 A large image of the 'Attack on Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes'. The Leiden I Maccabees manuscript / Codex Per F 17. Featuring an attack on a castle. |
29 Two years later the king sent to the cities of Judah a chief collector of tribute, and he came to Jerusalem with a large force. 30 Deceitfully he spoke peaceable words to them, and they believed him; but he suddenly fell upon the city, dealt it a severe blow, and destroyed many people of Israel. 31 He plundered the city, burned it with fire, and tore down its houses and its surrounding walls. 32 They took captive the women and children, and seized the livestock.
(I Maccabees 1:29-32)
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A large image of the 'Attack on Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes'. The Leiden I Maccabees manuscript / Codex Per F 17. Featuring an attack on a castle. |
Book of Maccabees I, Saint Gall, Switzerland, second half of 9th–early 10th century, Universiteitsbibliotheek, Leiden, Codex Perizoni
This codex contains the first book of Maccabees and the fourth book of the Epitoma Rei Militaris by Vegetius. It was probably started in the Abbey of Saint Gall and finished at the Abbey of Reichenau. It is famous for its 28 illuminated pages, thought to be early depictions of a historical battle: the incursions of the Magyars in southern Germany.
Referenced on p.52, Carolingian Cavalryman AD 768-986 by D. Nicolle
Another illustration in the early 10th-century Book of Maccabees from St Gall includes armoured and unarmoured troops, though most have two-piece rounded helmets. (Book of Maccabees, Universiteitsbibliotheek, Ms. Periz. Eli, Leiden, Netherlands)