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195-763: In 323 BC, the Seleucid Empire was founded by Seleucus I Nicator , a general of Alexander the Great . Stretching from Syria to the Indus River and comprising most of Alexander's realm, the Seleucid state was the most powerful of the Diadochi kingdoms that sprang up after Alexander's death. Quickly however, the Seleucids ran into trouble trying to maintain such an extended realm, facing constant warfare against

390-458: A "holy city" where any legitimate ruler of southern Mesopotamia had to be crowned, and the city was also revered by Assyria for these religious reasons. Hammurabi turned what had previously been a minor administrative town into a large, powerful and influential city, extended its rule over the entirety of southern Mesopotamia, and erected a number of buildings. The Amorite-ruled Babylonians, like their predecessor states, engaged in regular trade with

585-532: A Greek (" Yavana ") princess, daughter of Seleucus ( Suluva in Indian sources). Babylonia Babylonia ( / ˌ b æ b ɪ ˈ l oʊ n i ə / ; Akkadian : 𒆳𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠 , māt Akkadī ) was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria and Iran ). It emerged as an Akkadian populated but Amorite -ruled state c.  1894 BC . During

780-846: A bas-relief temple in Uruk and Kurigalzu I (1415–1390 BC) built a new capital Dur-Kurigalzu named after himself, transferring administrative rule from Babylon. Both of these kings continued to struggle unsuccessfully against the Sealand Dynasty. Karaindash also strengthened diplomatic ties with the Assyrian king Ashur-bel-nisheshu and the Egyptian Pharaoh Thutmose III and protected Babylonian borders with Elam. Kadašman-Ḫarbe I succeeded Karaindash, and briefly invaded Elam before being eventually defeated and ejected by its king Tepti Ahar. He then had to contend with

975-520: A calculated strategic withdrawal in the face of the Seleucid army. Arsaces' withdrawal was not a retreat or disorganized rout but rather part of a predetermined strategy to inspire overconfidence and complacency in Seleucus. Arsaces remained the master of the situation. Shortly after their withdrawal, the Parthians inflicted a major defeat on the Seleucid army, possibly even capturing Seleucus. Whatever

1170-480: A coalition against Antigonus. The allies sent a proposition to Antigonus in which they demanded shares of his accumulated treasure and of his territory, with Phoenica and Syria going to Ptolemy, Cappadocia and Lycia to Cassander, Hellespontine Phrygia to Lysimachus, and Babylonia to Seleucus. Antigonus refused, and in the spring of 314 BC, he marched against Ptolemy in Syria. Seleucus acted as an admiral to Ptolemy during

1365-586: A decline from which it could never recover. The Seleucid Empire became a rump state which consisted of little more than Antioch and the surrounding lands. The only reason the Seleucid Empire continued to exist is because the Parthians saw it as a useful buffer against the Roman Empire. When Pompey led a Roman expedition into Syria , he annexed the Seleucid Empire, and the stage was set for the Roman–Parthian Wars . The westward expansion of Parthia during

1560-421: A desert in western Parthia adjacent to the regions of Choarene and Komisene , which is where Arsaces had stationed his army and wrongly assumed the Seleucid army would attack from. As Arsaces realized this mistake, he attempted to rectify it by sending detachments of his army to destroy water wells in the area to slow the massive Seleucid army. Antiochus, in response, sent a general by the name of Nicomedes with

1755-593: A dream seen Alexander standing beside him. Eumenes had tried to use a similar propaganda trick. Antigonus, who had been in Asia Minor while Seleucus had been in the east with Alexander, could not use Alexander in his own propaganda. Seleucus, being Macedonian, had the ability to gain the trust of the Macedonians among his troops, which was not the case with Eumenes. After becoming once again satrap of Babylon, Seleucus became much more aggressive in his politics. In

1950-706: A few years and capture their capital, Susa . Mithridates returned east the same year. Despite the Mithridates' victory, the Elymaens continued resisting the Parthians until the year 132 BCE. Despite being embroiled in a civil war with Diodotus Tryphon , Demetrius II felt confident enough to pursue a war against the Parthians . Tryphon had lost nearly his entire army to bad weather near Ptolemais , making his position much weaker. Additionally, Tryphon executed Antiochus VI and declared himself king, which proved to be

2145-479: A force of 1,000 cavalry to secure the wells. The Parthian units lacked the necessary strength to adequately fight the Seleucid force under Nicomedes and therefore implemented a feigned retreat to lure Nicomedes into giving chase towards the main Parthian army were it could be dealt with. Nicomedes refused to fall for the trap and did not pursue the Parthian detachments, and successfully secured the wells and drove away

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2340-520: A major mistake. Despite Tryphon's setbacks, Demetrius was not in a position to remove him from power completely. In 140 BCE, Demetrius II decided to pursue war with the Parthians in order to advance his standing and retake Mesopotamia , which was an important source of revenue for him. The unstable rule of the Parthians in Babylonia combined with the invasion of the region by the Elymaens had lowered

2535-411: A massive scale, to syntactic, morphological, and phonological convergence. This has prompted scholars to refer to Sumerian and Akkadian in the third millennium as a sprachbund . Akkadian gradually replaced Sumerian as the spoken language of Mesopotamia somewhere around the turn of the third and the second millennium BC (the precise timeframe being a matter of debate). From c.  5400 BC until

2730-420: A much reduced Babylon, Samshu-iluna's successor Abi-Eshuh made a vain attempt to recapture the Sealand Dynasty for Babylon, but met defeat at the hands of king Damqi-ilishu II . By the end of his reign Babylonia had shrunk to the small and relatively weak nation it had been upon its foundation, although the city itself was far larger and opulent than the small town it had been prior to the rise of Hammurabi. He

2925-945: A protracted war with the Old Assyrian Empire for control of Mesopotamia and dominance of the Near East. Assyria had extended control over much of the Hurrian and Hattian parts of southeast Anatolia from the 21st century BC, and from the latter part of the 20th century BC had asserted itself over the northeast Levant and central Mesopotamia. After a protracted struggle over decades with the powerful Assyrian kings Shamshi-Adad I and Ishme-Dagan I , Hammurabi forced their successor Mut-Ashkur to pay tribute to Babylon c.  1751 BC , giving Babylonia control over Assyria's centuries-old Hattian and Hurrian colonies in Anatolia. One of Hammurabi's most important and lasting works

3120-474: A result of Demodamas' successful campaign. Arsaces I became the king of the Parni in 248 BCE and led them on a second campaign against Seleucid Margiana in 246 BCE. Once again, a Seleucid satrap, this time Diodotus , was sent to repel the invasion. Diodotus was able to repel Arsaces I and secure Margiana. Despite the victory, the Seleucids once again failed to completely neutralize the Parni threat. In 247 BCE,

3315-649: A series of small kingdoms, while the Assyrians reasserted their independence in the north. The states of the south were unable to stem the Amorite advance, and for a time may have relied on their fellow Akkadians in Assyria for protection. King Ilu-shuma ( c.  2008 –1975 BC) of the Old Assyrian period (2025–1750 BC) in a known inscription describes his exploits to the south as follows: The freedom of

3510-996: A short period of civil war in the Assyrian empire, in the years after the death of Tukulti-Ninurta. Meli-Shipak II (1188–1172 BC) seems to have had a peaceful reign. Despite not being able to regain northern Babylonia from Assyria, no further territory was lost, Elam did not threaten, and the Late Bronze Age collapse now affecting the Levant, Canaan , Egypt , the Caucasus , Anatolia, Mediterranean , North Africa , northern Iran and Balkans seemed (initially) to have little impact on Babylonia (or indeed Assyria and Elam). War resumed under subsequent kings such as Marduk-apla-iddina I (1171–1159 BC) and Zababa-shuma-iddin (1158 BC). The long reigning Assyrian king Ashur-dan I (1179–1133 BC) resumed expansionist policies and conquered further parts of northern Babylonia from both kings, and

3705-413: A short time he conquered Media and Susiana. Diodorus Siculus reports that Seleucus also conquered other nearby areas, which might refer to Persis , Aria or Parthia . Seleucus did not reach Bactria and Sogdiana . The satrap of the former was Stasanor , who had remained neutral during the conflicts. After the defeat of Nikanor's army, there was no force in the east that could have opposed Seleucus. It

3900-415: A small nation which controlled very little territory, and was overshadowed by neighbouring kingdoms that were both older, larger, and more powerful, such as; Isin, Larsa, Assyria to the north and Elam to the east in ancient Iran. The Elamites occupied huge swathes of southern Mesopotamia, and the early Amorite rulers were largely held in vassalage to Elam. Babylon remained a minor town in a small state until

4095-526: A specific Hittite king either, Trevor Bryce concludes that there is no doubt that both sources refer to Mursili I and Samsu-ditana . The Hittites, when sacking Babylon, removed the images of the gods Marduk and his consort Zarpanitu from the Esagil temple and they took them to their kingdom. The later inscription of Agum-kakrime , the Kassite king, claims he returned the images; and another later text,

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4290-408: A stalemate. The night after the battle, contingents of the Seleucid army flanked the Parthian army, causing the Parthians to retreat further. After this victory, Antiochus resumed his march and captured the unprotected city of Tambrax , which contained a royal palace. Arsaces II had so far failed to halt the Seleucid march, so he decided to drastically change his strategy to a siege defense. Sirynx

4485-574: A subordinate ally to Antiochus III. Antiochus annexed all of Parthia south of the Kopet Dag mountain range and left Arsaces with a small kingdom. Arsaces was also restricted from minting coins and likely had to supply the Seleucid army with Parthian soldiers. Antiochus had neutralized the Parthians for the time being and achieved all the goals of his campaign in Parthia. The campaign of Antiochus III had devastated Parthia and lowered Arsaces II to

