When Alexander the Great died at Babylon on June 10th, 323 BC, Seleucus was nowhere near the most important Diadochi (“successors”). He had not been one of Alexander’s childhood friends and had been promoted to the rank of general in Asia; he had been commissioned to train several thousand young Persians as phalangists in the Macedonian fashion, Alexander planning to use those in his future campaigns. At the death of the king, Seleucus sided with Perdiccas, the commander of the Xystophoroi (“Companion Cavalry”), who was chosen regent for Alexander’s baby son by Roxanne (crowned Alexander IV) and his retarded half-brother Arridaeus (crowned Philip III). 
These arrangements were made in order to prevent civil between the Macedonian generals, but they proved futile. By the end of 322 BC Ptolemy, one of Alexander’s personal friends and satrap of Egypt; Antipater, governor of Macedonia and Craterus, the most skilled general, formed an alliance in order to check Perdiccas’s increasing powers. Perdiccas sent Eumenes against Craterus, while himself moving south against Ptolemy. In May 320 BC he reached Egypt, but his attempts to cross the Nile failed on three occasions; upon this the regent was killed by a few of his generals, including Seleucus. The murderers then opened negotiations with Ptolemy, offering him the vacant regency. He rejected it, though, while appointing to it two officers of no importance. Antipater, however, would not have it so and hence he made a new conference at Triparidisus, Syria, in 319 BC, whereby he made himself regent and supreme commander of Macedonian forces in Europe, Antigonus Monophtalmus (“the one-eyed”) taking over the armies in Asia. At Triparidisus Seleucus was made satrap of Babylonia; he was notably gaining in strength.
Antipater soon died of old age, however, and war broke out again, the result of which was victory of Antigonus over Eumenes in Asia (the war was fought in Europe as well). Antigonus was now master of Asia, having conquered everything between the Aegean and India, and behaved accordingly. Subsequently, when he visited Babylon early in 315 BC, Seleucus felt threatened and fled to Ptolemy’s protection. He was now a general of the ruler of Egypt, but a few years later, when Ptolemy was defeated by Antigonus and his son Demetrius Poliorcetes (“the besieger”) in Palestine, Seleucus did not return with his troops to Alexandria, but instead made away across the desert to Babylon, where he was recognised as satrap on June 1st, 311 BC. He was immediately attacked by the satraps of Media and Aria but managed to defeat them and take over their territories. He then marched on to Elam, conquering Susa, the old Persian capital. In a short time Seleucus had acquired many new territories and consequently accepted the title of Nicator (“victor”). Later that same year he founded the city of Seleucia on-the- Tigris directly across from Babylon, which marked the beginning of the Seleucid Era. It was to become a standard for the whole east, with many parts of Asia still using it as a calendar (with the year 311 BC as year 1) a long time after Seleucus’s kingdom had passed into history. The empire thus founded does not have a single name. In Antiquity it was called “Asia”, while contemporary historians prefer the term “Seleucid Empire” or simply “Syria”, as Syria was the part of the kingdom where power was mostly concentrated. Antioch on-the Orontes, the empire’s second and probably more important capital, had been built there in 300 BC. In the next centuries it was to be one of the most glamorous eastern cities, second only to Alexandria in Egypt.
Meanwhile Demetrius took advantage of Seleucus’s absence from Babylon, invaded and looted the country, pillaging the city, but after that quickly withdrew, “leaving Seleucus with even firmer power”, according to the words of Plutarch. About two years later Antigonus himself marched on Babylon with the intention of reclaiming it – there were indecisive street fights, which lasted until April 10th 309 BC. After that Seleucus started very successful guerrilla warfare against the forces of Antigonus, delaying open battle for as long as possible. When it finally happened, Seleucus attacked at dawn, Antigonus’s men being hungry and tired, and defeated them. A peace treaty between the two factions was concluded with the Euphrates as border and Antigonus retreated to Syria (August 31st).
This freed Seleucus to commend himself purely on the eastern affairs for the next few years. He took over all satrapies (Bactria in 307 BC) with the exception of the Indian ones, which had been conquered by the Mauryan king Chandragupta in 316 BC. In order to settle things with him, Seleucus marched to the Indus in 305 BC to conclude a formal peace treaty. He recognised Mauryan supremacy in the regions they already controlled, setting up the Hindukush as a border, and married off one of his daughters to king Chandragupta, receiving 500 fully-equipped war elephants in return (these were later to play a crucial part in the battle of Ipsus). The two sides also exchanged envoys, maintaining official diplomatic relationships.
