The Seleucid Empire arose in the years following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE and the subsequent division of his empire. Alexander’s generals each ruled part of the empire, including Seleucus I who became leader of the Babylonian territory in 319 BCE as a reward for having helped Alexander eliminate the regent Perdiccas
[1]
. This date does not however mark the start of the Seleucid Empire as Seleucus was ousted by the rival Antigonus in 315 BCE and did not return to power until 312 BCE, after which the Seleucid Empire truly began as Seleucus began to extent his domain to create an empire large enough to include territories in the Central Asian steppe to European Thrace
[2]
. Seleucus’ territorial achievements were matched by only one of his successors, Antiochus III, whose rule began 60 years later. The last rulers of the empire could not match the charisma and drive of these earlier rulers, especially in the face of growing powers to the west and east of the empire (Rome and Parthia respectively). The empire declined in size and influence until it was taken over by Rome in 63 BCE.
The Seleucid Empire continued to exert the Hellenistic influences of Alexander the Great’s empire, but like Alexander, the rulers of the Seleucid Empire generally allowed other religions and languages to continue and flourish (a notable exception being the persecution of the Jews by Antiochus IV)
[3]
. Most written documents are in Greek and contain valuable information about the empire, the battles fought and the kings who ruled. The documents are however far from complete and many aspects of the empire are either inferred from other sources or remain unknown. Overall it can be surmised that the Seleucid Empire was ruled by one king at a time who held central authority, but who exerted that authority through his commanders, or satraps, in the various territories of the empire
[4]
. This both gave the king a great amount of power but also made him vulnerable to the ambitions of his satraps, the most notable example being the betrayal of the general Achaios who in 220 BCE took the territories of Asia Minor for himself after conducting campaigns there on behalf of Antiochus III
[5]
.
[1]: (Sherwin-White and Kurht 1993, 10) S Sherwin-White. A Kurht. 1993. From Samarkhand to Sardis; A new approach to the Seleucid empire. London: Duckworth.
[2]: (Kosmin 2013, 678) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689.
[3]: (Kosmin 2013, 684-685) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689.
[4]: (Kosmin 2013, 680) P J Kosmin. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689.
[5]: (Ager 2012, 421) S L Ager. 2012. The Alleged Rapprochement between Achaios and Attalos I in 220 BCE. Historia. 61 (4), pp. 421-429.
| nominal allegiance to [---] |
| Greek |
| Parthian Empire I |
| [4,500,000 to 5,000,000] km2 |
| continuity |
| Preceding: Macedonian Empire (gr_macedonian_emp) [continuity] |
| unitary state | |
| confederated state |
| [50,000 to 100,000] people |
| 3,600,000 km2 | 312 BCE 201 BCE |
| [2,300,000 to 475,000] km2 | 200 BCE 147 BCE |
| 16,000,000 people | |
| 30,000,000 people |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| present |
| inferred present |
| absent |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| inferred present |
| present |
| inferred present |
| unknown |
| present |
| present |
| present |
| Year Range | Seleucids (ir_seleucid_emp) was in: |
|---|---|
| (312 BCE 300 BCE) | Southern Mesopotamia Susiana |
| (300 BCE 281 BCE) | Southern Mesopotamia Susiana Sogdiana |
| (281 BCE 249 BCE) | Southern Mesopotamia Susiana Konya Plain Sogdiana |
| (249 BCE 200 BCE) | Southern Mesopotamia Susiana Konya Plain |
| (200 BCE 190 BCE) | Southern Mesopotamia Susiana Galilee Konya Plain |
| (190 BCE 144 BCE) | Southern Mesopotamia Susiana Galilee |
| (144 BCE 104 BCE) | Galilee |
Also known as Seleuceia on the Tigris [1] or Seleukeia-Tigris [2] , the city was founded by Seleucus I, probably in 305 BCE. The city grew to a population of 50,000-100,000 inhabitants in an area of roughly 550 hectares [3] .
