Volume 33

2026

Publication date: 24.04.2026

Description

Cover photography: fortress Alexandreion (today Sartaba). Photo by Dvir Raviv.

The has been supported by a grant from the Faculty of History under the Strategic Programme Excellence Initiative at Jagiellonian University.

Licence: CC BY 4.0

Editorial team

Editor-in-Chief Edward Dąbrowa

Deputy Editor-in-Chief Sławomir Sprawski

Technical Editor Jadwiga Makowiec

Issue content

The Concept of Antiochus IV Epiphanes’ “Unifying Edict” (1 Macc 1:41–53) as an Product of Jewish Religious and Political Thought

Łukasz Niesiołowski-Spanò

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 11-33

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.001.23114

Studies to date on the events accompanying the outbreak of the Maccabean uprising have increasingly highlighted the difficulties in interpreting the sources. The main sources on the subject—i.e. 1–2 Maccabees—place emphasis on the attitude of King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who was alleged to have acted against the followers of Judaism and the cult of Yahweh. It has been pointed out previously that the biblical tradition of an edict issued against the Jews is not supported by other sources, and, most importantly, is not consistent with the practice of Hellenistic rulers who supported the various cults of their subjects. Starting from this premise, the text reconstructs events with an emphasis on actions of a political nature related to the Sixth Syrian War and its aftermath. The second part of the text presents the biblical foundations on which the narratives of Antiochus’ alleged anti-Judaic edict and his actions against the Jews were built. The thesis is posited here that the authors of the books of Maccabees were pursuing the political plans of John Hyrcanus, constructing, among other things, an image of an external threat to the religious community, for which the only “salvation” was to be found in the activities of the Maccabees—de facto usurpers in the function of high priests.

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The Maccabees and the Gymnasium

Samuele Rocca

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 35-54

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.002.23115

This paper focuses on the fate of the gymnasium in the wake of the Maccabean Revolt. While the vast majority of scholars postulate that the gymnasium was destroyed by the Maccabees, no such statement is made by any of the sources. The gymnasium’s fate is not mentioned in the narration of Judah’s conquest of Jerusalem, nor in the description of Jonathan or Simon’s successive sieges and eventually conquest the Acra, the fortress where the Seleucid garrison and the Hellenists took refuge.
The main key to understand the successive fate of the gymnasium is that this term indicates an institution as well as a building. First it is necessary to figure out its location, a key element to understand its successive destiny. Furthermore, the narration of the various sieges of the Accra could provide with a perspective on the evolution of the attitude of the Maccabees and their followers towards the Hellenists, who would have included the members of the team of the gymnasium. On the other hand, an analysis of the episode of embassy sent by Jonathan to Sparta and the claim of the Jews to kinship, or syngeneia, with Sparta, demonstrates that the benefits of Greek education, acquired only in a gymnasium, were not lost to the Maccabees.
Thus, the paper argues that this institution, the symbol par excellence of the Greco-Roman world that was introduced into Jerusalem in the second century BCE, was in fact never destroyed but instead died of natural causes, which is why its demise is not mentioned in the sources.

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The Failure of a Religious Reform: Observations on the Hellenistic Reform in Jerusalem

Edward Dąbrowa

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 55-74

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.003.23116

One of the most significant moments of the so-called Hellenistic reform in Jerusalem was the introduction of polytheistic worship into the Jerusalem temple around 168 BCE. This led to the repression and persecution of Judaism’s followers, which, according to the accounts of 1 and 2 Maccabees, became the direct cause of the Maccabean revolt. Today, the role of religious aspects in the origins of the Maccabean revolt is often downplayed in favor of economic factors. However, there is no doubt that both played equally important roles. Nevertheless, much evidence suggests that the manner in which the polytheistic reform was implemented sparked armed resistance among the population. The author argues that this reform should not be viewed as a top-down religious policy of the Syrian king, but rather as being linked to establishing a polis in Jerusalem.

