The 'Battle of Wadi Haramia' was the first
Hand to hand combat Battle fought between the
Rebel Jewish forces and the
Seleucid Empire in
167 BC. The Jewish forces were led by
Judas Maccabaeus and the Seleucid army force was under the command of Apollonius.
After the
Maccabean revolt started, Judas relocated his guerrilla combat units at the northern part of the
Shomron. Apollonius, governor of
Samaria, was sent with the local Samarian armies to link up with Seleucid forces from
Jerusalem.
Maccabaeus gained the element of surprise by ambushing the enemy army at Wadi Haramia and successfully destroyed the much larger Syrian Greek army and killing its commander. Another force was soon sent against Maccabaeus, which led to the
Battle of Beth Horon.