many centuries before as the site of Joshua's great vic- tory over the allied forces of the Canaanites, was des- tined now to -ivitncss a victor}' scarcely less glorious, wrought Ijy a small band of Jews, spent and hungry, against the disciplined troops of Syria. Seron was com- pletely overthrown, and his army scattered. Antiochus, though greatly enraged at this dishonor to his arms, was nevertheless compelled, by the condition of his treas- ury, to undertake an expedition to Armenia and Persia, with a view to recruiting his exhausted finances (1 Mace, iii, 27-31). He therefore left Lysias, one of his highest lieutenants, to take charge of his kingdom, from the Kiver Euphrates to the confines of Egypt, and having intrusted his son Antiochus to his care, and enjoined Lysias to conquer Juda;a and destroy the nation of the Jews, he went into Persia. The success of Judas called for immediate attention. The governor of Jerusalem was urgent in his entreaties for assistance ; Lysias there- fore sent an army of 20,000 men, under the command of Nicanor and Gorgias, into Juda;a. It was followed by another of the same number, with an addition of 7000 horse, under Ptolemy Macron, the son of Dorymenes, as commander-in-chief. The united forces encamped in the plains of Emmaus. To oppose this formidable host Judas could only muster GOOO men at Mizpeh. Here, as Samuel had done a thousand years before at a like period of national calamity, he fasted and prayed, and, in compliance with the Mosaic injunction, advised those who were newly married, or had built houses, and the like, to return to their homes. This reduced his num- ber to one half. The lioroic spirit of Judas, however, rose against ever}- difficulty, and he marched towards Emmaus. B.C. IGG. Having heard that Gorgias had been dispatched with a force of GOOO men to surprise him in the passes by night, he instantly resolved to attack the enemies' camp. He rushed upon them unexpect- edly, and completely routed them ; so that when Gor- gias returned, baffled and weary, he was dismayed at finding his camp in flames. In the brief struggle which ensued the Jews were victorious, and took much spoil. The year following, Lysias gathered together an army of 60,000 chosen men, with 5000 horse, went up in per- son to the hill-country of Judtea, and pitched his camp at a place called Bethsura, the Bethzur of the Old Test. Here Judas met him with 10,000 men, attacked his van- guard, and slew 5000 of them, whereupon Lysias retreat- ed with the remainder of his army to Antioch. After this series of triumphs Judas proceeded to Jerusalem. There he found the sanctuary desolate, shrubs growing in the courts of it, and the chambers of the priests thrown down ; so he set to work at once to purify the holy places and restore the worship of God (1 Mace, iv, 3G, 41-53) on the 25th of Kislev, exactly three years after its profa- nation (1 Mace, i, 59; Grimm on 1 Mace, iv, 59). In commemoration of this cleansing of the Temple, the Jews afterwards kept for eight days annually a festival which was called Lights, and was known as the Feast of Dedi- cation (John X, 22). See Dedication, Feast of. Ju- das, having strongly fortified the citadel of Mount Zion, and placed a garrison at Bethsura, made an expedition into Idumrea. The Syrians meanwhile, frustrated in their efforts against Judiea, turned their attention to Galilee and the pro's-inces beyond Jordan. A large army from Tyre and Ptolemais attacked the north, and Timo- thcus laid waste Gilead, whereupon Judas determined to divide his army into three. He himself, with Jona- than, led 8000 men across the Jordan into Gilead ; his brother Simon he sent with 3000 into Galilee; and tho rest he left behind, under the command of Joseph, the son of Zacharias, and Azarias, for the protection of Ju- d;va,with strict injunctions to act only on the defensive. These orders, however, they imprudently violatca by an attack upon the sca-i>ortJamnia, where they met with a signal repulse. But the JIaccabeos in Gilead and Gali- lee were triumphant as usual, and added to tlieir renown. Antiochus Epiphanes, meanwhile, had died in his Per- sian expedition, B.C. 1G4, and Lysias immediately pro-
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claimed his son, Antiochus Eupator, king, the true heir, Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, being a hostage at Kome. One of the first acts of Lysias was directed against the Jews. He assembled an enormous army of 100,000 men and 32 elephants, and proceeded to invest Bethsura. The city defended itself gallantly. Judas marched from Jerusalem to relieve it, and slew about 5000 of the Syr- ians. It was upon this occasion that his brother Elea- zar sacrificed himself by rushing under an elephant which he supposed carried the young king, and stab- bing it in the belly, so that it fell upon him. The Jews, however, were compelled to retreat to Jerusalem, where- upon Bethsura surrendered, and the royal army ad- vanced to besiege the capital. Here, the siege was re- sisted with vigor, but the defenders of the city suifered from straitness of provisions, because of its being the sabbatical year. They would therefore have had to surrender; but Lysias was recalled to Antioch bj- reports of an insurrection under Philip, who, at the death of Antiochus, had been appointed guardian of the young king. He was consequently glad to make proposals of peace, •which were as readily accepted by the Jews. He had no sooner, however, effected an entrance into the city than he violated his engagements by destroying the fortifications, and immediately set out with all haste for the north. There Demetrius Soter, the lawful heir to the Syrian throne, encountered him, and, after a strug- gle, Antiochus and Lysias were slain, leaving Demetrius in undisputed possession of the kingdom.