In the meantime, Seleucus, like all other Diadochi, had accepted the title of basileus (king) in 306 BC. Antigonus and Demetrius had been the first ones to adopt it, after the latter had crushed Ptolemy in the naval engagement at Salamis, and Lysimachus, Ptolemy and Seleucus had quickly followed suit. Only Cassander in Macedonia rejected it.
Seleucus returned to the west just in time to take part in the final war with Antigonus. At Ipsus, in Phrygia, the united forces of Seleucus, Lysimachus and Cassander defeated Demetrius and Antigonus, who was killed in the fighting (winter of 301 BC). Seleucus’s elephants were successful in surrounding the enemy phalanx (where Antigonus was stationed), while Demetrius was harassing his son, Antiochus. The victors then proceeded to partition Antigonus’s kingdom, with Seleucus receiving Cappadokia, Syria and Palestine (part of which had already been taken over by Ptolemy). Demetrius having fled to Greece, Seleucus married his daughter Stratonice in 299 BC. Six years later, when Demetrius died in Seleucus’s captivity, Stratonice was given to Antiochus, who was made co-ruler and crown prince and in the Persian fashion was sent to govern the eastern satrapies, with the seat of power probably in Bactria. According to Plutarch, Antiochus had fallen desperately in love with Stratonice and commissioned himself to slow death through starvation. With the help of a doctor, Seleucus found out what the illness of his son was, and as he loved him deeply, divorced Stratonice so that Antiochus could marry her. Such tender family relationships were in sharp contrast with those of the later Seleucids.
At about that time the political situation was excellent for the seventy-five year old lord of Asia. With Demetrius dead, Lysimachus now controlled Macedonia as well, but one of his sons fled to Seleucus with the plea to be placed on his fathe’rs throne. Meanwhile Ptolemy Lag had died and one of his sons, Ptolemy Ceraunus, had also gone to Seleucus, seeking to overrun his brother, Ptolemy Philadelphus. He could therefore intervene in either Macedonia or Egypt, maybe even in both, and the unification of Alexander’s empire under a single person was not far from sight. Seleucus attacked Lysimachus first and defeated him at Corupedium, western Asia Minor, in February 281 BC. Lysimachus died in the battle, so Seleucus now proceeded to cross into Thrace and add it to his possessions. Upon this, however, he was stabbed to death by Ptolemy Ceraunus, who took over Thrace (end of 281 BC). At the death of Seleucus Nicator, the Seleucid Empire controlled the most territory and could justly assume the position of Alexander’s true successor.
Seleucus I Nicator was succeeded by his son, Antiochus I Soter (281 BC – 261 BC). Antiochus’s reign was a troubled time. He was recognised as king in the east, but in the western satrapies there were several revolts, which prevented him from continuing his fathers affairs in Thrace. Antiochus had to organise the newly-acquired territories in western Asia Minor and also face a Ptolemaic attack on Coele-Syria, which started the first of many Syrian Wars, fought continuously by the Seleucids and Ptolemies for the next century and a half. There are several reasons for the Seleucids’ big concern for the eastern Mediterranean in general and the Syrian coast in particular. First of all, they wanted to keep the way to Greece open, so that the constant flow of colonists, which they used to secure their supremacy over the largely alien Asians, would not halt. Second, the rich Phoenician and Aramean cities situated there (Sidon, Tyre, Damascus) had established themselves as dominant trade centres of the civilised world as early as the 9th century BC, so whoever controlled them, controlled most of the trade in the eastern Mediterranean. Last but not least, the western portions of the empire were richer, more civilised and better Hellenised than the eastern ones. All these reasons accounted for a Seleucid foreign policy sharply oriented towards the west, accompanied by a general neglect for the east, which was to result in fatal consequences for the empire.
During the reign of Antiochus, as well as for the most part of the 3rd century BC, the Ptolemies generally held the upper hand in this struggle. A short-lived peace treaty was concluded in 271 BC, according to which Egyptian rule was recognised in Palestine, the coastal regions of southern Asia Minor, as well as Ionia. In the search for allies against Ptolemaic Egypt, Antiochus in 278 BC formed an alliance with Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia, who was suffering in much the same way from Egyptian naval supremacy, this allegiance proved very fruitful.
