THIRD PERIOD.

Perdiccas wishes to marry Cleopatra, but is frustrated;

7. Ambitious views of Perdiccas, who, in order to ascend the throne by a marriage with Cleopatra, repudiates Nicæa, the daughter of Antipater. Cleopatra actually came over to Asia; but Perdiccas, being obliged, at the request of the army, to marry Eurydice, Philip's niece, afterthe murder of her mother Cyane, to the king Arrhidæus, found her a troublesome rival and opponent in the government.

seeks to ruin Antigonus and Ptolemy.

8. Attempts of Perdiccas to overthrow Antigonus and Ptolemy, by accusing them before the army. Antigonus passes over to Antipater in Macedonia; and gives rise to the league between Antipater, Craterus, and Ptolemy, against Perdiccas and Eumenes.

War between the two parties, 321.

9. Commencement and termination of the first war. Perdiccas himself marches against Egypt, leaving his friend Eumenes to command in Asia Minor: meanwhile Antipater and Craterus fall upon Asia; the former advances towards Syria against Perdiccas; the latter is defeated and slain by Eumenes. Before the arrival, however, of Antipater, Perdiccas, after repeated and vain attempts to cross the Nile, falls a victim to the insurrection320.of his own troops.—Thus three of the principal personages, Perdiccas, Craterus, Leonnatus, were already removed from the theatre of action; and the victorious Eumenes, now master of Asia Minor, had to maintain, unaided, the struggle against the confederates.

320—315.Antipaterregent.320.

10. Second period, from the death of Perdiccas to that of Eumenes.—Python and Arrhidæus quickly resigning the regency, it is assumed by Antipater.—New division of the provinces at Trisparadisus in Syria. Seleucus receives Babylon; Antigonus is promised, besides his former possessions, all those of the outlawed Eumenes.

11. War of Antigonus with Eumenes. The latter, defeated by treachery, shuts himself up in the mountain fastness of Nora, there to await morefavourable times; and Antigonus remains master of all Asia Minor: in the mean time Ptolemy ventures to take possession of Syria and Phœnicia.

Antipater dies. 320.Polysperchonregent.319.

12. Death of the regent Antipater, in the same year, (320;) he bequeaths the regency to his friend, the aged Polysperchon, to the exclusion of his own son Cassander. Antigonus now begins to unfold his ambitious plans; he endeavours vainly to win over Eumenes, who deceives him in the negotiations, and seizes the opportunity of leaving his mountain fastness.

13. Eumenes's plan to strengthen himself in Upper Asia; as he is on the way he receives tidings of his being appointed generalissimo of the royal troops. What better man could Polysperchon have selected for the office than he who in his conduct towards Antigonus exhibited so striking an example of attachment to the royal house?

318.

14. Exertions of Eumenes to maintain himself in Lower Asia, ineffectual, the naval victory won by Antigonus over the royal fleet, commanded by Clitus, depriving him of the empire of the sea. He bursts into Upper Asia; where, in the spring, he unites with the satraps, who had317.taken arms against the powerful Seleucus of Babylon.

15. Antigonus following up the royal general, Upper Asia becomes the theatre of war. Victorious as was at first the stand made by Eumenes, neither valour nor talent were of any avail against the insubordination of the royal troops, and the jealousy of the other commanders. Attacked in winter quarters by Antigonus, he was, after the battle, delivered into the hands of his enemy bythe mutinous Argyraspidæ, who had lost their315.baggage: he was put to death, and in him the king's family lost its only loyal supporter.

317.315.315—301.

16. Great changes had also taken place in the royal family. Her enemy Antipater having deceased, Olympias, invited by Polysperchon, who wished to strengthen himself against Cassander, had returned from Epirus, and put to death Arrhidæus together with his wife, Eurydice: in the year following she was besieged in Pydna by Cassander, and being obliged to surrender, was in her turn executed; meanwhile Cassander held Roxana and the young king in his own power.

Predominance of Antigonus.

17. Third period, from the death of Eumenes to that of Antigonus.—The rout of Eumenes seemed to have established for ever the power of Antigonus in Asia; still animated with the fire of youth, though full of years, he saw himself revived in his son Demetrius, fond of boisterous revelry, but gallant and talented.—Even Seleucus315.thought it time to consult his safety by flying from Babylon into Egypt.

18. Changes introduced by Antigonus into the upper provinces; return to Asia Minor, where his presence seemed indispensable, by reason of the aggrandizement of Ptolemy in Syria and Phœnicia, of the Macedonian Cassander in Europe, of Lysimachus in Mysia, and the Carian Cassander in Asia Minor.—He repossesses himself of Phœnicia, a country of the first importance for the construction of a fleet.

Siege of Tyre, 314—313: it lasts fourteen months; a proof that the city was certainly not razed by Alexander.

