Caladan
Agnostic Pantheist
The military struggle between the Jewish rebels and the Seleucid authorities led by Judas Maccabeus was managed in two stages between the years 166-160 BCE.
the first stage began after the death of Mattathias (Matityahu), a short time after the Hellenistic religious regulations, and was ended with the death of Antiochus Epiphanes and the purification of the Temple. during this time, there were four battles with regular Seleucid forces.
after the purification of the temple, when the child-king Antiochus V Eupator became ruler, there was a rest from dealing with the authorities of Antioch, which was used by Judas Maccabeus for rescue travels of the Jews who sit across the land of Israel. and for the establishment of the defense of Judah. in the second stage, that began in April 162 BCE and was ended two years later, with the death of Judas Maccabeus in battle (160 BCE), there were four more battles. the achievements and results of the struggle brought many descriptions in the frame of the second temple period reading material in general and in the book of Maccabees specifically, and also within the research of this subject.
usually the researchers leaned toward accepting the described picture in the text, that a Jewish force managed a war of the few against the many, while it lacks basic weapons, while the Seleucid enemy was equipped with every advanced warfare device of the era. but further research reveal that things are more complex, some disagreements were expressed mainly towards the great numbers attributed to the Seleucid forces, and for the level of reliability of different details in the description of the battles. despite that, its agreed by all that Judas Maccabeus indeed had a great success in most battles.
The basic formation of the Hellenistic battle arrangement was made from heavy foot forces that were positioned in the center, cavalry that covered them from the wings, and light foot forces that were used to tease the enemy, these were positioned in the center front before the heavy foot soldiers. at times there was a need of variations and changes, such as the positioning of cavalry units between the heavy foot forces at the center, light cavalry among the foot teasers, etc. to all these, sometimes were added elephants, and on rarer occasions, chariots. the position of the elephants was different from battle to battle, in accordance with the land conditions and the tactical needs.
The foot forces that were positioned at the center, mostly included the Phalanx warriors, the heavy foot forces, who were the spine of the Seleucid armies.
The Phalanx were usually set with a depth of 16 lines. in certain cases there was more depth. the distance between the lines was relatively short. the Sarissas (the long spears used by the Phalanx) of the second line stretched to a distance of about 3.60 meters over the warriors of the first line, of the third line- 2.70 M, and the fourth one- 1.80 M, and the fifth line- 90 CM. the warriors of the sixth line and onwards held the Sarissa in a diagonal position pointed up. this created a cover to defend themselves and the front lines from arrows, sling shots, etc. the men of the back lines were ready all the while to sway the Sarissas towards the front, in order to fit into battle in the place of front warriors that were hurt or exhausted. this created a hedgehog of spears, powerful both from offensive and defensive aspects. during assault, it was possible for the Phalanx, if it succeeded in maintaining the perfection of the formation, to squash and tear through any dense formation that stood in front of it, both of foot forces and cavalry, unless the enemy was equipped in the same way.
Phalanx
The books of Maccabees, the main sources for the battles of Judas Maccabeus, do not mention the tactical units that were active in the Jewish army or their arming.
While there is no doubt that in the first years of the uprising the condition of the equipment was bad, there are signs that indicate that after the return to Jerusalem and the purification of the temple there was an important change in the tactics and equipment of the Jewish force. there are indications that show that in the second stage of the rebellion, after the purification of the temple, the Jews also included cavalry and foot soldiers- these were equipped at least as semi heavy.
