died in 323 B.C., before he was able thoroughly to consolidate and
organize his great empire, his conquests made a permanent impression
upon southwestern Asia. This lasting impression was due in part to the
attractiveness and superiority of Greek art and culture, and to the
valor and military skill of the Greek soldiers, but above all to
Alexander's desire to Hellenize the peoples and lands that he
conquered. To accomplish this end he rebuilt many of the captured
cities on a magnificent scale and established Greek colonies
throughout his empire.
=The City of Alexandria.= The city of Alexandria in northern Egypt was
the noblest fruit of Alexander's ambition. Selecting the level strip
of land which lay between the Mediterranean and the lagoon of
Mareotis, he transformed it into a magnificent city which diverted the
trade from Tyre and in time rivalled Rome itself. The site was well
chosen, for in front of the city, one mile away, lay the island of
Pharos. This he connected with the city by a long causeway, thus
providing two large harbors, the eastern, used chiefly in the Greek
and Roman periods, and the western, through which the city is
approached by modern ships. A canal connected Alexandria with the
Canopic or western branch of the Nile and brought to this new
metropolis the vast trade of upper Egypt as well as the products of
Arabia and India. The city itself was divided into three distinct
parts. The Egyptian and native quarter was on the west, while the
Greek and official quarter was in the centre opposite the eastern
harbor. The Jewish quarter was in the northeastern part of the city.
Many Hebrews were attracted here by the privileges which Alexander
granted them, especially the opportunity of living under their own
laws and local rulers.
=Greek Influence in Palestine.= Alexander and his successors also
transformed the cities of Phœnicia and Philistia and the important
towns east of the Jordan into centres of Greek culture and
civilization. Large numbers of Greek colonists were settled at Gaza,
Ashdod, Askelon, Joppa, and the ancient Accho, which was renamed
Ptolemais. In the same way Hippos, Gadara, Pella, Gerasa, and the
ancient Rabbath-Ammon, under the name of Philadelphia, became the
homes of many of Alexander's veterans and were largely rebuilt after
the manner of Greek cities. Thus, from the beginning of the Greek
period, the Jewish community in Palestine was encircled by a ring of
cities from which emanated the ideas and culture of ancient Hellas.
The history of the next few centuries is a record of the great
conflict between Semitic and Hellenic ideas and culture and of the
ultimate fusion which resulted from this close and protracted contact.
=The Ptolemaic Rule.= In 320 B.C. Ptolemy Soter, who became the ruler
of Egypt after the death of Alexander, conquered the territory of
Judea and Samaria. At this time many Jews and Samaritans were
transported to Egypt. They were granted special privileges, for the
Greek rulers recognized in them valuable allies in the difficult task
of ruling the large native population. During the next century
Palestine was subject to the Ptolemies. It was the victim of many
invasions. By virtue of its position it was the bone of contention
between the rulers of Egypt and her rival in the east and north.
=Situation of Antioch.= About 300 B.C. Seleucus I built the city of
Antioch and transferred his capital from the Tigris-Euphrates Valley
to this important strategic centre. The city was situated at the point
where the Lebanon mountains on the south were separated from the
Taurus on the north by the Orontes River. The city lay at the northern
end of the great valley between the Lebanons, near the point where the
Orontes bends abruptly to the southwest. It was sixteen miles from the
sea and not far from the borders of the eastern desert. Here meet the
great highways from the Euphrates and from central Syria and
Palestine. It was, therefore, an important commercial and political
centre. The city itself lay on the broad, fertile plain, which ran
northward from the river up the sides of Mount Silpius. Aside from the
river and the mountain, it possessed no natural defences, but was
dependent upon the huge wall which surrounded it.