19. The fugitive Seleucus forms a leagueagainst Antigonus and Demetrius, between Ptolemy, the two Cassanders, and Lysimachus. But Antigonus frustrates their combination, himself driving out the Carian Cassander, and his son marching against Ptolemy.

Victory won by Ptolemy over Demetrius at Gaza, 312; after which Seleucus marches back to Babylon, and, although subsequently followed up by Demetrius, permanently maintains his footing in Upper Asia.—On the other hand, Ptolemy, at the first approach of Antigonus with the main body, surrenders back Syria and Phœnicia, 312.

Peace concluded, 311.

20. A general peace concluded between Antigonus and his enemies, Seleucus only excepted, from whom Upper Asia is to be again wrested. The first article, that each should retain what he had, demonstrates pretty evidently that the treaty was dictated solely by Antigonus; the second, that the Greek cities should be free, was pregnant with the seeds of a new war, ready to burst forth at every favourable opportunity; the third, that the young Alexander should be raised to the throne upon attaining his majority, was probably the death warrant of the hapless prince, who, that same year, together with his mother, was murdered by Cassander.—Shortly after, at the instigation of Antigonus, Cleopatra was put to death, in order that Ptolemy might be thwarted in his object, which depended on a matrimonial connection with that princess.

Disputes on the liberation of Greece.

21. Even the execution of the articles must have given rise to hostilities; Ptolemy wishing to force Antigonus, and he, on his side, to compel Cassander, to withdraw the garrisons from the Grecian towns; a condition which neither party felt inclined to fulfil. Grecian freedom was nowbut a name; this, however, is not the only example history furnishes of political ideas making the greatest stir long after they have survived their own existence; for then they become excellent tools in the hands of artful designers.

Expedition of Demetrius to liberate Athens, 308. The day when he announced freedom to the Athenians, must have been the happiest of his life! Few portions of history present such a scope for the contemplation of human nature as the twofold sojourn of Demetrius at Athens.

22. The growing power of Ptolemy on the sea, and the capture of Cyprus, determines Antigonus to an open rupture: he commands his son to drive Ptolemy out of the island.

Naval victory of Demetrius off Cyprus, 307, perhaps the greatest and most bloody in history; nevertheless, as little decisive to the general question as are most naval battles. The assumption of the royal title, first by the conqueror, afterwards by the conquered, and ultimately by all the rest, was but a mere form now that the royal family was extirpated.

Rhodes besieged.

23. The conquerors having failed in their project of subduing Egypt, made the wealthy republic of the Rhodians, as an ally of that country, the victim of their fury. But though in the renowned siege of their capital, Demetrius earned305.his title of Poliorcetes, the noble defence of the Rhodians afforded an illustrious example of the power of discipline in conjunction with well-guided patriotism. The invitation of the Athenians came seasonably to Demetrius; he raised the blockade and proceeded to complete the304.liberation of Greece, the necessity of which became every day more pressing.

Demetrius again visits Greece.

24. Second sojourn of Demetrius in Greece. The expulsion of Cassander's garrisons from theGrecian cities, and more particularly from those in Peloponnesus; the appointment of Demetrius as generalissimo of Greece, for the conquest of Macedonia and Thrace; proved not only to Cassander, but also to the other princes, that their common interest loudly called upon them to resist the over-powerful Antigonus.

League against Antigonus, 302.

25. Third grand league of Cassander, Ptolemy, and Seleucus, against Antigonus and his son; brought about by Cassander. How easily, even after the violent irruption of Lysimachus into Asia Minor, might Antigonus have dispersed the gathering storms, had not his presumption led him to place an overweening reliance on his own good fortune!

Junction of Seleucus and Lysimachus, 301.

26. Junction of Seleucus of Babylon and Lysimachus, in Phrygia. Antigonus, to concentrate his forces, recalls his son, who had pushed on to the borders of Macedonia. The cautious Ptolemy, on the other hand, is afraid to invade Syria; and, in consequence of a false report, that Lysimachus had been defeated, retires full of alarm, into Egypt.

Battle of Ipsus, 301.

27. Great and decisive battle fought at Ipsus in Phrygia, in the spring of 301, which costs Antigonus his life, and annihilates his empire, as the two conquerors divide it between themselves, without taking any account of the absent confederates. Asia Minor, as far as mount Taurus, falls to the share of Lysimachus; and all the rest, with the exception of Cilicia, which is given to Plisthenes, Cassander's brother, is left to Seleucus.—Demetrius, by the help of his navy, escapes into Greece.

Domestic organization of the monarchy.

