Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Antiochus IV became king of the Seleucid Empire in 175 BC by seizing a throne that should have gone to his nephew, who was young and held hostage in Rome. The usurpation set a pattern: after him, rival claimants kept grabbing for power, hastening the empire's collapse. During his reign he nearly conquered Ptolemaic Egypt and launched a persecution of Jews in Judea and Samaria severe enough to ignite the Maccabean rebellion. His eccentric behavior earned him a nickname from his own people — Epimanes, "The Mad" — and he died in 164 BC. Centuries later, certain Christian traditions would cast him…