Antiochus II Theos ruled from 286 to 246 BC, inheriting a war with the Ptolmeic Kingdom over Egypt. He managed to lead his forces to victory, forcing the Ptolemies to retreat back to Egypt in 254 BC. However, this victory came at a price, as in 255 the outlying province of Bactria broke from the Seleucid Kingdom. Determined to maintain his kingdom, in 250 BC he forced the barbarian lord Arsaces out of the province of Parthia, which remained a Seleucid possession. From then on, his reign had a period of peace until he was poisoned by his wife, bringing her son to the throne.
Seleucus II Pogon reigned from 246 to 226 BC. His reign began with an alliance between the Hellenistic Kingdoms in Egypt and Asia Minor against the Seleucid state. In 241 BC, Seleucus was forced to abandon Antioch for Seleucia on the Tigris after the city was threatened by the Attalid Kingdom. In 240, after inflicting victories over the Ptolemies and forcing them out of Palestinia, Seleucus made peace, cedeing his possessions in large areas of Asia Minor to the Attalids but concedeing nothing to the Ptolemies. However, in 226 BC his brother Antiochus Hierax seized control of the Empire for himself, committing fratricide.
Antiochus III Hierax ruled only three years, from 226 to 223 BC. During his reign, the capital of the Empire was shifted definitively from Antioch on the Orontes to the larger city of Seleucia on the Tigris. In 225, war broke out again with the Ptolemies of Egypt, and rebellion broke out in Syria and Pars. Soon after, Antiochus, the eldest survivng son of Seleucus II, took the throne of the Seleucid Empire, as Judea fell to the invaders.
Antiochus IV the Great reigned from 223 to 180 BC. In the beginning of his reign, he swiftly led an army to crush the Syrian revolt, which went down to work on expelling the Ptolemies from Judea. The war first met with problems, however, as the Attalids came down from the north to attempt to rekindle the Syrian revolt, and his armies met with defeat. However, the Ptolemic armies were overcame, and pushed back to Alexandria on the Nile, while the Attalids met with little success against the troops left in Syria. The Ptolemic Kingdom was subjugated to Antiochus' state, while the Attalids were forced to cede the land of Cappadocia in 214 BC. Antiochus headed east, to crush the Persian revolt and secure his reign there, taking the Persian title of Great King, in Greek Megas Basileus, where he also gets his subtitle "the Great". From then on, he attempted to expand his domains into western Asia Minor, and Greece. Here, he met with limited success until hitting the massive powerhouse that was the Roman Empire. Forced to retreat, the island of Cyprus, nominally a Seleucid vassal, was lost. He was succeeded by his son, Seleucus.
Seleucus IV Philopator reigned from 180 BC to 175 BC over a realm stretching from Cilicia and Cappadocia to the borders of Bactria. He was a wealthy king, and ordered the construction of many cities, mostly named "Seleucia" after himself or "Antioch" after his father, across the Persian provinces, which led to a greater spread of Hellenistic Greek culture across his Empire. He was succeeded by his first son, Demetrius.
Demetrius I Balas was Seleucid Emperor from 175 BC to 147 BC. His early reign was marked by failure, when revolts caused by the Maccabee Jewish army caused the provinces of Judea and Idumea to erupt in revolt. He led an army into the province in 170 BC, sacking Jerusalem and defiling the Temple. This, whle temporarily calming the revolt, only caused more problems later on, when the revolt returned in 167 BC, with Ptolemic support. In 165 BC Demetrius was forced to concede loss of the provinces to the newly established Hasmonean Kingdom, a vassal of Egypt. In 163, however, attempted revolts in other provinces proved failures, and Cyprus' loyalty was regained. In 160, he launched an invasion of the Attalid Kingdom, annexing a number of border regions and the city of Trebizond. He forced many border concessions from the small Kingdom of Armenia, which was vassalized to his state. In 155, he attempted an invasion of the Bactrian Kingdom, which ended in failure in 147 and his death. He was succeeded by Demetrius II, his son.
Demetrius II Nicator ruled the Seleucid Empire from 147 to 120 BC. In 145 he made peace with the Bactrian Kingdom, and repelled another barbarian invasion of Parthia after heavy losses, and lost the Pontus region to the Roman puppet states in Greece, which was rapidly falling under Roman domination. In 125 BC, he married Cleopatra Tryphaena, a daughter of the Egyptian king. He rapidly fell under the domination of his wife, who had him deposed in 120 and led as sole ruler.
Cleopatra I Tryphaena ruled over the Seleucid domains for eleven years, from 120 BC to 109 BC. She faced revolts from Syria, Cappadocia, and Cilicia, however, these were put down and secured her reign. During her reign, a number of claimants to the throne were executed, leaving the succession clear for her son, Seleucus Philadelphus. Cleopatra is one of the first Seleucid monarchs known to worship the Mesopotamian gods in addition, and sometimes in place of, the Greek pantheon, a practice that rapidly grew even while the Empire hellenized in other ways.