28. The almost unbroken series of wars which had raged from the time of Alexander, must have precluded the possibility of much being effected with respect to domestic organization. It appears to have been nearly, if not wholly, military. Yet were the numerous devastations in some measure compensated by the erection of new cities, in which these princes vied with one another, impelled partly by vanity to immortalize their names, partly by policy to support their dominion, most of the new settlements being military colonies. Nevertheless this was but a sorry reparation for the manifold oppressions to which the natives were exposed by the practice of quartering the army upon them. The spread of the language and civilization of the Greeks deprived them of all national distinction; their own languages sinking into mere provincial dialects. Alexander's monarchy affords a striking example of the little that can be expected from a forced amalgamation of races, when the price of that amalgamation is the obliteration of national character in the individuals.

Heyne,Opum regni Macedonici auctarum, attritarum et eversarum, causæ probabiles; in Opusc.t. iv. This collection contains several other treatises on Grecian and Macedonian history, which cannot be all separately enumerated.

History of the kingdoms and states which arose upon the dismemberment of the Macedonian Monarchy after the battle of Ipsus.

I.History of the Syrian empire under the Seleucidæ, B. C. 312—64.

Sources.Neither for the history of the Syrian, nor for that of the Egyptian and Macedonian kingdoms, has any eminent writer been preserved. The fragments of the lost books of Diodorus, and, from the time that these kingdoms became allies of Rome, those of Polybius, several narratives of Livy, the Syriaca of Appian, and a few of Plutarch's Lives, are the principal authorities; too frequently we are obliged to rely upon the extracts of Justin. For the history of the Seleucidæ, in consequence of the political connection between these princes and the Jews, the Antiquities of Josephus and the book of Maccabees become of importance. Besides these authorities, the many coins that have been preserved of these kings, afford much information respecting their genealogy and chronology.Of modern publications on the subject, the principal work isVaillant,Imperium Seleucidarum sive historia regum Syriæ, 1681, 4to. The enquiry is principally grounded on coins, as is the case withFroelich,Annales rerum et regum Syriæ. Viennæ, 1754.

Of modern publications on the subject, the principal work is

Vaillant,Imperium Seleucidarum sive historia regum Syriæ, 1681, 4to. The enquiry is principally grounded on coins, as is the case with

Froelich,Annales rerum et regum Syriæ. Viennæ, 1754.

Seleucus Nicator,

1. The kingdom of the Seleucidæ was founded in Upper Asia by Seleucus Nicator. It was an extensive empire; but, being composed of various countries united only by conquest, it could possess but little internal stability except what it derived from the power of its rulers. That power fell with the founder; and the transfer of the seat ofempire from the banks of the Tigris to Syria, entangled the Seleucidæ in all the political disputes of the western world, and facilitated the insurrection of the upper provinces. The history of this kingdom divides itself into the periods before and after the war with Rome; although at the breaking out of this war the seeds of its decline and fall had already been sown.

Seleucus received, 321, Babylon as his province; but after the defeat of Eumenes was obliged to take to flight, 315, in order to avoid subjection to the conqueror Antigonus. But his moderate government had rendered him so popular, that after the victory won by Ptolemy over Demetrius at Gaza, 312, he could safely venture to return with only a few adherents to Babylon. In this year commences the kingdom of the Seleucidæ.

founds the kingdom of the Seleucidæ.B. C. 313.311.

2. In the ten following years, and while Antigonus was busied in Asia Minor, Seleucus laid the foundation of his power over all Upper Asia, with a facility to which the detestation excited by the rigid government of Antigonus mainly contributed. After his victory over Nicanor of Media, all in that quarter declared spontaneously for him; and the unsuccessful expedition of Demetrius taught Antigonus himself, that it would no longer be prudent to assert his claims. As early as 307, Seleucus was in possession of all the countries between the Euphrates, Indus, and Oxus.

Campaign against India,305.

3. Great campaign in India undertaken by Seleucus against king Sandracottus. He penetrated as far as the Ganges, and the close alliance he formed with the Indian sovereign lasted a long time after, and was kept up by embassies. The great number of elephants which he brought backwith him was not the only advantage accruing from this expedition; the intercourse with the east seems to have been permanently reestablished.

Seat of government removed into Syria,301.

4. By the battle of Ipsus Seleucus added to his dominions the greater part of the territories of Antigonus;—Syria, Cappadocia, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. Unfortunately Syria now became the head province, notwithstanding Cœle-Syria and Phœnicia were left in the hands of Ptolemy. How widely different would have been the course of historic events, had the seat of empire remained at Seleucia on the Tigris, and the Euphrates continued to be the western boundary of the Seleucidæ!

5. Reciprocal relations between the several kings, who now combine in forming a kind of political system, in which continued exertions to maintain a balance of power by alliance and marriage are plainly discernible.

Connection between Seleucus and Demetrius Poliorcetes, by the marriage of the former with the beautiful Stratonice, daughter of the latter; made with the view of counterbalancing a similar connection between Ptolemy and Lysimachus; Lysimachus and his son Agathocles having united themselves with two daughters of Ptolemy.

