Customer Reviews

Judas Maccabaeus: The Jewish Struggle Against the Seleucids

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This is an excellent and EXTREMELY RARE military history discussing the tactical and operational aspects of Judas Maccabeus' war against the Seleucid army, at a very "reasonable" price. The first part of the book analyses IN DETAILS the armament and composition of both the Seleucid and Jewish armies. It also has an excellent section about the capability of the Seleucid army in fighting in a mountainous terrain.

The second part of the book analyses the tactical and operational aspects of the Maccabeus Revolt against the Seleucid. However, the book does not provide a continuous narrative but rather the chapters in this part of the book are commentaries of the books Maccabees I and II, discussing various tactical and operational factors. If you are not familiar with Maccabees I and II you may want to read them before reading this book. Although, this book quoted liberaly from those two books.

The best aspect of this book are the detailed tactical and topographical maps which accompanied the chapters. Alas, such maps are rare in military history books. Every military professional will appreciate the maps in this book.

If you are a military historian or professional, you will enjoy and learn much from this book which teaches about a guerilla war (with religious motives) in a constricted terrain (in the Middle East) between a conventional army and a hit and run guerilla forces. Does it sound sort of familiar to you?

The monograph "Judas Maccabaeus: The Jewish Struggle agaisnt the Seleucids" by Bezalel Bar-Kochva is a must have for one who tries to grasp the history of the early Maccabean Peirod. The author's specialized knowledge of the military formations may be too thorough and beyond many reader's interest, and his commentary on 1 Maccabees is brief. But his works in the appendices, harmonizing primary historical sources to form a chronology of the period, are very helpful.