4680-402: A time limit, after which he had to return to Syria. Antigonus believed Seleucus was still ruling only Babylon. Perhaps Nicanor had not told him that Seleucus now had at least 20,000 soldiers. It seems that the scale of Nicanor's defeat was not clear to all parties. Antigonus did not know Seleucus had conquered the majority of the eastern provinces and perhaps cared little about the eastern parts of

4875-504: A treaty sealed in 303 BC, Seleucus abandoned the territories he could never securely hold in exchange for stabilizing the East and obtaining elephants, with which he could turn his attention against his great western rival, Antigonus Monophthalmus. The 500 war elephants Seleucus obtained from Chandragupta were to play a key role in the forthcoming battles, particularly at Ipsus against Antigonus and Demetrius. The Maurya king might have married

5070-513: A weak subordinate king. Parthian territory in northeastern Iran had been annexed by Antiochus, who relegated the Arsacids to the northernmost end of Parthia in what is now Turkmenistan . As well as being stripped of most of their territory, the Parthian military had been greatly weakened after the defeats it suffered at the hands of the Seleucids and was disabled for some time. However, with

5265-641: A young man of about twenty-three, Seleucus accompanied Alexander into Asia. By the time of the Indian campaigns beginning in late in 327 BC, he had risen to the command of the elite infantry corps in the Macedonian army, the "Shield-bearers" ( Hypaspistai , later known as the " Silvershields "). It is said by Arrian that when Alexander crossed the Hydaspes river on a boat, he was accompanied by Perdiccas , Ptolemy I Soter , Lysimachus and also Seleucus. During

5460-488: Is available about the conflict between Antigonus and Seleucus; only a very rudimentary Babylonian chronicle detailing the events of the war remains. The description of the year 310 BC has completely disappeared. It seems that Antigonus conquered Babylon. His plans were disturbed, however, by Ptolemy, who made a surprise attack in Cilicia. We do know that Seleucus defeated Antigonus in at least one decisive battle. This battle

5655-598: Is not clear precisely when Kassite rule of Babylon began, but the Indo-European Hittites from Anatolia did not remain in Babylonia for long after the sacking of the city, and it is likely the Kassites moved in soon afterwards. Agum II took the throne for the Kassites in 1595 BC, and ruled a state that extended from Iran to the middle Euphrates; The new king retained peaceful relations with Erishum III ,

5850-532: Is now in the Louvre . From before 3000 BC until the reign of Hammurabi, the major cultural and religious center of southern Mesopotamia had been the ancient city of Nippur, where the god Enlil was supreme. Hammurabi transferred this dominance to Babylon, making Marduk supreme in the pantheon of southern Mesopotamia (with the god Ashur , and to some degree Ishtar , remaining the long-dominant deity in northern Mesopotamian Assyria). The city of Babylon became known as

6045-544: Is only mentioned in Stratagems in War by Polyaenus . Polyaenus reports that the troops of Seleucus and Antigonus fought for a whole day, but when night came the battle was still undecided. The two forces agreed to rest for the night and continue in the morning. Antigonus' troops slept without their equipment. Seleucus ordered his forces to sleep and eat breakfast in battle formation. Shortly before dawn, Seleucus' troops attacked

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6240-487: Is uncertain how Seleucus arranged the administration of the provinces he had conquered. Most satraps had died. In theory, Polyperchon was still the lawful successor of Antipater and the official regent of the Macedonian kingdom. It was his duty to select the satraps. However, Polyperchon was still allied with Antigonus and thus an enemy of Seleucus. Antigonus sent his son Demetrius along with 15,000 infantry and 4,000 cavalry to reconquer Babylon. Apparently, he gave Demetrius

6435-666: The Alborz Mountains bordering Hyrcania in the east and Media in the southwest. The Parthians may have attacked them to secure Hyrcania and expand their holdings in Iran . Due to their location, the Mardians also posed a threat to trade routes from Parthia and Hyrcania to Rhaga and Ecbatana . After defeating the Mardians, Phraates conquered the entirety of the Caspian Gates from the Seleucids. Phraates then conquered

6630-632: The Dynasty IV of Babylon, from Isin , with the first native Akkadian-speaking south Mesopotamian dynasty to rule Babylonia, with Marduk-kabit-ahheshu becoming only the second native Mesopotamian to sit on the throne of Babylon, after the Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I . His dynasty was to remain in power for some 125 years. The new king successfully drove out the Elamites and prevented any possible Kassite revival. Later in his reign he went to war with Assyria, and had some initial success, briefly capturing

6825-615: The Egyptian chronology . Possible dates for the sack of Babylon are: Mursili I , the Hittite king, first conquered Aleppo , capital of Yamhad kingdom to avenge the death of his father, but his main geopolitical target was Babylon. The Mesopotamian Chronicle 40 , written after 1500 BC, mentions briefly the sack of Babylon as: "During the time of Samsu-Ditana , the Hittites marched on Akkad." More details can be found in another source,

7020-691: The Greco-Bactrian kingdom as well as to subdue tribes in modern-day south-eastern Iran and south-western Pakistan . Meanwhile, in the Seleucid Empire , mass unrest in Syria left the empire vulnerable. In 145 BCE, a Seleucid general named Diodotus Tryphon revolted and made a bid to place the son of the slain Alexander Balas , Antiochus VI , on the Seleucid throne. The Seleucid Empire descended into another crippling civil war. Around

7215-530: The Greeks within the city would betray them, and so they massacred the entire Greek population of the city. The Parthians also brought anything of value from the city along with them. This indicates that the Parthians were low on funds for the campaign. The attempted breakout failed, and Antiochus took the city after a final assault, forcing the Parthians to surrender. After the disastrous fighting in Hyrcania and

7410-569: The Marduk Prophesy , written long after the events, mentions that the image of Marduk was in exile around twenty-four years. After the conquest, Mursili I did not attempt to convert the whole region he had occupied from Aleppo to Babylon as a part of his kingdom; he instead made an alliance with the Kassites , and then a Kassite dynasty was established in Babylonia. The Kassite dynasty was founded by Gandash of Mari. The Kassites, like

7605-565: The Mauryan empire , had conquered the Indus valley and several other parts of the easternmost regions of Alexander's empire. Seleucus began a campaign against Chandragupta and crossed the Indus . Most western historians note that it appears to have fared poorly as he did not achieve his goals , even though what exactly happened is unknown. The two leaders ultimately reached an agreement, and through

7800-501: The Parni , an Iranian tribe from the central Asian steppes under Arsaces , invaded Andragoras' domain , defeated and killed him, and took over the land. Sometime in the 280s BCE, the Parni attempted to invade Seleucid Margiana in order to expand their regional power and security. The Seleucids quickly dispatched Demodamas , the satrap of Bactria and Sogdiana , to neutralize the Parni threat. Demodamas launched his campaign, defeated

7995-576: The Parthian Empire and the succeeding Sasanian Empire . While Mithridates led the advance into Mesopotamia , Bagasis conquered Persis around the same time. Even though by this time Mithridates had conquered large portions of the Seleucid Empire, it had come at no cost of the main Seleucid army , but had been incredibly difficult and taxing for the Parthians. The position of the Parthians remained vulnerable. Despite his victory, Mithridates I

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8190-728: The Partition of Babylon in 323 BC. However, after the outbreak of the Wars of the Diadochi in 322, Perdiccas' military failures against Ptolemy in Egypt led to the mutiny of his troops in Pelusium . Perdiccas was betrayed and assassinated in a conspiracy by Seleucus, Peithon and Antigenes in Pelusium sometime in either 321 or 320 BC. At the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC, Seleucus

8385-414: The Seleucid provinces of Persis and Elymais , which further destabilized and weakened the Seleucid Empire. Having secured his eastern frontiers, Mithridates was able to redirect his attention to the Seleucid Empire, specifically Media , which had been a target for expansion of the Parthians since the reign of Mithridates' predecessor, Phraates I . Phraates was successful in securing a staging ground for

8580-523: The Seleucid army , and captured the Seleucid King, Demetrius II , thus effectively ending Seleucid claims to any land east of the Euphrates river. In order to recover this territory, Antiochus VII Sidetes , launched a counter-offensive against the Parthians in 130 BC, initially defeating them twice in battle. The Parthians sent a delegation to negotiate a peace agreement, but ultimately rejected

8775-466: The Suteans , ancient Semitic-speaking peoples from the southeastern Levant who invaded Babylonia and sacked Uruk. He describes having "annihilated their extensive forces", then constructed fortresses in a mountain region called Ḫiḫi , in the desert to the west (modern Syria ) as security outposts, and "he dug wells and settled people on fertile lands, to strengthen the guard". Kurigalzu I succeeded

8970-535: The Telepinu Proclamation , a Hittite text from around 1520 BC, which states: "And then he [Mursili I] marched to Aleppo, and he destroyed Aleppo and brought captives and possessions of Aleppo to Ḫattuša. Then, however, he marched to Babylon, and he destroyed Babylon, and he defeated the Hurrian troops, and he brought captives and possessions of Babylon to Ḫattuša ." The movement of Mursili's troops

9165-419: The satraps to obey him. War soon broke out between Perdiccas and the other Diadochi . To cement his position, Perdiccas tried to marry Alexander's sister Cleopatra . The First War of the Diadochi began when Perdiccas sent Alexander's corpse to Macedonia for burial. Ptolemy however captured the body and took it to Alexandria . Perdiccas and his troops followed him to Egypt, whereupon Ptolemy conspired with

9360-527: The Aegean Sea and his army to Asia Minor. Ptolemy now had an opportunity to invade Syria, where he defeated Demetrius , the son of Antigonus, in the battle of Gaza in 312 BC. It is probable that Seleucus took part in the battle. Peithon, son of Agenor , whom Antigonus had nominated as the new satrap of Babylon, fell in the battle. The death of Peithon gave Seleucus an opportunity to return to Babylon. Seleucus had prepared his return to Babylon well. After

