On the Judean Political Independence in the Period of the Hasmoneans

Abstract

The Hasmoneans were an effective power in the Judean region in the second half of the second century BC and the first half of the first century BC. In the sources that provide information about the period and the region, there are some statements indicating that the Hasmoneans had led an inde-pendent political structure by separating from the Seleucid State at some point during the period of their presence in the region. In fact, scholars today agree that the Hasmoneans ruled an independent state in history. There even seems to be a consensus among contemporary scholars that this independence took place during the reign of John Hyrcanus I. However, when the massive litera-ture on the Hasmonean State is examined, various opinions are encountered that the independence in question was established by different leaders of the dynasty. Despite this situation, the lack of a study that addresses the issue with a holistic approach has been noticed. For this reason, in this study, different views are presented, pointing to the political independence of the Hasmoneans. Afterwards, these views are discussed within the framework of the phenom-enon of political independence in the Hellenistic period, the conceptual frame-work of which we have tried to present. Finally, among the results of the study, the possible reasons for the existing different views are pointed out and a rela-tively new argument is presented, indicating that the political independence of the Hasmonean State took place during the reign of Hyrcanus I, by using liter-ary sources, numismatic works and archaeological findings.