1.
Seleucid Empire
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Seleucus received Babylonia and, from there, expanded his dominions to include much of Alexanders near eastern territories. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and what is now Kuwait, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and Turkmenistan. The Seleucid Empire was a center of Hellenistic culture that maintained the preeminence of Greek customs where a Greek political elite dominated. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by immigration from Greece, Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt were frustrated by Roman demands, contemporary sources, such as a loyalist degree from Ilium, in Greek language define the Seleucid state both as an empire and as a kingdom. Similarly, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia and he refers to either Alexander Balas or Alexander II Zabinas as a ruler. Alexander, who conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III, died young in 323 BC. Alexanders generals jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire, Ptolemy, a former general and the satrap of Egypt, was the first to challenge the new system, this led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemys revolt led to a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC, Seleucus, who had been Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry and appointed first or court chiliarch received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC, the used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. Following his and Lysimachus victory over Antigonus Monophthalmus at the decisive Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia, in the latter area, he founded a new capital at Antioch on the Orontes, a city he named after his father. An alternative capital was established at Seleucia on the Tigris, north of Babylon, Seleucuss empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachuss lands in Europe – primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, nevertheless, even before Seleucus death, it was difficult to assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids. Seleucus invaded the Punjab region of India in 305 BC, confronting Chandragupta Maurya and it is said that Chandragupta fielded an army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants. Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and it is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucuss daughter, or a Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants, an asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandraguptas reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus
2.
Syria
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Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
3.
Antiochus III the Great
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Antiochus III the Great /ænˈtaɪəkəs/ was a Hellenistic Greek king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC and his traditional designation, the Great, reflects an epithet he assumed. He also assumed the title Basileus Megas, the title of the Persian kings. A militarily active ruler, Antiochus restored much of the territory of the Seleucid Empire, before suffering a setback, towards the end of his reign. He died three years later on campaign in the east, Antiochus III was a member of the Hellenistic Greek Seleucid dynasty. He was the son of king Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II and was born around 242 BC near Susa in Persia and he may have borne a non-dynastic name, according to a Babylonian chronicle. He succeeded, under the name Antiochus, his brother Seleucus III Ceraunus, upon the murder in Anatolia. Antiochus III inherited a disorganized state, not only had Asia Minor become detached, but the easternmost provinces had broken away, Bactria under the Greek Diodotus of Bactria, and Parthia under the nomad chieftain Arsaces. Soon after Antiochuss accession, Media and Persis revolted under their governors, the young king, under the influence of the minister Hermeias, headed an attack on Ptolemaic Syria instead of going in person to face the rebels. The attack against the Ptolemaic empire proved a fiasco, and the generals sent against Molon, only in Asia Minor, where the kings cousin, Achaeus, represented the Seleucid cause, did its prestige recover, driving the Pergamene power back to its earlier limits. In 221 BC Antiochus at last went east, and the rebellion of Molon, the submission of Lesser Media, which had asserted its independence under Artabazanes, followed. Antiochus rid himself of Hermeias by assassination and returned to Syria, meanwhile, Achaeus himself had revolted and assumed the title of king in Asia Minor. Since, however, his power was not well grounded to allow an attack on Syria, Antiochus considered that he might leave Achaeus for the present. The campaigns of 219 BC and 218 BC carried the Seleucid armies almost to the confines of Ptolemaic Kingdom and this defeat nullified all Antiochuss successes and compelled him to withdraw north of the Lebanon. Despite the military defeat, Antiochus was able to control of Seleucia pieria. In 216 BC Antiochus army marched into western Anatolia to suppress the rebellion led by Antiochus own cousin Achaeus. Capturing Achaeus, Antiochus had him executed, the citadel managed to hold out until 213 BC under Achaeus widow Laodice who surrendered later. Having thus recovered the central part of Asia Minor Antiochus turned to recovering the outlying provinces of the north and he obliged Xerxes of Armenia to acknowledge his supremacy in 212 BC
4.