9555-550: The Akkadians and their children I established. I purified their copper. I established their freedom from the border of the marshes and Ur and Nippur, Awal , and Kish, Der of the goddess Ishtar , as far as the City of ( Ashur ). Past scholars originally extrapolated from this text that it means he defeated the invading Amorites to the south and Elamites to the east, but there is no explicit record of that, and some scholars believe

9750-618: The Amorite and Canaanite city-states to the west, with Babylonian officials or troops sometimes passing to the Levant and Canaan, and Amorite merchants operating freely throughout Mesopotamia. The Babylonian monarchy's western connections remained strong for quite some time. Ammi-Ditana , great-grandson of Hammurabi, still titled himself "king of the land of the Amorites". Ammi-Ditana's father and son also bore Amorite names: Abi-Eshuh and Ammi-Saduqa . Southern Mesopotamia had no natural, defensible boundaries, making it vulnerable to attack. After

9945-557: The Amorite rulers who had preceded them, were not originally native to Mesopotamia. Rather, they had first appeared in the Zagros Mountains of what is today northwestern Iran. The ethnic affiliation of the Kassites is unclear. Still, their language was not Semitic or Indo-European , and is thought to have been either a language isolate or possibly related to the Hurro-Urartian language family of Anatolia, although

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10140-516: The Argyraspides, was allied with Eumenes. Antigenes was in Cilicia when the war between him and Peithon began. Peithon arrived at Babylon in the autumn or winter of 317 BC. Peithon had lost a large number of troops, but Seleucus had even fewer soldiers. Eumenes decided to march to Susa in the spring of 316 BC. The satraps in Susa had apparently accepted Eumenes' claims of his fighting on behalf of

10335-473: The Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta I (1243–1207 BC) routed his armies, sacked and burned Babylon and set himself up as king, ironically becoming the first native Mesopotamian to rule the Mesopotamian populated state, its previous rulers having all been non-Mesopotamian Amorites and Kassites. Kashtiliash himself was taken to Ashur as a prisoner of war. An Assyrian governor/king named Enlil-nadin-shumi

10530-552: The Assyrian king) in 1333 BC, a usurper named Nazi-Bugaš deposed him, enraging Ashur-uballit I , who invaded and sacked Babylon, slew Nazi-Bugaš, annexed Babylonian territory for the Middle Assyrian Empire, and installed Kurigalzu II (1345–1324 BC) as his vassal ruler of Babylonia. Soon after Arik-den-ili succeeded the throne of Assyria in 1327 BC, Kurigalzu II attacked Assyria in an attempt to reassert Babylonian power. After some impressive initial successes he

10725-482: The Assyrian kings were merely giving preferential trade agreements to the south. These policies, whether military, economic or both, were continued by his successors Erishum I and Ikunum . However, when Sargon I (1920–1881 BC) succeeded as king in Assyria in 1920 BC, he eventually withdrew Assyria from the region, preferring to concentrate on continuing the vigorous expansion of Assyrian colonies in Anatolia at

10920-530: The Babylonian state retained the written Akkadian language (the language of its native populace) for official use, despite its Northwest Semitic -speaking Amorite founders and Kassite successors, who spoke a language isolate , not being native Mesopotamians. It retained the Sumerian language for religious use (as did Assyria which also shared the same Mesopotamian religion as Babylonia), but already by

11115-433: The Elamite capital, the city of Susa, which was sacked. After this a puppet ruler was placed on the Elamite throne, subject to Babylonia. Kurigalzu I maintained friendly relations with Assyria, Egypt and the Hittites throughout his reign. Kadashman-Enlil I (1374–1360 BC) succeeded him, and continued his diplomatic policies. Burna-Buriash II ascended to the throne in 1359 BC, he retained friendly relations with Egypt, but

11310-438: The Elamite ruler Shutruk-Nakhunte eventually conquered most of eastern Babylonia. Enlil-nadin-ahhe (1157–1155 BC) was finally overthrown and the Kassite dynasty ended after Ashur-dan I conquered yet more of northern and central Babylonia, and the equally powerful Shutruk-Nahhunte pushed deep into the heart of Babylonia itself, sacking the city and slaying the king. Poetical works have been found lamenting this disaster. Despite

11505-408: The Elamites from southern Mesopotamia entirely, invading Elam itself. He then systematically conquered southern Mesopotamia, including the cities of Isin, Larsa, Eshnunna, Kish, Lagash , Nippur, Borsippa , Ur, Uruk, Umma, Adab, Sippar , Rapiqum , and Eridu. His conquests gave the region stability after turbulent times, and coalesced the patchwork of small states into a single nation; it is only from

11700-412: The Great who went on to found the eponymous Seleucid Empire , led by the Seleucid dynasty . Initially a secondary player in the power struggles following Alexander's death, Seleucus rose to become the total ruler of Asia Minor , Syria , Mesopotamia , and the Iranian plateau , assuming the title of basileus (king). The Seleucid Empire was one of the major powers of the Hellenistic world , until it

11895-432: The Great died without a successor in Babylon on June 10, 323 BC. His general Perdiccas became the regent of all of Alexander's empire, while Alexander's physically and mentally disabled half-brother Arrhidaeus was chosen as the next king under the name Philip III of Macedon . Alexander's unborn child ( Alexander IV ) was also named his father's successor. In the " Partition of Babylon " however, Perdiccas effectively divided

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12090-438: The Great, were told of Seleucus. It was said Antiochus told his son before he left to battle the Persians with Alexander that his real father was actually the god Apollo . The god had left a ring with a picture of an anchor as a gift to Laodice. Seleucus had a birthmark shaped like an anchor. It was told that Seleucus' sons and grandsons also had similar birthmarks. The story is similar to the one told about Alexander. Most likely

12285-458: The Hittites under king Mursili I is considered crucial to the various calculations of the early chronology of the ancient Near East , as it is taken as a fixed point in the discussion. Suggestions for its precise date vary by as much as 230 years, corresponding to the uncertainty regarding the length of the "Dark Age" of the much later Late Bronze Age collapse , resulting in the shift of the entire Bronze Age chronology of Mesopotamia with regard to

12480-425: The Indus Valley campaign, in the battles fought against the Malli and in the crossing of the Gedrosian desert. At the great marriage ceremony at Susa in the spring of 324 BC, Seleucus married Apama , daughter of Spitamenes . They had his eldest son and successor Antiochus I Soter , at least two legitimate daughters (Laodice and Apama) and possibly another son ( Achaeus ). At the same event, Alexander married

12675-403: The Indus are held by Indians, although they formerly belonged to the Persians. Alexander [III 'the Great' of Macedon] took these away from the Arians and established settlements of his own, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus [Chandragupta], upon terms of intermarriage and of receiving in exchange five hundred elephants. — Strabo 15.2.9 From this, it seems that Seleucus surrendered

12870-408: The Iranian Plateau had been destabilized and Seleucid Media was threatened by the resurgent Parthians, Antiochus decided to take half of the Seleucid army and leave his western provinces to pursue a campaign against the Parthians. Before the Antiochus reached Parthia, Phraates died in 165 BCE and was succeeded by his younger brother, Mithridates I . Antiochus began by attacking Armenia and reducing it

13065-440: The Macedonian army but lost some of this when she had Philip III and his wife Eurydice killed as well as many nobles whom she took revenge upon for supporting Antipater during his long reign. Cassander reclaimed Macedon the following year at Pydna and then had her killed. Alexander IV , still a young child, and his mother Roxane were held guarded at Amphipolis and died under mysterious circumstances in 310 BC, probably murdered at

13260-443: The Macedonian territories there, Seleucus thus came into conflict with the emerging and expanding Mauryan Empire over the Indus Valley. In the year 306 BC, Seleucus I Nicator went to India and apparently occupied territory as far as the Indus, and eventually waged war with the Maurya Emperor Chandragupta Maurya . Only a few sources mention his activities in India. Chandragupta (known in Greek sources as Sandrokottos ), founder of

13455-408: The Mauryan Empire. The alliance between Chandragupta and Seleucus was affirmed with a marriage ( Epigamia ). Chandragupta or his son may have married a daughter of Seleucus, or perhaps there was diplomatic recognition of intermarriage between Indians and Greeks. As well, an Indian Puranic source, the Pratisarga Parva of the Bhavishya Purana , also described the marriage of Chandragupta with

13650-409: The Parni in Margiana, and restored Seleucid rule in the region. The military capabilities of the Parni had been weakened as a result of the Seleucid retaliation and victory; however, after Demodamas restored the territorial integrity of the Seleucids in Central Asia , he ended his campaign abruptly and failed to fully neutralize the Parni. The Parni had been militarily disabled for several decades as

13845-406: The Parni to create a kingdom that was well situated for imperial expansion. Around the same time, Arsaces I attacked and successfully seized Hyrcania , incorporating it into his kingdom. The Parni began assimilating into Parthian society, adopting the language and name of the local people, thus becoming the Parthians. Arsaces I had been successful in establishing a kingdom in Parthia ; however,

14040-402: The Parthian army began harassing the slow Seleucid army. Antiochus decided to cover his army with bands of lightly armed and mobile units to protect it from Parthian attacks. Despite being dug into ambush positions, the isolated Parthian units were flushed out by the lightly armed Seleucid detachments. This represents another failure on Arsaces' behalf. Seeing the ineffectiveness of his soldiers in

14235-466: The Parthian army by crossing the Alborz into Hyrcania. The Seleucid army was slowed down by obstacles created by the Parthians. Antiochus was forced to divide his army into several large bodies to pass the rough terrain, making his phalanx and baggage train particularly vulnerable. Arsaces saw an opportunity to recover from his previous mistakes by striking the Seleucid army while it was vulnerable, and so

