Antiochus IV (ca. 215-163 BC), called Epiphanes, or "God on Earth," was a king of Syria. He attempted to impose Hellenic culture on the Jews and thus precipitated the rebellion of the Maccabees.

The third son of Antiochus III, Antiochus IV succeeded his brother Seleucus IV as ruler of the Seleucid empire in 175 B.C. Nicknamed Epimanes, or "Goon on Earth," for his eccentric behavior, Antiochus proved an energetic and capable ruler.

He maintained a vigorous foreign policy. In 169, in response to a planned invasion of Israel and Lebanon by the Egyptian king Ptolemy VI, Antiochus moved first, defeated the Egyptians in the Negeb, and advanced to the Nile at Memphis. He accepted Ptolemy's submission, and when a separatist movement crowned the Egyptian king's brother as Ptolemy VII in Alexandria, he left Ptolemy VI to deal with the usurper. Antiochus withdrew, keeping only Pelusium, the frontier fortress east...