In 187 Antiochus III Megas died, and his eldest son, Seleucus IV Philopator, ascended the throne. Knowledge of this king’s reign is patchy. Given the catastrophic defeat at Magnesia, he seems to have been more active as a diplomat than as a warrior. When Pharnaces, the King of Cappadocia on the Pontus (or just “Pontus” as it usually called from now onwards), waged war against Per-gamum and Cappadocia on the Taurus (or just “Cappadocia” as it is usually called from now onwards) (Pol. XXIV 14-15), Seleucus IV, who was apparently about to aid Pharnaces, in the end refrained from doing so (Diod. XXIX 24) and Pharnaces lost (Pol. XXV 2). In negotiations with the Romans, Seleucus succeeded in procuring the release of his brother, the future Antiochus IV, whom their father had consented to send as a hostage to Rome, but only at the cost of replacing him with his own son, the future Demetrius I (App. Syr. 45). Seleucus also gave his daughter Laodice in marriage to Perseus - presumably this marriage sealed some sort of alliance, however informal (Liv. XLII 12). During Seleucus’ reign, the kings of Parthia and Bactria presumably ceased to acknowledge Seleucid overlordship - at least there is no evidence that Antiochus IV, about whom more is known, still controlled these regions. Appian (Syr. 66) writes that Seleucus IV “reigned unsuccessfully and weakly.” Behind that curt verdict lies one simple fact: it fell to Seleucus IV’s lot to pay off the indemnity which Rome had imposed. Year in, year out, his treasury strained to find the money (see Box 24.4).
Seleucus IV Philopator’s vizier, Heliodorus, murdered him in 175 in an attempted coup d’etat. Even though several of his sons were alive (e. g., Demetrius, still a hostage at Rome), his brother, Antiochus IV, surnamed Epiphanes (“[god] manifest”) to his face and Epimanes (“lunatic”) behind his back, managed to seize the throne. Eumenes II of Pergamum helped Antiochus IV secure the throne (App. Syr. 45; Austin, Nr. 162) - Eumenes II by now
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