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The Seleucid Empire (Syria)

After the death of Alexander the Great in the afternoon of 11 June 323 BCE, his empire was divided by his generals, the Diadochi. One of them was his friend Seleucus, who became king of the eastern provinces - more or less modern Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, together with parts of Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajik...

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The Diadochi: The death of Philip Arridaeus

After the death of Alexander the Great, his half-witted brother Philip Arridaeus became king; a general named Perdiccas was made regent (323-320), and later succeeded by Antipater (320-319) and Polyperchon. King Philip was married to Eurydice, who tried to prevent that he was used by his regents, and played an important role to replace Polyperchon ...

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The Diadochi Chronicle

The Babylonian Diadochi Chronicle (BCHP 3; a.k.a. ABC 10, Chronicle 10) is one of the historiographical texts from ancient Babylonia. It deals with the history of the Diadochi, the successors of Alexander the Great, and theBabylonian war between the generals Seleucus and Antigonus Monophthalmus....

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The Diadochi: The Career of Seleucus

Seleucus had served under Alexander the Great and was vizier after his death. In 320, he was made satrap of Babylonia. Although he lost possession of his satrapy between 315 and 311, he grew out to be one of the most powerful monarchs after Alexander. The Greek historian Appian of Alexandria describes Seleucus' career in several chapters of his His...

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Antiochus and the Jews

According to the account of 1 Maccabees, the High Priests at Jerusalem appointed by Antiochus were involved in systematically changing the traditions of the Jews that were based on the laws of Moses, to make them conform to Greek beliefs. A gymnasium was constructed in Jerusalem, and instead of learning their ancient law, the priests engaged in wre...

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The Diadochi: The Siege of Nora

After the death of Alexander the Great on June 11, 323, Perdiccas was appointed as regent for Alexander's half-witted brother Philip Arridaeus and his baby son Alexander. Soon, Perdiccas lost control of the empire, and he had to fight a civil war against rebel officers like Ptolemy, Antipater, andCraterus. Perdiccas' most important ally was Eumenes...

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The Diadochi: The Liberation of Athens

Few generals have received the honors that Demetrius I Poliorcetes, son ofAntigonus Monophthalmus, received in 307 when he liberated Athens. It was an important event in the Fourth War of the Diadochi (the successors ofAlexander the Great), because Demetrius and his father were called kings. A year later, they themselves assumed the title. The stor...

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The Diadochi: The Invasion of the Gauls I

Just when the situation in the hellenistic empires seemed to be stabilized, the Galatians invaded Greece. The deepest cause was the collapse of the kingdom that had once been Lysimachus': when this king was killed in 281, the tribes in the buffer zone in the north sided with the barbarous Galatians, who now found the way to the south open. These Ga...

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Maccabees and Hasmonean Kings

Jerusalem: In Search of the Maccabees by By Jacqueline Schaalje. As is well known, the Jewish holiday of Chanukah is based on historic events. From the year 180 BCE until 161 BCE the Maccabees rebelled against the Syrian king Antiochus IV who persecuted the Jews. At the end of the period, after the rebels had conquered Judah and Jerusalem, the Temp...

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The Diadochi: Antigonus' Winter Campaign Against Eumenes

In June 316, the duel between Antigonus Monophthalmus and Eumenes started. The first general wanted to be sole ruler in the empire that had once been Alexander's, the latter had started as a defender of the rights of the official king, Philip Arridaeus, who was by now dead. Nevertheless,Eumenes continued the struggle. In January 315, Antigonus was ...

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