Long peace in Asia,301—283.

6. The eighteen years of tranquillity enjoyed by Asia after the battle of Ipsus, prove that Seleucus was one of the few followers of Alexander who had any genius for the arts of peace. He either founded or embellished a vast number of cities, the most important of which were the capital, Antiochia in Syria, and the two Seleucias, one on the Tigris, the other on the Orontes: theflourishing prosperity of several of these places was the result of the restoration of eastern trade; new channels for which appear to have been opened at this period on the main streams of Asia, and more particularly on the Oxus.

The empire divided into satrapies.

7. The home department of his empire was organized into satrapies, of which there were seventy-two. But Alexander's maxim, "to give the satrapies to natives," was wholly forgotten by his followers; and the Seleucidæ were not long before they experienced the evil consequences of swerving from that practice. Under such a prince as Seleucus scarce any kingdom could of itself fall to pieces; but the king himself paved the way for the dismemberment of his empire, by ceding293.Upper Asia, together with his consort Stratonice, to his son Antiochus; not, however, without the previous approbation of the army.

Conquest of Asia Minor.282.281.

8. War with Lysimachus, kindled by ancient jealousy, and now fomented by family feuds. The battle of Curopedion cost Lysimachus his throne and his life; and Asia Minor became a part of the Syrian realm. But as Seleucus was crossing over to Europe, to add Macedonia to his dominions, he fell by the hand of an assassin, Ptolemy Ceraunus, and with him the splendour of his kingdom was extinguished.

Antiochus Soter,281—262.

9. The reign of his son, Antiochus I. surnamed Soter, seemed not unprosperous, inasmuch as the empire preserved its former extension; but in any state founded upon conquest, the failure of new attempts at an increase of territory is a sure token of approaching ruin; and this was the case here.—In such a state, the more immediately alldepends on the person of the ruler, the more rapid and sensible are the effects of degeneration in a family like that of the Seleucidæ.

The late conquests of his father in Asia Minor entangled Antiochus in new wars; although, by the marriage of his stepdaughter Phila with Antigonus Gonatas, he ceded his claims on Macedonia, 277.—Fruitless attempt at subjecting Bithynia, 279; the king of that country, Nicomedes, calls in the Gauls, who had invaded Macedonia, and gives them a settlement in Galatia, 277, where they keep their footing, even after the victory won over them by Antiochus, 275, and by their participation in the wars, as mercenaries, become of importance.—The newly risen state of Pergamus likewise thrives, at the expense of the Syrian empire, in spite of Antiochus's attack, 263; and the inroad into Egypt, for the purpose of supporting the rebel Magas, is anticipated by Ptolemy II. 264.

Antiochus Theus,262—247.Rise of the Parthian and Bactrian kingdoms.

10. Antiochus II. surnamed Θεός. During his reign the sway was in the hands of women; and the diseased state of the interior of the empire became palpable by the secession of various eastern provinces, out of which arose the Parthian and Bactrian kingdoms. The boundless luxury of the court hurried on the decline of the ruling family; having once begun to sink, it could not without difficulty have retrieved its virtue independently of the matrimonial connections now constantly formed from within itself.

Ascendancy of his stepsister and wife Laodice, and of his sister Apame, relict of Magas; the latter involves him in war with Ptolemy II. to vindicate her claims upon Cyrene; it ends by Antiochus's marriage with Berenice, daughter of Ptolemy, and his repudiation of Laodice, 260—252. Having, after the death of Ptolemy, 247, put away Berenice and taken back Laodice; the latter, distrusting his motives, cuts him off by poison.—The secession of Parthia happened in consequence of the expulsion of the Macedonian governor by Arsaces, founder of the house of theArsacidæ: that of Bactria, on the other hand, was brought about by the Macedonian governor himself, Theodotus, who asserted his independence. (Concerning these two kingdoms, see below, book iv. period iii. Dist. Kingdoms iv. parag. 4, 5.) At first, the former of these kingdoms comprised but a part of Parthia; the latter only Bactria, and, perhaps, Sogdiana; both, however, were soon enlarged at the expense of the Seleucidæ.

Seleucus Callinicus,247—227.

11. Seleucus II. surnamed Callinicus. His reign, twenty years in duration, is one unbroken series of wars; in which the kingdom, already enfeebled, was subverted, partly by the struggle with Egypt, caused by the hatred between Laodice and Berenice; partly by the jealousy of his brother Antiochus Hierax; and partly by vain attempts at recovering the upper provinces.

