Featured Ranking the First Six Seleucid Kings(with Coins!)

Hi everyone,
In this post I will try to rank the first six rulers of the Seleucid Empire in terms of success of their respective reigns. The Seleucids in my opinion are are one of the most underrated kingdoms in antiquity.
My ranking system consists of six letter categories with S being the highest and F being the lowest. Feel free to agree or disagree with my assessments in the comments below.

So lets start!

Seleucus I Nikator(The Victor)
-First known command was during Alexander's Indian campaign where he played a relatively minor role.
-Married an Bactrian woman named Apama, he was also the only known Macedonian officer that didn't divorce his wife.
-Murdered Perdiccas in 321/320 BCE
-Granted the Satrapy of Babylon, then lost said Satrapy when Antigonus I invaded his territory.
-Assisted Ptolemy I against Demetrius I at the battle of Gaza, then regained his satrapy with the assistance of 500 loyal supporters.
-Successfully fought off both Antigonus I and Demetrius I during the Babylonian war with a numerically inferior force.
-Extended his rule over all the eastern satraps
-Successfully negotiated a peace treaty with Chandragupta Maurya that exchanged some territory for 500 war elephants.
-Fast marched his army(and elephants) to reinforce Lysimachus and Cassander at Ipsus in 301 BCE , thus helping to kill Antigonus I.
-Reorganized the satrapies and placed his son, Antiochus, in charge of the eastern regions.
-Founded dozens of hellenic cities in his kingdom that encouraged mass migration of Macedonian and Greek settlers to his kingdom.
-Defeated and killed the other final Diadochi, Lysimachus, in 281 BCE.

Rating- S
Seleucus was hands down the best leader of all the six men being assessed.

Antiochus I Soter( The Savior)
-Either indirectly or directly won the Battle of Ipsus when his calvary detachment was routed by Demetrius, thus allowing Seleucus to conduct an Elephant screen, blocking Demetrius from smashing into the rear of coalitions phalanx.
-Sources are scant, but Antiochus seemed to have run a competent show during his tenure in the east. While there he ingratiated himself with the priests of Babylon who bestowed upon him the title "King of the Universe"
-After the abrupt death of Seleucus in 281 at the hands of Ptolemy Keranus it looked as if the Seleucids were to lose all their Anatolian territories to the Antigonids, Galatians, and Ptolemies. Crisis was averted though with the swift arrival of Antiochus by 280 that prevented the total collapse of Seleucid fortunes in the region.
-Successfully made peace with Antigonus II Gonatus and defeated a Celtic hoard in 276/5 with a numerically inferior force.
-His generals successfully defeated a Ptolemiac invasion of Syria.
-Lost some battles in Anatolia to Ptolemiac generals.
-Put his son Seleucus to death for treason, and elevated his son Antiochus II to rule in the east.
In his final campaign he was defeated by Pergamon in 262, though the loss didn't seem to destabilize Seleucid rule in the region.


Rating- B
Antiochus I was a competent ruler who had to fight hard to keep his fathers' empire together after his untimely death in 281. Antiochus I wasn't always successful, but he did managed to hold the vast majority of it together.


Antiochus II Theos( The God)
-Sources are scant on his rule in the east, but he seemed to have done a decent job while he was there.
-When he became King in 261, he immediately formed an alliance with Antigonus II against Ptolemy II.
-Started the 2nd Syrian war, and defeated an initial Ptolemiac invasion of Syria.
-Antiochus II along with his generals campaigned heavly in Ionia and Cillicia against the forces of Ptolemy II. For the most part the campaigns were successful with him even having a presence across the Bosphorus in Thrace.
-Antiochus II successfully deposed a tyrant named in Miletus, and in gratitude the locals bestowed upon him the title of Theos.
-Successfully concluded peace with Ptolemy II on favorable terms.

Rating- A
Antiochus II is frankly criminally underrated in my opinion, the guy made an alliance with Macedon and successfully fought the Ptolemies to a stand still in Syria and whittled away at their territories in Ionia and Cilicia.



Seleucus II Callinicus(The Triumphant One)
-Almost immediately after his father's death in 246, the Ptolemies successfully invaded Syria.
-Lost control of Bactria and Parthia.
-Seleucus II did manage to fight the Ptolemies to a standstill in Mesopotamia, but the only reason the Ptolemies came to the peace table was due to the Antigonids winning a number of naval battles, and a local Egyptian revolt.
-Lost control of Anatolia to his younger brother.
-Was defeated by the Parthians in an attempt to restore Seleucid rule in the region.
-Ended up falling from his horse and dying while campaigning in Anatolia.

