The period chosen for this study is that represented by the global domination of Hellenism, from the conquest of Palestine by Alexander the Great in the second half of the fourth century BCE until the seizure of the land by the Arabs in the seventh century CE. The History of the Jews in Antiquity examines the political history of the Jewish people in Palestine in terms of political activity and more particularly social, economic and religious circumstances. The Jews of antiquity are presented as both the subject and the object of history as they attempt to achieve their political and social goals in a variety of changing circumstances.