AlexanderAfter the conquest of Persia, it established a great empire across Europe, Asia and Africa, with its capital inBabylon。Following the ruling institutions and systems of the Persian Empire, he claimed to be the Egyptian pharaoh and the successor of the Persian state.In 330 BC, Alexander entered the armyAsia, under stubborn resistance.In 327 BC, the invasion of India was defeated, and two years later, it was withdrawn to Babylon.Alexander studied in ancient Greek philosophersAristotle, obsessed withHomer EpicHe spread Greek culture to the east and wanted to make Greek the official language in the eastern Mediterranean.His expansion has brought great damage to various places, but it has also played a positive role in promoting economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West.He successively established dozens of cities named after him in the occupied areas of Asia and Africa.After the establishment of the city of Alexandria in Egypt, the Greeks, Egyptians and Jews migrated to the city. They each occupied a part of the city and enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy.Alexander's tolerant policy towards Jews won the support of Jews.Many Jews are willing to accept Greek culture, and even join Alexander's army as its expanding mercenaries.Alexander died of illness in 323 BC, and the empire quickly split into three independent kingdoms, namelyAntioch DynastyGreece and Macedonia under the rule,Ptolemaic dynasty Egypt under the rule,Seleucid DynastySyria under the rule.The Ptolemaic dynasty had an advantage in competing with the Seleucid dynasty for hegemony in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and the Aegean Sea, and had controlled Palestine for a century.During this period, Ptolemy basically followed the management system of the Persians. Palestine was under the control of the high priest, and the Jews managed their own politics, religion, and civil affairs. They collected taxes and paid taxes to the imperial authorities, which did not interfere in their internal affairs.This made Alexandria gradually become the center of Jewish settlement.By the first century AD, there were 1 million Jews in Egypt, far more than those living in Palestine.
In order to satisfy more and more Jews who do not understand Hebrew and Greek speakers in the Greek world to read the Hebrew Bible, Ptolemy II (285-247 BC) advocated translating the Hebrew legal books into Greek.It is said that he hired 72 Hebrew experts from Palestine to translate into the Greek version of the Bible after 72 days of intensive work“Seventy Translations”。From 276 BC to 195 BC, the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and the Seleucid dynasty of Syria fought for hegemony for five times, and each side had a victory or defeat. Finally, King Antiochus III of Syria took Palestine andPhoenicia。From then on, the Jews belonged to the Seleucid dynasty.After the death of Antiochus III, his son Seleucus IV succeeded to the throne. He sent people to plunder the wealth of Jerusalem, which was resisted by Jews.After his son Antiochus IV Epiphanes ascended the throne, he cracked down on Jews crazily.Declared in 168 BCJudaismIn order to be illegal, a series of severe measures were taken to eliminate Judaism.Old Priests in Modin, northwest of JerusalemMatthias Kill Antioch Epiphanes to force Jews toZeusGod's sacrificial officials led people to flee into the mountains and launched an uprising.After his death, his third son, Judas Makabi (166-101 BC), took over as leader and continued to fight against the army that suppressed the uprising and won.In December 165 BC, Judas Makabi entered Jerusalem and solemnly purifiedTempleRites, resumption of sacrifice and other normal activities（《Biography of Makabi (Volume 1)》24;《The Biography of Makabi Volume 2》8:1-10:8）。To commemorate this day, later Judaism establishedHanukkah (See approximately 10:22).
In 161 BC, Judah Makabi killed Nicana, the general of Antiochus V, in a fierce battle near Jerusalem (Book of Makabi I 7:26-47).Later, Judah died in the war, and his brother Jonathan was the leader. He skillfully used a variety of fighting strategies to preserve the freedom rights of Jews.After Jonathan was killed, Simon, the youngest brother, was the leader. He supported Demetrius II Nicat and Demetrius' son (Antiochus VI), and expressed his loyalty, so that the Jews established an independentMakabi Dynasty(Biography of Makabi I 13-16).Simon's rule for nearly 10 years was a period of peace and prosperity for Jews.After he was killed, his son John Hukennu ruled for 30 years, vigorously expanded the territory, built and beautified Jerusalem, issued coins of Hukennu, and supported the religious nobles in powerSadducees, rejecting rigorous and conservativePharisee。The conflict between the two factions greatly weakened the power of the Makabi dynasty.After his death, Aristotle Broome I and Alexander Janias came to power successively to severely suppress the resistance of the Pharisees.After the death of Janias, his wife Alexandra Salome became the successor in Jewish historyAthaliaThen the second queen (see 2 Kings 11:16 for Athaliah).After her death, her two sons, Hukennu II, fought for power with Aristobulu II in a civil war. Later, Hukennu II defeated Aristobulu II with the help of the power of the Easterner Antipat.In the spring of 63 BC, Pompey, the Roman general, entered Palestine and Syria and established Roman provinces, which ended the Greek period.
In the Greek period (especially after 200 BC), Alexander of Palestine and Egypt produced a group of people who used HebrewYalanA religious scroll written in Chinese and Greek documents, later known as《Old Testament Scripture》, 15 volumes in total.According to its content, it can be roughly divided into history books (2 volumes), Bible sequels and story collections (8 volumes), wisdom books (2 volumes), letters, prayers (2 volumes) and revelations (1 volume).These books were widely circulated in Palestine, Egypt and the Jewish diaspora.In addition to the Cijing, there are also several volumes of the Pseudo Sutra (also called Waizhuan).[1]
