Seleucus

Sĕleucus, i, m., = Σέλευκος.

The name of several kings of Syria; their ancestor, Seleucus Nicator, a general of Alexander the Great after the latter's death founded the kingdom of the Seleucidae, Just. 13, 4, 17; 15, 4, 1.—
II Name of a servant of Q. Lepta, Cic. Fam. 6, 18, 1.—
III Name of a player on the cithern, Juv. 10, 24.

Seleucus

(Σέλευκος), historical.

1. A king of Bosporus, of whom we know only that he ascended the throne in B. C. 433, on the death of Spartacus I., and reigned four years. (Diod. 12.36.)

Seleucus

2. A Macedonian, father of Ptolemy, the Somatophylax of Alexander the Great, who was killed at the battle of Issus. [Ptolemaeus, No. 4.]

Seleucus

3. The second son of Antiochus VII. Sidetes, and elder brother of Antiochus Cyzicenus. In the battle against the Parthians, in which Antiochus Sidetes was slain, B. C. 128, Seleucus was taken prisoner : he was kindly received by the Parthian monarch, and treated with royal magnificence ; but it does not appear that he ever regained his liberty (Euseb. Arm. p. 167). A passage of Posidonius (apud Athen. iv. p. 153), which had been referred by Froelich and other writers to Seleucus Callinicus, evidently relates to the captivity of this Seleucus, though Athenaeus inadvertently gives him the title of king. (Niebuhr, Kl. Schrift. p. 300.)

Seleucus

4. Surnamed Cybiosactes (Κυβιοσάκτης, the packer of salt fish), a name given him in derision by the Alexandrians, was in reality a man of ignoble birth and a low condition, but who pretended to he descended from the royal race of the Seleucidae. On this account he was chosen by the Alexandrians in B. C. 58, when they had expelled their king Ptolemy Auletes, and established his daughter Berenice on the throne, to be the husband of their young queen. He was accordingly sent for from Syria, and the marriage actually solemnized; but Berenice was so disgusted with his mean and sordid character, that she caused him to be strangled only a few days after their nuptials (D. C. 39.57; Strab. xvii. p.796; Suet. Vesp. 19). Vaillant (Hist. Reg. Syr. p. 397) and Froelich suppose him to have been a younger brother of Antiochus Asiaticus, and the same who accompanied him to Rome about B. C. 73 (see Cic. Ver. 4.27); but both Dio Cassius and Strabo clearly imply that he was a mere pretender. But, from his being selected by the Alexandrians, it is not improbable that be claimed to be a son of Antiochus X. and Cleopatra Selene, which would give him an apparent connection with the royal family of Egypt also. [E.H.B]

Seleucus I. or Seleucus Nicator

(Σέλευκος) surnamed Nicator, king of Syria, and the founder of the Syrian monarchy. He was the son of Antiochus, a Macedonian of distinction among the officers of Philip II., but fabulous stories were in circulation (evidently fabricated after he had attained to greatness), which represented him as the offspring of a miraculous intercourse of his mother Laodice with Apollo. (Just. 15.4.) From the statements concerning his age at his death, his birth may be probably assigned to about B. C. 358, and he would thus be about twenty-four years old when he accompanied Alexander on his expedition to Asia, as one of the officers of the έταῖροι, or horse-guards. He was early distinguished for his great personal strength, as well as courage, of which he is said to have afforded a proof by overcoming a savage bull, unarmed and single-handed. (Appian. Syr. 57 ; Ael. VH 12.16.) Of his services as an officer we hear nothing during the early campaigns of Alexander in Asia; but it is evident that lie must have earned the confidence of that monarch, as at the passage of the Hydaspes, in B. C. 327, we find him selected by the king, together with Ptolemy, Perdiccas, and Lysimachus, to accompany him with the body of troops which were to cross the river in the first instance. In the subsequent battle against Porus, also, he bore an important part. (Arr. Anab. 5.13, 16.) But that these services were only a small portion of those actually rendered by him, during the Indian campaigns, may be inferred from the circumstance that, after the return of Alexander to Susa, Seleucus was one of the officers upon whom the king bestowed, as a rewards the hand of an Asiatic princess. His bride was Apama, the daughter, according to Arrian, of the Bactrian chief Spitamenes. though Strabo calls her father, probably erroneously, Artabazus. (Arr. Anab. 7.4; Strab. xii. p.578.)

Seleucus was in close attendance upon Alexander during his last illness, and is mentioned as one of the officers who consulted the oracle of Serapis in regard to his recovery (Arr. Anab. 7.26). During the dissensions which followed the death of the great king, he took part with Perdiccas and the other leaders of the cavalry, and was rewarded for his attachment to their cause by obtaining, in the arrangements ultimately adopted, the important post of chiliarch of the ἑταῖροι, one of the most honourable appointments in the army, and which had previously been held by Perdiccas himself. (Arrian. apud Phot. p. 69a; Diod. 18.3 ; Appian. Syr. 57 ; Just. 13.4, who inaccurately terms it " castrorum tribunatus.") The regent, doubtless, thought that he could reckon with security on the fidelity of Seleucus; but the latter, though he adhered to him until the expedition against Egypt, and accompanied him on that occasion, was one of the first to join in the discontents which broke out on the disasters sustained at the passage of the Nile [Perdiccas], and even put himself at the head of the mutineers who broke into the regent's tent, and transfixed him on their spears. (Corn. Nep. Eum. 5 ; Diod. 18.36.) During the troubles that followed, we find him interposing his influence and authority with the army, in favour of Antipater, when assailed by the invectives of Eurydice; and, in the second partition of the provinces (at Triparadeisus, B. C. 321), he obtained for his portion the wealthy and important satrapy of Babylonia, of which he hastened to take possession. (Arr. apud Phot. p. 71b; Diod. 18.39, 19.12; App. Syr. 57.)

