1.
Hyrcanus II
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John Hyrcanus II /hərˈkeɪnəs/, a member of the Hasmonean dynasty, was for a long time the Jewish High Priest in the 1st century BCE. He was also briefly King of Judea 67–66 BCE and then the ethnarch of Judea probably 47–40 BCE, Hyrcanus was the eldest son of Alexander Jannaeus, King and High Priest, and Alexandra Salome. After the death of Alexander in 76 BC, his widow succeeded to the rule of Judea, Alexander had numerous conflicts with the Pharisees. So Hyrcanus was believed to be supported by the Sadducees, especially later in his tenure, when Salome died in 67 BC, she named Hyrcanus as successor to the Kingship as well. Hyrcanus had scarcely reigned three months when his younger brother Aristobulus II rose in rebellion, Hyrcanus advanced against him at the head of his mercenaries and his followers. The brothers met in battle near Jericho and many of Hyrcanus soldiers went over to Aristobulus II, Hyrcanus took refuge in the citadel of Jerusalem, but the capture of the Temple by Aristobulus II compelled Hyrcanus to surrender. A peace was concluded, according to the terms of which Hyrcanus was to renounce the throne and the office of high priest. This agreement however did not last, as Hyrcanus feared that Aristobulus was planning his death, such fears were furthered by Hyrcanus adviser Antipater the Idumean. According to Josephus, Antipater aimed at controlling Judea by putting the weak Hyrcanus back onto the throne. Hyrcanus took refuge with Aretas III, King of the Nabataeans, the Nabataeans advanced toward Jerusalem with an army of 50,000, took the city and besieged the Temple where Aristobulus had taken refuge for several months. During this civil war, the Roman general Pompey defeated the Kingdoms of Pontus and he sent his deputy Marcus Aemilius Scaurus to take possession of Seleucid Syria. As the Hasmoneans were allies of the Romans, both brothers appealed to Scaurus, each endeavoring by gifts and promises to win him over to his side, Scaurus, moved by a gift of 400 talents, decided in favor of Aristobulus and ordered Aretas to withdraw his army. During his retreat, the Nabateans suffered a defeat at the hands of Aristobulus. When Pompey arrived in Syria in 63 BC, both brothers and a party that desired the removal of the entire dynasty, sent their delegates to Pompey. He favoured Hyrcanus over Aristobulus, deeming the elder, weaker brother a more reliable ally of the Roman Empire. Aristobulus, suspicious of Pompey, entrenched himself in the fortress of Alexandrium, however, since many of his followers were unwilling to open the gates, the Romans besieged and captured the city by force, badly damaging city and temple. Aristobulus was taken to Rome a prisoner and Hyrcanus restored, around 63 BCE, Hyrcanus was restored to his position as High Priest but not to the Kingship. Political authority rested with the Romans whose interests were represented by Antipater, in 47 BC, Julius Caesar restored some political authority to Hyrcanus by appointing him ethnarch
2.
Promptuarium Iconum Insigniorum
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Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum is an iconography book by Guillaume Rouillé. It was published in Lyon, France, in 1553, the work includes portraits designed as medals, and brief biographies of many notable figures. The book includes a total of 950 woodcut portraits, many of the figures portrayed are of English origin. The images begin with Adam and Eve, in the preface, the publisher praises the work. Abhandlungen Der Königlich Preussischen Akademie Der Wissenschaften, Philosophisch-Historische Classe, verlag der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften,1908. The library of Mary Queen of Scots, a Catalogue of Foreign and English Theology. A Collection of Aristotelic, Scotist, Thomist, and Other Writers from the Twelfth to Eighteenth Century, specimens of Early Typography. and a Few Miscellaneous Works. Media related to Promptuarii Iconum Insigniorum at Wikimedia Commons Prima pars Promptuarii iconum insigniorum à seculo hominum, subjectis eorum
3.
Ancient Greek
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Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
4.
Hasmonean dynasty
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The Hasmonean dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Judea and surrounding regions during classical antiquity. Between c. 140 and c. 116 BCE the dynasty ruled semi-autonomously from the Seleucids in the region of Judea, some modern scholars refer to this period as an independent kingdom of Israel. In 63 BCE, the kingdom was conquered by the Roman Republic, broken up, the dynasty had survived for 103 years before yielding to the Herodian dynasty in 37 BCE. Even then, Herod the Great tried to bolster the legitimacy of his reign by marrying a Hasmonean princess, Mariamne, the dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt. However, the power vacuum that enabled the Jewish state to be recognized by the Roman Senate c. 139 BCE was later exploited by the Romans themselves. Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II, Simons great-grandsons, became pawns in a war between Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great. The deaths of Pompey and Caesar, and the related Roman civil wars temporarily relaxed Romes grip on Israel and this short independence was rapidly crushed by the Romans under Mark Antony and Octavian. The installation of Herod the Great as king in 37 BCE made Israel a Roman client state, in AD6, Rome joined Judea proper, Samaria and Idumea into the Roman province of Iudaea. In AD44, Rome installed the rule of a Roman procurator side by side with the rule of the Herodian kings, an alternative view posits that the Hebrew name Hashmonai is linked with the village of Heshbon, mentioned in Joshua 15,27. Gott and Licht attribute the name to Ha Simeon, a reference to the Simeonite Tribe. Between 319 and 302 BC. Under Antiochus III the Seleucids wrested control of Israel from the Ptolemies for the final time and it was in Antioch that the Jews first made the acquaintance of Hellenism and of the more corrupt sides of Greek culture, and it was from Antioch that Judea henceforth was ruled. The books are considered part of the Biblical canon by the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches and apocryphal by most Protestants, the books include historical and religious material from the Septuagint that was codified by Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians. The other primary source for the Hasmonean dynasty is the first book of The Wars of the Jews by the Jewish historian Josephus, Josephus account is the only primary source covering the history of the Hasmonean dynasty during the period of its expansion and independence between 110 to 63 BCE. The books of Maccabees use the names Judea and Israel as geographical descriptors throughout for both the land and people over whom the Hasmoneans would rule, the Talmud includes one of the Hasmonean kings under the description Kings of Israel. Scholars refer to the state as the Hasmonean Kingdom to distinguish it from the kingdoms of Israel. The Hellenization of the Jews in the period was not universally resisted. Generally, the Jews accepted foreign rule when they were required to pay tribute. Nevertheless, Jews were divided between those favoring Hellenization and those opposing it, and were divided over allegiance to the Ptolemies or Seleucids, when the High Priest Simon II died in 175 BCE, conflict broke out between supporters of his son Onias III and his son Jason
5.
Maccabee
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The Maccabees, also spelled Machabees, were the leaders of a Jewish rebel army that took control of Judea, which at the time had been a province of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE and they reasserted the Jewish religion, partly by forced conversion, expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism. In the 2nd century BCE, Judea lay between the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Seleucid empire, monarchies which had formed following the death of Alexander the Great, Judea had come under Ptolemaic rule, but fell to the Seleucids around 200 BCE. Judea at that time had been affected by the Hellenization begun by Alexander, some Jews, mainly those of the urban upper class, notably the Tobiad family, wished to dispense with Jewish law and to adopt a Greek lifestyle. According to the historian Victor Tcherikover, the motive for the Tobiads Hellenism was economic. The Hellenizing Jews built a gymnasium in Jerusalem, competed in international Greek games, removed their marks of circumcision, when Antiochus IV Epiphanes, became ruler of the Seleucid Empire in 175 BCE, Onias III held the office of High Priest in Jerusalem. Jason, the brother of Onias, bribed Antiochus to make him High Priest instead of Onias, Jason abolished the traditional theocracy and received from Antiochus permission to convert Jerusalem into a Greek polis called Antioch. In turn, Menelaus then bribed Antiochus and was appointed High Priest in place of Jason, Menelaus brother Lysimachus stole holy vessels from the Temple, the resulting riots led to the death of Lysimachus. Menelaus was arrested for Onias murder, and was arraigned before Antiochus, Jason subsequently drove out Menelaus and became High Priest again. Antiochus pillaged the Temple, attacked Jerusalem and led captive the women and children, from this point onwards, Antiochus pursued a zealous Hellenizing policy in the Seleucid satrapies of Coele Syria and Phoenicia. The author of the First Book of Maccabees regarded the Maccabean revolt as a rising of pious Jews against the Seleucid king, the author of the Second Book of Maccabees presented the conflict as a struggle between Judaism and Hellenism, concepts which he coined. In the conflict over the office of High Priest, traditionalists with Hebrew/Aramaic names like Onias contested with Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason, some scholars point to social and economic factors in the conflict. What began as a war took on the character of an invasion when the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria sided with the Hellenizing Jews against the traditionalists. As the conflict escalated, Antiochus prohibited the practices of the traditionalists, thereby, in a departure from usual Seleucid practice, other scholars argue that, while the rising began as a religious rebellion, it was gradually transformed into a war of national liberation. It is said that an idol of Olympian Zeus was placed on the altar of the Temple and this may, however, have represented an exaggerated view of Antiochus support for the Hellenizing party in Judaea. Mattathias killed a Hellenistic Jew who stepped forward to offer a sacrifice to an idol in Mattathias place and he and his five sons fled to the wilderness of Judah. The Maccabees destroyed pagan altars in the villages, circumcised boys, the term Maccabees as used to describe the Jewish army is taken from the Hebrew word for hammer. The revolt involved many battles, in which the Maccabean forces gained notoriety among the Seleucid army for their use of guerrilla tactics
6.
Leadership
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Leadership is both a research area and a practical skill encompassing the ability of an individual or organization to lead or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The literature debates various viewpoints, contrasting Eastern and Western approaches to leadership, US academic environments define leadership as a process of social influence in which a person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Leadership seen from a European and non-academic perspective encompasses a view of a leader who can be moved not only by communitarian goals but also by the search for personal power. Studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits, situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, the search for the characteristics or traits of leaders has continued for centuries. Philosophical writings from Platos Republic to Plutarchs Lives have explored the question What qualities distinguish an individual as a leader, underlying this search was the early recognition of the importance of leadership and the assumption that leadership is rooted in the characteristics that certain individuals possess. This idea that leadership is based on individual attributes is known as the theory of leadership. In Heroes and Hero Worship, Carlyle identified the talents, skills, galtons Hereditary Genius examined leadership qualities in the families of powerful men. After showing that the numbers of eminent relatives dropped off when his focus moved from first-degree to second-degree relatives, in other words, leaders were born, not developed. Both of these notable works lent great initial support for the notion that leadership is rooted in characteristics of a leader, international networks of such leaders could help to promote international understanding and help render war impossible. This vision of leadership underlay the creation of the Rhodes Scholarships, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, however, a series of qualitative reviews of these studies prompted researchers to take a drastically different view of the driving forces behind leadership. Subsequently, leadership was no longer characterized as an individual trait, as situational approaches posited that individuals can be effective in certain situations. The focus then shifted away from traits of leaders to an investigation of the behaviors that were effective. Additionally, during the 1980s statistical advances allowed researchers to conduct meta-analyses and this advent allowed trait theorists to create a comprehensive picture of previous leadership research rather than rely on the qualitative reviews of the past. Equipped with new methods, leadership researchers revealed the following, Individuals can and do emerge as leaders across a variety of situations, fail to consider patterns or integrations of multiple attributes. Do not distinguish between those leader attributes that are generally not malleable over time and those that are shaped by, do not consider how stable leader attributes account for the behavioral diversity necessary for effective leadership. Considering the criticisms of the theory outlined above, several researchers have begun to adopt a different perspective of leader individual differences—the leader attribute pattern approach. David McClelland, for example, posited that leadership takes a strong personality with a well-developed positive ego, to lead, self-confidence and high self-esteem are useful, perhaps even essential. Kurt Lewin, Ronald Lipitt, and Ralph White developed in 1939 the seminal work on the influence of leadership styles, the researchers evaluated the performance of groups of eleven-year-old boys under different types of work climate
7.