Rating- F
Seleucus II's reign was a complete disaster for his kingdom.


Seleucus III Ceraunus(The Thunderbolt)
-Somehow managed to get caught in a court conspiracy in Anatolia, and piss his officers off so much that they killed him.
Rating- F
I really don't know what to add, his reign was as short as it was unremarkable.


Antiochus III Megas(The Great)
-Successfully dealt with a serous revolt in the east. (Revolt of melon)
-Campaigned extensively in the east and restored Seleucid rule, and brought Parthia and Bactria back into the empire(at least nominally).
-Reestablished direct trade with the Indian subcontinent.
-Started the Fourth Syrian war against Ptolemy IV; the war initially went well but Antiochus was defeated at Raphia in 217 BCE.
-Made an Alliance with Philip V of Macedon to divide all of Ptolemy V's Anatolian and Aegean possessions, thus starting the Fifth Syrian War.
-Won a smashing battle at Panium in 200 BCE. This battle severely weakened the Ptolemiac state, that was soon to be beset by local rebellions.
-Lost all territory west of the Taurus mountains after a series of defeats by the Roman Republic.

Rating-B or C
Antiochus III is a tough King to rank; on one hand he did reverse the serious decline that had begun with his father, but his actions inevitably did lead to the collapse of the Seleucid state down the road. It's important to remember that his victory at Panium did lead to the decline of the Ptolemies, and by the mid 100's BCE they were essentially a Roman vassal state.

 

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Nice collection!

 

Man @Magnus Maximus those are some sweet Seleucid tets you have and also loved the write up. I agree, Antiochus II is really underrated as a king. Much of his poor reputation, in my mind, is due to the plight of the Seleucid kingdom after his death. I'll add some of my favorite Seleucid tets.




And here is one I would trade a kidney to add to my collection.

 

Excellent coins and survey. It might help those not into this history to add dates and relationships to the headers:
Antiochus II Theos (The God) 261-246 BC, Son of Antiochus I

I have not studied much on the period but wonder when your reign comments do not align well with those of the easily available Sear. For example Sear gives Antiochus II "weak character, addicted to alcohol and under influence of favorites."

 

@dougsmit
I have heard that that Antiochus II was a drunk before. Perhaps it was propaganda or maybe he was a functioning alcoholic? Not to go down the rabbit hole, but if he was a functioning alcholic it could explain his sudden death in 246 due to alcoholism.

My sources for his reign
https://www.livius.org/articles/person/antiochus-ii-theos/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/260797310_The_Campaign_of_Antiochus_II_Theos_in_Thrace

 

Great collection and nice description from all the kings as well.
Seleukos I ofcourse number one for me as well, together with his son Antiochos I they formed a strong team.

To give some variety, here bronze coins from almost all your kings (except Seleukos II)

Seleukos I Nikator. Sole reign, 312-294 B.C. AE Denomination B. Apamaea mint, struck 300-280 B.C.
Obverse: Elephant standing right
Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY, horse's head left, anchor below.
Reference: SC 35


Antiochos I Soter (281 - 261 B.C.) Æ Denomination C, Antioch mint, struck ca. 268-261 B.C.
Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochus I right.
Reverse: BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXΟΥ (“of King Antiochos”). Apollo seated left on omphalos, testing arrow and resting left hand on grounded bow.
Reference: SC 351.


Antiochos II Theos (261 - 246 B.C.) Æ Denomination E, Antioch mint.
Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochus iI right.
Reverse: BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXΟΥ (“of King Antiochos”). Apollo seated left on omphalos, holding arrow and resting elbow on kithara.
Reference: SC 574.


Seleukos III Keraunos (225-222 B.C.) AE Denomination C. Antioch mint.
Obverse: Head of Apollo right.
Reverse: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣEΛEYKOY, Apollo seated left on omphalos, testing arrow and resting left hand on grounded bow.
Reference: SC 924


Antiochos III Megas (223 - 187 B.C.) Æ Denomination A. Uncertain military mint 73 associated with Ekbatana, circa 210 B.C.
Obverse: Diademed head of Antiochus III right.
Reverse: BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ANTIOXΟΥ (“of King Antiochos”). Elephant advancing right; anchor to left, monogram between legs.
Reference: SC 1275c. HGC 9, 469.