The ambitious designs of Pithon having involved that general in war with the neighbouring satraps, and ultimately led to his expulsion from his own government [Pithon], Seleucus afforded him a refuge in Babylonia, and was preparing to support him by arms, when the approach of Eumenes attracted the attention of both the contending parties in another direction. Seleucus and Pithon immediately declared in favour of Antigonus, and endeavoured, though without success, to prevent Eumenes from crossing the Tigris and effecting a junction with the forces assembled under Peucestes and his brother satraps. Seleucus, however, remained in possession of Babylon, and sent to Antigonus to hasten his march. On the arrival of the latter, he joined him with all his forces, and they advanced together into Susiana, which was annexed by Antigonus to the satrapy of Seleucus, and the latter was appointed to carry on the siege of Susa, while Antigonus himself advanced into Upper Asia against Eumenes. Before the close of the campaigns in Media, which terminated in the defeat of Eumenes, Seleucus had made himself master of Susa, and returned to Babylon, where he received Antigonus in the most splendid manner, on his return from the upper provinces. But the victory of that general had entirely altered his position in relation to his former allies, and the fate of Pithon might well serve as a warning to his brother satraps. Nor was it long before these apprehensions were confirmed : Antigonus first took occasion to find fault with some exercise of authority on the part of Seleucus, and at length went so far as to call him to account for the administration of the revenues of his satrapy, an assumption of superiority to which he altogether refused to submit. But Seleucus was unable to cope with the power of his adversary, and consequently determined to escape the fate which awaited him, by timely flight, and secretly quitted Babylon with only fifty horsemen. Antigonus in vain issued orders for his pursuit and apprehension, and he made his way. in safety, through Mesopotamia and Syria, into Egypt, B. C. 316. (Diod. 18.73, 19.12_14, 18, 48, 55; App. Syr. 53.)

Here he immediately endeavoured to arouse Ptolemy to a sense of the danger impending from the power and ambition of Antigonus, and succeeded in inducing him to unite with Lysimachus and Cassander in a league against their common enemy. (Diod. 19.56; App. Syr. 53.) In the war that followed (for the events of which see Ptolemaeus, p. 582) Seleucus took an active part. He was at first appointed to command the fleet of Ptolemy, with which we find him carrying on operations on the coast of Syria during the siege of Tyre by Antigonus, as well as subsequently in Ionia and the islands of the Aegaean, and rendering important assistance to Menelaus in the conquest of Cyprus. At length, in B. C. 312, he induced Ptolemy to take the field in person in Coele-Syria, against the youthful Demetrius, and bore an important part in the decisive battle of Gaza. That victory laid open once more the route to Babylon and the East, and he now prevailed upon Ptolemy to send him, with a small force, to regain possession of his former satrapy. On this daring enterprise he set out with only 800 foot and 200 horse, but was joined by reinforcements on his march through Mesopotamia; and so great was his popularity, that all the inhabitants of Babylonia declared in his favour. He entered the city without opposition, and speedily reduced the garrison, which had taken refuge in the citadel. It is from the recovery of Babylon by Seleucus at this period, that the Syrian monarchy is commonly reckoned to commence, and we find the coins of the Syrian kings, as well as many later writers, calculating the years from this epoch. This era of the Seleucidae, as it is termed, has been determined by chronologers to the 1st of October, B. C. 312. (Diod. 19.58, 60, 62, 68, 80, 83, 84, 90, 91; Appian. Syr. 54 ; Euseb. Arm. p. 163 ; Froelich, Annales Regum Syriae, p. 9; Ideler, Handb. d. Chronologie, vol. i. pp. 445-451; Clinton, F. H. vol. ii. p. 172; Eckhel, vol. iii. pp. 210, 221.)

Meanwhile Nicanor, the satrap of Media, had assembled a large force, with which he advanced to oppose Seleucus; but the latter hastened to meet him in the field, totally defeated him at the passage of the Tigris, and followed up his victory by the conquest of Susiana, Media, and some adjacent districts. But while he was thus engaged in the upper provinces, Demetrius, who had been detached by his father Antigonus, from Syria, had regained possession of Babylon, which Patrocles (who had been left there by Seleucus) was unable to hold against him. The invader was, however, foiled in the attempt to reduce one of the citadels attached to the capital; and soon after, by his hasty return to Syria left it open to Seleucus to recover possession of Babylonia, which the latter probably effected with little difficulty. (Diod. 19.100 Plut. Demetr. 7.)

