Seleukid6
SELEUKID COLLAPSE
124 – 114 Antiochos VIII Grypos Epiphanēs Philomētōr Kallinikos ("The Hook-Nosed Manifest Mother-loving Beautiful-Victor"), Eighteenth Seleukid King.
Born around 142, he was educated in Athens and took the throne as a puppet for his mother, Kleopatra Thea, after she had killed his brother in 124. He forced her to drink poison in 121 (This made his official by-name, Philomētōr, or ‘mother-lover’ highly ironic). He defeated his rival Alexander II Zabinas in 122. Having defeated threats to his rule, he spent the next few years pursuing pleasures, hosting games and distributing gifts. He attempted to eliminate his younger half brother in 114, but this backfired and he lost the throne. He fled to Aspendos in south-western Anatolia, only to return in 113, taking back Antioch, but failing to entirely dislodge Antiochos IX; who continued to rule in Coele-Syria. He lost Antioch to him again in 111, remained in the region and regained it in 109. In 97, he lost Antioch again, and this time he was killed.
He married (first) Tryphaina, a daughter of Ptolemaios VIII, King of Egypt (see PTOLEMY 3), she killed her sister Kleopatra, wife of the rebel Antiochos IX and was herself killed by him after he took the throne. He married (second) in 102 Kleopatra V Selēnē, another daughter of Ptolemaios VIII, King of Egypt (see PTOLEMY 3). He had issue:
1) Seleukos VI Epiphanēs Nikatōr, Twentieth Seleukid King (son of Tryphaena) (see below).
2) Antiochos XI Epiphanēs Philadelphos, Twenty-Second Seleukid King (son of Tryphaena) (see below)
3) Philippos I Epiphanēs Philadelphos, Twenty-Third Seleukid King (son of Tryphaena) (see below)
4) Dēmētrios III Eukairos Theos Philopatōr Sōtēr Philomētōr Euergetēs Kallinikos, Twenty-Fourth Seleukid King (son of Tryphaena) (see below)
5) Antiochos XII Dionysos Epiphanēs Philopatōr Kallinikos, Twenty-Fifth Seleukid King (son of Tryphaena) (see below)
1) Laodikē Thea Philadelphos (daughter of Tryphaena). She married Mithradatēs I Kallinikos, Third King of Commagene (see COMMAGENE).
114 – 96 Antiochos IX Kyzikēnos Eusebēs Philopatōr ("Pious Father-lover of Cyzicus"), Nineteenth Seleukid King.
Born between 146 and 135, he was the legitimate heir after his father’s death in 129, but was a small child, so his uncle was restored to the throne instead. He was raised and educated in Cyzicus, in northwest Anatolia, conveniently far from the centre of power. In 115, Antiochus VIII who was both his cousin and his half-brother plotted to have him killed. Discovering this, he rebelled, becoming King himself in 114. In 113 Antiochos VIII returned and removed him from central Syria, but Antiochos IX remained in control of Coele-Syria. Antiochos IX regained control of Antioch in 111, lost it in 109, and regained it again in 97, finally killing his brother. This war was a disaster for the Seleukid kingdom, which lost Cilicia to Roman influence, Judaea to the Hasmonean dynasty, and much of Phoenicia. Antiochos IX got to savour his victory for almost a full year, before he was driven out of Antioch and killed by his nephew Seleukos VI in 96.
He married (first) Kleopatra IV, daughter of Ptolemaios VIII and ex-wife of Ptolemaios IX Sotēr (see PTOLEMY 3); she was captured and killed by her sister Tryphaina, wife of Antiochos VIII, in 113. He married (second) Brittanē, a Parthian princess. He married (third), in 96, Kleopatra V Selēnē, another daughter of Ptolemaios VIII and ex-wife of Ptolemaios IX Sotēr (see PTOLEMY 3). He was defeated in battle by Antiochos VIII’s successor Seleukos VI in 95 and committed suicide. He had issue:
1) Antiochos X Eusebēs Philopatōr Pius, Twenty-First Seleukid King (son of Kleopatra IV) (see below).
113 – 97 Antiochos VIII Grypos Epiphanēs Philomētōr Kallinikos ("The Hook-Nosed Manifest Mother-loving Beautiful-Victor"), Eighteenth Seleukid King. (Restored).
96 – 94 Seleukos VI Epiphanēs Nikatōr ("The Manifest Victor"), Twentieth Seleukid King.
He succeeded to his father, Antiochos VIII’s claim to the kingdom in 97 and seized the main part of the kingdom from his uncle in 96, but proved violent and tyrannical and, after being defeated in battle by Antiochos X in 94 he was burnt alive at Mopsis (near modern Adana) by the townspeople while seeking sanctuary in a gymnasium.
94 – 89 Antiochos X Eusebēs Philopatōr Pius ("The Pious Pious Father-lover"), Twenty-First Seleukid King.
