Articles

Was There a Conspiracy? Remarks to the Dynastic History of the First Seleucids

Vostok/Oriens '2015, №5

 
The events of the mid 260s BCE, connected with the death of prince Seleucus, the eldest son of Antiochus I, are one of the most little-known and dimly lit pages of the dynastic history of the Seleucids. Therefore the theme is not studied deep enough and some positions, existent in historiography now, are stale and need a rethinking. So, the goal of this article is to represent on the grounds of the examination and comparison all the facts the more likely version of circumstances which led to untimely death of prince Seleucus. After analysing all known sources (narrative, epigraphic and cuneiform) one may think that the prince fall a victim of the court intrigues as the result of the pre-arranged and step-by-step operated actions. In favour of this, supposition eloquently testifies a gradual promotion as successor the king’s younger son Antiochus II. It is shown especially brightly in one of the cuneiform texts (AION Suppl. 77.15), argumentative of the unique dual co-ruling in the Seleucid state. Anyway we do not have any facts concerning the conspiracy, and one can think that there were personal motives of the king as the main and supreme cause of the removal of Seleucus. At the same time it is quite possible that officially the prince was blamed for some evil minds against his father and put to death.

Keywords: the kingdom of the Seleucids, co-ruling, prince Seleucus, Antiochus I

Pages: С. 19–27