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Who was Antiochus IV Epiphanes?

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Hanukkah Lighting the menorah in celebration of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175–164 BCE) was a Seleucid king who sought to strengthen his kingdom by promoting Hellenistic culture and institutions. His aggressive policies brought him into direct conflict with the Jewish population, as he attempted to suppress Judaism and enforce the adoption of Greek customs.12

In 167 BCE, following internal unrest in Jerusalem, Antiochus took the city by force, forbade Jewish rites, and desecrated the Second Temple by dedicating it to Zeus. This act of religious oppression sparked the revolt of the Maccabees, led by Judas Maccabeus. The Maccabean victory and the subsequent rededication of the Temple in 164 BCE are the historical events commemorated by the festival of Hanukkah.12