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Source: http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1260447412570&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Ancient Tablet Recounts Period Leading to Maccabean Revolt
(Jerusalem Post) Brian Blondy - Pieces of an inscribed tablet recently put together by archeologists reveal the events that precipitated the Maccabean Revolt in 167-164 BCE and the story of Hanukkah. The reconstituted tablet yielded a text from the Syrian-Greek King Seleucus IV dated 178 BCE to the ruling leadership in Judea - 11 years before the Maccabean Revolt. It set out instructions to begin collecting money from all of the temples in the region, marking the start of a significant, negative shift in Seleucid policy on Jewish autonomy. That shift culminated in a vicious Seleucid crackdown on the Jews of Judea and the looting of the Temple in 168-167 BCE, which prompted the Maccabean Revolt.