From this period we are left almost wholly in the dark, as to the subsequent operations of Seleucus, during an interval of nearly ten years. It is not a little singular that his name is not even mentioned in the treaty of peace concluded in B. C. 311, by his confederates Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander with Antigonus, in which the latter was acknowledged as ruler of Asia. (Diod. 19.105.) But though thus apparently abandoned by his allies, he had, in fact, little to fear from Antigonus, who was too much occupied with the affairs of Western Asia to find leisure for another expedition against the East * Droysen, indeed, supposes him to have made such an expedition; but there is no authority for this, and it seems impossible to suppose that an event of such importance would have been omitted by Diodorus., and Seleucus appears to have been left to pursue, without interruption, his career of conquest in the upper provinces. All details, however, concerning his operations in these quarters, are lost to us; and we know only the general fact, that by a series of successive campaigns he gradually extended his power over all the eastern provinces which had formed part of the empire of Alexander, from the Euphrates to the banks of the Oxus and the Indus. One of the most memorable of his wars was that with Sandracottus, an Indian king of the regions on the banks of the Ganges, who had availed himself of the disorders which followed the death of Eumenes, to establish his power over the Macedonian satrapies east of the Indus. [Sandrocottus.] Both the date and the circumstances of this war are unfortunately lost; but it was terminated by a treaty by which Seleucus contracted a matrimonial alliance with the Indian monarch, to whom he ceded all the provinces beyond the Indus, and even that of Paropamisus, in exchange for the gift of 500 elephants, an immense addition to his military resources. (Just. 15.4; Appian. Syr. 55 ; Strab. xv. p.724.)

Seleucus had followed the example of Antigonus and Ptolemy, by formally assuming, in B. C. 306, the regal title and diadem, which he had already previously adopted in his intercourse with the barbarian nations by whom He was surrounded (Diod. 20.53; Plut. Demetr. 18) : and he was probably inferior to none of the rival monarchs in power when he was induced, in B. C. 302, to accede to the league formed for the second time by Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander, against their common enemy Antigonus. The army which he brought into the field, considerably exceeded those of his allies; and he arrived in Cappadocia before the close of the autumn, with 20,000 foot, 12,000 horse, and the overwhelming force of 480 elephants. (Diod. 20.106, 113.) The events of the campaign which followed (B. C. 301), are very imperfectly known; but it seems certain that the decisive victory of the confederates at Ipsus [Lysimachus] was mainly owing to the cavalry and elephants of Seleucus, as well as to the skill with which he himself took advantage of the errors of Demetrius. (Plut. Demetr. 29.)

The removal of their common antagonist quickly brought about a change in the dispositions of the Confederates towards each other. In the division of the spoil, Seleucus certainly obtained the largest share, being rewarded for his services with a great part of Asia Minor (which was divided between him and Lysimachus) as well as the whole of Syria, from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean. Ptolemy, however, laid claim to Phoenicia and Coele-Syria, and the possession of these provinces, so fruitful a subject of dissension between their successors, was near producing an immediate breach between the two kings of Syria and Egypt. Seleucus, indeed, waived his pretensions for the time; but the jealousy thus excited, was increased by the close alliance soon after concluded between Ptolemy and Lysimachus, and Seleucus sought to strengthen himself in his turn, by forming a matrimonial connection with Demetrius. His overtures to that prince were joyfully welcomed, the two rivals met on the most friendly terms, and the nuptials of Seleucus and Stratonice were celebrated, with great magnificence, at Rhosus, on the Syrian coast. But even before the two princes separated, the seeds of new disputes were sown between them, by the refusal of Demetrius to yield to his son-in-law the important fortresses of Sidon and Tyre. (Plut. Demetr. 31-33 ; Diod. xxi. Exc. Vat. pp. 42, 43.) A few years afterwards, Seleucus appears to have taken advantage of the wars which kept Demetrius continually occupied in Greece, to wrest from him the possession, not only of these fortresses, but that of Cilicia also. (Droysen, vol. i. p. 572.)

In B. C. 288, the ambitious designs of Demetrius (now become king of Macedonia) once more aroused the common jealousy of his old adversaries, and led Seleucus again to unite in a league with Ptolemy and Lysimachus against him. But he appears to have taken little part in the hostilities which followed, even when Demetrius, driven from his kingdom by Lysimachus, transported the seat of war into Asia Minor; nor was it until the fugitive monarch, hemmed in on all sides, threw himself into Cilicia, that Seleucus 'thought fit to take the field in person. Even then he readily entered into negotiations with Demetrius, and even allowed him to take up his winter quarters, during a truce of two months, in Cataonia; but his apprehensions were soon again roused, he fortified all the mountain passes so as effectually to surround Demetrius, and the latter was at length, after various vicissitudes of fortune, compelled to surrender to the Syrian king, B. C. 286. Seleucus had the generosity to treat his captive in a friendly and liberal manner; but at the same time took care to provide for his safe custody in the city of Apamea, on the Orontes. (Plut. Demetr. 44, 47-50 ; Polyaen. 4.9. §§ 2, 3, 5.) Lysimachus in vain represented to him the danger of allowing so formidable an enemy any hope of escape, and urged him to put Demetrius at once to death : Seleucus indignantly refused to listen to his proposals; and it is even said that he was really designing to set his illustrious prisoner altogether at liberty, when the death of Demetrius himself, in the third year of his captivity, prevented the execution of the plan. (Plut. Demetr. 51, 52 ; Diod. xxi. Exc. Vales. p. 561.)

