Seleucids

  General Description   The Seleucid Empire arose in the years following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and the subsequent division of his empire. Alexander’s generals each ruled part of the empire, including Seleucus I who became leader of the Babylonian territory in 319 BCE as a reward for having helped Alexander eliminate the regent Perdiccas ^[1] . This date does not however mark the start of the Seleucid Empire as Seleucus was ousted by the rival Antigonus in 315 BCE and did not return to power until 312 BCE, after which the Seleucid Empire truly began as Seleucus began to extent his domain to create an empire large enough to include territories in the Central Asian steppe to European Thrace ^[2] . Seleucus’ territorial achievements were matched by only one of his successors, Antiochus III, whose rule began 60 years later. The last rulers of the empire could not match the charisma and drive of these earlier rulers, especially in the face of growing powers to the west and east of the empire (Rome and Parthia respectively). The empire declined in size and influence until it was taken over by Rome in 63 BCE.
The Seleucid Empire continued to exert the Hellenistic influences of Alexander the Great’s empire, but like Alexander, the rulers of the Seleucid Empire generally allowed other religions and languages to continue and flourish (a notable exception being the persecution of the Jews by Antiochus IV) ^[3] . Most written documents are in Greek and contain valuable information about the empire, the battles fought and the kings who ruled. The documents are however far from complete and many aspects of the empire are either inferred from other sources or remain unknown. Overall it can be surmised that the Seleucid Empire was ruled by one king at a time who held central authority, but who exerted that authority through his commanders, or satraps, in the various territories of the empire ^[4] . This both gave the king a great amount of power but also made him vulnerable to the ambitions of his satraps, the most notable example being the betrayal of the general Achaios who in 220 BCE took the territories of Asia Minor for himself after conducting campaigns there on behalf of Antiochus III ^[5] .

[1]: (Sherwin-White and Kurht 1993, 10) S Sherwin-White. A Kurht. 1993. From Samarkhand to Sardis; A new approach to the Seleucid empire. London: Duckworth.

[2]: (Kosmin 2013, 678) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689.

[3]: (Kosmin 2013, 684-685) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689.

[4]: (Kosmin 2013, 680) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689.

[5]: (Ager 2012, 421) S L Ager. 2012. The Alleged Rapprochement between Achaios and Attalos I in 220 BCE. Historia. 61 (4), pp. 421-429.