Judas Maccabeus (died 160 BC) was the leader of a Jewish revolt against the repressive policies of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the king of Syria.

Third son of Mattathias, the Hasmonean priest of Modin, Judas received the added name Maccabeus, generally believed to mean "Hammerer," because of the hammer blows dealt by Judas and his small and poorly equipped guerrilla bands of Jewish patriots against the well-equipped and well-trained Syrian army. The Syrians had been sent by Antiochus IV Epiphanes to Judea to suppress Judaism and supplant it with Greek paganism. This marked the first recorded war for religious freedom.

Judas, a remarkable strategist, succeeded by means of surprise attacks, ambush, and quick mobility of his forces in defeating a succession of Syrian generals. After several years of conflict Judas drove out his foes from Jerusalem, except for the garrison in the citadel of Acra. Judas then proceeded with a...