ASSIDEANS, or CHASIDEANS (from the Hebrew chasideim, merciful, pious), those Jews who resorted to Mattathias the father of the Maccabees, to fight for the law of God and the liberties of their country. After the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity, there were two sorts of men in their church,—those who contented themselves with that obedience only which was prescribed by the law of Moses, and who were called Zadikim, i.e., the righteous,—and those who, over and above the law, superadded the constitutions and traditions of the elders, and other rigorous observances: these latter were called Chasideim, i.e., the pious. From the former sprung the Samaritans, Sadducees, and Caraites; from the latter the Pharisees and the Essenes. See 1st Macc. ii. vii.; 2d Macc. xiv. The name of Chasideim has also been assumed by a Jewish sect which originated in Poland about a century ago, and still exists.