A synedrion or synhedrion ( Greek : συνέδριον, "sitting together", hence " assembly " or "council"; Hebrew : סנהדרין , sanhedrin ) is an assembly that holds formal sessions. The Latinized form is synedrium .
130-468: Depending on the widely varied constitutions, it applied to diverse representative or judiciary organs of Greek and Hellenistic city-states and treaty organisations. The supreme body of Alexander the Great 's empire was also called "Synedrion". The Council was a small group formed among some of the most eminent Macedonians , chosen by the king to assist him in the government of the kingdom . As such it
260-410: A loanword from Koinē Greek : Συνέδριον , romanized: synedrion , 'assembly,' 'sitting together,' hence ' assembly ' or 'council') was a legislative and judicial assembly of either 23 or 70 elders, existing at both a local and central level in the ancient Land of Israel . There were two classes of Rabbinite courts called sanhedrins: Greater and Lesser. A lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges
390-404: A synhedrion was placed; Jerusalem was the seat of one of these. Later, Josephus describes Herod (at the time governor of Galilee) as being summoned before the synhedrion , led by High Priest Hyrcanus II , due to having executed alleged criminals without permission from the synhedrion . Eventually, though, Herod would go on to kill many members of this synhedrion . The Mishnah describes
520-545: A Carthaginian army there. This was the first time a European force had invaded the region. After this war he controlled most of south-east Sicily and had himself proclaimed king, in imitation of the Hellenistic monarchs of the east. Agathocles then invaded Italy ( c. 300 BC ) in defense of Tarentum against the Bruttians and Romans , but was unsuccessful. Greeks in pre-Roman Gaul were mostly limited to
650-474: A Great Sanhedrin ( בית דין הגדול ) and a Lesser Sanhedrin ( בית דין הקטן ). Each city could have its own lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges, but there could be only one greater Sanhedrin of 71, which among other roles acted as the Supreme Court, taking appeals from cases decided by lesser courts. The uneven numbers of judges were predicated on eliminating the possibility of a tie, and the last to cast his vote
780-714: A building known as the Hall of Hewn Stones ( Lishkat ha-Gazit ), which has been placed by the Talmud and many scholars as built into the northern wall of the Temple Mount , half inside the sanctuary and half outside, with doors providing access variously to the Temple and to the outside. The name presumably arises to distinguish it from the buildings in the Temple complex used for ritual purposes, which could not be constructed of stones hewn by any iron implement. In some cases, it
910-662: A carefully neutral posture and acting to preserve the balance of power between the major Hellenistic kingdoms. Initially, Rhodes had very close ties with the Ptolemaic kingdom. Rhodes later became a Roman ally against the Seleucids, receiving some territory in Caria for their role in the Roman–Seleucid War (192–188 BC). Rome eventually turned on Rhodes and annexed the island as a Roman province. The west Balkan coast
1040-578: A combined Theban and Athenian army at the Battle of Chaeronea after a decade of desultory conflict. In the aftermath, Philip formed the League of Corinth , effectively bringing the majority of Greece under his direct sway. He was elected Hegemon of the league, and a campaign against the Achaemenid Empire of Persia was planned. However in 336 BC, while this campaign was in its early stages, he
1170-604: A fleet. Ptolemy invaded Syria and defeated Antigonus' son, Demetrius Poliorcetes , in the Battle of Gaza of 312 BC which allowed Seleucus to secure control of Babylonia , and the eastern satrapies. In 310 BC, Cassander had young King Alexander IV and his mother Roxana murdered, ending the Argead dynasty which had ruled Macedon for several centuries. Antigonus then sent his son Demetrius to regain control of Greece. In 307 BC he took Athens, expelling Demetrius of Phaleron , Cassander's governor, and proclaiming
1300-553: A fusion of the ancient Greek world with that of the Western Asian, Northeastern African, and Southwestern Asian worlds. The consequence of this mixture gave rise to a common Attic -based Greek dialect, known as Koine Greek , which became the lingua franca throughout the ancient world. During the Hellenistic period, Greek cultural influence reached its peak in the Mediterranean and beyond. Prosperity and progress in
1430-504: A league against Cassander's Macedon. The decisive engagement of the war came when Lysimachus invaded and overran much of western Anatolia, but was soon isolated by Antigonus and Demetrius near Ipsus in Phrygia . Seleucus arrived in time to save Lysimachus and utterly crushed Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. Seleucus' war elephants proved decisive; Antigonus was killed, and Demetrius fled back to Greece to attempt to preserve
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#17327865413201560-506: A liberator than a conqueror. In addition, much of the area conquered would continue to be ruled by the Diadochi , Alexander's generals and successors. Initially, the whole empire was divided among them; however, some territories were lost relatively quickly or only remained nominally under Macedonian rule. After 200 years, only much reduced and rather degenerate states remained, until the conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt by Rome. When Alexander
1690-646: A member of the court; the Av Beit Din or the chief of the court, who was second to the nasi ; and 69 general members. In the Second Temple period , the Great Sanhedrin met in the Temple in Jerusalem , in a building called the Hall of Hewn Stones . The Great Sanhedrin convened every day except festivals and the sabbath day ( Shabbat ). After the destruction of the Second Temple and
1820-626: A new agreement with Antipater at the Treaty of Triparadisus . Antipater was made regent of the Empire, and the two kings were moved to Macedon. Antigonus remained in charge of Asia Minor, Ptolemy retained Egypt, Lysimachus retained Thrace and Seleucus I controlled Babylon . The second Diadochi war began following the death of Antipater in 319 BC. Passing over his own son, Cassander , Antipater had declared Polyperchon his successor as Regent . Cassander rose in revolt against Polyperchon (who
1950-570: A political contrivance. When in the war against Prussia (1806–07) the emperor invaded Poland and the Jews rendered great services to his army, he remarked, laughing, "The sanhedrin is at least useful to me." David Friedländer and his friends in Berlin described it as a spectacle that Napoleon offered to the Parisians . [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a publication now in
2080-463: A rationalist solution for achieving the goal of re-establishing semikhah and the Sanhedrin. There have been several attempts to implement Maimonides' recommendations by Rabbi Jacob Berab in 1538, Rabbi Yisroel Shklover in 1830, Rabbi Aharon Mendel haCohen in 1901, Rabbi Zvi Kovsker in 1940, Rabbi Yehuda Leib Maimon in 1949, and a group of Israeli rabbis in 2004 . The "Grand Sanhedrin"
