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Seleucid Syria in early 124 BC under Alexander II Zabinas, who ruled the country with the exception of the city of Ptolemais. After the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucid Empire became increasingly unstable. Frequent civil wars made central authority tenuous at best.
- 3,000,000 km² (1,200,000 sq mi)
- Foundation & Expansion
- Development & Government
- Antiochus III The Great
- Antiochus IV Epiphanes & The Maccabees
- Decline & Fall
Alexander the Great (l. 356-323 BCE) had conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire by 330 BCE and, after his death, his generals were left with an immense realm, which encompassed Greece, Mesopotamia, Anatolia, Egypt, the Levant, and Central Asia. After a power struggle, they divided it between themselves with Cassander taking Greece, Ptolemy I Soter...
Antiochus I Soter now became emperor and continued his father's policies of encouraging a homogeneous empire which blended Hellenistic cultural values with those of the Near East. Scholar Cormac O'Brien describes the Seleucid policy: The Achaemenid Persian Empire had functioned as well as it did through a policy of centralized government with decen...
The Seleucid Empire had been struggling since the death of Seleucus but another power was rapidly on the rise. While the Seleucids were masters of land battle and trade, the North African city of Carthage ruled the seas both commercially and militarily. In 264 BCE, Carthage came into conflict with the small city-state of Rome over a dispute between...
Antiochus III's son and successor, Seleucus IV Philopator (r. 187-175 BCE), continued the efforts to pay off the war debt to the extent that this became his primary focus. He was assassinated in 175 BCE and rule passed to Antiochus III's other son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (r. 175-164 BCE). Antiochus IV had been sent to Rome as a hostage following th...
The Seleucid monarchy after Antiochus III seemed to forget, or purposefully ignored, the vision of Seleucus I, concentrating on their own self-aggrandizement at the expense of the people. Between 163 and 145 BCE three kings ruled, all of whom were more concerned with defending their position than actual governance. While the monarchy openly fought ...
- Joshua J. Mark
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Apr 8, 2024 · Antiochus I Soter (born 324 bc —died 262/261) was the king of the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, who ruled about 292–281 bc in the east and 281–261 over the whole kingdom. Under great external pressures, he consolidated his kingdom and encouraged the founding of cities. Antiochus was the son of Seleucus I, founder of the Seleucid kingdom, and ...
Mar 30, 2024 · Antiochus IV Epiphanes (born c. 215 bce —died 164, Tabae, Iran) was the Seleucid king of the Hellenistic Syrian kingdom who reigned from 175 to 164 bce. As a ruler, he was best known for his encouragement of Greek culture and institutions. His attempts to suppress Judaism brought on the Wars of the Maccabees.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
After the death of Alexander III of Macedon in 323 B.C., the territories he had conquered were divided between his generals, the so-called Diadochi. Alexander’s friend Seleucus Nicator (r. 312–281 B.C.) became king of the eastern provinces—approximately modern Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, together with parts of Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.
141 BC–AD 224. See also: List of kings by Period and Dynasty. v. t. e. The Seleucid dynasty or the Seleucidae ( / sɪˈluːsɪˌdiː /; Greek: Σελευκίδαι, Seleukídai, "descendants of Seleucus") was a Macedonian Greek royal family, which ruled the Seleucid Empire based in West Asia during the Hellenistic period.
The Seleucid Empire (312-63 BCE) was the vast political entity established by Seleucus I Nicator ("Victor" or "Unconquered", l. c. 358-281 BCE, r. 305-281 BCE), one of the generals of Alexander the Great who claimed a part of his empire after Alexander's death in 323 BCE. More about: Seleucid Empire.
