Which ancient empire did the Maccabees rebel against in the Hanukkah story?

The Maccabees rebelled against the Seleucid Empire in the Hanukkah story.

The revolt began in Judea in 167 BCE, during the reign of Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. His government imposed measures that restricted Jewish religious practices and intensified conflict between traditionalist Jews, Hellenized Jewish factions, and Seleucid authorities. Mattathias, a Jewish priest from Modi'in, helped spark the uprising, and leadership later passed to his son Judas Maccabeus.

The rebels used guerrilla tactics before capturing Jerusalem and rededicating the Second Temple in 164 BCE. That rededication is commemorated by Hanukkah, whose name refers to dedication. The revolt continued after the festival's origin and eventually produced an independent Hasmonean state.

The Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic successor kingdom formed after Alexander the Great's death; it was not the Roman or Byzantine Empire. Persia had ruled the region in an earlier period, while Rome became dominant much later. Another common simplification is to describe Hanukkah only as an oil miracle: the holiday also commemorates the Maccabean recovery and rededication of the Temple.