2210-458: A son of Judah ha-Nasi, where it became more of a consistory, but still retained, under the presidency of Judah II (230–270), the power of excommunication. During the presidency of Gamaliel IV (270–290), due to Roman persecution, it dropped the name Sanhedrin; and its authoritative decisions were subsequently issued under the name of Beth HaMidrash . In the year 363, the emperor Julian (r. 355–363 CE), an apostate from Christianity, ordered
2340-435: A standing army of mercenaries and a small core of Greco-Macedonian settlers. Promotion of immigration from Greece was important in the establishment of this system. Hellenistic monarchs ran their kingdoms as royal estates and most of the heavy tax revenues went into the military and paramilitary forces which preserved their rule from any kind of revolution. Macedonian and Hellenistic monarchs were expected to lead their armies on
2470-535: A summary of Arrian 's Events after Alexander , by Photios I of Constantinople . Lesser supplementary sources include Curtius Rufus , Pausanias , Pliny , and the Byzantine encyclopedia the Suda . In the field of philosophy, Diogenes Laërtius ' Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers is the main source; works such as Cicero 's De Natura Deorum also provide some further detail of philosophical schools in
2600-519: A verdict of capital punishment to would-be offenders, and the greater Sanhedrin of 71 judges was solely authorized to send forth the people to a battle waged of free choice . Before 191 BCE the High Priest acted as the ex officio head of the Sanhedrin, but in 191 BCE, when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the High Priest, the office of Nasi was created. After the time of Hillel
2730-579: Is Athens , which had been decisively defeated by Antipater in the Lamian war (323–322 BC) and had its port in the Piraeus garrisoned by Macedonian troops who supported a conservative oligarchy . After Demetrius Poliorcetes captured Athens in 307 BC and restored the democracy , the Athenians honored him and his father Antigonus by placing gold statues of them on the agora and granting them
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#17327865413202860-627: Is a summary of the powers and responsibilities of the Patriarchate from the onset of the third century, based on rabbinic sources as understood by L.I. Levine: Up to the middle of the fourth century, the Patriarchate retained the prerogative of determining the Hebrew calendar and guarded the intricacies of the needed calculations, in an effort to constrain interference by the Babylonian community. Christian persecution obliged Hillel II to fix
2990-544: Is not clear, though Gamaliel VI, the last holder of the office who had been for a time elevated by the emperor to the rank of prefect , may have fallen out with the imperial authorities. Thereafter, Jews were gradually excluded from holding public office. A law dated to 429, however, refers to the existence of a Sanhedrin in each of the Eastern Roman provinces of Palestine . The Talmud tractate Sanhedrin identifies two classes of rabbinical courts called Sanhedrin,
3120-524: Is required (12 vs. 10). Finally, a court should have an odd number of judges to prevent deadlocks; thus 23 rather than 22. The first historic mention of a Synedrion ( Greek : Συνέδριον ) occurs in the Psalms of Solomon (17:49), a Jewish religious book translated into Greek. The Hasmonean court in Judea , presided over by Alexander Jannaeus , until 76 BCE, followed by his wife, Queen Salome Alexandra ,
3250-813: The Achaean War , the final defeat of the Ptolemaic Kingdom at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Hadrian in AD 138, and the move by the emperor Constantine the Great of the capital of the Roman Empire to Constantinople in AD 330. Though this scope of suggested dates demonstrates a range of academic opinion, a generally accepted date by most of scholarship has been that of 31/30 BC. The word originated from ancient Greek Ἑλληνιστής ( Hellēnistḗs , "one who uses
3380-648: The Greco-Bactrian kingdom ). It can be argued that some of the changes across the Macedonian Empire after Alexander's conquests and during the rule of the Diadochi would have occurred without the influence of Greek rule. As mentioned by Peter Green , numerous factors of conquest have been merged under the term Hellenistic period . Specific areas conquered by Alexander's invading army, including Egypt and areas of Asia Minor and Mesopotamia "fell" willingly to conquest and viewed Alexander as more of
3510-585: The Greek colonies in Illyria. Illyrians imported weapons and armor from the ancient Greeks (such as the Illyrian type helmet , originally a Greek type) and also adopted the ornamentation of ancient Macedon on their shields and their war belts (a single one has been found, dated 3rd century BC at modern Selcë e Poshtme , a part of Macedon at the time under Philip V of Macedon ). The Odrysian Kingdom
3640-585: The Hebrew Bible , Moses and the Israelites were commanded by God to establish courts of judges. They were also commanded to establish a "supreme court" located at the central sanctuary (after arriving in the Land of Israel ), to handle cases too difficult for local courts. When Moses declared that the task of leading the people was too difficult for him, God had him appoint 70 elders ( zekenim ) to share
3770-577: The High Priest acted as the ex officio head of the Sanhedrin, but in 191 BCE, when the Sanhedrin lost confidence in the High Priest, the chair passed to the new office of the Nasi . The Sanhedrin was headed by the chief scholars of the great Talmudic Academies in the Land of Israel , and with the decline of the Sanhedrin, their spiritual and legal authority was generally accepted, the institution itself being supported by voluntary contributions by Jews throughout
3900-601: The Lamian war ) invaded Anatolia . The rebels were supported by Lysimachus , the satrap of Thrace and Ptolemy, the satrap of Egypt. Although Eumenes , satrap of Cappadocia , defeated the rebels in Asia Minor, Perdiccas himself was murdered by his own generals Peithon , Seleucus , and Antigenes (possibly with Ptolemy's aid) during his invasion of Egypt ( c. 21 May to 19 June, 320 BC). Ptolemy came to terms with Perdiccas's murderers, making Peithon and Arrhidaeus regents in his place, but soon these came to
4030-469: The Mediterranean coast of Provence , France . The first Greek colony in the region was Massalia , which became one of the largest trading ports of Mediterranean by the 4th century BC with 6,000 inhabitants. Massalia was also the local hegemon , controlling various coastal Greek cities like Nice and Agde . The coins minted in Massalia have been found in all parts of Liguro-Celtic Gaul. Celtic coinage
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4160-549: The Pharisees . The Talmud disagrees with Josephus ' account. It states that the two most distinguished members of the Great Sanhedrin were known as Nasi [Prince] and Ab-beth-din [Father of the Beth din], while there was a third known as Mufla [distinguished]. The last named may have been a kind of expert adviser; the other two titles seem to have been purely honorary, and not to have denoted any official position. In Josephus and
