Antiochus II Theos (, , meaning "Antiochus the God"; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the

Hellenistic In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

who reigned from 261 to 246 BC. He succeeded his father

Antiochus I Soter Antiochus I Soter (, ''Antíochos Sōtér''; "Antiochus Soter, the Savior"; 2 June 261 BC) was a Ancient Greece, Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned during a period of instabi ...

in the winter of 262–61 BC. He was the younger son of Antiochus I and princess Stratonice, the daughter of

Demetrius Poliorcetes Demetrius I Poliorcetes (; , , ; ) was a Macedonian Greek nobleman and military leader who became king of Asia between 306 and 301 BC, and king of Macedon between 294 and 288 BC. A member of the Antigonid dynasty, he was the son of its founder, ...

. Antiochus II was a forceful personality who in his lifetime largely succeeded to hold the sprawling Seleucid realm intact. However his fateful decision to repudiate his first wife

Laodice Laodice (meaning "people-justice") may refer to: Greek mythology *''see Laodice (Greek myth)'' * Laodice (daughter of Priam), a princess of Troy * Laodice, daughter of Agamemnon, sometimes conflated with Electra * Laodice, one of the Hyperborean m ...

and marry a

Ptolemaic Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty *Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining t ...

princess

Berenice Berenice (, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. The Latin variant Veron ...

as part of a peace treaty led to a succession struggle after his death that would shake the empire's foundations and cause large territorial losses.

Early life

Antiochus II was the younger son of

and his famous queen Stratonice. Antiochus was initially not expected to inherit the throne, but in 267 BC his father had his elder brother Seleucus executed on charges of rebellion.

Reign

He inherited lasting tensions with

Ptolemaic Egypt Ptolemaic is the adjective formed from the name Ptolemy, and may refer to: Pertaining to the Ptolemaic dynasty * Ptolemaic dynasty, the Macedonian Greek dynasty that ruled Egypt founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter *Ptolemaic Kingdom Pertaining ...

and soon initiated the

Second Syrian War The Syrian Wars were a series of six wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, successor states to Alexander the Great's empire, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC over the region then called Coele-Syria, one of th ...

in alliance with Antigonus II of the Antigonid dynasty. The war was largely fought along the coasts of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and conflated with the constant intrigues of petty despots and restless city-states in Asia Minor. Antiochus II made some gains in Asia Minor and acquired direct access to Aegean Sea by capturing

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

and

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

. During the war he assumed the title ''Theos'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: , "God"), being such to the Milesians in slaying the tyrant

Timarchus Timarchus (Greek: Τίμαρχος, ''Tímarchos'') also known as Timarch, was a Greek noble and a satrap of the Seleucid Empire during the reign of his ally King Antiochus IV Epiphanes. After Antiochus IV's death, he styled himself an independ ...

. At around the same time Antiochus II also made some attempt to get a footing in

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

which details are largely unknown and a mint in the city of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

briefly issued coins in his name. In the end the war did little to alter the general balance of power in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Coele-Syria Coele-Syria () was a region of Syria in classical antiquity. The term originally referred to the "hollow" Beqaa Valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, but sometimes it was applied to a broader area of the region of Sy ...

in particular, the main disputed territory between the Seleucid empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom, remained firmly in the hands of the Ptolemies. In 257 BC, the Ptolemaic

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy II Philadelphus (, ''Ptolemaîos Philádelphos'', "Ptolemy, sibling-lover"; 309 – 28 January 246 BC) was the pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 284 to 246 BC. He was the son of Ptolemy I, the Macedonian Greek general of Alexander the G ...

even invaded the Seleucid-held part of Syria, though the outcome of this invasion is unknown. In 253 BC, with his Antigonid allies knocked out of the war by rebellions, Antiochus II made peace with Ptolemy II. As part of the settlement, Antiochus II divorced

and married Ptolemy II's daughter

, with the understanding that any children born from their union would inherit the Seleucid throne.Bromiley, ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia: A-D'' p.144 Laodice was well provided for in the divorce arrangement. Antiochus II gave her various land grants throughout Anatolia which are known through inscriptions; such as large estates in the

Hellespont The Dardanelles ( ; ; ), also known as the Strait of Gallipoli (after the Gallipoli peninsula) and in classical antiquity as the Hellespont ( ; ), is a narrow, natural strait and internationally significant waterway in northwestern Turkey t ...

,Grainger, ''A Seleukid prosopography and gazetteer'' p.47 other properties near

Cyzicus Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have or ...

, Ilion and in

Caria Caria (; from Greek language, Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; ) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid-Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Carians were described by Herodotus as being Anatolian main ...

. She was also granted revenues from various territories and tax exemptions. According to a royal record at

Sardis Sardis ( ) or Sardes ( ; Lydian language, Lydian: , romanized: ; ; ) was an ancient city best known as the capital of the Lydian Empire. After the fall of the Lydian Empire, it became the capital of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Lydia (satrapy) ...