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Pharaoh’s Successors and a Revived Joseph: Ptolemaic Memory in the First and Second Books of Maccabees

Alessandro Rossini

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 75-100

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.004.23117

References to Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII of Egypt in the First and Second Books of Maccabees are relatively sparse. However, Philometor and his brother were definitely involved in the events portrayed in these Hasmonean reflections on a recent past. Although Mattathias’ descendants may appear less central in a literary analysis focused on the Ptolemies in 1 and 2 Maccabees, they remain significant as they embody the “authorial present” of both books

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2 Maccabees as a Judean Work

Sylvie Honigman

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 101-129

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.005.23118

In this article I make the case that 2 Maccabees was composed in Judea, and more specifically in circles associated with the Hasmonean court, through three lines of argument. First, I argue that the Judean social elites and scribes in the Hellenistic period had a far greater command of Greek than is usually assumed, as evidenced by the Romance of Joseph the Tobiad and by works written in Hebrew that show a deep knowledge either of Greek historiography or of Greek philosophy. I also argue that the Hasmoneans, like other local rulers, would certainly have needed Greekspeaking writers in their service. Various scenarios are explored, including the possibility that Jason of Cyrene himself was employed at the Hasmonean court. Next, I reiterate the case that major narrative sections in 2 Maccabees are shaped by the narrative pattern of the ruler founding the temple, and that this pattern could only be used at the Hasmonean court, not in a Greek cultural setting. Furthermore, the presence of the narrative template offers an alternative explanation for several aspects of the text that modern scholars have taken as evidence that the work was composed in a diaspora setting. Two examples are examined: 2 Maccabees, alleged “lack of interest in and knowledge of the geography of Palestine;” and the author’s attack on Jason’s establishment of the gymnasium in Jerusalem. Finally, I explore the overlooked reception of the Danielic textual network in 1 and 2 Maccabees, in the construction of Antiochus IV as a universal evildoer, and in the account of Antiochus IV’s death in 2 Maccabees. While this matter is not decisive for the view that 2 Maccabees was composed in Judea, it lends further weight to this theory.

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Judean Heroes and Diasporic Heroes: On Josephus’s Version of 1 Maccabees 1–2

Daniel R. Schwartz

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 131-138

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.006.23119

Although Josephus’s narrative of the Maccabean Revolt in Antiquities 12–13 follows 1 Maccabees’ closely, it deviates from it often in accordance with Josephus’s own circumstances and preferences, writing in Rome after the destruction of Jerusalem rather than in Jerusalem when it was the capital of the Hasmonean state. This study focuses on Ant. 12.255–277 and points to Josephus’s changes in wording and structure that allow him to transform Jewish martyrs from foils whose deaths show that the Hasmoneans’ militant response to persecution is preferable to theirs and created the Jewish state, as they are in 1 Macc 1–2, into noble heroes of the Jewish religion. This corresponds to Josephus’s growing tendency to underscore devotion to Jewish law rather than the values relevant to Jewish statehood.

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The Seleucid Akra and the Hasmonean “First Wall”: Could They Have Coexisted?

Ayala Zilberstein

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 139-153

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.007.23120

This paper re-examines the timing of the construction of the “First Wall” around Jerusalem’s Western Hill and the process of the city’s westward expansion. The author argues that internal struggles within the Seleucid court during the mid-second century BCE created instability, weakening Seleucid control in Judea. This allowed Jonathan and Simon to strategically navigate the political landscape. This context suggests that Jonathan and Simon often acted with a Seleucid mandate. Given this political climate, the article proposes that the initiative to rebuild the Western Hill’s ancient wall may have begun earlier, potentially during Simon’s reign or even Jonathan’s leadership, while a Seleucid garrison was still stationed in the Akra. The restoration, starting with the rehabilitation of the ancient wall, may have been a mutually beneficial act. Later, several towers built of marginally dressed ashlar stones were added at strategic points, likely for tactical reasons. In summary, this paper suggests that the westward expansion and the construction of the First Wall were more gradual than previously assumed, and that the initial restoration may have begun before 141 BCE due to Seleucid instability and the Hasmonean brothers’ skillful diplomacy and growing authority—possibly undertaken with some level of coordination with the Seleucid rulers.

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John Hyrcanus’ Conquests: A Forgotten Page of the Seleucid Fraternal War

Michaël Girardin

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 155-176

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.008.23121

It is generally assumed that the beginning of the conquests was a clear sign of the political independence of the Hasmonean rulers. In this paper, I consider together literary, numismatic and archaeological data to demonstrate that neither John Hyrcanus, nor Alexander Jannaeus, led their fights for their own purposes only. Their conquests must be evaluated in both their local and regional contexts. In the end, it appears that they acted as loyal vassals to their Seleucid and Lagid masters, taking their part in the civil war against the usurper Antiochos IX and his ally Ptolemy IX.