4290-501: The Ptolemaic Kingdom , which might otherwise have been lost, has been preserved in papyrological documents. This is particularly noteworthy given the limited documentation available for their Seleucid counterparts. Ancient Greece had traditionally been a fractious collection of fiercely independent city-states. After the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), Greece had fallen under a Spartan hegemony , in which Sparta
4420-656: The Roman Republic against the Carthaginian Empire during the Second Punic War (218–201 BC). However, Emporion lost its political independence around 195 BC with the establishment of the Roman province of Hispania Citerior and by the 1st century BC had become fully Romanized in culture. The Hellenistic states of Asia and Egypt were run by an occupying imperial elite of Greco-Macedonian administrators and governors propped up by
4550-630: The Syrian wars , over the region of Coele-Syria . Ptolemy IV won the great battle of Raphia (217 BC) against the Seleucids, using native Egyptians trained as phalangites . However these Egyptian soldiers revolted, eventually setting up a native breakaway Egyptian state in the Thebaid between 205 and 186/185 BC, severely weakening the Ptolemaic state. Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin ( Hebrew and Middle Aramaic סַנְהֶדְרִין ,
4680-504: The arts , literature , theatre , architecture , music , mathematics , philosophy , and science characterize the era. The Hellenistic period saw the rise of New Comedy , Alexandrian poetry , translation efforts such as the Septuagint , and the philosophies of Stoicism , Epicureanism , and Pyrrhonism . In science, the works of the mathematician Euclid and the polymath Archimedes are exemplary. Sculpture during this period
4810-535: The " Nesiotic League " of the Cyclades . These federations involved a central government which controlled foreign policy and military affairs, while leaving most of the local governing to the city states , a system termed sympoliteia . In states such as the Achaean league, this also involved the admission of other ethnic groups into the federation with equal rights, in this case, non- Achaeans . The Achean league
4940-740: The Aegean (204–200 BC) and ignored Roman demands for non-intervention in Greece by invading Attica. In 198 BC, during the Second Macedonian War Philip was decisively defeated at Cynoscephalae by the Roman proconsul Titus Quinctius Flamininus and Macedon lost all its territories in Greece proper. Southern Greece was now thoroughly brought into the Roman sphere of influence , though it retained nominal autonomy. The end of Antigonid Macedon came when Philip V's son, Perseus,
5070-816: The Athenians in the Chremonidean War , and then against the Achaean League of Aratus of Sicyon . Under the Antigonids, Macedonia was often short on funds, the Pangaeum mines were no longer as productive as under Philip II, the wealth from Alexander's campaigns had been used up and the countryside pillaged by the Gallic invasion . A large number of the Macedonian population had also been resettled abroad by Alexander or had chosen to emigrate to
5200-639: The Diadochi , Hellenistic kingdoms were established throughout West Asia ( Seleucid Empire , Kingdom of Pergamon ), Northeast Africa ( Ptolemaic Kingdom ) and South Asia ( Greco-Bactrian Kingdom , Indo-Greek Kingdom ). This resulted in an influx of Greek colonists and the export of Greek culture and language to these new realms, a breadth spanning as far as modern-day India. These new Greek kingdoms were also influenced by regional indigenous cultures, adopting local practices where deemed beneficial, necessary, or convenient. Hellenistic culture thus represents
5330-632: The Elder (late 1st century BCE and early 1st century CE), the Nasi was almost invariably a descendant of Hillel. The second highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin was called the Av Beit Din , or 'Head of the Court' (literally, Av Beit Din means 'father of the house of judgment'), who presided over the Sanhedrin when it sat as a criminal court. During the Second Temple period, the Sanhedrin met in
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5460-584: The Gospels in relation to the trial of Jesus , and in the Acts of the Apostles , which mentions a "Great Synhedrion " in chapter 5 where rabbi Gamaliel appeared, and also in chapter 7 in relation to the stoning death of Saint Stephen . This body is described as a court led by the High Priest or leading priests, as well as the "elders" and/or Pharisees . After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE,
5590-400: The Great died (10 June 323 BC), he left behind a sprawling empire that was composed of many essentially autonomous territories called satrapies . Without a chosen successor, there were immediate disputes among his generals as to who should be king of Macedon. These generals became known as the Diadochi ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Διάδοχοι , Diadokhoi , meaning "Successors"). Meleager and
5720-621: The Greco-Egyptian Serapis , eastern deities such as Attis and Cybele , and a syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism in Bactria and Northwest India . Scholars and historians are divided as to which event signals the end of the Hellenistic era. There is a wide chronological range of proposed dates that have included the final conquest of the Greek heartlands by the expansionist Roman Republic in 146 BC following
5850-505: The Greek language"), from Ἑλλάς ( Hellás , "Greece"); as if "Hellenist" + "ic". The idea of a Hellenistic period is a 19th-century concept, and did not exist in ancient Greece . Although words related in form or meaning, e.g. Hellenist ( Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνιστής , Hellēnistēs ), have been attested since ancient times, it has been attributed to the 19th century German historian Johann Gustav Droysen , who in his classic work Geschichte des Hellenismus ( History of Hellenism ), coined
5980-696: The Greek world, making the endless conflicts between the cities that had marked the 5th and 4th centuries BC seem petty and unimportant. It led to a steady emigration, particularly of the young and ambitious, to the new Greek empires in the east. Many Greeks migrated to Alexandria , Antioch , and the many other new Hellenistic cities founded in Alexander's wake, as far away as modern Afghanistan and Pakistan . Independent city states were unable to compete with Hellenistic kingdoms and were usually forced to ally themselves to one of them for defense, giving honors to Hellenistic rulers in return for protection. One example
6110-635: The Greeks during the 8th century BC. In 4th-century BC Sicily the leading Greek city and hegemon was Syracuse . During the Hellenistic period the leading figure in Sicily was Agathocles of Syracuse (361–289 BC) who seized the city with an army of mercenaries in 317 BC. Agathocles extended his power throughout most of the Greek cities in Sicily, fought a long war with the Carthaginians , at one point invading Tunisia in 310 BC and defeating
