After the reign of the Persians the Greeks began to take over. It started with Alexander the Great, when he conquered the entire known world at the time. He died at a relatively young age and his empire was split up. Ptolemies ruled over Egypt and Selencias was the king of Syria. The Egyptians captured Jerusalem in 320 BCE, but the Syrians take it from them in 201 BCE. Throughout this time Jerusalem is Hellenized—made more Greek like. The Hebrew Bible was even translated into Greek during this time. The Selencias tried to aggressively Hellenize Jerusalem to a greater extent than the Ptolemies. Whenever the people of Judah bagan to resist the will of the Greeks, the would simply replace the high priest with a new one that was more favorable to the Greeks.
Judas Maccabaeus, the hammer, used guerrilla tactics to successfully get rid of the Greeks by 165/4 BCE. After this event Hanukah was established. This revolt started the Hasmonean Dynasty. Which lasted for about 100 years, and it is the last time Jerusalem is self governed by the Jews till present day Israel. It is ironic that this dynasty of rulers turned into the very people who they fought so hard to overthrow. By 63 BCE Jerusalem was conquered by the Romans.
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