The son of Antiochus
IV was still a minor when he inherited the Seleucid throne (164
BCE). He accompanied his guardian, Lysias, to Jerusalem
when the latter sought to reinforce the Greek garrison against Judah
Maccabee's seige. By the time they got there the Jewish rebels were in
control of the city. When Lysias agreed to a peace treaty that
granted Jews religious freedom, Antiochus violated the terms of that
agreement by ordering the imprisonment & execution of Honi, the Jewish high priest, &
the destruction of the city's
defenses. Before he could institute more repressive
measures his forces had to return to Antioch to ward off his cousin Demetrius'
challenge to his rule. But he was betrayed. Both he & his
guardian were executed by Demetrius.
References:
1 Maccabees 6:17-7:4
Josephus,
Antiquities
12.296, 360-390; 20.234-235.
______, War 1.40-47.
Appian,
History
of Rome: the Syrian Wars 46-47.
Other online resources: