Hanukkah Timeline

By Kane Morgan
  • 558 BCE

    538 BCE

    After the first Temple was destroyed by Babylonians, construction begins on a second sacred Jewish Temple called Beit HaMikdash
  • 290 BCE

    290 BCE

    Judah Maccabee is born in Israel
  • 200 BCE

    200 BCE

    Judea (the land of the Jews) is Taken over by the King of Syria, Antiochus III. Despite the Syrian's being different than the Jewish, he allows the Jews to keep practicing their own religion and he treats them fairly.
  • 187 BCE

    187 BCE

    Antiochus III dies, and his son Antiochus IV Epiphanes becomes king. He does not accept the Jews, and he outlaws the Jewish religion entirely and forces them to worship Greek Gods.
  • 168 BCE

    168 BCE

    King Antiochus IV Epiphanes orders his army to attack Jerusalem. Thousands of Jewish people are slaughtered, and the Jewish Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) is converted to a Greek temple. A statue of Zeus is put up and pigs are sacrificed. This is a disgrace and a great sin against the Jewish temple, which was the most sacred place for Jewish people. Seeing their temple in this state is heartbreaking for them.
  • 164 BCE

    164 BCE

    Judah Maccabee and his followers successfully drive the Syrians out of Israel and reclaim their Holy Temple.
  • 100

    100 AD

    Almost 250 years after the repossession of the Temple, Jewish historian Flavius Josephus writes about the origins of the celebration for the epic temple dedication. He calls this eight day celebration the "Festival of Lights".
  • 167

    167 BCE

    The Jewish Rabi Mattathias and his five sons lead a rebellion against King Anitochus and the Syrians. When Mattathias dies, his son Judah Maccabee takes his place in leading the fight to drive the Syrians out of Israel.
  • 200

    200 AD

    Up until this point, Hanukkah was called the "Festival of Lights", but around 200 A.D. people began to call the celebration "Hanukkah", which means dedication.
  • 450

    450 AD

    600 years after Judah Maccabee and his followers lead a revolt and took back the Temple, the Talmund was completed. The Talmund is a collection of Jewish civil and ceremonial law, tradition, and legend. The epic story of the candles that burned for eight days is mentioned, and the Rabbi's add that on Hanukkah, fasting and grieving is not allowed.