471:, "deputy" or "representative"), and would tentatively be involved in the administration and management of Judea. A rivalry between Nicanor and Alcimus would undo this potential warming of relations. Alcimus, perhaps worried of being replaced or his authority undermined, complained to the authorities in Antioch. New orders from Demetrius at the behest of this rivalry forced Nicanor to move against Judas more aggressively. Judas realized something had changed, and laid low. Regardless of whether the original negotiations were sincere or not, the negotiations now broke down, and Nicanor made moves to have Judas arrested. Judas fled back to the countryside where his remaining army waited.
559:
was hostile to Judas. Scholars who favor 1 Maccabees believe that the depiction of
Nicanor as initially sincere and a friend of Judas is done solely for literary purposes to make a better "tragic" story of downfall, and thus cannot be trusted to be historical. Scholars who favor 2 Maccabees cite the later Seleucid negotiations with Maccabee leaders as evidence that there is nothing strange about the negotiations described before Adasa; additionally, 1 Maccabees seems to have less knowledge of Seleucid internal politics and depicts nearly all Syrian leaders as simply evil opponents of Judaism, so it is the source that is less trustworthy on this matter.
480:
506:; he threatened the priests there to help him find Judas, or else he would return and burn the Temple down. The truth of this matter may be unknown as well due to the hostility of the surviving sources to Nicanor; the priests at the Temple would presumably have been Alcimus's subordinates, although according to 2 Maccabees it had been Alcimus who forced Nicanor's hand in the first place. Whether Nicanor really did turn on his own allies in a self-destructive frenzy is unclear, but regardless, he gained the hatred of the rebels.
899:
522:
phrasings suggesting surprise in earlier battles of the Revolt. Nicanor was killed very early in the battle, rattling the
Seleucid force from the loss of its commander. Hellenistic commanders typically fought in the cavalry on the right wing and the force was comparatively small, so Nicanor would likely have been easy to find had Judas planned on attacking him directly.
579:
is skeptical of
Josephus's estimate, suggesting that Nicanor had a few thousand men at most, hence 2 Maccabees reporting he had impressed local Jews into the army to bolster its numbers. 2 Maccabees also reports enemy casualties of 35,000, a grossly inflated number discounted as myth-making to make
537:
Nicanor's body was desecrated after the battle. His head and right hand were cut off, originally a
Persian punishment, and posted for display near Jerusalem. This was to raise the morale of the rebels as the first truly high-ranking officer slain by the Maccabees. Judas was also able to undertake
367:
Book 12, Chapter 10. The Battle of Caphar-salama is portrayed with fairly few details; either it was a short and one-sided affair, the author of 1 Maccabees was not an eye-witness to it, or both. Slightly more details are written of the Battle of Adasa, but largely of the geographic region it took
570:
believes that these estimates for the size of the Judean army are too low - Judas appeared to be an able military commander who confidently chose this battle as a winnable one. He would not have gambled the remaining rebel forces in an open battle in which he was badly outnumbered; if Judas really
566:, where the Regent's personal army had fought a Maccabee army rallied while they had control of all of Judea. Josephus writes that Nicanor had 9,000 soldiers at this battle. 1 Maccabees writes that the Maccabees had access to 3,000 soldiers in this battle; Josephus writes a mere 2,000. Historian
436:
as High Priest of Judea. Alcimus was a moderate
Hellenizer who worked to split off Jewish support of the Maccabees, apparently to some success. Bacchides left, but tensions between the Maccabees in the countryside, the moderate Hellenist Jews in the cities, and the Greeks continued. The books of
558:
1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees disagree on the extent and sincerity of the negotiations between
Nicanor and Judas. In 1 Maccabees, the negotiations were solely a trap by the evil Nicanor that Judas easily evaded; in 2 Maccabees, they only fell apart after the intervention of High Priest Alcimus, who
