Judas Maccabeus (194 BC-March 160 BC) was a Jewish priest who led the Maccabean Revolt against the Seleucid Empire from 167 to 160 BC. Judah was the third son of Mattathias, a Jewish priest from the village of Modiin; he was the brother of Jonathan Apphus, John Gaddi, Simon Thassi, and Eleazar Avaran. In 175 BC, the Seleucid ruler Antiochus IV forbade Jewish religious practices and attempted to hellenize the inhabitants of Judea. In 167 BC, the family began a revolt against Greek rule.