Seleucus V Philadelphus ruled from 109 to 84 BC, over an Empire that was losing it's focus in Greece. Expelled from Cappadocia in favor of the remnant Attilid kingdom, a Roman vassal, he did manage to invade the Bactrian Kingdom, making it part of the Seleucid state in 90 BC. However, six years later, he was assassinated by his power-hungry son, Antiochus Epiphanes.
Antiochus V the Great was Seleucid monarch from 84 to 59 BC. While at the beginning of his reign, the general Lysimachus seized control of the provinces in Bactria and India as his own kingdom, he recovered lands in the West. His title the Great refers to his victories over the decaying Ptolemic kingdom, which he took the Hasmonean state from in 75, and seized Alexandria in 69 BC. However, this was not met well by the Romans, who invaded his kingdom and took the provinces. In 60 BC, the city of Antioch fell as well, and the king made peace, cedeing his possessions in Cappadocia and Trebizond to Rome, and losing Egypt to a Ptolemic claimant supported by Rome. However, he held on to the province of Judea. In his late years, he moved the capital back to Antioch on the Orontes.
Antiochus VI Grypus was Seleucid ruler for a long thirty-nine years, from 59 to 20 BC. During his reign, the attempted Hellenization of Judea ended, and the province was placed under the control of a Jewish governor, Herod. In 50 BC, he attempted an invasion of Cilicia, which was fought off by Rome, and resulted in the sacking of Antioch on the Orontes and the return of the capital to Seleucia on the Tigris. Near the end of his reign, Armenia was forced to become vassalized again, and a civil war broke out in the Roman territories.
Demetrius III Philopator, the brother of childless Antiochus VI, was Seleucid ruler for only one year, from 20 BC to 19 BC. His reign was overall marked by his death after only one year, and not much else.
Antiochus VII Soter came to power in 19 BC after the death of his grandfater, Demetrius III Philopator, and ruled until his death in 1 AD. During his reign, the Roman Republic became the Roman Empire, and forced his nation to cede the province of Cilicia when he attempted to use the civil war as a land grab. In 4 BC, Zoroastrian magi were captured in Judea, as Zoroastrianism was not tolerated in the Seleucid state. The magi informed him that they had heard the birth of a new King in Bethlehem. Seeing this as a threat to his reign, he ordered the destruction of Bethlehem and all infants within, though the child mentioned escaped to Roman Egypt. The king died that same year.
Seleucus II Pogon reigned from 246 to 226 BC. His reign began with an alliance between the Hellenistic Kingdoms in Egypt and Asia Minor against the Seleucid state. In 241 BC, Seleucus was forced to abandon Antioch for Seleucia on the Tigris after the city was threatened by the Attalid Kingdom. In 240, after inflicting victories over the Ptolemies and forcing them out of Palestinia, Seleucus made peace, cedeing his possessions in large areas of Asia Minor to the Attalids but concedeing nothing to the Ptolemies. However, in 226 BC his brother Antiochus Hierax seized control of the Empire for himself, committing fratricide.
Antiochus III Hierax ruled only three years, from 226 to 223 BC. During his reign, the capital of the Empire was shifted definitively from Antioch on the Orontes to the larger city of Seleucia on the Tigris. In 225, war broke out again with the Ptolemies of Egypt, and rebellion broke out in Syria and Pars. Soon after, Antiochus, the eldest survivng son of Seleucus II, took the throne of the Seleucid Empire, as Judea fell to the invaders.
Antiochus IV the Great reigned from 223 to 180 BC. In the beginning of his reign, he swiftly led an army to crush the Syrian revolt, which went down to work on expelling the Ptolemies from Judea. The war first met with problems, however, as the Attalids came down from the north to attempt to rekindle the Syrian revolt, and his armies met with defeat. However, the Ptolemic armies were overcame, and pushed back to Alexandria on the Nile, while the Attalids met with little success against the troops left in Syria. The Ptolemic Kingdom was subjugated to Antiochus' state, while the Attalids were forced to cede the land of Cappadocia in 214 BC. Antiochus headed east, to crush the Persian revolt and secure his reign there, taking the Persian title of Great King, in Greek Megas Basileus, where he also gets his subtitle "the Great". From then on, he attempted to expand his domains into western Asia Minor, and Greece. Here, he met with limited success until hitting the massive powerhouse that was the Roman Empire. Forced to retreat, the island of Cyprus, nominally a Seleucid vassal, was lost. He was succeeded by his son, Seleucus.