=Causes of the Maccabean Struggle.= In 198 B.C. Antiochus the Great,
in a battle near Paneion, the modern Banias, at the foot of Mount
Hennon, defeated the Egyptian army and annexed Palestine to the
Seleucid kingdom. The Jews gained little by this change of rulers. In
175 B.C. Antiochus Epiphanes mounted the Syrian throne. He had been
brought up in the midst of the profligate and imperious young nobles
of Rome, and soon proved an unprincipled tyrant. He was a great
admirer of Greek art and culture and his two chief ambitions were to
adorn his capital and kingdom with magnificent buildings and
thoroughly to Hellenize his subjects. Many of the Jews, including
certain degenerate high priests at Jerusalem, readily gave up the
institutions and traditions of their race and adopted Greek costumes
and customs. Through their representatives they led Antiochus to
believe that the other Jews would renounce the religion of their
fathers. The rank and file of the Jewish nation, however, bitterly
opposed Antiochus's policy. Returning from an expedition to Egypt, he
found Jerusalem in the hands of a rebel and made this an excuse to
turn over the citizens of the city to his bloodthirsty soldiers and to
rob the temple of its treasures. Soon after, he set about
systematically to root out the worship of Jehovah and completely to
Hellenize the Jews. In this endeavor he was aided by the renegade
Jews, who constituted a strong Greek party in Jerusalem. In 168 B.C.
he sent Apollonius, one of his generals, to put to death all who
refused to worship the Olympian Zeus or who preserved copies of the
Scriptures. All Jewish religious rites were prohibited, the temple was
desecrated, and on its great altar sacrifices were offered to Zeus.
The houses and walls of Jerusalem were torn down. The citadel of Acra,
which stood either on the hill of Ophel to the south of the temple
(_cf._ p. 66), or else immediately to the north on the site of the
later Tower of Antonia, was garrisoned with Syrian soldiers and
apostate Jews.
=The Town of Modein.= In the face of this cruel persecution the true
character of Judaism asserted itself. Rather than submit to the
tyrant's demands, the thousands preferred to die or else succeeded in
finding refuge in the caves and deserted places on the borders of
Judah. Antiochus's agents, however, met with little opposition until
they reached the town of Modein,^{(113)} northeast of the Beth-horons
on the borders of the coast plain. Its deserted ruins are to-day one
of the most picturesque and impressive mounds in all Palestine. Over
it all is flung a luxuriant growth of grain and olive trees. It is
surrounded by deep valleys; on the south and west the Wady Malakeh
swings in a broad semicircle about the mound, which is nearly a
complete circle, one-third of a mile in diameter. To the northwest,
connected by a shoulder of land, was the lower town, which was a
little larger in area than the acropolis. On the north lay a deep
encircling valley which made its defence easy. The sides of the main
acropolis rose rapidly in three or four large terraces. It stood apart
from the surrounding foot-hills like an emerald set in the midst of
black and gray limestone.
=The First Flame of Revolt.= Modein was a fitting altar of Jewish
freedom and patriotism. Here the Syrian official set up a heathen
altar. By promises of royal favor he sought to induce an aged priest
by the name of Mattathias to sacrifice upon it in accordance with the
king's command. To this demand the priest replied that if they alone
of all their race remained faithful, he and his family would never
forsake the law and ordinances. At the sight of an apostate Jew
advancing to sacrifice at the heathen altar the indignation of the
stern old priest was kindled. He slew both the offender and the royal
official and tore down the altar. He then fled to the mountains with
his five stalwart sons. Recognizing in him a leader, the Jews who were
faithful to their law soon rallied about him. At first they devoted
themselves to tearing down the heathen altars, to enforcing the law of
circumcision wherever it had been neglected, and to putting to death
all apostates whom they captured. At this critical moment in the life
of Judaism they strengthened the courage of those who were wavering
and raised a standard about which the faithful rallied in
ever-increasing numbers.
=Character and Work of Judas.= In a few months the aged Mattathias
died and was succeeded by his son, Judas, who was known by the
distinctive title of Maccabeus. He soon proved himself an unselfish
patriot, a devoted champion of the law, and a military leader of rare
enthusiasm, energy, and strategic skill. The odds against which he had
to contend were seemingly overwhelming. With a few unarmed peasants he
was called to meet large armies of well-equipped and well-trained
Greek mercenaries. But again, as in the days of David, the rugged
physical contour of Palestine was the chief advantage possessed by the
Israelites. Selecting a favorable point along the road which led from
Samaria to Jerusalem, Judas made a sudden attack upon the Syrian
general, Apollonius, and succeeded not only in putting to flight the
Syrian soldiers, but also in slaying the leader of the persecution.
