Alexander Balas
Alexander I Balas | |
---|---|
Basileus of the Seleucid Empire | |
Reign | 150 BC – August 145 BC |
Predecessor | Demetrius I Soter |
Successors | Demetrius II Nicator or Antiochus VI Dionysus |
Born | Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey) |
Died | August 145 BC |
Spouse | Cleopatra Thea |
Issue | Antiochus VI Dionysus (first son with Cleopatra Thea) |
Dynasty | Seleucid |
Father | Antiochus IV Epiphanes (unconfirmed) |
Mother | Laodice IV (unconfirmed) |
Alexander I
Picked from obscurity and supported by the neighboring Roman-allied
Life
Origins and mission to Rome
Alexander Balas claimed to be the son of
According to Diodorus, Alexander was originally put forward as a candidate for the Seleucid throne by
Alexander and his sister were maintained in
War with Demetrius I (152–150 BC)
After recruiting mercenaries, Alexander and Heracleides departed to
Alexander and Demetrius I competed with another to win over
Reign (150–147 BC)
Alexander gained control of Antioch at this time and his chancellor, Ammonius, murdered all the courtiers of Demetrius I, as well as his wife Laodice and his eldest son Antigonus.[18] Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt entered into an alliance with Alexander, which was sealed by Alexander's marriage to his daughter Cleopatra Thea. The wedding took place at Ptolemais, with Ptolemy VI and Jonathan Apphus in attendance. Alexander took the opportunity to shower honours on Jonathan, whom he treated as his main agent in Judaea.[19][20] The marriage was advertised by a special coinage issue, depicting the royal pair side by side - only the second depiction of a queen on Seleucid coinage. She is shown with divine attributes (a cornucopia and a calathus) and is depicted in front of the king. Some scholars have seen Alexander as little more than a Ptolemaic puppet, arguing that this coinage emphasises Cleopatra's dominance over him and that the chancellor Ammonius was a Ptolemaic agent.[21] Other scholars argue that the alliance was advertised as an important one, but that the arguments for Alexander's subservience have been overstated.[22]
Collapse of the East
Meanwhile, the Seleucid positions in the eastern
Alexander is not recorded to do anything of note to stem the steady erosion of Seleucid power in the East. Ancient historians hostile to him depict him as too distracted by a life of debauchery to take action to stop the Parthians, unlike earlier Seleucid Kings who would mount expeditions to the eastern satrapies to deter the Parthians. He was reputed to hand the administration over to two commanders, Hierax and Diodotus, neither of whom seemed to care for anything but their own interests.[28] This representation is at least partially a product of his opponents' propaganda, but it is true that under Alexander, the Seleucid Empire continued to see its reach and power slip away.
War with Demetrius II and death (147–145 BC)
In early 147 BC Demetrius' son
While he was at Ptolemais Akko, however, Ptolemy switched sides. According to Josephus, Ptolemy discovered that Alexander's chancellor, Ammonius, had been plotting to assassinate him, but when he demanded that Ammonius be punished, Alexander refused.[33] Ptolemy remarried his Cleopatra Thea to Demetrius II and continued his march northward. Alexander's commanders of Antioch, Diodotus and Hierax, surrendered the city to Ptolemy.[34][32]
Alexander returned from Cilicia with his army, but Ptolemy VI and Demetrius II defeated his forces in a
Zabdiel continued to look after Alexander's infant son Antiochus, until 145 BC when the general Diodotus declared him king, in order to serve as the figurehead of a rebellion against Demetrius II. In 130 BC, another claimant to the throne,
Epithets
On some of his coins he is called "Epiphanes" (splendid, glorious) and "Nicephorus" (bringer of victory) after his pretended father and on others "Euergetes" (benefactor) and "Theopator" (of divine descent).[39] In Septuagint it was also called "Epiphanes".[40]
See also
References
- ^ "Alexander I Balas". Livius.org.
- ^ Polybius 33.18.5-18; Diodorus Bibliotheca 31.32a.
- ^ Bevan, Edwyn. The House of Seleucus (1902).
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ Diodorus Bibliotheca 31.32a
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ Psoma, Selene E. (2013). "War or Trade? Attic-Weight Tetradrachms from Second-Century BC Attalid Asia Minor in Seleukid Syria after the Peace of Apameia and Their Historical Context". In Thonemann, Peter (ed.). Attalid Asia Minor: Money, International Relations, and the State. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 265–300.
- ^ Smith, Philip Peter (1867). "Alexander Balas". In William Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 114–115. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06.
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ Polybius 33.18.14; Josephus AJ 13.35
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ Bohm, Claudia (1989). Imitatio Alexandri im Hellenismus; Untersuchungen zum politischen Nachwirken Alexanders des Grossen in hoch- und späthellenistischen Monarchien. Munich. pp. 105–116.
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- ^ Josephus AJ 13.45; I Maccabees. 10.3-6, 10.20
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ Josephus Jewish Antiquities 13.59–61; I Maccabees 10.48–50; Justin Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 35.1.9–11. Astronomical Diaries III 149 A rev. 1–13 and B obv. 1
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ I Maccabees 10.61-65; Josephus AJ 13.80-85
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- )
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ Inscriptiones d;Iran et d'Asie centrale n. 70; Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus 41.6.6; Le Rider, Georges (1965). Suse sous les Séleucides et les Parthes: Les trouvailles monétaires et l'histoire de la ville. Paris. pp. 339–340.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ "Elymais". Encyclopædia Iranica. Columbia University. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ "Frataraka". Encyclopædia Iranica. Columbia University. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ Rawlinson (1873)
- ^ public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Alexander Balas". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 565–566. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ I Maccabees 10.69–89; Josephus AJ 13.88–102
- I Maccabees11.3-8
- ^ Lorber, Catharine C. (2007). "The Ptolemaic Era Coinage Revisited". Numismatic Chronicle. 167: 105–17.
- ^ ISBN 9780198786924.
- I Maccabeesdoes not mention the episode and presents Ptolemy as planning to supported Demetrius II from the start. Josephus presents Ptolemy as genuinely supporting Alexander until this moment.
- I Maccabees11; Josephus Antiquities of the Jews 13.106-107, 115
- ^ Strabo 16.2.8.
- ^ Diodorus 32.9d & 10.1; Zabdiel: I Maccabees 11.17; Josephus AJ 13.118.
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ISBN 9780198786924.
- ^ A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Alexander Balas
- ^ Septuagint, 1 Maccabees, 10.1
Bibliography
- Primary
- 1 Maccabees 10 ff.
- Justinxxxv. 1 and 2
- Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. 13.2.1..
- Appian, Syrian Wars (=Roman History book 11), 67
- Polybius, The Histories xxxiii. 14.
- Secondary
- Maas, Anthony John (1907). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Mørkholm, Otto (1981). "Sculpture and Coins: the Portrait of Alexander Balas of Syria". Numismatica e Antichità Classiche. 10. Industria Grafica Gaggini-Bizzozero. OCLC 715323965.
- Chrubasik, Boris (2016). Kings and Usurpers in the Seleukid Empire: The Men who would be King. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198786924.
- Rawlinson, George (1867). The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 5: Persia.
External links
- Alexander Balas, article in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
- Intaglio representing Alexander I
- Coin of Alexander Balas in British Museum