In one of the battles, the Seleucid Phalanx, that was stretched across 500 M (mostly), could easily move in the territory (a plane). the battle was opened with a confrontation between the light teasers, and the archers, and at its end, two blocs of Phalanx (apparently 4000 men in each) stormed the Jewish foot force in the middle. the battle between the foot forces of the two sides was a very long one, as the first book of Maccabees tells us- from morning till evening. in the next stage, Judas Maccabeus charged the enemys right wing cavalry and chased them beyond the battle field. the duration of battle that the Phalanx managed is described in the scritptual description that while contains an exaggeration, it testified without a doubt on a long and hard battle, from the activity of the wings, it turns out that the victory occurred only after long clashes. together with analyzing the different possibilities against the large formation of the Phalanx, there is an indication of the make-up and equipment of the Jewish foot soldiers: in this example of a battle field, there was no chance for a light foot force to deal by itself for a long time against the large formation of the Phalanx. the massive and dense Phalanx blocs, that took a great part of the width of the field which was convenient to cross, would have crushed in the first blow any light force in the territory. a focused arrows assault was not enough to stop the charge: the effective range of the bow reached 60-100 meters alone, and the armor of some of the Phalanx soldiers minimized it even more, also its important to note that the amount of ammunition that foot archers could carry was very limited, and that at least a large amount of the ammunition was wasted in an earlier struggle with the Seleucid lights. there is also no place for the assumption that the battle was longer because the Phalanx were dragged after light Jewish units into bisected territories near the battle field. to engage in such, the Seleucid force, apart from the lights, had also semi heavys and even soldiers that had a conversion into Roman warfare methods. its also in doubt that these Seleucid units would be dragged into this kind of purification battle, since the Jews that found cover in bisected territories could have risked the main part of the Seleucid army in the battle field beyond the arrows range, and because the purpose of the Seleucid campaign in general was to capture Judas Maccabeus, who was present at the time on the main battle field. it may be claimed that the Seleucid foot soldiers waited on purpose and did not crush the Jewish foot soldiers in the first assault, the plan was to draw Judas Maccabeus into a trap outside the battle field using the cavalry of the right wing. even if this would have been achieved, it was not reasonably equal to abandoning the military spine of the army.
The success and accomplishments of Judas Maccabeus in the struggle with the Seleucids were mainly in the strategic and political planes and not necessarily in the tactical-military ones. the Hasmoneans were defeated in the main large battles, but eventually came out of the general campaign with the upper hand. the slow response of the rulers of Antioch brought a strengthening of the rebellion and Jewish independence. the time element was in favor of the Hasmoneans: the infrastructure of the resistance movement and of the Jewish army was deepened so much that the military failures were not enough to bring them to an end. on the other hand, the Seleucids were not capable to leave in the land large amounts of forces to defend the fruits of their achievements. the strengthening of the Jewish force made it clear to the enemy, already in the days of Judas Maccabues, the need to cancel the religious regulations and compromise with him on other fields as well. in the days of Jonathan, when the Seleucid kingdom was sinking in manipulations of the court and struggles for inheritance, the military power that came to be in the land of Israel could manipulate the hawkish sides of Antioch and produce the best political benefit from the needs of the competing figures over the crown for the aid of the Jewish military force.
the first stage began after the death of Mattathias (Matityahu), a short time after the Hellenistic religious regulations, and was ended with the death of Antiochus Epiphanes and the purification of the Temple. during this time, there were four battles with regular Seleucid forces.
after the purification of the temple, when the child-king Antiochus V Eupator became ruler, there was a rest from dealing with the authorities of Antioch, which was used by Judas Maccabeus for rescue travels of the Jews who sit across the land of Israel. and for the establishment of the defense of Judah. in the second stage, that began in April 162 BCE and was ended two years later, with the death of Judas Maccabeus in battle (160 BCE), there were four more battles. the achievements and results of the struggle brought many descriptions in the frame of the second temple period reading material in general and in the book of Maccabees specifically, and also within the research of this subject.
usually the researchers leaned toward accepting the described picture in the text, that a Jewish force managed a war of the few against the many, while it lacks basic weapons, while the Seleucid enemy was equipped with every advanced warfare device of the era. but further research reveal that things are more complex, some disagreements were expressed mainly towards the great numbers attributed to the Seleucid forces, and for the level of reliability of different details in the description of the battles. despite that, its agreed by all that Judas Maccabeus indeed had a great success in most battles.
The basic formation of the Hellenistic battle arrangement was made from heavy foot forces that were positioned in the center, cavalry that covered them from the wings, and light foot forces that were used to tease the enemy, these were positioned in the center front before the heavy foot soldiers. at times there was a need of variations and changes, such as the positioning of cavalry units between the heavy foot forces at the center, light cavalry among the foot teasers, etc. to all these, sometimes were added elephants, and on rarer occasions, chariots. the position of the elephants was different from battle to battle, in accordance with the land conditions and the tactical needs.
The foot forces that were positioned at the center, mostly included the Phalanx warriors, the heavy foot forces, who were the spine of the Seleucid armies.