It is probable that Seleucus was influenced as much by policy as by generosity in his conduct on this occasion : increasing jealousies between him and Lysimachus had long threatened to lead to an open rupture, and it was not long after the death of Demetrius before the domestic dissensions in the family of the Thracian king [Agathocles ; Lysimachus] brought on the long-impending crisis. After the death of the unhappy Agathocles, his widow Lysandra and her children fled for refuge to the court of Seleucus, who received them in the most friendly manner. The general discontent excited in the dominions of Lysimachus by this event, and the defection of many of his principal officers, encouraged the Syrian king to commence hostilities against him, and he accordingly assembled a large army with which he invaded the dominions of his rival in person. Lysimachus, on his side, was not slow to meet him, and a decisive action ensued at Corupedion, B. C. 281, which terminated in the defeat and death of the Thracian monarch. (Memnon, 100.8; Just. 17.1,2; Appian. Syr. 62.) This victory appears to have been followed by the speedy submission of all the Asiatic provinces as far as the Hellespont ; but not contented with this, Seleucus was desirous to occupy the throne of Macedonia, which had been left vacant by the death of Lysimachus; and after spending a few months in arranging the affairs of Asia, the government of which he now consigned wholly to his son Antiochus, he himself crossed the Hellespont at the head of an army. But he had advanced no farther than Lysimachia, when he was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus, to whom, as the son of his old friend and ally, he had extended a friendly protection. His body was redeemed by Philetaerus, the governor of Pergamus, who, after paying him due funeral honours, sent his remains to Antiochus, by whom they were deposited at Seleuceia on the Orontes, in a temple dedicated to his memory. His death took place in the beginning of B. C. 280, only seven months after that of Lysimachus, and in the thirty-second year of his reign. According to Justin, he was at this time more than seventy-seven years old, but Appian makes him only seventy-three. (Appian, Syr. 62, 633 ; Just. 17.1, 2; Memnon. 100.11, 12; Paus. 1.16.2; Oros. 3.23; Euseb. Arm. p. 163.)

We have little information concerning the personal character of Seleucus, but he is pronounced by Pausanias (1.16.3) to have been the most upright among the successors of Alexander, and it is certain that his memory is stained with none of those crimes which are a reproach to the names of Lysimachus, Cassander, and even Ptolemy. Of his consummate abilities as a general no doubt can be entertained; and the little we know of his administration of the vast empire which he had united under his sceptre, gives an equally favourable impression of his political talents. He appears to have carried out, with great energy and perseverance, the projects originally formed by Alexander himself, for the Hellenisation of his Asiatic empire; and we find him founding, in almost every province, Greek or Macedonian colonies, which became so many centres of civilisation and refinement. Of these no less than sixteen are mentioned as bearing the name of Antiochia after his father ; five that of Laodicea, from his mother; seven were calied after himself Seleucia, three from the name of his first wife, Apamea; and one Stratoniceia, from his second wife, the daughter of Demetrius. Of these the most conspicuous were -- Seleucia on the Tigris, which in great measure supplanted the mighty Babylon, and became the metropolis of the eastern provinces, under the Syrian dynasty; the city of the same name, near the mouth of the Orontes; and Antiochia, on the latter river, which quickly rose to be the capital of Syria, and continued, for near a thousand years, to be one of the most populous and wealthy cities of the world. Numerous other cities, whose names attest their Macedonian origin--Beroea, Edessa, Pella, &c.-- likewise owed their first foundation to the son of Antiochus. (Appian, Syr. 57 ; Strab. xvi. pp. 738, 749, 750; Steph. Byz. s. v. Ἀπάμεια, &c.; Paus. 1.16.3; Amm. Marc. 14.8.5. For a full review and examination of these foundations see Droysen, Hellenism. vol. ii. pp. 651, 680-720.)

Nothing is known with certainty of any children of Seleucus, except his son and successor Antiochus ; but it seems probable that by his second wife, Stratonice, he had a daughter Phila, afterwards married to Antigonus Gonatas. [Phila, No. 4.]

[E.H.B]

Seleucus Ii. or Seleucus Callinicus

(Σέλευκος), surnamed Callinicus, king of Syria, was the eldest son of Antiochus II. by his first wife Laodice. (Appian. Syr. 66 ; Justin, 27.1.) When his father Antiochus fell a victim to the jealousy or revenge of his wife [Laodice], the latter for a time artfully concealed his death until she had taken all necessary measures for establishing Seleucus on the throne, which he ascended without opposition, B. C. 246. The first measure of his administration, or rather that of his mother, was to put to death his stepmother Berenice, together with her infant son. [Berenice, No. 2.] But this act of cruelty produced the most disastrous effects, by alienating all his Syrian subjects, while it aroused Ptolemy Euergetes, king of Egypt, to avenge the fate of his unhappy sister. Seleucus was unable to offer any resistance to the Egyptian monarch, and withdrew beyond Mount Taurus, while Ptolemy not only made himself master of Antioch and the whole of Syria, but carried his arms unopposed beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris. [Ptolemaeus III.] During these operations Seleucus kept wholly aloof; but when Ptolemy had been recalled to his own dominions by domestic disturbances, he appears to have easily recovered possession of the greater part of the provinces which he had lost. All farther details of the revolution which replaced him in the possession of his father's empire, are lost to us; but it seems certain that as early as B. C. 242, lie had again extended his power to the Euphrates, where he founded the city of Callinicum. (Droysen, Hellenism. vol. ii. p. 351; Clinton, F. H. vol. iii. p. 313.) A naval expedition which he undertook in order to subdue the maritime cities that had revolted, was less fortunate : his fleet was shattered by a storm, and he himself narrowly escaped with his life. Still, he soon after found himself strong enough to commence offensive operations against Ptolemy, but was totally defeated and his army dispersed. In this emergency he had recourse to his younger brother Antiochus Hierax, who appears to have been already established (probably by Ptolemy) in an independent position, and offered him the sovereignty of all Asia Minor as the price of his support. But Antiochus, deeming the opportunity a favourable one for making himself master of the whole Syrian kingdom, instead of supporting his brother, turned his arms against him, and Seleucus found himself engaged in war at once with the king of Egypt and his own brother. (Just. 27.2.)

