Editing Seleucid Empire (section)

==History==
===Partition of Alexander's empire===
{{History of Greater Iran sidebar|Battle of Magnesia (cropped).jpg}}
{{main|Diadochi}}
[[Alexander the Great|Alexander]], who quickly conquered the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]] under its last Achaemenid dynast, [[Darius III]], died young in 323 BC, leaving an expansive empire of partly Hellenised culture without an adult heir. The empire was put under the authority of a regent, [[Perdiccas]], and the vast territories were divided among Alexander's generals, who thereby became [[satrap]]s at the [[Partition of Babylon]], all in that same year.

===Rise of Seleucus===
[[File:Seleuco I Nicatore.JPG|thumb|Bronze bust of Seleucus I Nicator.]]
Alexander's generals, known as [[diadochi|{{translit|grc|diadochi}}]], jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire following his death. [[Ptolemy I Soter]], a former general and then current satrap of [[Egypt]], was the first to challenge the new system, which eventually led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemy's revolt created a new subdivision of the empire with the [[Partition of Triparadisus]] in 320 BC. [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus]], who had been "Commander-in-Chief of the [[Companion cavalry]]" ({{translit|grc|hetairoi}}) and appointed first or court [[chiliarch]] (which made him the senior officer in the Royal Army after the regent and commander-in-chief Perdiccas since 323 BC, though he helped to assassinate him later) received [[Babylonia]] and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in [[Babylon]] in 312 BC, the year later used as the [[Seleucid era|foundation date]] of the Seleucid Empire.

=== Babylonian War (311–309 BC) ===
{{Main|Babylonian War}}
The rise of Seleucus in Babylon threatened the eastern extent of the territory of [[Antigonus I Monophthalmus]] in Asia. Antigonus, along with his son [[Demetrius I of Macedon|Demetrius I Poliorcetes]], unsuccessfully led a campaign to annex Babylon. The victory of Seleucus ensured his claim of Babylon and legitimacy. He ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire enormous eastern part of Alexander's empire, as described by the historian [[Appian]]:

{{Blockquote|Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he [Seleucus] acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus.<ref name="Appian Syrian Wars 55">Appian, ''History of Rome'', [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DSyr.%3Achapter%3D9%3Asection%3D55 "The Syrian Wars"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220104204509/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0230%3Atext%3DSyr.%3Achapter%3D9%3Asection%3D55 |date=4 January 2022 }} 55</ref>}}

===Seleucid–Mauryan War (305–303 BC)===
{{Main|Seleucid–Mauryan war}}
[[Chandragupta Maurya]] ([[Sandrokottos]]) founded the [[Maurya Empire]] in 321 BC after the [[Conquest of the Nanda Empire|conquest]] of the [[Nanda Empire]] and their capital [[Pataliputra]] in [[Magadha (Mahajanapada)|Magadha]]. Chandragupta then redirected his attention to the [[Indus River]] region, and by 317 BC, he conquered the remaining Greek [[satrap]]s left by Alexander. Expecting a confrontation, Seleucus gathered his army and marched to the Indus. It is said that Chandragupta could have fielded a [[conscript]] army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants.<ref>Pliny, ''Natural History VI'', 22.4</ref>

Chandragupta received, formalized through a treaty, territory west of the Indus, including the [[Hindu Kush]], modern day [[Afghanistan]], and the eastern part of [[Balochistan (region)|Balochistan]] province of [[Pakistan]], bordering on the Indus.<ref>[[Vincent Arthur Smith|Vincent A. Smith]] (1972). ''Aśoka''. Asian Educational Services. {{ISBN|81-206-1303-1}}.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Clark |first=Walter Eugene |year=1919 |title=The Importance of Hellenism from the Point of View of Indic-Philology |journal=Classical Philology |volume=14 |issue=4 |pages=297–313 |doi=10.1086/360246 |s2cid=161613588}}</ref> Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the [[Edicts of Ashoka]], are known as far as [[Kandahar]] in southern Afghanistan. According to Appian:

{{Blockquote|He [Seleucus] crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship.<ref name="Appian Syrian Wars 55" />}}

[[File:Chandra Gupta Maurya entertains his bride from Babylon.jpg|thumb|alt=Marriage|"Chandra Gupta Maurya entertains his bride from Babylon": a conjectural interpretation of the "marriage agreement" between the Seleucids and Chandragupta Maurya, related by [[Appian]].<ref name="Appian Syrian Wars 55" />]]