[1]: Joannes, F. 2004. The Age of Empires: Mesopotamia in the first millennium BC. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p230
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p20
[3]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p94
The range of dates given correspond with two main periods of the Seleucid Empire. The empire reached a peak in territory and population during the reign of it’s first king, Seleucus I, when the empire took it’s ’final form’
[1]
. A second peak in territory and population size occurred during the reign of Antiochus III ’The Great’ (223 BCE - 187 BCE), who reconquered lost territory and reaffirmed the status of the empire
[2]
.
[1]: Dreyer, B. 2011. How to Become a "Relative" of the King: Careers and Hierarchy at the court of Antiochus III. American Journal of Philology, 132 (1), pp. 45-57. p49
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p57.
The range of dates given correspond with two main periods of the Seleucid Empire. The empire reached a peak in territory and population during the reign of it’s first king, Seleucus I, when the empire took it’s ’final form’
[1]
. A second peak in territory and population size occurred during the reign of Antiochus III ’The Great’ (223 BCE - 187 BCE), who reconquered lost territory and reaffirmed the status of the empire
[2]
.
[1]: Dreyer, B. 2011. How to Become a "Relative" of the King: Careers and Hierarchy at the court of Antiochus III. American Journal of Philology, 132 (1), pp. 45-57. p49
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p57.
The rule of the first king of the Seleucid Empire, Seleucus I, began when he was apportioned the satrapy of Babylonia in 319 BCE after the death of Alexander the Great
[1]
. However, in 315 BCE Seleucus was overthrown by Antigonus, but regained power in 312 BCE and began to extend the kingdom. The beginning of the empire is therefore generally agreed to start from Seleucus’ return to power in 312 BCE
[1]
[2]
.
The end of the empire was characterized by a decline from the former power of the kings, to the extent that Aperghis (2004, p27, 298) argues that after 129 BCE, when King Antiochus VII committed suicide in Media, the Seleucid Empire had degraded to the Seleucid Kingdom, and would only decline further. Opposition from the indigenous population and from growing rival states (the Parthians and Romans) culminated in irreversible decline for the Seleucids.
[3]
The remaining polity was eventually overtaken by the growing Roman empire in 64/63 BCE
[4]
[5]
.
[1]: Sherwin-White, S. Kurht, A. 1993. From Samarkhand to Sardis: A new approach to the Seleucid Empire. London: Duckworth. pp.9-10.
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p19
[3]: Kosmin, P. J. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. p686
[4]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p27
[5]: Kosmin, P. J. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p686
km squared.
The Seleucid kings kept as much power as possible in their own hands, and had the final authority over decisions of the state, including the appointment of regional governors
[1]
[2]
.
"Prior to the Parthians, political systems in Southwest Asia were for the most part relatively loose confederations in which central government ruled their ’empires’ through unstable alliances with vassals and satraps. Even Hammurabi, Darius, and Alexander were only temporarily successful in linking their centralized governments to local administrative institutions, particularly outside of the core areas of Greater Mesopotamia."
[3]
[1]: Dreyer, B. 2011. How to Become a "Relative" of the King: Careers and Hierarchy at the court of Antiochus III. American Journal of Philology, 132 (1), pp. 45-57. p53
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p152
[3]: (Wenke, Robert J. 1981. Elymeans, Parthians, and the Evolution of Empires in Southwestern Iran. Journal of the American Oriental Society. Vol. 101. No. 3. Jul-Sep. American Oriental Society. pp. 303-315. http://www.jstor.org/stable/602592
The Seleucid kings kept as much power as possible in their own hands, and had the final authority over decisions of the state, including the appointment of regional governors
[1]
[2]
.
"Prior to the Parthians, political systems in Southwest Asia were for the most part relatively loose confederations in which central government ruled their ’empires’ through unstable alliances with vassals and satraps. Even Hammurabi, Darius, and Alexander were only temporarily successful in linking their centralized governments to local administrative institutions, particularly outside of the core areas of Greater Mesopotamia."
