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Another Antiochus IV Epiphanes was king in Commagene under Caligula and Claudius.

Coin of Antiochus IV. Reverse shows Apollo seated on an omphalos. The Greek inscription reads "ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ" (Antiochus, image of God, bearer of victory).

Antiochus IV Epiphanes ([ænˈtɑi̯əkəs.ɛˈpɪfəniːz] Αντίοχος Επιφανής, Greek: "The Shining One") (ca. 215–164 BC) ruled the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death.

He was a son of Antiochus III the Great and brother of Seleucus IV Philopator. Originally named Mithradates, he assumed the name Antiochus either upon his accession to the throne or after the death of his elder brother Antiochus. Notable events during his reign include the near-conquest of Egypt, which was halted by the threat of Roman intervention, and the beginning of the Jewish revolt of the Maccabees.

Antiochus took power after the death of Seleucus Philopator. He had been hostage in Rome following the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC, but had recently been exchanged for the son and rightful heir of Seleucus IV, the later Demetrius I Soter. Antiochus took advantage of this situation, and proclaimed himself co-regent with another of Seleucus' sons, the infant Antiochus, whose murder he orchestrated a few years later.

Because the guardians of Ptolemy VI of Egypt were demanding the return of Coele-Syria, Antiochus, in 170 BC, decided on a preemptive strike against Egypt, and invaded, conquering all but Alexandria. He then captured Ptolemy, and agreed to let him continue as King, but as his puppet. (This had the advantage of not alarming Rome.) Alexandria thereupon chose Ptolemy's brother Ptolemy Euergetes as King. In Antiochus' absence, the two brothers agreed to rule jointly.

Hence, in 168 BC, Antiochus again invaded, and overran all Egypt, except for Alexandria, while his fleet captured Cyprus. Near Alexandria he was met by Gaius Popillius Laenas, who told him that he must immediately withdraw from Egypt and Cyprus. Antiochus said he would discuss it with his council, whereupon the Roman envoy drew round him a line in the sand, and said, "Before you cross this circle I want you to give me a reply for the Roman senate" -- implying that, were he to step out of the circle without an immediate commitment to withdraw from Egypt, the Syrian king would find himself at war with Rome. Being ambitious but not foolhardy, Antiochus promised to withdraw; only then did Popillius agree to shake hands with him.

Antiochus' humilation at Egypt was followed by the most well-remembered aspect of his policy, namely his confrontation with the Jews, which ignited their uprising under the Maccabean leaders. Aside from their interest for Jewish and Seleucid history, these events are of interest as among the first instances in world history of religious persecution, a hitherto nearly unknown phemomenon which would in coming centuries assume an important role in human affairs.

As depicted in the Books of the Maccabees, upon his return from Egypt, Antiochus IV organized an expedition against Jerusalem, which he destroyed; he put many of its inhabitants to death most cruelly. He had soldiers enter the Jewish Temple and slaughter a pig (which is impure by the Jewish law) on the altar of the Lord. They set the pig ablaze and then took the meat and tried to make some Jewish men eat it. The men refused and he cut their tongues out, scalped them, cut off their hands and feet, and burnt them on the altar of the Lord.^{[citation needed]}

After this, the Jews began a war of independence under their Maccabean leaders, defeating the armies that Antiochus sent against them. Enraged at this, Antiochus is said to have marched against them in person, threatening to exterminate the nation; but, on the way, he suddenly died (164 BC).^{[citation needed]} The Jewish accounts are in the Books of the Maccabees, and their successful revolt is commemorated by the holiday of Hanukkah.

Antiochus committed an extreme provocation against a subject people which had hitherto been quite content to live under Seleucid rule. His goal was to wholly assimilate and Hellenize the Jewish state into Greek culture and remove the identity of the Jewish people as Jewish -- an act that set off a rebellion which further undermined the Seleucid regime and provided the Romans with new possibilities of driving a wedge by allying themselves with the rebellious Jews.

Some contemporaries mockingly referred to Antiochus as Epimanes ("The Mad One"), a word play off of his title Epiphanes ("The Illustrious")^[1]. Modern historians, however, do not see a possible mental aberration as sufficient explanation for his treatment of the Jews, and sources giving Antiochus' own version are virtually non-existent.

One theory fitting the facts, held by several historians, is that following his humbling by the Romans Antiochus sought to strengthen his kingdom through the common worship of Zeus -- identified, through the syncretism common in the Hellenistic world, with the chief god of each subject people; and that, while others were able to accommodate themselves to this idea, to the Jews it was anathema. This is supported by Beavan's numismatic research showing that under Antiochus IV, Zeus replaced Apollo, who had been the main deity depicted on earlier Seleucid coinage.

According to this explanation, what was for the Jews an objection derived from religious principle was perceived by the king primarily as a political act of rebellion and defiance of his royal authority, to be punished as such. (Similar explanations have been offered for the Roman Empire's later conflict with both Jews and Christians.)

Antiochus' last years were spent on a campaign against the rising Parthian empire, which seems to have been initially successful, but which terminated upon his death. He died on that campaign in Persia in 164 B.C. of disease.

The reign of Antiochus was a last period of strength for the Seleucid Empire, but in some ways it was fatal; since he was a usurper and left an infant son Antiochus V Eupator as his successor, devastating dynastic wars followed upon his death.

Antiochus IV is still remembered in Jewish tradition (usually mentioned as just "Antiochus," since Jews had no special reason to remember other kings of that name) as one of the major villains and persecutors of Jews, some of whom are linked with a specific Jewish holiday (in this case Hanukkah).

• Book of Daniel
• 1 Maccabees
• Abomination of desolation

• Antiochus IV Ephiphanes entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Antiochus IV Epiphanes

1. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Antiochus IV Epiphanes