Hasmoneans

Hasmoneans, also known as the Maccabees, were the ruling dynasty of Judea from about 141 BCE to 37 BCE. They traced their origins to Mattathias and his son Judas Maccabeus, who led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire after religious oppression and Hellenistic policies. Following victories, Judas’s successors—Jonathan Apphus and later Simon Thassi—established an independent Judean state that combined priestly authority with political leadership.

The dynasty’s core rulers expanded and consolidated territory. John Hyrcanus I extended Judea’s borders and asserted independence. Aristobulus I and Alexander Jannaeus reigned in the mid-1st century BCE, followed by Salome Alexandra, noted for stabilizing the realm. The Hasmoneans also pursued aggressive territorial and religious policies, including efforts to impose Jewish law beyond Jerusalem and, under Hyrcanus I, the forced conversion of Edomites.

Internal strife marked the later period. A civil war between Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II around 66–63 BCE led to Roman intervention. Pompey the Great captured Jerusalem in 63 BCE, and Judea became a Roman client state, with Hasmonean rulers continuing as high priests and ethnarchs for several decades.

The dynasty effectively ended when Rome installed Herod the Great as king in 37 BCE. The Hasmoneans left a lasting legacy in Jewish history, notably in intertwining religious and political authority, expanding and reorganizing Judean governance, and shaping the later relationship between the Jewish polity and Rome.