After Alexander

In order to smooth over the transition from Antiochus I to Antiochus II, I'm going to take a moment to discuss a reference in Ashoka's edicts glorifying the emperor's spread of Buddhism, which may refer to either of the Seleucid kings given that only a name is present. However, this discussion will also allow us to return to the Indian subcontinent and pick up its history where we left off...

Sources for this episode: 1) Chisholm, H., Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911, Vol. I), Alexander II (king of Epirus). 2) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2014), Bindusara (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 3) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2014), Deccan (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 4) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2015), Kalinga (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 5) Smith, V. (1920), Asoka, the Buddhist emperor of India (3rd edition), Oxford: The Clarendon Press. Available at: Internet Archive [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 6) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus II Theos (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 7) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Ashoka (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 8) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Bindusara (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 9) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Chandragupta Maurya (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 10) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Devata (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021]. 11) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Sushima (online) [Accessed 20/05/2021].

So, for the second time on the show, we've come to the end of a sole ruler's reign. Antiochus I (reigned 281- 261 BCE) is dead, and his only surviving son Antiochus II will succeed him. But we're not there yet! This week, I'm going to recap everything we've talked about in the twenty years since Antiochus Soter came to power, and walk you through my pitch for his 21st century epithet- Antiochus the Troubled.

Sources for new material this episode: 1) Bevan, E. R. (1902), The House of Seleucus (Vol. I). London: Edward Arthur. Quote: p.169. 2) Grainger, J. D., (2014), The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. (eBook) [Accessed 04/01/2021]. 3) Lendering, J. (2002, modified 2020), Arrian on the weddings in Susa (online) [Accessed 18/05/2021]. 4) Rawlinson, G. (1869) A manual of ancient history from the earliest times to the fall of the Western Empire, comprising the history of Chaldea, Assyria, Media, Babylonia, Lydia, Phoenicia, Syria, Judea, Egypt, Carthage, Persia, Greece, Macedonia, Rome, and Parthia. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (eBook) [Accessed 02/03/2021].

Bonus episode! We covered Alexander the Great's half-sister Thessalonica- the mother of Philip IV, Antipater II and Alexander V- way back in the early episodes of the podcast. After all, we've witnessed quite a bit of family scheming (which I'll come back to with a new perspective today). However, today's topic is going to take her story beyond her death in 295 BCE. In fact, her memory would live on in the form of a mermaid reported to ask sailors a question in the Aegean. Spoiler alert: you don't want to give her the wrong answer...

Sources for this episode: 1) Gerakiti, E., Daily Art Magazine (2020), Alexander the Great and His Mermaid Sister in Folklore (online) [Accessed 19/04/2021]. 2) Justinus, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories (books 16-20). Translated by Rev. J. S. Watson (1853). Available at: Attalus [Accessed 31/05/2021]. 3) Mitakidou, S., Manna, A. L. and Kanatsouli, M. (2002), Folktales from Greece: A Treasury of Delights. Greenwood Village: Libraries Unlimited. (eBook) [Accessed May-June 2021]. 4) Plutarch, (1920) the Parallel Lives (The Life of Pyrrhus 6) in: the Loeb Classical Library edition (Vol. IX). Proofread by Robert Thayer. Available at the University of Chicago [Accessed 31/05/2021]. 5) Author unknown, Royal Museums Greenwich (date unknown), What is a mermaid? (online) [Accessed 19/04/2021]. 6) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Aegean Sea (online) [Accessed 18/04/2021]. 7) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Aegeus (online) [Accessed 18/04/2021]. 8) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antipater II of Macedon (online) [Accessed 18/04/2021]. 9) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Battle of the Crocus Fields (online) [Accessed 31/05/2021]. 10) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Nicesipolis (online) [Accessed 31/05/2021]. 11) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Philip IV of Macedon (online) [Accessed 18/04/2021]. 12) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Thessalonike of Macedon (online) [Accessed 18/04/2021].

As I hinted at with all the city-building going on in episode 29, Antiochus I is going back to Anatolia for one last time before we finish off his reign. Although it's the same venue, we won't quite be focussing on the same players as before. This time around, the impetus for conflict will be an effective declaration of independence by the state of Pergamon...

