{"id":72112,"date":"2026-01-08T07:00:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T12:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/?p=72112"},"modified":"2026-01-08T09:27:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T14:27:03","slug":"who-were-the-maccabees-and-what-did-they-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblicalarchaeology.org\/daily\/biblical-sites-places\/biblical-archaeology-sites\/who-were-the-maccabees-and-what-did-they-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Were the Maccabees and What Did They Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kedesh, located in northern Israel, served as a busy administrative center for the Ptolemies in the third century and for the Seleucids in the second century BCE. It was abruptly abandoned around 150 BCE, and this power vacuum contributed to the success of the Maccabees. Photo: Courtesy of the Tel Kedesh Excavations \/ Sharon Herbert & Andrea Berlin, Directors.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

Who were the Maccabees, what did they do?<\/h4>\n

From priests to kings, the Maccabees created an independent Jewish kingdom in the second century BCE. Their success was a testament to their zeal\u2014and some significant external factors. The Book of 1 Maccabees tells the story of their rise, while archaeology places the story within a larger historical and political context. Andrea M. Berlin<\/a> of Boston University analyzes both in her article, \u201cThe Rise of the Maccabees,\u201d<\/a> published in the Summer 2023 issue of Biblical Archaeology Review<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

There are several ancient texts that describe the Maccabees\u2019 rise to power. These include the apocryphal books of 1 and 2 Maccabees<\/a>, as well as the writings of Josephus<\/a>, a Jewish historian who lived in the first century. They detail the events, summarized below, which transpired in the second century BCE and led to the foundation of the Hasmonean Kingdom.<\/p>\n

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The Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires c. 150 BCE. Map: Biblical Archaeology Society.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

The Rise of the Maccabees, According to History<\/h4>\n
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  1. In the mid-second century BCE, the Seleucid Empire controlled Judea and promoted Hellenistic (Greek) culture and religion. Some Jews embraced this, but others did not.<\/li>\n
  2. The Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV escalated tensions by sacking Jerusalem, building a fortress (called the Akra<\/a>), sacrificing a pig in the Jerusalem Temple, and issuing an edict to abolish Jewish law and worship.<\/li>\n
  3. In opposition, Mattathias Maccabee, a Jewish priest, and his five sons, John, Simon, Judah, Eliezer, and Jonathan, started a rebellion c. 167 BCE. They gathered forces and fought against the Seleucid rulers and those who supported them.<\/li>\n
  4. The Maccabees suffered loss, with Mattathias, John, Judah, Eliezer, and Jonathan all dying in battle. Nevertheless, they managed to rededicate the Temple and reclaim Jerusalem and Judea. They established an independent Jewish kingdom, called the Hasmonean Kingdom, with Simon Maccabee as its first ruler c. 142 BCE.<\/li>\n
  5. Later Hasmonean rulers continued to expand their kingdom into Samaria and Galilee. Some even took the title of king.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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