14430-627: The Parthians and Bactrians, restore Seleucid hegemony in the east, and avenge his father, Seleucus II. Antiochus spent a year in Babylonia organizing his army and logistics. Antiochus had raised a ginormous army of 70,000, then set out and began marching in the spring of 209 BCE. By 210 BCE, the Seleucids had entered Media and looted 4000 talents of gold and silver from the Temple of Aene in Ecbatana in order to fund their campaign. Before invading Parthia proper, Antiochus settled affairs in other parts of

14625-470: The Parthians had secured their eastern frontier and could focus on the conquest of Media . At this point, the Parthians controlled Parthia , Hyrcania , Ariana , Margiana , and a sizeable portion of Bactria . With more resources available to him, Mithridates could focus his attention west, on the Seleucid Empire. Mithridates ' campaign against the Greco-Bactrians coincided with the revolts of

14820-430: The Parthians still had limited resources and could expect an imminent Seleucid retaliation. Knowing this, Arsaces began levying soldiers and expanding his territory. With the Seleucid east disintegrating, a campaign to reconquer the region, secure the eastern frontier, and restore Seleucid prestige was increasingly necessary. After the death of his father, Antiochus II , in 246 BCE, Seleucus II succeeded him as ruler but

15015-401: The Parthians, even being married to one of Mithridates' daughters. Although the Parthians had defeated the Seleucids and protected their newly won territory of Babylonia, their grasp on the region remained fragile. Shortly after Mithridates defeated the Seleucids, he promptly returned east, where he fell seriously ill and, after six years of suffering from the illness, died in 132 BCE. Mithridates

15210-525: The Parthians. This was another major blunder on Arsaces' behalf. Arsaces had sent too few men to destroy the wells and moved too far away to support his units in need. Arsaces decided to abandon his capital, Hecatompylus , and retreat into the mountains of Hyrcania because he recognized that his army was not able to match the enormous Seleucid army. Antiochus had expected to face Arsaces in a conventional battle at Hecatompylus and wondered why Arsaces had abandoned it. Asraces' unexpected withdrawal had complicated

15405-421: The Seleucid Empire. In 148 BC, the Parthian king Mithridates I invaded Media which was already in revolt against the Seleucid empire, and in 141 BC the Parthians captured the major Seleucid city of Seleucia (which was the eastern capital of the Seleucid empire). These victories gave Mithridates control over Mesopotamia and Babylonia . In 139 BC the Parthians defeated a major Seleucid counterattack, breaking

15600-414: The Seleucid army in detail. However, Antiochus III prevented his men from pursuing the Parthians, who employed offensive hit-and-run tactics throughout the battle in hopes of inspiring the phalanx to give chase. Ultimately, the Parthian cavalry was unable to break the Seleucid phalanx, and the phalanx was unable to advance, putting itself in a vulnerable situation that the Parthians could exploit, creating

15795-486: The Seleucid dynasty virtually unopposed amongst the Diadochi. However, Seleucus also hoped to take control of Lysimachus' European territories, primarily Thrace and Macedon itself. But upon arriving in Thrace in 281 BC, Seleucus was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus , who had taken refuge at the Seleucid court with his sister Lysandra . The assassination of Seleucus destroyed Seleucid prospects in Thrace and Macedon, and paved

15990-470: The Seleucid satrap of Parthia , Andragoras revolted and declared independence in Parthia. By the early 230s BCE, Arsaces had recovered from his setback in Margiana , and in 238 BCE, he invaded the now independent Parthia. Arsaces I was able to defeat and kill Andragoras and establish a kingdom that would become the Parthian Empire . With the defeat of Andragoras, the Parthian aristocracy joined forces with

16185-585: The Siege of Sirynx, the Parthian army was exhausted. During the Siege of Sirynx, Arsaces remained active in the field but withdrew to the important city of Nisa in modern-day Turkmenistan to prepare for another siege. The prolonged campaign and hard fighting had encouraged Antiochus III to end the war against Parthia. Instead of engaging in another siege and removing Arsaces II from power, Antiochus decided to come to terms with him diplomatically. In 208 BCE, Arsaces II formally accepted Seleucid suzerainty and became

16380-607: The Thessalian with Alexander. The story of the dinner party of Medeios may be true, but the plot to poison the King is unlikely. In the final story, Seleucus reportedly slept in the temple of the god Serapis shortly before Alexander's death in the hope that his health might improve. The validity of this story is also questionable, as the Graeco-Egyptian Serapis had not yet been invented at the time. Alexander

16575-426: The ancient Kassites . Antigonus had devastated their lands while fighting Eumenes. Seleucus perhaps recruited a portion of Archelaus' troops. When Antigonus finally invaded Babylon, Seleucus' army was much bigger than before. Many of his soldiers certainly hated Antigonus. The population of Babylon was also hostile. Seleucus, thus, did not need to garrison the area to keep the locals from revolting. Little information

16770-620: The ancient Near East . The empire eventually disintegrated due to economic decline, climate change, and civil war, followed by attacks by the language isolate speaking Gutians from the Zagros Mountains to the northeast. Sumer rose up again with the Third Dynasty of Ur ( Neo-Sumerian Empire ) in the late 22nd century BC, and ejected the Gutians from southern Mesopotamia in 2161 BC as suggested by surviving tablets and astronomy simulations. They also seem to have gained ascendancy over much of

16965-464: The argument relating to Seleucus handing over more of what is now southern Afghanistan is an exaggeration originating in a statement by Pliny the Elder referring not specifically to the lands received by Chandragupta, but rather to the various opinions of geographers regarding the definition of the word "India": Most geographers, in fact, do not look upon India as bounded by the river Indus, but add to it

17160-439: The battle of Gaza Demetrius retreated to Tripoli while Ptolemy advanced all the way to Sidon . Ptolemy gave Seleucus 800 infantry and 200 cavalry. He also had his friends accompanying him, perhaps the same 50 who escaped with him from Babylon. On the way to Babylon Seleucus recruited more soldiers from the colonies along the route. He finally had about 3,000 soldiers. In Babylon, Peithon's commander, Diphilus, barricaded himself in

17355-441: The beginning of the battle and Nicanor was cut off from his forces. The news about the death of Evagoras spread among the soldiers, who started to surrender en masse . Almost all of them agreed to fight under Seleucus. Nicanor escaped with only a few men. Even though Seleucus now had about 20,000 soldiers, they were not enough to withstand the forces of Antigonus. He also did not know when Antigonus would begin his counterattack. On

17550-509: The case may be, the Seleucids were decisively defeated, as recorded by Justin : "and not long after, engaging with king Seleucus, who came to take vengeance on the revolters, he obtained a victory; and the Parthians observe the day on which it was gained with great solemnity, as the date of the commencement of their liberty." Ammianus similarly explains thus: After many glorious and valiant deeds, and after he [Arsaces I] had conquered Seleucus [I] Nicator [in reality, Seleucus II], successor of

17745-529: The city of Charax, southeast of present-day Tehran , in which he settled large numbers of Mardians. By capturing the Caspian Gates and Charax, Phraates created a staging ground that his successor could use for further expansion. Around this time, the king of the Seleucid Empire , Antiochus IV was suppressing the Maccabean revolt, however the rapid expansion of Phraates had drawn his attention. Because

17940-483: The city's fortress. Seleucus conquered Babylon with great speed and the fortress was also quickly captured. Seleucus' friends who had stayed in Babylon were released from captivity. His return to Babylon was afterwards officially regarded as the beginning of the Seleucid Empire and that year as the first of the Seleucid era . Soon after Seleucus' return, the supporters of Antigonus tried to get Babylon back. Nicanor

18135-472: The conquest of Media by capturing the Caspian Gates and the city of Charax, which Mithridates could use to his advantage. During the 160s BCE, the king of the Seleucid Empire, Demetrius I , stationed generals in the east to secure and protect the eastern provinces from Parthian aggression. These generals were able to restore Seleucid rule in Persis and Elymais, respectively. Demetrius himself could not tend to

18330-409: The correct day came, Seleucus' soldiers spontaneously started building the city. When questioned, the priests admitted their deed. The struggle among the Diadochi reached its climax when Antigonus, after the extinction of the old royal line of Macedonia, proclaimed himself king in 306 BC. Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander and Seleucus, the other four principal Macedonian chiefs, soon followed and assumed

18525-533: The dangerous situation brewing in the east because of the rebellion of the Seleucid satrap Timarchus , complications with the Romans in Cappadocia in 159 BCE, the revolt of the Seleucid capital, Antioch , and a civil war against Alexander Balas in 152 BCE. Mithridates began his invasion of Media in 155 BCE; however, despite the absence of Demetrius I, the Parthian conquest of Media was slow and arduous due to

18720-767: The daughter of Seleucus. According to Strabo, the ceded territories bordered the Indus: The geographical position of the tribes is as follows: along the Indus are the Paropamisadae, above whom lies the Paropamisus mountain: then, towards the south, the Arachoti: then next, towards the south, the Gedroseni, with the other tribes that occupy the seaboard; and the Indus lies, latitudinally, alongside all these places; and of these places, in part, some that lie along

18915-422: The daughter of the late Persian King Darius III while several other Macedonians married Persian women. After Alexander's death (323 BC), when the other senior Macedonian officers unloaded their "Susa wives" en masse , Seleucus was one of the very few who kept his wife, and Apama remained his consort (later Queen) for the rest of her life. Ancient sources report several anecdotes about Seleucus' activities during