603:
The date of the battle on 13 Adar is described, but not the year. A year of 161 BC implies that
Nicanor's governorship was rather short, only lasting a few months. However, a year of 160 BC implies that there was practically no time between Adasa and Bacchides' second expedition in 160 BC that
521:
presented a gold sword to him and said, "Take this holy sword, a gift from God, with which you will strike down your adversaries." The battle appears to have been a direct frontal confrontation rather than an ambush or surprise attack; 1 Maccabees simply says that "armies met in battle", unlike
554:
The location of Dessau, where Simon fought
Nicanor before he assumed the governorship, is unknown. The story is only related in 2 Maccabees, which provides no further geographic clues. Some scholars speculate that the epitomist who abridged 2 Maccabees may have confused Caphar-salama with
467:(Simeon) at a place called Dessau or Caphar-dessau; Nicanor won and forced the Maccabees into retreat. As part of his governorship, Nicanor apparently attempted to negotiate with and even befriend Judas, according to 2 Maccabees. Judas was even given an official government role (
595:
The story of
Jeremiah bestowing a divine sword to Judas as a sign of God's favor may possibly be influenced by a synthesis of Egyptian cultural beliefs and the Jewish religion. The epitomist of 2 Maccabees was an Egyptian Jew, and a common motif of authority was to show the
541:
King
Demetrius would suppress the rebellion of Timarchus in the eastern satrapies around early 160 BC, freeing up soldiers for other tasks such as suppressing the Judean unrest. Despite the victory at Adasa, in a year Judas Maccabeus would be defeated and killed at the
634:
tractate of the Talmud, focus more on Nicanor's arrogance and threats backfiring on him, and omit mention of Judas Maccabeus. This may have been an attempt to counterbalance the Hasmonean aggrandizement of the book of 1 Maccabees and avoid hero-worship of Judas.
583:
According to 2 Maccabees, the Seleucids had war elephants at this battle. This is considered doubtful and likely a temporal mix-up, as 2 Maccabees was probably written later than 1 Maccabees; according to Greek and Roman sources, a Roman delegation enforcing the
620:(Day of Nicanor), was created to honor the victory at Adasa, the demise of the disliked Nicanor who had threatened to burn the Temple, and the triumphant return of Judas Maccabeus to Jerusalem after a period of Seleucid rule. The date it is held is 13
529:, the nearest Seleucid fortress to the west around 30 kilometers (19 mi) away. The Jewish army followed in pursuit, and Jewish partisans in the nearby towns harried their retreat, inflicting significant casualties on the fleeing government army.
310:. The Maccabees won the battle after killing Nicanor early in the fighting. The battle came after a period of political maneuvering over several months where the peace deal established a year earlier by Lysias was tested by the new High Priest
501:
Nicanor left Jerusalem with a small force to track down Judas and the rebels. At Caphar-salama, a skirmish was fought; the Seleucids suffered 500 casualties, and retreated back to Jerusalem. Allegedly, Nicanor then blasphemed at the
412:
was still a child. Demetrius successfully swayed the Greek leaders of Antioch to his side, took the throne, and ordered the arrest and execution of Antiochus V and Lysias. This would sour Seleucid relations with the
555:
Caphar-dessau and they were the same battle, but the terms are not particularly alike, and 2 Maccabees describes the battle at Dessau as a rebel defeat while 1 Maccabees describes Caphar-salama as a rebel victory.
513:, northwest of Jerusalem, to meet up with Seleucid reinforcements traveling from Samaria. He likely had at least some heavy infantry with him. The rebels set their forces against him at
197:
408:
taking the throne after Seleucus IV's death in 175 BC had been perceived as a usurpation by some. Additionally, Demetrius was a man in his prime, around 24 years old, while King
600:
holding or about to wield a royal sword. This story would be bolstering Judas's king-like authority as leader, albeit with a Jewish spin in using the famous prophet Jeremiah.
929:
538:
negotiations with the Romans from a position of greater strength, and extracted a weak promise of potential Roman support in the future against Demetrius.