[3]
[1]: Dreyer, B. 2011. How to Become a "Relative" of the King: Careers and Hierarchy at the court of Antiochus III. American Journal of Philology, 132 (1), pp. 45-57. p53
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p152
[3]: (Wenke, Robert J. 1981. Elymeans, Parthians, and the Evolution of Empires in Southwestern Iran. Journal of the American Oriental Society. Vol. 101. No. 3. Jul-Sep. American Oriental Society. pp. 303-315. http://www.jstor.org/stable/602592
Greek was used for most written documents. [1] Local languages presumably continued to be spoken (as the Seleucids allowed local religious cults to continue practicing without imposed Hellenistic influences [2] , but the textual bias is towards Greek written documents.
[1]: Joannes, F. 2004. The Age of Empires: Mesopotamia in the first millennium BC. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p252.
[2]: Kosmin, P. J. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. p685
squared kilometers. Estimated using maps and Google Maps Area Calculator.
Territory in 300 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant
Territory in 200 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast).
200 BCE Greek City dug up in Bahrain.
[1]
Territory in 100 BCE
Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant
[1]: Smith, Sylvia. 2013. Bahrain digs unveil one of oldest civilisations. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22596270
squared kilometers. Estimated using maps and Google Maps Area Calculator.
Territory in 300 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant
Territory in 200 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast).
200 BCE Greek City dug up in Bahrain.
[1]
Territory in 100 BCE
Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant
[1]: Smith, Sylvia. 2013. Bahrain digs unveil one of oldest civilisations. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22596270
Aperghis (2004)
[1]
[14,000,000-18,000,000]: 281 BCE. The estimated figure was calculated using information from the peak of the empire in 281 BCE. The population fluctuated as different kings won and lost territory.
Ehrenberg (2013)
[2]
30,000,000: ??? BCE
Territory in 300 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant
Territory in 200 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast).
Territory in 100 BCE
Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleucid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p58
[2]: (Ehrenberg 2013, 148) Ehrenberg, V. 2013. The Greek State (Routledge Library Editions: Political Science Volume 23). Routledge.
Aperghis (2004)
[1]
[14,000,000-18,000,000]: 281 BCE. The estimated figure was calculated using information from the peak of the empire in 281 BCE. The population fluctuated as different kings won and lost territory.
Ehrenberg (2013)
[2]
30,000,000: ??? BCE
Territory in 300 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Transoxania, Syria and the Levant
Territory in 200 BCE
Iran, Iraq, Syria and the Levant, south eastern half of Anatolia (excluding patches of the coast).
Territory in 100 BCE
Northern Iraq, Syria and the Levant
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleucid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p58
[2]: (Ehrenberg 2013, 148) Ehrenberg, V. 2013. The Greek State (Routledge Library Editions: Political Science Volume 23). Routledge.
levels.
1. Capital (50,000-100,000 inhabitants), at Seleucid-on-the Tigris.
[1]
2. Major city (20,000-50,000 inhabitants) (e.g.Seleukeia-Pieria, 250-300ha; Antioch, 225ha; Apameia, 205-255ha; Laodikeia, 220ha)
[2]
3. Large city (10,000-20,000 inhabitants) (e.g. Kyrrhos, Chalkis, Beroia and Seleukeia-Zeugma, 65-100ha)
[2]
4. Small city (5,000-10,000 inhabitants) (e.g. Doura-Europos, Djebel Khaled)
[2]
5. Town (inferred, based on references to cities and villages)6. Village (e.g Baitokaike, recorded to have been given to a sanctuary of Zeus)
[3]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p94
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p92-3
[3]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p110
The Seleucid kings (and occasionally the queens) were portrayed as divine beings and so acted as the head of religious order in the empire. The high priests were appointed by the king to be responsible for the temples in territories or satrapies of the empire, which included dealing with the temple high priests (for example, in matters of state funding and provisions).
[1]
The local priests include for example the three priests of the shrine to Sarapis and Isis at Laodicea-by-the-Sea, who complained about the number of statues being erected on their land.
