Hellenistic kingdoms Misc.

The Seleucids - Empire

• Occupied the former Persian Empire

• Main operative base moved from Babylon to Seleucia

• Characterised by their reign over multiple cultures with a loosely defined identity - operated more as an empire

• Borders are only loosely defined - formed slowly - less stable- territory gained and lost piece by piece

• Divided into autonomous subsections - controlled by Satrapies and the ruling king

The Seleucids - Rough timeline

• The Empire began in 311- after reclaiming Babylon from Antigonus

• 306 - Seleucus I declares himself king

• 305 - Seleucus’s reign is backdated to begin in 311

• 281 - Seleucus I is killed after taking Asia from Lysimachus - succeeded by Antiochus I

• 188 - Asia Minor lost to Rome under Antiochus III

• 130/129 - Core territory in Iran/Babylon lost to the Parthians -

• 63 - The remainder of the territory is converted into a Roman province by Pompey

The Seleucids - Seleucus I (Nicator)

• Son of a general of Philip - Antiochus

• Seleucus I, a companion of Alexander - general in the army

• made satrap of Babylon - struggles for control of Babylon with Antigonus from 315-311 - secures Babylon

• Takes Asia from Lysimachus

• Married at Susa to Apama - the future Seleucid dynasty had Bactrian origins

The Seleucids - Antiochus I

• Drops ambitions of reconciling Alexander’s former empire - Hellenistic monarchies settle down - maintain distinct kingdoms

• attempted to shore up control of satrapies in East Mesopotamia, Persia, Bactria, etc.

• Clashes against Ptolemy II and against invasions from Celts in Asia Minor - earning the epithet saviour

The Seleucids - Antiochus II

• Participate in the 2nd Syrian War against Ptolemy II

• Takes back territory in Asia Minor

• War ends with Antiochus marrying Berenike - Ptolemy II’s daughter - giving up his existing wife, Laodike

• Highlights the important role women'/ marriage played in international politics/ relationships

• Loses territory to the newly established Attalid kingdom after Eumenes I rebels against Seleucid rule

The Seleucids - Seleucus II + III - The difficult decades

• Period sees the 3rd Syrian war - a crisis caused by a succession conflict - Ptolemy III helps to put Berenike’s son on the Seleucid throne - but their succession fails - Ptolemy declares war on the new king, Seleucus II - son of Laodike

• Loses Antioch to Ptolemy II - marching up to the Euphrates - the height of Ptolemaic power and a low point of Seleucid power

• The reign of Seleucus II saw rebellions by the satraps in Persia and Bactria - seceding and forming the Parthian Empire

The Seleucids - Antiochus III - The Great

• took back Antioch and other territories from Ptolemy IV in the 4th Syrian War

• Takes back territory in Central Asia Minor and suppresses a rebellion from Achaeus

• Puts down rebellion in Persia and Bactria

• Extends the borders of the empire eastward

• Take the Seleucid empire to its largest extent

The Seleucids - Ruling the empire

• Empire co-ruled with the king’s sons

• The Empire was divided into regions based on Persian satrapies - regions were diverse and fragmented - no collective institutions - the empire lacked cohesion

• Within Satrapies, there were local forms of organisation: Greek city-states, temple states, Persian powers/local dynasts, etc.

• Different parts of the empire interacted with Seleucid rule in different ways - Seleucids worked with different groups to maintain order

• Seleucids presented themselves as inheritors of the old Babylonian empire rather than the Achaemenid dynasty - still used Persian systems of administration - but used Babylonian models of monarchy

• Seleucids constantly managing various relationships: with other Hellenistic monarchs, local rulers/ satraps, cities, ethnicities, etc. - renegotiated by each new king - system based on individual relationships

The Seleucids - Ruling Greek cities

• Greeks in Asia were used to an overarching ruler - previously Persia

• Old Greek cities and new Greek cities maintain features of self-governance - both share ideals of being independent - freedom curtailed in numerous ways

• Seleucids forced to navigate a delicate relationship with Greek cities under their rule

• Greek cities paid taxes and no longer had financial independence

• Greek cities no longer had their own armies - instead, a strong presence of Seleucid garrisons undermined the feeling of freedom

• Greek cities could have governors appointed - to communicate with the king and the city

• A personal and transactional relationship was established - military force not enough - the king constantly renegotiated their relationship with Greek city-states -the king benefited from honours bestowed by Greek cities - cities benefited from benefaction, exemptions, and honours as well

• Traditional scholarship = polis =classical New scholarship= polis remains important

The Seleucids - Freedom of the Greeks

• Granting freedom had been the traditional way to manage relationships with the Greeks

• However, a tension existed between this ideal and the reality of managing individual city-states

• Freedom could mean multiple things: autonomy/self-governance, freedom from attack, tax exemptions, freedom from garrisons, benefactions, etc.

• All different ways of granting freedom and managing control

The Seleucids - Freedom of the Greeks - Source

• Inscription - Royal correspondence 15

• Antiochus II/III thanks the city of Erythrai for their decree of honours, gifts of money and crown they bestowed upon the Seleucids

• The envoys for the king, representing the city, highlight their goodwill toward the Seleucid dynasty and the freedoms allowed to them under previous kings

• Antiochus allows the city to retain its freedoms: freedom from taxes, autonomy, etc.

