The history of the Hasmoneans has long caused disputes among scholars, who are far from agreement about the chronology of events, their importance, and the iden

Kenneth Atkinson tells the exciting story of the nine decades of the Hasmonean rule of Judea (152 - 63 BCE) by going beyond the accounts of the Hasmoneans in Jo

The first two chapters discuss the religious practices of the Hasmoneans. Chapter 1 explores why the Maccabees regarded Hanukkah as a festival of renewal, speci

A focused, interdisciplinary examination of a tumultuous, history-making era The Middle Maccabees lays out the charged, complicated beginnings of the independen

Kenneth Atkinson adds to an already impressive body of work on the Hasmoneans, proposing that the history and theological beliefs of Jews during the period of t