Seleucus I Nicator

Seleucid king (r. 305-281 b.c.e.)

• Born: 358 or 354 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Europus, Macedonia (now in Greece)
• Died: August/September, 281 b.c.e.
• Place of death: Near Lysimachia, Thrace (now in Greece)

By his courage and practical common sense, Seleucus created the Seleucid Empire, maintaining the loyalty of a heterogeneous population by fair government.

Early Life

Seleucus (seh-LEW-kuhs) was born in 358 or 354 b.c.e. in Europus, Macedonia. Although ancient sources do not agree on when he was born, no one disputes that he was the son of a man named Antiochus and his wife, Laodice. Nothing is known of Seleucus’s early life, but both Diodorus Siculus and Appian indicate that he was with the army of Alexander the Great that marched against the Persians in 334. He must have distinguished himself in the following years, for by 326 he had assumed command of the royal hypaspists (elite infantry) in the Indian campaign and had gained a position on the king’s staff. When Alexander crossed the Hydaspes River, he took with him in the same boat Ptolemy (later Ptolemy Soter), Perdiccas, Lysimachus, and Seleucus.

One of Alexander’s final acts was to preside over the festival at Susa during which his generals married Persian brides. His two fiercest opponents had been Oxyartes and Spitamenes. Alexander had already married Oxyartes’ daughter Roxane; he gave Apama, daughter of Spitamenes, to Seleucus. This marriage provided Seleucus with his son and successor, Antiochus. According to Appian, he named three cities after Apama.

When Alexander died in 323, Perdiccas took over as regent for Alexander’s retarded half brother and his unborn child. The empire was divided among the generals, who were to serve as satraps (governors). Seleucus was named chiliarch (commander of the Companion cavalry), a position of extreme military importance but with no grant of land. For this reason, he played a relatively unimportant role for the next ten years, although he led the cavalry rebellion that resulted in the death of Perdiccas in 321. When a new appointment of satraps was made shortly after this, Seleucus gave up his position as chiliarch to become governor of Babylonia.

Babylonia, in the center of what had been Alexander’s empire, was the perfect position from which to dominate the entire empire, but its security was threatened by the arrogant satraps of Media (Pithon) and Persia (Peucestas). Pithon seized Parthia to the east, was driven out by Peucestas, and subsequently sought an alliance with Seleucus. Meanwhile, Eumenes, the outlawed former satrap of Cappadocia, appeared in Babylonia with an elite Macedonian force far superior to Seleucus’s army. Seleucus was forced to call on Antigonus I, the most powerful of the satraps, for help. Although Antigonus, Seleucus, and Pithon started the campaign together in 317, once they had taken Susiana, Seleucus was left behind to besiege the citadel of Susa while the other two pursued Eumenes. In rapid succession, Antigonus defeated and killed Eumenes, ordered the execution of Pithon, and masterminded the “disappearance” of Peucestas. When he returned to Babylonia, Seleucus tried to appease Antigonus with the treasure from Susa, but it was only a short time later, in 316, that he wisely fled Babylon and sought refuge with Ptolemy in Egypt.

Life’s Work

Seleucus would seem to have lost everything at this point, but this was actually the beginning of his climb to even greater power. Antigonus was now the dominant figure among Alexander’s successors, but he wanted the whole empire. The three other powerful leaders—Ptolemy in Egypt, Lysimachus in Thrace, and Cassander in Macedonia—formed a coalition against him. In the first phase of the resulting war, Seleucus served as commander in Ptolemy’s navy, seeing action in both the Aegean Sea and the eastern Mediterranean around Cyprus. In the beginning of the second phase, he took part in the attack on Gaza by the Ptolemaic army. Antigonus had sent his son Demetrius to hold this strategically important fortress, and his defeat was a severe blow to Antigonus’s plans. According to Diodorus (c. 40 b.c.e.), Ptolemy showed his gratitude to Seleucus by giving him a small army, which he then led into Babylonia.

The troops at first were fearful of their mission, but Seleucus convinced them that an oracle of Didymean Apollo had proclaimed him king. The Seleucids would eventually claim Apollo as an ancestor. Better than the oracle, however, was the fact that during his previous governorship Seleucus had ruled wisely and well. Reinforcements flocked to him as he marched into the territory, and he took the city of Babylon with little trouble. This feat launched the Seleucid Empire.

Seleucus regained Babylonia but not without antagonizing Nicanor, the satrap of Media, who proceeded to march on Babylon. Seleucus, however, swiftly leading an army out to meet him, surprised and routed Nicanor, whose troops deserted to the victor.

The East was now open to Seleucus. He rapidly took Susiana and Persia before turning to Media, where, according to Appian, Nicanor was killed in battle. Between 311 and 302, Seleucus gained control of all Iran and the lands extending to the Indus River. At the Indus, he reestablished contact with the Indian chieftains of the region and returned home finally with 480 elephants.

Meanwhile, in the West, Alexander’s family had been exterminated. In 306, Antigonus proclaimed himself king, and the other four satraps, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, Cassander, and Seleucus, followed suit. Antigonus still had designs on all of Alexander’s empire, and by 302, the other kings considered his power so threatening to their own security that they formed a coalition against him.

