In the absence of legitimate heirs following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 b.c. (cf. 1 Macc. 1:5–9), four of his generals divided the conquered territory of his empire into fourths (which then included most of the known world throughout Europe and Asia Minor; see notes on Dan. 7:6; 8:8; 8:20–22;11:4). By 277 b.c., three Hellenistic kingdoms had stabilized out of the four divisions: (1) the Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia (issuing from Alexander’s general Antigonus I Monophthalmus, 382–301 b.c., and beginning with his son Demetrius I Poliorcetes in 294/293); (2) the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt (issuing from Alexander’s general Ptolemy I Soter, 367–283 b.c.); and (3) the Seleucid dynasty in Syria (issuing from Alexander’s general Seleucus I Nicator, c. 358–281 b.c.), which included much of Asia Minor from 312 to 64 (see Dan. 11:4–35 and notes there). Though Judea came under control of the Seleucids in 198 b.c., it was initially under Ptolemaic (Egyptian) rule. Each dynasty continued until it eventually became conquered by and absorbed into the emerging Roman Empire.
Geographically, Judea was wedged in the middle of the aggressive struggle between the kings “of the south” (Egyptian Ptolemies) and “of the north” (Syrian Seleucids) spoken of in Daniel 11. God’s people received their most degrading attack when the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 b.c.) set up “the abomination that makes desolate” (Dan. 11:31) in the Jerusalem temple. This event precipitated the Maccabean Revolt (c. 167 b.c.) and the reestablishment of Jewish rule in Judea through the Hasmonean dynasty (Mattathias and his sons). Independent Hasmonean rule lasted over a century until Judea was finally conquered by the Roman general Pompey in 63 b.c.
The Edomite Herod the Great, through his marriage to Mariamne I (d. 29 b.c.), Hasmonean daughter of Alexandra and Alexander, claimed to be a “legitimate” Jewish heir to the Hasmonean throne. The Roman Senate declared Herod the Great “King of the Jews” in 40 b.c., giving him vassal rulership over Palestine (comprised of the provinces Judea and Galilee). His rule did not begin until 37 b.c., however, when he was able to recapture Jerusalem from Antigonus and the Parthians through the help of Roman forces, to whom he had fled for help three years earlier. (See The Herodian Dynasty.)
Rulers of Syria, Judea, and Egypt after Alexander the Great
The Ptolemaic Dynasty (323–30 b.c.): The name “Ptolemaic” is derived from the name of Ptolemy I Soter (367/66–283 b.c.), one of Alexander the Great’s three main succeeding generals, and was borne by all subsequent rulers of the line of Greek-speaking kings who ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great (323) until the country’s annexation by Rome (30).
Rulers of Judea/Palestine after the Maccabean Revolt
The Hasmonean (Maccabean) Dynasty (168–63 [37] b.c.): The name “Hasmonean” is now generally thought to derive from a place name, either Heshmon or Hashmonah. However, Josephus says that the name of Hashman (Gk. Asamōnaios; see Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 12.265) belonged to the great-grandfather of Mattathias, suggesting that this is the true derivation of “Hasmonean.” Mattathias was the father of five sons who were (in order): John (surnamed Gaddi), Simon (called Thassi), Judas (called Maccabeus), Eleazar (called Avaran), and Jonathan (called Apphus) (see 1 Macc. 2:1–5). Mattathias initiated the Maccabean Revolt in c. 167 b.c.
