About this Event
The Hasmonean state presents a compelling historical model – but what is the lesson? Do we see an inspiring tale of ancient liberation, self-rule, and Jewish sovereignty, or a troubling pattern of conquest, overextension, and collapse? Modern scholars have used this ancient state as precedent for both, reminding us, as historian Margaret MacMillan says, that “the past can be used for almost anything you want to do in the present.”
In this lecture, historian Arie Dubnov considers how the Hasmoneans moved from history into the realm of political imagination. Should we see them as useful ancient allegories for modern dilemmas – or as ghostly figments in a recurring debate about Jewish statehood, neighboring peoples, and the burdens of sovereignty?
This event is part of ‘The Nations Roundabout’ and the Making of the Hasmonean State, a conference through the Maccabees project. It is sponsored by the Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies, University of Pennsylvania’s Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies, Boston University Center for the Humanities, and Boston University Jewish Cultural Endowment.
Event venue & nearby stays
BU Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences (CDS), 665 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, United States
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