Heliodorus (minister)
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Heliodorus was a legate of Seleucus IV Philopator c.187 BC –175 BC. Around 178 BC Seleucus sent Heliodorus to Jerusalem to collect money to pay the Romans, there may be a reference to this in Daniel 11,20, He will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. 2 Maccabees 3, 21-28 reports that Heliodorus entered the Temple in Jerusalem in order to take its treasure,2 Maccabees 3, 34-36 records that Heliodorus received orders from God to proclaim to all men the majesty of Gods power. The Heliodorus stele, a Greek-language inscription of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, is dated to 178 BCE, in this stele, Seleucus informs Heliodorus that he appoints a certain Olympiodoros in charge of the temples of Coele-Syria and Phoenicia
5.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
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Antiochus IV Epiphanes was a Hellenistic Greek king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great and his original name was Mithradates, he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne. Notable events during the reign of Antiochus IV include his near-conquest of Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of Judea and Samaria, and these epithets included Θεὸς Ἐπιφανής manifest god, and, after his defeat of Egypt, Νικηφόρος bringer of victory. His older brother Seleucus IV followed his father onto the throne in 187 BC, King Seleucus was assassinated by the usurper Heliodorus in 175 BC, but Antiochus in turn ousted him. To avoid alarming Rome, Antiochus allowed Ptolemy VI to continue ruling as a puppet king, upon Antiochus withdrawal, the city of Alexandria chose a new king, one of Ptolemys brothers, also named Ptolemy. The Ptolemy brothers agreed to rule Egypt jointly instead of fighting a civil war, in 168 BC, Antiochus led a second attack on Egypt and also sent a fleet to capture Cyprus. This implied Rome would declare war if the King stepped out of the circle without committing to leave Egypt immediately, weighing his options, Antiochus decided to withdraw. Only then did Popillius agree to shake hands with him, the Seleucids, like the Ptolemies before them, held a mild suzerainty over Judea, they respected Jewish culture and protected Jewish institutions. This policy was reversed by Antiochus IV, resulting in harsh persecutions and a revolt against his rule. According to the authors of the Books of Maccabees, while Antiochus was busy in Egypt, in Judea, the deposed High Priest Jason gathered a force of 1,000 soldiers and made a surprise attack on the city of Jerusalem. Menelaus, the High Priest appointed by Antiochus, was forced to flee Jerusalem during a riot, King Antiochus returned from Egypt in 167 BC, enraged by his defeat, he attacked Jerusalem and restored Menelaus, then executed many Jews. When these happenings were reported to the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt, raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Jerusalem by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met, there was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the number being sold into slavery. Antiochus decided to side with the Hellenized Jews in order to consolidate his empire and he outlawed Jewish religious rites and traditions kept by observant Jews and ordered the worship of Zeus as the supreme god. This was anathema to the Jews and they refused, so Antiochus sent an army to enforce his decree, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed because of the resistance, many were slaughtered, and Antiochus established a military Greek citadel called the Acra. Traditionally, as expressed in the First and Second Books of the Maccabees, in modern times, however, scholars have argued that the king was instead intervening in a civil war between the traditionalist Jews in the country and the Hellenized Jews in Jerusalem. It seems that the traditionalists, with Hebrew/Aramaic names such as Onias, contested with the Hellenizers, with Greek names such as Jason and Menelaus, over who would be the High Priest
6.
Demetrius I Soter
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Demetrius I, surnamed Soter, was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. Demetrius was sent to Rome as a hostage during the reign of his father Seleucus IV Philopator, when his father was murdered by his finance minister Heliodorus in 175 BC. his uncle Antiochus IV Epiphanes killed the usurper, but usurped the throne himself. When Antiochus IV died in 163 BC. his 9-year-old boy son Antiochus V Eupator was made king by Lysias, Demetrius was then 22 years old. He requested the Roman Senate to restore the Syrian throne to him, two years later, Antiochus V was greatly weakened because Rome sent an emissary to sink his ships and hamstring his elephants for his violation of the Peace of Apamea, storing up too much weaponry. Demetrius escaped from confinement and was welcomed back on the Syrian throne in 161 BC and he immediately killed Antiochus V and Lysias. Demetrius I is infamous in Jewish history for his victory over the Maccabees, Demetrius acquired his surname of Soter, or Savior, from the Babylonians, whom he delivered from the tyranny of the Median satrap, Timarchus. His forces were not enough for the legal Seleucid king, Demetrius defeated and killed Timarchus in 160 BC. The Seleucid empire was temporarily united again, Demetrius may have married his sister Laodice V, by whom he had three sons Demetrius II Nicator, Antiochus VII Sidetes and Antigonus. Heracleides convinced the Roman Senate to support the young pretender against Demetrius I, the Jews also had a role in the down fall of Demetrius I. Alexander Balas came with a army, landed and occupied Ptolemais. He appointed Jonathan Maccabaeus, the brother and successor of Judas Maccabaeus, as the high priest of Judea, Jonathan, who was born of a priestly family but not from Zadok, the high priestly stock, took the title in Tishri,152 BC. When Demetrius heard of it, he wrote a letter granting more privileges to Jonathan, the Jews did not believe in him, because of his past persecutions of the Jews. They joined with Balas, who defeated and killed Demetrius I in 150 BC, in 1919 Constantine Cavafy published a poem about Demetriuss time as a hostage in Rome. List of Syrian monarchs Timeline of Syrian history
7.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
