Zeuxis (Seleucid Empire)

Zeuxis (Greek: Zεῦξις) was an important politician of the Seleucid Empire during the reign of Antiochus the Great . From 213 to 190 BC Zeuxis acted as viceroy of Asia Minor .

Life

Zeuxis was a son of the Macedonian Cynagos and part of the Hellenistic upper class in the Seleucid Empire. When Antiochus the Great 223 BC When he ascended the throne, Molon , the governor- general of the upper satrapies , rose against the young king. Imperial Chancellor Hermeias convinced Antiochus to send only the generals Xenon and Theodotos against Molon in order to prepare himself for the planned conquest of Koile Syria. Zeuxis took 221 BC. As an officer in the punitive expedition against Molon and was in command of the camp during a battle on the Tigris . The two royal generals suffered a heavy defeat, but Zeuxis was able to save at least part of the army.

During the second campaign against Molon a year later, Zeuxis acted as advisor to the king, who this time had taken command himself. Hermeias' war plan was to march along this side of the Tigris and cross the river later, but Zeuxis disagreed: First, he thought the road on this side of the Tigris was too strenuous, as it would have required several days to cross the desert. Second, a later crossing of the river might have been prevented by Molon's forces. Thirdly, by penetrating his opponent's sphere of influence early on, Zeuxis wanted to cut him off from a possible retreat into the media . Zeuxis prevailed against Hermeias and the Seleucid army crossed the Tigris as early as possible. In the victorious decisive battle against Molon in 220 BC Zeuxis commanded the left wing of the army together with Hermeias.

From then on, Zeuxis was one of the king's most important friends . Antiochus conquered in 213 BC Asia Minor, which had been in the hands of his uncle Achaios since 220 . Before the king set off to the east on his eight-year anabasis , he installed Zeuxis as the new viceroy (general governor) of Asia Minor. This held an office that, with a few exceptions such as Molon, had previously only gone to members of the Seleucid dynasty. The trusting relationship between king and governor was also reflected in their correspondence, in which Antiochus addressed Zeuxis, who was about ten years older than him, as "father". Like other Seleucid governors before him, Zeuxis resided in Sardis from now on . Due to the difficult communication in the Seleucid Empire, Zeuxis had to make decisions relatively independently in the following years.

Zeuxis made his last appearance during the Roman-Syrian War . In the decisive Battle of Magnesia in 190 BC Zeuxis had command of the right wing of the army. Immediately after the defeat by the Romans , Zeuxis was sent to them as a negotiator. A year later he negotiated the peace of Apamea in Rome . As a result, Asia Minor fell to the Romans, whereupon Zeuxis' function as viceroy came to an end after more than twenty years.

literature

swell

• Polybios : Historíai book 5, 46-60; Book 16, 42; Book 21, 16-24

Secondary literature

• John D. Grainger: A Seleukid Prosopography and Gazetteer . Brill, Leiden and Boston 1997, ISBN 90-04-10799-1 .