Seleucid dynasty (redirected from Seleucid Empire)

Seleucid dynasty

Macedonian Greek dynasty (312–64 BC) founded by Seleucus I Nicator. Carved from the empire of Alexander the Great, the Seleucid domain stretched from Thrace to the border of India and included Babylonia, Syria, and Anatolia. Seleucus was succeeded in 281 by Antiochus I Soter, who reigned until 261. He was followed by Antiochus II (r. 261–246), Seleucus II Callinicus (r. 246–225), Seleucus III (r. 225–223), and Antiochus III (the Great; r. 223–187). Under the last, the empire was at its height. Resistance to the power and spread of Hellenistic culture soon began to manifest itself in the Asian lands. Antiochus III's encounter with the Romans signaled decline, especially after the defeat of 190. The decline accelerated after the death of Antiochus IV (r. 175–164), who lost Judaea to the Maccabees. The efforts of Demetrius I and Antiochus VII could not forestall the dynasty's inevitable end at the hands of the Roman Pompey the Great in 64 BC.