It is generally thought that Chandragupta married [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus's]] daughter, or a [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonian]] princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 [[war elephant]]s,<ref>Vijay Katchroo. ''Ancient India'', p. 196</ref><ref>William Hunter. ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]''. p. 167</ref><ref>C. D. Darlington. ''The evolution of man and society''. p. 223</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tarn |first=W. W. |year=1940 |title=Two Notes on Seleucid History: 1. Seleucus' 500 Elephants, 2. Tarmita |journal=[[Journal of Hellenic Studies]] |volume=60 |pages=84–94 |doi=10.2307/626263 |jstor=626263|s2cid=163980490 }}</ref><ref>Partha Sarathi Bose (2003). ''Alexander the Great's Art of Strategy''. Gotham Books. {{ISBN|1-59240-053-1}}.</ref> a military 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, and later [[Deimakos]] to his son [[Bindusara]], at the Mauryan court at [[Pataliputra]] (modern [[Patna]] in [[Bihar state]]). Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandragupta's reign, which have been partly preserved to us through [[Diodorus Siculus]]. Later [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]], the ruler of [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] and contemporary of [[Ashoka the Great]], is also recorded by [[Pliny the Elder]] as having sent an ambassador named [[Dionysius (ambassador)|Dionysius]] to the Mauryan court.<ref>Pliny the Elder, [http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+6.21 "The Natural History"], Chap. 21 {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728023626/http://perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/cgi-bin/ptext?lookup=Plin.+Nat.+6.21 |date=28 July 2013 }}</ref>

{{Blockquote|The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the [[Ariana|Ariani]] of them, and established there settlements of his own. But [[Seleucus I Nicator|Seleucus Nicator]] gave them to [[Chandragupta Maurya|Sandrocottus]] (Chandragupta Maurya) in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239&query=head%3D%23120| title = Strabo 15.2.1(9)}}</ref>}}

Other territories ceded before Seleucus' death were [[Gedrosia]] in the south-east of the Iranian plateau, and, to the north of this, [[Arachosia]] on the west bank of the [[Indus River]].

=== Westward expansion ===
[[File:SeleucosCoin.jpg|thumb|Coin of [[Seleucus I Nicator]], showing the king wearing a helmet decorated with leopard skin and bull's horn and ear.|alt=]]
Following his and [[Lysimachus]]' decisive victory over Antigonus at the [[Battle of Ipsus]] in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern [[Anatolia]] and northern [[Syria]].

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. Seleucus's empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at [[Battle of Corupedion|Corupedion]] in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachus's lands in Europe – primarily [[Thrace]] and even [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] itself, but was assassinated by [[Ptolemy Ceraunus]] on landing in Europe.

His son and successor, [[Antiochus I Soter]], was left with an enormous realm consisting of nearly all of the Asian portions of the Empire, but faced with [[Antigonus II Gonatas]] in Macedonia and [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] in Egypt, he proved unable to pick up where his father had left off in conquering the European portions of Alexander's empire.