High Priest of Israel
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High Priest was the title of the chief religious official of Judaism from the early post-Exilic times until the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. This tradition came to an end in the 2nd century BCE during the rule of the Hasmoneans, when the position was occupied by other priestly families. Aaron, though he is but rarely called the great priest, being simply designated as ha-kohen, was the first incumbent of the office. The succession was to be one of his sons, and was to remain in his own family. If he had no son, the office devolved upon the next of age. In the time of Eli, however, the passed to the collateral branch of Ithamar. But King Solomon is reported to have deposed the High Priest Abiathar, and to have appointed Zadok, a descendant of Eleazar, in his stead. After the Exile, the succession seems to have been, at first, in a line from father to son. Antiochus IV Epiphanes for instance, deposed Onias III in favor of Jason, Herod the Great nominated no less than six high priests, Archelaus, two. The Roman legate Quirinius and his successors exercised the right of appointment, as did Agrippa I, Herod of Chalcis, even the people occasionally elected candidates to the office. The age of eligibility for the office is not fixed in the Law, aristobulus, however, was only seventeen when appointed by Herod, but the son of Onias III was too young to succeed his father. The age a Levite entered the priesthood was 30 years of age, legitimacy of birth was essential, hence the care in the keeping of the genealogical records and the distrust of one whose mother had been captured in war. The high priest had to abstain from ritual defilement and he may marry only an Israelite virgin. In Ezekiel 44,22 this restriction is extended to all kohanim, according to Josephus, birth on foreign soil was not a disqualification, but the disqualifications of Leviticus 21,17 et seq. applied to the high priest as well as to other priests. The Torah provides for specific vestments to be worn by the priests when they are ministering in the Tabernacle, And you shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for dignity and these garments are described in detail in Exodus 28, Exodus 39 and Leviticus 8. The high priest wore eight holy garments, of these, four were of the same type worn by all priests, and four were unique to the Kohen Gadol. That of the High Priest was embroidered, those of the priests were plain, Priestly sash, that of the High Priest was of fine linen with embroidered work in blue and purple and scarlet, those worn by the priests were of white, twined linen. It was fastened to the Ephod On the front of the turban was a golden plate inscribed with the words, the High Priest, like all priests, would minister barefoot when he was serving in the Temple
8.
Josephus
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Josephus claimed the Jewish Messianic prophecies that initiated the First Roman-Jewish War made reference to Vespasian becoming Emperor of Rome. In response Vespasian decided to keep Josephus as a slave and interpreter, after Vespasian became Emperor in 69 CE, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the emperors family name of Flavius. Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship and he became an advisor and friend of Vespasians son Titus, serving as his translator when Titus led the Siege of Jerusalem. Since the siege proved ineffective at stopping the Jewish revolt, the citys destruction, Josephus recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the first century CE and the First Jewish–Roman War, including the Siege of Masada. His most important works were The Jewish War and Antiquities of the Jews, the Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation. Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Roman audience and these works provide valuable insight into first century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity. Josephus introduces himself in Greek as Iōsēpos, son of Matthias and he was the second-born son of Matthias. His older full-blooded brother was also called Matthias and their mother was an aristocratic woman who descended from the royal and formerly ruling Hasmonean dynasty. Josephuss paternal grandparents were Josephus and his wife—an unnamed Hebrew noblewoman, distant relatives of each other and he descended through his father from the priestly order of the Jehoiarib, which was the first of the 24 orders of priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. Josephus was a descendant of the high priest Jonathon, born and raised in Jerusalem, Josephus was educated alongside his brother. In his early twenties, he traveled to negotiate with Emperor Nero for the release of 12 Jewish priests, Josephus successfully fought the Roman army in Galilee, until he was captured by the Romans during the height of the war. After the Jewish garrison of Yodfat fell under siege, the Romans invaded, killing thousands, according to Josephus, he was trapped in a cave with 40 of his companions in July 67 CE. The Romans asked the group to surrender, but they refused, Josephus suggested a method of collective suicide, they drew lots and killed each other, one by one, counting to every third person. Two men were left, who surrendered to the Roman forces, in 69 CE, Josephus was released. According to his account, he acted as a negotiator with the defenders during the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE, in which his parents and first wife died. While being confined at Yodfat, Josephus claimed to have experienced a divine revelation, after the prediction came true, he was released by Vespasian, who considered his gift of prophecy to be divine. In 71 CE, he went to Rome in the entourage of Titus, becoming a Roman citizen, in addition to Roman citizenship, he was granted accommodation in conquered Judaea and a decent, if not extravagant, pension. While in Rome and under Flavian patronage, Josephus wrote all of his known works, although he uses Josephus, he appears to have taken the Roman praenomen Titus and nomen Flavius from his patrons
9.
The Jewish War
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The Jewish War or Judean War, also referred to in English as The Wars of the Jews, is a book written by Josephus, a Roman-Jewish historian of the 1st century. The next five books detail the unfolding of the war, under Roman generals Vespasian and Titus, the book was written about 75 AD, originally in Josephuss paternal tongue - either Aramaic or Hebrew- though this version has not survived. It was later translated into Greek, probably under the supervision of Josephus himself, however, the current Greek edition does not appear to be a translation, but must be considered a new edition, a complete re-working of the first writing and likely a considerable expansion. The text also survives in an Old Slavonic version, as well as Hebrew which contains material not found in the Greek version, H. Leeming and K. Leeming, Josephus Jewish War and Its Slavonic Version, A Synoptic Comparison. Ancient Judaism & Early Christianity, Brill, notes on the Old Slavonic Josephus Hear a discussion and analysis of this monograph, on an episode of the radio series Invitation to Learning. Loeb Classical Library Josephus Volume 2 The Jewish War Books 1-3 Loeb Classical Library Josephus Volume 3 The Jewish War Books 4-7
10.
2 Maccabees
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Unlike 1 Maccabees,2 Maccabees was written in Koine Greek, probably in Alexandria, Egypt, c 124 BC. Catholics and Eastern Orthodox consider the work to be canonical and part of the Bible, Protestants and Jews reject most of the doctrinal issues present in the work. Some Protestants include 2 Maccabees as part of the Biblical Apocrypha, article VI of the Thirty-Nine Articles of the Church of England defines it as useful but not the basis of doctrine and not necessary for salvation. The author of 2 Maccabees is not identified, but he claims to be abridging a 5-volume work by Jason of Cyrene and this longer work is not preserved, and it is uncertain how much of the present text of 2 Maccabees is simply copied from that work. The author wrote in Greek, apparently, as there is no evidence of an earlier Hebrew version. A few sections of the book, such as the Preface, Epilogue, jasons work was apparently written sometime around 100 BC and most likely ended with the defeat of Nicanor, as does the abridgement available to us. If the author of the book inserted these letters, the book would have to have written after 124 BC the date of the second letter. Some commentators hold that these letters were an addition, while others consider them the basis for the work. Catholic scholars tend toward a dating in the last years of the 2nd century BC, some of the numbers cited for sizes of armies may also appear exaggerated, though not all of the manuscripts of this book agree. The Greek style of the writer is very educated, and he seems well-informed about Greek customs, the action follows a very simple plan, after the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple is instituted. The newly dedicated Temple is threatened by Nicanor, and after his death, a special day is dedicated to commemorate the Jewish victory called Adar and each year it is celebrated two days before Mordecai Day. 2 Maccabees demonstrates several points of doctrinal interpretation deriving from Pharisaic Judaism, several churches are dedicated to the Maccabeean martyrs, and they are among the few pre-Christian figures to appear on the Catholic calendar of saints days. The book is considered the first model of the stories of the martyrs. Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox regard 2 Maccabees as canonical, the Codex Vaticanus lacks 1 and 2 Maccabees which Codex Sinaiticus includes along with 4 Maccabees, which evidences a lack of uniformity in the lists of books in early manuscripts of the Septuagint. Neither 1st nor 2nd Maccabees were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, in Jamnia c 90, according to one theory now largely discredited, rabbis endorsed a narrower canon, excluding deuterocanonical works such as 2 Maccabees. Although 2 Maccabees was included by Luther and other reformers in their Bibles. Martin Luther said, I am so great an enemy to the book of the Maccabees, and to Esther. Other evangelical writers have more positive towards the book, twentieth century author James B
11.
Heliodorus (minister)
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Heliodorus was a legate of Seleucus IV Philopator c.187 BC –175 BC. Around 178 BC Seleucus sent Heliodorus to Jerusalem to collect money to pay the Romans, there may be a reference to this in Daniel 11,20, He will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. 2 Maccabees 3, 21-28 reports that Heliodorus entered the Temple in Jerusalem in order to take its treasure,2 Maccabees 3, 34-36 records that Heliodorus received orders from God to proclaim to all men the majesty of Gods power. The Heliodorus stele, a Greek-language inscription of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, is dated to 178 BCE, in this stele, Seleucus informs Heliodorus that he appoints a certain Olympiodoros in charge of the temples of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia
12.
Hyrcania
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Hyrcania is a historical region composed of the land south-east of the Caspian Sea in modern day Iran, bound in the south by the Alborz mountain range and the Kopet Dag in the east. The region served as a satrapy of the Median Empire, a sub-province of the Achaemenid Empire, and a province within its successors, Hyrcania bordered Parthia to the east, Dihistan to the north, Media to the south and Mardia to the west. After the fall of the Sasanian Empire in 651 AD, Hyrcania was known as Tabaristan, according to Ctesias, Astyages grandson Megabernes also served as satrap of Hyrcania. Under the Achaemenid Empire, Hyrcania served as a sub-province of the satrapy of Parthia, at times, Cadusia may have been administered as part of Hyrcania. Fortifications to protect Hyrcania against nomadic incursions were constructed during the Achaemenid period, following Darius the Greats victory over the Magian usurper, Gaumata, in September 522 BC, revolts spread throughout the empire. In December 522 BC, a revolt in support of the Median leader Phraortes erupted in Hyrcania, and in March 521 BC, in May, Phraortes was defeated and Hyrcania returned to Achaemenid rule. Darius later settled Hyrcanians in the settlement of Dareionkome in the Hyrcanian Plain in Lydia, other Hyrcanian settlements in the Hermus valley include Ormoita and Tyanolla. According to Herodotus, Hyrcanian soldiers participated in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC under the command of Megapanus, after the war, a garrison composed of Hyrcanian soldiers was posted in the valleys of the rivers Hermus and Caicus. Under Xerxes I, Hyrcania was likely detached from the satrapy of Parthia, some sources imply Hyrcania was later administered as a sub-province of Media. According to Ctesias, Artaxerxes I appointed his illegitimate son Ochus as satrap of Hyrcania in c.425 BC, by the time of Alexander the Greats invasion of the Achaemenid Empire in 334 BC, Hyrcania was reattached to the satrapy of Parthia and administered as a sub-province. Hyrcanian soldiers are mentioned in the Battle of Gaugamela against Alexander in 331 BC, after the death of Darius III in 330 BC, many Persian noblemen fled to Hyrcania. Alexander reached Hyrcania in 330 BC, where he accepted the surrender of Phrataphernes, satrap of Hyrcania and Parthia, Alexander seized Zadracarta, the capital of Hyrcania, hereafter known as Syrinx, later that year and received the surrender of other satraps and nobles. Whilst in Hycania, Alexander appointed his general Amminapes as satrap of Hyrcania and Parthia, in 328 BC, Autophradates rebelled against Alexander and Phrataphernes, who had been reinstated as satrap of Parthia, was sent to quell the revolt. Autophradates was defeated and executed by Alexander at Pasargadae in 324 BC and Phrataphernes was granted the satrapies of Hyrcania, Tapuria, and Mardia. Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his empire was divided amongst the Diadochi in the Partition of Babylon, which confirmed Phrataphernes control of Hyrcania and Parthia. The Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC granted Parthia and Hyrcania to Philip, however, Philip was killed by Peithon, satrap of Media, in 318 BC and Peithon appointed his brother Eudemus as satrap. Seleucus son, Antiochus I, appointed Andragoras as satrap of Parthia and Hyrcania at a date prior to 266 BC. Andragoras may have founded the city of Dehestān during his tenure as satrap, Andragoras was killed in 238 BC during the Parni conquest of Parthia, led by Arsaces, who went on to conquer Hyrcania in 235 BC, thereafter forming part of the Arsacid Empire
13.
