Antiochus III the Great
Antiochus III the Great (/ænˈtaɪəkəs/; Greek: Ἀντίοχος ὁ Μέγας Antíokhos ho Mégas; c. 241 – 3 July 187 BC)[1] was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC.[2][3][4] He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to the throne at the age of eighteen in April/June 223 BC, his early campaigns against the Ptolemaic Kingdom were unsuccessful, but in the following years Antiochus gained several military victories and substantially expanded the empire's territory. His traditional designation, the Great, reflects an epithet he assumed. He also assumed the title Basileus Megas (Greek for "Great King"), the traditional title of the Persian kings. A militarily active ruler, Antiochus restored much of the territory of the Seleucid Empire, before suffering a serious setback, towards the end of his reign, in his war against Rome.
Antiochus III
April/June 223 – 3 July 187 BC
(36 years)
c. 241 BC
Susa, Seleucid Empire
3 July 187 BC (aged 54)
Susa, Seleucid Empire
Laodice III
Euboea of Chalcis
Declaring himself the "champion of Greek freedom against Roman domination", Antiochus III waged a four-year war against the Roman Republic beginning in mainland Greece in the autumn of 192 BC[5][6] before being decisively defeated at the Battle of Magnesia. He died three years later on campaign in the east.
In 222 BC, Antiochus III married Princess Laodice of Pontus, a daughter of King Mithridates II of Pontus and Princess Laodice of the Seleucid Empire. The couple were first cousins through their mutual grandfather, Antiochus II Theos. Antiochus and Laodice had eight children (three sons and five daughters):[25]
In 191 BC, Antiochus III married a girl from Chalcis, whom he named "Euboea". They had no children. Laodice III may have fallen in disgrace; however, she clearly survived Antiochus III, and appears in Susa in 183 BC.[26]
Antiochus and the Jews[edit]
Antiochus III resettled 2000 Jewish families from Babylonia into the Hellenistic Anatolian regions of Lydia and Phrygia.[27] Josephus portrays him as friendly towards the Jews of Jerusalem and cognizant of their loyalty to him (see Antiquities of the Jews, Book XII, Chapter 3),[28] in stark contrast to the attitude of his son. In fact, Antiochus III lowered taxes, granted subventions to the Temple, and let the Jews live, as Josephus puts it, "according to the law of their forefathers."[29]
Antiochus III is the "king of the north" referred to in Daniel 11:11-19.[30]
Books of Maccabees[edit]
Antiochus III is mentioned in the deuterocanonical Books of the Maccabees. The subject of Maccabees is the Maccabean Revolt against Antiochus' son, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Antiochus III is first mentioned in 1 Maccabees 1:10, when Antiochus IV is introduced as "son of King Antiochus [Antiochus III]". Antiochus III is mentioned later in 1 Maccabees 8, which describes Judas Maccabeus' knowledge of the deeds of the Roman Republic, including an allusion to the defeat of Antiochus III by the Romans. The NRSV says "They [the Romans] also had defeated Antiochus the Great, king of Asia, who went to fight against them with one hundred twenty elephants and with cavalry and chariots and a very large army. He was crushed by them; they took him alive and decreed that he and those who would reign after him should pay a heavy tribute and give hostages and surrender some of their best provinces, the countries of India, Media, and Lydia. These they took from him and gave to King Eumenes." (1 Maccabees 8:6-8)