Following their first conference and volume on peach and war, the Josephus Institute in Komárom organized second international conference on Josephus in 2024, this time on the topic of Josephus' account of the Maccabees. The selection of speakers include not only well-known scholars but also Central European scholars who have worked on the subject in depth. This has resulted in a truly colorful volume of studies that can be read not only by specialists but also by a wider readership interested in the subject.

In most cases, the literature on the books of the Maccabees considers Josephus as a supplementary source. In this volume, we take Josephus as our primary source and explore how and what he wrote about the Maccabees. With 11 essays in English and German and an introduction by Steve Mason on the history of research, this volume aims to bring the reader closer to Josephus' view of the Maccabees and his interpretation of these works.