hands of his wife, and Aristobulus I, the eldest of his five sons, was to receive only the high-priesthood. Aristobulus, who was not satisfied with this, cast his mother into prison and allowed her to starve there. By this means he came into the possession of the throne, which, however, he did not long enjoy, as after a year's reign he died of a painful illness (103 BCE).
Aristobulus' successor was his eldest brother, Alexander Jannæus, who, together with his two brothers, was freed from prison by the widow of Aristobulus. Alexander reigned from 103 to 76 BCE, and died during the siege of the fortress Ragaba.
Alexander was followed by his wife Alexandra, who reigned from 76 to 67 BCE. Against her wishes, she was succeeded by her son Aristobulus II. (67-63 BCE), who during the illness of his mother had risen against her, in order to prevent the succession of the elder son, Hyrcanus.
During the reign of Alexandra, Hyrcanus had held the office of high priest, and the rivalry between him and Aristobulus brought about a civil war, which ended with the forfeiture of the freedom of the Jewish people. Judaea had to pay tribute to Rome and was placed under the supervision of the Roman governor of Syria. From 63 to 40 BCE the government was in the hands of Hyrcanus II as High Priest and Ethnarch, although effective power was in the hands of his adviser Antipater the Idumaean.
In the early years of Hyrcanus and Antipater's rule, Aristobulus and his elder son Alexander made several efforts to regain the throne which were defeated by Roman intervention. When, in 50 BC, it appeared as though Julius Caesar was interested in using Aristobulus and his family as his clients to take control of Judea against Pompey's puppets Hyrcanus and Antipater, supporters of Pompey had Aristobulus poisoned in Rome, and executed Alexander in Antioch.
After Caesar's victory in the Civil Wars, Antipater and Hyrcanus were able to gain Caesar's favor by giving him aid in his Egyptian campaign. This led Caesar to ignore the claims of Aristobulus's younger son, Antigonus, and to confirm Hyrcanus and Antipater in their authority. Although Hyrcanus was still officially in control, Antipater continued to increase his power, appointing his sons to positions of influence - Phasael became Governor of Jerusalem, and Herod Governor of Galilee. This led to increasing tension between Hyrcanus and the family of Antipater, culminating in a trial of Herod for supposed abuses in his governorship, which resulted in Herod's flight into exile in 46 BC. Herod soon returned, however, and the honors to Antipater's family continued.
After Caesar's death in 44 BC, unrest and confusion spread throughout the Roman world, including to Judaea. In this atmosphere, Antipater the Idumean was assassinated in 43 BC by a rival, Malichus. However, Antipater's sons managed to kill Malichus and maintain their control over Judea and their father's puppet Hasmonean, Hyrcanus.
However, the Parthians invaded Syria in 40 BC, and decided to support the claims of Antigonus, son of Aristobulus, to the Judean throne. When Phasael and Hyrcanus set out on an embassy to the Parthians, the Parthians instead captured them. Antigonus, who was present, cut off Hyrcanus's ears to make him unsuitable for the high priesthood, while Phasael was put to death.
Antigonus, whose Hebrew name was Mattathias, bore the double title of king and high priest for only three years, as he had not disposed of Herod, the most dangerous of his enemies. Herod fled into exile and sought the support of Mark Antony. The struggle thereafter lasted for some years, as the main Roman forces were occupied with defeating the Parthians and had few additional resources to use to support Herod, but after the Parthians' defeat, Herod was victorious over his rival in 37 BC. Antigonus was delivered to Antony and executed shortly thereafter. The Romans assented to Herod's proclamation as King of the Jews, bringing about the end of the Hasmonean rule over Judea.
Antigonus was not, however, the last Hasmonean. The fate of the remaining male members of the family under Herod was not a happy one. Aristobulus III, grandson of Aristobulus II through his elder son Alexander, was briefly made high priest, but was soon executed (36 BC) due to Herod's jealousy. His sister, Mariamne was married to Herod, but fell victim to his notorious jealousy. (Her sons by Herod, Aristobulus and Alexander, were also executed by their father). As for Hyrcanus, he was released by the Parthians in 36 BC and returned home, and at first treated by Herod with respect, being granted a place in the palace. As the last remaining Hasmonean, he was too dangerous a potential rival for Herod, but he too fell victim to Herod, executed on trumped up charges of bribery and treason in 30 BC.
It is worth noting, however, that the later Herodian rulers Agrippa I and Agrippa II both had Hasmonean blood, as Agrippa I's father was Aristobulus, son of Herod by Mariamne I.
[edit] List of Judaean Rulers
Follows is the list of Hasmonean leaders, kings, queens, and high priests beginning with Mattathias, with the dates of their individual rule:
[edit] Leaders of the Macabees
1. Mattathias, 170 BC – 167 BC
2. Judas Maccabeus, 167 BC – 160 BC
3. Jonathan Maccabeus, 153 BC – 143 BC (first to hold the title of High Priest)
4. Simon Maccabeus, 142 BC – 141 BC (promoted to prince by Rome)
[edit] Princes of Judaea
5. Simon, 141 BC – 135
6. Hyrcanus I, 134 BC – 104 BC
[edit] Kings and High Priests of Judaea
7. Aristobulus I, 104 BC – 103 BC
8. Alexander Jannaeus, 103 BC – 76 BC
9. Salome Alexandra, 76 BC – 67 BC (Queen of Judaea)
10. Hyrcanus II, 67 BC – 66 BC
11. Aristobulus II, 66 BC – 63 BC
12. Hyrcanus II, 63 BC – 40 BC (restored)
13. Antigonus, 40 BC – 37 BC
14. Herod I, 37 BC – 4 BC
[edit] Tetrarchy
15. Herod II, Ethnarch of Judaea, 4 BC – AD 6
— Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee, 4 BC – AD 39
— Herod Philip, Tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, 4 BC – AD 34
16. Agrippa I, King of Iudaea 41 – 44
— Agrippa II, Tetrarch of Chalcis, 48 BC – 53
— Aristobulus II, Tetrarch of Chalcis, 57 – 92
[edit] Reputation of the dynasty
While the Hasmonean dynasty managed to create an independent Jewish kingdom, its successes were rather short-lived, and the dynasty by and large failed to live up to the nationalistic momentum the Maccabee brothers had gained.
Jewish tradition holds that the claiming of kingship by the later Hasmoneans led to their eventual downfall, since that title was only to be held by descendants of the line of King David. The Hasmonean bureaucracy was filled with men with Greek names, and the dynasty eventually became very Hellenised, to the annoyance of many of its more traditionally-minded Jewish subjects. Frequent dynastic quarrels also contributed to the view among Jews of later generations of the latter Hasmoneans as degenerate. A member of this school is Josephus, whose accounts are in many cases our sole source of information about the Hasmoneans.
[edit] Sources
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
de:Hasmonäer fr:Hasmonéens he:חשמונאים nl:Hasmoneeën ja:ハスモン朝 fi:Makkabealaiset pt:Hasmoneus
