Antiochus II
Antiochus II. Theos ( Greek : Ἀντίοχος Θεός; * 286 BC ; † 246 BC ) was a ruler of the Seleucid Empire as the successor to his father Antiochus I Soter . His mother was Stratonike , the daughter of Demetrios I Poliorketes .
Antiochus inherited the state in the middle of the second Syrian war with Egypt , which was fought along the coasts of Asia Minor . Antiochus made attempts to gain a foothold in Thrace . During the war he was given the nickname Theos (Greek for "God") by the Milesern after he had freed them from the tyranny of Timarchus. In alliance with Rhodes and Antigonos II Gonatas, he was able to prevail as far as possible in Asia Minor against Egypt. Ephesus and Cilicia , which had been lost before , were regained.
In Bactria , his satrap Diodotos rose in 255 and became the founder of the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom , which extended to India by 180 BC , where it formed the Graeco-Indian Kingdom (180 BC-1 BC) . Around 250 Arsakes I revolted in Parthia , which led to the loss of these provinces.
During this time Antiochus made peace with Ptolemy II of Egypt, which ended the Second Syrian War . He disowned his wife Laodike and married Ptolemy 'daughter Berenike in order to seal the contract. In 246, however, Antiochus had left Berenike and her young son in Antioch in order to live again with Laodike in Asia Minor. Only the Syriake of Apian from Alexandria (from the 2nd century AD) claim that Laodike poisoned her ex-husband and speaks of "husband murder"; therefore this theory is highly controversial. After the death of Antiochus II a dispute broke out about his successor. Laodike claimed that Antiochus had transferred rule to their son Seleucus II, Kallinikos , while still on his death bed , and now wanted to crown him as the new king. A violent dispute broke out over the question of the succession, in the course of which Ptolemy III. avenged his sister Berenike, who had recently been killed, and killed Laodice.
According to the 13th Great Edict of Ashoka , the Indian king sent around 250 "religious commissioners" ( dharmamahāmātra ) to the kingdom of Antiochus. How far this “religion” corresponded to Buddhism of its time is questionable.
From his first marriage to his cousin Laodike he had four children:
- Seleucus II
- Antiochus Hierax
- Stratonike, ∞ with King Ariarathes III. of Cappadocia
- Laodike , ∞ with Mithridates II of Pontus
With his second wife Berenike he had a son who was murdered by Laodike with his mother.
literature
- Ulrich Wilcken : Antiochus 22 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume I, 2, Stuttgart 1894, Col. 2455-2457.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Dr. Jordan Iliev. "The Campaign of Antiochus II Theos in Thrace" - History Studies. International Journal of History , 2013, 5/1, pp. 211-222. ( Memento of the original from March 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Antiochus I. |
King of the Seleucid Empire 261–246 BC Chr. |
Seleucus II |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Antiochus II |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Antiochus II. Theos |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | King of the Seleucid Empire |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 286 BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 246 BC Chr. |