Signatories of the Act of Independence of Lithuania recognition. The signatories succeeded in their mission and independent Lithuania survived until the Soviet Union occupied the state on June 15, 1940. Their political, professional, and social backgrounds were diverse. Several rose to political prominence; Antanas Smetona and Aleksandras Stulginskis were later elected Presidents of Lithuania and Jonas Vileišis went on to become mayor of Kaunas, the temporary capital of Lithuania. After Lithuania lost its independence during World War II, six of the surviving signatories were sent to prison or executed by the Soviet government and six others emigrated to Western countries. The signatories came from a variety of social
Jerusalem during the Second Temple Period esteemed elders. To emphasize popular legitimacy and support for his appointment, Simon established a grand tribunal which would later be known as the Great Sanhedrin. The Hasmonean leader was at once the high priest (despite not being thought to be of the Zadok family), the supreme military leader as well as the "Nasi" of the Jews. For the first time, both religious and political leadership rested with one man. The Maccabees were able to exploit the internal conflicts plaguing both Seleucid and Ptolemaic kingdoms to expand the territory under their control. Jerusalem evolved from the capital of a small Jewish