There are three central periods that need to be analysed in order to evaluate the influence of Hellenisation on Jewish history, up until the period of the Roman invasion: the Ptolemaic period, the Seleucid period and the Maccabean revolts, and the Hasmonean state. Each of these historical events shaped Jewish society and had a profound influence over the religious beliefs of many Jews. But it was the conquests of Alexander the great that were the main catalyst that brought about the process of Hellenisation, a process that was embraced by many Jews and rejected by others. All in all, it was a process that contributed greatly to Jewish history up until the Romans took matters into their own hands. The Ptolemic period begins with Alexander the Great, who before his death in (323 BCE) had established a vast empire reaching from Macedonia to Persia. He then captured Egypt and Palestine southward. As W Albright states, these conquests were the catalyst, which led to the phenomenon known as Hellenisation . Alexander wanted to export and impose Hellenistic culture on the rest of his empire. In (98 1 Macc. 1 20-4) we discover that once Alexander died his empire was divided among his generals. Judea, the ancestral land of the Israelites, fell under the rule of the Egyptian based Ptolemaic ruler, Ptolemy, under whose rule the Hellenisation of Judea commenced. Jews who were living in Egypt were allowed to return to Palestine (Josephus Antiquities Chapter 2) and the Pentateuch was translated into Greek. (1 Macc. 1 5-15) Greek became the language used by officials, Greek money began circulating, Greek art was exported and inter ethnic marriage was encouraged, if not imposed. The taxation system was based on that of the Greeks. Some members of the upper class were in favour of the process of Hellenisation since it benefited them in terms of power and money. Josephus explains this in the Antiquities of the Jews Book 12 Chapter IV, with the example of Joseph the tax collector who betrayed his people because he was attracted to Hellenistic ways . In biblical literature there is also evidence of a Hellenistic influence with the apparition of Greek words in the Old Testament. The book of Wisdom is another good example that shows how the Hellenistic influence changed the life of many Jews. The book of Wisdom was also an answer for a growing number of Israelites who were attracted to Hellenistic customs.
Alexander adopted Persian governing practices, but he had little use for Persian culture. According to his Greek biographer Plutarch, he considered himself "a governor from God and a reconciler of the world." He hoped that Greek culture would, through his actions, permeate all of Asia, inspiring its peoples to pursue virtue, excellence, and truth. This heroic idealism blended with practicality in his plan to develop the Tigris, Euphrates, and Indus rivers as commercial waterways linking all of Asia These undertakings promised to be long and difficult, however, and Alexander was an impatient man. His soldiers' unwillingness to proceed past the Indus was a great disappointment to him, for which he compensated by throwing his own festivals and celebrations. Alexander showed early leadership qualities. When King Phillip invaded Thrace, he left Alexander in charge of Macedonia at the age of 16. During his father's absence, one of the Thracian tribes, the Maedi, rebelled. Alexander was able to mobilize an army and put down the rebellion. In 336 B.C, Alexander's father was assassinated, putting Alexander on the throne at the age of 20. Shortly after this, Alexander left Macedonia with his armies to put down rebellions in the countries of Illyria, Thrace and Greece, all of which had previously been conquered by King Phillip. Alexander then moved his armies into Asia Minor and began to conquer the peoples there. Among the countries conquered by Alexander were Syria, Phoenicia and
Alexander began his military campaign and his rule much where his father left off. Whether or not it was his aim, this created a sense of normality for the men that was part of his father’s regime. Alexander’s position as a warrior-king who stood side-by-side among his men also served to create respect among his peers. Gradually, as Alexander conquered more Persian land, he began to adopt the policies of Persian rulers. Alexander’s change in policy extended beyond just political roles, he gave consideration to the local gods in many of the lands that he conquered. Eventually, Alexander brought people in from the conquered nations to serve under him.
The Sadducees were one of the many distinct groups making up the Jewish faith during the first century. Their name is derived from the Greek and Hebrew languages and means the “righteous ones.” This may have been in direct relation to their belief that they were the descendants of Zadok, who was once a high priest during the reigns of King David and King Solomon and the revelation of the prophet Ezekiel advising that only those who were the “sons of Zadok” could approach God and the most do so only in the Temple. Typically wealthy aristocrats, they had supreme control over the priesthood, the Temple and how their followers viewed religion. The Torah and its strict literal interpretation were the central focus of this group as they rejected all other written and oral laws that tried to clarify, question or add to this sacred written work. They shared a special bond with the Roman forces controlling the area and benefited from this alliance allowing the Sadducees to exert their influence over political concerns for the region. They believed that Roman control protected the political ...
Alexander the Great was the son of Philip Macedonia. Alexander the Great was a big admirer of Greek culture during his time. During Alexander the Great time in history he spread the Greek culture through the Middle East and North Africa. Alexander the Great past away at an early age and after his death the Greeks took over the Romans.
Although the Hellenistic Era started with the death of Alexander the Great in 323BCE it is important to explore its beginnings. Both Greek and Oriental philosophies greatly influenced the formation of the Hellenistic Age. The spread of Hellenistic culture and its substantial scientific contributions produced an impact on civilization that is still evident today. One of the most important aspects of the thought, culture, and religion during the Hellenistic Era was its impact on the Jewish culture and religion.
