These 1st & 2nd century B.C. Jewish patriots were active in liberating Judea from Syrian rule
The 
Maccabees were a family of Jews who resisted the authority of... [DOC] [TLE] HISTORY OF SYRIA AND PALESTINE - History World [PAR] Then, for some 700 years from the 1st century BC, the Roman and Byzantine 
empires ... Of these it is Jerusalem which has a turbulent history in Roman times.