Caspian Sea
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The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the worlds largest lake or a full-fledged sea. It is in a basin located between Europe and Asia. It is bounded by Kazakhstan to the northeast, Russia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the west, Iran to the south, the Caspian Sea lies to the east of the Caucasus Mountains and to the west of the vast steppe of Central Asia. In its northern part, the Caspian Depression lies 28 to 130 m below sea level, the sea bed in the southern part reaches as low as 1023 m below sea level, which is the second lowest natural depression on earth after Lake Baikal. The ancient inhabitants of its coast perceived the Caspian Sea as an ocean, probably because of its saltiness, the sea has a surface area of 371,000 km2 and a volume of 78,200 km3. It has a salinity of approximately 1. 2%, about a third of the salinity of most seawater, the word Caspian is derived from the name of the Caspi, an ancient people who lived to the southwest of the sea in Transcaucasia. Strabo wrote that to the country of the Albanians belongs also the territory called Caspiane, which was named after the Caspian tribe, as was also the sea, but the tribe has now disappeared. Moreover, the Caspian Gates, which is the name of a region in Irans Tehran province, the Iranian city of Qazvin shares the root of its name with that of the sea. In fact, the traditional Arabic name for the sea itself is Bahr al-Qazwin, in classical antiquity among Greeks and Persians it was called the Hyrcanian Ocean. In Persian antiquity, as well as in modern Iran, it is known as the دریای خزر, Daryā-e Khazar, ancient Arabic sources refer to it as Baḥr Gīlān meaning the Gilan Sea. Turkic languages refer to the lake as Khazar Sea, in Turkmen, the name is Hazar deňizi, in Azeri, it is Xəzər dənizi, and in modern Turkish, it is Hazar denizi. An exception is Kazakh, where it is called Каспий теңізі, old Russian sources call it the Khvalyn or Khvalis Sea after the name of Khwarezmia. In modern Russian, it is called Каспи́йское мо́ре, Kaspiyskoye more, the Caspian Sea, like the Black Sea, Namak Lake, and Lake Urmia, is a remnant of the ancient Paratethys Sea. It became landlocked about 5.5 million years ago due to tectonic uplift and a fall in sea level. Due to the current inflow of water, the Caspian Sea is a freshwater lake in its northern portions, and is most saline on the Iranian shore. Currently, the salinity of the Caspian is one third that of Earths oceans. The Caspian Sea is the largest inland body of water in the world, the coastlines of the Caspian are shared by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan. The Caspian is divided into three distinct regions, the Northern, Middle, and Southern Caspian
14.
Hellenistic period
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It is often considered a period of transition, sometimes even of decadence or degeneration, compared to the enlightenment of the Greek Classical era. The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy, Alexandrian poetry, the Septuagint, Greek science was advanced by the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes. The religious sphere expanded to include new gods such as the Greco-Egyptian Serapis, eastern deities such as Attis and Cybele, the Hellenistic period was characterized by a new wave of Greek colonization which established Greek cities and kingdoms in Asia and Africa. This resulted in the export of Greek culture and language to new realms. Equally, however, these new kingdoms were influenced by the cultures, adopting local practices where beneficial, necessary. Hellenistic culture thus represents a fusion of the Ancient Greek world with that of the Near East, Middle East and this mixture gave rise to a common Attic-based Greek dialect, known as Koine Greek, which became the lingua franca through the Hellenistic world. Scholars and historians are divided as to what event signals the end of the Hellenistic era, Hellenistic is distinguished from Hellenic in that the first encompasses the entire sphere of direct ancient Greek influence, while the latter refers to Greece itself. The word originated from the German term hellenistisch, from Ancient Greek Ἑλληνιστής, from Ἑλλάς, Hellenistic is a modern word and a 19th-century concept, the idea of a Hellenistic period did not exist in Ancient Greece. Although words related in form or meaning, e. g, the major issue with the term Hellenistic lies in its convenience, as the spread of Greek culture was not the generalized phenomenon that the term implies. Some areas of the world were more affected by Greek influences than others. The Greek population and the population did not always mix, the Greeks moved and brought their own culture. While a few fragments exist, there is no surviving historical work which dates to the hundred years following Alexanders death. The works of the major Hellenistic historians Hieronymus of Cardia, Duris of Samos, the earliest and most credible surviving source for the Hellenistic period is Polybius of Megalopolis, a statesman of the Achaean League until 168 BC when he was forced to go to Rome as a hostage. His Histories eventually grew to a length of forty books, covering the years 220 to 167 BC, another important source, Plutarchs Parallel Lives though more preoccupied with issues of personal character and morality, outlines the history of important Hellenistic figures. Appian of Alexandria wrote a history of the Roman empire that includes information of some Hellenistic kingdoms, other sources include Justins epitome of Pompeius Trogus Historiae Philipicae and a summary of Arrians Events after Alexander, by Photios I of Constantinople. Lesser supplementary sources include Curtius Rufus, Pausanias, Pliny, in the field of philosophy, Diogenes Laertius Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is the main source. Ancient Greece had traditionally been a collection of fiercely independent city-states. After the Peloponnesian War, Greece had fallen under a Spartan hegemony, in which Sparta was pre-eminent but not all-powerful
15.
Seleucid Empire
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Seleucus received Babylonia and, from there, expanded his dominions to include much of Alexanders near eastern territories. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and what is now Kuwait, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and Turkmenistan. The Seleucid Empire was a center of Hellenistic culture that maintained the preeminence of Greek customs where a Greek political elite dominated. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by immigration from Greece, Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt were frustrated by Roman demands, contemporary sources, such as a loyalist degree from Ilium, in Greek language define the Seleucid state both as an empire and as a kingdom. Similarly, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia and he refers to either Alexander Balas or Alexander II Zabinas as a ruler. Alexander, who conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III, died young in 323 BC. Alexanders generals jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire, Ptolemy, a former general and the satrap of Egypt, was the first to challenge the new system, this led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemys revolt led to a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC, Seleucus, who had been Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry and appointed first or court chiliarch received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC, the used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. Following his and Lysimachus victory over Antigonus Monophthalmus at the decisive Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia, in the latter area, he founded a new capital at Antioch on the Orontes, a city he named after his father. An alternative capital was established at Seleucia on the Tigris, north of Babylon, Seleucuss empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachuss lands in Europe – primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, nevertheless, even before Seleucus death, it was difficult to assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids. Seleucus invaded the Punjab region of India in 305 BC, confronting Chandragupta Maurya and it is said that Chandragupta fielded an army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants. Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and it is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucuss daughter, or a Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants, an asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandraguptas reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus
16.
Mithridates I of Parthia
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Mithridates or Mithradates I, was king of the Parthian Empire from 165 BC to 132 BC, succeeding his brother Phraates I. His father was King Phriapatius of Parthia, who died ca.176 BC), Mithridates I made Parthia into a major political power by expanding the empire to the east, south, and west. During his reign the Parthians took Herat, Babylonia, Media and Persia, because of his many conquests and religious tolerance, he has been compared to other Iranian kings such Cyrus the Great, founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Mithridates first expanded Parthias control eastward by defeating King Eucratides of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and this gave Parthia control over Bactrias territory west of the Arius river, the regions of Margiana and Aria. The satrapy Turiva and that of Aspionus were taken away from Eucratides by the Parthians and these victories gave Parthia control of the overland trade routes between east and west. After defeating the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in the east, Mithridates then focused on the Seleucid realm and he invaded Media and occupied Ecbatana in 148 or 147 BC, the region had been destabilized by a recent Seleucid suppression of a rebellion there led by Timarchus. This victory was followed by the Parthian conquest of Babylonia in Mesopotamia, while Mithridates retired to Hyrcania, his forces subdued the kingdoms of Elymais and Characene and occupied Susa. By this time, Parthian authority extended as far east as the Indus River, Ecbatana became the main summertime residence for the Arsacid royalty. It became the site of the coronation ceremony and the representational city of the Arsacids. The Seleucids were unable to retaliate immediately as general Diodotus Tryphon led a rebellion at the capital, Antioch, however, by 140 BC Demetrius II Nicator was able to launch a counter-invasion against the Parthians in Mesopotamia. Despite early successes, the Seleucids were defeated and Demetrius himself was captured by Parthian forces, there Mithridates treated his captive with great hospitality, he even married his daughter Rhodogune of Parthia to Demetrius. When the two friends were captured, the Parthian king did not punish Kallimander but rewarded him for his fidelity to Demetrius. The second time Demetrius was captured trying to escape, Mithridates humiliated him by giving him a golden set of dice. It was however for reasons that the Parthians treated Demetrius II kindly. He was held captive for ten years while Mithridates was consolidating his conquests, originally, it was thought that Mithridates was killed in battle near Seleucia, fighting the resurgent Seleucid forces under Antiochus VII Sidetes, brother of Demetrius II Nicator. However, recent evidence suggests that Mithridates became increasingly ill after 138 BC, Mithridates Is son, Phraates, succeeded him on his death as King, and would later avenge his father by invading Media and killing Antiochus VII Sidetes. The coins minted during his show the first appearance on Parthian coinage of a Greek-style portrait showing the royal diadem. Mithradates I resumed the striking of coins, which had been suspended ever since Arsaces II of Parthia had been forced to submit to the Seleucid Antiochus III in 206 BC
17.
Antiochus VII Sidetes
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Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes, ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature, after Antiochus VII Sidetes was killed in battle, the Seleucid realm was restricted to Syria. He was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter, the brother of Demetrius II Nicator and he married Cleopatra Thea, who had been the wife of Demetrius. Their offspring was Antiochus IX, who became both half-brother and cousin to Seleucus V and Antiochus VIII. Sidetes defeated the usurper Tryphon at Dora and laid siege to Jerusalem in 132, during the siege he allowed a seven-day truce for the Jews to celebrate a religious festival, impressing the Jewish leadership. According to Josephus the Hasmonean leader John Hyrcanus opened King Davids sepulchre, nevertheless, King Antiochus respectful treatment of the Jews, and respect for their religion, earned him their gratitude and added name, Euergetes. With no Jewish sources of that time it is if the siege of Jerusalem ended with a decisive Seleucid victory or simply a peace treaty. Furthermore, the fact is that Jewish forces later assisted Sidetes in his wars, all in all it indicates a renewal of the friendly relations from the time of Demetrius II. Antiochus spent the years of his life attempting to reclaim the lost eastern territories, overrun by the Parthians under their Great King. Marching east, with what would prove to be the last great Seleucid royal army and he restored Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Media to the Seleucid empire, before dispersing his army into winter quarters. The Seleucid king and army spent the winter feasting, hunting, as with any time an army is quartered upon a population, tensions soon grew between the locals and the Syrian troops. The new Parthian ruler, Phraates II, had not been idle, hoping to further sow dissension amongst his foes, Phraates also released his long-held prisoner, Demetrius II, Antiochus older brother, to return to Syria and reclaim the throne. That winter, several Median towns rose in rebellion and attacked their Seleucid garrisons, Antiochus marched to support one such isolated garrison with only a small force. In a barren valley, he was ambushed and killed by Phraates II and a force of Parthians. The last great Seleucid king died in battle, an end for the heir of Seleucus I Nicator. After Antiochus VII Sidetes, the Parthians regained the territory briefly lost, list of Syrian monarchs Timeline of Syrian history Antiochus VII Sidetes entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
18.