19110-506: The death of Antiochus IV altered the balance of power on the Iranian Plateau , and with the threat of the Seleucids temporarily thwarted, Mithridates I could focus on expanding the power and territory of Parthia . After the death of Antiochus' short-lived successor, Antiochus V , the Seleucid Empire descended into a series of devastating civil wars, which gave the Parthians the opportunity to expand their territory by conquering

19305-557: The death of Hammurabi, his empire began to disintegrate rapidly. Under his successor Samsu-iluna (1749–1712 BC) the far south of Mesopotamia was lost to a native Akkadian-speaking king Ilum-ma-ili who ejected the Amorite-ruled Babylonians. The south became the native Sealand Dynasty , remaining free of Babylon for the next 272 years. Both the Babylonians and their Amorite rulers were driven from Assyria to

19500-455: The eastern border of Seleucid Media . Phriapatius died in 170 BCE, and his eldest son, Phraates I , became king of Parthia . Despite his reign only lasting three years, Phraates I contributed significantly to Parthia. Phraates I began his campaign by conquering Hyrcania from the Seleucids and then subduing a powerful nomadic Iranian tribe called the Mardians , who inhabited an area of

19695-489: The eastern territories, Seleucus I Nicator took control of Alexander's conquests. According to the Roman historian Appian : [Seleucus was] always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as

19890-639: The easternmost provinces of Arachosia , Gedrosia , Paropamisadae and perhaps also Aria . On the other hand, he was accepted by other satraps of the eastern provinces. His Persian wife, Apama, may have helped him implement his rule in Bactria and Sogdiana . This would tend to be corroborated archaeologically, as concrete indications of Mauryan influence, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka which are known to be located in, for example, Kandhahar in today's southern Afghanistan. Some authors say that

20085-500: The empire was once again in turmoil. Peithon, the satrap of Media, assassinated Philip, the satrap of Parthia , and replaced him with his brother Eudemus as the new satrap. In the west Antigonus and Eumenes waged war against each other. Just like Peithon and Seleucus, Eumenes was one of the former supporters of Perdiccas. Seleucus' biggest problem was, however, Babylon itself. The locals had rebelled against Archon and supported Docimus. The Babylonian priesthood had great influence over

20280-603: The empire, bringing Armenia , Media, Atropatene , Elymais , and Persia back into the Seleucid fold. By the time of the invasion of Antiochus III, Arsaces I had died, and the throne passed to his son, Arsaces II ; however, he lacked the political and military savvy of his father. Arsaces had a tremendous military disadvantage and from the beginning of the Seleucid invasion, miscalculated and misjudged their objectives. Arsaces continued to make strategic errors, which led to his ultimate defeat. The invasion of Parthia began with Antiochus III outmaneuvering Arsaces II by crossing

20475-483: The empire. When Demetrius arrived in Babylon, Seleucus was somewhere in the east. He had left Patrocles to defend the city. Babylon was defended in an unusual way. It had two strong fortresses, in which Seleucus had left his garrisons. The inhabitants of the city were transferred out and settled in the neighbouring areas, some as far as Susa. The surroundings of Babylon were excellent for defence, with cities, swamps, canals and rivers. Demetrius' troops started to besiege

20670-613: The enormous Macedonian dominion among Alexander's generals. Seleucus was chosen to command the Companion cavalry ( hetairoi ) and appointed first or court chiliarch , which made him the senior officer in the Royal Army after the regent and commander-in-chief Perdiccas. Several other powerful men supported Perdiccas, including Ptolemy , Lysimachus , Peithon and Eumenes . Perdiccas' power depended on his ability to hold Alexander's enormous empire together, and on whether he could force

20865-481: The entire Iranian Plateau and beyond, into Mesopotamia . Mithridates began his reign by launching a successful campaign against the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, which was ruled by Eucratides I , in the year 165 BCE. Mithridates defeated the Greco-Bactrians, annexed Ariana , Margiana , and western Bactria up to the city of Balkh , and vassalized the kingdom. With the Greco-Bactrians defeated and vassalized,

21060-586: The entire eastern part of Alexander's empire . Seleucus further made claim to the former satrapies in Gandhara and in northwest India. However these ambitions were contested by Chandragupta Maurya , resulting in the Seleucid–Mauryan War (305–303 BC). The conflict was ultimately resolved by a treaty resulting in the Maurya Empire annexing the eastern satrapies. Additionally, a marriage alliance

21255-530: The evidence for its genetic affiliation is meager due to the scarcity of extant texts. That said, several Kassite leaders may have borne Indo-European names , and they may have had an Indo-European elite similar to the Mitanni elite that later ruled over the Hurrians of central and eastern Anatolia, while others had Semitic names. The Kassites renamed Babylon Karduniaš and their rule lasted for 576 years,

21450-535: The expense of the Hurrians and Hattians and the Amorite inhabited Levant , and eventually southern Mesopotamia fell to the Amorites. During the first centuries of what is called the "Amorite period", the most powerful city-states in the south were Isin , Eshnunna and Larsa , together with Assyria in the north. Around 1894 BC, an Amorite chieftain named Sumu-abum appropriated a tract of land which included

21645-412: The first phase of the war. Antigonus was besieging Tyre , when Seleucus sailed past him and went on to threaten the coast of Syria and Asia Minor. Antigonus allied with the island of Rhodes , which had a strategic location and a navy capable of preventing the allies from combining their forces. Because of the threat of Rhodes, Ptolemy gave Seleucus a hundred ships and sent him to the Aegean Sea. The fleet

21840-469: The flood barriers of the river, but the resulting flood did not stop Eumenes. In the spring of 316 BC, Seleucus and Peithon joined Antigonus, who was following Eumenes to Susa. From Susa Antigonus went to Media, from where he could threaten the eastern provinces. He left Seleucus with a small number of troops to prevent Eumenes from reaching the Mediterranean. Sibyrtius , satrap of Arachosia , saw

22035-528: The forces of Antigonus, who were still without their weapons and in disarray and thus easily defeated. The historical accuracy of the story is questionable. The Babylonian war finally ended in Seleucus' victory. Antigonus was forced to retreat west. Both sides fortified their borders. Antigonus built a series of fortresses along the Balikh River while Seleucus built a few cities, including Dura-Europos and Nisibis . The next event connected to Seleucus

22230-423: The fortresses of Babylon and conquered one of them. The second fortress proved more difficult for Demetrius. He left his friend Archelaus to continue the siege, and himself returned west leaving 5,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry in Babylon. Ancient sources do not mention what happened to these troops. Perhaps Seleucus had to reconquer Babylon from Archelaus. Over the course of nine years (311–302 BC), while Antigonus

22425-741: The four satrapies of the Gedrose , the Arachotë , the Aria , and the Paropamisadë , the River Cophes thus forming the extreme boundary of India. According to other writers, however, all these territories, are reckoned as belonging to the country of the Aria. — Pliny, Natural History VI, 23 Nevertheless, it is usually considered today that Arachosia and the other three regions did become dominions of

22620-535: The initial years of his reign. He was met with the challenge of suppressing a revolt by the powerful satrap Molon , and had fought Ptolemy IV to a stalemate in the Fourth Syrian War . After matters in the west were settled, Antiochus began preparing for a campaign in the east of his empire to reconquer the newly independent states of Parthia and Bactria . There were several personal and geopolitical reasons for Antiochus' eastern campaign, namely to punish

22815-471: The instigation of Cassander to allow the diadochs to assume the title of king. After arriving in Egypt, Seleucus sent his friends to Greece to inform his fellow Diadochi Cassander (ruler of Macedon and overlord of Greece) and Lysimachus (ruler of Thracia ) about Antigonus. Antigonus was now the most powerful of the Diadochi , and the others would soon have to face him. Ptolemy, Lysimachus and Cassander formed

23010-466: The king of the Seleucid Empire. The control of Media and the Zagros passes were essential if the Parthians were to expand further west and south. Media went on to become a center of Parthian power and wealth. After the conquest of Media , Mithridates made his brother Bagasis governor of the province. In 145 BCE, Mithridates returned east to deal with a succession crisis in the Parthian vassal state of

23205-482: The king's army. Seleucus, like his later rivals Antigonus and Demetrius , was reportedly a very powerful man. Appian wrote of an incident in which a wild bull that was about to be sacrificed by Alexander broke free of its bounds, and Seleucus managed to recapture the animal by grabbing and holding unto its horns with his bare hands. This was apparently the reason for the bull horns in the coins he later minted. A number of legends, similar to those told of Alexander

23400-530: The lawful ruling family against the usurper Antigonus. Eumenes marched his army 300 stadions away from Babylon and tried to cross the Tigris . Seleucus had to act. He sent two triremes and some smaller ships to stop the crossing. He also tried to get the former hypasiti of the Argyraspides to join him, but this did not happen. Seleucus also sent messages to Antigonus. Because of his lack of troops, Seleucus apparently had no plans to actually stop Eumenes. He opened

23595-422: The life of Alexander. In the first of these episodes, he participated in a sailing trip near Babylon , where Alexander's diadem was blown off his head and landed on some reeds near the tombs of Assyrian kings. Seleucus swam to fetch the diadem back, placing it on his own head while returning to the boat to keep it dry. The validity of the story is dubious. In the second, he took part in the dinner party of Medeios

23790-489: The longest dynasty in Babylonian history. This new foreign dominion offers a striking analogy to the roughly contemporary rule of the Semitic Hyksos in ancient Egypt . Most divine attributes ascribed to the Amorite kings of Babylonia disappeared at this time; the title "god" was never given to a Kassite sovereign. Babylon continued to be the capital of the kingdom and one of the holy cities of western Asia, where