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Ptolemy IX Soter II, Antiochus IX Philopator (“Cyzicenus”), and John Hyrcanus I

Catharine C. Lorber

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 177-200

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.009.23122

This paper argues that Justin’s account of the relations between Ptolemy IX and Cleopatra III should be treated with skepticism. It is possible that the delivery of troops from Cyprus to the Seleucid pretender Antiochus IX was supported by Ptolemy IX, with the aim of increasing his influence in the southern Levant. In that case, his later provision of troops to Antiochus IX for the defense of Samaria was consistent with an existing alliance. However after the deposal of Ptolemy IX from the Egyptian throne, there is no evidence of his further contact with Antiochus IX. His involvement in the War of Sceptres was probably an opportunistic attempt to enlarge his territory, which only coincidentally made him an opponent of Hasmonean expansion.

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Anatomy of a Coup: Reassessing the Reign of Judah Aristobulus I

Julia Wilker

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 201-224

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.010.23123

This chapter explores the reign of Judah Aristobulus I (104/103 BCE), with a focus on the alleged coup and violent death of his brother Antigonus. First, it is shown that Josephus intentionally prioritized the Antigonus story over other aspects of Aristobulus’s rule, using it to foreshadow problems that would plague the Hasmonean dynasty in the following decades. Second, a historical analysis reveals that the dynastic crisis of 104/103 BCE was much more severe than Josephus suggests, with significant tension within the ruling family and at the court. However, a close reading of the Antigonus narrative also provides further insights into the Hasmonean power structure. It is in this episode that the ostentatious self-presentation of Hasmonean rulers is described in greater detail for the first time. The court in Jerusalem is depicted as a nexus of factions and interest groups, and Salina Alexandra, Aristobulus’s wife and the first Hasmonean queen, is reported to have intervened in the power struggles. Josephus’s account of Aristobulus’s short reign thus reflects a political system that is more complex and stringently organized than commonly assumed. Although its focus on the dynasty generated tension, the structure proved to be remarkably stable.

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Antigonus Mattathias: Between Parthia, Rome, and Herod the Great

Edward Dąbrowa

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 225-242

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.011.23124

The portrayal of Antigonus Mattathias’s reign, the last king of the Hasmonean dynasty (40–37 BCE) we owe exclusively to Josephus, who devoted him a considerable place in both of his works. Despite family ties with the Hasmoneans and favorable inclinations towards them, Josephus depicted the last king as a warmonger who would not hesitate to seek help from the Parthians and corrupt Roman commanders. The battles fought by Antigonus with Herod caused unrest and chaos affecting the people of Jerusalem, Judea and their neighboring territories.
The explanation for this unfavorable assessment of Antigonus should be sought in the fact that Josephus was inspired by the works of Nicolaus of Damascus on Herod, who would be inclined to put Herod’s rival Antigonus in a bad light.
It seems that Josephus’s assessment is a justified one. On other hand other available sources such as coinage of Antigonus, even the works of Josephus himself as well as those of other authors presenting the political reality in Judaea and the Middle East in Antigonus’s time allow us to evaluate the last Hasmonean ruler differently and much more favorably. This evidence proves that his actions had a strictly defined political agenda. He also skillfully used external circumstances to consolidate his power, and most importantly, enjoyed considerable support among the people of Judea.

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Traces of Conflict: An Archaeological Perspective on the Hasmonean–Herodian Transition (63–37 BCE)

Dvir Raviv

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 243-270

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.012.23125

The transition from Hasmonean rule to Herod’s regime sparked significant unrest among the Jewish population of Judea. Over the course of these two and a half decades, five distinct conflicts occurred between Aristobulus II and his sons on one side, and Hyrcanus II and the House of Antipater on the other. Although these events are thoroughly recounted by Josephus, relatively few archaeological finds have been linked to the conflicts of this period. This study surveys the available material evidence and evaluates its historical implications. The core dataset includes numismatic finds (hoards, Antigonus and early Herodian coinage), hiding complexes, and refuge caves. Two additional, though less conclusive, categories—siege systems around Hasmonean fortresses and indications of site abandonment—are also examined. The distribution and context of these finds not only lend support to Josephus’s account but also potentially indicating that resistance to the rise of the Antipatrid regime may have been more widespread than is reflected in his pro-Herodian narrative.