Assassination of Berenice, and most unfortunate war thereby kindled with Ptolemy Evergetes of Egypt, 247—244. The assistance which Seleucus obtains from his junior brother, Antiochus, governor of Asia Minor, induces Ptolemy to a truce, 243; but another war ensues between the two brothers, in which Antiochus, at first conqueror, is himself soon afterwards conquered in his turn, 243—240; and during this contest, Eumenes of Pergamus greatly increases his territory at the expense of Syria, 242.—His first campaign against Arsaces, who had formed an alliance with the Bactrian king, ended in a defeat, 238, regarded by the Parthians as the real epoch of the foundation of their kingdom. In the second campaign, 236, he himself fell into the hands of the Parthians, and remained a prisoner till the day of his death, 227.

Seleucus Ceraunus, 227.224.

12. His elder son Seleucus III. surnamed Ceraunus, on the point of taking the field against Attalus king of Pergamus, was removed by poison. But the dominion of the Seleucidæ was reestablished in Asia Minor by his mother's fraternal nephew, Achæus; and the crown ensured to the younger brother Antiochus, governor of Babylon.

Antiochus the Great,224—187.

13. The long reign of Antiochus III. surnamed the Great, is not only the most eventful in Syrian history, but likewise marks an epoch, by the relations now commencing between Syria and Rome.—To earn the title ofgreatwas a task of no extreme difficulty in such a line of princes.

Insurrection in Media and Persia.218.220.

14. Great power of Hermias the Carian, who soon became so formidable to the young monarch, that he was obliged to rid himself of him by murder. The great stand made by the brothers, Molo and Alexander, satraps of Media and Persia, who probably had an understanding with Hermias, threatened the king with the loss of all the upper provinces: it ended in the defeat of Molo, Hermias being at last no longer able to hinder the king from marching against him in person.

War with the Ptolemies: insurrection of Asia Minor, 220.219.217.216.

15. The intrigues of Hermias excited Achæus to rebellion in Asia Minor: but Antiochus held more important, first to execute the plan he had previously traced, of ejecting the Ptolemies from their possessions in Syria; great as the success which at first attended this expedition, it was completely traversed by the battle of Raphia.—Combining with Attalus of Pergamus, Antiochus then defeated Achæus, who, being shut up in the citadel of Sardes, was treacherously delivered into his hands.

Campaign in the upper provinces,214—205.210.206.

16. Great campaign of Antiochus in the upper provinces, in consequence of the seizure of Media by Arsaces III.—Hostilities ended in a compact, by which Antiochus agreed formerly to cede Parthia and Hyrcania; Arsaces, on his side, pledging himself to furnish assistance against Bactria.—But the war with Bactria was also followed by a peace, leaving the king, Euthydemus, in possession of his crown and dominions.—The expedition now undertaken by Antiochus, in company with Demetrius of Bactriana, against India, extended, probably far up the country, and was attended with important consequences to Bactriana. (See below, history of Bactria, book iv. per. iii. Dist. Kingdoms iv. parag. 5.)

The result of these great expeditions was the establishment of the supremacy of the Seleucidæ in Upper Asia; those countries excepted which had been formally resigned.

On his return through Arachotus and Carmania, where he wintered, he likewise undertook a naval expedition on the Persian gulf: here Gerrha, in possession of its freedom, appears a flourishing place of trade.

War with Egypt,203.

17. Resumption of the plan against Egypt, after the death of Ptolemy Philopator; and alliance with Philip of Macedonia, then carrying on war in Asia. Antiochus, it is true, attained his end in the expulsion of the Ptolemies from their possessions in Syria, Cœle-Syria, and Phœnicia; but then, his success brought him in contact with203—198.Rome, an event of decisive importance to himself and his successors.

War with Rome.197.195.

18. Growth of the disputes between the king and Rome, proceeding from the conquest of the major part of Asia Minor and the Thracian Chersonesus; meanwhile Hannibal had taken refuge at the Syrian court, and the probability daily increased of a great league being formed against Rome, although that power, after conquering Carthage, 201, and Macedonia, 197, had succeededin winning over Greece even, by the magic spell offreedom. But Antiochus ruined all: instead of following Hannibal's advice, and attacking the Romans on their own ground, he stood on the defensive, and suffered himself to be invaded by them in Asia. His defeat at Magnesia near Mount Sipylus compelled him to accede to such190.conditions as Rome chose to dictate, and the power of the Syrian empire was for ever broken.

For the history of this war, see below in the Roman history. Book v. per. ii. parag. 10, 11.

Conditions of peace with Rome.

19. The conditions of the peace were: 1st. That Antiochus should evacuate Asia Minor; (Asia cis Taurum.) 2nd. That he should pay down 15,000 talents; and to Eumenes of Pergamus four hundred. 3rd. That Hannibal and some others should be delivered up, and the king's younger son Antiochus, be given as an hostage.—The loss of the surrendered countries was a consequence of this peace, less disadvantageous to the Syrian kings, than the use made of it by the conquerors. By adding the greatest part of the ceded territories to those of the kings of Pergamus, the Romans raised up alongside of their enemy a rival, whom they might at their own will use as a political engine against him.—Rome took care likewise that the stipulated sum should be paid by instalments in twelve years, to the end that Syria might be kept in a permanent state of dependence.