[2]
1. King
2. Chief priest3. Temple high priest4. Local or shrine priest
[1]: Wright, N. L. Divine Kings and Sacred Spaces: power and religion in Hellenistic Syria (301-64 BC). Oxford: Archaeopress. pp51-55.
[2]: Wright, N. L. Divine Kings and Sacred Spaces: power and religion in Hellenistic Syria (301-64 BC). Oxford: Archaeopress. pp145.
The military levels provided here are an outline of the Seleucid army. There were many other titles and subsets of command within the army, different provinces and over time which are discussed by Bar-Kochva.
[1]
1. King
- the king often took command of the storm troops (mainly cavalry) in campaign battles, or commanded from behind the front lines with other groups of troops.
[2]
2. strategoi- the senior commanders of the army.
[3]
3. hipparchoi- the officers of the cavalry and infantry of the army.
[3]
4. hegemones5. and soldiers- the rank and file soldiers of the army.
[3]
[1]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p85-93.
[2]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p85.
[3]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p92.
levels.
"Prior to the Parthians, political systems in Southwest Asia were for the most part relatively loose confederations in which central government ruled their ’empires’ through unstable alliances with vassals and satraps. Even Hammurabi, Darius, and Alexander were only temporarily successful in linking their centralized governments to local administrative institutions, particularly outside of the core areas of Greater Mesopotamia."
[1]
1. King
[2]
[3]
2. Relatives of the King
[2]
3. Circles of philoi:
[3]
(a) “First ranking” (protoi philoi)
[2]
(b) “Esteemed” (timoumenoi philoi)
[2]
(c) “Friends” (philoi)
[2]
_Central government_
2. Heads of financial administration, satrap governance and local military commanders within each satrap.
[4]
Head generals and officials
[3]
(e.g. the General Commander of the Upper Satrapies.)
[5]
3. Dioiketes- responsible for finances within the satrapies of royal land, revenue and expenditure, and possibly also supervised royal mints and registry offices.
[4]
4. Level between head of royal mint and Dioiketes?5. Head of a royal mint inferred6. Worker in a royal mint inferred
4.5.
3. Eklogistai- under the dioikētai and responsible for setting the level of taxation.
[4]
4.5.
3. Oikonomoi- ‘managed royal land and revenue, one it had been received, and also controlled expenditure in their financial districts.’
[4]
4.5.
3. hoi epi tōn hierōn (a separate group)- supervised temples and their revenue.
[4]
4.5.
_Provincial line_
1. King
2. Satrapies governed by a strategosCivil, financial and military powers separated since Alexander’s reform of the Persian system.
[6]
"in all the lands east of the Euphrates the Seleucids had a more complete system of internal subdivision; it was a threefold division - satrapy, eparchy, hyparchy - corresponding roughly to the threefold division in Ptolemaic Egypt of nome, topos, village, the nome like the satrapy, being under a strategos or general. This threefold administrative division in each of the two empires must, one supposes, have had a common origin, but what it was is unknown. As the smallest administrative unit in Egypt was the village and in Seleucid east the hyparchy - a district would comprise a number of villages - the organisation of the Seleucid east was of necessity much looser than that of Egypt; the hyparchy, however, for purposes of land registration, was again subdivided into fortified posts called stathmoi - originally post stations on the main roads, the Seleucids having taken over the Persian postal system - each stathmos being the centre of a subdivision comprising so many villages."
[7]
3. Eparchy"So far as is known at present, the eparchy was a Seleucid innovation."
[6]
4. Hyparchy
5. Stathmoi
_Autonomous Cities_
2. Leader of city/council inferred"Seleucid and Parthian cities were self-governing and controlled considerable territories independent of the central government."
[8]
3. Department in city administration? inferred4.5.
[1]: (Wenke, Robert J. 1981. Elymeans, Parthians, and the Evolution of Empires in Southwestern Iran. Journal of the American Oriental Society. Vol. 101. No. 3. Jul-Sep. American Oriental Society. pp. 303-315. http://www.jstor.org/stable/602592
[2]: Dreyer, B. 2011. How to Become a Relative of the King: Careers and Hierarchy at the court of Antiochus III. American Journal of Philology. 132 (1) pp45-57. p48.
[3]: Ramsey, G. 2011. Seleucid Administration - Effectiveness and Dysfunction Among Officials. In, Erickson, K. and Ramsey, G. Seleucid Dissolution: The Sinking of the Anchor. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp37-50. p38
[4]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p295
[5]: Kosmin, P. J. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. p.680
[6]: (Tam 2010, 2) Tam, W W. 2010. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press.
[7]: (Tam 2010, 1-2) Tam, W W. 2010. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press.
[8]: (Lambton 2011) Lambton, Ann K S. 2011. CITIES iii. Administration and Social Organization. Encyclopedia Iranica. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/cities-iii
A regular force of soldiers and mercenaries were employed by the Seleucid kings. [1] This included up to 30,000 regular soldiers, 8,000 cavalry and 16,000 mercenary soldiers for various major campaigns. [2]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p197
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p191
An example of a priesthood is recorded through the complaint made by the priests of Sarapis and Isis in Laodicea by the Sea about the number of statues being erected on their land. [1]
[1]: Sosin, J. 2005. Unwelcome Dedications: Public Law and Private Religion in Hellenistic Laodicea by the Sea. The Classical Quarterly, New Series. 55 (1) pp130-139.
Includes mints, such as one established at Seleucid-on-the-Tigris by Seleucus I [1] , and garrisons which ‘…might also serve as local administrative centres, treasuries and depots of supplies and material for the administration and army.’ [2] It is also likely that specialized council buildings (bouleuterion) were used in cities such as Antioch-in-Persis, based on evidence for council meetings and the existence of similar buildings under Greek rule. [3]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p214
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p199
[3]: Kosmin, P. J. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. p682
An example is the position of dioiketes, or ‘the financial counterpart of the strategos/satrap in each satrapy and the oikonomoi of the hyparchs’. [1]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p280
Evidence for professional lawyers was not discussed in the literature, but may have been present based on the presence of a formal legal code and magistrates. [1] Present for the Achaemenids.
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Motions for governance were created by the city council (boule) and assembly (ekklesia) with an executive body (prytaneis) to be passed by the citizen body (dēmos) in cities such as Antioch-in-Persis [1] , but these rules presumably only applied to the local city or satrapy rather than the empire as a whole. An example may be the public decree issued by a council of elders and magristrates in Laodicea, which caused three priests to complain. [2]
[1]: Kosmin, P. J. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. p682-3.
[2]: Sosin, J. 2005. Unwelcome Dedications: Public Law and Private Religion in Hellenistic Laodicea by the Sea. The Classical Quarterly, New Series. 55 (1) pp130-139. p130
Evidence for courts was not discussed in the literature, but may have been present based on the presence of a formal legal code and magistrates. [1]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Markets were introduced to non-urban areas partly so as to impose coinage-taxation on farmers, rather than taxation paid in kind. [1]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p31-2, p69
"From the earliest times [in Babylonia], the flow of water was controlled for agricultural purposes by an elaborate system of canals, sluices, dams, embankments, and dikes." [1] Irrigation farming formed part of the base of Seleucid economy (along with dry-subsistence farming along the Mediterranean seaboard). Irrigation was used along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers and their tributaries. [2] "Iranians were the inventors of qanats ... during the Archaemenid era there appeared an extensive system of underground networks known as qanats" [3]
[1]: (Neusner 2008, 1-2) Neusner, Jacob. 2008. A History of the Jews in Babylonia. 1. The Parthian Period. Wipf & Stock. Eugene.
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p59
[3]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 97) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.
Persians may have had the technical know-how to implement drinking water supply systems. Earlier the Archaemenids c400 BCE considered piped water and sewers in a plan for the reconstruction of a city [1] whilst the Sassanians in 326 CE rebuilt the city of Susa "including water flowing in every house, a sewer system and a laundry in each neighbourhood (Hashami, 2010)." [2] [2]
[1]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 94) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012.Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.
[2]: (Mahmoudian and Mahmoudian 2012, 95) Angelakis A N, Mays L W, Koutsoyiannis, D. 2012. Evolution of Water Supply Through the Millennia. IWA Publishing.
Inferred, as the previous Persian road network would probably have been used and maintained [1] , and there is evidence for long-distance trade routes from India to the Mediterranean [2] .
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p211
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p76
Ports were present on the Mediterranean coast and on eastern coasts connecting to India along the coast of Baluchistan. For example, the Seleucid port Alexandria, later Antioch-on-the-Erythraean Sea. [1] .
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p77
The rivers Tigris and Euphrates and Eulaios were used for transportation. The Seleucids also constructed a link between the Eulaios river and the sea, and probably maintained the Persian Pallakotas canal. [1] .
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p211
" "Babylonian astronomy, astrology, mathematics, and medicine were studied and developed by Greek inhabitants of the region [of Babylonia], and Babylonian astrology flooded the western world." [1] Mathematics and astronomy were written in cuneiform (even when most literature was written in Greek). [2]
[1]: (Neusner 2008, 4) Neusner, Jacob. 2008. A History of the Jews in Babylonia. 1. The Parthian Period. Wipf & Stock. Eugene.
[2]: Joannes, F. 2004. The Age of Empires: Mesopotamia in the first millennium BC. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p254.
"Iranians were familiar with Greek philosophy from the Achaemenid period." [1] "Babylonian astronomy, astrology, mathematics, and medicine were studied and developed by Greek inhabitants of the region [of Babylonia], and Babylonian astrology flooded the western world." [2]
[1]: (Tafazzoli 1996, 90) Tafazzoli, A. and Khromov, A. L. Sasanian Iran: Intellectual Life. in Litvinsky, B. A. ed. and Iskender-Mochiri, I. ed. 1996. History of Civilizations of Central Asia. Volume III. The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. pp.82-105. unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0010/001046/104612e.pdf
[2]: (Neusner 2008, 4) Neusner, Jacob. 2008. A History of the Jews in Babylonia. 1. The Parthian Period. Wipf & Stock. Eugene.
For example, the Mnesimachos inscription, where Mnesimachis listed the land grants he’d received from Antigonos and the annual tribute from each grant of land. [1]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p137
Silver coins (’tetradrachms’) were introduced by the Seleucid kings after Seleucus I in order to increase the royal revenue. The kings needed money to pay mercenary soldiers and cover military expenses to defend the kingdom. Gold coins were also used as a higher denomination of money, after the ‘Alexanders’ which were in use during the reign of Alexander. [1]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p31-2, p64
Foreign coins circulated freely alongside the Seleucid silver coinage (mainly ‘tetradrachms’). [1] [2]
[1]: Holt, F. 2007. Review of ‘The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire’ by Aperghis, G. G. The Classical Journal. 102 (2) pp180-181
[2]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p78
Seleucids took over the Persian postal system. "... originally post stations on the main roads, the Seleucids having taken over the Persian postal system - each stathmos being the centre of a subdivision comprising so many villages." [1]
[1]: (Tam 2010, 2) Tam, W W. 2010. The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press.
The following is described, however unclear if used by private individuals: "In Persia the postal service appears to have originated in the Achaemenid period. ... There were way stations where the couriers could rest and where fresh horses could be obtained. ... Under the Sasanians a similar postal system appears to have been in operation; in a peace treaty concluded with Byzantium in a.d. 561 one clause stipulated that envoys should be supplied with mounts at the postal stations maintained by both empires.(Blockley, p. 212, clause 3; Camb. Hist. Iran III/1, p. 574; cf. Christensen, p. 129)" [1]
[1]: (Floor, Willem. 1990. Encyclopaedia Iranica. Vol. IV, Fasc. 7, pp. 764-768. http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/capar-or-capar-turk)
Present in previous and subsequent periods.
Present in previous and subsequent periods.
Garrisons were widely used throughout the empire, including in cities to, ‘…guard against possible uprisings, to provide security for the local population, so that it could go about its daily activites, and to ensure that tribute was collected by financial officials of the administration.’ [1]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p199
Present in previous and subsequent periods.
For example, Jebel Khalid, a settlement founded by the Seleucids, with an outer wall and inner wall around the acropolis palace. [1]
[1]: Wright, N. L. 2011.The Last days of a Seleucid City: Jebel Khalid in the Euphrates and its Temple. In, Erickson, K. and Ramsey, G. Seleucid Dissolution: The Sinking of the Anchor. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, pp117-132. p119
May have imported high quality steel. Was the Artaxerxes sword a ’trophy weapon’ or representative of swords used by elite Persian forces? Could the same thing be said up until the time of the first manufacture of Damascene swords? "It is believed that Indian steel was exported in the early centuries A.D. and was known even in the time of Alexander. By the sixth century there is more definite evidence of the manufacture of Damascene swords and the steel used for this purpose came from India." [1] Artaxerxes II of Persia (Achaemenids, ruled around 400 BCE) had a Greek physician called Ctesias of Cnidus who was impressed by his sword of Indian steel. [2] [3]
[1]: (Abraham 1988, 171) Meera Abraham. 1988. Two medieval merchant guilds of south India. Manohar Publications.
[2]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
[3]: (Ramsey 2016) Ramsey, Syed. 2016. Tools of War: History of Weapons in Ancient Times. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd.
May have imported high quality steel. Was the Artaxerxes sword a ’trophy weapon’ or representative of swords used by elite Persian forces? Could the same thing be said up until the time of the first manufacture of Damascene swords? "It is believed that Indian steel was exported in the early centuries A.D. and was known even in the time of Alexander. By the sixth century there is more definite evidence of the manufacture of Damascene swords and the steel used for this purpose came from India." [1] Artaxerxes II of Persia (Achaemenids, ruled around 400 BCE) had a Greek physician called Ctesias of Cnidus who was impressed by his sword of Indian steel. [2] [3]
[1]: (Abraham 1988, 171) Meera Abraham. 1988. Two medieval merchant guilds of south India. Manohar Publications.
[2]: (Singh 1997) Sarva Daman Singh. 1997. Ancient Indian Warfare: With Special Reference to the Vedic Period. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. Delhi.
[3]: (Ramsey 2016) Ramsey, Syed. 2016. Tools of War: History of Weapons in Ancient Times. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd.
"The only evidence for any knowledge of the use of siege engines East of the Roman frontier comes from Vani in Georgia where ballista shot of various calibres were found." [1] However, tension siege engines are coded as present in previous and subsequent periods.
[1]: (Raschke 1976, 819) Raschke, Manfred G. in Haase, Wolfgang ed. 1976. Politische Geschichte (Provinzen und Randvölker: Mesopotamien, Armenien, Iran, Südarabien, Rom und der Ferne Osten). Walter de Gruyter.
[1] "Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE. The Scythian bow was different from the Mesopotamian one primarily in its overall dimensions - it was smaller so that it could be used from the horseback. At the same time, self bows were also in use, but because of their large size they were not suitable for use by horse riders." [2]
[1]: Kosmin, P. J. 2013. Alexander the Great and the Seleucids in Iran. In, Potts, D. T (ed.) The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp.671-689. p.680
[2]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
The xyston, or javelin, had been used since the time of Alexander the Great [1] , in addition to the sarissa, a pike up to 21m in length, was used by the Seleucid army. [2]
[1]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.p74
[2]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.p54
"...the hand-held crossbow was invented by the Chinese, in the fifth century BC, and probably came into the Roman world in the first century AD, where it was used for hunting." [1] The crossbow also developed after the Syracuse Greek Dionysios I invented a form of crossbow called the gastraphetes in 399 BCE. [2] "The use of the hand-crossbow in Europe thus divides into two quite distinct periods, the first between about -100 and +450; the second beginning in the +10th century." [3] Absent in preceding and succeeding polities.
