From Rebels to Rulers: The Hasmoneans and their Kingdom

In 2024-25, The Maccabees Project held two hybrid (in-person/zoom) discussions at Boston University’s Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies.

Reconsidering the Conquests of John Hyrcanus I

Feb. 4, 2025

Speakers: Andrea M. Berlin (Boston University), Débora Sandhaus (Ben Gurion University of the Negev) and Avner Ecker (The Hebrew University of Jerusalem)

The reign of John Hyrcanus I is pivotal for the Hasmonean State. The historical narratives suggest that immediately after the death of Antiochus VII Sidetes Hyrcanus turned to military campaigns, capturing a series of territories and cities, including the Moabite Plateau east of the Jordan River, the regions of Samaria and Idumea, and Nysa/Scythopolis. While archaeological evidence has cast doubt about the timing of these campaigns, their intentions and character have not received serious scrutiny. In this meeting we considered the evidence on the ground against the narrative in Josephus. Professor Berlin and Doctor Sandhaus discussed the archaeological evidence from Mt. Gerizim and Nysa/Scythopolis, and Professor Ecker shared his perspective on the discrepancies between the archaeological record and the Josephan account.

The War of Scepters and the Hasmoneans

Apr. 1, 2025

Speakers: Christelle Fischer-Bovet (University of Southern California) and Danny Syon (Kinneret College on the Sea of Galilee)

The final years of the 2nd century BCE in Judea were particularly turbulent. Shortly after ascending the throne, Alexander Jannaeus, the new ruler of Hasmonean Judea, found himself embroiled in a multi-faction war. By laying siege to ‘Akko-Ptolemais, Jannaeus unleashed chaos. Some scholars argue that the War of Scepters should be considered the ninth (and final) Syrian War, as it intended to fulfil the longstanding Ptolemaic ambition to reclaim the Southern Levant. In this meeting, Professor Fischer-Bovet examined the historical evidence concerning the Ptolemies at war, and Doctor Syon presented the numismatic “trail” these events left in northern Israel.