Seleucid Rulers

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Seleucus II Callinicus
Regnal Name: Seleucus II Callinicus

Seleucid Empire and Judea

246-225 BC

Seleucid king whose reign was dominated by war with Ptolemaic Egypt and conflict with his brother Antiochus Hierax.

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Seleucus III Ceraunus
Regnal Name: Seleucus III Ceraunus

Seleucid Empire and Judea

225-223 BC

Short-reigning Seleucid king whose campaign in Asia Minor ended with his assassination.

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Antiochus III the Great
Regnal Name: Antiochus III the Great

Seleucid Empire and Judea

223-187 BC

Powerful Seleucid king who defeated the Ptolemies and brought Judea under lasting Seleucid control.

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The Seleucid Empire emerged from the division of Alexander the Great's conquests and became one of the largest powers of the Hellenistic world. Founded by Seleucus I Nicator, it controlled territories stretching from Syria and Mesopotamia deep into Asia. The Seleucids repeatedly competed with Ptolemaic Egypt, particularly for control of Coele-Syria and Judea. After the victory of Antiochus III the Great over the Ptolemies around 200 BC, Judea passed firmly under Seleucid authority.

Relations with the Jewish population deteriorated dramatically under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Political conflict within Judea was followed by restrictions on traditional Jewish worship and the desecration of the Jerusalem Temple in 167 BC. These actions provoked the Maccabean Revolt, led initially by Mattathias and his sons. The Temple was recaptured and rededicated in 164 BC, an event commemorated by Hanukkah. Continued Seleucid civil wars allowed Jonathan, Simon, and later John Hyrcanus I to expand Jewish autonomy. By the late second century BC, weakening Seleucid power had enabled the Hasmoneans to establish an effectively independent Jewish state.