Editing Seleucid Empire (section)

==Culture==
{{Further|Seleucid coinage}}
[[File:Antiochus cylinder with transcription.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Antiochus Cylinder]] written in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] [[cuneiform]] c. 250 BC, mentioning Antiochus I, son of Seleucus I "the Macedonian", who restored the temples of [[Esagila]] and Ezida in Babylon.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Haubold |first1=Johannes |title=Greece and Mesopotamia: Dialogues in Literature |date=2013 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781107010765 |page=135 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=85sLLYY-owgC&pg=PA135 |language=en}}</ref>|240x240px]]
The domain of the Seleucids stretched from the [[Aegean Sea]] to what is now [[History of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]] and [[Pakistan]], therefore including a diverse array of cultures and ethnic groups. [[Greeks]], [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], [[Armenians]], [[Georgians]], [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Medes]], Mesopotamians, [[Jew]]s, and more all lived within its bounds. The immense size of the empire gave the Seleucid rulers a difficult balancing act to maintain order, resulting in a mixture of concessions to local cultures to maintain their own practices while also firmly controlling and unifying local elites under the Seleucid banner.

The government established Greek cities and settlements throughout the empire via a program of colonization that encouraged immigration from Greece; both city settlements as well as rural ones were created that were inhabited by ethnic Greeks. These Greeks were given good land and privileges, and in exchange were expected to serve in military service for the state. Despite being a tiny minority of the overall population, these Greeks were the backbone of the empire: loyal and committed to a cause that gave them vast territory to rule, they overwhelmingly served in the military and government. Unlike [[Ptolemaic Egypt]], Greeks in the Seleucid Empire seem to rarely have engaged in mixed marriages with non-Greeks; they kept to their own cities.

The various non-Greek peoples of the empire were still influenced by the spread of Greek thought and culture, a phenomenon referred to as [[Hellenization]]. Historically significant towns and cities, such as [[Antioch]], were created or renamed with Greek names, and hundreds of new cities were established for trade purposes and built in Greek style from the start.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|pp=106–107}} Local educated elites who needed to work with the government learned the Greek language, wrote in Greek, absorbed Greek philosophical ideas, and took on Greek names; some of these practices then slowly filtered down to the lower classes. Hellenic ideas began an almost 250-year expansion into the Near East, Middle East, and Central Asian cultures.

[[File:Bistoon Kermanshah.jpg|thumb|Statue of [[Statue of Hercules in Behistun|Heracles Callinicus]] at [[Mount Behistun|Behistun]], made for a Seleucid governor named Cleomenes in about 148 BC.|270x270px]]
Synthesizing Hellenic and indigenous cultural, religious, and philosophical ideas – an ethnic unity framework established by [[Alexander the Great|Alexander]] – met with varying degrees of success. The result was times of simultaneous peace and rebellion in various parts of the empire. In general, the Seleucids allowed local religions to operate undisturbed, such as incorporating [[Babylonian religion|Babylonian religious tenets]], to gain support.<ref>Julye Bidmead, ''The Akitu Festival: Religious Continuity and Royal Legitimation in Mesopotamia'', 143.</ref> Tensions around the integration of [[Second Temple Judaism|Judaism]] were present during the reign of the Seleucid governments. Though previous governments had managed a relatively seamless integration of Judean religious and cultural practices, the rule of Antiochus IV introduced significant changes. Antiochus IV instigated a bidding process for the [[High Priest of Israel|High Priest]] position—this led to [[Menelaus (High Priest)|Menelaus]], a radical Hellenist, outbidding [[Jason (High Priest)|Jason]], a moderate Hellenist who upheld many traditional Judean practices.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tcherikover |first=Victor |title=Hellenistic civilization and the jews |date=2004 |publisher=Hendrickson |isbn=978-1-56563-476-3 |edition=Reprint ed., 2. print |location=Peabody, Mass}}</ref> The shift from Jason to Menelaus unsettled the Jewish populace due to Menelaus's more extreme Hellenistic leanings.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brutti |first=Maria |url=https://brill.com/view/title/11771 |title=The Development of the High Priesthood during the pre-Hasmonean Period: History, Ideology, Theology |date=2006-01-01 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-474-0875-8 |doi=10.1163/9789047408758_006|s2cid=244761541 }}</ref> Aggravating the situation, Antiochus IV initiated a series of religious persecutions. This cumulated in a localized revolt in Jerusalem. Antiochus IV's violent retaking of the city and the banning of traditional Judean practices led to the eventual [[Maccabean Revolt|loss of control of Judea]] by the Seleucid government, paving the way for the rise of an independent [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonean kingdom]].