Pre-Revolutionary (before 1917) Russian Historiography of the Hasmonean State: Directions, Themes, Researches

Abstract

In the paper Russian pre-revolutionary (before 1917) historiography of the Hasmonean state (167-63 BC) is considered. These works are divided by the author into four groups (categories) according to aims of the scholars within each group and their social-cultural environment. 1) “Theological” group is represented by the scientists from Orthodox seminaries and academies (T.I. Butkevich, I.G. Troitskiy, F.P. Arfaksadov et al.). These scholars referred to the history of Hasmoneans, which was already included in the historical narrative, for validate the biblical history within the Christian apologetics framework. 2) “Rational-critical” group is represented by the works of researchers who have received a university education and tended towards the materialistic concept of history. N.M. Nikolsky, A.I. Tyumenev and others embedded the content related to the Hasmonean state into formed by them rationalized concept of ancient and world history. 3) The “traditionalist” category merged articles and monographs of the bearers of the Jewish tradition, who had received both religious and secular education (S.M. Dubnov, M.Ya. Khashkes, Yu.I. Gessen, et al.). They referred to the Hasmonean history as to a period of Jewish independence and used it for the development of Jewish national secular identity in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, as well as for the popularization of Jewish history as an organic part of the general historical process. 4) The “foreign” group, unlike the others, is distinguished not by the goal-setting principle, but by its generic characteristics. This group includes pre-revolutionary publications of foreign researchers in Russian (F.W. Farrar, E. Renan, J. Wellhausen, H. Hertz, et al.), which were most often used by representatives of other groups. As a result of the study, the conclusion is made about the greatest viability of the “rational-critical group”, which was developed during the Soviet period, while most representatives of other categories were excluded from the scientific environment, changed their views, or became part of the “bourgeois” historical science.