Antiochus III the Great

Antiochus III the Great (c. 241 – 161 BCE, ruled April/June 222 – 161 BCE) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of Western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BCE. Rising to the throne at the age of eighteen in 222 BCE, 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 and brought peace and prosperity, especially in his last years.

Although initially unsuccessful in the Fourth Syrian War against Egypt, which led to a defeat at the Battle of Raphia (217 BCE), Antiochus would prove himself to be the greatest of the Seleucid rulers after Seleucus I himself. He spent the next ten years on his anabasis (journey) through the eastern parts of his domain and restoring rebellious vassals like Parthia and Greco-Bactria to at least nominal obedience. He gained many victories such as the Battle of Mount Labus and Battle of the Arius and besieged the Bactrian capital. Antiochus III even emulated Seleucus with an expedition into India where he met with King Sophagasenus receiving war elephants, perhaps in accordance of the existing treaty and alliance set after the Seleucid-Mauryan War.

In 212 BCE, Antiochus III made Armenia a client state, later ending the Orontid dynasty and starting the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia. He made Parthia a client state as well in 209 BCE.

When he returned to the west in 205 BCE, Antiochus III found that with the death of Ptolemy IV, the situation now looked propitious for another western campaign. Antiochus and Philip V of Macedon then made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions outside of Egypt, and in the Fifth Syrian War, the Seleucids ousted Ptolemy V from control of Coele-Syria. The Battle of Panium (200 BCE) definitively transferred these holdings from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids. Antiochus appeared, at the least, to have restored the Seleucid Kingdom to glory.

In 192 BCE, Antiochus III and Philip V of Macedon invaded the Kingdom of Thrace, Pergamon and Bithynia, in result of the Thracian League against the Seleucid Empire and his ally, Macedon. This war is known as the Thracian War (192-189 BCE). The Seleucids and Macedonians had won this war, and the Seleucid Empire seized control over Pergamon and Bithynia, while Macedonia would occupy Thrace.

In 178 BCE, he conquered the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, however Egypt managed to gain independence after his death in 161 BCE. The following years, he would bring peace and prosperity into the Seleucid Empire until his death in 161 BCE.

Image credits
By Carole Raddato from FRANKFURT, Germany - Male head wearing a head-band resembling king of Syria Antiochus III (223–187 BC), late 1st century BC–early 1st century AD, Louvre MuseumUploaded by Marcus Cyron, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30170804