The Phalanx were usually set with a depth of 16 lines. in certain cases there was more depth. the distance between the lines was relatively short. the Sarissas (the long spears used by the Phalanx) of the second line stretched to a distance of about 3.60 meters over the warriors of the first line, of the third line- 2.70 M, and the fourth one- 1.80 M, and the fifth line- 90 CM. the warriors of the sixth line and onwards held the Sarissa in a diagonal position pointed up. this created a cover to defend themselves and the front lines from arrows, sling shots, etc. the men of the back lines were ready all the while to sway the Sarissas towards the front, in order to fit into battle in the place of front warriors that were hurt or exhausted. this created a hedgehog of spears, powerful both from offensive and defensive aspects. during assault, it was possible for the Phalanx, if it succeeded in maintaining the perfection of the formation, to squash and tear through any dense formation that stood in front of it, both of foot forces and cavalry, unless the enemy was equipped in the same way.
Phalanx
The books of Maccabees, the main sources for the battles of Judas Maccabeus, do not mention the tactical units that were active in the Jewish army or their arming.
While there is no doubt that in the first years of the uprising the condition of the equipment was bad, there are signs that indicate that after the return to Jerusalem and the purification of the temple there was an important change in the tactics and equipment of the Jewish force. there are indications that show that in the second stage of the rebellion, after the purification of the temple, the Jews also included cavalry and foot soldiers- these were equipped at least as semi heavy.
In one of the battles, the Seleucid Phalanx, that was stretched across 500 M (mostly), could easily move in the territory (a plane). the battle was opened with a confrontation between the light teasers, and the archers, and at its end, two blocs of Phalanx (apparently 4000 men in each) stormed the Jewish foot force in the middle. the battle between the foot forces of the two sides was a very long one, as the first book of Maccabees tells us- from morning till evening. in the next stage, Judas Maccabeus charged the enemys right wing cavalry and chased them beyond the battle field. the duration of battle that the Phalanx managed is described in the scritptual description that while contains an exaggeration, it testified without a doubt on a long and hard battle, from the activity of the wings, it turns out that the victory occurred only after long clashes. together with analyzing the different possibilities against the large formation of the Phalanx, there is an indication of the make-up and equipment of the Jewish foot soldiers: in this example of a battle field, there was no chance for a light foot force to deal by itself for a long time against the large formation of the Phalanx. the massive and dense Phalanx blocs, that took a great part of the width of the field which was convenient to cross, would have crushed in the first blow any light force in the territory. a focused arrows assault was not enough to stop the charge: the effective range of the bow reached 60-100 meters alone, and the armor of some of the Phalanx soldiers minimized it even more, also its important to note that the amount of ammunition that foot archers could carry was very limited, and that at least a large amount of the ammunition was wasted in an earlier struggle with the Seleucid lights. there is also no place for the assumption that the battle was longer because the Phalanx were dragged after light Jewish units into bisected territories near the battle field. to engage in such, the Seleucid force, apart from the lights, had also semi heavys and even soldiers that had a conversion into Roman warfare methods. its also in doubt that these Seleucid units would be dragged into this kind of purification battle, since the Jews that found cover in bisected territories could have risked the main part of the Seleucid army in the battle field beyond the arrows range, and because the purpose of the Seleucid campaign in general was to capture Judas Maccabeus, who was present at the time on the main battle field. it may be claimed that the Seleucid foot soldiers waited on purpose and did not crush the Jewish foot soldiers in the first assault, the plan was to draw Judas Maccabeus into a trap outside the battle field using the cavalry of the right wing. even if this would have been achieved, it was not reasonably equal to abandoning the military spine of the army.
The success and accomplishments of Judas Maccabeus in the struggle with the Seleucids were mainly in the strategic and political planes and not necessarily in the tactical-military ones. the Hasmoneans were defeated in the main large battles, but eventually came out of the general campaign with the upper hand. the slow response of the rulers of Antioch brought a strengthening of the rebellion and Jewish independence. the time element was in favor of the Hasmoneans: the infrastructure of the resistance movement and of the Jewish army was deepened so much that the military failures were not enough to bring them to an end. on the other hand, the Seleucids were not capable to leave in the land large amounts of forces to defend the fruits of their achievements. the strengthening of the Jewish force made it clear to the enemy, already in the days of Judas Maccabues, the need to cancel the religious regulations and compromise with him on other fields as well. in the days of Jonathan, when the Seleucid kingdom was sinking in manipulations of the court and struggles for inheritance, the military power that came to be in the land of Israel could manipulate the hawkish sides of Antioch and produce the best political benefit from the needs of the competing figures over the crown for the aid of the Jewish military force.