History of the Jews, Vol. 1 (of 6)

by Heinrich Graetz

But Judas soon marched out again, in order to avenge an injury which had been received during his absence. His two generals, Joseph, the son of Zachariah, and Azariah, whom he had left behind to guard the land in the west, had, contrary to his orders, attacked Gorgias, who was occupying Jamnia with a force; but they had suffered a defeat, and had been driven back to the Judæan mountains. Judas therefore embarked on a new campaign. His arms were again crowned with success, he destroyed several cities on the sea-coast, together with their temples and idols.

Whilst the hero of the Maccabees had been making fearless warriors out of his miserable and trembling countrymen who had hidden in caves, whilst he had been inspiring his people with self-confidence, and vanquishing the enemy far and near, the court of Syria had remained wrapped in the most complete indifference. What could have induced Lysias, who held the reins of government, to remain passive in the face of this daring defiance? Had he not the means of hiring mercenaries; or did he think the Judæans invincible? It is said that a distinguished man at the Syrian court, named Ptolemy Macron, had advocated the cause of the Judæans, and had declared that the religious restraint imposed upon them was unjust.

Suddenly important news came to Palestine concerning Antiochus Epiphanes. The progress of that monarch through Parthia had not been signalised by any military success; nor had he been able to refill his treasury. Driven by want of money, he undertook an expedition to the city of Susa, in Elymais, to plunder the temple of the goddess Anaitis; but the inhabitants resisted the invader and forced him to retreat. He fell sick in the Persian city of Tabæ, and while in a state of delirium, expired (164). He who had derided the idea of a Divine Being and Divine justice, who had deliberately assaulted all that men hold sacred, in the end lost confidence in himself in consequence of the frustration of all his plans. It is quite possible that on his deathbed he repented of his desecration of the Temple, or, as another report has it, that his attack of frenzy resulted from the stings of conscience. At all events his last orders savour of madness, for he appointed one of his favourites, Philip, as regent of his kingdom and guardian of his young son Antiochus V., although previous to his departure for Persia he had invested Lysias with absolute power. This, his dying act, of pitting two rival governors against each other, thus dividing his country into factions, proved fatal to the Syrio-Macedonian kingdom, and to the Seleucidæan house.

The death of Antiochus produced no change in the position of the Judæans. Lysias, who was guardian of the young king, Antiochus V. (Eupator, from 164 to 162), undertook no expedition against the Judæans. Judas Maccabæus took advantage of this inactivity to improve the unsatisfactory internal condition of his country. At that time there existed in Jerusalem two neighbouring fortified places that were in daily feud with each other, namely the Sanctuary, and the fortress of the Acra, occupied by the Hellenists, who, with their pretended high-priest Menelaus, continued their hostilities against the patriotic and loyal Judæans by making attacks upon the fortifications of the Temple. Judas Maccabæus took measures to bring this intolerable state of affairs to an end. He undertook the formal siege of the Acra, and raised earthworks on which he placed catapults, to discharge stones against the walls.

In this emergency some of the Hellenists resolved to have recourse to the young king, Antiochus V. (Eupator), and, eluding the besiegers, travelled for that purpose to Antioch. Upon their arrival, they declared that they had been cruelly treated by the Judæan party, on account of their devotion to the royal cause; that they had been robbed of their property, and threatened with death. They also represented to the king and his guardian that if the Acra were allowed to fall into the hands of the Hasmonæans, the rebellious Judæans would be utterly invincible. A council was thereupon held at the Syrian court, and it was agreed to commence hostile proceedings against the Hasmonæans. Ptolemy Macron, who alone spoke in favour of peaceful measures, could gain no hearing.

The flame of war again blazed up in the spring of 163 B. C. It was an unfortunate time for the Judæans, as this happened to be a Sabbatical year, which was strictly kept by those ready to forfeit their lives for the Law. There was neither sowing nor reaping, and the people had to content themselves with the fruits of the trees, with the spontaneous aftergrowth of the soil, or with what had been planted before the beginning of the Sabbatical year. The garrisons of the fortresses could not be supplied with food.

