Antiochus I Soter

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
This article is about the Seleucid King of the third century BC. For the king of Commagene of the first century BC, see
Antiochus I Theos of Commagene
.
Antiochus I
  • Macedon
Died2 June 261 BC
(aged 61–63)
SpouseStratonice
Issue
Mesopotamian religion[1] and Greek polytheism

Antiochus I Soter (Greek: Ἀντίοχος Σωτήρ, Antíochos Sōtér; "Antiochus the Savior"; c. 324/3 – 2 June 261 BC) was a Macedonian king of the Seleucid Empire.[2] Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned during a period of instability which he mostly overcame until his death on 2 June 261 BC.[3] He is the last known ruler to be attributed the ancient Mesopotamian title King of the Universe.[4]

Biography

Antiochus's father was Seleucus I Nicator[5][6] and his mother was Apama, daughter of Spitamenes,[7][8] being one of the princesses whom Alexander the Great had given as wives to his generals in 324 BC.[9][10] The Seleucids fictitiously claimed that Apama was the daughter of Darius III, in order to legitimise themselves as the inheritors of both the Achaemenids and Alexander, and therefore the rightful lords of western and central Asia.[11]

In 294 BC, prior to the death of his father

Demetrius Poliorcetes. The ancient sources report that his elderly father reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son was in danger of dying of lovesickness.[12] Stratonice bore five children to Antiochus: Seleucus (later executed for rebellion), Laodice, Apama II, Stratonice II and Antiochus II Theos
, who succeeded his father as king.

The Ruin of Esagila Chronicle, dated between 302 and 281 BC, mentions that a crown prince, most likely Antiochus, decided to rebuild the ruined Babylonian temple Esagila, and made a sacrifice in preparation. However, while there, he stumbled on the rubble and fell. He then ordered his troops to destroy the last of the remains.[13]

On the assassination of his father in 281 BC, the task of holding together the empire was a formidable one. A revolt in

Macedonia and Thrace. In Anatolia he was unable to reduce Bithynia or the Persian dynasties that ruled in Cappadocia.[10]

In 278 BC the

war elephants (275 BC) is said to have been the origin of his title of Soter (Greek for "saviour").[10]

At the end of 275 BC the question of

Ptolemy since the partition of 301 BC, led to hostilities (the First Syrian War). It had been continuously in Ptolemaic occupation, but the house of Seleucus maintained its claim. War did not materially change the outlines of the two kingdoms, though frontier cities like Damascus and the coast districts of Asia Minor might change hands.[10]

Cylinder of Antiochus I
E-zida. Written in traditional Akkadian, a voluntary archaism meant to convey prestige.[14][15][16][17]

In 268 BC Antiochus I laid the foundation for the Ezida Temple in

Pergamum by force of arms, but suffered defeat near Sardis and died soon afterwards.[10] He was succeeded in 261 BC by his second son Antiochus II Theos.[19]

Ai-Khanoum

Coin of Antiochos I Soter, Ai-Khanoum mint.

Recent analysis strongly suggests that the city of

Panj River and the Kokcha River and at the doorstep of the Indian subcontinent, was founded c. 280 BC by Antiochus I.[20][21]

Relations with India

Antiochus I maintained friendly diplomatic relations with

figs and a sophist. Antiochus replied that he would send the wine and the figs, but the Greek laws forbade him to sell a sophist.[22][23]

Antiochus is probably the Greek king mentioned[24] in the Edicts of Ashoka, as one of the recipients of the Indian Emperor Ashoka's Buddhist proselytism:

Antiochos I coin. Antioch mint. Macedonian shield with Seleucid anchor in central boss. Elephant walking right.

And even this conquest [preaching Buddhism] has been won by the Beloved of the Gods here and in all the borderlands, as far as six hundred

Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule.[25]

Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development of herbal medicine, for men and animals, in the territories of the Hellenic kings:

Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's [Ashoka's] domain, and among the people beyond the borders, the

Pandyas, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far as Tamraparni and where the Greek king Antiochus rules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals.[26]

Alternatively, the Greek king mentioned in the Edict of Ashoka could also be Antiochus's son and successor, Antiochus II Theos, although the proximity of Antiochus I with the East may makes him a better candidate.[24]

Neoclassical art

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts
.
Antiochus und Stratonike, Theodoor van Thulden (1669).
Antiochus and Stratonice by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.

The love between Antiochus and his stepmother Stratonice was often depicted in Neoclassical art, as in a painting by Jacques-Louis David.

References

  1. ^ "Antiochus Cylinder - Livius". www.livius.org.
  2. ISBN 978-1-107-60572-5
    .
  3. ^ "Antiochus I Soter". Livius.
  4. ISSN 0075-4269
    .
  5. ^ "Antiochus I Soter | Seleucid king". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  6. ^ "Antiochus I Soter - Livius". www.livius.org. Retrieved 2021-07-25.
  7. ISBN 0-89356-313-7
    .
  8. ISBN 90-04-08612-9
    .
  9. ^ Arrian, Anabasis 7.4.6
  10. ^ a b c d e  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Seleucid Dynasty s.v. Antiochus I. Soter". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 604.
  11. ^ Shahbazi, A. Sh. "Apama". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  12. ^ Plutarch, Demetrius, 38 gives the most famous account of this tale. See also Appian, Syr. IX.59
  13. ^ "BCHP 6 (Ruin of Esagila Chronicle)". Livius.
  14. ISBN 9781107010765
    .
  15. ISBN 9781107244566
    .
  16. ^ "Antiochus cylinder". British Museum.
  17. ^ Wallis Budge, Ernest Alfred (1884). Babylonian Life and History. Religious Tract Society. p. 94.
  18. ^ Oelsner, Joachim (2000). "Hellenization of the Babylonian Culture?" (PDF). The Melammu Project. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  19. ^ Smith, Andrew. "Johannes Malalas - translation". www.attalus.org. Retrieved 2017-06-06.
  20. doi:10.1163/157005712X638672
    .
  21. S2CID 194685024
    .
  22. ^ Kosmin 2014, pp. 34–35.
  23. ^ Mookerji 1988, p. 38.
  24. ^
    Antiochus I
    , with stronger connections in the East.
  25. ^ Translation of Jarl Charpentier 1931:303–321.
  26. ^ Edicts of Ashoka, 2nd Rock Edict.

Bibliography

External links
Antiochus I Soter
Born: c. 324/323 BC Died: 261 BC
Preceded by
Seleucid ruler

281–261 BC 		Succeeded by
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