• Urged to remember the benefactions received from the Seleucids

• Highlights the personal nature of the relationship

• Highlights the various benefactions received by the king and freedoms granted to the Greek cities

• Clearly, the Greeks are engaging with a higher power - are they truly free - bring gifts and decree honours - transactional

The Seleucids - Freedom of the Greeks - Source

• Livy 33.38

• Recounts the attempts of Lampsacus to assert their independence - risked inspiring other revolts

• Antiochus III gathered troops to lay siege to Lampsacus as an exhibition of force - a warning

• Also sent ambassadors to reprimand the city for its conduct - aimed to give the city hopes they would succeed at gaining independence - but emphasises that the aim was to make it appear as though their liberty was a gift from the king

• Highlights the use of force to negotiate positions

• Highlights the importance of maintaining the image of freeing the Greeks

• Emphasises that the Greeks are relating to a higher power, not equals

The Seleucids - Freedom of the Greeks - Source

• Polybius 15.24

• Polybius suggests that the gift of freedom was false - once the Seleucids establish authority, the Greek states become servants

• Highlights the difficulty in assessing relationships - appearance vs reality - loyalty vs resistance to the Seleucid kings

• Possible use of diplomatic language/negotiations, hiding true feelings

The Seleucids - Cult

• Cult/ semi-divine honours bestowed by Greek cities: statues, sacrifices on behalf of or for the king, prayers, sacrifice to the gods, worship of Apollo, the ancestor of the Seleucids

• State Cult: Seleucus I deified after death - given temple + cult, Antiochus III introduces a dynastic cult - a cult to the living monarch + introduces a cult for his wife

The Seleucids - Cult - Source

• Decree of Antiochus III

• Recounts the king’s restoration of peace to the kingdom

• Recounts how previously the kingdom had offered prayers and sacrifices on behalf of the king to the gods - introduces the same policy

• Emphasises that priests should pray with the priest of the king to Apollo, the ancestor of the Seleucid kingdom

• Sacrafices are to be offered on behalf of te king - enchoraged to praise the king for his exellence and manliness and to set u statues of the kings

The Seleucids - Cult - Sources

• Antiochus I - Ionian decree

• Emphasises the transactional nature of the relationship between the king and Greek city-states - worshiped offered to retain freedom

• The king, addressed with divine honours - part of the language of power - offered sacrifices along with the gods - or offered sacrifices on behalf of the king

• The same honours/ cult is established for the Queen

• The decree is made to be inscribed on a stele and displayed in public in the sacred precinct by the altar of the king

• Highlights the near divine honours offered to the king

• Highlight the queen’s importance and involvement in the Dynastic cult

• Highlights the public and individual nature of relationships with the Seleucid dynasty

The Seleucids - Kingship

• A personal monarchy - not focused on governing a specific territory/ people - introduced a standardised system of continuous dating - time reshaped around the kings - also founded cities/ renamed cities after themselves

• A hereditary monarchy - each eldest son was co-ruler before inheriting the throne - successfully kept within the family

• Divine ancestry - claimed descent from Apollo - story mirrors Alexander’s - Apollo conceiving a child with Laodice in a dream - received an anchor ring - became a symbol for the Seleucid dynasty

• Court: Court and companions were typical of the Macedonian monarchy - courtiers acted as the king’s advisors, governors, commanders - given honours alongside the king

• Petitions: The king received constant petitions from their subjects - addressed personally by the king

• A military monarchy: constantly at war - important for the king’s legitimacy - presents him as a capable warrior and defender of the people

The Seleucids - Macedonian or Babylonian

• Traditional beliefs saw the Seleucids as a Hellenizing force

• Modern approaches challenge this assumption

• Seleucids aligned themselves with Macedonian and eastern ideas of legitimacy - emphasising Macedonian ancestry - placed themselves within Babylonian traditions from before the Persian empire

• Emphasised connection with Babylon in multiple ways

• King lists - a Babylonian convention adopted by the Seleucids

• Buildings - seen as defenders/ legitimate successors of Babylon against Antigonids - carried out restorations after the conflict

• Antiochus’ Foundation cylinder - aligns with Babylonian convention - adheres to standard formula but but adapted to include Macedonian ethnic identity

The Seleucids - Macedonian or Babylonian - Sources

• Addresses the differing ideologies beginning building projects - Seleucids personally developed temples - Babylonians = Divine inspiration - Seleucids emphasise their agency and independence from the gods - contesting Babylonian tradition

• Seleucids adopt the titles of eastern/ Babylonian monarchs - draw primary example from Cyrus - another foreign Babylonian king - acknowledging Mac. heritage - fitting into Babylonian traditions

• The queen and king’s wider family are included - a Greek feature - emphasises personal relationships - contrasts Babylonian emphasis on the king’s relations with the gods

• Cylinder a collaboration - creates a mixture of ideologies - negotiated by both parties - traditional Babylonian inscriptions rearranged to create a new ideology

• Highlights the key continuities and departures from the Babylonian monarchy - the creation of a hybrid ideology- important for legitimising the Seleucids