Seleucid Rulers

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Seleucus IV Philopator
Regnal Name: Seleucus IV Philopator

Seleucid Empire and Judea

187-175 BC

Seleucid king burdened by the Roman indemnity whose reign immediately preceded Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

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Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Regnal Name: Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Seleucid Empire and Judea

175-164 BC

Seleucid king whose persecution of Jewish religious practice and desecration of the Jerusalem Temple provoked the Maccabean revolt.

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Antiochus V Eupator
Regnal Name: Antiochus V Eupator

Seleucid Empire and Judea

164-161 BC

Young son of Antiochus IV whose regency continued the Seleucid war against the Maccabees.

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The Seleucid Empire emerged from the division of Alexander the Great's conquests and became one of the largest powers of the Hellenistic world. Founded by Seleucus I Nicator, it controlled territories stretching from Syria and Mesopotamia deep into Asia. The Seleucids repeatedly competed with Ptolemaic Egypt, particularly for control of Coele-Syria and Judea. After the victory of Antiochus III the Great over the Ptolemies around 200 BC, Judea passed firmly under Seleucid authority.

Relations with the Jewish population deteriorated dramatically under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Political conflict within Judea was followed by restrictions on traditional Jewish worship and the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple in 167 BC. These actions provoked the Maccabean Revolt, led initially by Mattathias and his sons. The Temple was recaptured and rededicated in 164 BC, an event commemorated by Hanukkah. Continued Seleucid civil wars allowed Jonathan, Simon, and later John Hyrcanus I to expand Jewish autonomy. By the late second century BC, weakening Seleucid power had enabled the Hasmoneans to establish an effectively independent Jewish state.