===Breakup of Central Asian territories===
[[File:DiodotusGoldCoin.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Gold coin of [[Diodotus I|Diodotus]], who asserted independence to form the [[Greco-Bactrian kingdom]] {{Circa|245 BC}}. Greek legend reads: {{lang|grc|ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔΙΟΔΟΤΟΥ}}, ''Basileōs Diodotou,'' "of King Diodotus." ]]
[[File:Oborzos drachm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Drachm of the [[Frataraka]] ruler [[Vahbarz]] (Oborzos), thought to have initiated the independence of [[Persis]] from the Seleucid Empire. The coin shows on the reverse an Achaemenid king slaying an armoured, possibly Greek, soldier.<ref name="DE">{{Cite book |last=Engels |first=David |url=https://www.academia.edu/37936254 |title=The Seleukid Empire, 281–222 BC: War within the Family |year=201 |editor-last=K. Erickson |location=Swansea |pages=173–196 |language=en |chapter=Iranian Identity and Seleucid Allegiance: Vahbarz, the Frataraka and Early Arsacid Coinage}}</ref><ref name="KE">{{Cite book |last=Erickson |first=Kyle |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JkaEDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA175 |title=The Seleukid Empire 281–222 BC: War Within the Family |date=2018 |publisher=ISD LLC |isbn=9781910589953 |page=175 |language=en}}</ref><!-- Commercial site removed --> This possibly refers to the events related by [[Polyainos]] (Strat. 7.40), in which Vahbarz (Oborzos) is said to have killed 3000 Seleucid settlers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kosmin |first=Paul J. |author-link=Paul J. Kosmin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnhyDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA207 |title=Time and Its Adversaries in the Seleucid Empire |date=2018 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=9780674976931 |page=207 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="DE" /><ref name="KE" />]]
[[Antiochus I Soter|Antiochus I]] (reigned 281–261 BC) and his son and successor [[Antiochus II Theos]] (reigned 261–246 BC) were faced with challenges in the west, including repeated wars with [[Ptolemy II of Egypt|Ptolemy II]] and a [[Celt]]ic invasion of [[Asia Minor]]—distracting attention from holding the eastern portions of the Empire together. Towards the end of Antiochus II's reign, various provinces simultaneously asserted their independence, such as [[Bactria]] and [[Sogdia]]na under [[Diodotus of Bactria|Diodotus]], [[Cappadocia]] under [[Ariarathes III of Cappadocia|Ariarathes III]], and [[Parthia]] under [[Andragoras (Seleucid satrap)|Andragoras]]. A few years later, the last was defeated and killed by the invading [[Parni]] of [[Arsaces I of Parthia|Arsaces]]—the region would then become the core of the [[Parthian Empire]].

[[Diodotus of Bactria|Diodotus]], the Seleucid governor for the [[Bactria]]n territory, asserted independence in around 245 BC, although the exact date is far from certain, to form the [[Greco-Bactrian Kingdom]]. This kingdom was characterized by a rich [[Hellenistic]] culture and was to continue its domination of Bactria until around 125 BC when it was overrun by the invasion of northern nomads. One of the Greco-Bactrian kings, [[Demetrius I of Bactria]], invaded India around 180 BC to form the [[Indo-Greek Kingdom]]s.

The rulers of [[Persis]], called [[Fratarakas]], also seem to have established some level of independence from the Seleucids during the 3rd century BC, especially from the time of [[Vahbarz]]. They would later overtly take the title of [[Kings of Persis]], before becoming vassals to the newly formed [[Parthian Empire]].<ref name="DE" /><ref name="KE" /><!-- Commercial link removed -->

The Seleucid satrap of Parthia, named [[Andragoras (3rd century BC)|Andragoras]], first claimed independence, in a parallel to the secession of his Bactrian neighbour. Soon after, however, a Parthian tribal chief called [[Arsaces I of Parthia|Arsaces]] [[Parni conquest of Parthia|invaded the Parthian]] territory around 238 BC to form the [[Parthian Empire|Arsacid dynasty]], from which the [[Parthian Empire]] originated.

Antiochus II's son [[Seleucus II Callinicus]] came to the throne around 246 BC. Seleucus II was soon dramatically defeated in the [[Third Syrian War]] against [[Ptolemy III of Egypt]] and then had to fight a civil war against his own brother [[Antiochus Hierax]]. Taking advantage of this distraction, Bactria and Parthia seceded from the empire. In Asia Minor too, the Seleucid dynasty seemed to be losing control: the Gauls had fully established themselves in [[Galatia]], semi-independent semi-Hellenized kingdoms had sprung up in [[Bithynia]], [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]], and [[Cappadocia]], and the city of [[Pergamum]] in the west was asserting its independence under the [[Attalid dynasty]].{{citation needed|date=November 2016}} The Seleucid economy started to show the first signs of weakness, as Galatians gained independence and Pergamum took control of coastal cities in Anatolia. Consequently, they managed to partially block contact with the West.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Castrén |first=Paavo |title=Uusi antiikin historia |date=2011 |publisher=[[Otava (publisher)|Otava]] |isbn=978-951-1-21594-3 |page=244 |language=fi}}</ref>

===Revival (223–191 BC)===
[[File:Antiochos III the Great, Tetradrachm, 222-187 BC, HGC 9-447u.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Silver coin of [[Antiochus III the Great]]. Reverse shows [[Apollo]] seated on [[omphalos]] holding bow and arrow. Greek legend reads: {{lang|grc|ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ}}, ''Basileōs Antiochou'', "of King Antiochus."]]
[[File:Seleucid-Empire 200bc.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|The Seleucid Empire in 200 BC (before expansion into [[Anatolia]] and [[Greece]]).]]