6240-577: The Hellenistic period breaks off after the battle of Ipsus (301 BC). Another important source, Plutarch 's ( c. AD 50 – c. 120 ) Parallel Lives although more preoccupied with issues of personal character and morality, outlines the history of important Hellenistic figures. Appian of Alexandria (late 1st century AD–before 165) wrote a history of the Roman empire that includes information of some Hellenistic kingdoms. Other sources include Justin 's (2nd century AD) epitome of Pompeius Trogus ' Historiae Philipicae and
6370-488: The Hellenistic period is Polybius of Megalopolis (c. 200–118), a statesman of the Achaean League until 168 BC when he was forced to go to Rome as a hostage. His Histories eventually grew to a length of forty books, covering the years 220 to 167 BC. The most important source after Polybius is Diodorus Siculus who wrote his Bibliotheca historica between 60 and 30 BC and reproduced some important earlier sources such as Hieronymus, but his account of
6500-494: The Hellenistic period. Inscriptions on stone or metal were commonly erected throughout the Greek world for public display, a practice which originated well before the time of Alexander the Great, but saw substantial expansion during the Hellenistic Period. The majority of these inscriptions are located on the Greek mainland , the Greek islands , and western Asia Minor . While they become increasingly rare towards
6630-599: The Hellenistic period. It became a center of culture and commerce, its coins were widely circulated and its philosophical schools became one of the best in the Mediterranean. After holding out for one year under siege by Demetrius Poliorcetes (305–304 BC), the Rhodians built the Colossus of Rhodes to commemorate their victory. They retained their independence by the maintenance of a powerful navy, by maintaining
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#17327865413206760-412: The Jews, both under the Greeks from the time of Antiochus the Great (Josephus, Antiquities 12:3) and under the Hasmonean high priests and princes. Josephus uses συνέδριον for the first time in connection with the decree of the Roman governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius (57 BC), who abolished the constitution and the then existing form of government of Israel and divided the country into five provinces, at
6890-410: The Macedonians themselves were looked down upon as semi-barbaric by the rest of the Greeks. However, Macedon controlled a large area and had a relatively strong centralized government, in comparison to most Greek states. Philip II was a strong and expansionist king who took every opportunity to expand Macedonian territory. In 352 BC he annexed Thessaly and Magnesia . In 338 BC, Philip defeated
7020-406: The New Testament it is the High Priest who is spoken of as the President of the Sanhedrin. Josephus and the New Testament also picture the Sanhedrin as an institution of some political importance; whether this institution was identical with the Great Sanhedrin of the Talmud it is difficult to say. This has led some scholars to theorize that there were two Sanhedrins, one almost entirely political and
7150-409: The Roman conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt the following year, which eliminated the last major Hellenistic kingdom. Its name stems from the Ancient Greek word Hellas ( Ἑλλάς , Hellás ), which was gradually recognized as the name for Greece , from which the early modern 19th century historiographical term Hellenistic was derived. The term "Hellenistic" is to be distinguished from "Hellenic" in that
7280-414: The Sanhedrin before the Roman government. The seat of the Patriarchate moved to Usha under the presidency of Gamaliel II in 80 CE. In 116 it moved back to Yavneh, and then again back to Usha. Rabbinic texts indicate that following the Bar Kokhba revolt , southern Galilee became the seat of rabbinic learning in the Land of Israel . This region was the location of the court of the Patriarch which
7410-414: The Sanhedrin in this period further. The Great Sanhedrin met in the Hall of Hewn Stones in the Temple in Jerusalem . It convened every day except festivals and Shabbat . Its members included priests , Levites , and ordinary Jews whose families had a pure lineage such that their daughters were allowed to marry priests. A Synhedrion is mentioned 22 times in the Greek New Testament , including in
7540-418: The Sanhedrin was re-established in Yavneh , with reduced authority, by agreement between Yochanan ben Zakai and Roman Emperor Vespasian . Vespasian agreed in part due to the perception that the Pharisees had not participated in the first revolt to the extent that other groups had. Thus the Sanhedrin in Yavneh was comprised almost exclusively of pharisaic scholars. The imperial Roman government recognized
7670-415: The Sanhedrin, to convene on 20 October. This proclamation, written in Hebrew, French, German, and Italian, speaks in extravagant terms of the importance of this revived institution and of the greatness of its imperial protector. While the action of Napoleon aroused in many Jews of Germany the hope that, influenced by it, their governments also would grant them the rights of citizenship, others looked upon it as
7800-483: The Sanhedrin. They regarded the head of the Sanhedrin as their own paid government official with the status of a prefect . Roman legislation severely reduced the scope of its authority, but confirmed the body's ultimate authority in religious matters. In an attempt to quash revolutionary elements, Rome in effect declared one form of Judaism to be the only recognized form of religion. This led to persecution of sectarian groups, and attempts by these groups to find fault with
7930-467: The Temple rebuilt. The project's failure has been ascribed to the Galilee earthquake of 363 , and to the Jews ' ambivalence about the project. Sabotage is a possibility, as is an accidental fire. Divine intervention was the common view among Christian historians of the time. As a reaction against Julian's pro-Jewish stance, the later emperor Theodosius I (r. 379–395 CE) forbade the Sanhedrin to assemble and declared ordination illegal. Capital punishment
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#17327865413208060-460: The ancient Egyptian bureaucracy, highly centralized and focused on squeezing as much revenue out of the population as possible through tariffs, excise duties, fines, taxes, and so forth. A whole class of petty officials, tax farmers, clerks, and overseers made this possible. The Egyptian countryside was directly administered by this royal bureaucracy. External possessions such as Cyprus and Cyrene were run by strategoi , military commanders appointed by
8190-411: The ancient world. Being a member of the house of Hillel and thus a descendant of King David , the Nasi (prince), who was the chairman of the assembly, enjoyed almost royal authority. His functions were political rather than religious, though the office’s influence was not limited to the secular realm. The Patriarchate attained its zenith under Judah ha-Nasi , who compiled the Mishnah . Since
8320-425: The burden of leadership with him. According to the Mishnah , these 70 elders plus Moses himself are the source for the 71 judges of the "Great Sanhedrin". These elders are described as "the elders of the people and its officers", according to a midrash , they were the same officers who were beaten in Egyptian slavery for failing to meet Pharaoh's quota of bricks, and after the Exodus were rewarded with membership on