Phraates II
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Phraates II, was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 126 BC. He is mostly known for his attempt to reconquer Babylon and he was the son of Mithridates I. Because he was very young when he came to the throne. In 130 BC the Parthian empire was attacked from the west, Antiochus VII Sidetes, ruler of the Seleucid Empire attacked in the west to reconquer territory lost earlier. After three battles he reclaimed Babylonia and Media, after this he offered a peace, by which he would regain Mesopotamia and large parts of Iran. The Parthian realm would be restricted to its territories and would pay a heavy tribute. Phraates II could not accept these demands, so he refused the offer. Thus when Phraates II attacked the Seleucid army in its winter quarters, Antiochus VII was defeated and killed or committed suicide, ending Seleucid rule east of the Euphrates. Phraates II succeeded in capturing Seleucus, the son of the king and he allowed Antiochus VII a royal funeral and returned the body to Syria in a silver coffin. Phraates II also had Demetrius II Nicator, who had held by the Parthians as a hostage for several years. Through this the Parthian king hoped to gain influence in Syria. Phraates II even married one of the daughters, whose name is not recorded. Syria, which was now the Seleucid rump state, lacked military power, but on the eastern front, the nomadic Saka and Tochari destroyed the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, penetrated to the borders of the realm in 129 BC, and threatened the Parthians kingdom. The king had to rush to the front, installing Himeros as governor of Babylon. Phraates II marched east, his army including a force of captured Seleucid soldiers from the army of the late Antiochus VII Sidetes. These ultimately refused to fight for the Parthian king, and he was defeated and killed in battle, traditionally, it is assumed that Phraates uncle, Artabanus I succeeded him as King. However, cuneiform and numismatic evidence suggests that his uncle, Bacasis. Phraates Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History 42.1
19.
Demetrius II Nicator
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For the similarly named Macedonian ruler, see Demetrius II of Macedon. For the Macedonian prince, see Demetrius the Fair, Demetrius II, called Nicator, was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter, brother of Antiochus VII Sidetes and his mother could have been Laodice V. He ruled the Seleucid Empire for two periods, separated by a number of years of captivity in Hyrcania in Parthia. As a young boy, he fled to Crete after the death of his father, his mother and his older brother, about 147 BC he returned to Syria, and with the backing of Ptolemy VI Philometor, king of Egypt, regained his fathers throne. The Egyptian king also divorced his daughter Cleopatra Thea from Balas, Alexander fled to the Nabateans who, anxious to stay on good terms with Egypt, cut off his head. However, Demetrius was not a popular king, the people of Syria had little respect for the young boy, who had come to power with the help of Egypt and Cretan mercenaries led by the ruthless condottiere Lasthenes. The Antiochenians offered the Seleucid throne to Ptolemy VI, who had conquered most of southern Syria for his own interest. The Egyptian troops marched home, leaderless and disillusioned, and with Balas dead as well Demetrius became sole master of the Seleucid kingdom, the pillaging of the Cretan soldiers caused the Antiochenians to rise in rebellion, and only after terrible massacres was order restored. Soon after, the general Diodotus conquered Antioch and had his protégé Antiochus VI Dionysus, Demetrius proved unable to retake the capital, instead establishing himself in Seleucia. Diodotus had Antiochus VI deposed a few later, and made himself king as Tryphon. In 139 BC, Parthian activity forced Demetrius to take action and he marched against Mithradates I, king of Parthia and was initially successful, but was defeated in the Iranian mountains and taken prisoner the following year. King Mithradates had kept Demetrius II alive and even married him to a Parthian princess named Rhodogune, when the two friends were captured, the Parthian king did not punish Kallimander but rewarded him for his fidelity to Demetrius. The second time Demetrius was captured when he tried to escape, Mithradates humiliated him by giving him a set of dice. It was however for reasons that the Parthians treated Demetrius II kindly. In 130 BC Antiochus Sidetes felt secure enough to march against Parthia, now Phraates II made what he thought was a powerful move, he released Demetrius, hoping that the two brothers would start a civil war. However, Sidetes was defeated soon after his brothers release and never met him, Phraates II set people to pursue Demetrius, but he managed to safely return home to Syria and regained his throne and his queen as well. However, the Seleucid kingdom was now but a shadow of its former glory, recollections of his cruelties and vices – along with his humiliating defeat – caused him to be greatly detested. The Egyptian queen Cleopatra II set up an army for Demetrius, hoping to engage him in her wars against her brother king Ptolemy VIII
20.
Simon Thassi
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Simon Maccabeus was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. Though the name Thassi has a connotation of the Wise, the Director, the Guide, the Man of Counsel, and he took a prominent part in the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Empire led by his brothers, Judas Maccabaeus and Jonathan Maccabaeus. At Hadid he blocked the advance of the treacherous Trypho, who was attempting to enter the country, since Trypho could gain nothing by force, he demanded a ransom for Jonathan and the surrender of Jonathans sons as hostages. Although Simon was fully aware that Trypho would deceive him, he acceded to demands, so that the people might see that he had done everything possible for his brother. Jonathan was nevertheless treacherously assassinated, and the hostages were not returned, Simon thus became the sole leader of the people. As the opponent of Trypho, Simon had every reason to side with Demetrius II. to whom he sent a deputation requesting freedom from taxation for the country, the fact that his request was granted implied the recognition of the political independence of Judea. He became the first prince of the Hebrew Hasmonean Dynasty and he reigned from 142 to 135 BCE. Recognition of the new dynasty by the Roman Republic was accorded by the Senate about 139 BCE, Simon made the Jewish people semi-independent of the Seleucid Empire. In February 135 BCE, he was assassinated at the instigation of his son-in-law and rival Ptolemy, Simon was followed by his third son, John Hyrcanus, whose two elder brothers, Mattathias and Judah, had been murdered, together with their father. List of Hasmonean and Herodian rulers
21.
Judas Maccabeus
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Judah Maccabee was a Jewish priest and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire, the Jewish feast of Hanukkah commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, after Judah Maccabee removed the Hellenistic statuary. Judah was the son of Mattathias the Hasmonean, a Jewish priest from the village of Modiin. After Mattathiass death in 166 BCE, Judah assumed leadership of the revolt in accordance with the disposition of his father. The First Book of Maccabees praises Judahs valor and military talent, in the early days of the rebellion, Judah received a surname Maccabee. Several explanations have been put forward for this surname, one suggestion is that the name derives from the Aramaic maqqaba, hammer or sledgehammer, in recognition of his ferocity in battle. It is also possible that the name Maccabee is an acronym for the Torah verse Mi kamokha baelim Adonai, Who among the gods is like you, rabbi Moshe Schreiber writes that it is an acronym for his fathers name Mattityahu Kohen Ben Yochanan. Some scholars maintain that the name is a form of the Hebrew maqqab-ya ¯hû. The strategy enabled Judah to win a string of victories, at the battle of Nahal el-Haramiah, he defeated a small Seleucid force under the command of Apollonius, governor of Samaria, who was killed. Judah took possession of Apolloniuss sword and used it until his death as a symbol of vengeance, after Nahal el-Haramiah, recruits flocked to the Jewish cause. Shortly thereafter, Judah routed a larger Seleucid army under the command of Seron near Beth-Horon, then in the Battle of Emmaus, Judah proceeded to defeat the Seleucid forces led by generals Nicanor and Gorgias. This force was dispatched by Lysias, whom Antiochus left as viceroy after departing on a campaign against the Parthians, by a forced night march, Judah succeeded in eluding Gorgias, who had intended to attack and destroy the Jewish forces in their camp with his cavalry. While Gorgias was searching for him in the mountains, Judah made an attack upon the Seleucid camp. The Seleucid commander had no alternative but to withdraw to the coast, the defeat at Emmaus convinced Lysias that he must prepare for a serious and prolonged war. He accordingly assembled a new and larger army and marched with it on Judea from the south via Idumea, after several years of conflict Judah drove out his foes from Jerusalem, except for the garrison in the citadel of Acra. He purified the defiled Temple of Jerusalem and on the 25th of Kislev restored the service in the Temple, the reconsecration of the Temple became a permanent Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, which continued even after the Temple was destroyed in 70 CE. The liberation of Jerusalem was the first step on the road to ultimate independence, upon hearing the news that the Jewish communities in Gilead, Transjordan, and Galilee were under attack by neighboring Greek cities, Judah immediately went to their aid. He personally led the campaign in Transjordan, taking him his brother Jonathan
22.
Jonathan Apphus
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Jonathan Apphus was leader of the Hasmonean Dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. The name Apphus means the diplomat, in allusion to a prominent in him. Jonathan Apphus was the youngest of the five sons of Mattathias and his father was a Kohen credited as the founding figure of the rebellion of the Maccabees against Antiochus IV Epiphanes of the Seleucid Empire. However Mattathias died in 167 BCE while the rebellion was only beginning and he was survived by Jonathan and his brothers Eleazar Avaran, Johanan, Judas Maccabeus, and Simon Thassi. They were sworn to continue the rebellion of their father, Judas soon became their de facto leader and the military chief of the rebellion. Jonathan served under his brother and took parts in the battles against the Seleucid forces. His reputation for courage is lesser to that of Judas but hardly questionable and his courage had been frequently tried. However, Judas was one of the casualties of the Battle of Elasa, the victor of the battle was Bacchides, a Seleucid general under Demetrius I Soter. Bacchides proceeded with crushing rigor against the Maccabean party while at the time a famine broke out in the land. The Jewish rebels required a new leader and Jonathan was chosen, Jonathan noticed that Bacchides was trying to entrap him. He reacted by retiring with his brothers Simeon and John, and they set camp near a morass by the name of Asphar. But Bacchides followed him there and overtook them during a Sabbath, Jonathan gave all the baggage into the hands of his brother John who took a small force and headed towards the friendly Nabataeans. The plan was to secure their baggage there but the sons of Jambri of Medeba, John and his companions were killed and their cargo was looted. Jonathan and his companions met Bacchides in battle at the River Jordan, Jonathan had encountered and had raised his hand to slay Bacchides, when the latter evaded the blow, the Jews, defeated, sought refuge by swimming through the Jordan to the eastern bank. In this battle Bacchides is reported to have lost either 1,000 or 2,000 men and he did not make another attempt to cross the river, Jonathan and his forces remained in the swamp in the country east of the Jordan. Following the death of his puppet governor Alcimus, Kohen Gadol in Jerusalem sometime later and he continued activities against the Jews influenced by the Hellenistic civilization. Two years after the departure of Bacchides from Judea, Acra felt sufficiently threatened to contact Demetrius, a frustrated Bacchides reportedly took out his anger on the Hellenists and reportedly killed fifty of their leaders out of frustration. Jonathan and Simeon thought it well to retreat farther, and accordingly fortified in the desert a place called Beth-hogla, Jonathan perceived that Bacchides regretted having set out
23.
1 Maccabees
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1 Maccabees is a book written in Hebrew by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom by the Hasmonean dynasty, about the latter part of the 2nd century BC. The original Hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the Greek translation contained in the Septuagint, the book is held as canonical scripture by the Catholic, Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches, but not by Anglican and Protestant denominations. Such Protestants consider it to be an apocryphal book, in modern-day Judaism, the book is often of great historical interest, but has no official religious status. It tells how the Greek ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes attempted to suppress the practice of basic Jewish law, the doctrine expressed in the book reflects traditional Jewish teaching, without later doctrines found, for example, in 2 Maccabees. The First Book of Maccabees also gives a list of Jewish colonies scattered elsewhere through the Mediterranean at the time, in the first chapter, Alexander the Great conquers the territory of Judea, only to be eventually succeeded by the Seleucid Antiochus IV Epiphanes. After successfully invading the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Antiochus IV captures Jerusalem and removes the sacred objects from the Temple in Jerusalem and he then imposes a tax and establishes a fortress in Jerusalem. Antiochus then tries to suppress public observance of Jewish laws, in an attempt to control over the Jews. In 168 BCE, he desecrates the Temple by setting up an abomination of desolation, Antiochus forbids both circumcision and possession of Jewish scriptures on pain of death. He forbids observance of the sabbath and the offering of sacrifices at the Temple and he also requires Jewish leaders to sacrifice to idols. While enforcement may be targeting only Jewish leaders, ordinary Jews were also killed as a warning to others, hellenization included the construction of gymnasiums in Jerusalem. But 1 Maccabees also insists that there were many Jews who sought out or welcomed the introduction of Greek culture, according to the text, some Jewish men even engaged in foreskin restoration in order to pass as fully Greek. Mattathias calls upon people loyal to the traditions of Israel to oppose the invaders and the Jewish Hellenizers, there is one complete loss of a thousand Jews to Antiochus when the Jewish defenders refuse to fight on the Sabbath. The other Jews then reason that, when attacked, they must fight even on the holy day, in 165 BC the Temple is freed and reconsecrated, so that ritual sacrifices may begin again. The festival of Hanukkah is instituted by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers to celebrate this event, Judas seeks an alliance with the Roman Republic to remove the Greeks. He is succeeded by his brother Jonathan, who becomes high priest and also seeks alliance with Rome, simon follows them, receiving the double office of high priest and prince of Israel. Simon leads the people in peace and prosperity, until he is murdered by agents of Ptolemy, son of Abubus and he is succeeded by his son, John Hyrcanus. The name Maccabee in Hebrew, means hammer and this is properly applied to the first leader of the revolt, Judas, third son of Mattathias, whose attacks were hammer-like. The name came to be used for his brothers as well, the Name Maccabee can also be derived from the first letters of each word מי כמוכה באלים יה Who is like You from amongst the mighty, the LORD
24.
