Warfare, Shmittah – and Volcanic Forcing

The importance to Jewish history and identity of the events of the 160s BCE cannot be overstated: the Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid rule laid the political groundwork for the emergence of the independent kingdom of Judea and set its ideological direction. Among the critical episodes of that decade mentioned in narrative sources are two famines said to have been so severe that they altered the course of the rebellion. These have been little examined heretofore; however, recently improved dating of atmospheric aerosol records derived from polar ice cores and geoscientific studies of the impacts of volcanic eruptions on climatic and social conditions provide a new lens through which the consecutive famines can be understood, supporting the contention that volcanic forcing of the environment was a significant contributory factor for both occurrences. In addition, this fresh perspective enables a reassessment of the textual sources concerning these seminal episodes of Judean history.