The armies met at Ipsus in 301, where Seleucus’s elephants played a major role in the defeat of Antigonus, who died in battle. In the redivision of land that followed, Seleucus gained Syria, and Lysimachus was awarded Asia Minor. A new war could have started between Seleucus and Ptolemy, as the king of Egypt had previously occupied Coele-Syria (Palestine) and now refused to give it up. Seleucus, however, remembered that Ptolemy had stood by him in a difficult time and decided to ignore the issue, although he did not give up his claim to the land.

Seleucus now held more land than any of the other kings, and that made them uneasy. In order to balance the power, Ptolemy and Lysimachus joined in marriage alliances; this, in turn, disturbed Seleucus. Although his marriage to Apama was still firm, Seleucus sent word to Demetrius to ask for his daughter Stratonice in marriage. (Macedonian kings practiced polygamy.) Demetrius agreed, and the marriage took place. Seleucus and Stratonice had a daughter, whom Seleucus eventually gave in marriage to his eldest son, Antiochus. He sent them to Babylon to reign as king and queen in the East. Seleucus ruled in the West from his new capital city of Antioch, named for his father.

Seleucus spent most of the twenty years following the Battle of Ipsus consolidating his empire. One of his major policies was the division of the empire into East and West, with the heir to the throne ruling from Babylon; this would become a standard policy of the Seleucids. His major problem throughout most of this period was Demetrius, who had become king of Macedonia but would not be satisfied until he had regained his father’s lost kingdom. Demetrius invaded Asia Minor in 287, but two years later, Seleucus held him captive. At first, Demetrius believed that he would soon be set free, but as that hope faded, so did his self-control. By 283, he had drunk himself to death.

There might have been a peaceful old age for Seleucus if it had not been for Ptolemy’s disinherited eldest son, Ptolemy Keraunos. After causing the death of Lysimachus’s son in Thrace, Keraunos fled to Seleucus, thus precipitating war between the two former allies. The two met at Corypedium in Asia Minor in the spring of 281. Lysimachus was killed in the battle. Seleucus, who was now in his seventies, suddenly saw himself as Alexander reuniting his empire. He pressed on to Thrace, only to meet death treacherously at the hand of Ptolemy Keraunos outside the capital city of Lysimachia in the following summer. His common sense had deserted him in the end, but he left behind an heir who was experienced in ruling and a well-established empire based on sound government.

Significance

Seleucus I Nicator ruled an empire made up of many diverse ethnic groups. He had inherited the Persian system of administration and was wise enough to realize its value. He continued the Persian policy of respecting the cultures and religions of the people he ruled at the same time that he proceeded to establish a governmental system entirely made up of Greeks. Unlike most of Alexander’s generals, Seleucus retained and respected his Persian wife, but there were few, if any, non-Greeks in his administration. His son and successor, who was half Persian, married a Macedonian woman. Seleucus spread Hellenism throughout the major parts of his empire by the typical Greek method of founding colonies. Antioch, his capital in the West, became one of the great cities of the ancient world.

The first of the Seleucids was a man of honor. He gained his position in Alexander’s army through hard work and his empire in the same way. He was able to reclaim Babylonia because he had ruled well throughout his first governorship, and he refused to fight Ptolemy over Coele-Syria out of gratitude for past favors. Later, when he held Demetrius prisoner, Seleucus declined to turn him over to Lysimachus, who had offered a large sum of money in exchange. Demetrius was treated honorably during his imprisonment, but Seleucus realized that he was too troublesome ever to be released. Seleucus was loyal to his friends and treated his enemies fairly. Unfortunately, Ptolemy Keraunos had none of these attributes, and Seleucus died as the result of a cowardly attack by a man who had first called on him for help and then killed him to gain a kingdom he was not wise enough to keep.

Bibliography

Bar-Kochva, B. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1976. This study addresses only military affairs, but Bar-Kochva points out Seleucus’s courage and tactical ability. Part 1 concentrates on manpower and organization.

Bevan, Edwyn Robert. The House of Seleucus. 1902. Reprint. New York: Ares, 1985. Analytical account of Seleucus’s rise to power based on the ancient sources.

Cohen, Getzel M. The Seleucid Colonies: Studies in Founding, Administration, and Organization. Weisbaden, West Germany: Steiner, 1978. Contains information on the founding, administration, and organization of new colonies. Attempts to answer questions on the nature of the poorly documented Seleucid colonization program. The answers are tentative but thought-provoking.

Cook, S. A., F. E. Adcock, and M. P. Charlesworth, eds. The Hellenistic Monarchies and the Rise of Rome. Vol. 7 in The Cambridge Ancient History. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1984-2000. Contains a systematic account of the organization of both the central and satrapy governments in the Seleucid Empire.

Grainger, John D. Seleukos Nikator: Constructing a Hellenistic Kingdom. New York: Routledge, 1990. Biography traces the stages of Seleucus’s rise as he added province to province and kingdom to kingdom. Includes maps, index, and bibliography.

Seyrig, H. “Seleucus I and the Foundation of Hellenistic Syria.” In The Role of the Phoenicians in the Interaction of Mediterranean Civilizations. Beirut, Lebanon: American University Press, 1968. Part of a series of articles edited by W. A. Ward. (Phoenicia was a part of the satrapy of Syria claimed by Seleucus in 301 b.c.e.)