In which battle was Judas Maccabeus killed?

Judas Maccabeus was killed in the Battle of Elasa, fought in 160 BCE during the Maccabean Revolt. His force faced a much larger Seleucid army commanded by Bacchides, and the battle ended in a Seleucid victory.

According to the account preserved in 1 Maccabees and repeated by Josephus, Judas attacked the Seleucid right wing, apparently hoping to break the enemy by targeting its commander. The initial assault drove that wing back, but the Seleucids eventually regrouped. Their forces surrounded the Maccabean fighters, and Judas was killed while the rebel army retreated.

The defeat was a major setback for the revolt. Leadership passed to Judas’s brother Jonathan, who continued the struggle against Seleucid authority. The family’s later successes eventually contributed to the establishment of Hasmonean autonomy under another brother, Simon.

The battle is often confused with the Battle of Adasa. At Adasa, fought about a year earlier, Judas defeated and killed the Seleucid commander Nicanor. Elasa was the later battle in which Judas himself died.