Antiochus (; el, Ἀντίoχoς; killed c. 226 BC), called Hierax (, Ἱέραξ, "Hawk") for his grasping and ambitious character, was the younger son of

Antiochus II Antiochus II Theos ( grc-gre, Ἀντίοχος Θεός, ; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire who reigned from 261 to 246 BC. He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC. He wa ...

and

Laodice I Laodice I ( el, Λαοδίκη; flourished 3rd century BC, died before 236 BC) was a Greek noblewoman of Anatolia who was a close relative of the early Seleucid dynasty and was the first wife of the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus II Theos. Family ...

and separatist leader in the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

Seleucid kingdom The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the M ...

, who ruled as

king of Syria The title King of Syria appeared in the second century BC in referring to the Seleucid kings who ruled the entirety of the region of Syria. It was also used to refer to Aramean kings in the Greek translations of the Old Testament, mainly indicatin ...

during his brother's reign.

Life

King of Syria

Youngest son of

and

, he was thirteen when his father died in 246 BC. That death led to 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 ...

. A year later, probably under the influence of his mother, Antiochus demands the possession of Asia Minor from his brother

Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon ( el, ; ''Kallinikos'' means "beautifully triumphant"; ''Pogon'' means "the Beard"; July/August 265 BC – December 225 BC),, . was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 BC to 225 BC. Faced ...

and quickly declares his independence in order to expand his territory and his authority. Seleucus, struggling against the ptolemaic forces, has no choice but to accept.

War of the Brothers

In 241 BC, Seleucus made peace with

Ptolemy III Euergetes , predecessor = Ptolemy II , successor = Ptolemy IV , nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land , nebty_hiero ...

and then tried to recover the territories his brother took from him. Ready for the war, Hierax sought the help of two strong allies :

Mithridates II of Pontus Mithridates II (in Greek Mιθριδάτης; lived 3rd century BC), third king of Pontus and son of Ariobarzanes, whom he succeeded on the throne. Early life He was a minor when his father died, but the date of his accession cannot be determi ...

and Ariarathes III of Cappadocia and thus constitutes a vast coalition of Anatolian states :

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Re ...

, Bithynia and a certain number of

Galatians Galatians may refer to: * Galatians (people) * Epistle to the Galatians, a book of the New Testament * English translation of the Greek ''Galatai'' or Latin ''Galatae'', ''Galli,'' or ''Gallograeci'' to refer to either the Galatians or the Gauls in ...

. After a first loss in Lydia, he decimated his brother's army in the

Battle of Ancyra The Battle of Ancyra was fought in ca. 239 BC between the Seleucid King Seleucus II Callinicus and his brother Prince Antiochus Hierax. Civil war had raged in the Seleucid Empire since 244 BC, when Queen Laodice I had supported her son Antioc ...

in ca. 239 BC and then ruled over Asia Minor - where he developed a coinage while his brother had to go in Iran to stop a rebellion in

Parthia Parthia ( peo, 𐎱𐎼𐎰𐎺 ''Parθava''; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭕𐭅 ''Parθaw''; pal, 𐭯𐭫𐭮𐭥𐭡𐭥 ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Med ...

Against Attalus I

In c. 238, Antiochus and his Galatians allies attacked

Pergamon Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...

but had to face its powerful ruler

Attalus I Attalus I ( grc, Ἄτταλος Α΄), surnamed ''Soter'' ( el, , "Savior"; 269–197 BC) ruled Pergamon, an Ionian Greek polis (what is now Bergama, Turkey), first as dynast, later as king, from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the fi ...

. Attalus defeated the Gauls and Antiochus at the battle of Aphrodisium and again at a second battle in the east. Subsequent battles were fought and won against Antiochus alone: in Hellespontine Phrygia, where Antiochus was perhaps seeking refuge with his father-in law, Ziaelas of Bithynia; near Sardis in the spring of 228 BC; and, in the final battle of the campaign, further south in

Caria Caria (; from Greek: Καρία, ''Karia''; tr, Karya) was a region of western Anatolia extending along the coast from mid- Ionia (Mycale) south to Lycia and east to Phrygia. The Ionian and Dorian Greeks colonized the west of it and joined ...

on the banks of the Harpasus, a tributary of the Maeander.Hansen, Esther V. (1971). The Attalids of Pergamon. Cornell University Press. , p.34-35 All his possessions taken away, Antiochus still tried to replace his brother in Syria and

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

, taking advantage of the fact that his brother was in Iran. He ultimately failed and got killed in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

in 226 BC.

Marriage relations

Antiokhos Hierax had two wives: - daughter of the ruler of Kappadokia (see Ariarathes III of Cappadocia) whose country he was allied with at least in 230 BCE. - daughter of

king of Bithynia King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen regnant, queen, which title is also given to the queen consort, consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contempora ...

whose country he was also allied with. Both these were daughters of royal families with whom Hierax allied with, for alliance against his elder brother Seleukos II. His sister Laodike was married with his ally, king

. See also Laodice.

Notes

References

External links

Antiochus Hierax
article in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith

list of sources at ''attalus.org'' ---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Hierax, Antiochus Seleucid rulers Year of birth unknown 220s BC deaths