The events of the succeeding years are very imperfectly known to us, and it is scarcely possible to derive any connected historical results from the confused and fragmentary notices which have been transmitted to us. But it seems certain that Seleucus concluded (probably in B. C. 239) a truce for ten years with the king of Egypt, and thus found himself at leisure to turn his arms against his brother. He at first obtained decisive successes, and defeated Antiochus in a great battle in Lydia, which was followed by the reduction of all that province, except Sardis and Ephesus; but in a second battle, at Ancyra in Galatia, Antiochus, supported by Mithridates king of Pontus and a large force of Gaulish mercenaries, was completely victorious. Seleucus lost no less than 20,000 men, and himself escaped with such difficulty that he was generally reported to have perished in the flight (Just. 27.2; Trog. Pomp. Prol. xxvii.; Euseb. Arm. pp. 164, 165; Athen. 13.593 ; Plut. de Frat. Amor. p. 489a.; Polyaen. 8.61). The defection of his Gaulish soldiers must have prevented Antiochus from deriving much advantage from this victory; and whether or not any formal truce was concluded by the two brothers (as supposed by Droysen). there appears to have been in fact a suspension of hostilities between them. (For the history of these wars in particular, as well as for the reign of Seleucus II. in general, see Niebuhr, Kl. Schrift. vol. i. pp. 276-286; and Droysen, vol. ii. p. 337-359, 410-429.)

It must have been during this interval that Seleucus undertook an expedition to the East, with the view of reducing the revolted provinces of Parthia and Bactria, which had availed themselves of the disordered state of the Syrian empire to throw off its yoke. He was, however, defeated by Arsaces, king of Parthia, in a great battle which was long after celebrated by the Parthians as the foundation of their independence (Just. 41.4), and was soon after recalled from these remote regions by fresh troubles which had arisen in his western provinces. Froelich (Ann. Syr. pp. 30, 31) and Clinton (F. H. vol. iii. p. 313) have represented him as himself falling a captive into the bands of the Parthians : but it appears, from the Armenian version of Eusebius (p. 167, fol. edit.), that the passage of Posidonius (apud Athen. iv. p. 153) on which they rely as their authority, refers in fact to Seleucus the son of Antiochus Sidetes (see Niebuhr, Kl. Schrift. p. 300). It was probably during the same period of partial tranquillity that Seleucus found time to enlarge his capital of Antioch, by the construction of a new quarter of the city. (Strab. xvi. p.750.)

Whether hostilities with Egypt were ever actually renewed, or the truce between the two countries at once passed into a durable peace, we know not; but it seems certain that such a peace was concluded before the death of Seleucus (Nieb. l. c p. 287). On the other hand, the war between the two brothers broke out with fresh violence. We have, however, little information of its events ; and we only know that it was terminated by a decisive victory of Seleucus in Mesopotamia, which compelled Antiochus to take refuge with Ariamnes, king of Cappadocia. From thence he made his escape to the court of Ptolemy; but that monarch being now desirous to maintain friendly relations with Syria, detained him in close custody, from which he only escaped to perish by the hands of robbers. Meanwhile Attalus, king of Pergamus, had extended his dominions over the greater part of Asia Minor, from which he had expelled Antiochus ; and Seleucus appears to have been engaged in an expedition for the recovery of these provinces, when he was accidentally killed by a fall from his horse, in the twenty-first year of his reign, B. C. 226. (Just. 27.3; Trog. Pomp. Prol. xxvii.; Euseb. Arm. p. 165; Droysen, vol. ii. p. 426.)

One of the last acts of his reign was to send a magnificent present of corn, timber, and other supplies, as well as ten quinqueremes fully equipped, to the Rhodians, whose city had suffered severely by an earthquake (Plb. 5.89). Seleucus had married Laodice, the sister of Andromachus, by whom he left two sons, who successively ascended the throne, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus, afterwards surnamed the Great (Appian, Syr. 66 ; Plb. 2.71). His own surname of Callinicus, which was probably assumed after his recovers of the provinces that had been overrun by Ptolemy, is not found on his coins, which, as they bear no dates, cannot be distinguished with certainty from those of his son.

[E.H.B]

Seleucus Iii. or Seleucus Ceraunus or Seleucus Ceraunus

(Σέλευκος), surnamed Ceraunus, king of Syria. was the eldest son and successor of Seleucus II. His real name was Alexander, but on his father's death he assumed that of Seleucus; the surname of Ceraunus was given him by 'the soldiery, apparently in derision, as he appears to have been feebel both in mind and body. He, however, followed up his father's plans, by assembling an army, with which he passed Mount Taurus, for the purpose of dispossessing Attalus of his newly acquired dominions in Asia Minor. He was accompanied by his cousin Achaeus, a man of energy and ability, but the war was notwithstanding feebly conducted : discontents broke out in the army; and at length Seleucus himself was assassinated by one of his own officers, named Nicanor, and a Gaul of the name of Apaturius. He could have been little more than twenty years old at the time of his death, of which he had reigned nearly three years. (Plb. 4.48, 5.40; Appian, Syr. 66 ; Hieronym. ad Daniel. 11.10; Euseb. Arm. p. 165.)

