ABSTRACT
The view that the Jews received a foedus at the time of Judas Maccabaeus has a long history and remains the current consensus. The treaty hypothesis has to be judged against what is known about Roman treaties, but generally there has been little discussion of the Roman State treaty or how it was formed. In the field of Roman Völkerrecht there is considerable material to enable a treaty to be recognised by its distinguishing characteristics, by the circumstances and methods in which it was concluded.
