Hellenistic Inter-state Political Ethics and the Emergence of the Jewish State

Against the background of a reconstructed inter-state ethical code the rise of the Hasmoneans Judea's ruling dynasty is given a new perspective. Doron Mendels explores how concepts such as liberty justice fairness loyalty reciprocity adherence to ancestral laws compassion accountability and love of fatherland became meaningful in the relations between nations in the Hellenistic Mediterranean sphere as well as between ruling empires and their subject states. The emerging Jewish state echoed this ethical system.