JUDAS MACCAB2EUS, Jewish warrior and national hero, who flourished in the 2d century B.C. He was one of five sons of Mattathias, a Joarib priest of Modin, not far from Jerusalem. The father, in 168, killed the officer in command of the troops sent to Modin to overthrow the Jewish religion, and, with his five sons, took to the mountains. On the death of Mattathias, shortly afterward, Judas became the recognized leader of the revolt, which he managed with very great skill and military wisdom which enabled him to de feat, in succession, four Syrian armies, each of them much stronger and better armed than his own mountaineers. After three years' success ful warfare he again established the head quarters of the Jewish faith in the temple at Jerusalem. ludas Maccabmus disputes with David the honor of being the greatest of the Jewish national military heroes. In so high esteem was he held that the memory of his great achievement was kept green by means of a commemoration service in the annual Feast of Dedication. His brothers, too, seem to have been highly honored on account of. the heroic part they had all played in the war of liberation; and one of them, Jonathan, became high priest. Under the leadership of Judas Maccabxus, the Jews undertook extensive mili tary campaigns against their enemies on all sides, and with signal success which resulted in the conquest of some and the punishment of others. These warlike expeditions reached into the territory of the Arabs. In 164 P.c. Lysias, the guardian of Antiochtts V, determined to punish this activity of theJews; and to this end he marched. against Jerusalem with a
picked force of 100,000. Judas found himself unable to oppose a force so much larger than his own. But chance came to his aid: in the shape of troubles in Antioch which forced the return of Lysias. Taking advantage of the circumstance and the occasion, Judas secured from the Syrian government recognition of the rights of the Jews to exercise their own re ligious worship. In the eyes of his followers, this was perhaps his greatest victory. But not content with this, he attempted to secure the recognition of the political independence of his country. But the intrigues of the Syrian party in Jerusalem and the quarrels among his own people weakened his own power in both a moral and a military sense. Though he signally defeated a Syrian army under Nicanor and fought a very successful campaign (163-62 }Lc.) the discontent at home increased and tended greatly to weaken his organization and mili tary strength to resist a second and still more formidable Syrian army, against which he fell in battle at Elasa (161 a.c.). He was suc ceeded by his brother Jonathan, the high priest (q.v.). See MACCABEES.
Bibliography.—Josephus, I and ; Schiirer, Emil, tory of the Jewish People in the Time of Jesus (5 vols., New York 1896) ; Stade, des Volkes Israel) (Berlin 1888) Streane, The Age of the (Lon don 1898) ; Weiss, H., Makkabrus) (Freiburg 1897) • Wellhausen, and Jiidische GesChichte) (Berlin 1898).