From an inscription found at Seleuceia, on the Orontes (Pococke, Inscr. Ant. p. 4, No. 18 ; Droysen, vol. ii. p. 520), it appears that the official title or surname assumed by Seleucus, was that of Soter; but neither this, nor that of Ceraunus by which he is known in history, is found on any of his coins. The latter, indeed, can only be assigned to him conjecturally. Droysen (Ib. p. 521) has inferred, from the same inscription, that Seleucus must have left an infant son of the name of Antiochus, whose claims were passed over in favour of his uncle, Antiochus III.; but no other mention is found of this fact.

[E.H.B]

Seleucus Iv. or Seleucus Philopator

(Σέλενκος), king of Syria, surnamed Philopator, was the son and successor of Antiochus the Great. The date of his birth is not mentioned; but he must have already attained to manhood in B. C. 196, when he was left by his father in command of his forces at Lysimachia. in the Chersonese. with orders to rebuild that city, which Antiochus designed, or affected to design, as a royal residence for Seleucus himself (Liv. xxxiii. 41, 35.15, 36.7; Plb. 18.34; Appian, Syr. 3). Again, in B. C. 190, we find him stationed in Aeolis with an army, to keep in check the maritime cities. Here he succeeded in reducing Cyme and other places, by voluntary submission, while he regained Phocaea by the treachery of the garrison. Shortly after he took advantage of the absence of Eumenes to invade his dominions, and even proceeded to lay siege to Pergamus itself; but the daring and repeated sallies of Diophanes, a leader of Achaean mercenaries, who had thrown himself into the place, compelled him to raise the siege and retire (Liv. 37.8, 11, 18, 20, 21 ; Plb. 21.4; App. Syr. 26). In the great battle against the Romans near Magnesia, in the same year, Seleucus was entrusted by his father with the command of the left wing of his army, but was totally defeated by Attalus, to whom he was opposed, and fled from the field of battle to Apamea in Phrygia (Liv. 37.40, 43; App. Syr. 33, 36). In the following year (B. C. 189), after the conclusion n of peace with Rome, he was sent by Antiochus to the support of the consul Cn. Manlius, and not only furnished him with abundant supplies of corn, but rendered him active assistance on more than one occasion during his expedition against the Galatians. (Liv. 38.13, 15.)

On the death of Antiochus III. in B. C. 187, Seleucus ascended the throne without opposition. But the defeat of his father by the Romans, and the ignominious peace which followed it, had greatly diminished the power of the Syrian monarchy, and the reign of Seleucus was, in consequence, feeble and inglorious, and was marked by no striking events. In B. C. 185, we find him sending an embassy to the Achaeans, to renew the friendship and alliance previously existing between them and Antiochus (Plb. 23.4, 9; Diod. xxix. Exc. Legat. p. 622); and shortly afterwards (probably in B. C. 181) assembling a considerable army, to assist Pharnaces, king of Pontus, against Eumenes; but he became alarmed lest his passing Mount Taurus for this purpose should be construed by the Romans into an act of hostility; and, in consequence, abandoned the design and dismissed his forces (Diod. Exc. Vales. p. 576). Yet he did not hesitate to conclude a treaty of alliance with Perseus, whose unfriendly disposition towards the Romans could no longer be a secret, and even to give him his own daughter, Laodice, in marriage, probably in B. C. 178 (Plb. 26.7; Liv. 42.12; Inscr. Del. apud Marm. Arundel. No. 41). But he was still studious to conciliate the favour of the Roman senate, and not long before his death sent his son Demetrius to Rome, to replace his brother Antiochus as a hostage for his fidelity (App. Syr. 45 ; Plb. 31.12). With Egypt lie appears for the most part to have maintained friendly relations; but Ptolemy Epiphanes is said to have been preparing for the invasion of Coele-Syria, when his plans were frustrated by his own death (Hieronym. ad Daniel. 11.20). Towards the Jews the conduct of Seleucus seems to have been, for the most part at least, liberal and favourable : concerning his alleged attempt to plunder the treasury of Jerusalem see Heliodorus.

After a tranquil and inactive reign of twelve years, Seleucus was assassinated, in B. C. 175, by one of his own ministers, named Heliodorus, who had conceived the design of possessing himself of the sovereign power. The statement of Eusebius that he was sixty years old, is clearly erroneous, as his elder brother Antiochus was not born till B. C. 221. He left two children : Demetrius, who subsequently ascended the throne; and Laodice, married, as already mentioned, to Perseus, king of Macedonia. The name of his wife is unknown; but Froelich supposes him to have married his sister Laodice, the widow of his brother Antiochus. (Appian, Syr. 45, 66 ; Euseb. Arm. pp. 165, 166; Froelich, Ann. Syr. p. 42 ; Clinton, F. H. vol. iii. p. 317.)

[E.H.B]

Seleucus V.