A revival would begin when Seleucus II's younger son, [[Antiochus III the Great]], took the throne in 223 BC. Although initially unsuccessful in the [[Fourth Syrian War]] against Egypt, which led to a defeat at the [[Battle of Raphia]] (217 BC), Antiochus would prove himself to be the greatest of the Seleucid rulers after Seleucus I himself. He spent the next ten years on his [[wikt:anabasis|anabasis]] (journey) through the eastern parts of his domain and restoring rebellious vassals like Parthia and [[Greco-Bactria]] to at least nominal obedience. He gained many victories such as the [[Battle of Mount Labus]] and [[Battle of the Arius]] and [[Siege of Bactra|besieged the Bactrian capital]]. He even emulated Seleucus with an expedition into India where he met with King [[Sophagasenus]] ({{langx|sa|Subhagasena}}) receiving war elephants, perhaps in accordance of the existing treaty and alliance set after the Seleucid-Mauryan War.

Actual translation of Polybius 11.34 (No other source except Polybius makes any reference to Sophagasenus):

{{Blockquote|He [Antiochus] crossed the Caucasus Indicus (Paropamisus) (''Hindu Kush'') and descended into India; renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving [[Androsthenes of Cyzicus]] the duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him.{{sfn|Kosmin|2014|pp=35–36}} Having traversed Arachosia and crossed the river Enymanthus, he came through Drangene to [[Carmania (region)|Carmania]]; and as it was now winter, he put his men into winter quarters there.<ref>Polybius, ''Histories'', Book 11, 1889, p. 78, trans. Friedrich Otto Hultsch, [[Evelyn Shirley Shuckburgh]]</ref>}}

When he returned to the west in 205 BC, Antiochus found that with the death of [[Ptolemy IV]], the situation now looked propitious for another western campaign. Antiochus and [[Philip V of Macedon]] then made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions outside of Egypt, and in the [[Fifth Syrian War]], the Seleucids ousted [[Ptolemy V]] from control of [[Coele-Syria]]. The [[Battle of Panium]] (200 BC) definitively transferred these holdings from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids. Antiochus appeared, at the least, to have restored the Seleucid Kingdom to glory.

====Expansion into Greece and war with Rome====
{{Further|Roman–Seleucid War}}
[[File:Asia Minor 188 BCE.jpg|thumb|The reduced empire (titled: ''Syria, Kingdom of the Seleucids'') and the expanded states of [[Kingdom of Pergamon|Pergamum]] and [[Rhodes]], after the defeat of [[Antiochus III]] by Rome. Circa 188 BC.|250x250px]]
Following the defeat of his erstwhile ally [[Philip V of Macedon|Philip]] by Rome in 197 BC, Antiochus saw the opportunity for expansion into Greece itself. Encouraged by the exiled [[Carthage|Carthaginian]] general [[Hannibal]], and making an alliance with the disgruntled [[Aetolian League]], Antiochus launched an invasion across the [[Hellespont]]. With his huge army he aimed to establish the Seleucid empire as the foremost power in the Hellenic world, but these plans put the empire on a collision course with the new rising power of the Mediterranean, the [[Roman Republic]]. At the battles of [[Battle of Thermopylae (191 BC)|Thermopylae]] (191 BC) and [[Battle of Magnesia|Magnesia]] (190 BC), Antiochus's forces suffered resounding defeats, and he was compelled to make peace and sign the [[Treaty of Apamea]] (188 BC), the main clause of which saw the Seleucids agree to pay a large indemnity, to retreat from [[Anatolia]] and to never again attempt to expand Seleucid territory west of the [[Taurus Mountains]]. The [[Kingdom of Pergamum]] and the [[Rhodes#Hellenistic and Roman periods|Republic of Rhodes]], Rome's allies in the war, gained the former Seleucid lands in Anatolia. Antiochus died in 187 BC on another expedition to the east, where he sought to extract money to pay the indemnity.

===Roman power, Parthia and Judea===
{{Further|Seleucid–Parthian Wars|Maccabean Revolt}}
[[File:Seleucid prince Massimo Inv1049.jpg|thumb|upright|The ''[[Hellenistic Prince]],'' a bronze statue originally thought to be a [[Seleucid empire|Seleucid]], or [[Attalus II]] of [[Kingdom of Pergamon|Pergamon]], now considered a portrait of a Roman general, made by a Greek artist working in Rome in the 2nd century BC.]]
The reign of his son and successor [[Seleucus IV Philopator]] (187–175 BC) was largely spent in attempts to pay the large indemnity, and Seleucus was ultimately assassinated by his minister [[Heliodorus (minister)|Heliodorus]].