Talmud
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The Talmud is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. It is also referred to as Shas, a Hebrew abbreviation of shisha sedarim, the six orders. Talmud translates literally as instruction in Hebrew, and the term may refer to either the Gemara alone, or the Mishnah, the entire Talmud consists of 63 tractates, and in standard print is over 6,200 pages long. The Talmud is the basis for all codes of Jewish law, Rabbis expounded and debated the Torah and discussed the Tanakh without the benefit of written works, though some may have made private notes, for example of court decisions. It is during this period that rabbinic discourse began to be recorded in writing, the earliest recorded oral Torah may have been of the midrashic form, in which halakhic discussion is structured as exegetical commentary on the Pentateuch. But an alternative form, organized by subject matter instead of by biblical verse, became dominant about the year 200 CE, the Oral Torah was far from monolithic, rather, it varied among various schools. The most famous two were the School of Shammai and the School of Hillel, in general, all valid opinions, even the non-normative ones, were recorded in the Talmud. The oldest full manuscript of the Talmud, known as the Munich Talmud, each tractate is divided into chapters,517 in total, that are both numbered according to the Hebrew alphabet and given names, usually using the first one or two words in the first mishnah. A perek may continue over several pages, each perek will contain several mishnayot with their accompanying exchanges that form the building-blocks of the Gemara, the name for a passage of gemara is a sugya. A sugya, including baraita or tosefta, will comprise a detailed proof-based elaboration of a Mishnaic statement. A sugya may, and often does, range widely off the subject of the mishnah, in a given sugya, scriptural, Tannaic and Amoraic statements are cited to support the various opinions. In so doing, the Gemara will highlight semantic disagreements between Tannaim and Amoraim, and compare the Mishnaic views with passages from the Baraita. Rarely are debates formally closed, in instances, the final word determines the practical law. There is a literature on the procedural principles to be used in settling the practical law when disagreements exist, see under #Logic. The Mishnah is a compilation of legal opinions and debates, statements in the Mishnah are typically terse, recording brief opinions of the rabbis debating a subject, or recording only an unattributed ruling, apparently representing a consensus view. The rabbis recorded in the Mishnah are known as the Tannaim, the Mishnahs topical organization thus became the framework of the Talmud as a whole. But not every tractate in the Mishnah has a corresponding Gemara, also, the order of the tractates in the Talmud differs in some cases from that in the Mishnah. In addition to the Mishnah, other tannaitic teachings were current at about the time or shortly thereafter
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Aristobulus I
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He was the eldest of the five sons of John Hyrcanus, the previous leader. Aristobulus was not only just the first king from the Hasmonean lineage, the Pharisees began a massive rebellion, but Aristobulus died before any attempt to depose of him could occur. According to the directions of John Hyrcanus, the country after his death was to be placed in the hands of his wife, Aristobulus did not approve of his fathers wishes, instead, he seized the crown with the support of his brother Antigonus. Much of the Galilee region was annexed by Aristobulus, however, the terrain made campaigning difficult against the Galilee inhabitants. In the end, Aristobulus would eventually conquer much of the territory from them, the Golan region was also taken during the campaign and Mount Hermon as well. The conquered inhabitants were forced to accept the Jewish faith, primarily, Aristobuluss feeble health gradually lead his remaining reign under the control of a clique, at the head of which stood Queen Alexandra Salome, his wife. When he showed signs of disease, the queen conspired to murder Antigonus and she deceived the king with suggestions that Antigonus was attempting to overthrow him by force. Salome then convinced Antigonus that his king wished to see his new armor, Antigonus was killed by Aristobuluss guards before he could get close to his brother. Days later, Aristobulus died from pain and internal bleeding from an unknown disease, the queen released the younger brothers from prison, placing Alexander Jannaeus on the throne. Archaeological findings in eastern Galilee and lower Golan reveal massive ethnic changes in the area just before, during, the first mint of Hasmonean coins didnt begin until the leadership of John Hyrcanus. Like his father, Judah Aristobulus only minted his coins with the title of the high priesthood and it wasnt until Alexander Jannaeus that both the roles of kingship and the high priesthood were minted onto coins. The majority of Judahs coins were found in the regions of Galilee and the Golan, primary, majority of them come from his actual reign, while a small amount of these coins were minted after. 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Antigonus II Judas Maccabeus Maccabean Revolt Simon Thassi Jewish Encyclopedia Aristobulus I Catholic Online The Machabees
26.
Alexander Jannaeus
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To see other rulers related or affiliated with Alexander Jannaeus, see List of Hasmonean and Herodian rulers Alexander Jannaeus was the second Hasmonean king of Judaea from 103 to 76 BC. A son of John Hyrcanus, he inherited the throne from his brother Aristobulus I, from his conquests to expand the kingdom to a bloody civil war, Alexanders reign has been generalized as cruel and oppressive with never ending conflict. Although Josephus and other refer to him by the name of Alexander Yannai. Alexander Jannaeus was the son of John Hyrcanus, by his second wife. When Aristobulus I, Hyrcanus son by his first wife, became king, Aristobulus died after a reign of one year. Upon his death, his widow, Salome Alexandra had Alexander, like his father Alexander also served as the high priest. This raised the ire of the Rabbis who insisted that two offices should not be combined. This incident led the king to turn against the pharisees and persecute them until his death, Alexanders first expedition was against the city of Ptolemais. While Alexander went forward to siege the city, Zoilus, ruler of the coastal city Dora, Alexanders Hasmonean army quickly defeated Zoiluss forces with little trouble. Ptolemais and Zoilus then requested aid from Ptolemy IX Lathyros, who had been cast out by his mother Cleopatra III, Ptolemy founded a kingdom in Cyprus after being cast out by his mother. The situation at Ptolemais was seized as an opportunity by Ptolemy to possibly gain a stronghold, when Alexander formed an alliance with Ptolemy, Ptolemy in good gesture, handed over Ptolemais, Zoilus, Dora, and Stratons Tower to Alexander. As soon as Ptolemy learned of Alexanders scheme, he invaded the Galilee region capturing Asochis, Ptolemy also initiated an attack upon Sepphoris but failed. Alexander might easily have lost his crown and Judea its independence as the result of battle, had it not been for the assistance extended by Egypt. Cleopatras two Jewish generals, Helkias and Ananias, persuaded the queen of the dangers of allowing her banished son Ptolemy to remain victorious, as a result, Ptolemy was forced to withdraw to Cyprus, and Alexander was saved. The Egyptian army withdrawn, Alexander found his hands free, Alexander captured Gadara and the strong fortress Amathus in the Transjordan region, but, in an ambush set for him by Theodorus, ruler of Amathus, he lost the battle. Alexander was more successful in his expedition against the Hellenized coastal cities, capturing Raphia, finally, in 96 BC Jannaeus outlasted the inhabitants of Gaza in a year-long siege, which he occupied through treachery, and gave up to be pillaged and burned by his soldiery. This victory gained Judean control over the Mediterranean outlet for the Nabatean trade routes, the Judean Civil War initially began after the conquest of Gaza by Jannaeus around 99 BC. Due to Jannaeuss victory at Gaza, the Nabatean kingdom no longer controlled their main route to the Mediterranean Sea at Gaza
27.
Antiquities of the Jews
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Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people, written in Greek for Josephus gentile patrons. In the first ten volumes, Josephus follows the events of the books of the Hebrew Bible beginning with the creation of Adam. The second ten volumes continue the history of the Jewish people beyond the biblical text and this work, along with Josephuss other major work, The Jewish War, provides valuable background material to historians wishing to understand 1st-century AD Judaism and the early Christian period. In the preface of Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus provides his motivation for composing such a large work, josephan scholar Louis Feldman highlights several of the misconceptions about the Jewish people that were being circulated in Josephus time. In particular, the Jews were thought to lack great historical figures and they were also accused of harboring hostility toward non-Jews, and were thought to be generally lacking in loyalty, respect for authority, and charity. With these harsh accusations against the Jews fluttering about the Roman empire, Josephus, formerly Joseph ben Matthias, such a work is often called an apologia, as it pleads the case of a group of people or set of beliefs to a larger audience. In order to accomplish this goal, Josephus omitted certain accounts in the Jewish narrative, for example, the Song of the Sea sung by Moses and the people of Israel after their deliverance at the Red Sea is completely omitted in Josephus text. He does mention, however, that Moses composed a song to God in hexameter—a rather unusual scheme for an ancient Hebrew. Josephus also writes that Abraham taught science to the Egyptians, who in turn taught the Greeks, and that Moses set up a senatorial priestly aristocracy, which like Rome resisted monarchy. Thus, in an attempt to make the Jewish history more palatable to his Greco-Roman audience, in another example, apparently due to his concern with pagan antisemitism, Josephus omitted the entire episode of the golden calf from his account of the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Josephus Judean Antiquities is a source for the history of the Intertestamental period. Josephus also adds an account of his personal life, Vita. The extant copies of work, which all derive from Christian sources. The long one has come to be known as the Testimonium Flavianum, if genuine, it is an early extrabiblical record of Jesus, and as such is sometimes cited as independent evidence for the historical existence of Jesus. The earliest complete Greek manuscript of the Antiquities dates from the eleventh century, one of the best known translations of this work was provided by William Whiston in 1737, which has been in print continuously since then. However, the Loeb Classical Library has a recent translation by Henry St. John Thackeray and Ralph Marcus. A cross-reference apparatus for the Works of Josephus and the Biblical canon also exists
28.
Sukkot
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It is a biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. During the existence of the Jerusalem Temple it was one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which the Israelites were commanded to perform a pilgrimage to the Temple. The more elaborate religious significance from the Book of Leviticus is that of commemorating the Exodus, the holiday lasts seven days in Israel and eight in the diaspora. The first day is a Shabbat-like holiday when work is forbidden and this is followed by intermediate days called Chol Hamoed, when certain work is permitted. The festival is closed with another Shabbat-like holiday called Shemini Atzeret, Shemini Atzeret coincides with the eighth day of Sukkot outside of Israel. The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, booth or tabernacle, a sukkah is the name of the temporary dwelling in which farmers would live during harvesting, a fact connecting to the agricultural significance of the holiday stressed by the Book of Exodus. Throughout the holiday, meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many people there as well. On each day of the holiday it is mandatory to perform a ceremony with the Four Species. The origins of Sukkot are both historical and agricultural, historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival and is referred to as Chag HaAsif. Sukkot is a holiday, with the first day celebrated as a full festival with special prayer services. The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabbah and has a special observance of its own, outside Israel, the first and last two days are celebrated as full festivals. The intermediate days are known as Chol HaMoed, according to Halakha, some types of work are forbidden during Chol HaMoed. In Israel many businesses are closed during this time, throughout the week of Sukkot, meals are eaten in the sukkah and the males sleep there, although the requirement is waived in case of rain. Every day, a blessing is recited over the Lulav and the Etrog. Observance of Sukkot is detailed in the Book of Nehemiah 8, 13-18, Zechariah 14, 16-19 and Leviticus 23, 34-44 in the Bible, the Mishnah, the Tosefta, the sukkah walls can be constructed of any material. The walls can be free-standing or include the sides of a building or porch, the roof must be of organic material, known as schach, such as leafy tree overgrowth, schach mats or palm fronds. It is customary to decorate the interior of the sukkah with hanging decorations of the four species
29.
