Hauptseminar The Maccabean Revolt 167 141 B.C Blockseminar in englischer Sprache

I and II Maccabees are important sources not just for the history of Israel during the Hellenistic Period, but also for the history of the Seleucid Kingdom. Even as they tell the story of the Jewish revolt against the Seleucids, these two books manage to provide us with valuable information about Seleucid politics and administration, both at the local and at the state level. Moreover several genuine letters of Seleucid kings are quoted verbatim in these books, and one of their sources was evidently a Seleucid historical chronicle. Of course they also provide deep insight into Jewish society at the time as well as into Jewish historiography and historical theology. Themes to be borne in mind throughout the seminar include the books’ relationship to each other, their complex composition, and their differing ways of presenting and (re)interpreting historical events in a theological context. Specific topics include Antiochus IV’s campaigns against Egypt, Seleucid administration, the authenticity (or inauthenticity) of the cited royal letters, Seleucid attempts despite all to find a modus vivendi with the Maccabees; the ways in which -Jewishness” is circumscribed in the two books, the conflict between -Jewishness” and -Hellenism”, and conflicts between various factions within Jewish society. There will be fourteen major topics in all, to be distributed across seven sessions. Participants will be asked to give brief oral presentations on individual items of evidence. Larger thematic units will be discussed in common on the basis of collections of source material which will be distributed in advance. Eine Vorbesprechung findet am Do., 6. November 2014, um 12.00 Uhr im Büro von Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Blösel (R12 V05 D02) statt. Sämtliche mündlichen und schriftlichen Prüfungsleistungen können in englischer wie auch in deutscher Sprache abgelegt werden. Introductory Bibliography: Bar-Kochva, B. : Judas Maccabaeus: The Jewish struggle against the Seleucids, Cambridge 1988. Bringmann, K. : Hellenistische Reform und Religionsverfolgung in Judäa: eine Untersuchung zur jüdisch-hellenistischen Geschichte (175-163 v. Chr.), Göttingen 1983. Goldstein, J.: I Maccabees, Garden City, N.Y. 1976; II Maccabees. Garden City, N.Y. 1983. Parker, V.: Historische Studien zu den Hohenpriestern der frühen Makkabäerzeit, in: Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins 124 (2008), 143-170. Geschichte Universität Duisburg-Essen WiSe 2014/15 Professor Parker Victor