Seleucus' younger brother, [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]], now seized the throne. He attempted to restore Seleucid power and prestige with a successful war against the old enemy, [[Ptolemaic Egypt]], which met with initial success as the Seleucids defeated and drove the Egyptian army back to [[Alexandria]] itself. As the king planned on how to conclude the war, he was informed that Roman commissioners, led by the [[Proconsul]] [[Gaius Popillius Laenas]], were near and requesting a meeting with the Seleucid king. Antiochus agreed, but when they met and Antiochus held out his hand in friendship, Popilius placed in his hand the tablets on which was written the decree of the senate and told him to read it. The decree demanded that he should abort his attack on Alexandria and immediately stop waging the war on Ptolemy. When the king said that he would call his friends into council and consider what he ought to do, Popilius drew a circle in the sand around the king's feet with the stick he was carrying and said, "Before you step out of that circle give me a reply to lay before the senate." For a few moments he hesitated, astounded at such a peremptory order, and at last replied, "I will do what the senate thinks right." He then chose to withdraw rather than set the empire to war with Rome again.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Livy's History of Rome |url=http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy45.html |website=mu.edu}}</ref>

On his return journey, according to [[Josephus]], he made an expedition to [[Judea]], took [[Jerusalem]] by force, slew a great many who had favored [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Ptolemy]], sent his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the [[Second temple|temple]], and interrupted the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation, for three years and six months.<ref>Flavius Josephus, ''[https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Jews/Book_I#Chapter_1 The War of the Jews 1.1§2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210213031816/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Jews/Book_I#Chapter_1 |date=13 February 2021 }}''</ref>

The latter part of his reign saw a further disintegration of the Empire despite his best efforts. Weakened economically, militarily and by loss of prestige, the Empire became vulnerable to rebels in the eastern areas of the empire, who began to further undermine the empire while the Parthians moved into the power vacuum to take over the old Persian lands. Antiochus' aggressive Hellenizing (or de-Judaizing) activities provoked a full scale armed rebellion in [[Judea]]—the [[Maccabean Revolt]].<ref>[[Hanukkah|Chanukah]], Shabbat 21b, Babylonian Talmud</ref> Efforts to deal with both the Parthians and the Jews as well as retain control of the provinces at the same time proved beyond the weakened empire's power. Antiochus orchestrated a military campaign, capturing [[Artaxias I]], King of Armenia, and reoccupying Armenia.{{sfn|Debevoise|1938|p=20}} His offensive ventured as far as Persepolis, but he was forced from the city by the populace.{{sfn|Debevoise|1938|pp=20–21}} On his return home, Antiochus died in [[Isfahan]] in 164 BC.{{sfn|Debevoise|1938|p=21}}

===Civil war and further decay===
{{Further|Seleucid Dynastic Wars}}
[[File:AntiochusIVEpiphanes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Coin of [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]]. Reverse with the Greek legend: {{lang|grc|ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ ΘΕΟΥ ΕΠΙΦΑΝΟΥΣ ΝΙΚΗΦΟΡΟΥ}}, ''Basileōs Antiochou Theou Epiphanous Nikēphorou'', "of Victorious God Manifest King Antiochus."]]
[[File:Syria in 124 BC.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Seleucid Syria in early 124 BC under [[Alexander II Zabinas]], who ruled the country with the exception of the city of [[Ptolemais in Phoenicia|Ptolemais]]]]

After the death of [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]], the Seleucid Empire became increasingly unstable. Frequent civil wars made central authority tenuous at best. Epiphanes' young son, [[Antiochus V Eupator]], was first overthrown by Seleucus IV's son, [[Demetrius I Soter]] in 161 BC. Demetrius I attempted to restore Seleucid power in [[Judea]] particularly, but was overthrown in 150 BC by [[Alexander Balas]]—an impostor who (with Egyptian backing) claimed to be the son of Epiphanes. Alexander Balas reigned until 145 BC when he was overthrown by Demetrius I's son, [[Demetrius II Nicator]]. Demetrius II proved unable to control the whole of the kingdom, however. While he ruled [[Babylonia]] and eastern [[Syria]] from [[Damascus]], the remnants of Balas' supporters—first supporting Balas' son [[Antiochus VI]], then the usurping general [[Diodotus Tryphon]]—held out in [[Antioch]].