Seleucus Philopator,187—176.

20. Murder of the king, 187. The reign of his elder son, Seleucus IV. surnamed Philopator, was a period of tranquillity; peace arising from weakness.—Though once he unsheathed his sword indefence of Pharnaces king of Pontus, against Eumenes, his fear of Rome soon compelled him to restore it to the scabbard. He exchanged his son for his brother at Rome; but fell a victim to the ambition of his minister Heliodorus.

Antiochus Epiphanes,176—164.

21. Antiochus IV. surnamed Epiphanes. Educated at Rome, he sought to combine the popular manners of a Roman with the ostentatious luxury of a Syrian; and thereby became an object of universal hatred and contempt. Our information respecting his history is too meagre to allow of our deciding whether most of the evil reported of him, in the Jewish accounts especially, may not be exaggerated. At any rate, among all his faults, we may still discern in him the germs of good qualities.

His war against Egypt,172—168:

22. War with Egypt, springing out of Ptolemy Philometor's claims upon Cœle-Syria and Palestine. Obscure as many parts are in the history of this war yet it is evident that success attended the arms of Antiochus, and that he would have become master of Egypt had not Rome interfered.

The pretext for war, on the Egyptian side, was, that those provinces had by Antiochus III. been promised as a dowry to Cleopatra, sister of Antiochus and the mother of Philometor: Antiochus Epiphanes, on his side, laid claim to the regency of Egypt, as uncle to the young king, who, however, was soon declared of age.—Opening of the war, and victory won by Antiochus at Pelusium, 171; in consequence of which Cyprus is betrayed into his hands.—Pelusium is fortified with a view of insuring the possession of Cœle-Syria, and of facilitating an irruption into Egypt.—Another victory, 170, and Egypt subdued as far as Alexandria. Philometor driven by a sedition out of Alexandria, where his brother Physcon is seated on the throne, falls into the hands of Antiochus, who concludes with him a most advantageous peace, and takes his part against Physcon. Hence siege is laid to Alexandria, 169; attended with no success. Upon the retreat of Antiochus, Philometor, concluding a separate peace with his brother, according to which both are to rule in conjunction, is admitted into Alexandria. Antiochus, bitterly enraged, now declares war against both brothers, who crave assistance from Rome: he once more penetrates into Egypt, 168; where the Roman ambassador, Popillius, assumes so lofty a tone, that the Syrian king is glad to purchase peace by the surrender of Cyprus and Pelusium.

his intolerance:

23. The religious intolerance of Epiphanes, exhibited in his wish to introduce the Grecian worship everywhere among the subjects of his empire, is the more remarkable, as such instances were less frequent in those times. This intolerance seems to have taken its rise, not only in the love of pomp, but in the cupidity of the king, who by that means was enabled to appropriate to himself the treasures of the temples, no longer inviolate, since the defeat of his father by Rome. The167.consequent sedition of the Jews, under the Maccabees, laid the foundation of the future independence of that people, and contributed not a little to weaken the Syrian kingdom.

See below; History of the Jews, book iv. per. iv; Small states Jews, parag. 6. The deep decay of the finances of the Seleucidæ, palpable from the latter days of Antiochus the Great, may be accounted for well enough, by the falling off of the revenue, accompanied with increased luxury in the kings, (an instance of which is furnished in the festivals celebrated by Antiochus Epiphanes at Daphne, 166,) and in the vast presents constantly sent to Rome, in addition to the tribute, for the purpose of keeping up a party there.

his death,165.

24. His expedition also into Upper Asia, Persis especially, where great disorders were likewise excited by the introduction of the Grecian religion, had for its object not only the recovery of Armenia, but the rifling of the temples. He died, however, on his way to Babylon.

Antiochus Eupator.164—161.

25. The real heir to the throne, Demetrius, being detained at Rome as an hostage, Epiphanes was first succeeded by his son Antiochus V. surnamed Eupator, a child nine years old. During his short reign, the quarrels of his guardians, the despotism of the Romans, the protracted war with the Jews, and the commencing conquests of the Parthians, reduced the kingdom of the Seleucidæ to a powerless state.

