Antiochus's father wasSeleucus I Nicator[5][6] and his mother wasApama, daughter ofSpitamenes,[7][8] being one of the princesses whomAlexander the Great had given as wives to his generals in 324 BC.[9][10] The Seleucids fictitiously claimed that Apama was the daughter ofDarius III, in order to legitimise themselves as the inheritors of both the Achaemenids and Alexander, and therefore the rightful lords of western and central Asia.[11]
In 294 BC, prior to the death of his fatherSeleucus I, Antiochus married his stepmother,Stratonice, daughter ofDemetrius Poliorcetes. The ancient sources report that his elderly father reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son was in danger of dying oflovesickness.[12] Stratonice bore five children to Antiochus: Seleucus (later executed for rebellion), Laodice,Apama II,Stratonice II andAntiochus II Theos, who succeeded his father as king.
TheRuin of Esagila Chronicle, dated between 302 and 281 BC, mentions that a crown prince, most likely Antiochus, decided to rebuild the ruinedBabylonian templeEsagila, and made a sacrifice in preparation. However, while there, he stumbled on the rubble and fell. He then ordered his troops to destroy the last of the remains.[13]
On the assassination of his father in 281 BC, the task of holding together the empire was a formidable one. A revolt inSyria broke out almost immediately. Antiochus was soon compelled to make peace with his father's murderer,Ptolemy Keraunos, apparently abandoningMacedonia andThrace. InAnatolia he was unable to reduceBithynia or the Persian dynasties that ruled inCappadocia.[10]
In 278 BC theGauls broke into Anatolia, and a victory that Antiochus won over these Gauls by using Indianwar elephants (275 BC) is said to have been the origin of his title ofSoter (Greek for "saviour").[10]
At the end of 275 BC the question ofCoele-Syria, which had been open between the houses of Seleucus andPtolemy since the partition of 301 BC, led to hostilities (theFirst Syrian War). It had been continuously inPtolemaic occupation, but thehouse of Seleucus maintained its claim. War did not materially change the outlines of the two kingdoms, though frontier cities likeDamascus and the coast districts of Asia Minor might change hands.[10]
In 268 BC Antiochus I laid the foundation for the Ezida Temple inBorsippa.[18] His eldest son Seleucus had ruled in the east as viceroy from c. 275 BC until 268/267 BC; Antiochus put his son to death in the latter year on the charge of rebellion. Around 262 BC Antiochus tried to break the growing power ofPergamum by force of arms, but suffered defeat nearSardis and died soon afterwards.[10] He was succeeded in 261 BC by his second sonAntiochus II Theos.[19]
Gold coin of Antiochus I Soter, fromAi-Khanoum. Obverse shows Antiochus I wearing a diadem. Reverse shows nudeApollo seated on omphalos, holding bow and arrows. Greek legend reads: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY,Basileо̄s Antiochou – "(Of) King Antiochus".
Antiochus I maintained friendly diplomatic relations withBindusara, ruler of theMaurya Empire of India.Deimachos of Plateia was the ambassador of Antiochus at the court of Bindusara. The 3rd century Greek writerAthenaeus, in hisDeipnosophistae, mentions an incident that he learned fromHegesander's writings: Bindusara requested Antiochus to send him sweetwine, driedfigs and asophist. Antiochus replied that he would send the wine and the figs, but the Greek laws forbade him to sell a sophist.[22][23]
Antiochus I coin.Antioch mint.Macedonian shield with Seleucid anchor in central boss. Reverse withElephant walking right.Greek legend reads: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY,Basileо̄s Antiochou – "(Of) King Antiochus".
And even this conquest [preaching Buddhism] has been won by the Beloved of the Gods here and in all the borderlands, as far as six hundredyojanas (5,400–9,600 km) away, where Antiochus, king of theYavanas [Greeks] rules, and beyond this Antiochus four kings namedPtolemy,Antigonos,Magas andAlexander rule.[25]
Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development ofherbal medicine, for men and animals, in the territories of the Hellenic kings:
Everywhere within Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi's [Ashoka's] domain, and among the people beyond the borders, theCholas, thePandyas, the Satiyaputras, the Keralaputras, as far asTamraparni and where the Greek king Antiochus rules, and among the kings who are neighbors of Antiochos, everywhere has Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi, made provision for two types of medical treatment: medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals. Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. Wherever medical roots or fruits are not available I have had them imported and grown. Along roads I have had wells dug and trees planted for the benefit of humans and animals.[26]
Alternatively, the Greek king mentioned in the Edict of Ashoka could also be Antiochus's son and successor,Antiochus II Theos, although the proximity of Antiochus I with the East may makes him a better candidate.[24]
^Magill, Frank N. et al. (1998),The Ancient World: Dictionary of World Biography, Volume 1, Pasadena, Chicago, London,: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, Salem Press, p. 1010,ISBN0-89356-313-7.
^Holt, Frank L. (1989),Alexander the Great and Bactria: the Formation of a Greek Frontier in Central Asia, Leiden, New York, Copenhagen, Cologne: E. J. Brill, pp 64–65 (see footnote #63 for a discussion onSpitamenes andApama),ISBN90-04-08612-9.
^Lyonnet, Bertille (2012). "Questions on the Date of the Hellenistic Pottery from Central Asia (Ai Khanoum, Marakanda and Koktepe)".Ancient Civilizations from Scythia to Siberia.18:143–173.doi:10.1163/157005712X638672.
^Martinez-Seve, Laurianne (2014). "The Spatial Organization of Ai Khanoum, a Greek City in Afghanistan".American Journal of Archaeology.118 (2):267–283.doi:10.3764/aja.118.2.0267.S2CID194685024.
^abJarl Charpentier, "Antiochus, King of the Yavanas"Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, University of London6.2 (1931: 303–321) argues that the Antiochus mentioned was unlikely to be Antiochus II, during whose time relations with India were broken by the Parthian intrusion and the independence of Diodotus in Bactria, and suggests instead the half-IranianAntiochus I, with stronger connections in the East.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Seleucid Dynasty s.v. Antiochus I. Soter".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 604.
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