The Seleucid Antiochus IV profoundly intervened in the cult of Jerusalem in 168 BC. Under the leadership of the Hasmoneans, an uprising developed against these interventions, which led to the restoration of the cult, the establishment of the Hasmoneans as high priests and the independence of Judea. Against the background of widely differing research positions, this study undertakes an integrative interpretation of the causes, development and consequences of the Hasmonaean uprising, interprets it as a historical process in the field of tension between religion and politics, and explores its significance for the discursive formation of Judaism.