Antiochos X's survival during through the purges of Seleukos VI were attributed by the Syrians to his piety, and by later authors to a prostitute. He declared himself king in the Phoencian island-city of Arados and soon defeated Seleukos VI in battle near Mopsus, but immediately found himself at war with Seleukos VI’s brothers. One of them, Philippos I, took control of Beroia (Aleppo), another, Dēmētrios III took Damascus, while the third, Antiochos XI, briefly took Antioch in 93. He managed to regain Antioch later that same year, but was unable to extend his control to the other two centres. He married Kleopatra V Selēnē, who had already been married to his uncle and his father (see PTOLEMY 3). He died in 89, in an ill-considered campaign against the Parthians, who now far exceeded the strength of the Seleukid realm, even if it were united. He had issue:
1) Antiochos XIII Asiatikos, Twenty-Sixth Seleukid King (son of Kleopatra V Selēnē ) (see below)
2) Seleukos Kybiosaktēs. As the last surviving Seleukid, he was sent to Egypt in 58 to marry Berenikē, daughter of King Ptolemy XII Auletes, but was murdered by his prospective bride.
94 - 93 Antiochos XI Epiphanēs Philadelphos ("The Manifest Brother-lover"), Twenty-Second Seleukid King.
He and his twin brother, Philippos, claimed the throne after the death of their brother, Seleukos VI. He briefly succeeded in taking Antioch in 93, but was driven out almost immediately. He was then defeated in battle by Antiochos X and accidentally drowned in the Orontēs River as he fled.
94 – 75 Philippos I Epiphanēs Philadelphos ("The Manifest Brother-lover"), Twenty-Third Seleukid King.
He and his twin brother, Antiochos XI, claimed the throne after the death of their brother, Seleukos VI, attacked the city of Mopsus, where their brother had been killed while seeking sanctuary and razed it to the ground. They were then defeated in battle by Antiochos X. Philippos, based at Aleppo, continued to fight Antiochos X for control of the kingdom, driving him out, only to find himself at war with his brother and erstwhile ally, Dēmētrios III. He was dealt with in 87, at which point yet another brother, Antiochos XII, took control. He was deposed and killed in 75 by Tigranes the Great, King of Armenia. He may have had issue:
1) Philippos II Barypous Philoromaios, Twenty Seventh Seleukid King.
94 – 87 Dēmētrios III Eukairos Theos Philopatōr Sōtēr Philomētōr Euergetēs Kallinikos ("The Timely Divine Father-loving Saviour Mother-loving Beneficent Beautiful-Victor"), Twenty-Fourth Seleukid King.He came from Cnidus to support his brothers Antiochos XI and Philippos I in their war with Antiochos X and briefly intervened in Judaea. After Antiochos X was driven out in 94, however, the remaining brothers fell out, and went to war with each other. With the help of Ptolemy IX of Egypt Dēmētrios III established himself in Damascus. He took control of Antioch in 88, but was captured by the Parthians in 87 and died shortly thereafter.
87 – 84 Antiochos XII Dionysos Epiphanēs Philopatōr Kallinikos ("The Manifest Father-loving Beautiful-Victor Dionysos"), Twenty-Fifth Seleukid King. He assumed control of Damascus after his brother Dēmētrios III’s death, continuing his war against Philippos I. He died fighting against the Nabataeans of Petra (formerly a minor vassal of the Seleukid kingdom) in 84.
[75 – 69 Armenian Rule]
69 – 67 Antiochos XIII Asiatikos Eusebēs ("The Pious Asiatic"), Twenty-Sixth Seleukid King.
Son of Antiochos X, he was brought up in Asia and was a candidate to be King of Egypt in 80, but as a young child was unable to capitalise on his legal claim. He and his brother visited Rome in 75 and were recognised as the legitimate Kings of Syria. When the Romans invaded Armenia in 69 during the Fourth Mithridatic War he was briefly king of a tiny Seleukid rump-state centred on Antioch, but in 67 he was driven out by the Arabs and the people of Antioch for being a Roman puppet. Presumably imprisoned by Sampsigeramos I of Emesa, he escaped or was released and re-took Antioch in 67, only to be deposed by the Roman general Pompeius Magnus (Pompey the Great) in 64, who annexed Syria into the Roman Republic. Antiochos XIII was killed later that year by Sampsigeramos.
67 – 66 Philippos II Barypous Philoromaios ("Heavy-footed Roman-lover"), Twenty-Seventh Seleukid King.
He contested the rule of Syria with Antiochos XIII after the end of Armenia control in 69, with the support of the Arabs, who felt Antiochos XIII was too much of a Roman puppet. He took Antioch in 67, but lost it the next year, and even the Arabs had abandoned him by 64 and shortly thereafter the area became a Roman province, at which point he abandoned his claims. In 58 he may have attempted to become King of Egypt by marrying Queen Berenikē IV, though this story appears to arise from confusion with his cousin Seleukos Kybiosaktēs.
67 – 64 Antiochos XIII Asiatikos Eusebēs ("The Pious Asiatic"), Twenty-Sixth Seleukid King. (Restored)
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