Antiochus I Soter

Antiochus I Soter

(born c. 324—died 261 BC) King of Seleucid Syria in the east (292?–281 BC) and later overall (281–261). Son of Seleucus I, he consolidated the Seleucid kingdom, founded numerous cities, and expanded trade routes. In 281 he contended with revolts in Syria and northern Anatolia and fought a war with Antigonus II Gonatas. With the defeat of the Gauls in Greece (279), he and Antigonus signed a pact of nonintervention. The Gauls in Asia Minor were not defeated until 275, after which he was hailed as Soter (“Saviour”) by appreciative Ionians. He settled Greeks in Asia Minor and Persia to counter invasions, and he worked to revive Babylonian culture. Though he won Phoenicia and the coast of Asia Minor from Egypt, he soon lost them, and in 261 he lost much of northern Asia Minor to Pergamum.