To understand more fully the conflict between the Jews and Samaritans in the time of Maccabees, it is beneficial to see the broader picture of the national dynamics in the Middle and Far East. In the second half of the fourth century the domination of the Alexander the Great reached its summit. His premature death in 323 BC left a humongous empire without a leader. Eventually Alexander’s generals divided his empire among themselves. The area of the former Israelite kingdoms came under the control of Ptolemy, who ruled from Egypt. His approach toward the Jewish religion was lenient – he permitted the Jews to practice their religion without much interference. If the influence of the Hellenistic culture was visible, it was in the areas of cultural,