Lysias, accompanied by the royal child Eupator, and at the head of a large army with elephants, marched towards the south side of Judæa. Judas could only send a small army into the field, as he required the greater number of his forces for the defence of the Temple and of the fortress of Bethzur. Thus he was compelled to restrict himself to defensive operations. The garrison of Bethzur fought bravely, and attempted to destroy the siege-train of the invaders. Unfortunately, the scarcity of their provisions would not permit the beleaguered to undergo a long siege, and, moreover, they were betrayed by a traitor, Rodocus, who is accused of having revealed to the enemy the secret ways by which food was introduced into the fortress. At length famine and treachery compelled the garrison of Bethzur to surrender; but they were allowed free egress from the fortress. Relieved on this side, the Syrian army was now able to march upon Jerusalem. Nothing was left to Maccabæus but to meet them in the field. He advanced at the head of his troops to Beth-Zachariah, not far from Bethsur, where he awaited the enemy. The Judæans again performed prodigies of valour. Eleazar, one of the Hasmonæan brothers, thinking that the magnificently-attired rider of an elephant was the king himself, crept boldly under the animal, stabbed it to death, and fell crushed by its enormous weight. But in spite of the courage and daring of the Judæans, they were obliged to retreat before the superior numbers of the Syrians. Judas retreated to Jerusalem, and entrenched himself with his army in the Temple fortress. Lysias soon followed, and began a formal siege of the Sanctuary. Judas did not fail to defend himself, and also erected catapults. As the siege continued for a long time, the supplies, which were not plentiful on account of the Sabbatical year, were soon consumed by the garrison. Tortured by hunger, the troops began to desert the fortress by subterranean passages. Only Judas Maccabæus, his three brothers, and a small band of devoted followers remained steadfastly at their post of danger, defying the pangs of hunger. Jerusalem, or, more properly speaking, its last place of refuge, the Temple, was about to fall, as in the time of Nebuchadnezzar, through want of food; but help came unexpectedly.

Philip, who had been named regent of Syria by the dying king Antiochus Epiphanes, had raised a large army of Medo-Persians, and was marching upon Antioch to deprive Lysias of the rule. As soon as Lysias heard of the advance of his rival, he was forced to withdraw his troops from Jerusalem to lead them against this new enemy. He therefore persuaded the young king to make peace with the Judæans, and thus a treaty was concluded, the chief condition being that the Judæans should enjoy complete religious freedom, and that the fortress of the Temple should remain inviolate. Lysias agreed by oath to these conditions, but as soon as the gates of the fortress were opened, he ordered his soldiers to raze the walls and the towers to the ground. In no other way, however, did he seek to molest the Judæans, for he neither destroyed nor desecrated the Sanctuary, and he soon commenced his march to Syria, where Philip had taken possession of the capital. Thus the numerous battles of the Hasmonæans were crowned after all with success, and the Judæans were once more permitted to enjoy religious liberty, and were no longer compelled to sacrifice to Jupiter.

But these wars had another fortunate result: the Syrian court withdrew its protection from the Hellenists, who were obliged to leave their fortress in the Acra. Menelaus, the usurping high-priest, the author of untold misery, was sacrificed by Lysias. The latter looked upon him as a firebrand, and had him executed in Berœa (Aleppo), after he had, for ten years, degraded his priestly diadem by the most execrable conduct. Jason, who had not, indeed, been so great a criminal as Menelaus, but who had done his best to disturb the peace of his country, had expired somewhat earlier in a foreign land. Persecuted by Antiochus Epiphanes, and driven by the Nabatæan prince, Aretas, out of his country, he had fled to Egypt, but finding no safety there, had wandered from town to town, until at last he had found a grave in Sparta.

The truce between the Syrian court and the Judæan people making a return to the old order of things possible, it was necessary to elect a new high-priest as political chief, and who could be found worthier of that office than Judas Maccabæus? The great Hasmonæan hero was most probably raised to that dignity by Antiochus Eupator, or by his guardian, Lysias.