Category:Judas Maccabeus (subject)

Maccabean Period -> People -> Judas Maccabeus

Judas Maccabeus (2nd century BCE), son of Matthatias, was a member of the Hasmonean dynasty. From 167 to his death in battle in 160 BCE, he led the Maccabean revolt against the Hellenists and the Seleucids. He was succeeded by his brother Jonathan Maccabeus; see Maccabees. He enjoyed great popularity among Christians in premodern Europe as one of the Nine Worthies, and among Jews for his connection with the Feast of Hanukka, and in the Zionist narrative, as a last champion of Jewish freedom and independence .

This page is edited by Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan.

Judas Maccabeus -- Overview

Judea under Judas Maccabeus

Judas Maccabeus (1553), by Guillaume Rouille

Judas Maccabeus (10th cent.)

Judas Maccabeus as one of the Nine Worthies at the Castello della Manta, Saluzzo, Italy (15th cent.)

Judas was the third son of Mattathias, a priest from Modin who started the rebellion against the high priest Menelaus and the Selecid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Judas and his brothers Jonathan and Simon, had immediately a prominent fighting role.

After Mattathias' death in 166 BCE, Judah assumed leadership of the revolt, receiving the surname Maccabeus. He adapted a guerrilla strategy, which proved to be very effective and led his followers to a strings of victories against the Seleucid army.

After rededicating the desecrated Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE, Judah conducted a series of attacks against the nearby cities. The counter-attack of the Seleucids led to truce and compromise.

The appointment of Alcimus as the new High Priest forced Judas again to rebellion. In 161 BCE Judas obtained a dramatic victory against the Seleucid general Nicanor and tried to have the support of the Romans. However, the Seleucids were quick to send another army commanded by Bacchides which defeated and killed Judas in the Battle of Elasa in 160 BCE.

Judas was succeeded by his brother Jonathan Maccabeus as leader of the rebellion.

Judas Maccabeus, in literature & the arts

See Nine Worthies - Maccabees

Judas Maccabeus enjoyed great popularity in Christian Europe in the 14th-17th centuries, ever since Jacques de Longuyon in 1312 included him among the Nine Worthies, or the greatest Kings in history.

In the 17th-18th centuries the character took a life of his own as the protagonist of dramatic plays and oratorios; including Judas Macabeo (1641 Calderón de la Barca), play and Judas Maccabeus (1747 Haendel / Morell), oratorio.

The rediscovery of the Jewishness of Judas as the leader of a national war of independence and the founder of the last independent Jewish state made him a popular hero not only among Jews and in the nascent Zionist movement but also as a champion of oppressed "national" minorities in Europe.

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