8450-432: The calendar in permanent form in 359 CE. This institution symbolized the passing of authority from the Patriarchate to the Babylonian Talmudic academies . In 2004, excavations in Tiberias conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority uncovered a structure dating to the 3rd century CE that may have been the seat of the Sanhedrin when it convened in that city. At the time it was called Beit Hava'ad . Before 191 BCE
8580-442: The city free again. Demetrius now turned his attention to Ptolemy, defeating his fleet at the Battle of Salamis and taking control of Cyprus. In the aftermath of this victory, Antigonus took the title of king ( basileus ) and bestowed it on his son Demetrius Poliorcetes , the rest of the Diadochi soon followed suit. Demetrius continued his campaigns by laying siege to Rhodes and conquering most of Greece in 302 BC, creating
8710-441: The country, especially in the region of the Faiyum . Alexandria , a major center of Greek culture and trade, became his capital city. As Egypt's first port city, it became the main grain exporter in the Mediterranean. The Egyptians begrudgingly accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt, though the kingdom went through several native revolts. Ptolemy I began to order monetary contributions from
8840-418: The crown. Under Ptolemy II , Callimachus , Apollonius of Rhodes , Theocritus , and a host of other poets including the Alexandrian Pleiad made the city a center of Hellenistic literature. Ptolemy himself was eager to patronise the library, scientific research and individual scholars who lived on the grounds of the library. He and his successors also fought a series of wars with the Seleucids, known as
8970-413: The death of Pyrrhus, Epirus remained a minor power. In 233 BC the Aeacid royal family was deposed and a federal state was set up called the Epirote League . The league was conquered by Rome in the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC). Antigonus II , a student of Zeno of Citium , spent most of his rule defending Macedon against Epirus and cementing Macedonian power in Greece, first against
9100-402: The designation of kings and regents, as of that of the high administrators and the declarations of war. It was also the first and the last authority for all the cases which did not involve capital punishment . Inside the Council ruled the democratic principles of isegoria (equality of word) and of parrhesia (freedom of speech), to which the king subjects himself like the other members. After
9230-418: The dissolution of the Sanhedrin in or around 358 CE, there have been several attempts to re-establish it. There are records of what may have been attempts to reform the Sanhedrin in Arabia, in Jerusalem under the Caliph Umar , and in Babylon (Iraq), but none of these attempts were given attention by later rabbinic authorities and little information is available about them. Maimonides (1135–1204) proposed
9360-488: The eastern regions, they are not entirely absent there, and they are most notably featured in public buildings and sanctuaries . The content of these inscriptions is diverse, encompassing royal correspondence addressed to cities or individuals, municipal and legal edicts, decrees commemorating rulers, officials, and individuals for their contributions, as well as laws, treaties, religious rulings, and dedications. Despite challenges in their interpretation, inscriptions are often
9490-538: The failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt , the Great Sanhedrin moved to Galilee, which became part of the Roman province of Syria Palaestina . In this period, the Sanhedrin was sometimes called the Galilean Patriarchate or Patriarchate of Palaestina , the governing legal body of Galilean Jewry. In the late 200s CE, to avoid persecution, the name Sanhedrin was dropped and its decisions were issued under
9620-416: The field, along with a group of privileged aristocratic companions or friends ( hetairoi , philoi ) which dined and drank with the king and acted as his advisory council. The monarch was also expected to serve as a charitable patron of the people; this public philanthropy could mean building projects and handing out gifts but also promotion of Greek culture and religion. Ptolemy , a somatophylax , one of
9750-413: The first Sanhedrin. The 23 judges of the "Lesser Sanhedrin" are derived from the following exegesis : it must be possible for a " community " to vote for both conviction and exoneration ( Numbers 35:24–5 ). The minimum size of a "community" is 10 men, thus 10 vs 10. One more is required to achieve a majority (11 vs. 10), but a simple majority cannot convict ( Exodus 23:2 ), and so an additional judge
9880-756: The first two Macedonian Wars but split in the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC), with the Molossians siding with the Macedonians and the Chaones and Thesproti siding with Rome. The outcome was disastrous for Epirus; Molossia fell to Rome in 167 BC, 150,000 of its inhabitants were enslaved and the region was so thoroughly plundered that it took 500 years for central Epirus to recover fully. Josephus describes an aristocratic council called gerousia or senate of "elders" repeatedly in his history of
10010-464: The growing power and ambition of Antigonus. He began removing and appointing satraps as if he were king and also raided the royal treasuries in Ecbatana , Persepolis and Susa , making off with 25,000 talents . Seleucus was forced to flee to Egypt and Antigonus was soon at war with Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander. He then invaded Phoenicia , laid siege to Tyre , stormed Gaza and began building
10140-401: The head of each of which a synedrion was placed. In 57–55 BC, Aulus Gabinius, proconsul of Syria , split the former Hasmonean Kingdom into Galilee, Samaria & Judea with 5 districts of synedrion (councils of law). The original aristocratic constitution of the senate began to be modified under the later Hasmoneans by the inevitable introduction of representatives of the rising party of
10270-400: The huge territories Alexander had conquered became subject to a strong Greek influence ( Hellenization ) for the next two or three centuries, until the rise of Rome in the west, and of Parthia in the east. As the Greek and Levantine cultures mingled, the development of a hybrid Hellenistic culture began, and persisted even when isolated from the main centres of Greek culture (for instance, in
10400-399: The infantry supported the candidacy of Alexander's half-brother, Philip Arrhidaeus , while Perdiccas , the leading cavalry commander, supported waiting until the birth of Alexander's child by Roxana . After the infantry stormed the palace of Babylon , a compromise was arranged – Arrhidaeus (as Philip III) should become king and should rule jointly with Roxana's child, assuming that it
