Antiochus IV dies in Persia
Antiochus died of a sudden illness while campaigning in the east, after a failed attempt to rob a temple in Elymais. No enemy struck him down; he was “broken without human hands.”
Through his policy he will cause deceit to prosper in his hand. He will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many in their security. He will also stand up against the prince of princes, but he will be broken without human hands.
Daniel 8:25 (World English Bible)
Short of money, Antiochus tried to plunder a rich temple in Elymais and was driven off. On the way back he fell ill and died at Tabae in Persia. First Maccabees says that as he lay dying he remembered the evil he had done in Jerusalem; Second Maccabees describes a painful, wasting disease.
Daniel's vision had described a fierce king who would rise up even against “the prince of princes” (Daniel 8:25). The persecutor of God's people was not killed in battle or by an assassin, but simply died, far from home.
Ancient witnesses outside the Bible
Historical sources, not Scripture.
- 1 Maccabees 6:1–16
- 2 Maccabees 9:1–29 — a different account of his death
- Antiquities 12.9.1
Dating notes
Late 164 BC: a Babylonian king list records the news of his death in the month of Chislev (November/December). First Maccabees puts his death after the temple's rededication and Second Maccabees before it; many historians think he died shortly before, with the news arriving afterward. Ussher also dates it to 164 BC, after the rededication (which he places in 165 BC).