Seleucus IV Philopator reigned from 180 BC to 175 BC over a realm stretching from Cilicia and Cappadocia to the borders of Bactria. He was a wealthy king, and ordered the construction of many cities, mostly named "Seleucia" after himself or "Antioch" after his father, across the Persian provinces, which led to a greater spread of Hellenistic Greek culture across his Empire. He was succeeded by his first son, Demetrius.
Demetrius I Balas was Seleucid Emperor from 175 BC to 147 BC. His early reign was marked by failure, when revolts caused by the Maccabee Jewish army caused the provinces of Judea and Idumea to erupt in revolt. He led an army into the province in 170 BC, sacking Jerusalem and defiling the Temple. This, whle temporarily calming the revolt, only caused more problems later on, when the revolt returned in 167 BC, with Ptolemic support. In 165 BC Demetrius was forced to concede loss of the provinces to the newly established Hasmonean Kingdom, a vassal of Egypt. In 163, however, attempted revolts in other provinces proved failures, and Cyprus' loyalty was regained. In 160, he launched an invasion of the Attalid Kingdom, annexing a number of border regions and the city of Trebizond. He forced many border concessions from the small Kingdom of Armenia, which was vassalized to his state. In 155, he attempted an invasion of the Bactrian Kingdom, which ended in failure in 147 and his death. He was succeeded by Demetrius II, his son.
Demetrius II Nicator ruled the Seleucid Empire from 147 to 120 BC. In 145 he made peace with the Bactrian Kingdom, and repelled another barbarian invasion of Parthia after heavy losses, and lost the Pontus region to the Roman puppet states in Greece, which was rapidly falling under Roman domination. In 125 BC, he married Cleopatra Tryphaena, a daughter of the Egyptian king. He rapidly fell under the domination of his wife, who had him deposed in 120 and led as sole ruler.
Cleopatra I Tryphaena ruled over the Seleucid domains for eleven years, from 120 BC to 109 BC. She faced revolts from Syria, Cappadocia, and Cilicia, however, these were put down and secured her reign. During her reign, a number of claimants to the throne were executed, leaving the succession clear for her son, Seleucus Philadelphus. Cleopatra is one of the first Seleucid monarchs known to worship the Mesopotamian gods in addition, and sometimes in place of, the Greek pantheon, a practice that rapidly grew even while the Empire hellenized in other ways.
Seleucus V Philadelphus ruled from 109 to 84 BC, over an Empire that was losing it's focus in Greece. Expelled from Cappadocia in favor of the remnant Attilid kingdom, a Roman vassal, he did manage to invade the Bactrian Kingdom, making it part of the Seleucid state in 90 BC. However, six years later, he was assassinated by his power-hungry son, Antiochus Epiphanes.
Antiochus V the Great was Seleucid monarch from 84 to 59 BC. While at the beginning of his reign, the general Lysimachus seized control of the provinces in Bactria and India as his own kingdom, he recovered lands in the West. His title the Great refers to his victories over the decaying Ptolemic kingdom, which he took the Hasmonean state from in 75, and seized Alexandria in 69 BC. However, this was not met well by the Romans, who invaded his kingdom and took the provinces. In 60 BC, the city of Antioch fell as well, and the king made peace, cedeing his possessions in Cappadocia and Trebizond to Rome, and losing Egypt to a Ptolemic claimant supported by Rome. However, he held on to the province of Judea. In his late years, he moved the capital back to Antioch on the Orontes.
Antiochus VI Grypus was Seleucid ruler for a long thirty-nine years, from 59 to 20 BC. During his reign, the attempted Hellenization of Judea ended, and the province was placed under the control of a Jewish governor, Herod. In 50 BC, he attempted an invasion of Cilicia, which was fought off by Rome, and resulted in the sacking of Antioch on the Orontes and the return of the capital to Seleucia on the Tigris. Near the end of his reign, Armenia was forced to become vassalized again, and a civil war broke out in the Roman territories.
Demetrius III Philopator, the brother of childless Antiochus VI, was Seleucid ruler for only one year, from 20 BC to 19 BC. His reign was overall marked by his death after only one year, and not much else.
Antiochus VII Soter came to power in 19 BC after the death of his grandfater, Demetrius III Philopator, and ruled until his death in 1 AD. During his reign, the Roman Republic became the Roman Empire, and forced his nation to cede the province of Cilicia when he attempted to use the civil war as a land grab. In 4 BC, Zoroastrian magi were captured in Judea, as Zoroastrianism was not tolerated in the Seleucid state. The magi informed him that they had heard the birth of a new King in Bethlehem. Seeing this as a threat to his reign, he ordered the destruction of Bethlehem and all infants within, though the child mentioned escaped to Roman Egypt. The king died that same year.
