Antiochus III


Antiochus III the Great of Syria

When Ptolemy V Epiphanes (204-180 B.C.) suddenly died, he annexed Judea. An Egyptian army moved to check his advance but was defeated near Sidon in 198 B.C., after which Judea became part of the Seleucid kingdom.

Despite having firm political control over the country, Antiochus demonstrated tolerance towards the Jews, maintaining a governance approach similar to the previous Egyptian rulers.

Eventually, civil strife throughout the Near East toward the end of the Greek period attracted the attention of the Romans, who were coming to the forefront as a military and political power. Roman legions entered Asia Minor in 197 B.C. and were attacked by the Syrians. After a long campaign, Scipio Africanus crushed Syrian forces at Magnesia in 190 B.C., paving the way for further Roman advances into Palestine.

(The Origin of the Bible: Newly Updated by F. F. Bruce, J. I. Packer, Philip W. Comfort, and Carl F. H. Henry, 2020. Old Testament and New Testament Apocrypha by R. K. Harrison, Page 80-81.)