At the end of the Second Temple period, many sects of Judaic belief began arising with the growing imposition of the Hellenistic beliefs of the conquering Greeks. Some of these sects arose in accordance with the newly prominent Hellenism, and others formed strongly in opposition to these foreign beliefs. The three main groups that appeared during this period were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, and the Essenes. The biggest conflicts arose very prominently between the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
This created a Hellenistic which means Greek-like world. Alexander we must remember was a student of Aristotle; Aristotle being a student of Plato, would have helped spread philosophy into Egypt through his conquests. Alexander marched into Egypt unopposed. In fact, he was welcomed as a liberator (Cole & Symes p.124). Did they embrace Alexander so openly because they wanted to embrace his beliefs? They Egyptians were very involved in what would become of their afterlives. They worked hard to please their gods and wanted to live how they felt they were supposed to as to please Amun-Ra, the Egyptian sun
Since the beginning of the Judaism, the Jewish people have been subject to hardships and discrimination. They have not been allowed to have a stabile place of worship and have also faced persecution and atrocities that most of us can not even imagine. Three events that have had a big impact on the Jewish faith were the building and destruction of the First Great Temple, the Second Great Temple and the events of the Holocaust. In this paper, I will discuss these three events and also explain and give examples as to why I feel that the Jewish people have always been discriminated against and not allowed the freedom of worship.
Judaism is more than just a religion; it is a culture and can even be considered an ethnicity. The faith, beliefs, traditions, and even holidays recognized by the Jewish people all have a strong foundation in reconnecting with history and the ancestors of the past. Isaac Kalimi writes in Jewish Bible Theology: Perspectives and Case Studies, that The Bible is widely recognized as central to Judaism. It is to a book, the Book, that we owe our survival” (Kalimi 13). In order to even begin to understand Judaism, one must explore the biblical history of the religion. The natural starting point for this exploration would need to begin with Abraham.
Judaism is one of the most ancient religions in the world. Abraham, his descendants, and Moses are believed to have been the founders. According to Jewish beliefs until Abraham man worshiped many Gods. The story begins with Abraham and his wife Sarah trying to conceive a child. When Abraham was 99 and Sarah 90 God came to Abraham and told him they would have a son. After the child was born God again came to Abraham and tested his beliefs by asking him to sacrifice his only son Isaac. Isaac willingly went with Abraham to be sacrificed. Before Abraham could sacrifice Isaac God sent an angel down to stop him. As a reward for his faith God made a covenant with Abraham that he and his descendants would be protected as long as they continued to show faith in him and live a life that was wholesome. Also from this it is said God blessed Abraham with many children. His son Isaac had two sons Jacob and Esau, Jacob who changes his name to Israel had twelve sons. Israel’s had twelve sons they are the “12 tribes of Israel” and their descendants are later known as the Israelites also called Hebrews.
He had this idea of uniting the word. This idea motivated him to expand his kingdom, and fight against the Persian empire other kingdoms. He didn’t have a plan where he wants to stop the expansion,so he keeps going until his soldiers refuse to fight, because they were far from their motherland (Williamson Alexander the great). This time of the period Alexand builds houses, theaters and official building that promote Greeks culture throughout Asia, Europe and North Africa. In all Alexander 's generals the top leader and office all members were Macedon. If someone wishes to in these top officials, he needs to learn Greece language. That was the shows his loyal at the time. However Alexander didn’t had a chance to led his empire. He died at age of 33 from his war wounds and disease. Shortly after his death, there were no one fit to be a king in his family. As result Macedon generals start to fight to lead this huge empire as a whole. At the end, Generals like Antigonus Gonatas, Ptolemy, Seleucus, Attalus and Aetolian divide the empire and they name themselves asking the place, where they were generals. This was known as successor kingdoms (Williamson Alexander the great). This shows the achievement of culture and the failure of political because Alexander did get a chance to lead the empire after all the hard work he have done. The successor kingdoms were war each other to expand their empire even though their culture were
Surah Luqman, Chapter 31 of the Qur’an,is indeed one of the great surahs to extract lessons from. It is named after a wise man who was not a prophet, but was granted great wisdom from Allah (s.w.t) and was very beloved to Allah (s.w.t). Allah says about Luqman "And certainly We gave wisdom to Luqman, saying: Be grateful to Allah. And whoever is grateful, he is only grateful for his own soul; and whoever is ungrateful, then surely Allah is Self-sufficient, Praised. ". In the following, I’ll be explaining some of the lessons that are told in this surah.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. (2012). Roman Religion. Influence of Greek and Middle Eastern Culture. Retrieved on October 10, 2015, from http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/society/roman-religion-influence-greek-middle-eastern-culture.html
He was also influential and clever. In each conquest, Alexander retained local officials who were loyal to him and he appointed Macedonian governors to the province capitals. He founded administrative capitals to control the regions. He founded Alexandria, Egypt which became the cultural capital of Mediterranean in the ancient world. Nevertheless, he also began to wear Persian clothing and he encouraged his soldiers to do the same in order to keep the peace. Therefore, he executed the men who resisted obeying his order. He married with a Persian and he encouraged his soldiers to marry with Persians to mix the culture. Persians loved Alexander and they respected him like he was a Persian like them. Even the Persian army joined with Alexander by will. That is why he controlled his massive empire without riots and this proves that he was very influential and clever.
The 26th Dynasty ended with the invasion by the Persian Empire and, except for brief periods, Egypt was never again completely free from foreign domination. The conquest of the country by Alexander the Great in 332 bc and by the Romans in 30 bc brought Egypt into the Classical world, but the ancient artistic traditions persisted. Alexander and his successors were depicted on the walls of temples as Egyptian kings in an Egyptian style of relief carving. Temples were built in the Ptolemaic period (the dynasty founded by Alexander) and in the Roman period that echoed traditional Egyptian styles in architecture.