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Edward Dąbrowa the Hasmoneans and Their State a Study In Th e Hasmoneans and their State A Study in History, Ideology, and the Institutions electrum_16_01.indd 1 2009-11-01 22:32:05 UNIWERSYTET JAGIELLOŃ SKI INSTYTUT HISTORII ELECTRUM Studia z historii starożytnej Studies in Ancient History edited by Edward Dąbrowa VOL. 16 electrum_16_01.indd 2 2009-11-01 22:32:40 Edward Dąbrowa Th e Hasmoneans and their State A Study in History, Ideology, and the Institutions JAGIELLONIAN UNIVERSITY PRESS electrum_16_01.indd 3 2009-11-01 22:32:40 Publikacja fi nansowana przez Uniwersytet Jagielloński ze środków Wydziału Historycznego, Instytutu Historii PROJEKT OKŁADKI Barbara Widłak REDAKTOR Agnieszka Stęplewska SKŁAD I ŁAMANIE Marian Hanik © Copyright by Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego Wydanie I, Kraków 2009 All rights reserved Książka, ani żaden jej fragment, nie może być przedrukowywana bez pisemnej zgody Wydawcy. W sprawie zezwoleń na przedruk należy zwracać się do Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego. ISBN 978-83-233-2821-1 ISSN 1897-3426 www.wuj.pl Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego Redakcja: ul. Michałowskiego 9/2, 31-126 Kraków tel. 012-631-18-81, 012-631-18-82, fax 012-631-18-83 Dystrybucja: ul. Wrocławska 53, 30-011 Kraków tel. 012-631-01-97, tel./fax 012-631-01-98 tel. kom. 0506-006-674, e-mail: [email protected] Konto: PEKAO SA, nr 80 1240 4722 1111 0000 4856 3325 electrum_16_01.indd 4 2009-11-01 22:32:40 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .......................................................................................................... 7 Abbreviations ....................................................................................................... 9 Part I: Judea under the Hasmonaeans (167–63 BCE) 1. Mattathias and Judah: In Defense of the Ancestors Religion ...................... 13 2. Jonathan and Simon: A Strategy for Independence .................................... 42 3. John Hyrcanus: Securing Independence and the Rise of Expansionist Policy ................................................................................. 67 4. Hasmonean Kings ........................................................................................ 84 Part II: The Institutions of the Hasmonean State I: The Ruler ......................................................................................................... 105 1. The Royal Priesthood or the Priestly Monarchy ........................................ 106 2. The Priesthood ............................................................................................ 107 3. The Kingship .............................................................................................. 112 4. Succession ................................................................................................... 117 5. The Royal Family ....................................................................................... 123 6. The Court ................................................................................................... 126 7. The Capital City ......................................................................................... 130 8. The Palace and the Baris ............................................................................ 132 9. Propaganda and Self-Presentation ............................................................. 134 A. Individual Propaganda .......................................................................... 134 a. Self-Presentation ............................................................................... 134 b. Coinage .............................................................................................. 136 B. Dynastic Propaganda ............................................................................. 138 II. The State ......................................................................................................... 147 1. Local Administration .................................................................................. 147 2. Finances ...................................................................................................... 152 3. Army ........................................................................................................... 159 Part III: Society 1. Judean Society during Hasmonean Rule .................................................... 167 2. The Hasmoneans and their Critics .............................................................. 173 3. Social Attitudes Toward the Hasmoneans .................................................. 183 Conclusions ........................................................................................................ 187 Bibliography ..................................................................................................... 190 Index of Personal Names .................................................................................. 212 Index of Place Names .............................................................................................. Index of Ancient Sources ........................................................................................ electrum_16_01.indd 5 2009-11-01 22:32:40 electrum_16_01.indd 6 2009-11-01 22:32:41 INTRODUCTION The restoration of Jewish statehood in the late 2nd century BCE was an event of great historical signifi cance. The Jewish state had ceased to exist over 400 years previously due to expansion into Palestine by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar II, who fi rst subjugated the kingdom of Judah, the last remnant of David and Solomon’s monarchy, and captured and destroyed Jerusalem (587/586). The credit for restoring Jewish state- hood is due to the Hasmoneans, who led an armed revolt they had started against a Hel- lenistic religious reform in Judea during the reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Not only did they win broad support for their actions among their people, but they also displayed great political skill in dealing with the Seleucids. They shrewdly took advantage of all favorable circumstances, domestic and international alike, fi rst to carve out consider- able autonomy within the Seleucid state, and then in the late 2nd century BCE, during John Hyrcanus’ reign, to win full independence from Syrian kings. The history of the Hasmoneans has long caused disputes among scholars, who are far from agreement about the chronology of events, their importance, and the identities of all their actors. There are no indications that such doubts will be resolved anytime soon. The aim of this study, therefore, is not to present a new reconstruction of Hasmo- nean history, but to describe the institutions of the state they created. This issue usually remains on the fringe of scholarly dispute and has not been closely investigated so far. Nor has an attempt been made at a synthetic presentation of how the Hasmonean state functioned in all its aspects. For this reason, it could not be explored to the full extent possible. For the sake of clarity, it is necessary to specify the present work’s time span and to defi ne the name “Hasmoneans.” Our principal focus is on the period from John Hyrcanus’ rise to power (135 BCE), as his actions were fundamental to securing Judean independence from the Seleucids, to the country’s loss of political sovereignty follow- ing Roman interference in its internal affairs (63 BCE). Although our discussion also covers a slightly earlier period, it is only to ensure its clarity. The name “Hasmoneans” is used throughout to refer to all generations of the family. This is because the genea- logical criterion is deemed more historically correct than the traditional division of the family’s history into the period of the Maccabees (this designation is used for heroes of the anti-Seleucid rebellion, Mattathias and his sons) and the Hasmoneans (the name is applied to Judean rulers from John Hyrcanus on).1 Another argument worth consider- 1 Sievers 1990: ix. The genealogy of the Hasmoneans is known from 1 Macc (2:1; 14:29) and Josephus’ account (BJ 1.36 (cf. 1.19); AJ 12.265–6 (cf. 11.111); see also Vita 2. 4). Scholars disagree about the origin of the name: Sievers 1990: 28–29. electrum_16_01.indd 7 2009-11-01 22:32:41 8 INTRODUCTION ing is that it is not possible to understand the history and structure of the Hasmonean state without referring to events and facts: both preceding Judean independence, early in the struggle against Syrian domination (167 BCE), and following, after 63 BCE, until Herod ascended to the Judean throne (37 BCE). For this reason, this entire time span is subsequently referred to as the Hasmonean period. The fi rst part of the present study aims to show the Hasmoneans’ actions in a broad historical context. Without knowledge of this context, it would be diffi cult to understand how an obscure Modein family could successfully oppose the powerful machinery of the Seleucid Empire, effect the creation of a nation state, and govern it effectively. Part two analyzes and interprets accounts and information concerning institutions of the Hasmonean state. The notion of “state institutions” is understood here as applying to all social, political, and administrative structures which helped defi ne the state and infl u- enced its functioning. In the third part much attention is devoted to relations between the Hasmoneans and the various social groups, including especially certain religious circles opposed to them.2 To avoid excessive repetition of references to publications and sources frequently cited in the fi rst part, in part two they are limited to a minimum, with references given primarily to the subject
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