Battle of Beth-zechariah

Battle of Beth-Zechariah
Part of the Maccabean Revolt
Date 162 BCE Location Beth-Zechariah, near modern day Alon Shvut, West Bank Coordinates: 31°39′50.40″N 35°07′23.70″E / 31.6640000°N 35.1232500°E / 31.6640000; 35.1232500 Result Seleucid Victory
Belligerents
Maccabean army	Seleucid Empire
Commanders and leaders
Judah Maccabee Eleazar Horan  †	Lysias
Strength
Est. 20,000 infantry	Est. 50,000 infantry, 30 war elephants, more than 5,000 cavalry

The Battle of Beth-Zechariah was fought between the Jewish Maccabeans and Seleucid Greek forces during the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire.

In 164 BCE, Judah Maccabee crushed the numerically superior Greeks under Lysias at the Battle of Beth Zur and restored the temple in Jerusalem. However, Seleucid forces still controlled the Acra, a strong fortress within the city that faced the Temple Mount and served as a symbol to remind the Jews that their land was still occupied. Taking advantage of bitter rivalry between Lysias and the recently deceased emperor's regent, Philip, Judah laid siege to the fortress in 162 BC. However, Lysias did the unexpected and left Antioch and his dispute with Philip and took the field against the Maccabean army.

With an army of about 50,000 infantry and thirty war elephants, along with cavalry and chariots, Lysias approached Jerusalem from the south and besieged Beth-zur, eighteen miles from the city. Judah lifted his own siege on The Acra, and led his army south to Beth-Zechariah. The Jewish force of about 20,000 positioned itself on the high ground across the road to Jerusalem — directly in the path of the Syrian-Seleucid army.

As told in 1 Maccabees 6, after capturing Beth-Zur, Lysias' force marched on Beth-Zechariah, with war elephants and light infantry at the helm of the main attack and heavy cavalry anchoring the flanks on high ground. In the centre rear marched the shock troops—the heavy infantry—in phalanx formation. Judah did not defer to his usual guerrilla tactics because he felt that his past success with them was cause for the Syrians to expect a non-traditional defence. He therefore used traditional field tactics and fought the Syrians in their own fashion. The result was a defeat for the Jews.

...
Wikipedia