ther
all the forces of his kingdom, opened his treasury, paid his soldiers a
year in advance, and resolved to root out the rebellious nation by a war
of extermination. Crippled, however, in resources, and in great need of
money, he concluded to go in person to Persia and collect tribute from
the various provinces, and seize the treasures which were supposed to be
deposited in royal cities beyond the Euphrates. He left behind, as
regent or lieutenant, Lysias, a man of royal descent, with orders to
prosecute the war against the Jews with the utmost severity, while with
half his forces he proceeded in person to Persia. Lysias chose Ptolemy,
Nicanor, and Gorgias, experienced generals, to conduct the war, with
forty thousand foot and seven thousand horsemen, besides elephants,
with orders to exterminate the rebels, take possession of their lands,
and settle heathen aliens in their place. So confident were these
generals of success that merchants accompanied the army with gold and
silver to purchase the Jews from the conquerors, and fetters in which to
make them slaves. A large force from the land of the Philistines also
joined the attacking army.

Jerusalem at this time was a forsaken city, uninhabited, like a
wilderness; the Sanctuary was trodden down, and heathen foreigners
occupied the citadel on Mount Zion. It was a time of general mourning
and desolation, and the sound of the harp and the pipe ceased throughout
the land. But Judas was not discouraged; and the warriors with him were
bent upon redeeming the land from desolation. They however put on
sackcloth, and prayed to the God of their fathers, and made every effort
to rally their forces, feeling that it was better to die in battle than
see the pollution of the Sanctuary and the evils which overspread the
land. Judas succeeded in collecting altogether three thousand men, who
however were poorly armed, and intrenched himself among the mountains,
about twenty miles from Jerusalem. Learning this, Gorgias took five
thousand men, one thousand horsemen, under guides from the castle on
Mount Zion, and departed from his camp at Emmaus by night, with a view
of surprising and capturing the Jewish force. But Judas was on the
alert, and obtained information of the intended attack. So he broke up
his own camp, and resolved to attack the main force of the enemy,
weakened by the absence of Gorgias and his chosen band. After reminding
his soldiers of God's mercies in times of old, he