Seleucids: The Rivals of Cleopatra’s Dynasty

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Cleopatra VII Philopator is 1 of the astir celebrated figures of antiquity, but fewer radical are acquainted with the fascinating past of her ancestors.

The Ptolemaic Dynasty, to which she belonged, was founded by Ptolemy I Soter, 1 of the generals of Alexander the Great. This family, of Macedonian Greek origin, ruled Egypt for astir 3 centuries, leaving an indelible people connected 1 of the oldest civilizations successful the world. However, the Ptolemies were not the lone successors of Alexander to involvement a assertion to a ample information of his empire.

The Seleucid Dynasty

The Seleucid dynasty, founded by different 1 of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus I Nicator, were successful information 1 of the Hellenistic Greek successor families who held powerfulness implicit an immense portion of the past world. Over the centuries, the Seleucids and Ptolemies were continually bound by an ongoing tug of warfare for successorship to Alexander’s empire, periodically interrupted by episodes of bid and intermarriage.

Seleucus I Nicator and the instauration of the Seleucid Empire

After his death successful 323 BC, the empire of Alexander the Great did not past arsenic a azygous unified assemblage for long. His generals, known arsenic the diadochi (“successors”), schemed and plotted to get the empire – oregon a information of it, astatine slightest – for themselves.

This soon led to unfastened warfare and conflict. Out of the ensuing chaos emerged 3 main successor states, each founded by 1 of the generals who had served Alexander. The Antigonids ruled Macedon and astir of Greece, the Ptolemies ruled Egypt, and the Seleucids ruled the larges portion of the empire consisting of the Near Eastern territories successful Syria, Mesopotamia (Iraq), Persia (Iran), and Bactria (Afghanistan).

The laminitis of the Seleucid Empire was Seleucus I Nicator. The historiographer Appian describes him arsenic “Tall and powerfully built”, truthful overmuch truthful that helium supposedly wrestled a chaotic bull with his bare hands erstwhile it escaped and threatened to ruin a sacrifice planned by Alexander.

Seleucus I was an accomplished worker and had earned the ephitet “Nicator”, meaning “the Victorious”, successful battle. During Alexander’s lifetime, helium commanded the elite infantry corps known arsenic the Hypaspistai, and aft his decease took bid of the Companion Cavalry, the astir elder mounted corps successful the Macedonian army.

This subject acquisition proved invaluable during the archetypal struggles betwixt the diadochi successful the aftermath of Alexander’s decease and Seleucus I was capable to found his ain kingdom successful 306 BC.

According to Appian, Seleucus I emulated Alexander’s penchant for municipality improvement and founded respective cities crossed his caller empire. The ancient Greek historiographer recorded that “there were sixteen called Antioch aft his father, 5 Laodicea aft his mother, 9 named Seleucia aft himself, 4 called aft his wives, 3 Apamea and 1 Stratonicea.”

Rivalry with the Ptolemies

The decision of the wars betwixt the generals who had lived and fought beside Alexander did not awesome the extremity of the struggle betwixt the successor states. Indeed, the heirs to these successor states continued to vie for supremacy implicit the erstwhile empire of Alexander.

One of the astir fierce and pervasive of these multigenerational conflicts was betwixt the Seleucids and the Ptolemies. The 2 rival dynasties fought a bid of conflicts betwixt 274 and 168 BC known collectively arsenic the Syrian Wars.

The Syrian Wars were fought for power implicit regions similar Coele-Syria and Asia Minor, arsenic good arsenic to unafraid definite dynastic advantages. Due to a fig of intermarriages betwixt the 2 dynasties, the Ptolemies and Seleucids sometimes fought to unafraid a subordinate of their household connected the throne of the rival dynasty.

This was the lawsuit successful the Third Syrian War (246-241 BC), besides sometimes known arsenic the Laodician War. The Seleucid king, Antiochus II, had emerged victorious successful the Second Syrian War and concluded a favorable bid pact with Ptolemy II which included a matrimony to his girl Berenice Syra.

However, Antiochus II was already joined to Laodice, whom helium rejected successful favour of his caller Ptolemaic bride Berenice. Both Berenice and Laodice had sons by Antiochus II, starring to a succession situation upon his decease successful 246 BC. Both of the ambitious mothers claimed that their sons were the morganatic heirs.

Berenice requested the assistance of her member Ptolemy III who marched to the Seleucid superior of Antioch, but helium arrived excessively precocious and recovered his sister and her lad had been assassinated. Ptolemy III subsequently declared warfare connected Laodice and her lad Seleucus II successful 246 BC.

In this peculiar war, the Ptolemies were victorious and the Seleucids had to cede territory connected the bluish seashore of Syria. The Ptolemaic Kingdom was present astatine the tallness of its power. However, successful the ensuing Fourth and Fifth Syrian Wars, Antiochus III the Great was capable to triumph backmost astir of the territories mislaid to the Ptolemies, arsenic good arsenic to different foes, greatly re-enlarging the empire.

The Seleucids and Ptolemies continued to vie until their eventual respective falls and absorption by the Romans.

Seleucid rule

Ruling the Seleucid Empire was a monumental task made particularly hard by the myriad of antithetic peoples it encompassed. As a Macedonian dynasty themselves, the Seleucids relied connected a halfway of Greeks arsenic 1 of the main bases of their power, but the Greeks were a number successful the empire.

As explained by historiographer Nicholas L. Wright, “The Seleucids and their strategoi (generals) were strangers successful an alien onshore wherever thing straight unified immoderate of these peoples but their allegiance to the king.”

This meant the Seleucids had to wage peculiar attraction to however they presented themselves arsenic morganatic rulers to an ethnically divers and perchance rebellious population. To bash this, they mostly borrowed Alexander the Great’s ideas of fusions betwixt Greek and Eastern taste elements to make unchangeable governance.

Seleucid coinage is simply a bully illustration of this. Seleucus I Nicator kept the metallic coinage introduced by Alexander, lone replacing Alexander’s sanction with his own. On the obverse of these coins was depicted the Greek leader Heracles, whereas connected the obverse was the Olympian god Zeus.

The usage of Alexander’s coinage conferred legitimacy successful 2 ways. Firstly, by close of conquest, Alexander had imposed his volition upon overmuch of the known satellite and was recognized arsenic a semi-divine and morganatic ruler successful galore of the places helium had conquered. By ensuring a precocious grade of continuity betwixt Alexander’s regularisation and their own, the Seleucids were capable to much easy represent themselves arsenic morganatic successors of Alexander.

Secondly, arsenic noted by Wright, “Both Zeus and Heracles already enjoyed a past of syncretistic adoption successful Asia wherever they were associated with the galore Ba’als and Melcart oregon Sandan respectively.” In different words, the non-Greek inhabitants recognized and worshipped Zeus and Heracles arsenic morganatic deities, albeit by antithetic names.

This divine transportation was further emphasized by the Seleucids who associated themselves with the deity Apollo. In overmuch the aforesaid mode that Alexander claimed that Ammon-Zeus was his existent father, Seleucus I Nicator claimed descent from Apollo. This further strengthened the representation of the Seleucids arsenic divinely appointed rulers.

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