Meanwhile, the decay of the Empire's territorial possessions continued apace. By 143 BC, the Jews in the form of the [[Maccabees]] had fully established their independence. [[Parthian Empire|Parthia]]n expansion continued as well. In 139 BC, Demetrius II was defeated in battle by the Parthians and was captured. By this time, the entire Iranian Plateau had been lost to Parthian control.

Demetrius Nicator's brother, [[Antiochus VII Sidetes]], took the throne after his brother's capture. He faced the enormous task of restoring a rapidly crumbling empire, one facing threats on multiple fronts. Hard-won control of [[Coele-Syria]] was threatened by the Jewish Maccabee rebels. Once-vassal dynasties in Armenia, Cappadocia, and Pontus were threatening Syria and northern [[Mesopotamia]]; the nomadic Parthians, brilliantly led by [[Mithridates I of Parthia]], had overrun upland Media (home of the famed [[Nisean horse]] herd); and Roman intervention was an ever-present threat. Sidetes managed to bring the Maccabees to heel and frighten the Anatolian dynasts into a temporary submission; then, in 133, he turned east with the full might of the Royal Army (supported by a body of Jews under the [[Hasmonean]] prince, [[John Hyrcanus]]) to drive back the Parthians.
[[File:Antiochus VII tetradrachm Sidon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Coin of Antiochus VII Sidetes from the [[Sidon]] mint. With the [[Eagle of Zeus]] on the reverse.|left]]

Sidetes' campaign initially met with spectacular success, recapturing Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Media. In the winter of 130/129 BC, his army was scattered in winter quarters throughout Media and Persis when the Parthian king, [[Phraates II]], counter-attacked. Moving to intercept the Parthians with only the troops at his immediate disposal, he was ambushed and killed at the [[Battle of Ecbatana]] in 129 BC. Antiochus Sidetes is sometimes called the last great Seleucid king.

After the death of Antiochus VII Sidetes, all of the recovered eastern territories were recaptured by the Parthians. The Maccabees again rebelled, civil war soon tore the empire to pieces, and the Armenians began to encroach on Syria from the north.

===Collapse (100–63 BC)===
{{Continental Asia in 100 BCE}}
[[File:Syria under the Seleucids 87 BC.svg|thumb|Seleucid Kingdom in 87 BC|alt=|250x250px]]
By 100 BC, the once-formidable Seleucid Empire encompassed little more than [[Antioch]] and some Syrian cities. Despite the clear collapse of their power, and the decline of their kingdom around them, nobles continued to play kingmakers on a regular basis, with occasional intervention from [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] and other outside powers. The Seleucids existed solely because no other nation wished to absorb them—seeing as they constituted a useful buffer between their other neighbours. In the wars in Anatolia between [[Mithridates VI]] of [[Kingdom of Pontus|Pontus]] and [[Sulla]] of Rome, the Seleucids were largely left alone by both major combatants.

Mithridates' ambitious son-in-law, [[Tigranes the Great]], king of [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], however, saw opportunity for expansion in the constant civil strife to the south. In 83 BC, at the invitation of one of the factions in the interminable civil wars, he invaded Syria and soon established himself as ruler of Syria, putting the Seleucid Empire virtually at an end.

Seleucid rule was not entirely over, however. Following the Roman general [[Lucullus]]' defeat of both Mithridates and Tigranes in 69 BC, a rump Seleucid kingdom was restored under [[Antiochus XIII]]. Even so, civil wars could not be prevented, as another Seleucid, [[Philip II Philoromaeus|Philip II]], contested rule with Antiochus. After the Roman conquest of Pontus, the Romans became increasingly alarmed at the constant source of instability in Syria under the Seleucids. Once Mithridates was defeated by [[Pompey]] in 63 BC, Pompey set about the task of [[Pompey's Eastern Settlement|remaking the Hellenistic East]], by creating new client kingdoms and establishing provinces. While client nations like [[Armenia]] and [[Judea]] were allowed to continue with some degree of autonomy under local kings, Pompey saw the Seleucids as too troublesome to continue; doing away with both rival Seleucid princes, he made [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]] into a [[Roman province]].