Another major problem Antiochus had to deal with was the Celtic intrusion into Asia Minor. About 280 BC four Celtic tribes had devastated Macedonia and pillaged Greece, plundering the famous oracle of Apollo in Delphi. Shortly after that some of the Celts, commonly known as Galatians, made their way over to Asia Minor, eradicating everything in their path. For a time nobody dared resist them until Antiochus defeated them with his elephants in a pitched battle about 273 BC, for which he was called the “soter” (saviour) of Asia. Notwithstanding this victory, the Galatians settled in central Asia Minor undisturbed and continued to pose serious problems for the Seleucid monarchs, who eventually started drafting them as soldiers in their own armies. According to Theodore Mommsen even Antiochus I found his death in a battle against the Galatians in 261 BC; other sources are silent on the troubled king’s end.
Next on the Seleucid throne sat Antiochus II Theos (261 BC – 246 BC), the young son of Antiochus I and Stratonice. Although ancient sources portray him as an alcoholic, Antiochus II was a very good ruler. He spent most of his reign fighting Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt, and was largely successful. He reclaimed most of southern Asia Minor and Ionia, having removed the pro-Egyptian tyrants from Miletus and Ephesus in 258. Grateful for the freedom granted them from the king, the Milesians proclaimed him “Theos” (god), while Ephesus became the favourite headquarters of Seleucid monarchs in Asia Minor. Antiochus also moved into Europe, conquering much of coastal Thrace that had hitherto been under Egyptian control. The Egyptians, therefore, considered a peace treaty in 253 BC, and Antiochus married a Ptolemaic princess, Laodice, acquiring new territories in Cilicia. He had to divorce his first wife, though, which created tensions in the royal family, which resulted in Antiochus’s probable assassination by his former wife, Berenice, followed by the murder of Laodice and her child. Seleucid neglect for the east, meanwhile, had started showing its first results, with Bactria and Parthia gaining their independence about 247 BC. More importantly for the near future, however, the death of Antiochus II was followed by renewed war with the Ptolemies. The new king, the nineteen-year-old Seleucus II Callinicus (246 BC – 225 BC), had to face the Egyptian forces in Syria immediately after his accession to the throne and, not surprisingly, suffered heavy defeat and lost much of Thrace and coastal Asia Minor. Following a native uprising in Egypt, however, Ptolemy III Euergetes had to retreat and later agreed to return to Seleucus all of the territories up to Antioch.
In the meantime Seleucus’s mother, Berenice, had been promoting her younger son, Antiochus Hierax (“eagle”) in Asia Minor. Seleucus agreed to recognise his brother as co-ruler in 242 BC, handing him over all territories beyond the Taurus. Antiochus, however, wanted rule over the whole empire and inflicted war on his brother. The so-called “War of the Brothers” (240 BC – 237 BC) ended in serious defeat for Seleucus in Asia Minor, which he lost to his brother; Antiochus, however, could not conquer the rest of the empire. He spent most of his reign pillaging the cities of Asia Minor along with his Galatian mercenaries until he was defeated several times by Attalus I of Pergamum. This was a serious blow to Seleucid rule on this side of the Taurus, and with his kingdom all but lost, Antiochus Hierax was taken captive and killed in 226 BC. His elder brother died the next year, having fallen from his horse.
Seleucid authority in Asia Minor was reasserted by Seleucus III Soter (225 BC – 223 BC) and Antiochus III Megas (223 BC – 187 BC). Seleucus was campaigning against Pergamum when he was murdered in a conspiracy and succeeded by his younger brother. Early in his reign Antiochus broke out of Seleucid passiveness in the east, re-conquering Parthia and marching into Bactria. Albeit his siege of the capital Bactra was unsuccessful, he still managed to force the country into the position of a vassal state. Next Antiochus turned his attention to the west. His first attempts to take Coele Syria from the Egyptians failed and he was defeated at Rafia in 217 BC. When the Egyptian king Ptolemy Philometor died in 205 BC, however, Antiochus formed an alliance with Philip V of Macedonia, whereby the former would receive Egypt and Syria, and the latter – Ionia and Thrace. Antiochus moved to the offensive and in 198 BC inflicted a heavy defeat on the Egyptians at Panion. The king’s advisors in Alexandria were so terrified, that they concluded a peace treaty with Antiochus, ceding all over-sea possessions to him. Therefore the king moved north to Asia Minor and then crossed over to Europe. He rebuilt the destroyed Lysimachia and reorganised the satrapy of Thrace, which he intended for his son, Seleucus.