, her land titles were to be treated as in royal possession. Laodice remained a very powerful and political influential figure and continued numerous intrigues to become queen again. By 246 BC, possibly at the news of Ptolemy II's death, Antiochus II had left Berenice and their infant son Antiochus in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

to live again with Laodice in Asia Minor. Antiochus II soon suddenly died and Laodice was widely accused of having him poisoned. Antiochus was buried in the

Belevi Mausoleum The Belevi Mausoleum, also known as the Mausoleum at Belevi''Forum Archaeologiae - Zeitschrift für klassische Archäologie 45/XII/2007: Chemical Analysis of Inclusion Fluids – A new method to pinpoint the origin of white marbles, illustrated at ...

. A succession struggle erupted almost immediately. Berenice initially had the advantage by holding Antioch but her son Antiochus was but an infant. Meanwhile, Laodice proclaimed her eldest son Seleucus as king Seleucus II and moved in from Asia Minor, claiming that on his deathbed Antiochus II reversed his earlier decision and named Seleucus as his successor. The then-reigning brother of Berenice

Ptolemy III Ptolemy III Euergetes (, "Ptolemy the Benefactor"; c. 280 – November/December 222 BC) was the third pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt from 246 to 222 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom reached the height of its military and economic power duri ...

marched from Egypt to support his sister, only to find her and her son murdered by partisans of Laodice. Enraged Ptolemy continued the war, dubbed the

Third Syrian War The Syrian Wars were a series of six wars between the Seleucid Empire and the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, successor states to Alexander the Great's empire, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC over the region then called Coele-Syria, one of th ...

which proved to be a disaster for the Seleucid empire.

Eastern affairs

Very little is known about any Antiochus II's activities in regards to the eastern

Upper Satrapies The Upper Satrapies () is a collective term used in the Hellenistic period to refer to the eastern, Iranian-populated, provinces (" satrapies") of the empire of Alexander the Great, especially during the Wars of the Diadochi and the subsequent Sele ...

such as

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...

Persis Persis (, ''Persís;'' Old Persian: 𐎱𐎠𐎼𐎿, ''Parsa''), also called Persia proper, is a historic region in southwestern Iran, roughly corresponding with Fars province. The Persian ethnic group are thought to have initially migrated ...

. Chiefly preoccupied with conflicts in the Eastern Mediterranean and with family issues, Antiochus II seems to resorted to appointing independent-minded men such like Diodotus and Andragoras as satraps in the area. These two appointments eventually resulted in the creation of the independent

Greco-Bactrian Kingdom The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom () was a Ancient Greece, Greek state of the Hellenistic period located in Central Asia, Central-South Asia. The kingdom was founded by the Seleucid Empire, Seleucid satrap Diodotus I, Diodotus I Soter in about 256 BC, ...

and the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

respectively. There is also a marked decline in quantity of Antiochus II's coinage in Bactria when compared to that of his father, which had been interpreted variously in scholarship. It has been claimed that ambitious satraps may have taken advantage of Antiochus II's absenteeism to gradually weaken their ties with the central government even in Antiochus II's lifetime without outwardly proclaiming independence. However, posthumous coinage of a popular king was a relatively common practice in the

Hellenistic Age In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the Roma ...

and Antiochus II may have minted coins in the name of his half-

Sogdia Sogdia () or Sogdiana was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya, and in present-day Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Sogdiana was also a province of the Achaemen ...

n father in order to legitimize both himself and his dynasty.

Possible relations with India

An uncertain Antiochus is mentioned in the

Edicts of Ashoka The Edicts of Ashoka are a collection of more than thirty inscriptions on the Pillars of Ashoka, as well as boulders and cave walls, attributed to Emperor Ashoka of the Maurya Empire who ruled most of the Indian subcontinent from 268 BCE to 2 ...

, as one of the recipients of the Indian Emperor

Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

proselytism Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Carrying out attempts to instill beliefs can be called proselytization. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between Chris ...

. A majority opinion however holds that the Greek king mentioned there is in fact be Antiochus II's father,

, who arguably had more proximity with the East.Translation of Jarl Charpentier 1931:303-321.Jarl Charpentier, "Antiochus, King of the Yavanas" ''Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London'' 6.2 (1931: 303-321) argues that the Antiochus mentioned was unlikely to be Antiochus II, during whose time relations with India were broken by the Parthian intrusion and the independence of Diodotus in Bactria, and suggests instead the half-Iranian

Antiochus I Antiochus I Soter (, ''Antíochos Sōtér''; "Antiochus the Savior"; 2 June 261 BC) was a Greek king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned during a period of instability which he mostly ...

, with stronger connections in the East.

Notes

External links

Antiochus II entry in 'Seleucid Genealogy'
{{DEFAULTSORT:Antiochus 02 286 BC births 246 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Seleucid monarchs 3rd-century BC murdered monarchs Deified male monarchs Deified Greek people