In the year 167 BCE, a small band of Judean priests sparked a conflict Against the Seleucid Empire that would last a quarter of a century.
While the military.
The battle was not simply a violent reaction Against foreign rule, however.
The violence that erupted also revealed the profound disagreements between Jews over what Jewish identity entailed and how it should be lived out.
The immediate trigger had been a sacrifice to idols about to be offered by a Jew at the order of Seleucid officials.
In the year 167 BCE, a small band of Judean priests sparked a conflict Against the Seleucid Empire that would last a quarter of a century