| dc.description.abstract | The Jewish national army was of great significance to the national awareness of every Jew. However, the reign of
Alexander Janneus (103-76 B.C.) marks the decline of its meaning of a symbol unifying the Jewish nation, which
was a heavy blow to the idea of the Hasmonean state, to its unity and the very existence of the chosen nation. In
the beginning, at the outbreak of the Maccabean revolt (168 B.C.), the army was composed of the Jewish voluntary
militia, which in the forties of the second century B.C. transformed into a more organised body still composed of
Jews alone. Since the times of John Hircan I (135-104 B.C.) through the reign of Judah Aristobule 1 (104-103
B.C.) and Alexander Janneus (103-76 B.C.), the Jewish army had consisted of mercenaries, too. After the death of
Queen Alexandra Salome (76-67 B.C.), the wife of Alexander Janneus, a civil war broke out between her two sons
Judah Aristobule I and John Hircan II, who fought against each other with two separate armies, which were
practically private. That was when the Hasmonean dynasty disappeared from history records. It was only Herod the
Great who resurrected the army of the Jewish state.
The national aspects related to the Hasmonean dynasty are undoubtedly more important than the matter of strategy
or conducted military actions. First of all, the native Jewish sources let us get acquainted with the role that
the army played in the national awareness of Jews. There are three stages in the history of the army of the
Hasmonean monarchy:
1. formation of Jewish militia, which served as an insurgent element (167-152 B.C.)
2. development of the Jewish army composed of Jews (152-ca.l30 B.C.)
3. strengthening of the army with foreign mercenaries (130-67 B.C.). | en_EN |