23985-593: The loss of territory, general military weakness, and evident reduction in literacy and culture, the Kassite dynasty was the longest-lived dynasty of Babylon, lasting until 1155 BC, when Babylon was conquered by Shutruk-Nakhunte of Elam, and reconquered a few years later by the Nebuchadnezzar I , part of the larger Late Bronze Age collapse. The Elamites did not remain in control of Babylonia long, instead entering into an ultimately unsuccessful war with Assyria, allowing Marduk-kabit-ahheshu (1155–1139 BC) to establish

24180-428: The major power in the region after Hammurabi ( fl. c.  1792 –1752 BC middle chronology, or c.  1696 –1654 BC, short chronology ) created a short-lived empire, succeeding the earlier Akkadian Empire, Third Dynasty of Ur , and Old Assyrian Empire . The Babylonian Empire rapidly fell apart after the death of Hammurabi and reverted to a small kingdom centered around the city of Babylon. Like Assyria ,

24375-549: The major religious center of all Mesopotamia was the city of Nippur where the god Enlil was supreme, and it would remain so until replaced by Babylon during the reign of Hammurabi in the mid-18th century BC. The Akkadian Empire (2334–2154 BC) saw the Akkadian Semites and Sumerians of Mesopotamia unite under one rule, and the Akkadians fully attain ascendancy over the Sumerians and indeed come to dominate much of

24570-418: The mountain skirmishes, Arsaces decided to withdraw his army and regroup at the summit of a mountain pass. Arsaces II chose to make a stand at Mount Labus because the terrain allowed him to implement his cavalry. The Parthian and Seleucid armies met and fought for an entire day. Arsaces' objective was to split the Seleucid phalanx from the main body of the Seleucid army so that it could be destroyed, defeating

24765-477: The mountains of what is today northwest Iran. Babylon was then attacked by the Indo-European-speaking , Anatolia-based Hittites in 1595 BC. Shamshu-Ditana was overthrown following the "sack of Babylon" by the Hittite king Mursili I . The Hittites did not remain for long, but the destruction wrought by them finally enabled their Kassite allies to gain control. The date of the sack of Babylon by

24960-647: The native Mesopotamian king of Assyria, but successfully went to war with the Hittite Empire , and twenty-four years after, the Hittites took the sacred statue of Marduk , he recovered it and declared the god equal to the Kassite deity Shuqamuna . Burnaburiash I succeeded him and drew up a peace treaty with the Assyrian king Puzur-Ashur III , and had a largely uneventful reign, as did his successor Kashtiliash III . The Sealand Dynasty of southern Mesopotamia remained independent of Babylonia and like Assyria

25155-601: The new satrap of Susiana and Peithon of Media. Babylon was one of the wealthiest provinces of the empire, but its military power was insignificant. It is possible that Antipater divided the eastern provinces so that no single satrap could rise above the others in power. After the death of Alexander, Archon of Pella was chosen satrap of Babylon. Perdiccas, however, had plans to supersede Archon and nominate Docimus as his successor. During his invasion of Egypt, Perdiccas sent Docimus along with his detachments to Babylon. Archon waged war against him, but fell in battle. Thus, Docimus

25350-414: The new satrap of Mesopotamia, for helping Seleucus. Modern scholars are skeptical of the prophecy story. It seems certain, however, that the Babylonian priesthood was against Seleucus. During Seleucus' escape to Egypt, Macedonia was undergoing great turmoil. Alexander the Great's mother Olympias had been invited back to Macedon by Polyperchon in order to drive Cassander out. She held great respect among

25545-428: The north by an Assyrian-Akkadian governor named Puzur-Sin c.  1740 BC , who regarded king Mut-Ashkur as both a foreign Amorite and a former lackey of Babylon. After six years of civil war in Assyria, a native king named Adasi seized power c.  1735 BC , and went on to appropriate former Babylonian and Amorite territory in central Mesopotamia, as did his successor Bel-bani . Amorite rule survived in

25740-492: The northern part of Macedonia . Just a year before his birth (if the year 358 BC is accepted as the most likely date), the Paeonians invaded the region. Philip defeated the invaders and only a few years later utterly subdued them under Macedonian rule. Seleucus' year of birth is unclear. Justin claims he was 77 years old during the battle of Corupedium , which would place his year of birth at 358 BC. Appian tells us Seleucus

25935-517: The other Hellenistic states in the west and with unrest amongst their Iranian peoples in the east. Taking advantage of the Seleucids' preoccupation with the wars against a Celtic invasion of Asia Minor in the west, and the chaos of the Third Syrian War around 245 BC, Diodotus and Andragoras , the Seleucid satraps of Bactria and Parthia respectively, declared their remote provinces independent states. However, in around 238 BCE,

26130-440: The other hand, he knew that at least two eastern provinces did not have a satrap. A great majority of his own troops were from these provinces. Some of Evagoras' troops were Persian. Perhaps a portion of the troops were Eumenes' soldiers, who had a reason to hate Antigonus. Seleucus decided to take advantage of this situation. Seleucus spread different stories among the provinces and the soldiers. According to one of them, he had in

26325-456: The perceived strength of the Parthians enough so that Demetrius was reportedly very confident that his eastern campaign would be successful and that he would be able to reconquer Babylonia and Media swiftly. Moreover, a victorious campaign would have given him legitimacy as the king needed to recruit troops in Syria to continue the civil war and would have boosted his prestige, wealth, and resources tremendously. In 139 BCE, while Mithridates I

26520-407: The priests of the ancient Mesopotamian religion were all-powerful, and the only place where the right to inheritance of the short lived old Babylonian empire could be conferred. Babylonia experienced short periods of relative power, but in general proved to be relatively weak under the long rule of the Kassites, and spent long periods under Assyrian and Elamite domination and interference. It

26715-499: The region c.  5400 BC , and the Akkadian-speakers who would go on to form Akkad, Assyria and Babylonia appearing somewhere between the 35th and 30th century BC. During the 3rd millennium BC, an intimate cultural symbiosis occurred between Sumerian and Akkadian-speakers, which included widespread bilingualism . The influence of Sumerian on Akkadian and vice versa is evident in all areas, from lexical borrowing on

26910-442: The region. Babylon also had a sizeable population of Macedonian and Greek veterans of Alexander's army. Seleucus won over the priests with monetary gifts and bribes. After the death of Antipater in 319 BC, the satrap of Media began to expand his power. Peithon assembled a large army of perhaps over 20,000 soldiers. Under the leadership of Peucestas the other satraps of the region brought together an opposing army of their own. Peithon

27105-587: The reign of Hammurabi and afterwards, Babylonia was retrospectively called "the country of Akkad" ( māt Akkadī in Akkadian), a deliberate archaism in reference to the previous glory of the Akkadian Empire . It was often involved in rivalry with the older ethno-linguistically related state of Assyria in the north of Mesopotamia and Elam to the east in Ancient Iran . Babylonia briefly became

27300-406: The reign of its sixth Amorite ruler, Hammurabi , during 1792–1750 BC (or c.  1728 –1686 BC in the short chronology ). He conducted major building work in Babylon, expanding it from a small town into a great city worthy of kingship. A very efficient ruler, he established a bureaucracy, with taxation and centralized government. Hammurabi freed Babylon from Elamite dominance, and indeed drove

27495-408: The resurgent Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1050 BC) to the north was now encroaching into northern Babylonia, and as a symbol of peace, the Babylonian king took the daughter of the powerful Assyrian king Ashur-uballit I in marriage. He also maintained friendly relations with Suppiluliuma I , ruler of the Hittite Empire . He was succeeded by Kara-ḫardaš (who was half Assyrian, and the grandson of

27690-510: The rise of the Akkadian Empire in the 24th century BC, Mesopotamia had been dominated by largely Sumerian cities and city states, such as Ur , Lagash , Uruk , Kish , Isin , Larsa , Adab , Eridu , Gasur , Assur , Hamazi , Akshak , Arbela and Umma , although Semitic Akkadian names began to appear on the king lists of some of these states (such as Eshnunna and Assyria ) between the 29th and 25th centuries BC. Traditionally,

27885-530: The river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus. The Mauryans then annexed the areas around the Indus governed by the four Greek satraps: Nicanor , Phillip , Eudemus and Peithon . This established Mauryan control to the banks of the Indus. Chandragupta's victories convinced Seleucus that he needed to secure his eastern flank. Seeking to hold

28080-538: The said Alexander [the Great], on whom his many victories had conferred that surname, and [after Arsaces] had driven out the Macedonian [that is, the Seleucid] garrisons [from Parthia], he passed his life in quiet peace, and was a mild ruler and judge of his subjects." Whether Seleucus was captured or not, he eventually was able to return west and resume the civil war against Antiochus Hierax. It appears that Seleucus

28275-409: The same time, Persis and Elymais once again revolted and became independent states of their own. In the year 141 BCE, Mithridates decided to strike at a crucial Seleucid territory, Babylonia . Mithridates successfully conquered Babylonia without much resistance and triumphantly entered Babylon . Babylonia offered immense wealth and prestige to the Parthians and would serve as a center of power for

28470-534: The satrap of Media, Peithon , and the commander of the Argyraspides , Antigenes , both serving as officers under Perdiccas, and assassinated him. Cornelius Nepos mentions that Seleucus also took part in this conspiracy, but this is not certain. The most powerful man in the empire after the death of Perdiccas was Antipater . Perdiccas' opponents gathered in Triparadisos, where the empire of Alexander

28665-477: The situation as hopeless and returned to his own province. The armies of Eumenes and his allies were at breaking point. Antigonus and Eumenes had two encounters during 316 BC, in the battles of Paraitacene and Gabiene . Eumenes was defeated and executed. The events of the Second War of the Diadochi revealed Seleucus' ability to wait for the right moment. Blazing into battle was not his style. Antigonus spent

