Judas Maccabaeus

Judas Maccabaeus (died 160 B.C.) was the third son of Mattathias the priest and the greatest military leader of the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. When Antiochus desecrated the Jerusalem temple in 167 B.C. by erecting an altar to Zeus and forbidding Jewish practice, Mattathias and his sons led a resistance movement. After his father's death, Judas took command, winning a series of improbable victories against much larger Seleucid forces.

In 164 B.C. he recaptured Jerusalem, cleansed the temple, and rededicated it — the event commemorated in the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. He is the hero of 1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees (Apocrypha) and is referenced in Hebrews 11:34 (in the tradition that identifies him among those who "became mighty in war"). He was killed in battle at Elasa in 160 B.C. His brothers Jonathan and Simon continued the dynasty after him.