me material and selfish. They proved unable to resist the temptations
of success. Greed for power quenched their early patriotism. The material
spirit of their age obscured the nobler ideals of their spiritual
teachers. The result was a tyranny and corruption that made the later
kings misleaders rather than true leaders of their nation. Parallel to the
bitter struggle between the kings and their subjects was the bitter feud
between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Normal party rivalry grew into
murderous hatred, and in taking revenge upon each other they brought ruin
upon the commonwealth. The final end was hastened by the suicidal
feud between the brothers Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, fomented by the
unprincipled machinations of the Idumean Antipater. In the final crisis
the Pharisaic policy of submission and of peace at any cost paved the way
for the realization of Rome's ambition and made the ultimate conquest of
Palestine practically inevitable. Thus the kingdom, founded in the face of
almost insuperable obstacles and consecrated with the life-blood of many
heroes, fell ignominiously as the result of the same causes that
throughout the ages have proved the ruin of even stronger empires.

VII. Political, Intellectual, and Religious Effects of the Maccabean
Struggle. This century of valiant achievement, colossal errors, and
overwhelming failure left its deep impression upon the Jewish race. It
witnessed the return of many Jews of the dispersion to Jerusalem and Judea
and the development of a strong sense of racial unity. Henceforth the Jews
throughout the world looked to Jerusalem as their true political and
religious capital. The events of this period intensified the ancient feud
between Jew and Samaritan and gave the latter ample reason for that
hostility toward their southern kinsmen which appears in the Gospel
narratives. It was during this age that the parties of the Pharisees and
Sadducees finally crystallized and formulated those tenets and policies
which guided them during the next century. At this time the foundations
were laid for the rule of the house of Herod which exerted such a baleful
influence upon the fortunes and destinies of the Jews. It likewise marked
the beginning and culmination of Rome's influence over the lands of the
eastern Mediterranean and that subjection of the Jews to Gentile rulers
which has continued until the present.

The Maccabean period gave to the Jews a greatly enlarged intellectual