Apollonius is defeated by Jonathan
67 In the year 165, Demetrius the son of Demetrius came from Crete to the land of his ancestors.
68
When King Alexander heard, he was greatly distressed and returned to Antioch.
69
Demetrius appointed Apollonius the governor of Coele-Syria, who assembled a large force and camped against Jamnia. Then Apollonius sent the following message to the high priest Jonathan:
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You are the only one to oppose us. I have fallen into ridicule and disgrace because of you. Why do you assume authority against us in the highlands?
71
Now if you have confidence in your military forces, come down to the plain to meet us. Let's match strength against strength there, because I have with me the forces of the cities.
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Discover who I am and who the others are that are helping us, and you will learn that you cannot stand before us. Twice before, your ancestors were forced to flee in their own land.
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Now you will not be able to stand up against my cavalry and my army in the plain, where there is no stone or pebble, or place to escape.
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When Jonathan heard Apollonius' words, a fire was lit under him. He chose ten thousand men and set out from Jerusalem. His brother Simon met him to assist.
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He camped in front of Joppa. But the people of the city closed its gates because Apollonius had a defense force there. So they fought against it.
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And the people of the city became frightened and opened the gates. So Jonathan gained possession of Joppa.
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When Apollonius heard the news, he assembled three thousand cavalry and a large army. He went to Azotus and acted as if he were going farther. At the same time, he advanced into the plain, because he had a large troop of cavalry and had confidence in it.
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Jonathan pursued him to Azotus, and their armies engaged in battle.
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Apollonius had secretly left one thousand cavalry to the rear.
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Jonathan found out that there was an ambush behind him. They surrounded his army and shot arrows at his soldiers from early in the morning until late in the afternoon.
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But his soldiers stood steady, as he had commanded. Eventually, the horses of the enemy got tired.
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Simon led his force forward and engaged the foreign enemy in battle since the cavalry was exhausted. He overwhelmed them, and they fled.
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The cavalry was dispersed in the plain. They fled to Azotus and entered Beth-dagon, the temple of their idol, to seek safety.
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But Jonathan burned Azotus and the surrounding towns and plundered them. He burned down the temple of Dagon and those who had taken refuge in it.
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The number of those who died, either by the sword or by fire, came to eight thousand.
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Then Jonathan left there and camped against Ashkelon, and the people of the city came out to meet him with great ceremony.
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He and his companions returned to Jerusalem with a large treasure.
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When King Alexander heard about all this, he honored Jonathan even more.
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He sent to him a gold buckle, such as is the custom to give to the king's kindred. He also gave him Ekron and all its surroundings as his possession.