Rome and the Seleukid East: Selected Papers from Seleukid Study Day V, Brussels, 21-23 August 2015

Seleukos I (312-281) was the strongest among the Successors of Alexander

the Great, and his territory extended as far as Thrace in the West and

Pakistan in the East for over a century. His kingdom reached a new

pinnacle under Antiochos III (223-187), who combined military vigour with

political skill, but also bears responsibility for its harsh defeat at the

hands of the Romans, the ascending superpower in the Mediterranean. This

failure did not yet trigger the dynasty’s collapse albeit. It was

resilient and re-established itself as the leading power in the Near East

under Antiochos IV (175-164), who was able to maintain friendship with

Rome. Gradually, however, Seleukid rule was reduced to Syria or parts

thereof by 129. The book tries to redress the balance of Seleukid

weaknesses and strengths. Case studies either focus on power, politics and

ideology of the Seleukid centre, or on continuity and change in

2nd-century Anatolia, Judaea and Babylon, before trying to integrate into

a braoder picture the factors that led to Seleukid disintegration.