Did They Actually Force Yashar'al to Sacrifice Swine and Other Prohibited Animals?
Period: Antiochus IV (~167 BCE) · Primary: 1 Maccabees 1:41–50 (esp. 1:47) · Additional: Josephus, Antiquities Book 12 Ch. 5
What the ancient record says
People were ordered to participate in practices opposed to their ancestral instructions. 1 Maccabees 1:47 includes sacrifice of swine and other prohibited animals among imposed measures.
Josephus (Antiquities 12.5) describes Antiochus ordering the Yahudim to sacrifice swine on foreign altars, more than one ancient witness. This was coercion (state power forcing Yashar'al to participate), not merely another population's practice.
Evidence does not establish Antiochus stood beside every altar; it attributes a government policy implemented through officials and enforcement.
Read it for yourself. 1 Maccabees 1:41–50 (esp. 1:47); Josephus, Antiquities Book 12 Ch. 5 (Perseus).
Evidence strength: Very strong ancient literary evidence. Documented: 1 Maccabees attributes swine sacrifice to the imposed program; Josephus independently preserves it. Not established: that every community experienced identical enforcement.