"Sadducees"

The Sadducees were a sect of Jews active during the Second Temple period, from the second century BC to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. Theeys are described in contrast to the two other major sects at the time, the Pharisees and the Essenes.

Josephus associates the sect with the upper echelons of Judean society, and state that as a whole, they fulfilled various political, social, and religious roles, including maintaining the Temple in Jerusalem. The group became extinct sometime after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD.