Antiochus I Soter

Antiochus I Soter (, Antíochos Sōtér; "Antiochus the Savior"; 2 June 261 BC) was a Greco-Sogdian Seleucid king of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned during a period of instability which he mostly overcame until his death on 2 June 261 BC. He is the last known ruler to be attributed the ancient Mesopotamian title King of the Universe.

Biography Antiochus's father was Seleucus I Nicator and his mother was Apama, daughter of Spitamenes, being one of the princesses whom Alexander the Great had given as wives to his generals in 324 BC. The Seleucids fictitiously claimed that Apama was the daughter of Darius 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.

In 294 BC, prior to the death of his father Seleucus I, Antiochus married his stepmother, Stratonice, daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. The ancient sources report that his elderly father reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son was in danger of dying of lovesickness. Stratonice bore five children to Antiochus: Seleucus (later executed for rebellion), Laodice, Apama II, Stratonice II and Antiochus II Theos, who succeeded his father as king.

The Ruin of Esagila Chronicle, dated between 302 and 281 BC, mentions that a crown prince, most likely Antiochus, decided to rebuild the ruined Babylonian temple Esagila, 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.

On the assassination of his father in 281 BC, the task of holding together the empire was a formidable one. A revolt in Syria broke out almost immediately. Antiochus was soon compelled to make peace with his father's murderer, Ptolemy Ceraunus, apparently abandoning Macedonia and Thrace. In Anatolia he was unable to reduce Bithynia or the Persian dynasty that ruled in the Kingdom of Cappadocia. footer =

In 268 BC Antiochus I laid the foundation for the Ezida Temple in Borsippa. 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 of Pergamum by force of arms, but suffered defeat near Sardis and died soon afterwards.

City of Ai-Khanoum Gold coin of Antiochus I Soter, from Ai-Khanoum. Obverse shows Antiochus I wearing a diadem. Reverse shows nude Apollo seated on omphalos, holding bow and arrows. Greek legend reads: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY, Basileōs Antiochou – "(Of) King Antiochus". Recent analysis strongly suggests that the Greek city of Ai-Khanoum, located in Takhar Province, northern Afghanistan, at the confluence of the Panj River and the Kokcha River and at the doorstep of the Indian subcontinent, was founded c. 280 BC by Antiochus I.

Relations with India Antiochus I maintained friendly diplomatic relations with Bindusara, ruler of the Maurya Empire of India. Deimachos of Plateia was the ambassador of Antiochus at the court of Bindusara. The 3rd century Greek writer Athenaeus, in his Deipnosophistae, mentions an incident that he learned from Hegesander's writings: Bindusara requested Antiochus to send him sweet wine, dried figs and a sophist. Antiochus replied that he would send the wine and the figs, but the Greek laws forbade him to sell a sophist.

Antiochus is likely the Greek king mentioned in the Edicts of Ashoka, as one of the recipients of the Indian Emperor Ashoka's Buddhist proselytism: Antiochus I coin. Antioch mint. Macedonian shield with Seleucid anchor in central boss. Reverse with Elephant walking right. Greek legend reads: BAΣIΛEΩΣ ANTIOXOY, Basileōs Antiochou – "(Of) King Antiochus".

Ashoka also claims that he encouraged the development of herbal medicine, for men and animals, in the territories of the Hellenic kings:

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.

Neoclassical art Antiochus and Stratonica (1774), Jacques-Louis David, École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts.

The love between Antiochus and his stepmother Stratonice was often depicted in Neoclassical art, as in a painting by Jacques-Louis David.