BACCHIDES
(back' uh deez) GREEK: BAKCHIDES
"child of (the god) Bacchus"
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In 161 B.C., during the Maccabean revolt, Bacchides, a close advisor of King Demetrius I Soter of Syria and governor of the regions west of the Euphrates River, was chosen to lead an army into Judea and to install Alcimus in the office of high priest. Bacchides accomplished his mission but alienated many by killing a group of pious Jews.
A year later, after Judas Maccabeus had defeated a Syrian force, Bacchides was sent back with a much larger army and managed to defeat the dispirited Jewish troops and kill Judas. Bacchides again engaged the Jewish forces in 157 B.C. but eventually concluded a peace treaty with the Jews that recognized Jonathan, the brother of Judas, as their legitimate leader.
{E2 Dictionary of Biblical People}