(Σέλενκος), king of Syria, was the eldest son of Demetrius II., and assumed the royal diadem immediately on learning the death of his father, B. C. 125; but his mother Cleopatra, who had herself put Demetrius to death, was indignant at hearing that her son had ventured to take such a step without her authority, and caused Seleucus also to be assassinated. His death appears to have followed almost immediately after that of his father, though some of the chronologers erroneously ascribe the duration of a year to his reign. (Appian, Syr. 68, 69 ; Justin, 39.1 ; Liv. Epit. lx.; Euseb. Arm. p. 168; Porphyr. ap. Euseb. l.c.) [E.H.B]

Seleucus Vi. or Seleucus Epiphanes

(Σέλενκος) king of Syria, surnamed Epiphanes, and also Nicator, was the eldest of the five sons of Antiochus VIII. Grypus. On the death of his father, in B. C. 96, he immediately assumed the sovereignty, and raised an army, with which he reduced several cities of Syria. His claims were, however, resisted by his uncle Antiochus Cyzicenus, who marched from Antioch against him. A decisive battle ensued, in which Antiochus was totally defeated, and himself perished (B. C. 95); and the result of this victory enabled Seleucus to make himself master of Antioch. He was now for a short time undisputed ruler of Syria; but Antiochus Eusebes, the son of Cyzicenus, having escaped from the designs of Seleucus, who sought to put him to death, raised the standard of revolt against him, defeated him in a pitched battle, and expelled him from Syria. Seleucus took refuge in Cilicia, where He established himself in the city of Mopsuestia; but he alienated the inhabitants by his violent and tyrannical character, and at length, by his oppressive exactions of money, excited such a sedition among them that they set tire to the gymnasium in which he had taken refuge, and he perished in the flames, or, according to another account, put an end to his own life, in order to avoid a more cruel fate (J. AJ 13.13.4; Appian, Syr. 69 ; Porphyr. apud Euseb. Arm. p. 169). The death of Seleucus may probably be assigned to the year B. C. 94.

His coins, like those of all the later Seleucidan kings, bear his titles at full length. [E.H.B]

Seleucus

(Σέλενκος), literary.

1. A poet, the son of the historian Mnesiptolemus, who flourished under Antiochus the Great. A paederastic scolion of his is preserved by Athenaeus (who calls him τὸν τῶν ἱλαρῶν ἂσμάτων ποἱητην), and also in the Greek Anthology. (Athen. 15.697d. ; Brunck, Anal. vol. ii. p. 291; Jacobs, Anth. Graec. vol. iii. p. 5, vol. xiii. p. 951.)

Seleucus

2. A grammarian of Emesa, who composed two books of Parthian history, a commentary on the lyric poets, and a poem on fishing (ἁλιεντικά), in four books (Suid. s. v.). Athenaeus, however, quotes the latter as the work of Seleucus of Tarsus (vii. p. 320a.).

Seleucus

3. A distinguished grammarian of Alexandria, who also taught at Rome. He was surnamed Homericus, and, in addition to commentaries on pretty well all the poets, wrote a number of grammatical and miscellaneous works, the titles of which are given by Suidas (s. v.). There are some other insignificant persons of this name. (See Vossius, de Hist. Graec. p. 496, ed. Westermann; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. i. pp. 86, 184, n., 522, vol. ii. p. 27, vol. iv. p. 166, vol. v. p. 107, vol. vi. p. 378.) [P.S]

Seleucus

an engraver of precious stones, of unknown date, one of whose gems is extant; it is a carnelian, engraved with a small head of Silenus. (Bracci. 104; Stosch, 60.) [P.S]

Seleucus

(Σέλευκος). The name of several kings of Syria. (1) Surnamed Nicātor, the founder of the Syrian monarchy, reigned B.C. 312-280. He was the son of Antiochus, a Macedonian of distinction among the officers of Philip II., and was born about B.C. 358. He accompanied Alexander on his expedition to Asia, and distinguished himself particularly in the Indian campaigns. After the death of Alexander (323) he espoused the side of Perdiccas, whom he accompanied on his expedition against Egypt; but he took a leading part in the mutiny of the soldiers, which ended in the death of Perdiccas (321). In the second partition of the provinces which followed, Seleucus obtained the wealthy and important satrapy of Babylonia. In the war between Antigonus and Eumenes, Seleucus afforded efficient support to the former; but after the death of Eumenes (316), Antigonus began to treat the other satraps as his subjects. Thereupon Seleucus fled to Egypt, where he induced Ptolemy to unite with Lysimachus and Cassander in a league against their common enemy. In the war that ensued Seleucus took an active part. At length, in 312, he recovered Babylon; and it is from this period that the Syrian monarchy is commonly reckoned to commence. This era of the Seleucidae, as it is termed, has been determined by chronologists to the 1st of October, 312. Soon afterwards Seleucus defeated Nicanor, the satrap of Media, and followed up his victory by the conquest of Susiana, Media, and some adjacent districts. For the next few years he gradually extended his power over all the eastern provinces which had formed part of the empire of Alexander, from the Euphrates to the banks of the Oxus and the Indus. In 306 Seleucus followed the example of Antigonus and Ptolemy, by formally assuming the royal title and diadem. In 302 he joined the league formed for the second time by Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander, against their common enemy Antigonus. The united forces of Seleucus and Lysimachus gained a decisive victory over Antigonus at Ipsus (301), in which Antigonus himself was slain. In the division of the spoil, Seleucus obtained the largest share, being rewarded for his services with a great part of Asia Minor (which was divided between him and Lysimachus) as well as with the whole of Syria, from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean.

