Background
In 164 BCE, Judas Maccabeus crushed the numerically superior Greeks under Lysias at the Battle of Beth Zur and restored the temple in Jerusalem. However, Seleucid forces still controlled the Acra, a strong fortress within the city that faced the Temple Mount and served as a symbol to remind the Jews that their land was still occupied. Taking advantage of bitter rivalry between Lysias and the recently deceased emperor's regent, Philip, Judas laid siege to the fortress in 162 BC. However, Lysias did the unexpected and left Antioch and his dispute with Philip and took the field against the Maccabean army.
With an army of about 50,000 infantry and thirty war elephants, along with cavalry and chariots, Lysias approached Jerusalem from the south and besieged Beth-zur, eighteen miles from the city. Judas lifted his own siege on The Acra, and led his army south to Beth-Zechariah. The Jewish force of about 20,000 positioned itself on the high ground across the road to Jerusalem — directly in the path of the Syrian-Seleucid army.
Read more about this topic: Battle Of Beth Zechariah
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