Sources for this episode: 1) Bevan, E. R. (1902), The House of Seleucus (Vol I.). London: Edward Arthur. Quote: p.168. 2) Bevan, E. R., Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911, edited by Hugh Chisholm), Seleucid dynasty. Available at: Wikisource [Accessed 18/06/2021]. 3) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2019), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 19/03/2021]. 4) Grainger, J. D., (2014), The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd.(eBook) [Accessed 04/01/2021]. 5) Rawlinson, G. (1869) A manual of ancient history from the earliest times to the fall of the Western Empire, comprising the history of Chaldea, Assyria, Media, Babylonia, Lydia, Phoenicia, Syria, Judea, Egypt, Carthage, Persia, Greece, Macedonia, Rome, and Parthia. Oxford: Clarendon Press. (eBook) [Accessed 02/03/2021]. 6) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus Hierax (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021]. 7) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021]. 8) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus II Theos (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021]. 9) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Eumenes I (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021].10) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Laodice (wife of Mithridates II of Pontus) (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021]. 11) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Seleucus II Callinicus (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021]. 12) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Stratonice of Cappadocia (online) [Accessed 16/05/2021].

Antiochus I's eldest son is a bit of a mystery to research; every source I've accessed so far seems to say something different... This week, we delve into the life and times of Seleucus, co-king from 275 to 266 BCE (approximate dates) who disappears from the story towards the end of his father's reign. As we'll see, he and his father probably didn't have the easiest relationship...

Sources for this episode: 1) Bevan, E. R. (1902), The House of Seleucus (Vol. I). London: Edward Arthur. Quote: p.169. 2) Bevan, E. R., Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911, edited by Hugh Chisholm), Seleucid dynasty. Available at: Wikisource [Accessed 11/04/2021]. 3) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 11/04/2021]. 4) Grainger, J. D., (2014), The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. (eBook) [Accessed 04/01/2021]. 5) Jérémy, C. (2020), The Mysterious Fall of the Coregent Seleucus: Triarchic Experiment and Dynastic Strife under the Reign of Antiochus I Soter. Historia 69(4): 408- 440. Please note: I've only been able to access the abstract for this. 6) Kosmin, J. (2014), The Land of the Elephant Kings. London: Harvard University Press. (eBook) [Accessed 03/04/2021]. 7) Lendering, J., Livius (2006, modified 2020), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 11/04/2021]. 9) Strootman, R. (2014), The Encyclopaedia of Ancient History (1st edition), p.473- 475. London: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 10) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 11/04/2021].

Today, we're going to take a moment to discuss the construction projects of Antiochus I. From founding new cities to restoring old ones, Antiochus was a very active ruler in terms of building and building works. As we'll see, Antiochus left quite a few traces behind for us to explore...

Sources for this episode: 1) Bevan, E. R. (1902), The House of Seleucus (Vol. I). London: Edward Arthur. 2) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2020), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 10/01/2021]. 3) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2015), Apamea Cibotus (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021]. 4) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2019), Esaglia (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021]. 5) The Editors, Encyclopaedia Britannica (2007), Nabu (online) [Accessed 21/04/2021]. 6) Hirst, K. K., ThoughtCo (2018), The Royal Road of the Achaemenids: International Highway of Darius the Great (online) [Accessed 24/04/2021]. 7) Grainger, J. D., (2014), The Rise of the Seleukid Empire (323- 223 BCE), Seleukos I to Seleukos III. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Books Ltd. 8) van der Spek, B., Livius (2004, last modified 2020), Antiochus Cylinder (online) [Accessed 30/05/2021]. 9) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus Cylinder (online) [Accessed 30/05/2021]. 10) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Antiochus I Soter (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021]. 11) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Babylonian revolts (484 BCE) (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021]. 12) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Borsippa (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021]. 13) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Seleucus I Nicator (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021]. 14) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Third Dynasty of Ur (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021]. 15) Author unknown, Wikipedia (date unknown), Xerxes I (online) [Accessed 22/04/2021].

As we discussed last episode, Antiochus I and Ptolemy II are about to go to war. The reason for this? The rebel king Magas, who was originally a governor of Cyrenaica- to the west of Egypt- but declared himself a king in 275 BCE. This suited his father-in-law Antiochus down to the ground, as he may well have been looking for an excuse to invade the province anyway...

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This week, we take a step back to discuss what's been going on in Egypt while we've been looking at the Seleucid narrative. To do this, we're going to dive into the infighting, cultural conflicts and rivalries of the Ptolemies...

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The Antigonids are back! This time, we'll witness Antigonus II re-establish his control over Macedon and marry the daughter of Seleucus and Stratonice- reaffirming the alliance between the Seleucids and the Antigonids. Just in time, too- as happens pretty much constantly during the Hellenistic period, war is about to break out again with Egypt...

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