Henceforth Judas wielded effectively the sword of Apollonius, and his
followers armed themselves likewise with the weapons of the slain.
=The Pass of Beth-horon.= Judas's first open engagement was fought
near his home at Modein. Seron was sent with a Syrian army to put down
the rebellion. He advanced against Jerusalem by the main northern
highway, which led up through the pass of the Beth-horons. At this
point the road ascends very rapidly. On the Plain of Ajalon it is but
eight hundred and forty feet above the ocean level. At the lower
Beth-horon it is one thousand two hundred and forty feet. Thence a
steep, rocky road leads to the upper Beth-boron,^{(84)} less than two
miles away at the height of two thousand and twenty-two feet above the
sea. Four miles farther on it reaches the top of the ascent, which is
about two thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea. The
difficult pass, often ascending by rock-cut steps, was the scene of
this memorable battle. Here it was impossible for an army to deploy or
maintain a regular formation. A few determined men on the heights
above were able to turn back a large force. The defeat of the Syrian
army was complete. Eight hundred of them were slain during the hot
pursuit down the Beth-horon slope. The rest fled to the land of the
Philistines, out on the plain. At last, after four centuries of defeat
and humiliation, the Israelites found that by courage and united
action they could put to flight their heathen foes.
=Scene of the Victory Over the Syrian Generals.= Fortunately for the
Jews, at this crisis Antiochus Epiphanes found his treasury depleted
as a result of his luxurious habits and extensive building
enterprises. Accordingly he turned over the government of his kingdom
to Lysias, one of his nobles, while he gathered a large army and set
out on a campaign into Persia, where he ultimately lost his life. The
departure of Antiochus reduced by fully one-half the soldiers
available for the campaigns against Judas and his followers. But
Lysias, appreciating the importance of suppressing the Jewish
rebellion at once, sent out an army of forty thousand infantry and
seven thousand cavalry under the leadership of three generals,
Ptolemy, Nicanor, and Gorgias. They encamped near Emmaus on the
southern side of the Valley of Ajalon, not far from the border of the
Philistine Plain. This time they avoided the steep and dangerous pass
of Beth-horon and aimed to penetrate the highlands of Judah through
the narrow and yet direct highway which led up by the Wady Ali,
through which runs the modern carriage road from Joppa to Jerusalem.
Meantime Judas had rallied his followers near Mizpah.^{(20)} This
imposing height was in close touch with Jerusalem and at the same time
commanded a view of all the roads leading from the north and west,
rendering it practically impossible for the Syrians to overtake him
unawares.^{(93)} Apparently the Syrian generals had pitched their camp
at Emmaus in the vain hope that by a quick night-march they might
surprise Judas and his followers at Mizpah. Anticipating this design,
Judas by night transferred his army to a point a little south of
Emmaus, probably following one of the wild, deserted valleys which
lead from Mizpah to the plain. The result was that when a detachment
of Syrian soldiers were sent under Gorgias to capture Judas, they
found Mizpah deserted. Meantime Judas boldly attacked the remnant of
the Syrian army on the plain near Emmaus and quickly put them to
flight. Many were slain; some escaped to the stronghold of Gezer, or
Gazara, as it was called at that time, a little northwest of Emmaus;
some turned southward into the Philistine lowlands, which were held
by the Idumeans; others fled as far as Ashdod and Jamnia on the
western side of the Philistine Plain. When Gorgias and his soldiers
returned and found their camp in flames they were seized by a panic
and retreated into the land of the Philistines, leaving the Jews in
possession of rich spoil.
=Victory at Bethsura.= During the following year the regent Lysias
himself gathered together a picked army of sixty thousand infantry and
five thousand horsemen and advanced against Judas. This time the
Syrians avoided the northern passes and entered western Judah through
the Valley of Elah, marched past the old battle-fields of Socoh and
Adullam, which were now held by the Idumeans, and thence followed the
road which led along a branch of the Wady es-Sur in a southeastern
direction. By taking this southern route they reached without
opposition Bethsura,^{(114)} on the height which marked the
southwestern boundary of Judah, where the road from the west joined
the main highway from Hebron to Jerusalem. Rallying ten thousand of
his followers, Judas boldly attacked the huge Syrian army in front of
Bethsura and again won an overwhelming victory.
