Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( ; , " Antíochos Epiphanḗs " , " God Manifest " ; c . 215 BC – 164 BC ) was a Greek king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC . He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great . His original name was Mithradates ( alternative form " Mithridates " ) ; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne . Notable events during the reign of Antiochus IV include his near - conquest of Egypt , which led to a confrontation that became an origin of the metaphorical phrase , " line in the sand " ( see below ) , and the rebellion of the Jewish Maccabees . Antiochus was the first Seleucid king to use divine epithets on coins , perhaps inspired by Bactrian Hellenistic kings who had earlier done so , or else building on the ruler cult that his father Antiochus the Great had codified within the Seleucid Empire . These epithets included Θεὸς Ἐπιφανής ' manifest god ' , and , after his defeat of Egypt , Νικηφόρος ' bringer of victory ' . However , Antiochus also tried to interact with common people , by appearing in the public bath houses and applying for municipal offices , and his often eccentric behavior and capricious actions led some of his contemporaries to call him " Epimanes " ( " The Mad One " ) , a word play on his title " Epiphanes " . Rise to power . As the son and a potential successor of King Antiochus III , Antiochus became a political hostage of the Roman Republic following the Peace of Apamea in 188 BC . When his older brother , Seleucus IV followed his father onto the throne in 187 BC , Antiochus was exchanged for his nephew Demetrius I Soter ( the son and heir of Seleucus ) . After King Seleucus was assassinated by Heliodorus , a usurper , in 175 BC , Antiochus in turn ousted him . Since Seleucus ' legitimate heir , Demetrius I Soter , was still a hostage in Rome , Antiochus , with the help of King Eumenes II of Pergamum , seized the throne for himself , proclaiming himself co - regent for another son of Seleucus , an infant named Antiochus ( whom he then murdered a few years later ) . Wars against Egypt . When the guardians of King Ptolemy VI of Egypt demanded the return of Coele - Syria in 170 BC , Antiochus launched a preemptive strike against Egypt , conquering all but Alexandria and capturing King Ptolemy . To avoid alarming Rome , Antiochus allowed Ptolemy VI to continue ruling as a puppet king . Upon Antiochus ' withdrawal , the city of Alexandria chose a new king , one of Ptolemy ' s brothers , also named Ptolemy ( VIII Euergetes ) . Instead of fighting a civil war , the Ptolemy brothers agreed to rule Egypt jointly . In 168 BC Antiochus led a second attack on Egypt and also sent a fleet to capture Cyprus . Before reaching Alexandria , his path was blocked by a single , old Roman ambassador named Gaius Popillius Laenas , who delivered a message from the Roman Senate directing Antiochus to withdraw his armies from Egypt and Cyprus , or consider themselves in a state of war with the Roman Republic . Antiochus said he would discuss it with his council , whereupon the Roman envoy drew a line in the sand around him and said , " Before you cross this circle I want you to give me a reply for the Roman Senate " – implying that Rome would declare war if the King stepped out of the circle without committing to leave Egypt immediately . Weighing his options , Antiochus decided to withdraw . Only then did Popillius agree to shake hands with him . Sacking of Jerusalem and persecution of Jews . While Antiochus was busy in Egypt , a rumor spread that he had been killed . The deposed High Priest Jason gathered a force of 1 , 000 soldiers and made a surprise attack on the city of Jerusalem . The High Priest appointed by Antiochus , Menelaus , was forced to flee Jerusalem during a riot . On the King ' s return from Egypt in 167 BC enraged by his defeat , he attacked Jerusalem and restored Menelaus , then executed many Jews . To consolidate his empire and strengthen his hold over the region , Antiochus decided to side with the Hellenized Jews by outlawing Jewish religious rites and traditions kept by observant Jews and by ordering the worship of Zeus as the supreme god ( 2 Maccabees 6 : 1 – 12 ) . This was anathema to the Jews and when they refused , Antiochus sent an army to enforce his decree . Because of the resistance , the city was destroyed , many were slaughtered , and a military Greek citadel called the Acra was established . Maccabean revolt . The First and Second Book of Maccabees painted the Maccabean Revolt as a national resistance to a foreign political and cultural oppression . Modern scholars argue that the king was intervening in a civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem . According to Joseph P . Schultz : Modern scholarship on the other hand considers the Maccabean revolt less as an uprising against foreign oppression than as a civil war between the orthodox and reformist parties in the Jewish camp . It seems that the traditionalists , with Hebrew / Aramaic names like Onias , contested with the Hellenizers with Greek names like Jason and Menelaus over who would be the High Priest . Other authors point to possible socio / economic motives in addition to the religious motives behind the civil war . What began in many respects as a civil war escalated when the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria sided with the Hellenizing Jews in their conflict with the traditionalists . As the conflict escalated , Antiochus took the side of the Hellenizers by prohibiting the religious practices that the traditionalists had rallied around . This may explain why the king , in a total departure from Seleucid practice in all other places and times , banned the traditional religion of a whole people . Final years . Taking advantage of Antiochus ' western problems , King Mithridates I of Parthia attacked from the east and seized the city of Herat in 167 BC , disrupting the direct trade route to India and effectively splitting the Greek world in two . Recognizing the potential danger in the east , but unwilling to give up control of Judea , Antiochus sent a commander named Lysias to deal with the Maccabees , while the King himself led the main Seleucid army against the Parthians . After initial success in his eastern campaign , including the reoccupation of Armenia , Antiochus died suddenly of disease in 164 BC . Legacy . The reign of Antiochus was the last period of real strength for the Seleucid Dynasty , but in some ways his rule was also fatal to the Empire . Antiochus IV was a usurper and left an infant son named Antiochus V Eupator as his only heir . The result was a series of civil wars between rival claimants to the throne , effectively crippling the Empire during a critical phase in the wars against Parthia . Jewish tradition . Antiochus IV ruled the Jews from 175 to 164 BC . He is remembered as a major villain and persecutor in the Jewish traditions associated with Hanukkah , including the books of Maccabees and the " Scroll of Antiochus " . Rabbinical sources refer to him as הרשע " harasha " ( " the wicked " ) . Book of Daniel . A number of historical critical scholars and Jewish commentaries view the Book of Daniel as being written during the time of Antiochus IV , with the prophetic visions describing him . Most Christian biblical scholars consider the Book of Daniel to be authentic , written by Daniel during his lifetime , with the prophetic visions relating to Antiochus IV also written before the historical events now known , a belief that is supported by the partial fulfillment of the prophesies contained in Daniel 9 which predict the coming of " Messiah the Prince " to the day of Palm Sunday , April 6 , 32 AD . Antiochus is seen as the " little horn " of Daniel 8 , the " prince who is to come " of Daniel 9 , and the final " King of the North " of Daniel 11 . Antiochus should not be seen as the " little horn " of Daniel 7 , for that " horn " arose from the fourth beast , or the fourth world empire , which is a world empire after Greece . The world empires of Medo - Persia and Greece are identified directly in Daniel 8 , symbolized by the ram ( Medo - Persia ) and the male goat ( Greece ) , with the first king of the Greek empire correlating to Alexander . After the great horn is broken while at the peak of its power ( Alexander dies ) , four other horns arise " toward the four winds of heaven " , correlating to the division of Alexander ' s empire among four of his generals , one of which was Seleucus . Then a " little horn " emerges from one of those horns and grows powerful , arrogant , and boastful against heaven , removes the daily sacrifices ( the Continual ) , casts down the place of the sanctuary , casts down the truth to the ground , and yet continues to prosper with apparent impunity . The character and actions of this " little horn " correlate with the character and actions of Antiochus IV Epiphanes .