10530-655: The language of administration and of the nobility. The nobility also adopted Greek fashions in dress , ornament, and military equipment, spreading it to the other tribes. Thracian kings were among the first to be Hellenized . After 278 BC the Odrysians had a strong competitor in the Celtic Kingdom of Tylis ruled by the kings Comontorius and Cavarus , but in 212 BC they conquered their enemies and destroyed their capital. Southern Italy ( Magna Graecia ) and south-eastern Sicily had been colonized by
10660-405: The last universal decision made by the Great Sanhedrin. Gamaliel VI (400–425) was the Sanhedrin's last president. With his death in 425, Theodosius II outlawed the title of Nasi , the last remains of the ancient Sanhedrin. An imperial decree of 426 diverted the patriarchs' tax ( post excessum patriarchorum ) into the imperial treasury. The exact reason for the abrogation of the patriarchate
10790-599: The latest war between Macedon and the Greek leagues ( the Social War of 220–217 BC) to an end, and at this time he controlled all of Greece except Athens, Rhodes and Pergamum. In 215 BC Philip, with his eye on Illyria , formed an alliance with Rome's enemy Hannibal of Carthage , which led to Roman alliances with the Achaean League , Rhodes and Pergamum. The First Macedonian War broke out in 212 BC, and ended inconclusively in 205 BC. Philip continued to wage war against Pergamum and Rhodes for control of
10920-602: The latter refers to Greece itself, while the former encompasses all the ancient territories of the period that had come under significant Greek influence , particularly the Hellenized Middle East , after the conquests of Alexander the Great . After the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BC and its disintegration shortly thereafter in the Partition of Babylon and subsequent Wars of
11050-515: The name of Beit HaMidrash (house of learning). The last universally binding decision of the Great Sanhedrin appeared in 358 when the Hebrew calendar was established. The Great Sanhedrin was finally disbanded in 425. Over the centuries, attempts have been made to revive the institution, such as the Grand Sanhedrin convened by Napoleon Bonaparte and modern attempts in Israel . In
11180-554: The native population did not always mix; the Greeks moved and brought their own culture, but interaction did not always occur. While a few fragments exist, there are no complete surviving historical works that date to the hundred years following Alexander's death. The works of the major Hellenistic historians Hieronymus of Cardia (who worked under Alexander, Antigonus I and other successors), Duris of Samos and Phylarchus , which were used by surviving sources , are all lost. The earliest and most credible surviving source for
11310-430: The new eastern Greek cities. Up to two-thirds of the population emigrated, and the Macedonian army could only count on a levy of 25,000 men, a significantly smaller force than under Philip II. Antigonus II ruled until his death in 239 BC. His son Demetrius II soon died in 229 BC, leaving a child (Philip V) as king, with the general Antigonus Doson as regent. Doson led Macedon to victory in
11440-406: The only source available for understanding numerous events in Greek history. Papyrus served as the predominant medium for handwritten documents across the Hellenistic world, though its production was confined to Egypt . Due to Egypt's arid climate , papyrus manuscripts was almost exclusively preserved there as well. That being said, the different historical periods are not represented equally in
11570-536: The other religious. However this theory has not gained wide acceptance. Hellenistic In classical antiquity , the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece , between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the Roman Empire , as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and
11700-569: The papyrological documents. Texts from the reign of Ptolemy I are notably scarce, while those from the reign of Ptolemy II are more frequently encountered, this is owing in part to the large quantities of papyri which were stuffed into human and animal mummies during his rule. Papyri have been classified into public and private documents, including literary texts, laws and regulations, official correspondence, petitions , records, and archives or collections of documents belonging to individuals of position and authority. Significant information about
11830-491: The people and, as a result, rewarded cities with high contributions with royal benefaction. This often resulted in the formation of a royal cult within the city. Reservations about this activity slowly dissipated as this worship of mortals was justified by the precedent of the worshipping of Greek heroes. The Ptolemies took on the traditions of the Egyptian Pharaohs , such as marrying their siblings ( Ptolemy II
11960-428: The remnants of his rule, thereby recapturing a rebellious Athens. Meanwhile, Lysimachus took over Ionia , Seleucus took Cilicia , and Ptolemy captured Cyprus . After Cassander's death in c. 298 BC , however, Demetrius, who still maintained a sizable loyal army and fleet, invaded Macedon, seized the Macedonian throne (294 BC) and conquered Thessaly and most of central Greece (293–291 BC). He
12090-757: The removal of the Antigonid dynasty by the Romans in 167 BC, it is possible that the synedrion remained, unlike the Assembly, representing the sole federal authority in Macedonia after the kingdom's division into four merides . The League of Corinth was a federation of Greek states created by king Philip II of Macedon during the winter of 338/337 BC to facilitate his use of Greek military forces in his war against Achaemenid Persia. The league guaranteed, among other things, that member states' constitutions in force at
12220-420: The seven bodyguards who served as Alexander the Great 's generals and deputies, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC, he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as "Soter" (saviour) for his role in helping the Rhodians during the siege of Rhodes . Ptolemy built new cities such as Ptolemais Hermiou in upper Egypt and settled his veterans throughout
12350-407: The spread of Greek culture was not the generalized phenomenon that the term implies. Some areas of the conquered world were more affected by Greek influences than others. The term Hellenistic also implies that the Greek populations were of majority in the areas in which they settled, but in many cases, the Greek settlers were actually the minority among the native populations. The Greek population and
12480-497: The term Hellenistic to refer to and define the period when Greek culture spread in the non-Greek world after Alexander's conquest. Following Droysen, Hellenistic and related terms, e.g. Hellenism , have been widely used in various contexts; a notable such use is in Culture and Anarchy by Matthew Arnold , where Hellenism is used in contrast with Hebraism . The major issue with the term Hellenistic lies in its convenience, as
12610-513: The time of joining were guaranteed and that a Synedrion, or congress of representatives, was to meet at Corinth . In the 3rd century BC Epirus remained a substantial power, unified under the auspices of the Epirote League as a federal state with its own parliament (or synedrion ). However, it was faced with the growing threat of the expansionist Roman Republic , which fought a series of wars with Macedonia. The League remained neutral in
