This book is a complete of my Ph.D. dissertation. Neither the dissertation nor this book could have been written without help and wise instruction.
The wars that periodically engulfed the Levant in the fourth century temporarily pulled the ruling governors and satraps away from Judah, and during these times, the Judaean priesthood may have capitalized on the brief absence of Persian officials to mint coins, but they achieved their longed-for independence only much later, under the Maccabees."--BOOK JACKET.