Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Antiochus IV was a son of Antiochus III the Great. After years connected with the political consequences of his father's defeat by Rome, he gained the Seleucid throne in 175 BC amid dynastic uncertainty. Antiochus pursued an energetic policy aimed at strengthening royal authority and campaigned successfully against Ptolemaic Egypt until Roman intervention forced his withdrawal. Judea meanwhile was divided by struggles involving the high priesthood and competing Jewish factions. Antiochus intervened repeatedly. After disturbances in Jerusalem, Seleucid forces violently suppressed opposition. Traditional Jewish practices such as circumcision and Sabbath observance were prohibited, copies of the Law were destroyed, and the Jerusalem Temple was profaned and redirected toward pagan worship. An altar associated with the 'abomination of desolation' was erected, and Jews were compelled to participate in practices contrary to the Law. Resistance erupted when the priest Mattathias refused royal commands at Modein. After his death, Judas Maccabeus led a successful military campaign that recovered Jerusalem and rededicated the Temple in 164 BC. Antiochus died during an eastern campaign before Seleucid power could extinguish the revolt.