new Jewish State was wholly comprised within the ancient limits of Judah. The erection of the new Temple, which had long been obstructed by the neighbouring nations, was at length promoted by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah (520–515). Ezra and Nehemiah established a set form of ritual, following Ezekiel and the priestly legislation in Leviticus and Numbers. The Idumaeans or Edomites established themselves in South Judæa and Hebron. The Nabataeans, an Arabian tribe which settled at Petra about 300 B.C., supplanted the Edomites in the south-east of Palestine. They conquered the territory of Moab and Ammon, and even penetrated farther north. The central districts were colonized by Cuthaeans, from whom, and also from the remains of the earlier population, descended the Samaritans, who erected a sanctuary of their own on Mount Gerizim.
The Macedonian Supremacy and the Maccabees.—The Macedonian Supremacy began in 332, but after Alexander's death Palestine became the scene of the wars between the 'Diadochi,' as his successors were called. Greek culture soon made rapid progress in Syria, as is evidenced by the ruins of Græco-Roman theatres, the relics of temples, the inscriptions and coins. The Jews adhered steadfastly to their traditions, but, in the third century B.C., the Aramaic language gradually began to supplant the Hebrew. Greek also came into frequent use among the cultured classes, and in Egypt the sacred books were translated into Greek. Among the Jews was even formed a party favourable to the Greeks, which, aided by Jason, the high priest, succeeded in securing the supreme power in the state. In consequence of this a fierce struggle took place, for which King Antiochus Epiphanes chastised the Jews severely. This, and still more the desecration of their Temple, drove the Jews into open revolt. At the head of the insurgents was the heroic priest Mattathias, whose equally distinguished son Judas Maccabaeus at length succeeded, in 165 B.C., in inflicting a decisive defeat upon the Syrians. Under the Asmonean princes, or Maccabees, the Jews enjoyed a comparatively