Contest between Lysias, regent in the absence of Epiphanes, and Philip, appointed by the king, previously to his death, as guardian of the young prince, terminated by the defeat of Philip, 162.—Eupator's right acknowledged at Rome, in order that the guardianship might fall into the hands of the senate, who administer the government by means of a commission sent over into Syria, and completely deprive the king of all power of resistance. Octavius, head of the commission, put to death, probably at the instigation of Lysias.—While the Parthian king, Mithridates I. is prosecuting his conquests at the expense of the Syrian kingdom in Upper Asia, Demetrius secretly escapes out of Rome, takes possession of the throne, and causes Eupator and Lysias to be put to death, 161.

Demetrius Soter,161—150.

26. Demetrius I. surnamed Soter. He succeeded in getting himself acknowledged at Rome, on which all now depended. The attempts to extend his power, by supporting Orofernes, the pretender to the crown of Cappadocia, against the king Ariarathes, had their origin partly in family relations, but still more, as was the case with almost all political transactions of those times, in bribery. By this act he only drew upon himself the enmity of the kings of Egypt and Pergamus; as, moreover, he was hated by his subjects on account of his intemperance, the chances of success were greatly in favour of the shameful154.usurpation of Alexander Balas, brought about by Heraclidas the expelled governor of Babylon, and backed by the yet more shameful conduct of the Roman senate, who acknowledged his title to the throne. The Syrian kingdom was now fallen so low, that both king and usurper were obliged to court the favour of the Jews under Jonathan, hitherto regarded as rebels. In the second battle Demetrius lost his life.

Alexander Balas,150—145.

27. The usurper Alexander Balas endeavoured to confirm his power by a marriage with Cleopatra, daughter of Ptolemy Philometor: but he soon evinced himself more unworthy even than his predecessor of wielding the sceptre. While he abandoned the government to his favourite, the detested Ammonius, the eldest remaining son of Demetrius succeeds not only in raising a party against the usurper, but even in prevailing on Philometor to side with himself, and give him in marriage Cleopatra, whom he takes away from Balas. The consequence of this alliance with145.Egypt was the defeat and downfal of Balas, although it cost Philometor his life.

The account, that Philometor wished to conquer Syria for himself, must probably be understood as meaning that he had formed the design of recovering the ancient Egyptian possessions, Cœle-Syria and Phœnicia. Otherwise, why should he have given his daughter to a second pretender to the throne?

Demetrius Nicator, 145—126.145.144.143.142.140—130.

28. Demetrius II. surnamed Nicator, 145—141, and for the second time, 130—126. The disbanding of his father's mercenaries having roused the indignation of the army, the cruelty of hisfavourite Lasthenes kindled a sedition in the capital, which could not be quenched without the assistance of the Jews, under their high priest and military chieftain, Jonathan.—While affairs were in this posture, Diodotus, subsequently called Tryphon, a dependent of Balas, excited an insurrection, by bringing forward Antiochus, the latter's son, and even, with the help of Jonathan, seating him on the throne of Antioch: soon after, Tryphon, having by treachery got Jonathan into his power, removed Antiochus by murder, and assumed the diadem himself.—Notwithstanding Demetrius kept his footing only in a part of Syria, he was enabled to obey the call of the Grecian colonists in Upper Asia, and support them against the Parthians, who had overrun the country as far as the Euphrates.—Although victorious in the commencement of the contest, he was soon after taken by the Parthians, and remained ten years a prisoner, though treated meanwhile as a king.

Antiochus of Sida.139.132.131.

29. In order to maintain herself against Tryphon, Cleopatra marries the younger, and better brother, Antiochus of Sida, (Sidetes); he being at first in alliance with the Jews,—who, however, were soon after subdued—defeats and overthrows Tryphon. Being now lord and master of Syria, he undertakes a campaign against the Parthians; at the commencement, befriended by the subjects of the Parthians, he is successful, but soon afterwards is attacked in winter quarters by those very friends, and cut to pieces, together with all his army.

If the accounts of the wanton licentiousness of his army are not exaggerations, they furnish the clearest proof of the militarydespotism of those times. By continued pillage and extortion, the wealth of the country had been collected in the hands of the soldiers; and the condition of Syria must have been pretty nearly the same as that of Egypt under the Mamluk sultans.

Demetrius Nicator restored,130—126.126.

30. Meanwhile Demetrius II. having escaped from prison, again seated himself on the throne. But being now still more overbearing than before, and meddling in the Egyptian affairs, Ptolemy Physcon set up against him a rival in the person of Alexander Zebinas a pretended son of Alexander Balas; by him he was defeated and slain.

The Parthian king Phraates II. had, at first, liberated Demetrius, to whom his sister Rhodogune was united by marriage, in order that, by appearing in Syria, he might oblige Antiochus to retreat. Antiochus having fallen, Phraates would fain have recaptured Demetrius, but he escaped.

126—85.