=Rededication of the Temple.= The retreat of their foes left the Jews
free at last to enter Jerusalem, to tear down the heathen altar which
had been reared by Antiochus, and to restore the temple and its
service. Three years after it had been desecrated by Antiochus, the
temple was rededicated. The strong fortress of Acra within the city
still remained in possession of the Syrian garrison; but Jerusalem was
fortified with high walls and strong towers, and joy and confidence
again filled the hearts of the Jews.
=Campaigns South and East of the Dead Sea.= Judas also employed this
brief respite from Syrian attack to carry on campaigns against the
foes who, doubtless at the instigation of the Syrians, were attacking
the Jews on every side. The first battle was with the Idumeans and was
fought at Akrabattine, which was probably the steep Scorpion Pass at
the southeastern end of the Dead Sea, along which ran the road from
Hebron to Petra. On the east-Jordan at this time the Ammonites, under
their leader, Timotheus, apparently controlled the entire territory
from the Arnon to the Yarmuk. Judas's first east-Jordan campaign was
in the territory immediately north of the Arnon, where he conquered
the ancient city of Jazer and its villages.
=Victories in Northeastern Gilead.= Learning that the Jews and
descendants of the ancient Israelites settled in northern Gilead were
being besieged by Timotheus, that many others had been massacred, and
that those in Galilee were also the object of bitter persecution, he
gathered eleven thousand of his followers. Simon, his brother, was
sent with three thousand soldiers into Galilee, where he succeeded in
rescuing the Israelites and in driving the heathen out of the uplands
down to Ptolemis. With the remaining eight thousand picked soldiers
Judas and his brother Jonathan made a rapid and brilliant campaign
through southern Gilead. A march of three days from the east-Jordan to
the northeast brought them to the borders of the desert, where they
met certain of the Nabateans, an Arabian people who at this time were
crystallizing into a strong nation, with their centre southeast of the
Dead Sea. Like Judas they were apparently hostile to the Syrians and
therefore they met him on friendly terms. Learning through them of
conditions in Gilead, he turned suddenly northward and captured the
important trading city of Bozrah, far out in the wilderness to the
south of the Hauran. The spoils of this city provided his followers
with immediate supplies. Thence by a night march he reached the
stronghold where the Israelites were being besieged by the Ammonites
under Timotheus. In the Greek version of I Maccabees, this stronghold
is called Dathema, but in the Syriac version Rametha, which is clearly
the modern Remtheh, an important station on the great pilgrim road to
the north, about twenty-five miles east of Bozrah. As has already been
noted, it is one of the most probable sites of the ancient
Ramoth-Gilead. Timotheus and his followers, caught unprepared, were
defeated with great slaughter. From this point Judas made a détour to
the Gileadite city of Mizpah, mentioned in the Jephthah stories. Its
exact site is doubtful. It may be identified with Sûf, the height
northwest of Jerash, where are to be found many great dolmens, or
possibly it occupied the site of Jerash itself.
=Cities Captured North of the Yarmuk.= From here Judas evidently
marched northward across the Yarmuk to the town of Casphor. In II
Maccabees this name appears as Caspin, and in all probability is to be
identified with Castle Chisfin in the southeastern Jaulan, a little
west of the Nahr er-Rukkad. The next town captured by Judas was Maked,
which may be represented by Tell Mikdad, about twenty miles northeast
of Chisfin and a little west of the railway from Damascus to Haifa.
Bosor without much doubt occupied the site of the modern town of Busr
el-Hariri, fifteen miles southeast of Tell Mikdad and on the southern
side of the great lava-bed, El Lejah.
