Nicanor (Seleucid General)
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Nicanor (; ; died 161 BCE) was a Syrian-Greek general (
strategos ''Strategos'' (), also known by its Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized form ''strategus'', is a Greek language, Greek term to mean 'military General officer, general'. In the Hellenistic world and in the Byzantine Empire, the term was also use ...
) who served the
Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...
during the reigns of kings
Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( 215 BC–November/December 164 BC) was king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. Notable events during Antiochus' reign include his near-conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of ...
and
Demetrius I Soter Demetrius I Soter (, ''Dēmḗtrios ho Sōtḗr,'' "Demetrius the Saviour"; 185 – June 150 BC) reigned as king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from November 162 to June 150 BC. Demetrius grew up in Rome as a hostage, but returned to Greek S ...
. He served during the
Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt () was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167 to 160 BCE and ended with the Seleucids in control of ...
in Judea, then part of the Seleucid Empire, and served for a time as governor in Jerusalem. Relations between the government and the Jewish rebels eventually turned sufficiently hostile that he threatened the priests at the
Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...
and led an army to find and defeat
Judas Maccabeus Judas Maccabaeus or Maccabeus ( ), also known as Judah Maccabee (), was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ("Ded ...
's followers, but he and his army were defeated at the Battle of Adasa. Nicanor was killed, his corpse was desecrated, his head and right hand hung for public display back in Jerusalem, and a new festival was declared to celebrate his defeat. As Seleucid literature was ultimately not preserved, almost all of what is known of Nicanor comes from the Jewish books
1 Maccabees 1 Maccabees, also known as the First Book of Maccabees, First Maccabees, and abbreviated as 1 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest hi ...
and
2 Maccabees 2 Maccabees, also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt against him. It ...
. These books were preserved by becoming part of the
Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...
, a collection of Jewish writings in Greek that would serve to become the basis of the Christian Old Testament.


During the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes

The book
2 Maccabees 2 Maccabees, also known as the Second Book of Maccabees, Second Maccabees, and abbreviated as 2 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which recounts the persecution of Jews under King Antiochus IV Epiphanes and the Maccabean Revolt against him. It ...
calls him "Nicanor son of Patroclus" and says he was one of the king's chief friends ('' philoi''), at a time when the position would imply being an advisor as well as just friendship. Around 165 BCE, a military expedition was organized to defeat the rebels of the
Maccabean Revolt The Maccabean Revolt () was a Jewish rebellion led by the Maccabees against the Seleucid Empire and against Hellenistic influence on Jewish life. The main phase of the revolt lasted from 167 to 160 BCE and ended with the Seleucids in control of ...
. According to
1 Maccabees 1 Maccabees, also known as the First Book of Maccabees, First Maccabees, and abbreviated as 1 Macc., is a deuterocanonical book which details the history of the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire as well as the founding and earliest hi ...
3, the Seleucid army was led by three generals:
Gorgias Gorgias ( ; ; – ) was an ancient Greek sophist, pre-Socratic philosopher, and rhetorician who was a native of Leontinoi in Sicily. Several doxographers report that he was a pupil of Empedocles, although he would only have been a few years ...
, Ptolemy son of Dorymenes, and Nicanor. However, the account in 1 Maccabees says nothing more specific of Nicanor's role, only describes Gorgias's actions in detail, and seems to imply Gorgias was in command. According to 2 Maccabees 8, Nicanor was appointed as leader of the expedition by the governor of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia named Ptolemy, although it is unclear if this governor was Ptolemy Macron or Ptolemy son of Dorymenes. 2 Maccabees does not describe any other commanders of the Seleucid force, although this may be more for literary reasons as the book is sketching out Nicanor's character arc for moral lessons, and thus the other commanders may have been considered off-topic. 2 Maccabees adds the detail that Nicanor plotted to raise money by using the army to enslave Jews and then sell them. This would be part of a scheme to pay off a 2,000 talent debt the Seleucids owed to the Roman Republic, presumably due to the terms of the
Treaty of Apamea The Treaty of Apamea was a peace treaty conducted in 188 BC between the Roman Republic and Antiochus III, ruler of the Seleucid Empire. It ended the Roman–Seleucid War. The treaty took place after Roman victories at the Battle of Thermopylae ( ...
. Regardless of the exact nature of the Seleucid command structure, the result of the expedition was the
Battle of Emmaus The Battle of Emmaus took place around September 165 BC during the Maccabean Revolt between Judean rebels, led by Judas Maccabeus (Judah Maccabee), and an expedition of Seleucid Empire forces under generals Gorgias, Ptolemy the son of Dorymenes, ...
around September 165 BCE, where the Maccabees won a surprising victory thanks to a daring night march and an early-morning assault on the Seleucid camp. The Seleucid army was forced to retreat, as was Nicanor.


