Battle of Ma'aleh Levona
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| Battle of Ma'aleh Levona (Battle of Wadi Haramia) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Maccabean Revolt | |||||||
 Presumed location of the battle, 1912 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
| Judean rebels | Seleucid army | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| Judah Maccabee | Apollonius † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 600 men | 2,000 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Minimal | Heavy | ||||||
The Battle of Ma'aleh Levona was the first hand-to-hand combat battle fought between the Maccabees and the Seleucid Empire in 167 BCE. The Jewish forces were led by Judah Maccabee and the Seleucid army force was under the command of Apollonius.[1]
After the Maccabean Revolt started, Judah relocated his guerrilla combat units at the northern part of Samaria. Apollonius, governor of Samaria, was sent with the local Samarian armies to link up with Seleucid forces from Jerusalem.
Maccabaee gained the element of surprise by ambushing the enemy army at Wadi Haramia and successfully destroyed the much larger Syrian Greek army, personally killing its commander.[2][3] Another force was soon sent against Maccabaee, which led to the Battle of Beth Horon.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ Flavius Josephus "Book XII, Ch.7" in The Antiquities
- ^ Brandon Marlon (2013-01-17). "What Judea & Samaria Mean to the Jewish People". The Jewish Press. Retrieved 2013-07-23.
- ^ 1 Maccabees 3:10-12
- ^ 1 Maccabees 3:13-22
Coordinates: 32°03′16″N 35°14′27″E / 32.05444°N 35.24083°E
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