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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Around the time of the Gallic invasion of Europe under Brennus in 278, a group of Gauls under Leonnorius or Lutarius headed east to Thrace. This wouldn't have been a problem for the Seleucids, had Nicomedes of Bithynia- the head of the anti-Seleucid coalition- not invited the Gauls into Anatolia. This week, Antiochus has to deal with the consequences...

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NOTE: The Encyclopaedia Britannica states that the Gauls crossed over into Anatolia independent of their enlistment by the anti-Seleucid league. However, as I haven't seen this interpretation elsewhere, I've not included this in the main narrative.

When we left Anatolia, Antiochus was battling against the anti-Seleucid league centred on Nicomedes I of Bithynia and the city of Heraclea. This conflict would ultimately see one side recruit the help of a group of new arrivals- the Celts. However, as ancient Rome will discover in the fifth century CE, it's extraordinarily difficult to control such recruited groups afterwards...

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Hi everyone!

I recently stumbled across a YouTube channel which makes facial reconstructions of ancient figures (e.g.: Caligula) along with a little context about the rulers/period being covered. The link to the channel is: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgokSYCEqZE_yVLswO1vPXg and the owner/creator has given me kind permission to show you the reconstructions of people relevant to us. So, when a relevant episode comes up for the first time, I'll add an image of their facial reconstruction to the episode post on the website. For example, when we discuss what's been going on in Egypt, there'll be a representation of Ptolemy I, who we recently finished covering.

Not every ruler has their own reconstruction, but I thought it would be interesting to have a bit of variety from statues and coins.

That's it from me, see you all next episode!