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Hasmonean Judea among the Nations: Masters, Friends, Rivals, Adversaries

Maurice Sartre

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 271-291

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.013.23126

Between the revolt of 168 BC and 63 BC, the Hasmoneans established in Judea an increasingly autonomous power. The documentation, which is almost exclusively due to Jewish authors, gives Judea a central place, but an examination of the sources shows that the power of the Hasmoneans was essentially based on the weakness of their adversaries. The links maintained with Rome never resulted in a Roman intervention in their favour and the former Seleucid master acted almost freely in the new kingdom until the 80s. Judea remained a marginal region, struggling to assert itself against the states in the region, including the Nabataean kingdom.

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The Pompeian Era of the Dekapolis as a Consequence of Hasmonaean Policies

David M. Jacobson

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 293-309

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.014.23127

It is well established that the poleis of the Dekapolis employed a Pompeian era and widely assumed that they adopted it when they were released from Hasmonaean subjection and granted semi-autonomy. Numismatic evidence from Nysa-Skythopolis has shown that its Pompeian era was only formally endorsed in the early years of the Roman Principate. Here, evidence is produced to indicate that a similar situation pertained to Gadara, and probably to the other members of the Dekapolis. This relatively late adoption of a Pompeian era is explained.

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Malalas on the Maccabees: A Reappraisal

Krystyna Stebnicka

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 311-325

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.015.23128

The article examines the account of John Malalas of Antioch concerning the reign of Antiochos IV Epiphanes and the events preceding the Maccabean revolt. In Book VIII of the Chronographia, Malalas combines elements of local Antiochene historiography, pro-Seleukid dossiers, and Christian interpretations. Particularly significant are those sections of Book VIII that present a Seleukid version of events in Palestine prior to the outbreak of the revolt, emphasizing economic crisis and fiscal disputes with Egypt, in which Antiochus appears as the defender of the Jews against Ptolemaic taxation. This narrative constitutes a characteristic Malalan interwinning of local legend and historical detail, which should not be dismissed, as it preserves a tradition independent of the 1 and 2 Books of the Maccabees.

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Hasmonean Historical Traditions Preserved in a Tenth-Century CE History of Ancient Israel: The Intriguing Case of Sefer Yosippon

Kenneth Atkinson

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 327-350

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.016.23129

The tenth-century CE Hebrew historical work known as Sefer Yosippon has been among the most widely circulated and influential histories of ancient Israel for Jews and non-Jews alike for over a millennium. Long believed to be a lost work of the first-century CE Jewish historian Flavius Josephus that he wrote in Hebrew for Jews, the book’s author is anonymous. Scholars generally agree that its unknown writer resided in Italy, possibly Naples, with some suggesting that he had access to libraries, perhaps including monastic collections, to explain his extensive use of classical sources. It is this aspect of Sefer Yosippon that is of special importance to historians of Second Temple Judaism and ancient Mediterranean history, particularly of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, as the book incorporates numerous classical texts and unknown sources in its account of Jewish history. This study proposes that Sefer Yosippon’s author and redactors used works now lost that documented the Maccabean Revolt and the early Hasmonean period, particularly Jewish and Parthian relations. This article investigates this likelihood by highlighting possible new information about the origin of the Maccabean Revolt and the reign of John Hyrcanus in Sefer Yossippon and its major redaction that may shed new light on these enigmatic periods of history.

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Varia

Quatre stèles funéraires d’Antioche sur l’Oronte et de Nicopolis de Syrie au musée archéologique de Gaziantep (Turquie orientale)

Ergün Laflı, Hadrien Bru, Alev Çetingöz

ELECTRUM, Volume 33, 2026, pp. 351-362

https://doi.org/10.4467/20800909EL.26.017.23130

The funerary steles of Antioch on the Orontes are dispersed across several museums, including the Archaeological Museum of Gaziantep, an important center of patrimonial conservation in south-east modern Turkey. Amongst the collections considered can be found three funerary steles coming from the workshops of Syrian Antioch (Ist cent. BC) and showing typical late Hellenistic architectonic and onomastic features (n° 1–3). A funerary monument dated to the heart of the Roman Imperial period (end of IInd cent.-beginning of IIIrd cent. AD) completes the rare epigraphic and archaeological documentation known concerning Syrian Nicopolis, also called Nicopolis Seleucidis (n° 4).

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