Antiochus the Great

King of Seleucid Dynasty (r. 223-187 b. c.e.)

Born: c. 242 b. c.e.; probably Antioch (now Antakya, Turkey)

Died: 187 b. c.e.; Elymais, near Susa (now in Iran)

Also known as: Antiochus III Category: Government and politics

Life The youngest son of Seleucus II, Antiochus (an-TI-uh-kuhs) the Great succeeded his assassinated brother Seleucus III in 223 b. c.e. Having put down the revolts of satraps Molon in Media (222-221 b. c.e.) and Achaeus in western Anatolia (220/213 b. c.e.), Antiochus undertook a campaign into the upper satrapies (212/205 b. c.e.) and established control over Commagene, Armenia, Parthia, and Bactria as well as southern Syria, Phoenicia, and Judaea. For his role in restoring and expanding the Seleucid kingdom, he received his title “the Great.”

After the Roman defeat of Philip V, Antiochus claimed western Anatolia and Thrace as his ancestral inheritance. Following unsuccessful negotiations, he was defeated by the Romans in the battles at Thermopylae in Greece (191 b. c.e.) and at Magnesia ad Sipylum in Asia Minor (189 b. c.e.). In accordance with the Peace of Apamea (188 b. c.e.), Antiochus vacated Anatolia to the west of the Taurus Mountains but retained his eastern possessions, which stretched up to central Asia. He died soon afterward, on campaign in Elymais.

Influence The pinnacle of the Seleucid Dynasty, Antiochus’s reign also reflected increasing Roman interference in Greek affairs. He is credited with the separation of military and fiscal administration and the introduction of the royal cult.

Further Reading

Grainger, John D. The Roman War of Antichos the Great. Boston: Brill,

2002.

Antiochus the Great.

Kincaid, C. A. Successors of Alexander the Great. Chicago: Argonaut, 1969.

Ma, John. Antiochus II and the Cities of Western Asia Minor. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.

Sviatoslav Dmitriev

See also: Magnesia ad Sipylum, Battle of; Philip V; Seleucid Dynasty; Thermopylae, Battle of.