The Seleukid Empire 281-222 BC: War Within the Family

337 Pages·2018·17.966 MB·English

by  Erickson, K.

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THE SELEUKID EMPIRE, 281–222 BC:
WAR WITHIN THE FAMILY
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T
HE
S E ,
ELEUKID MPIRE
281–222
BC
W F
AR WITHIN THE AMILY
edited by
Kyle Erickson
The Classical Press of Wales
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Firstpublishedin2018by
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CONTENTS
Page
Introduction 1
KyleErickson
1 DispellingSeleukidphantoms:MacedoniansinWestern
AsiaMinorfromAlexandertotheAttalids 11
StephenMitchell
2 TheHouseofAchaios:reconstructinganearlyclientdynasty
ofSeleukidAnatolia 37
AlexMcAuley
3 AsiaMinorandthemanyshadesofacivilwar.
ObservationsonAchaiostheYoungerandhisclaim
tothekingdomofAnatolia 59
MonicaD’Agostini
4 Seleukos,ZeusandthedynasticcultatSeleukeiainPieria 83
NicholasL.Wright
5 TheideologyofSeleukidjointkingship:thecaseof
Seleukos,sonofAntiochosI 101
JohnRussellHolton
6 ThecomingoftheParthians:crisisandresilience
inthereignofSeleukosII 129
RolfStrootman
7 RethinkingtherelationshipbetweenHellenisticBaktria
andtheSeleukidEmpire 151
RichardWenghofer
8 IranianidentityandSeleukidallegiance:Vahbarz,
theFratarakaandearlyArsakidcoinage 173
DavidEngels
v
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Contents
9 TheWarofBrothers,theThirdSyrianWar,andtheBattleof
Ankyra(246–241BC):are-appraisal 197
AltayCo¸skun
10 AntiochosSoterandtheThirdSyrianWar 253
KyleErickson
Bibliography 275
Index 309
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INTRODUCTION
KyleErickson
OnthedeathofAntiochos,kingofSyria,hissonSeleukos,succeedingin
hisstead,commencedhisreignwithmurderinhisownfamily,hismother
Laodike,whooughttohaverestrainedhim,encouraginghimtoit.Heput
to death his step-mother Berenike, the sister of Ptolemy, king of Egypt,
togetherwithhislittlebrother,herson.Byperpetratingthiscruelty,heboth
incurredthestainofinfamy,andinvolvedhimselfinawarwithPtolemy.
–JustinEpitome27.1.1–3.1
ThedeathofAntiochosII(246BC)hasoftenbeenusedtomarkaturning
point in the Seleukid empire. After agreeing to marry Berenike following
hissuccessinthewarwithPtolemyPhiladelphos,hediedwithtwowives
andtwosetsofrelativelyyoungcompetitorsforthethrone.Whetherornot
hehadfollowedthepracticeofhisfatherandgrandfatherindesignatinga
successorremainsunclear,althoughhemayhaveappointedhiseldestson
asjointrulerinthemonthsbeforehisdeath.2Nonetheless,Seleukoswas
able to adopt the diadem without difficulty in Babylonia. However, the
doublemarriagebyAntiochosIItotwopowerfulwomen,Laodikefrom
the house of Achaios and Berenike sister of Ptolemy, left considerable
room for the interested parties to gain concessions from his young son
whenhetookthethrone.
TheliterarytraditionconcerningSeleukosIIisforthemostpartfairly
hostile:heisblamedforthedeathofhisstep-motherandherchild,andhe
was also involved not only in a war with Ptolemy but also with his own
brother.Itisthisfratricidalwar,ratherthanthePtolemaicinvasion,thatis
oftenlookedtoasacauseofsignificantSeleukidweakness.
A further complication in Seleukos’ attempt to reform his ancestral
kingdom was the breakaway of Baktria and Parthia, which most scholars
have dated to about this period.3 According to the traditional narrative,
Seleukos’ weakness in fending off the threats of Ptolemy in the western
halfoftheempiremarkedasignificantdrainonhisresourcesandpower,
whichinturnlefthimunabletodealwiththevariousrebellionsintheeast.
TheeventsfromAntiochosII’ssuccessintheSecondSyrianWaruntil
the death of Achaios the Younger at the hands of Antiochos III are
commonlyusedtohighlightthefragilenatureofSeleukidpower,evenby
thosewhohavesubscribedtoa‘strong’viewoftheempire.Wecanseethis
1