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Maccabean Revolt

Type Event Region Western Asia Time -167–-160

From 167 to 160 BCE, Seleucid King Antiochus IV's Hellenization policies and desecration of the Second Temple in Jerusalem sparked an armed revolt le…

Timeline

  1. -167Jerusalem · JerusalemAntiochus IV set up an altar to Zeus in the Second Temple and banned the practice of Jewish law, provoking widespread religious and national resistance.
  2. -167–-166Modi'in · JudeaThe priest Mattathias refused to sacrifice to Seleucid officials, killed the messenger and rose in revolt, proclaiming 'Whoever dies for the law shall live forever'; the Maccabee family's armed resistance thus began.
  3. -166–-160Judea · JudeaJudas Maccabeus led the rebels to successive victories over Seleucid forces using guerrilla tactics, recaptured Jerusalem and purified the Temple in 164 BCE, and was killed in the Battle of Elasa in 160 BCE.

Sources