28860-475: The situation for Antiochus, who had hoped to deal with Parthian affairs and march against Bactria. Arsaces had hoped to gain the initiative and overwhelm the Seleucid army in the mountainous region of Hyrcania. Unfortunately for the Parthians, the rugged terrain nullified the traditional advantages of a Parthian army, namely mobility and speed. The Parthian army was forced to begin dismounting cavalry and acting as infantry. Antiochus wasted no time and began pursuing

29055-493: The son of Seleucus, moved the whole population of Babylon to his father's namesake capital in 275 BC. The city flourished until AD 165, when the Romans destroyed it. A story of the founding of the city goes as follows: Seleucus asked the Babylonian priests which day would be best to found the city. The priest calculated the day, but, wanting the founding to fail, told Seleucus a different date. The plot failed however, because when

29250-498: The stiff and determined resistance of the Seleucid generals. The campaign eventually devolved into a war of attrition, with both sides making little progress. Sometime during his campaign in Media, Mithridates also conquered and subjugated the kingdom of Media Atropatene . In the year 150 BCE, Demetrius I was defeated and killed in battle by Alexander Balas, who became the next Seleucid king. Although Alexander defeated Demetrius, his reign

29445-490: The story is propaganda invented to present Seleucus as the natural successor of Alexander. John Malalas tells us Seleucus had a sister called Didymeia , who had sons called Nicanor and Nicomedes. It is most likely the sons are fictitious. Didymeia might refer to the oracle of Apollo in Didyma near Miletus . It has also been suggested that Ptolemy (son of Seleucus) was actually the uncle of Seleucus. In spring 334 BC, as

29640-596: The subsequent Battle of the Hydaspes (326 BC), Seleucus led his troops against the elephants of King Porus . It is unknown the extent in which Seleucus participated in the actual planning of the battle, as he is not mentioned as holding any major independent position during the battle. This contrasts with Craterus , Hephaistion , Peithon and Leonnatus – each of whom had sizable detachments under their control. Seleucus' Royal Hypaspistai were constantly under Alexander's eye and at his disposal. They later participated in

29835-411: The sudden death of Antiochus III in 187 BCE, Arsaces II took advantage of Seleucid weakness and reoccupied Hecatompylus and began minting coins in his name, asserting Parthia's independence once again. Arsaces II died in 181 BCE, and the throne passed to Phriapatius , the son of a brother of Arsaces II. During his fifteen-year reign, Phriapatius strengthened the Parthian army and launched attacks on

30030-475: The terms proposed by Antiochus. The Seleucid army was then dispersed into winter quarters. Seeing an opportunity to strike, the Parthians, under Phraates II , defeated and killed Antiochus at the Battle of Ecbatana in 129 BC, and proceeded to destroy and capture the rest of his massive army, thus ending the Seleucids' attempt to retake Persia. The loss of so much territory sent the already enfeebled empire into

30225-644: The territory of the Akkadian speaking kings of Assyria in northern Mesopotamia for a time. Followed by the collapse of the Sumerian "Ur-III" dynasty at the hands of the Elamites in 2002 BC, the Amorites ("Westerners"), a foreign Northwest Semitic-speaking people, began to migrate into southern Mesopotamia from the northern Levant , gradually gaining control over most of southern Mesopotamia, where they formed

30420-452: The then relatively small city of Babylon from the neighbouring minor city-state of Kazallu , of which it had initially been a territory, turning his newly acquired lands into a state in its own right. His reign was concerned with establishing statehood amongst a sea of other minor city-states and kingdoms in the region. However, Sumu-abum appears never to have bothered to give himself the title of King of Babylon , suggesting that Babylon itself

30615-428: The throne, and soon came into conflict with Elam, to the east. When Ḫur-batila , the successor of Tepti Ahar took the throne of Elam, he began raiding the Babylonia, taunting Kurigalzu to do battle with him at Dūr-Šulgi . Kurigalzu launched a campaign which resulted in the abject defeat and capture of Ḫur-batila, who appears in no other inscriptions. He went on to conquer the eastern lands of Elam. This took his army to

30810-456: The time Babylon was founded, this was no longer a spoken language, having been wholly subsumed by Akkadian. The earlier Akkadian and Sumerian traditions played a major role in the descendant Babylonian and Assyrian culture, and the region would remain an important cultural center, even under its protracted periods of outside rule. Mesopotamia had already enjoyed a long history before the emergence of Babylon, with Sumerian civilization emerging in

31005-439: The time of Hammurabi that southern Mesopotamia acquired the name Babylonia . Hammurabi turned his disciplined armies eastwards and invaded the region which a thousand years later became Iran , conquering Elam , Gutium , Lullubi , Turukku and Kassites . To the west, he conquered the Amorite states of the Levant (modern Syria and Jordan ) including the powerful kingdoms of Mari and Yamhad . Hammurabi then entered into

31200-525: The title and style of basileus (king). Seleucus soon turned his attention once again eastward. The Persian provinces in what is now modern Afghanistan, together with the wealthy kingdom of Gandhara and the states of the Indus Valley , had all submitted to Alexander the Great and become part of his empire. When Alexander died, the Wars of the Diadochi ("Successors") split his empire apart; as his generals fought for control of Alexander's empire. In

31395-600: The two soon turned cold, however. Seleucus punished one of Antigonus' officers without asking permission from Antigonus. Antigonus became angry and demanded that Seleucus give him the income from the province, which Seleucus refused to do. He was, however, afraid of Antigonus and fled to Egypt with 50 horsemen. It is told that Chaldean astrologers prophesied to Antigonus that Seleucus would become master of Asia and would kill Antigonus. After hearing this, Antigonus sent soldiers after Seleucus, who had however first escaped to Mesopotamia and then to Syria . Antigonus executed Blitor,

31590-511: The vassalage, he then proceeded to Elymais to plunder the temple of the goddess Inanna to fund his campaign, but was repulsed by the local people. Antiochus then attempted to loot the region surrounding the old Achaemenid royal city of Persepolis , but again was driven back by the local people. These series of failures derailed Antiochus' campaign. Not long later, Antiochus died sometime between 20 November and 18 December, 164 BCE, near modern Isfahan . The sudden expansion of Phraates I and

31785-539: The war would eventually lead to clashes with the Roman Empire . The Roman–Parthian Wars would embroil these ancient empires until the 3rd century. Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator ( / s ɪ ˈ l uː k ə s / ; Greek : Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, Séleukos Nikátōr , "Seleucus the Victorious"; c.  358 BC – 281 BC ) was a Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander

31980-552: The way for Ptolemy Ceraunus to absorb much of Lysimachus' former power in Macedon. Seleucus was succeeded by his son Antiochus I as ruler of the Seleucid Empire. Seleucus founded a number of new cities during his reign, including Antioch (300 BC), Edessa and Seleucia on the Tigris (c. 305 BC), a foundation that eventually depopulated Babylon. Seleucus was the son of Antiochus . Historian Junianus Justinus claims that Antiochus

32175-459: The winter of 316 BC in Media, whose ruler was once again Peithon. Peithon's lust for power had grown, and he tried to get a portion of Antigonus' troops to revolt to his side. Antigonus, however, discovered the plot and executed Peithon. He then superseded Peucestas as satrap of Persia. In the summer of 315 BC Antigonus arrived in Babylon and was warmly welcomed by Seleucus. The relationship between

32370-504: Was 73 years old during the battle, which means 354 BC would be the year of birth. Eusebius of Caesarea , however, mentions the age of 75, and thus the year 356 BC, making Seleucus the same age as Alexander the Great . This is most likely propaganda on Seleucus' part to make him seem comparable to Alexander. As a teenager, Seleucus was chosen to serve as the king's page ( pais ). It was customary for all male offspring of noble families to first serve in this position and later as officers in

32565-402: Was a heavily fortified city that had three moats, six wooden walls, and a strong citadel. Arsaces garrisoned a portion of his remaining army in the city for its defense, but he himself was not in the city. Antiochus besieged the city and mounted frontal assaults along with tunnelling efforts. The Parthians fought desperately and dug counter tunnels; however, the full force of the Seleucid engineers

32760-479: Was also dominated by western affairs, and he was unable to respond to the Parthians in Media. In the year 147 BCE, Media finally fell to the Parthians. In the same year, the son of Demetrius I, Demetrius II , arrived in Syria with an army and the support of the king of Ptolemaic Egypt , Ptolemy VI , to contest the rule of Alexander. In 145 BCE, Alexander Balas was defeated in battle by Demetrius and Ptolemy, and he would be assassinated shortly after, making Demetrius II

32955-516: Was appointed Satrap of Babylon under the new regent Antipater . But almost immediately, the wars between the Diadochi resumed and one of the most powerful of the Diadochi, Antigonus , forced Seleucus to flee Babylon . Seleucus was only able to return to Babylon in 312 BC with the support of Ptolemy. From 312 BC, Seleucus ruthlessly expanded his dominions and eventually conquered the Persian and Median lands. Seleucus ruled not only Babylonia , but

33150-472: Was around 800 km from the conquered Aleppo to reach the Euphrates, located to the east, skirting around Assyria, and then to the south along the course of the river to reach finally Babylon. His conquest of Babylon brought to an end the dynasty of Hammurabi, and although the Hittite text, Telipinu Proclamation, does not mention Samsu-ditana, and the Babylonian Chronicle 20 does not mention

33345-457: Was captured by the Parthians. The capture of Demetrius by the Parthians was a great boon for the prestige of the Arsacid dynasty while being a devastating blow to the influence, power, and prestige of the Seleucids. Mithridates proceeded to parade Demetrius from city to city, demonstrating his victory over the Seleucids and as a symbol of his power. Demetrius was treated fairly and with honor by

33540-429: Was eventually able to overpower the Parthians. The siege likely lasted for weeks. The Parthians fought frantically and hard until the inner wall began to fall. The remaining Parthian soldiers attempted a breakout but lacked enough forces to succeed. With the defense's falling and the city being demolished, the Parthian soldiers began preparing for a final assault on the Seleucid siege lines. The Parthian soldiers feared that