190:
417:; Rome began offering tentative offers of support and assistance to any potential sources of rebellion and disunity within the Seleucid Empire, such as
924:
588:
hamstrung the Seleucid war elephants in 163 or 162 BC. If some elephants had escaped the Romans, perhaps from staying in the coastal region of
849:
651:
Most ancient manuscripts of 1 Maccabees say "5,000" casualties. This is likely a scribal error from copying later unknowingly repeated; the
183:
903:
821:
517:. According to 2 Maccabees 15, Judas inspired his troops by relating to them a dream-vision he had experienced, wherein the Prophet
428:
Demetrius's first act with regards to the situation in Judea was to send a new military expedition there under Seleucid general
221:
881:
392:, however. Despite fending off a challenge from a Seleucid leader called Philip, a far greater threat arrived soon after:
572:
484:
479:
226:
337:
Nicanor's military governance of Judea, the Battle of Caphar-salama, and the Battle of Adasa are recorded in the book of
571:
had been outnumbered, he would have fought in a narrow pass rather than Adasa, such as the strategy used at the earlier
241:
463:
four years earlier. On his way to assume the governorship, he apparently fought a skirmish with Maccabee forces under
388:, the Maccabees were forced to retreat. Political considerations hastened Lysias's return to the Seleucid capital of
59:
624:, the day of the Battle of Adasa. The Day of Nicanor was included in a 1st century Jewish calendar of special days,
592:
rather than returning to Antioch, they were likely very few; 1 Maccabees is silent on the presence of any elephants.
589:
442:
377:
307:
130:
842:
Shifting Images of the Hasmoneans: Second Temple Legends and Their Reception in Josephus and Rabbinic literature
368:
place in. The writers instead focused more on the political maneuvering between Nicanor, Alcimus, and Judas.
350:
934:
563:
385:
354:
342:
246:
732:
422:
363:
488:
814:
Tales of High Priests and Taxes: The Books of the Maccabees and the Judean Rebellion against Antiochos IV
631:
429:
409:
869:
567:
236:
877:
845:
817:
779:
775:
Ursprung und Anfänge des Christentums: Bd. Die Entwicklung des Judentums und Jesus von Nazaret
773:
393:
652:
585:
460:
275:
231:
207:
134:
30:
432:. The size and scope of the expedition is unknown, but one of its purposes was to install
919:
809:
626:
605:
543:
452:
381:
318:
303:
299:
283:
256:
125:
113:
493:
414:
913:
503:
380:
led an expedition to restore government control of Judea and relieve a siege of the
769:
576:
464:
456:
405:
401:
346:
338:
898:
837:
816:. Oakland, California: University of California Press. p. 154–156.
783:
510:
314:, the new military governor Nicanor, and the Maccabee leader Judas Maccabeus.
291:
74:
61:
447:
438:
418:
295:
278:
on the 13th of the month Adar (late winter, equivalent to March), 161 BC at
108:
844:. Translated by Ordan, Dena. Oxford University Press. p. 56–57.
562:
The fighting at the Battle of Adasa was more small-scale than the dramatic
608:, which happened in the month of Nisan, the month immediately after Adar.
396:, who escaped from captivity in Rome with the help of the Greek historian
518:
397:
358:
483:
Judas is presented with a divine golden sword while asleep. Woodcut by
597:
433:
389:
311:
526:
175:
514:
478:
279:
53:
621:
322:
179:
437:
Maccabees accuse Alcimus of arranging a slaughter of moderate
874:
Judas Maccabaeus: The Jewish Struggle Against the Seleucids
451:(general / governor) of the region, likely ruling from the
788:...es konnen hochstens ein paar tausend Men gewesen sein.
455:. Nicanor had previously been a commander of Seleucid
876:. Cambridge University Press. p. 347–375.
509:Nicanor rode out again and camped in the region of
778:. Stuttgart and Berlin: J. G. Cotta. p. 245.
400:and returned to Syria. Demetrius was the son of
696:Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 347–351; 359–361
23:
755:
753:
751:
749:
692:
690:
688:
686:
676:
674:
672:
630:. Later rabbinical writings, such as in the
329:(Day of Nicanor) to commemorate the victory.
191:
8:
198:
184:
176:
20:
384:citadel in Jerusalem. After winning the
668:
655:, the oldest extant source, uses "500".
644:
580:Judas's victory seem more impressive.