The empire of Seleucus was now by far the most extensive and powerful of those which had been formed out of the dominions of Alexander. It comprised the whole of Asia, from the remote provinces of Bactria and Sogdiana to the coasts of Phoenicia, and from the Paropamisus to the central plains of Phrygia, where the boundary which separated him from Lysimachus is not clearly defined. Seleucus appears to have felt the difficulty of exercising a vigilant control over so extensive an empire, and accordingly, in 293, he consigned the government of all the provinces beyond the Euphrates to his son Antiochus, upon whom he bestowed the title of king, as well as the hand of his own youthful wife, Stratonicé, for whom the prince had conceived a violent attachment. In 288, the ambitious designs of Demetrius (now become king of Macedonia) once more aroused the common jealousy of his old adversaries, and led Seleucus again to unite in a league with Ptolemy and Lysimachus against him. After Demetrius had been driven from his kingdom by Lysimachus, he transported the seat of war into Asia Minor, but he was compelled to surrender to Seleucus in 286. The Syrian king kept Demetrius in confinement till three years afterwards, but during the whole of that time treated him in a friendly and liberal manner. For some time jealousies had existed between Seleucus and Lysimachus; but the immediate cause of the war between the two monarchs, which terminated in the defeat and death of Lysimachus (281), is related in the life of the latter. Seleucus now crossed the Hellespont in order to take possession of the throne of Macedonia, which had been left vacant by the death of Lysimachus; but he had advanced no farther than Lysimachia, when he was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus, to whom, as the son of his old friend and ally, he had extended a friendly protection. His death took place in the beginning of 280, only seven months after that of Lysimachus, and in the thirty-second year of his reign. He was in his seventy-eighth year. Seleucus appears to have carried out, with great energy and perseverance, the projects originally formed by Alexander himself for the Hellenization of his Asiatic empire; and we find him founding, in almost every province, Greek or Macedonian colonies, which became so many centres of civilization and refinement. Of these no less than sixteen are mentioned as bearing the name of Antiochia, after his father; five that of Laodicea, from his mother; seven were called after himself Seleucia; three from the name of his first wife, Apamea; and one Stratonicea, from his second wife, the daughter of Demetrius. Numerous other cities, whose names attest their Macedonian origin—Beroea, Edessa, Pella, etc.— likewise owed their first foundation to Seleucus.

(2) Surnamed Callinīcus (246-226), the eldest son of Antiochus II. by his first wife Laodicé. The first measure of his administration, or rather that of his mother, was to put to death his stepmother Berenicé, together with her infant son. This act of cruelty produced the most disastrous effects. In order to avenge his sister, Ptolemy Euergetes, king of Egypt, invaded the dominions of Seleucus, and not only made himself master of Antioch and the whole of Syria, but carried his arms unopposed beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris. During these operations Seleucus kept wholly aloof; but when Ptolemy had been recalled to his own dominions by domestic disturbances, he recovered possession of the greater part of the provinces which he had lost. Soon afterward Seleucus became involved in a dangerous war with his brother Antiochus Hierax, who attempted to obtain Asia Minor as an independent kingdom for himself. This war lasted several years, but was at length terminated by the decisive defeat of Antiochus, who was obliged to abandon Asia Minor and take refuge in Egypt. Seleucus undertook an expedition to the East, with the view of reducing the revolted provinces of Parthia and Bactria, which had availed themselves of the disordered state of the Syrian Empire to throw off its yoke. He was, however, defeated by Arsaces, king of Parthia, in a great battle, which was long after celebrated by the Parthians as the foundation of their independence. After the expulsion of Antiochus, Attalus, king of Pergamus, extended his dominions over the greater part of Asia Minor; and Seleucus appears to have been engaged in an expedition for the recovery of these provinces, when he was accidentally killed by a fall from his horse, in the twenty-first year of his reign, 226. He left two sons, who successively ascended the throne, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus, afterward surnamed the Great. His own surname of Callinicus was probably assumed after his recovery of the provinces that had been overrun by Ptolemy.

(3) Surnamed Ceraunus (226-223), eldest son and successor of Seleucus II. The surname of Ceraunus (“Thunderbolt”) was given him by the soldiery, apparently in derision, as he appears to have been feeble both in mind and body. He was assassinated by two of his officers, after a reign of only three years, and was succeeded by his brother, Antiochus the Great.

(4) Surnamed Philopātor (187-175), was the son and successor of Antiochus the Great. The defeat of his father by the Romans, and the ignominious peace which followed it, had greatly diminished the power of the Syrian monarchy, and the reign of Seleucus was, in consequence, feeble and inglorious, and was marked by no striking events. He was assassinated in 175 by one of his own ministers. He left two children: Demetrius, who subsequently ascended the throne; and Laodicé, married to Perseus, king of Macedonia.

(5) Eldest son of Demetrius II., assumed the royal diadem on learning the death of his father, 125; but his mother, Cleopatra , who had herself put Demetrius to death, was indignant at hearing that her son had ventured to take such a step without her authority, and caused Seleucus also to be assassinated.

(6) Surnamed Epiphanes, and also Nicator (95-93), was the eldest of the five sons of Antiochus VIII. (Grypus). His uncle, who laid claim to the kingdom, was defeated and slain by him. Presently, however, Seleucus was himself expelled from Syria by Antiochus Eusebus. He retired to Cilicia, where he made himself master of the city of Mopsuestia, whose citizens presently revolted against him and burned the palace, in whose flames Seleucus himself perished.

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