33735-542: Was finally defeated in a battle waged in Parthia. He escaped to Media, but his opponents did not follow him and rather returned to Susiana. Meanwhile, Eumenes and his army had arrived at Cilicia , but had to retreat when Antigonus reached the city. The situation was difficult for Seleucus. Eumenes and his army were north of Babylon; Antigonus was following him with an even larger army; Peithon was in Media and his opponents in Susiana. Antigenes, satrap of Susiana and commander of

33930-442: Was followed by Ammi-Ditana and then Ammi-Saduqa , both of whom were in too weak a position to make any attempt to regain the many territories lost after the death of Hammurabi, contenting themselves with peaceful building projects in Babylon itself. Samsu-Ditana was to be the last Amorite ruler of Babylon. Early in his reign he came under pressure from the Kassites , a people speaking an apparent language isolate originating in

34125-519: Was forced to acquiesce to Arsaces and leave Parthia to its devices. Despite their recent victory, Parthian control remained fragile. The campaign of Seleucus II had ended with the ultimate defeat of the Seleucids, but later Seleucid kings had ambitions to restore their hegemony in the east. Antiochus III the Great became king of the Seleucid Empire after his father, Seleucus II, had died in 225 BCE and his brother, Seleucus III , had been assassinated in 222 BCE. Antiochus faced several challenges during

34320-431: Was forced to leave Babylonia and rapidly return east for unknown reasons. During this time, The Elymaens perceiving Parthian weakness, took the opportunity to invade Babylonia and wreak havoc on the region, burning the city of Apamea . Mithridates was forced to return west to respond to the sudden Elymaen aggression. Mithridates defeated the Elymaens in battle significantly enough to weaken their military capabilities for

34515-459: Was formed, with Chandragupta marrying a daughter of Seleucus, according to Strabo and Appian. Furthermore, the Seleucid Empire received a considerable military force of 500 war elephants with mahouts , which would play a decisive role against Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In 281 BC, he also defeated Lysimachus at the Battle of Corupedium , adding Asia Minor to his empire. Seleucus' victories against Antigonus and Lysimachus left

34710-470: Was in native Akkadian-speaking hands. Ulamburiash managed to attack it and conquered parts of the land from Ea-gamil , a king with a distinctly Sumerian name, around 1450 BC, whereupon Ea-Gamil fled to his allies in Elam. The Sealand Dynasty region still remained independent, and the Kassite king seems to have been unable to finally conquer it. Ulamburiash began making treaties with ancient Egypt , which then

34905-516: Was losing the skirmishes in order to inspire complacency and overconfidence in Demetrius. Meanwhile, Mithridates was marching through Media with the main Parthian army as Bagasis slowly drew Demetrius deeper into Babylonia. In the summer of 138 BCE, Mithridates suddenly arrived in Babylonia, catching Demetrius by surprise. The two forces proceeded to fight a battle in which the Seleucid army was annihilated. Demetrius attempted to flee from Babylonia but

35100-469: Was not intending to give Babylon to Seleucus without a fight. It is not certain how Seleucus took Babylon from Docimus, but according to one Babylonian chronicle an important building was destroyed in the city during the summer or winter of 320 BC. Other Babylonian sources state that Seleucus arrived in Babylon in October or November 320 BC. Despite the presumed battle, Docimus was able to escape. Meanwhile,

35295-555: Was occupied in the west, Seleucus brought the whole eastern part of Alexander's empire as far as the Jaxartes and Indus Rivers under his authority. In 311 BC Antigonus made peace with Cassander, Lysimachus and Ptolemy, which gave him an opportunity to deal with Seleucus. Antigonus' army had at least 80,000 soldiers. Even if he left half of his troops in the west, he would still have a numerical advantage over Seleucus. Seleucus may have received help from Cossaians, whose ancestors were

35490-482: Was one of Philip II of Macedon 's generals, but no such general is mentioned in any other sources, and nothing is known of his supposed career under Philip. It is possible that Antiochus was a member of an upper Macedonian noble family. Seleucus' mother was supposedly called Laodice , but nothing else is known of her. Later, Seleucus named a number of cities after his parents. Seleucus was born in Europus , located in

35685-641: Was overcome by the Roman Republic and Parthian Empire in the late second and early first centuries BC. While serving under Alexander, Seleucus was commander of the Hypaspistai , an elite Macedonian infantry unit. After the death of Alexander in June 323 BC, Seleucus initially supported Perdiccas , the regent of Alexander's empire, and was appointed Commander of the Companions and chiliarch at

35880-423: Was partitioned again (the Treaty of Triparadisus 321 BC). At Triparadisos the soldiers had become mutinous and were planning to murder their master Antipater. Seleucus and Antigonus , however, prevented this. For betraying Perdiccas, Seleucus was awarded the rich province of Babylon. This decision may have been Antigonus' idea. Seleucus' Babylon was surrounded by Peucestas , the satrap of Persis ; Antigenes ,

36075-538: Was placed on the throne to rule as viceroy to Tukulti-Ninurta I, and Kadashman-Harbe II and Adad-shuma-iddina succeeded as Assyrian governor/kings,also subject to Tukulti-Ninurta I until 1216 BC. Babylon did not begin to recover until late in the reign of Adad-shuma-usur (1216–1189 BC), as he too remained a vassal of Assyria until 1193 BC. However, he was able to prevent the Assyrian king Enlil-kudurri-usur from retaking Babylonia, which, apart from its northern reaches, had mostly shrugged off Assyrian domination during

36270-459: Was ruling southern Canaan , and Assyria to the north. Agum III also campaigned against the Sealand Dynasty, finally wholly conquering the far south of Mesopotamia for Babylon, destroying its capital Dur-Enlil in the process. From there Agum III extended farther south still, invading what was many centuries later to be called the Arabian Peninsula or Arabia , and conquering the pre-Arab state of Dilmun (in modern Bahrain ). Karaindash built

36465-501: Was still in the east, Demetrius II invaded Babylonia. Bagasis was in charge of the defense of the region while he waited for the assistance of Mithridates. Bagasis, with a much smaller force, continuously harassed the Seleucid army in an attempt to coerce Demetrius into making mistakes while advancing deeper into Babylonia. Bagasis successfully stalled the Seleucids for an entire year by skirmishing and avoiding pitched battles. During this time, Bagasis intentionally made it appear as if he

36660-463: Was still only a minor town or city, and not worthy of kingship. He was followed by Sumu-la-El , Sabium , and Apil-Sin , each of whom ruled in the same vague manner as Sumu-abum, with no reference to kingship of Babylon itself being made in any written records of the time. Sin-Muballit was the first of these Amorite rulers to be regarded officially as a king of Babylon , and then on only one single clay tablet. Under these kings, Babylonia remained

36855-410: Was succeeded by his son, Phraates II . Seleucid power began to weaken after the defeat of Antiochus III at the hands of the Romans at the Battle of Magnesia which effectively broke Seleucid power and in particular the Seleucid army. After this defeat, Antiochus began an expedition into Iran, but was killed in Elymaïs . The Arsacids then took power in Parthia and declared their full independence from

37050-419: Was the compilation of the Babylonian law code , which improved the much earlier codes of Sumer , Akkad and Assyria. This was made by order of Hammurabi after the expulsion of the Elamites and the settlement of his kingdom. In 1901, a copy of the Code of Hammurabi was discovered on a stele by Jacques de Morgan and Jean-Vincent Scheil at Susa in Elam, where it had later been taken as plunder. That copy

37245-404: Was the founding of the city of Seleucia . The city was built on the shore of the Tigris probably in 307 or 305 BC. Seleucus made Seleucia his new capital, thus imitating Lysimachus, Cassander and Antigonus, all of whom had named cities after themselves. Seleucus also transferred the mint of Babylon to his new city. Babylon was soon left in the shadow of Seleucia, and the story goes that Antiochus ,

37440-413: Was the new satrap of Media and the strategos of the eastern provinces. His army had about 17,000 soldiers. Evagoras, the satrap of Aria , was allied with him. It was obvious that Seleucus' small force could not defeat the two in battle. Seleucus hid his armies in the marshes that surrounded the area where Nicanor was planning to cross the Tigris and made a surprise attack during the night. Evagoras fell in

37635-449: Was too small to defeat Rhodes, but it was big enough to force Asander , the satrap of Caria , to ally with Ptolemy. To demonstrate his power, Seleucus also invaded the city of Erythrai . Polemaios , a nephew of Antigonus, attacked Asander. Seleucus returned to Cyprus, where Ptolemy I had sent his brother Menelaos along with 10,000 mercenaries and 100 ships. Seleucus and Menelaos began to besiege Kition. Antigonus sent most of his fleet to

37830-518: Was ultimately defeated, and lost yet more territory to Assyria. Between 1307 BC and 1232 BC his successors, such as Nazi-Maruttash , Kadashman-Turgu , Kadashman-Enlil II , Kudur-Enlil and Shagarakti-Shuriash , allied with the empires of the Hittites and the Mitanni (who were both also losing swathes of territory to the resurgent Assyrians), in a failed attempt to stop Assyrian expansion. This expansion, nevertheless, continued unchecked. Kashtiliash IV 's (1242–1235 BC) reign ended catastrophically as

38025-451: Was unable to respond to the Parthian threat because of an ongoing civil war with his brother, Antiochus Hierax , in the west. Eventually, the two brothers reached a truce in 236 BCE, and Seleucus was able to begin an expedition against the Parthians in 235 BCE. Seleucus began his campaign by settling affairs in Babylonia and Media before marching on Parthia. Once Seleucus eventually reached Parthia, Arsaces withdrew into Central Asia in

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