31. The ensuing history of the Seleucidæ is a picture of civil wars, family feuds, and deeds of horror, such as are scarcely to be paralleled. The utmost verge of the empire was now the Euphrates; all Upper Asia acknowledging the dominion of the Parthians. The Jews, moreover, having completely vindicated their independence, the kingdom was consequently confined to Syria and Phœnicia. So thoroughly decayed was the state, that even the Romans—whether because there was no longer anything to plunder, or because they conceived it more prudent to suffer the Seleucidæ to wear themselves out in mutual quarrels—do not seem to have taken any accountSyria becomes a Roman province, 64.of it, until, at the conclusion of the last war with Mithridates, they thought proper formally to annex it to their empire as a province.

War between Alexander Zebinas and the ambitious relict of Demetrius, Cleopatra, who with her own hand murders her eldest son Seleucus, B. C. 125, for pretending to the crown, which she now gives to her younger son, Antiochus Gryphus; the new king, however, soon saw himself compelled to secure his own life by the murder of his mother, 122; Alexander Zebinas having been the year before, 123, defeated and put to death. After a peaceful rule of eight years, 122—114, Antiochus Gryphus is involved in war with his half-brother Antiochus Cyzicenus, son of Cleopatra by Antiochus Sidetes: it ends, 111, in a partition of territory. But the war between the brothers soon burst out anew, and just as this hapless kingdom seemed about to crumble into pieces, Gryphus was murdered, 97.—Seleucus, the eldest of his five sons, having beaten and slain Cyzicenus, 96; the eldest son of the latter, Antiochus Eusebes, prosecuted the war against the sons of Gryphus; Eusebes being at last defeated, 90, the surviving sons of Gryphus fell to war among themselves, and the struggle continued until the Syrians, weary of bloodshed, did what they ought to have done long before, viz. made over the sovereign power to Tigranes the king of Armenia, 85. Yet Eusebes's widow, Selene, retained Ptolemais till 70; and her elder son Antiochus Asiaticus, at the time that Tigranes was beaten by Lucullus, in the Mithridatic war, took possession of some provinces in Syria, 68; these were wrested from him after the total defeat of Mithridates by Pompey, when Tigranes was obliged to give up his claim, and Syria became a province of the Roman empire, 64. Antiochus Asiaticus died 58; his brother Seleucus Cybiosactes, having married Berenice, was raised to the Egyptian throne, but murdered at her command, 57; and thus the family of the Seleucidæ was completely swept away.

II.History of the Egyptian kingdom under the Ptolemies,323—30.

The sources of this history are for the most part the same as in the foregoing section; see above, p. 232; but unfortunately still more scanty; for in the first place, less information can here be derived from the Jewish writers; secondly, as on the coins struck under the Ptolemies no continuous series of time is marked, but only the year of the king's reign, they are by no means such safeguards to the chronology as those of the Seleucidæ. With respect to some few events, important illustrations are supplied by inscriptions.By modern writers, the history of the Ptolemies has been composed under a form almost entirely chronological, and by no means treated of in the spirit which it deserves.Vaillant,Historia Ptolemæorum, fol. Amstelodam. 1701. Illustration by the aid of coins.Champolion Figeac,Annales des Lagides, ou Chronologie des Rois d'Egypte, successeurs d'Alexandre le Grand. Paris, 1819, 2 vols. This treatise, which was honoured with a prize by the Académie des Inscriptions, has by no means exhausted the whole of the subject. SeeJ. Saint-Martin,Examen Critique de l'ouvrage deM. Ch. F.intitulé Annales des Lagides. Paris, 1820.Letronne,Recherches pour servir à l'histoire de l'Egypte pendant la domination des Grecs et des Romains, tirées des inscriptions Grecques et Latines, relatives à la chronologie, à l'etat des arts aux usages civils et religieux de ce pays. Paris, 1828. It cannot be denied that the author has thrown a much clearer light on the subjects mentioned in his title.

By modern writers, the history of the Ptolemies has been composed under a form almost entirely chronological, and by no means treated of in the spirit which it deserves.

Vaillant,Historia Ptolemæorum, fol. Amstelodam. 1701. Illustration by the aid of coins.

Champolion Figeac,Annales des Lagides, ou Chronologie des Rois d'Egypte, successeurs d'Alexandre le Grand. Paris, 1819, 2 vols. This treatise, which was honoured with a prize by the Académie des Inscriptions, has by no means exhausted the whole of the subject. See

J. Saint-Martin,Examen Critique de l'ouvrage deM. Ch. F.intitulé Annales des Lagides. Paris, 1820.

Letronne,Recherches pour servir à l'histoire de l'Egypte pendant la domination des Grecs et des Romains, tirées des inscriptions Grecques et Latines, relatives à la chronologie, à l'etat des arts aux usages civils et religieux de ce pays. Paris, 1828. It cannot be denied that the author has thrown a much clearer light on the subjects mentioned in his title.

Back to Index Next