=The Second Victory Over Timotheus.= Meantime Timotheus had gathered
another army and awaited Judas near the "brook of water opposite the
town of Raphon." An echo of the name of this ancient town is possibly
to be found in the modern El-Mezerib. The ancient village at this
point, which lay on an island in the midst of a large clear pool, from
which flows one of the chief sources of the Yarmuk, well satisfies the
situation implied by the vivid description of the battle in I
Maccabees. It was on the main highway along which Timotheus would
naturally advance from the territory of Ammon and was about ten miles
north of Remtheh, the scene of the first battle. Timotheus's
hesitation in crossing the brook was rightly interpreted by Judas as a
sign of fear. Rushing into the water the Jews again won a complete
victory. Their foes, casting aside their weapons, fled for refuge to
the ancient sanctuary of Carnaim, which is without reasonable doubt to
be identified with the ancient shrine of Ashteroth-Karnaim, eight
miles to the north. Following the fugitives, Judas captured this city
and burned the temple.
=Judas's Return.= Then gathering the Jews in the land of Gilead, which
in the first book of Maccabees included the east-Jordan territory,
both north and south of the Yarmuk, Judas set out for Jerusalem. His
road naturally led due southward past the scene of his last great
battle with Timotheus. Thence, turning to the southwest, his way was
through a narrow pass where probably lay the town of Ephron. Inasmuch
as this town opposed his passage, he captured and destroyed it. Thence
passing through the ancient Arbela, he followed the main highway that
led to the Jordan opposite Bethshean. From there he naturally followed
the road along the Jordan valley to Jericho and up to Jerusalem.
=Significance of Judas's Victories.= Meantime, contrary to his orders,
two of Judas's generals had attacked the Philistine town of Jamnia and
met with a disastrous repulse. Rallying his forces he advanced against
the Idumeans to the south and west of Judah. Hebron was taken and its
citadel destroyed. After capturing the surrounding towns he turned
westward to Marissa, the ancient Mareshah, which guarded the entrance
to the Valley of Zephathah.^{(108)} From there he carried his campaign
across the Philistine plain to the ancient city of Ashdod, which he
captured and looted. With a comparatively few half-trained soldiers
Judas within one year fought more successful battles and captured more
strong cities than did David throughout all of his illustrious career.
His limited resources and the certainty of another and more
overwhelming Syrian attack made it impossible, however, for Judas to
hold the territory thus conquered, so that, while his victories
represent brilliant achievements, the effect was ephemeral. The
refugees whom he brought back to Judah increased its comparatively
small population and thus laid the foundations for that Maccabean
kingdom which ultimately rose as the result of the dauntless and
patriotic spirit that Judas infused into his followers.
=Battle of Beth-zacharias.= Judas's desperate attempt to capture the
hostile garrison in Jerusalem led the Syrians to send for help to
Antiochus Eupator, who had succeeded to the throne of Syria on the
death of his father. A vast army was gathered, consisting of a hundred
thousand infantry and twenty thousand horsemen. Thirty-two elephants
also accompanied the army and played an important part in the final
battle. Again the approach to the Judean heights was made through the
Valley of Elah and up along the Wady es-Sur to Bethsura. Instead of
meeting the Syrians at this point Judas retired along the northern
road to Beth-zacharias, which lay on the right of the highway a few
miles southwest of Bethlehem. Here Judas gave battle to the huge
Syrian army, which was drawn up on two wings, one on the heights and
the other on the low ground. The elephants, with towers of wood on
their backs, were placed in the front of the line of battle. Each
elephant was supported by a thousand men armed with coat of mail, and
five hundred horsemen. Judas and his followers made a courageous
attack upon this huge and imposing host, but they were overwhelmed by
sheer numbers. The elephants also were effective in turning the tide
of battle. Eleazer, one of Judas's brothers, with the spirit that
characterized the family, broke through one of the phalanxes and,
creeping under what he supposed to be the royal elephant, pierced it
with his spear from beneath and perished under the beast as it fell to
the earth. None others were found, however, in the Jewish ranks to
follow his courageous example. Judas retired to Jerusalem, where he
was besieged by Lysias, the leader of the Syrian forces. Fortunately
for the Jewish cause, conditions in the Syrian capital made it
necessary for Lysias to retire. He accordingly made a treaty with the
Jews in which their religious freedom was fully assured on condition
that they would recognize the authority of the Syrian kingdom.