WThe Maccabees, also spelled Machabees, were a group of Jewish rebel warriors who took control of Judea, which at the time was part of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 167 BCE to 37 BCE, being a fully independent kingdom from about 110 to 63 BCE. They reasserted the Jewish religion, partly by forced conversion, expanded the boundaries of Judea by conquest and reduced the influence of Hellenism and Hellenistic Judaism.
WAlexandra the Maccabee was the daughter of Hyrcanus II, who was the son of Alexander Jannaeus. She married her cousin Alexander of Judaea, who was the son of Aristobulus II. Their grandfather was Alexander Jannaeus, the second eldest son of John Hyrcanus. Their daughter was the Hasmonean Mariamne and son was Aristobulus III.
WEleazar Avaran, also known as Eleazar Maccabeus, Eleazar Hachorani/Chorani was the fourth son of Mattathias and the younger brother of Judas Maccabeus. He was killed at the Battle of Beth-zechariah during the Maccabean revolt.
WJonathan Apphus was leader of the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. The name Apphus (Ἀπφοῦς) means "the diplomat", in allusion to a trait prominent in him.
WThe First Book of Maccabees, also called 1 Maccabees, is a book written in Hebrew by a Jewish author after the restoration of an independent Jewish kingdom by the Hasmonean dynasty, about the latter part of the 2nd century BC. The original Hebrew is lost and the most important surviving version is the Greek translation contained in the Septuagint. The book is held as canonical scripture by the Catholic, Orthodox, and Oriental Orthodox churches, but not by Protestant denominations nor any major branches of Judaism; it is not part of the Tanakh. Such Protestants consider it to be an apocryphal book.
WJudah Maccabee was a Jewish priest (kohen) and a son of the priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire.
WMattathias ben Johanan was a Kohen whose role in the religion-driven Maccabean Revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire is related in the Books of the Maccabees. Mattathias is accorded a central role in the story of Hanukkah and, as a result, is named in the Al HaNissim prayer Jews add to the Birkat Hamazon and the Amidah during the festival's eight days.
WSimon Thassi was the second son of Mattathias and thus a member of the Hasmonean family. The name "Thassi" has a connotation of "the Wise", a title that can also mean "the Director", "the Guide", "the Man of Counsel", and "the Zealous".