930:2nd century BC in the Seleucid Empire
525:The Seleucid troops retreated toward
294:. It was a battle between the rebel
7:
904:The Antiquities of the Jews/Book XII
287:
14:
759:Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 370–375
743:Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 362–369
723:Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 355–358
705:Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 352–355
897:
925:Battles of the Maccabean Revolt
317:The date of the battle in the
1:
485:Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld
151:
459:, and had taken part in the
371:
951:
441:. Against this backdrop,
302:(Judah Maccabee) and the
217:
161:
144:
119:
102:
36:
28:
680:Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 360.
564:Battle of Beth Zechariah
386:Battle of Beth Zechariah
306:, whose army was led by
799:Bar-Kochva 1989, p. 366
475:Caphar-salama and Adasa
364:Antiquities of the Jews
714:Bar-Kochva 1989, p.358
498:
423:Ptolemaus of Commagene
372:Nicanor's governorship
274:was fought during the
157:Around 9,000 soldiers?
120:Commanders and leaders
482:
425:, and the Maccabees.
162:Casualties and losses
573:Battle of Beth Horon
489:Die Bibel in Bildern
351:2 Maccabees 14:12–33
325:, was celebrated as
870:Bar-Kochva, Bezalel
616:A Jewish festival,
410:Antiochus V Eupator
355:2 Maccabees 15:1–36
343:1 Maccabees 7:26–50
242:Campaigns of 163 BC
75:31.8333°N 35.2333°E
71: /
604:would lead to the
568:Bezalel Bar-Kochva
499:
376:In 162 BC, Regent
902:The full text of
851:978-0-19-881138-1
733:2 Maccabees 15:16
394:Demetrius I Soter
265:
264:
174:
173:
98:
97:
942:
901:
887:
856:
855:
834:
828:
827:
810:Hongiman, Sylvie
806:
800:
797:
791:
790:
766:
760:
757:
744:
741:
735:
730:
724:
721:
715:
712:
706:
703:
697:
694:
681:
678:
656:
653:Codex Sinaiticus
649:
627:Megillat Ta'anit
586:Treaty of Apamea
497:
461:Battle of Emmaus
289:
276:Maccabean revolt
212:
210:
209:Maccabean Revolt
200:
193:
186:
177:
139:
86:
85:
83:
82:
81:
80:31.8333; 35.2333
76:
72:
69:
68:
67:
64:
38:
37:
31:Maccabean Revolt
21:
950:
949:
945:
944:
943:
941:
940:
939:
935:Judas Maccabeus
910:
909:
894:
884:
868:
865:
860:
859:
852:
836:
835:
831:
824:
808:
807:
803:
798:
794:
768:
767:
763:
758:
747:
742:
738:
731:
727:
722:
718:
713:
709:
704:
700:
695:
684:
679:
670:
665:
660:
659:
650:
646:
641:
614:
606:Battle of Elasa
552:
544:Battle of Elasa
535:
491:
477:
374:
345:), the book of
335:
333:Primary sources
319:Hebrew calendar
304:Seleucid Empire
300:Judas Maccabeus
272:Battle of Adasa
268:
267:
266:
261:
213:
208:
206:
204:
135:
126:Judas Maccabeus
114:Seleucid Empire
79:
77:
73:
70:
65:
62:
60:
58:
57:
56:
24:Battle of Adasa
17:
12:
11:
5:
948:
946:
938:
937:
932:
927:
922:
912:
911:
908:
907:
893:
892:External links
890:
889:
888:
882:
864:
861:
858:
857:
850:
829:
822:
801:
792:
761:
745:
736:
725:
716:
707:
698:
682:
667:
666:
664:
661:
658:
657:
643:
642:
640:
637:
613:
610:
551:
548:
534:
531:
487:from the 1860
476:
473:
445:was appointed
415:Roman Republic
373:
370:
334:
331:
263:
262:
260:
259:
254:
249:
247:Beth Zechariah
244:
239:
234:
229:
224:
218:
215:
214:
205:
203:
202:
195:
188:
180:
172:
171:
168:
164:
163:
159:
158:
155:
147:
146:
142:
141:
128:
122:
121:
117:
116:
111:
105:
104:
100:
99:
96:
95:
94:Jewish victory
92:
88:
87:
52:
50:
46:
45:
42:
34:
33:
26:
25:
19:
18:
16:160 BCE battle
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
947:
936:
933:
931:
928:
926:
923:
921:
918:
917:
915:
906:at Wikisource
905:
900:
896:
895:
891:
885:
879:
875:
871:
867:
866:
862:
853:
847:
843:
839:
833:
830:
825:
823:9780520958180
819:
815:
811:
805:
802:
796:
793:
789:
785:
781:
777:
776:
771:
770:Meyer, Eduard
765:
762:
756:
754:
752:
750:
746:
740:
737:
734:
729:
726:
720:
717:
711:
708:
702:
699:
693:
691:
689:
687:
683:
677:
675:
673:
669:
662:
654:
648:
645:
638:
636:
633:
629:
628:
623:
619:
611:
609:
607:
601:
599:
593:
591:
587:
581:
578:
574:
569:
565:
560:
556:
549:
547:
545:
539:
532:
530:
528:
523:
520:
516:
512:
507:
505:
504:Second Temple
495:
490:
486:
481:
474:
472:
470:
466:
462:
458:
457:war elephants
454:
450:
449:
444:
440:
435:
431:
426:
424:
420:
416:
411:
407:
403:
399:
395:
391:
387:
383:
379:
369:
366:
365:
360:
356:
352:
348:
344:
340:
332:
330:
328:
324:
320:
315:
313:
309:
305:
301:
297:
293:
285:
281:
277:
273:
258:
255:
253:
250:
248:
245:
243:
240:
238:
235:
233:
230:
228:
225:
223:
220:
219:
216:
211:
201:
196:
194:
189:
187:
182:
181:
178:
169:
166:
165:
160:
156:
153:
150:Unknown (See
149:
148:
143:
140:
138:
132:
129:
127:
124:
123:
118:
115:
112:
110:
109:Jewish rebels
107:
106:
101:
93:
90:
89:
84:
55:
51:
48:
47:
44:March, 161 BC
43:
40:
39:
35:
32:
27:
22:
873:
863:Bibliography
841:
832:
813:
804:
795:
787:
774:
764:
739:
728:
719:
710:
701:
647:
625:
617:
615:
602:
594:
582:
577:Eduard Meyer
561:
557:
553:
540:
536:
524:
508:
500:
468:
465:Simon Thassi
446:
427:
406:Antiochus IV
375:
362:
336:
326:
316:
271:
269:
251:
136:
103:Belligerents
29:Part of the
838:Noam, Vered
618:Yom Nicanor
492: [
402:Seleucus IV
347:2 Maccabees
339:1 Maccabees
327:Yom Nicanor
78: /
914:Categories
883:0521323525
784:1102095439
663:References
511:Beth-horon
357:), and in
292:Beth-horon
227:Beth Horon
66:35°14′00″E
63:31°50′00″N
533:Aftermath
469:diadokhos
448:strategos
439:Hasideans
430:Bacchides
419:Timarchus
296:Maccabees
152:#Analysis
872:(1989).
840:(2018).
812:(2014).
772:(1921).
550:Analysis
519:Jeremiah
398:Polybius
359:Josephus
290:), near
237:Beth Zur
145:Strength
49:Location
632:Ta'anit
598:pharaoh
590:Paralia
443:Nicanor
434:Alcimus
390:Antioch
312:Alcimus
308:Nicanor
222:Lebonah
167:Unknown
137:†
131:Nicanor
920:161 BC
880:
848:
820:
782:
612:Legacy
527:Gazara
404:, and
378:Lysias
284:Hebrew
232:Emmaus
133:
91:Result
639:Notes
515:Adasa
496:]
321:, 13
280:Adasa
257:Elasa
252:Adasa
170:Heavy
54:Adasa
878:ISBN
846:ISBN
818:ISBN
780:OCLC
622:Adar
453:Acra
382:Acra
323:Adar
288:חדשה
270:The
41:Date
575:.
361:'s
298:of
916::
786:.
748:^
685:^
671:^
546:.
494:de
421:,
353:,
286::
886:.
854:.
826:.
349:(
341:(
282:(
199:e
192:t
185:v
154:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.