Battle of Beth Zur
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Beth Zur was fought between the Maccabees
led by Judas Maccabeus
and a Seleucid Greek
army led by Viceroy Lysias
in 164 BCE. Maccabeus won the battle, and was able to recapture Jerusalem soon after. The Jews did not fight in open terrain; they used guerrilla and hit and run tactics to slowly beat back the Seleucid army and eventually routing it.
Maccabees
The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...
led by Judas Maccabeus
Judas Maccabeus
Judah Maccabee was a Kohen and a son of the Jewish priest Mattathias...
and a Seleucid Greek
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
army led by Viceroy Lysias
Lysias (Syrian chancellor)
Lysias, or Lusias was a 2nd century Seleucid General and governor of Syria under the Seleucid Empire.He was described as, "A noble man, and one of the blood royal"...
in 164 BCE. Maccabeus won the battle, and was able to recapture Jerusalem soon after. The Jews did not fight in open terrain; they used guerrilla and hit and run tactics to slowly beat back the Seleucid army and eventually routing it.