Atlas of Battles

battle, ancient

Battle of Beth Zechariah

Battle of Beth Zechariah was a battle fought in May 162 BC at Beit Zakariah, in what is now Palestine. It was part of the Maccabean Revolt, which ran from 167 BC to 160 BC. The recorded result: Seleucid victory. Recorded strength: 10,000-20,000 against 50,000 infantry, 30 war elephants, 5,000 cavalry.

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Battle of Beth Zechariah
Jan Luyken (1649-1712), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
FoughtMay 162 BC
WhereBeit Zakariah, Palestine31.664N, 35.123E
OutcomeSeleucid victory
BelligerentsMaccabean armyagainstSeleucid Empire
Part ofMaccabean Revolt167 BC to 160 BC

Where it sits in the Maccabean Revolt

Battle of the Ascent of Lebonah, 167 BCBattle of Beth Horon, 166 BCBattle of Emmaus, 165 BCBattle of Beth Zur, 164 BCBattle of Beth Zechariah, 162 BCBattle of Adasa, 161 BCBattle of Elasa, 160 BC167 BC160 BCBattle of Beth Zechariah, 162 BC
7 placed engagements of the Maccabean Revolt in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.

Record

DateMay 162 BC (month precision)
PlaceBeit Zakariah, Palestine
31.664N, 35.123E
KindBattle, ancient
Strength10,000-20,00050,000 infantry, 30 war elephants, 5,000 cavalry
Commanders
  • Lysias (Syrian chancellor)
Battle of Beth ZechariahBattle of Beth ZechariahBattle of 3 ShevatBattle of Beth ZurSaint-Simon BattleAssyrian siege of JerusalemBattle of JerusalemAssyrian siege of JerusalemTel AvivHaifaNablusEl ArishNazarethAl KarakAs SuwaydaAz Zarqa100 km31.664N, 35.123E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

Nearest engagements

In the same war

Battle of Beth Zechariah is one of 91 engagements of the 2nd century BC in the atlas and one of 43 in present-day Palestine.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1268349, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Beth Zechariah, revision 1370107766, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.