Persians and Greeks; 647 to 72 BCE

Jerusalem > Yerushalayim, Israel

Untitled Hyrcanus had suffered an initial setback at the hands of the last great Seleucid king, Antiochus VII Sidetes, who set out to reconquer Palestine, but at the latter's death John renews his father's expansionist program, which results in the conquest and destruction of Samaria. In 130, Hyrcanus forces Idumaea to convert to Judaism, the first example of conversion imposed by the Jews in their history. In internal policy, however, he commits the grave error of quarreling with one of the two main Jewish ecclesiastical parties, the Pharisees&emdash;who follow the Law with great strictness and with whom the Maccabean movement has in origin close affinity&emdash;and siding with their opponents, the more liberal Sadducees. The Pharisees, who had emerged as a clearly defined party during the revolt of the Maccabees, oppose Hyrcanus because of his assumption of both the royal and high-priestly titles and because of the general secularism of the court. Unlike the priestly and aristocratic Sadducees, the Pharisees believe in resurrection and the immortality of the soul. The Sadducees, who oppose the use of Oral Law by the Pharisees, hold only to the Pentateuch.

by Jeff Moran