During the reign of Demetrius

Nicanor is recorded as being active during the early reign of King
Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinization of names, Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male name, male Greek given names, given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, ...
. In either late 162 BCE or early 161 BCE, another Seleucid military expedition was sent to Judea, led by General Bacchides. 1 Maccabees does not record this expedition as being contested; the rebels were presumably rebuilding after their defeat at the Battle of Beth Zechariah. A new high priest, Alcimus was installed in Jerusalem. Bacchides returned to Antioch, but unrest led by Judas continued. Nicanor was sent to the province with a new military force and appointed as ''strategos'' (governor) of Judea. 2 Maccabees mentions a skirmish between forces led by
Simon Thassi Simon Thassi ( ''Šīməʿōn haTassī''; died 135) was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. Names The name "Thassi" has a connotation of "the Wise", a title which can also mean "the Director", "the Guide" ...
and Nicanor's troops at place called Dessau, but does not provide details beyond implying that the Seleucids won the battle, if inconclusively. As part of their role in Jerusalem, there appears to have been efforts to reach out and quiet the province, and bring moderate Hellenists back into loyalty with the Seleucid government. This included an attempt at negotiations with
Judas Maccabeus Judas Maccabaeus or Maccabeus ( ), also known as Judah Maccabee (), was a Jewish priest (''kohen'') and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167–160 BCE). The Jewish holiday of Hanukkah ("Ded ...
, the leader of the revolt. Here the accounts between 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees diverge somewhat. In the telling of 1 Maccabees, Nicanor is "one who hated Israel and was hostile to it" with orders to "wipe out the people", and is evil from the start. Judas was wary of the offer of negotiations and avoided some sort of trap Nicanor laid to capture him, and retreated to the countryside. Nicanor led a small group to fight a battle near Caphar-Salama, but Judas won, and the government troops retreated back to Jerusalem. In frustration, Nicanor went to the
Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...
and threatened the priests there to help him find Judas. He also made a blasphemous threat to burn the Temple down if Judas was not turned over. In the telling of 2 Maccabees 14, Nicanor had previously been a commander of Seleucid
war elephant A war elephant is an elephant that is Animal training, trained and guided by humans for combat purposes. Historically, the war elephant's main use was to charge (warfare), charge the enemy, break their ranks, and instill terror and fear. Elep ...
s before his governorship, perhaps loosely implying his participation at Beth Zechariah which saw war elephants used. However, relations are significantly more positive between Nicanor and Judas, with Judas being appointed some sort of government role as a deputy as part of peace negotiations, and the two becoming unlikely friends for a time. What disrupts this positive chance at peace is not the Greek Nicanor but rather a perfidious Jew in Alcimus, who complains to Demetrius that Nicanor has appointed Judas as his successor, and spreads wild accusations against Judas. Demetrius sends new orders to Nicanor to capture Judas and send him to Antioch. Judas realized that Nicanor was acting differently, and fled rather than be captured. 2 Maccabees agrees Nicanor threatened the priests at the Temple in a bid to find Judas, although adds the detail that he will erect a Temple to
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...
after burning the Temple down. After Nicanor takes the field, he and his Seleucid government-allied troops fight at Adasa. The result is the Battle of Adasa. It seems that Nicanor fell early in the battle, perhaps as a strategem of Judas's as Hellenistic-era commanders were often easy to identify. The rebels won the battle. Nicanor's corpse was desecrated and brought back to Jerusalem to be publicly displayed. In 1 Maccabees, it is Nicanor's head and right hand that are displayed. In 2 Maccabees, his head and arm are cut off, his tongue is cut out at the Temple as punishment for his blasphemy, and his head is hung from the walls.;


Legacy

A Jewish festival was declared on 13
Adar Adar (Hebrew: , ; from Akkadian ''adaru'') is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the religious year on the Hebrew calendar, roughly corresponding to the month of March in the Gregorian calendar. It is a month of 29 days. ...
, Nicanor's Day (''Yom Nicanor''), to celebrate the victory.


Analysis

2 Maccabees makes Nicanor a major focus of moral lessons delivered by the author. While most of the depiction is unobjectionable, some scholars prefer 1 Maccabees where they differ, as they suspect that literary considerations may have overwhelmed historical ones. For example, 2 Maccabees only mentioning Nicanor at Emmaus probably does not mean that the other commanders were not involved such as Gorgias. The view that favors 1 Maccabees would argue that Nicanor's arc in 2 Maccabees was done for literary reasons to portray a downfall. On the other hand, others have defended the historicity of the 2 Maccabees account of friendlier relations between Judas and Nicanor; the Hasmonean-supporting author of 1 Maccabees may have not wished to have portrayed the Hasmoneans as having been "fooled" by the Seleucid authorities given the later breakdown in relations. 2 Maccabees 12:1-2 mentions a person called "Nicanor the Cypriarch" when listing some enemies of the Jews stirring up trouble. Daniel R. Schwartz suggests this is the author using different titles to distinguish different people of the same name, and that the Nicanor referred to in 12:1-2 was the commander of some Cypriot mercenaries described earlier in 2 Maccabees Chapter 5. Others have interpreted the reference to suggest that perhaps the "main" Nicanor described in the work may have served as governor of
Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
in the past before his actions in Judea, or been otherwise associated with Cyprus, although Seleucid control of Cyprus was very brief. The historian
Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...
's work '' Jewish Antiquities'' describes Nicanor and the Battle of Adasa in Book 12, but does not add any detail on Nicanor not already in 1 Maccabees, which seems to have been Josephus's main source. In later writings of
Rabbinical Judaism Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabb ...
, Nicanor's Day is mentioned in
Megillat Taanit ''Megillat Taanit'' (), lit. ''"the Scroll of Fasting,"'' is an ancient text, in the form of a chronicle, which enumerates 35 eventful days on which Jews either performed glorious deeds or witnessed joyful events. Despite the scroll's name, thes ...
. Nicanor's Day is also discussed in the
Ta'anit A ta'anit or taynis (Biblical Hebrew ''taʿaniṯ'' or צוֹם ''ṣom'') is a fast in Judaism in which one abstains from all food and drink, including water. Purposes A Jewish fast may have one or more purposes, including: * Atonement for si ...
tractate of the Talmud, although its depiction of Nicanor is rather brief: it describes Nicanor making boastful oaths, being slain in battle, and his thumbs and toes being hung at the gates of Jerusalem.


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicanor 161 BC deaths People in the books of the Maccabees Seleucid generals Year of birth unknown