174
                      THE MACCABEES REVOLTS                                  
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   The highpriests' rule, however, was generally bad. One priest, named Mene-
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laus, was so terrible that in 169 B.C. the people rebelled against him.      
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Menelaus begged aid from the Syrian king, Antiochus IV, who came to Jerusa-- 
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lem, put the revolt down, and allowed his troops to plunder the temple.      
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   Menelaus continued to govern even more severely, actually publishing      
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edicts which were contrary to Moses' Laws. Within three years a more serious 
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revolt occurred. This time it stemmed from the countryside were the peasan-  
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try had been living in conditions far worse than those of the townsfolk.     
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   Mattithias, a priest who came from the village of Modin, organized the re-
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volt. Mattithias had been watching the rapid decline of the power of Syria,  
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and had seen the growing strength of Rome (Antiochus was little more than a  
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puppet ruler).                                                               
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   Mattithias lived for only a year after the start of the revolt and its    
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leadership passed to his third son, Judah the Maccabee. Judah proved to be   
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a splendid leader, expert in guerilla warfare and ready to share the greatest
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dangers with his men.                                                        
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   The rebels were not put down because the government could not catch them. 
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In 164 B.C. they attacked Jerusalem and restored the Law of Moses.           
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