Parthian Empire
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The Parthian Empire, also known as the Arsacid Empire, was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran and Iraq. Mithridates I of Parthia greatly expanded the empire by seizing Media and Mesopotamia from the Seleucids, at its height, the Parthian Empire stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now central-eastern Turkey, to eastern Iran. The empire, located on the Silk Road trade route between the Roman Empire in the Mediterranean Basin and the Han Empire of China, became a center of trade and commerce. The Parthians largely adopted the art, architecture, religious beliefs, and royal insignia of their culturally heterogeneous empire, which encompassed Persian, Hellenistic, and regional cultures. For about the first half of its existence, the Arsacid court adopted elements of Greek culture, the court did appoint a small number of satraps, largely outside Iran, but these satrapies were smaller and less powerful than the Achaemenid potentates. With the expansion of Arsacid power, the seat of government shifted from Nisa to Ctesiphon along the Tigris. The earliest enemies of the Parthians were the Seleucids in the west, however, as Parthia expanded westward, they came into conflict with the Kingdom of Armenia, and eventually the late Roman Republic. Rome and Parthia competed with other to establish the kings of Armenia as their subordinate clients. The Parthians soundly defeated Marcus Licinius Crassus at the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, however, Mark Antony led a counterattack against Parthia, although his successes were generally achieved in his absence, under the leadership of his lieutenant Ventidius. Also, various Roman emperors or their appointed generals invaded Mesopotamia in the course of the several Roman-Parthian Wars which ensued during the few centuries. The Romans captured the cities of Seleucia and Ctesiphon on multiple occasions during these conflicts, native Parthian sources, written in Parthian, Greek and other languages, are scarce when compared to Sassanid and even earlier Achaemenid sources. These include mainly Greek and Roman histories, but also Chinese histories, Parthian artwork is viewed by historians as a valid source for understanding aspects of society and culture that are otherwise absent in textual sources. The Parni most likely spoke an eastern Iranian language, in contrast to the northwestern Iranian language spoken at the time in Parthia, the latter was a northeastern province, first under the Achaemenid, and then the Seleucid empires. Why the Arsacid court retroactively chose 247 BC as the first year of the Arsacid era is uncertain, Bivar concludes that this was the year the Seleucids lost control of Parthia to Andragoras, the appointed satrap who rebelled against them. Hence, Arsaces I backdated his regnal years to the moment when Seleucid control over Parthia ceased, however, Vesta Sarkhosh Curtis asserts that this was simply the year Arsaces was made chief of the Parni tribe. It is unclear who immediately succeeded Arsaces I, Bivar and Katouzian affirm that it was his brother Tiridates I of Parthia, who in turn was succeeded by his son Arsaces II of Parthia in 211 BC. Yet Curtis and Brosius state that Arsaces II was the successor of Arsaces I, with Curtis claiming the succession took place in 211 BC. Bivar insists that 138 BC, the last regnal year of Mithridates I, is the first precisely established regnal date of Parthian history, due to these and other discrepancies, Bivar outlines two distinct royal chronologies accepted by historians
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Levant
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The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean. The term Levant entered English in the late 15th century from French and it derives from the Italian Levante, meaning rising, implying the rising of the sun in the east. As such, it is equivalent to the Arabic term Mashriq. Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine, in 1581, England set up the Levant Company to monopolize commerce with the Ottoman Empire. The name Levant States was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and this is probably the reason why the term Levant has come to be used synonymously with Syria-Palestine. Some scholars misunderstood the term thinking that it derives from the name of Lebanon, today the term is typically used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. It does not include Anatolia, the Caucasus Mountains, or any part of the Arabian Peninsula proper, the Sinai Peninsula is sometimes included. The Levant has been described as the crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean, and northeast Africa, the populations of the Levant share not only the geographic position, but cuisine, some customs, and a very long history. They are often referred to as Levantines, the term Levant, which appeared in English in 1497, originally meant the East in general or Mediterranean lands east of Italy. It is borrowed from the French levant rising, referring to the rising of the sun in the east, the phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare, meaning lift, raise. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή, in Germanic Morgenland, in Italian, in Hungarian Kelet, in Spanish and Catalan Levante and Llevant, most notably, Orient and its Latin source oriens meaning east, is literally rising, deriving from Latin orior rise. The notion of the Levant has undergone a process of historical evolution in usage, meaning. While the term Levantine originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it came to refer to regional native. The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, at this time, the Far East was known as the Upper Levant. In early 19th-century travel writing, the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman empire, in 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference the place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon was called the Levant states, today, Levant is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to it being a wider, yet relevant, archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of the Southern Levant. Two academic journals were launched, Journal of Levantine Studies, published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review
31.
Iturea
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Iturea is the Greek name of a Levantine region north of Galilee during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It extended from Mount Lebanon across the plain of Marsyas to the Anti-Lebanon mountains in Syria, the Itureans were a semi-nomadic tribe. Modern scholarship identifies them as an Arab or Aramaean people, the exact origin of the Itureans is disputed. Some scholars believe that the Itureans were either an Arab or Aramaean people, several etymologies have been proposed for the name Iturea and much uncertainty still remains. The translation Itouraion in 1Ch 5,19 would thus be a reinterpretation by the translator of the name of ancient tribe as referring to a contemporary people. Moreover, in Josephus where both names are mentioned, Jetur is rendered differently in Greek to Iturea, similarly in the Vulgate the two localities have different Latin names showing that writers of antiquity did not view the names as the same. A modern-day view relates Iturea to the Safaitic name Yaẓur which is rendered Yaṭur in Nabatean Aramaic, Yaẓur in Safaitic inscriptions is seemingly a cognate of the Biblical name Jetur and is possibly derived from its original form. If this is the case then Biblical Jetur would indirectly be the origin of the name Iturea although denoting a different region, whether the names are indeed related hinges on their original meanings. The Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon suggests that Jetur means enclosure related to the personal name Ṭur and this would contradict their being a connection with Yaẓur as in Arabic which like Safaitic preserves the distinction between the ẓ and ṭ sounds, this root is found with ṭ and not ẓ. Hitchcocks Bible Names Dictionary however suggests that Jetur means order, succession, a connection with mountain refers to the Hebrew word ṣur, a root which survives in Arabic ẓar meaning flint, the sound ẓ having become ṣ in Hebrew. The spelling Yeṭur would thus be the result of an Aramaic spelling convention in which the ẓ is represented by ṭet rather than its true Hebrew cognate ṣadi, a further phonetic complication exists in equating the name Iturea with either Jetur or Yaẓur. Yaẓur as a name is consistently found as Iatour- in Greek inscriptions. In Iatour- the initial Greek iota is consonantal representing the initial y sound of Yaẓur, similarly, in the transliterations Ietour- and Iettour for Jetur in the Septuagint, the iota represents an original y - the Hebrew letter yod. However, in Itour- the iota is a vowel suggesting that it represents an i vowel in the original Semitic name rather than the consonant y. An initial iota may also be used for the syllable yi, however such a reading of Itour- does not produce a meaningful form and no tradition of pronouncing it as such exists. As a vowel is preceded by a consonant in Semitic words. This contradicts derivations from either Jetur or Yaẓur and is the basis of alternative etymologies proposed by John Lightfoot. Lightfoot considered a possible derivation from the root for ten based on identification of Iturea with Decapolis, however he does not provide a grammatical form that would be vocalized as Itour- and ultimately dismisses this possibility as it involves an unattested sound change of s into t
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Ammon
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Ammon was an Iron Age Semitic-speaking nation occupying the east of the Jordan River, between the torrent valleys of Arnon and Jabbok, in present-day Jordan. The chief city of the country was Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, site of the city of Amman. Milcom and Molech are named in the Hebrew Bible as the gods of Ammon, the people of this kingdom are called Children of Ammon or Ammonites. The first mention of the Ammonites in the Bible is in Genesis 19 and it is stated there that they descended from Ben-Ammi, a son of Lot through incest with his younger daughter. Bénámmî, literally son of my people. After the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the daughters of Lot had sexual relations with their father, resulting in Ammon and his brother, Moab, being conceived. The Ammonites settled to the east of the Jordan, invading the Rephaim lands east of Jordan and their territory originally comprising all from the Jordan to the wilderness, and from the River Jabbok south to the River Arnon. It was accounted a land of giants, and that formerly dwelt in it. Shortly before the Israelite Exodus, the Amorites west of Jordan, under King Sihon, invaded and occupied a portion of the territory of Moab. The Ammonites were driven from the lands near the Jordan and retreated to the mountains. The invasion of the Amorites created a wedge and separated the two kingdoms of Ammon and Moab, throughout the Bible, the Ammonites and Israelites are portrayed as mutual antagonists. During the Exodus, the Israelites were prohibited by the Ammonites from passing through their lands, the Ammonites soon allied themselves with Eglon of Moab in attacking Israel. The Ammonites maintained their claim to part of Transjordan, after it was occupied by the Israelites who obtained it from Sihon, during the days of Jephthah, the Ammonites occupied the lands east of the River Jordan and started to invade Israelite lands west of the river. Jephthah became the leader in resisting these incursions, the constant harassment of the Israelite communities east of the Jordan by the Ammonites was the impetus behind the unification of the tribes under Saul. King Nahash of Ammon lay siege to Jabesh-Gilead, eventually this led to an alliance with Saul and The Israelites, led by Saul relieved the siege and defeated the Ammonite king, eventually resulting in the formation of the Israelite Kingdom. During the reign of King David, the Ammonites humiliated Davids messengers and this eventually ended in a war and a year-long siege of Rabbah, the capital of Ammon. The war ended all the Ammonite cities being conquered and plundered. The Ammonites, Moabites and Meunim formed a coalition against Jehoshaphat of Judah, the coalition later was thrown to confusion, with the armies slaughtering one another
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Nabataeans
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100, gave the name of Nabatene to the borderland between Arabia and Syria, from the Euphrates to the Red Sea. They were later converted to Christianity, jane Taylor, a writer, describes them as one of the most gifted peoples of the ancient world. The Nabataeans were one among several nomadic tribes roamed the Arabian Desert, moving with their herds to wherever they could find pasture. These nomads became familiar with their area as seasons passed, although the Nabataeans were initially embedded in Aramaic culture, theories about them having Aramean roots are rejected by modern scholars. Instead, historical, religious and linguistic evidence confirm that they are a northern Arabian tribe, the precise origin of this specific tribe of Arab nomads remains uncertain. One hypothesis locates their original homeland in todays Yemen, in the south-west of the Arabian peninsula, however, their deities, language, another hypothesis argues that they came from the eastern coast of the Peninsula. The Nabataeans might have originated there and migrated west between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE into northwestern Arabia and much of what is now modern-day Jordan. Nabataeans have been associated with other groups of people. Another misconception is their identification with the Nebaioth of the Hebrew Bible, unlike the rest of the Arabian tribes, the Nabataeans later emerged as vital players in the region during their times of prosperity. However, they later faded and were forgotten, the Nabataeans had already some tincture of foreign culture when they first appear in history. They occupied Hauran, and in about 85 BCE their king Aretas III became lord of Damascus, proper names on their inscriptions suggest that they were ethnically Arabs who had come under Aramaic influence. Starcky identifies the Nabatu of southern Arabia as their ancestors, onomastic analysis has suggested that Nabataean culture may have had multiple influences. Their arid country was their best safeguard, for the bottle-shaped cisterns for rain-water which they excavated in the rocky or clay-rich soil were carefully concealed from invaders, the extent of Nabataean trade resulted in cross-cultural influences that reached as far as the Red Sea coast of southern Arabia. The gods worshipped at Petra were notably Dushara and al-‘Uzzá, the Nabataeans used to represent their gods as featureless pillars or blocks. Their most common monuments to the gods, commonly known as god blocks, however, the Nabataeans became so influenced by other cultures such as those of Greece and Rome that their gods eventually became anthropomorphic and were represented with human features. The Nabataean alphabet itself developed out of the Aramaic alphabet. The Aramaic language was affected by the Arabic language, as Arab influence grew in the region over time. From the 4th century, the Arabic influence becomes overwhelming, in a way that it may be said the Nabataean language shifted seamlessly from Aramaic to Arabic, the Arabic alphabet itself developed out of cursive variants of the Nabataean script in the 5th century
34.