12740-431: The title of king. Athens later allied itself to Ptolemaic Egypt to throw off Macedonian rule, eventually setting up a religious cult for the Ptolemaic kings and naming one of the city's phyles in honour of Ptolemy for his aid against Macedon. In spite of the Ptolemaic monies and fleets backing their endeavors, Athens and Sparta were defeated by Antigonus II during the Chremonidean War (267–261 BC). Athens
12870-605: The tripartite territorial division of the Hellenistic age was in place, with the main Hellenistic powers being Macedon under Demetrius's son Antigonus II Gonatas , the Ptolemaic kingdom under Ptolemy 's son Ptolemy II and the Seleucid empire under Seleucus' son Antiochus I Soter . Epirus was a northwestern Greek kingdom in the western Balkans ruled by the Molossian Aeacidae dynasty. Epirus
13000-545: The war against the Spartan king Cleomenes III , and occupied Sparta . Philip V , who came to power when Doson died in 221 BC, was the last Macedonian ruler with both the talent and the opportunity to unite Greece and preserve its independence against the "cloud rising in the west": the ever-increasing power of Rome. He was known as "the darling of Hellas". Under his auspices the Peace of Naupactus (217 BC) brought
13130-522: Was a Jewish high court convened by Napoleon I to give legal sanction to the principles expressed by the Assembly of Notables in answer to the twelve questions submitted to it by the government. It did not follow the halakhic procedures of the traditional Sanhedrin. On 6 October 1806, the Assembly of Notables issued a proclamation to all the Jewish communities of Europe, inviting them to send delegates to
13260-421: Was a boy (as it was, becoming Alexander IV ). Perdiccas himself would become regent ( epimeletes ) of the empire, and Meleager his lieutenant. Soon, however, Perdiccas had Meleager and the other infantry leaders murdered and assumed full control. The generals who had supported Perdiccas were rewarded in the partition of Babylon by becoming satraps of the various parts of the empire, but Perdiccas' position
13390-548: Was a union of Thracian tribes under the kings of the powerful Odrysian tribe. Various parts of Thrace were under Macedonian rule under Philip II of Macedon , Alexander the Great , Lysimachus , Ptolemy II , and Philip V but were also often ruled by their own kings. The Thracians and Agrianes were widely used by Alexander as peltasts and light cavalry , forming about one-fifth of his army. The Diadochi also used Thracian mercenaries in their armies and they were also used as colonists. The Odrysians used Greek as
13520-463: Was able to drive out the Macedonians from the Peloponnese and free Corinth, which duly joined the league. One of the few city states who managed to maintain full independence from the control of any Hellenistic kingdom was Rhodes . With a skilled navy to protect its trade fleets from pirates and an ideal strategic position covering the routes from the east into the Aegean, Rhodes prospered during
13650-483: Was also a center of education, where Celts went to learn Greek. A staunch ally of Rome, Massalia retained its independence until it sided with Pompey in 49 BC and was then taken by Caesar's forces . The city of Emporion (modern Empúries ), originally founded by Archaic-period settlers from Phocaea and Massalia in the 6th century BC near the village of Sant Martí d'Empúries (located on an offshore island that forms part of L'Escala , Catalonia , Spain ),
13780-425: Was an ally of Macedon during the reigns of Philip II and Alexander. In 281 Pyrrhus (nicknamed "the eagle", aetos ) invaded southern Italy to aid the city state of Tarentum . Pyrrhus defeated the Romans in the Battle of Heraclea and at the Battle of Asculum . Though victorious, he was forced to retreat due to heavy losses, hence the term " Pyrrhic victory ". Pyrrhus then turned south and invaded Sicily but
13910-448: Was appointed to sit as a tribunal in each city. There was only one Great Sanhedrin of 70 judges, which, among other roles, acted as a supreme court , taking appeals from cases that lesser courts decided. In general usage, the Sanhedrin without qualifier usually refers to the Great Sanhedrin, which was presided over by the Nasi , who functioned as its head or representing president, and was
14040-533: Was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus ("the thunderbolt"), who had taken refuge at the Seleucid court and then had himself acclaimed as king of Macedon. Ptolemy was killed when Macedon was invaded by Gauls in 279 BC —his head stuck on a spear—and the country fell into anarchy. Antigonus II Gonatas invaded Thrace in the summer of 277 and defeated a large force of 18,000 Gauls. He was quickly hailed as king of Macedon and went on to rule for 35 years. At this point
14170-637: Was assassinated. Succeeding his father, Alexander took over the Persian war himself. During a decade of campaigning, Alexander conquered the whole Persian Empire , overthrew the Persian king Darius III . The conquered lands included Asia Minor , Assyria , the Levant , Egypt , Mesopotamia , Media , Persia , and parts of modern-day Afghanistan , Pakistan , and the steppes of central Asia. The years of constant campaigning had taken their toll, however, and Alexander died in 323 BC. After his death,
14300-435: Was called Synhedrion or Sanhedrin. The exact nature of this early Sanhedrin is not clear. It may have been a body of sages or priests, or a political, legislative and judicial institution. The first historical record of the body was during the administration of Aulus Gabinius , who, according to Josephus, organized five synedra in 57 BCE as Roman administration was not concerned with religious affairs unless sedition
14430-592: Was characterized by intense emotion and dynamic movement, as seen in sculptural works like the Dying Gaul and the Venus de Milo . A form of Hellenistic architecture arose which especially emphasized the building of grand monuments and ornate decorations, as exemplified by structures such as the Pergamon Altar . The religious sphere of Greek religion expanded through syncretic facets to include new gods such as
14560-519: Was crushed at the Battle of Sellasia (222 BC) by the Achaean league and Macedon, who restored the power of the ephors . Other city states formed federated states in self-defense, such as the Aetolian League ( est. 370 BC), the Achaean League ( est. 280 BC), the Boeotian league , the "Northern League" ( Byzantium , Chalcedon , Heraclea Pontica and Tium ) and
14690-469: Was defeated and captured by the Romans in the Third Macedonian War (171–168 BC). During the Hellenistic period, the importance of Greece proper within the Greek-speaking world declined sharply. The great centers of Hellenistic culture were Alexandria and Antioch , capitals of Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria respectively. The conquests of Alexander greatly widened the horizons of
