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| Olde Tyme Religion |
| Maccabean (Channukah) Revolt May have been preceeded by Tax Revolt |
| 2009-12-14 |
| It is an ancient royal communiqué that details the appointment of a new tax collector. And its text, newly deciphered after four recent archeological finds were put together, brings demonstrable veracity to the events that precipitated the Maccabean Revolt in 167-164 BCE and the story of Hanukka. The reconstituted stele, or inscribed tablet, yielded a text from the king dated 178 BCE - 11 years before the Maccabean Revolt. It set out instructions to his chief minister Heliodorus concerning the appointment of one Olympiodorus to begin collecting money from all of the temples in the region, marking the start of a significant, negative shift in Seleucid policy on Jewish autonomy. That shift culminated in a vicious Seleucid crackdown on the Jews of Judea and the looting of the Temple in 168-167 BCE, which prompted the Maccabean Revolt as memorialized in the Hanukka story. Of course there is a significant tax revolt narrative in chapt 12 of Kings I but that is 8 centuries before the pre Channukah revolt and, yes, taxation of trade routes led rather quickly to the triumph of Darth Sidious as Emperor so I guess nothing is really new here |
| Posted by:lord garth |