Samaria
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The name Samaria is derived from the ancient city of Samaria, the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel. Since 1967, Samaria has been used by Israeli officials to refer to the north of the West Bank, as the administrative Judea, Jordan ceded its claim to the area to the Palestine Liberation Organization in August 1988. In 1994, control of Areas A and B were transferred by Israel to the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Authority and the international community do not recognize the term Samaria, in modern times, the territory is generally known as part of the West Bank. According to the Hebrew Bible, the Hebrew name Shomron is derived from the individual Shemer, in modern times, Samaria was one of six administrative districts of the Mandatory Palestine. The fact that the mountain was called Shomeron when Omri bought it may indicate that an earlier etymology of the name may be watch mountain. In the earlier cuneiform inscriptions, Samaria is designated under the name of Bet Ḥumri, but in those of Tiglath-Pileser III and later it is called Samirin, after its Aramaic name. To the north, Samaria is bounded by the Jezreel Valley, to the east by the Jordan Rift Valley, to the west by the Carmel Ridge, in Biblical times, Samaria reached from the sea to the Jordan Valley, including the Carmel Ridge and Plain of Sharon. The Samarian hills are not very high, seldom reaching the height of over 800 metres, samarias climate is more hospitable than the climate further south. The mountain ranges in the south of the region continue into Judaea without a clear division, according to the Hebrew Bible, the Israelites captured the region known as Samaria from the Canaanites and assigned it to the Tribe of Joseph. After the death of King Solomon, the tribes, including those of Samaria, separated from the southern tribes. Initially its capital was Tirzah until the time of King Omri, in 726–722 BC, the new king of Assyria, Shalmaneser V, invaded Canaan and besieged the city of Samaria. After an assault of three years, the city fell and much of its population was taken into captivity and deported, little documentation exists for the period between the fall of Samaria and the end of the Assyrian Empire. In the Bible, Samaria was condemned by the Hebrew prophets for its ivory houses, in 6 AD the region became part of the Roman province of Judaea, after the death of king Herod the Great. The New Testament mentions Samaria in Luke 17, 11–20, in the healing of the ten lepers. John 4, 1–26 records Jesus encounter at Jacobs Well with the woman of Sychar, in Acts 8,2 it is recorded that the early community of disciples of Jesus began to be persecuted in Jerusalem and were scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached and healed the sick there, in the time of Jesus, Iudaea of the Romans was divided into the toparchies of Judea, Samaria, Galilee and the Paralia. Samaria occupied the centre of Iudaea, in the Talmud, Samaria is called the land of the Cuthim. The 1947 UN partition plan called for the Arab state to consist of several parts, as a result of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, most of the territory was unilaterally incorporated as Jordanian-controlled territory and was administered as part of the West Bank
35.
Samaritans
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The Samaritans are an ethnoreligious group of the Levant originating from the Israelites of the Ancient Near East. Samaritans used to include descendants who ascribed to the Benjamin tribe, in the Talmud, a central post-exilic religious text of Rabbinic Judaism, the Samaritans are called Cutheans, referring to the ancient city of Kutha, geographically located in what is today Iraq. In the Biblical account, however, Kuthah was one of cities from which people were brought to Samaria. Genetically, modern Samaritan populations are found to have greater affinity genetically to Jews than to neighbouring Palestinian Arabs. This suggests that the Samaritans remained an isolated population. The Samaritans are adherents of Samaritanism, a closely related to Judaism. The Samaritans believe that Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of Israel from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan, once a large community, the Samaritan population appears to have shrunk significantly in the wake of the bloody suppression of the Samaritan Revolts against the Byzantine Empire. Conversion to Christianity under the Byzantines also reduced their numbers, conversions to Islam took place as well, and by the mid Middle Ages Benjamin of Tudela estimated only around 1,900 Samaritans remained in Palestine and Syria. As of January 1,2015, the population was 777, most Samaritans in Holon and Qiryat Luza today speak Hebrew and Arabic. Hebrew and later Aramaic were languages in use by the Jewish, Samaritans have a standalone religious status in Israel, and there are occasional conversions from Judaism to Samaritanism and vice-versa due to marriages. One example is Israeli TV personality Sofi Tsedaka, who converted to Rabbinic Judaism at the age of 18. Samaritans with Israeli citizenship are obligated to undertake service in the Israel Defense Forces. There is conflict over the etymology of the name for the Samaritans in Hebrew and this has accompanied controversy over whether the Samaritans are named after the geographic area of Samaria, or whether the area received its name from the group. This distinction is controversial in part because different interpretations can be used to justify or deny claims of ancestry over this region, Biblical Hebrew Šomerim ) Guardians comes from the Hebrew Semitic root שמר, which means to watch, guard. Historically, Samaria was the key geographical concentration of the Samaritan community, thus, it may suggest the region of Samaria is named after the Samaritans, rather than the Samaritans being named after the region. In Modern Hebrew, the Samaritans are called Shomronim, which would appear to mean inhabitants of Samaria. This is a politically sensitive distinction, according to Samaritan tradition, Mount Gerizim was the original Holy Place of the Israelites from the time that Joshua conquered Canaan and the tribes of Israel settled the land. The two mountains were used to symbolize the significance of the commandments and serve as a warning to whoever disobeyed them
36.
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus
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Antiochus IX Eusebes Cyzicenus, ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Antiochus VII Sidetes and Cleopatra Thea. After the death of his mother Cleopatra Thea ca.118 BCE, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus challenged his half-brother, Antiochus VIII Grypus, for power of Syria. Antiochus IX Cyzicenus was first married to Cleopatra IV, who was killed in 112 BC by her sister and rival Syrian Queen Tryphaena. After the death of Grypus and capturing the capital, Antiochus IX Cyzicenus married Cleopatra Selene I and he was killed in battle by the son of Grypus, Seleucus VI Epiphanes in 96 BC. The epithets he took much of his story, Eusebes. After that, he ruled Antioch and its surroundings, fighting endlessly against the four brothers of Seleucus VI, the Nabataeans, list of Syrian monarchs Timeline of Syrian history Antiochus IX Cyzicenus entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
37.
Beit She'an
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It has also played an important role in modern times, acting as the regional center of the villages in the Beit Shean Valley. The ancient city ruins are now protected within a national park, a large cemetery on the northern Mound was in use from the Bronze Age to Byzantine times. Canaanite graves dating from 2000 to 1600 BCE were discovered there in 1926, after the Egyptian conquest of Beit Shean by pharaoh Thutmose III in the 15th century BCE, the small town on the summit of the Mound became the center of the Egyptian administration of the region. The Egyptian newcomers changed the organization of the town and left a great deal of material culture behind, artifacts of potential cultic significance were found around the temple. Based on a found in the temple, inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphs. University Museums most important finds near the temple is the Lion and Dog stela, the Hebrew University excavations determined that this temple was built on the site of an earlier one. During the three hundred years of Egyptian rule, the population of Beit She’an appears to have been primarily Egyptian administrative officials, the town was completely rebuilt, following a new layout, during the 19th dynasty. The University Museum excavations uncovered two important stelae from the period of Seti I and a monument of Rameses II, Pottery was produced locally, but some was made to mimic Egyptian forms. Other Canaanite goods existed alongside Egyptian imports, or locally made Egyptian-style objects, the 20th dynasty saw the construction of large administrative buildings in Beit Shean, including Building 1500, a small palace for the Egyptian governor. During the 20th dynasty, invasions of the Sea Peoples upset Egypts control over the Eastern Mediterranean, though the exact circumstances are unclear, the entire site of Beit Shean was destroyed by fire around 1150 BCE. The Egyptians did not attempt to rebuild their administrative center and finally lost control of the region, an Iron Age I Canaanite city was constructed on the site of the Egyptian center shortly after its destruction. Around 1100 BC, Canaanite Beit Shean was conquered by the Philistines, during a subsequent battle against the Jewish King Saul at nearby Mount Gilboa in 1004 BC, the Philistines prevailed. 1 Samuel 31,10 states that the victorious Philistines hung the body of King Saul on the walls of Beit Shean, portions of these walls were excavated on the Mound recently. The Assyrian conquest of northern Israel under Tiglath-Pileser III brought about the destruction of Beit Shean by fire, minimal reoccupation occurred until the Hellenistic period. The Hellenistic period saw the reoccupation of the site of Beit Shean under the new name Scythopolis, little is known about the Hellenistic city, but during the 3rd century BCE a large temple was constructed on the Tell. It is unknown which deity was worshipped there, but the continued to be used during Roman times. Graves dating from the Hellenistic period are simple, singular rock-cut tombs, in 198 BCE the Seleucids finally conquered the region. The town played a role after the Hasmonean-Maccabeean Revolt, Josephus records that the Jewish High Priest Jonathan was killed there by Demetrius II Nicator, the city was destroyed by fire at the end of the 2nd century BCE
38.
Slavery
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A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration. Many scholars now use the chattel slavery to refer to this specific sense of legalised. In a broader sense, however, the word slavery may also refer to any situation in which an individual is de facto forced to work against his or her will. Scholars also use the generic terms such as unfree labour or forced labour. However – and especially under slavery in broader senses of the word – slaves may have some rights and/or protections, Slavery began to exist before written history, in many cultures. A person could become a slave from the time of their birth, capture, while slavery was institutionally recognized by most societies, it has now been outlawed in all recognized countries, the last being Mauritania in 2007. Nevertheless, there are still more slaves today than at any point in history. The most common form of the trade is now commonly referred to as human trafficking. Chattel slavery is still practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq. An older interpretation connected it to the Greek verb skyleúo to strip a slain enemy, there is a dispute among historians about whether terms such as unfree labourer or enslaved person, rather than slave, should be used when describing the victims of slavery. Chattel slavery, also called traditional slavery, is so named because people are treated as the chattel of the owner and are bought, although it dominated many societies in the past, this form of slavery has been formally abolished and is very rare today. Even when it can be said to survive, it is not upheld by the system of any internationally recognized government. Indenture, otherwise known as bonded labour or debt bondage is a form of labour under which a person pledges himself or herself against a loan. The services required to repay the debt, and their duration, debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation, with children required to pay off their parents debt. It is the most widespread form of slavery today, debt bondage is most prevalent in South Asia. This may also include institutions not commonly classified as slavery, such as serfdom, conscription, Human trafficking primarily involves women and children forced into prostitution. And is the fastest growing form of forced labour, with Thailand, Cambodia, India, Brazil, in 2007, Human Rights Watch estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 children served as soldiers in current conflicts. A forced marriage may be regarded as a form of slavery by one or more of the involved in the marriage
39.