14820-621: Was defeated in 288 BC when Lysimachus of Thrace and Pyrrhus of Epirus invaded Macedon on two fronts, and quickly carved up the kingdom for themselves. Demetrius fled to central Greece with his mercenaries and began to build support there and in the northern Peloponnese. He once again laid siege to Athens after they turned on him, but then struck a treaty with the Athenians and Ptolemy, which allowed him to cross over to Asia Minor and wage war on Lysimachus' holdings in Ionia , leaving his son Antigonus Gonatas in Greece. After initial successes, he
14950-453: Was forced to surrender to Seleucus in 285 BC and later died in captivity. Lysimachus, who had seized Macedon and Thessaly for himself, was forced into war when Seleucus invaded his territories in Asia Minor and was defeated and killed in 281 BC at the Battle of Corupedium , near Sardis . Seleucus then attempted to conquer Lysimachus' European territories in Thrace and Macedon, but he
15080-527: Was influenced by Greek designs, and Greek letters can be found on various Celtic coins, especially those of Southern France . Traders from Massalia ventured inland deep into France on the Rivers Durance and Rhône , and established overland trade routes deep into Gaul , and to Switzerland and Burgundy . The Hellenistic period saw the Greek alphabet spread into southern Gaul from Massalia (3rd and 2nd centuries BC) and according to Strabo , Massalia
15210-750: Was inhabited by various Illyrian tribes and kingdoms such as the kingdom of the Dalmatae and of the Ardiaei , who often engaged in piracy under Queen Teuta (reigned 231–227 BC). Further inland was the Illyrian Paeonian Kingdom and the tribe of the Agrianes . Illyrians on the coast of the Adriatic were under the effects and influence of Hellenisation and some tribes adopted Greek, becoming bilingual due to their proximity to
15340-426: Was joined by Eumenes) and was supported by Antigonus, Lysimachus and Ptolemy. In 317 BC, Cassander invaded Macedonia, attaining control of Macedon, sentencing Olympias to death and capturing the boy king Alexander IV , and his mother. In Asia, Eumenes was betrayed by his own men after years of campaign and was given up to Antigonus who had him executed. The third war of the Diadochi broke out because of
15470-515: Was necessary only for a 23-member panel (functioning as a Lesser Sanhedrin) to convene. In general, the full panel of 71 judges was convened only on matters of national significance ( e.g. , a declaration of war) or when the 23-member panel failed to reach a conclusive verdict. By the end of the Second Temple period, the Sanhedrin reached its pinnacle of importance, legislating all aspects of Jewish religious and political life within parameters laid down by Biblical and Rabbinic tradition. The following
15600-457: Was not a representative assembly, but notwithstanding that, on certain occasions, it could be expanded with the admission of representatives of the cities and of the civic corps of the kingdom. The Council primarily exerted a probouleutic function with respect to the Assembly: it prepared and proposed the decisions which the Assembly would have discussed and voted, working in many fields such as
15730-468: Was pre-eminent but not all-powerful. Spartan hegemony was succeeded by a Theban hegemony after the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC), but after the Battle of Mantinea (362 BC) , all of Greece was so weakened that no one state could claim pre-eminence. It was against this backdrop that the ascendancy of Macedon began, under king Philip II . Macedon was located at the periphery of the Greek world, and although its royal family claimed Greek descent,
15860-405: Was prescribed for any Rabbi who received ordination, as well as complete destruction of the town where the ordination occurred. However, since the Hebrew calendar was based on witnesses' testimony, which had become far too dangerous to collect, rabbi Hillel II recommended change to a mathematically based calendar that was adopted at a clandestine, and maybe final, meeting in 358 CE. This marked
15990-520: Was reestablished in the 5th century BC with a new city ( neapolis ) on the Iberian mainland . Emporion contained a mixed population of Greek colonists and Iberian natives, and although Livy and Strabo assert that they lived in different quarters , these two groups were eventually integrated. The city became a dominant trading hub and center of Hellenistic civilization in Iberia, eventually siding with
16120-471: Was shaky because, as Arrian writes, "everyone was suspicious of him, and he of them". The first of the Diadochi wars broke out when Perdiccas planned to marry Alexander's sister Cleopatra and began to question Antigonus I Monophthalmus ' leadership in Asia Minor . Antigonus fled for Greece, and then, together with Antipater and Craterus (the satrap of Cilicia who had been in Greece fighting
16250-402: Was situated first at Usha , then at Bet Shearim , later at Sepphoris and finally at Tiberias . The Great Sanhedrin moved in 140 to Shefaram under the presidency of Shimon ben Gamliel II , and subsequently to Beit She'arim and later to Sepphoris , under the presidency of Judah ha-Nasi (165–220). Finally, it moved to Tiberias in 220, under the presidency of Gamaliel III (220–230),
16380-410: Was suspected. Only after the destruction of the Second Temple was the Sanhedrin made up only of sages. Josephus describes a synhedrion for the first time in connection with the decree of the Roman governor of Syria, Aulus Gabinius (57 BCE), who abolished the constitution and the then existing form of government of Palestine and divided the country into five provinces, at the head of each of which
16510-570: Was the first to adopt this custom), having themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participating in Egyptian religious life. The Ptolemaic ruler cult portrayed the Ptolemies as gods, and temples to the Ptolemies were erected throughout the kingdom. Ptolemy I even created a new god, Serapis , who was a combination of two Egyptian gods: Apis and Osiris, with attributes of Greek gods . Ptolemaic administration was, like
16640-485: Was the head of the court. The Sanhedrin as a body claimed powers that lesser Jewish courts did not have. As such, they were the only ones who could try the king, extend the boundaries of the Temple and Jerusalem, and were the ones to whom all questions of law were finally put. Moreover, the lesser Sanhedrin of 23 judges was the only juridical body in Israel having the statutory and constitutional authority and power to render
16770-550: Was then occupied by Macedonian troops, and run by Macedonian officials. Sparta remained independent, but it was no longer the leading military power in the Peloponnese . The Spartan king Cleomenes III (235–222 BC) staged a military coup against the conservative ephors and pushed through radical social and land reforms in order to increase the size of the shrinking Spartan citizenry able to provide military service and restore Spartan power. Sparta's bid for supremacy
16900-404: Was unsuccessful and returned to Italy. After the Battle of Beneventum (275 BC) Pyrrhus lost all his Italian holdings and left for Epirus. Pyrrhus then went to war with Macedonia in 275 BC, deposing Antigonus II Gonatas and briefly ruling over Macedonia and Thessaly until 272. Afterwards, he invaded southern Greece and was killed in battle against Argos in 272 BC. After
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