Up to this time, Antiochus had utterly recreated Seleucid might of the times of Seleucus I, now, however, he made a fatal mistake, as a result of which everything collapsed. In 192 BC he attacked Greece, which was under Roman protection, and started war against the Romans. He was quickly defeated at Thermopilae and in his confusion emptied the well-fortified Lysimachia, going back to Asia. At Magnesia add Syppilum his huge 80,000 men strong army was completely crushed by a Roman army half as large, and as a result of the peace treaty Antiochus lost all territories west of the Taurus. When he was murdered three years later, Armenia, Bactria and Parthia also seceded from the empire.
Seleucus IV Philopator (187 BC – 175 BC), the eldest son of Antiochus III, spent his reign trying to pay the taxes to Rome and was murdered in a court conspiracy. After him on the Seleucid throne came his brother, Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175 BC – 164 BC), who was in all aspects an extraordinary ruler. Having spent most of his childhood as a hostage in Rome for his father, Antiochus deeply believed that he ought to prevent further Roman intrusion in Asia at all costs. He thought this could happen only if he were to unite the diverse cultures in his empire into a single people through the means of thorough Hellenisation. Thus he awarded himself the title of “Epiphanes” (god-like), but it turned out that the task he had set for himself was impossible and brought about tensions among many peoples, but especially among the Jews. They were so offended, that portrayed the king as the “antichrist” and rose in the rebellion of the Maccabees.
Antiochus IV was more successful in fighting the Egyptians. In 169 and 168 BC he defeated their forces, captured the important fortress of Pelusium along with the king, and was about to besiege Alexandria when he received a Roman ultimatum that refusal to leave Egypt immediately would result in a declaration of war. Antiochus had to obey and left Egypt, granting himself a triumph at Daphne. In 165 BC he went to Media in order to strengthen it against further Parthian intrusions and died there the next year.
Antiochus IV was the last significant monarch of the Seleucid dynasty. In the century after his death, the empire rapidly declined, the main reason being continuous devastating civil war between the various members of the royal dynasty. It was exacerbated by intrusion from Pergamum and Egypt, who benefited the most from the chaos in the empire. Another major threat was the increasing power of the Parthians to the east. Early during the first part of the reign of Demetrius II Nicator (146 BC – 140 BC), they conquered Media and in 142 BC took over Babylonia, capturing the king himself, as well as the royal city of Seleucia. His successor, Antiochus VII Sidetes (139 BC – 129 BC), tried to reclaim the lost territories, occupying Media and Babylonia, but the Seleucid heavy taxation was not to the taste of the local population, and the king faced serious rebellion. He was defeated and killed by the Parthians, which resulted in Seleucid final loss of these satrapies. From this point until the demise of the kingdom, it consisted only of Syria.
In the increasing confusion, rulers followed one another in rapid succession, poisoning rivals and themselves being poisoned or overrun in open battle; even a woman, the Ptolemaic princess Cleopatra Thea (125 BC – 121 BC), sat on the throne at Antioch. She was poisoned by her own son, Antiochus VII Grypus (121 BC – 96 BC), who spent most of his reign feasting and writing verses on poisonous snakes at Daphne. In this tragicomedy not even the royal city was spared – it was burnt to the ground by one of these petty kings and had to be rebuilt. In the complete disintegration which followed the death of Grypus, the Seleucid monarchs played no important role whatsoever – the country was really in the hands of Arab chieftains and the Jews to the south. These were thrown out by the powerful Armenians of the new Great King of Asia, Tigranes, in 83 BC, and until 69 BC the satrap Magadetes resided at the royal palace in Antioch. The Armenians were in turn replaced by the Romans under Pompey in 64 BC. Upon the general’s entrance into Syria, he was immediately approached by two rival Seleucid “kings”, Antiochus XII and Philip. When he saw what the situation was, however, the Roman denounced them both and proclaimed the country a Roman province. According to his own words, Pompey had no intention of putting either of them on the throne against the will of his own people. |