Madaba
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Madaba is the capital city of Madaba Governorate in central Jordan, with a population of about 60,000. It is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, especially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land, Madaba is located 30 kilometres south-west of the capital Amman. Madaba dates from the Middle Bronze Age, the town of Madaba was once a Moabite border city, mentioned in the Bible in Numbers 21,30 and Joshua 13,9. During the rule of the Islamic Umayyad Caliphate, it was part of the district of Jund Filastin within the Bilad al-Sham province. This in turn substantially supplemented the scant documentation available, the first mosaics were discovered during the building of new houses using bricks from older buildings. The new inhabitants of Madaba, made conscious of the importance of the mosaics by their priests, made sure that they took care of, the northern part of the city turned out to be the area containing the greatest concentration of mosaics. The Map of Madaba mosaic was discovered in 1896 and the findings were published a year later and this discovery drew the attention of scholars worldwide. It also positively influenced the inhabitants, who shared the contagious passion of F. Giuseppe Manfredi, Madaba became known as the City of Mosaics in Jordan. The Madaba Mosaic Map is a map of the region dating from the 6th century and preserved in the floor of the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint George, sometimes called the Church of the Map. With two million pieces of colored stone, the map depicts hills and valleys, villages and towns in Palestine, the mosaic contains the earliest extant representation of Byzantine Jerusalem, labeled the Holy City. The map provides important details about its 6th-century landmarks, with the cardo, or central colonnaded street, and this map is one key in developing scholarly knowledge about the physical layout of Jerusalem after its destruction and rebuilding in 70 AD. Hundreds of other mosaics from the 5th through the 7th centuries are scattered throughout Madaba, the University of Toronto has been excavating in Madaba from 1996 until the present. The most visible feature of area is a 7. 5-meter-wide fortification wall built sometime in the 9th century BC. There is also the remains of a well-preserved Byzantine era house at the base of the fortification wall, in 2010, a 3, 000-year-old Iron Age temple containing several figurines of ancient deities and circular clay vessels used in Moabite religious rituals was discovered at Khirbat Ataroz near Mabada. The Institute of Mosaic Art and Restoration was originally created in 1992 as the Madaba Mosaic School and it was a high school which offered the Tawjihi, the Jordanian equivalent of a high school diploma. The aim of the Institute is to be a center of excellence in the region, students are also taught traditional and modern methods of mosaic production, as well as Computer Aided Design, Arabic, English, geology, and chemistry. Soon, students will also be able to transfer their credits to Yarmouk University to complete a BA in Archaeology with a two years of study. The Institute is located between the Madaba Visitors Center and the Madaba Archaeological Park, since the days of Rome, people have come to the thermal mineral springs of Hammamat Main or Zarqa Main for thermal treatments and use the baths
40.
Shechem
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Traditionally associated with Nablus, it is now identified with the nearby site of Tell Balata in Balata al-Balad in the West Bank. The site of Shechem in patristic sources is almost invariably identified with, or located close to, the old city of Shechem dates back to about an estimated four thousand years. Shechem is mentioned in the third-millennium Ebla tablets found at Tell Mardikh in the context of a city of which Rasap is the patron deity, Shechem was a commercial center due to its position in the middle of vital trade routes through the region. It traded in local grapes, olives, wheat, livestock, Shechem had been a Canaanite settlement, first mentioned in Egyptian texts on the Sebek-khu Stele, an Egyptian stele of a noble at the court of Senusret III. In the Amarna Letters of about 1350 BC, Šakmu was the center of a carved out by Labaya. It may be identical to the Sakama mentioned in an account dated to the 19th Egyptian dynasty, Shechem first appears in the Hebrew Bible in Genesis 12, 6-8, which records how Abraham reached the great tree of Moreh at Shechem and offered sacrifice nearby. Genesis, Deuteronomy, Joshua and Judges hallow Shechem over all other cities of the land of Israel, at Shechem, Abram built an altar to the Lord who had appeared to him. And had given land to his descendants. The Bible states that on occasion, God confirmed the covenant he had first made with Abraham in Harran. In Jewish tradition, the old name was understood in terms of the Hebrew word shékém — shoulder, saddle, the oak is associated with the Oak of Moreh where Abram had set up camp during his travels in this area. Shechem and its lands were given as a Levitical city to the Kohathites. The city, including its Bronze Age temple, fell to the Israelites sometime before 1000 BC, jerubbaal, whose home was at Ophrah, visited Shechem, and his concubine who lived there was mother of his son Abimelech. She came from one of the leading Shechemite families who were influential with the Lords of Shechem, after Gideons death, Abimelech was made king. Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon, made a speech on Mount Gerizim in which he warned the people of Shechem about Abimelechs future tyranny. When the city rose in rebellion three years later, Abimelech took it, utterly destroyed it, and burnt the temple of Baal-berith where the people had fled for safety, from the excavations, it was learned that the city was destroyed in 1100 BC. The city was rebuilt in the 10th century BC and was probably the capital of Ephraim, when the kings of Israel moved first to Tirzah, and later on to Samaria, Shechem lost its importance, and we do not hear of it until after the fall of Jerusalem. The events connected with the restoration were to bring it again into prominence, in Acts 7,16 the place is called Sychem. It is not known whether Sychar in the Gospel of John 4,5 refers to Shechem or to a nearby village, Shechem is also the location of Jacobs Well, where John 4, 5–6 describes Jesus meeting with the woman of Samaria
41.
Mount Gerizim
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The mountain is one of the highest peaks in the West Bank and rises to 881 m above sea level,70 m lower than Mount Ebal. In Samaritan tradition, Mount Gerizim is held to be the highest, oldest and most central mountain in the world. The mountain is steep on the northern side, is sparsely covered at the top with shrubbery. A Samaritan village and an Israeli settlement are situated on the mountain ridge, the mountain is sacred to the Samaritans who regard it, rather than Jerusalems Temple Mount, as having been the location chosen by Yahweh for a holy temple. The passover is celebrated by the Samaritans on Mount Gerizim, according to classical rabbinical sources, in order to convert to Judaism, a Samaritan must first and foremost renounce any belief in the sanctity of Mount Gerizim. Moses instructed the Israelites, on first entering Canaan, to celebrate the event with ceremonies of blessings and cursings on Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal respectively. However, the Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges argues that the face of Gerizim, the mount of blessing, is the fertile, the opposite face of Ebal. Recent Dead Sea Scrolls work supports the accuracy of the Samaritan Pentateuchs designation of Mount Gerizim rather than Mount Ebal as the sacred site, no attempts to explain this division of tribes either by their Biblical ethnology or by their geographical distribution have been generally accepted in academic circles. The text goes on to list twelve curses, which were to be pronounced by the Levite priesthood, scholars consider it plausible for the sanctuary to have been pre-Israelite. A straightforward etymology for Gerizim would give the meaning of mountain cut in two, according to a Jewish midrash, one of these idols, in the shape of a dove, was later recovered by the Samaritans, and used in their worship on Mount Gerizim. After the end of the Babylonian Captivity, a schism between the Samaritans and Judaism developed, with the Samaritans, but not the Jews, regarding Mount Gerizim as the holy place chosen by God. Subsequently, in the Persian Period, the Samaritans built a temple there probably in the middle of 5th century BCE, the date of the Samaritan temple destruction, the 21st of Kislev, became a holiday for the Jews during which it is forbidden to eulogize the dead. You worship what you do not know, we worship what we know, nevertheless, the hour is coming, and it is now, when the true worshipers will worship the Father with spirit and truth. Eventually, when Christianity became the church of the Roman Empire. In 475 CE a Christian church was built on its summit, in 529, Justinian I made Samaritanism illegal, and arranged for a protective wall to be constructed around the church. As a result, the year, Julianus ben Sabar led a pro-Samaritan revolt. However, in 531, after Justinian enlisted the help of Ghassanids, the revolt was completely quashed, in 533 Justinian had a castle constructed on Mount Gerizim to protect the church from raids by the few disgruntled Samaritans left in the area. As a result of the church and previous Samaritan temple
42.
Edom
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Edom is the name of a country and a people located initially in Transjordan, between Ammon to the north, the Dead Sea and the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian desert to the south and east. Edom is a used in written sources relating to the late Bronze Age and to the entire Iron Age in the Levant, such as the Hebrew Bible. In classical antiquity the cognate name Idumea was used to refer to an area in the same general region. Edom is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, but also in a list of the Egyptian pharaoh Seti I from c.1215 BC, the Edomites, who have been identified archaeologically, were a Semitic people who probably arrived in the region around the 14th century BC. Archaeological investigation showed that the country flourished between the 13th and 8th centuries BC, and was destroyed after a period of decline in the 6th century BC by the Babylonians. Once pushed out of their territory, the Edomites settled during the Persian period in an area comprising the hills of Judea down to the area north of Beer Sheva. Here the people appear under the form of their old name, as Idumeans or Idumaeans, and their new territory is called Idumea or Idumaea. The Hebrew word Edom means red, and is derived from the name of its founder, whose name was Esau. Later, as an adult, he sold his birthright to his brother Jacob for red pottage. The Tanakh describes the Edomites as descendants of Esau, the Edomites may have been connected with the Shasu and Shutu, nomadic raiders mentioned in Egyptian sources. The earliest Iron Age settlements—possibly copper mining camps—date to the 9th century BC, settlement intensified by the late 8th century BC and the main sites so far excavated have been dated between the 8th and 6th centuries BC. This occurred after the Hebrew prophet Isaiah had earlier quoted Yahweh as pronouncing that Edom was marked for destruction, another scriptural reference from Ezekiel chapter 35 foretells that Edom will be completely destroyed. According to the Egyptian inscriptions, the Aduma at times extended their possessions to the borders of Egypt, after the conquest of Judah by the Babylonians, Edomites settled in the region of Hebron. They prospered in this new country, called by the Greeks and Romans Idumaea or Idumea, the Edomites original country, according to the Hebrew Bible, stretched from the Sinai peninsula as far as Kadesh Barnea. Southward it reached as far as Eilat, which was the seaport of Edom, on the north of Edom was the territory of Moab. The boundary between Moab and Edom was the Wadi Zered, the ancient capital of Edom was Bozrah. According to Genesis, Esaus descendants settled in land after displacing the Horites. It was also called the land of Seir, Mount Seir appears to have been identified with them
43.
Maresha
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Tel Maresha is the tell of the biblical Iron Age city of Maresha, and of the subsequent, post-586 BCE Idumean city known by its its Hellenised name Marisa, Arabised as Marissa. The tell is situated in Israels Shephelah region, i. e. in the foothills of the Judaean Mountains, the majority of the artifacts of the British excavation are to be found today in the Istanbul Archaeology Museums. This site is now protected as part of Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park, according to the Madaba Map, Maresha was the place whence came Micah the Prophet. This marked the end of Maresha as a Judahite city, following these events, Edomites who had lived east and south of the Dead Sea migrated to the area. Hence, from the Persian rule and throughout the Hellenistic kingdoms rule in the region, Maresha was part of the known as Idumea. Maresha emerged as a major Idumean city and with the conquest of the region by Alexander the Great the city was settled by retired Greek soldiers as was then custom, thus Maresha developed as a Hellenistic city encompassing a multitude of Greek and oriental cultures including Sidonians and Nabataeans. The city began its decline during the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire when the city was used as base to combat the rebels, following the rebellion and its success, it is believed that John Hyrcanus conquered the city in 112 BCE, forcibly converting its inhabitants. In 63 BCE, as part of the arrangements made by Pompey in the region, Maresha, along all of Edom, was separated from the Jewish kingdom. In 47 BCE Julius Caesar then annexed the city to Judea, after the demise of Maresha, the neighbouring Idumean/Jewish town of Beth Gabra or Beit Guvrin succeeded it as the main settlement in the area. By the time of Eusebius of Caesarea, Maresha itself was already a place, he mentions the city in his Onomasticon. The Palestinian Arab village Bayt Jibrin, standing on the site of ancient Eleutheropolis, was depopulated during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, in 1949 Kibbutz Beit Guvrin was established on part of Bayt Jibrins lands. Most of the important areas of ancient Maresha and Beit Guvrin/Eleutheropolis are now part of the Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park. Less than 10 percent of the caves on Tel Maresha have been excavated, many of the caves are linked by an underground maze of passageways. Today Maresha is part of the Israeli national park of Beit Guvrin, many of the ancient citys olive presses, columbaria and water cisterns can still be seen. Furthermore, Archaeological Seminars, under the license of the Israel Antiquities Authority, conduct excavations of Mareshas many quarried systems, Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park – official site Pictures of Maresha Template, Villages depopulated during the Bar Kochba revolt
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Singer, Isidore; et al., eds. (1901–1906). "article name needed". Jewish Encyclopedia. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.