Antiochus IV
| Antiochus IV Epiphanes | |
|---|---|
| Antíochos D' ho Epiphanḗs, "God Manifest" | |
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| Basileus of the Seleucid Empire (King of Syria) | |
| Reign | 175–164 BC |
| Predecessor | Seleucus IV Philopator or Heliodorus |
| Successor | Antiochus V Eupator |
| Born | c. 215 BC |
| Died | 164 BC (aged 50 or 51) |
| Wife | |
| Issue | Antiochus V Eupator, Laodice VI, Alexander Balas, Antiochis, and possibly Laodice (wife of Mithridates III of Pontus) |
| Dynasty | Seleucid |
| Father | Antiochus III the Great |
| Mother | Laodice III |
| Religion | Greek polytheism |
Antiochus IV Epiphanes (/ænˈtaɪ.əkəs ɛˈpɪfəniːz/; Ancient Greek: Ἀντίοχος Δ΄ ὁ Ἐπιφανής, Antíochos D' ho Epiphanḗs, "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – 164 BC) was a Hellenistic 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 ); he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne.
Notable events during the reign of Antiochus IV include his near-conquest of Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of Judea and Samaria, and the rebellion of the Jewish Maccabees.
Antiochus was the first Seleucid king to use divine epithets on coins, perhaps inspired by the 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.
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