In the current chapter we will deal with the simplification of the secret of Jason's request from the Seleucid king - "... and to register the people of Jerusalem to the people of Antioch".
The presence of the word "and to record" has, as expected, caused a dispute between different researchers: some have claimed that this record proves that a Greek society (corporation) was founded in Jerusalem, which was named after King Antiochus, and whose center was the gymnasium, and the foundation of this society, does not mean the founding of a city, and on Yes, Jerusalem's self-existence was not abolished. Some assumed that this was a symbolic expression of a deeper content - the declaration of the residents of Jerusalem as Antiochians, the "Antiochians in Jerusalem", which constitute a Greek city of polis. That is, the new city absorbed all of Jerusalem into it.
In my humble opinion, it is not possible to separate the trial in question from the sporting games in Tire (a subject that will be discussed in one of the following chapters), when Yason sends "Antiochian observers on behalf of Jerusalem" to these events. And the gradual progression was as follows: Jason the Third gave a huge sum to the coffers of the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV "Epiphanes", in order to get official approval for the construction of the Gymnasium and Epibion (first stage); Registering the people of Jerusalem for the people of Antioch (second stage) and sending the delegation to the Tire Games (third stage).
The approval was given to Jason and indeed he established the gymnasium, registered the people of Jerusalem to the people of Antioch and then could send "Antiochian observers in the name of Jerusalem" (more on this later in the series) to the games of Tyre.
The establishment of the gymnasium dates back to 175 BC (or very close to this date) - a year in which the Games of Tire took place. The closeness of this affair is interesting. There is no doubt that Jason accelerated the way, since the Tire Games were to be held in the same year, i.e. 175 BC, when shortly before Jason sent his request to Antiochus IV (the same king who was to honor the Tire Games with his presence and serve as "president of the games"). These games, which were held once every four years, in a sort of Olympic format, were therefore important to Jason, as someone who sought for various reasons - personal, political and socio-economic - to bring his people (and especially the Jerusalem aristocracy) under the wings of Hellenization. It would therefore be a very wise act to hurry up and win the royal approval for the construction of the gymnasium and to prepare the "Jerusalem team" for the competitions in Tzur, and not to wait another four years.
What emerges from what has been said so far (the gradualness of the payment process, the approval for the establishment of a gymnasium and an apivion and the registration of the people of Jerusalem to the people of Antioch), which for obvious reasons was accelerated, advanced us by one step, but the main problem still remains in examining the mystery, which is the clarification of the essence of the "registration" in question.
It seems to me that the above "listing" should not be derived from the name Antiochus (the Seleucid king), but from the city of Antioch and especially from the Jews of the city of Antioch who received political rights in the city of Antioch. Josephus emphasizes in his treatise against characterization (39 281) that "our settlers (the Jews) in Antioch were called Antiochians, because the founder (king) Seleucus gave them Politaya". This section may shed light on the issue of the relationship between the "registration" and the Jews of Antioch, since the same "politaia" given to the Jews of Antioch (by Seleucus I, 301-XNUMX BC) involved Jewish gymnasium activity (and it should be noted, for the subject of our study, that The victory of the Jews of Alexandria and Kyrenia in "Polytaea" also involved gymnasium activity).
And we will return to Jerusalem. Jason, within the framework of the Hellenistic reform he proposed, acted gradually in three proactive stages: Kershith - receiving approval for the establishment of a gymnasium and an apebion, second - registering the people of Jerusalem with the people of Antioch and third - sending the delegation of the "Antiochians" to the games of Tyre. In the aforementioned "registration" I see an important step towards receiving a kind of civil rights for that Jerusalem aristocratic stratum (which was tied up in the gymnasium), which Asson was at the head of. This "registration" was in consideration of an alliance between the Jerusalem aristocracy and the Jews of Antioch who had already won "politaia" (in connection with gymnasium activity) (and it should be noted that the Jews of Antioch maintained contact with Jerusalem during the period in question), and in a broader sense between the city of Jerusalem and the city of Antioch, and only after The above listing could have been a disaster for sending an official delegation from Jerusalem to the sports games that took place in Tyre.
And as for the overall historical perspective, it can be said that Antiochus IV did not give Jerusalem the status of a Hellenistic polis at all (for obvious reasons), but on the other hand, he did not want to stop the flow of Hellenization in Judea. Therefore, he was ready to link the Jews of Jerusalem (especially the aristocracy who were involved in the gymnasium activity) with their brothers in Antioch, who won the Politaya (twin cities exam) and thereby held the staff at both ends.
And on behalf of Jason - it was important for him to tie the fate of Jerusalem with the Hellenistic mother city that served as the center of power of the Seleucid Hellenistic kingdom, and thereby raise the prestige and prestige of Jerusalem (which had fallen in its Hellenistic-political status from other polis cities in the region such as Marisha, Ptolemais ( Acre), Neapolis (Naples) and more) in the eyes of the Seleucid government.
This match, between the Jerusalem aristocracy and Antioch, seems to me, as mentioned above, to be closely related to the Tyre Games, the great sporting event held in the central Seleucid city. It was very important for Jason, from a personal-prestigious point of view and from the Hellenistic circumstances (political and socio-economic motives) to send the delegation from Jerusalem to the Tire Games ("Five-Year-Games")
who were supposed to be honored in the presence of the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV. This delegation was "Antiochian", we were made up of representatives of Jerusalemites who were registered as "Antiochians".
In conclusion, it is said that the above "record" should not be seen except in the correct historical perspective. The one that weaves together the events of the period, gradually. The "registration" was nothing more than a necessary step that promoted the Hellenistic reform, the fruit of Jason's work. This "registration" is related to our issue of sending the delegation to the sports games and competitions in Hellenistic Tyre.