[1]: (Nicholson 2004, 99) Helen Nicholson. 2004. Medieval Warfare: Theory and Practice of War in Europe, 300-1500. PalgraveMacmillan. Basingstoke.
[2]: (Keyser and Irby-Massie 2006, 260) Paul T Keyser. Georgia Irby-Massie. Science, Medicine, And Technology. Glenn R Bugh. ed. 2006. The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World. Cambridge University Press. Cambridge.
[3]: (Needham and Wang 1954, 174) Needham J and Wang L. 1954. Science and Civilisation in China. Cambridge University Press.
"Composite bows are known from both Mesopotamia and the Great Steppe from the III millennium BCE. The Scythian bow was different from the Mesopotamian one primarily in its overall dimensions - it was smaller so that it could be used from the horseback. At the same time, self bows were also in use, but because of their large size they were not suitable for use by horse riders." [1]
[1]: Sergey A Nefedov, RAN Institute of History and Archaeology, Yekaterinburg, Russia. Personal Communication to Peter Turchin. January 2018.
Illustration shows handheld spear. [1] According to one historian (experted needed to check data applicable to this polity) spear-using phalanx first used in Sumer 2500 BCE. The phalanx was in use until the 1st century BCE. [2]
[1]: (Sekunda, N. (author) McBride (Illustrator). Seleucid and Ptolemaic Reformed Armies)
[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 25) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.
Present in previous and subsequent periods.
Seleucus I received 500 elephants in a peace-treaty exchange in 303 BCE with Chandragupta, the founder of the Mauryan empire. [1] Seleucids and Ptolemies "made heavy use of war elephants." [2] Seleucid had Indian elephants, Ptolemies had North African elephants. [2]
[1]: Aperghis, G. G. 2004. The Seleukid Royal Economy: The Finances and Financial Administration of the Seleukid Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p20
[2]: (Mayor 2014, 291) Adrienne Mayor. Animals in Warfare. Gordon Lindsay Campbell. ed. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Probably used in the baggage train. The Achaemenid Persians did so. Present in previous and subsequent periods.
Camel archers at Magnesia. [1] "Bactrian camels began to be used for cavalry between 500 and 100 BC." [2]
[1]: (Serrati 2013, 192) Serrati, J. in Campbell B and Tritle LA. 2013. The Oxford Handbook of Warfare in the Classical World. Oxford University Press.
[2]: (Mayor 2014, 290) Adrienne Mayor. Animals in Warfare. Gordon Lindsay Campbell. ed. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
A conventional shield used by the heavy infantry of the Seleucid army was 45cm in diameter, which was small enough for the soldiers to be able to handle a pike at the same time. [1]
[1]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p54.
Present in previous and subsequent polities.
Arm protection worn by cavalrymen/cataphract.
Present in previous and subsequent polities.
Possible. Already introduced by the Assyrians.
Chainmail was possibly worn by some soldiers in the army, based on a description by I Macc. who wrote that the Seleucid phalanx at Beith-Zacharia were ’equipped with coats of mail’. [1] According to one historian (experted needed to check data applicable to this polity) says iron chain mail not introduced until the third century BCE, probably by Celtic peoples [2] which is around about this time.
[1]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.p55
[2]: (Gabriel 2002, 21) Richard A Gabriel. 2002. The Great Armies of Antiquity. Praeger. Westport.
Breastplates, or cuirass, were probably worn by officers in the army (based on the military code of Amphipolis, which mentions breastplates with reference to officers), but it is likely that soldiers also wore breastplates as protection from increasingly advanced and prevalent missile technology in enemy armies. [1]
[1]: Bar-Kochva, B. 1976. The Seleucid Army: Organization and Tactics in the Great Campaigns. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p55.