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Antiochus IV
Antiochus IV (Antiochus Epiphanes) , d. 163 BC, king of Syria (175 BC-163 BC), son of Antiochus III and successor of his brother Seleucus IV. His nephew (later Demetrius I) was held as a hostage in Rome, although still claiming the throne. Antiochus is best known for his attempt to Hellenize Judae...
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Antiochus III
Antiochus III (Antiochus the Great), d. 187 BC, king of Syria (223-187 BC), son of Seleucus II and younger brother of Seleucus III, whom he succeeded. At his accession the Seleucid empire was in decline. Although Antiochus did not succeed in totally restoring the greatness of the Seleucid dynasty, ...
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Demetrius I
Demetrius I (Demetrius Soter) , c.187-150 BC, king of ancient Syria (162-150 BC), son of Seleucus IV. He was sent as a hostage to Rome, where he remained during the reigns of his father and his uncle Antiochus IV. After Antiochus died, he was succeeded by his son Antiochus V, but Demetrius escaped...
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Pamphylia
Pamphylia , ancient region of S Asia Minor, on the coast between Lycia and Cilicia, in present S Turkey. Its chief cities were Attalia, Side, and Perga. Pamphylia was not a political unit, except in the provincial administration of Rome, to which it passed after the surrender (188 BC) of Antiochus ...
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Maccabees
Maccabees two books included in the Septuagint and placed as the last two books in the Old Testament of the Vulgate; they are not included in the Hebrew Bible and are placed in the Apocrypha in Protestant Bibles. First and Second Maccabees are both historical narratives. First Maccabees was origi...
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Demetrius II
Demetrius II (Demetrius Nicator) , d. c.125 BC, king of ancient Syria, son of Demetrius I. He was aided against the usurper, Alexander Balas, by Ptolemy VI (Ptolemy Philometer). He married Ptolemy's daughter, Cleopatra Thea, even though she was already married to Alexander Balas. Demetrius ascende...
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Maccabees
Maccabees or Machabees , Jewish family of the 2d and 1st cent. BC that brought about a restoration of Jewish political and religious life. They are also called Hasmoneans or Asmoneans after their ancestor, Hashmon.
The Maccabees appear in history as the family of a priest, Mattathias, dwell...
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Ptolemy II
Ptolemy II (Ptolemy Philadelphus) , c.308-246 BC, king of ancient Egypt (285-246 BC), of the Macedonian dynasty, son of Ptolemy I and Berenice (c.340-281 BC). He continued his father's efforts to make Alexandria the cultural center of the Greek world. He completed the Pharos and encouraged the t...
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Hama
Hama or Hamah , city (1995 est. pop. 280,000), capital of Hama governorate, W central Syria, on the Orontes River. It is the market center for an irrigated farm region where cotton, wheat, barley, millet, and corn are grown. Manufactures include cotton and woolen textiles, silk, carpets, and dai...
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Pergamum
Pergamum , ancient city of NW Asia Minor, in Mysia (modern Turkey), in the fertile valley of the Caicus. It became important c.300 BC, after the breakup of the Macedonian empire, when a Greek family (the Attalids) established a brilliant center of Hellenistic civilization. The kingdom achieved major...
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