Seleucus IV
Seleucus IV Philopator († 175 BC ) was a king of the Seleucid Empire , which under his rule consisted of Syria , Cilicia , Palestine , Mesopotamia , Babylonia and the western part of Iran ( Media and Persia ). He was a son of Antiochus III. and the Laodike of Pontus .
He was in office since 196 BC. BC as governor of his father in Thrace , for which the old Lysimacheia was rebuilt, and fought in 189 BC. In the battle of Magnesia against the Romans . After the defeat inflicted there, the Seleucids were forced to give up Thrace and Asia Minor. Immediately thereafter, Seleucus became his father's co-regent in the entire empire and took over in 187 BC. The sole rule after the father was murdered.
The political room for maneuver of Seleucus IV was severely limited by the broken financial situation, which was caused in part by the heavy war indemnity paid to Rome in the Peace of Apamea . In order to settle this, he had, among other things, ordered the robbery of the temple treasures of Jerusalem by his minister Heliodorus . Also he had to 178 BC Send his son Demetrios to Rome as a hostage. Seleucus undertook an alliance policy with the Ptolemies in Egypt and the Antigonids in Macedonia , but this brought him into a conflict with the Attalids in Pergamon . These built his brother Antiochus IV. To the counter-pretender, but before there was a direct confrontation, Seleucus was murdered by his minister Heliodorus.
progeny
Seleucus IV was married to Laodike , who was possibly his sister and identical to the wives of the other brothers Antiochus and Antiochus IV. Your children were:
- Demetrios I Soter († 150 BC)
- Antiochus († 170 BC murdered)
- Laodike († 150 BC murdered), ⚭ 1. ⚭ with King Perseus of Macedonia , 2. ⚭ with her brother Demetrios
Since his son Demetrios was still being held in Rome when he died, Antiochus IV Epiphanes was able to take control of Syria. Formally, he was only supposed to rule on behalf of Seleucus' second son, Antiochus. However, this was murdered by Epiphanes.
additional
A limestone stele with inscriptions of Seleucus IV was recently given to the Israeli antiquity authorities in Jerusalem by an antique dealer. The 2200-year-old inscription provides more detailed information on the context of a story about Heliodorus, who, according to a legend handed down in the 2nd Book of Maccabees, was prevented by God from plundering the Temple of Jerusalem. (Source: WUB 2/2008) The otherwise unpublished stele shows a rosette of 6 petals above the writing, the symbol of the Sumerian-Babylonian Ištar .
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| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Antiochus III. |
King of the Seleucid Empire 187–175 BC Chr. |
Antiochus IV. |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Seleucus IV |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Seleucus IV Philopator |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Ruler of the Seleucid Empire (187 BC – 175 BC) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 3rd century BC Chr. |
| DATE OF DEATH | 175 BC Chr. |