Antiochus II Theos

Antiochus II Theos
Basileus
Silver tetradrachm of Antiochus II Theos, minted in Tarsus, featuring a portrait of Antiochus on the obverse. SC 561
Basileus of the Seleucid Empire
Reign2 June 261 – July 246 BC
PredecessorAntiochus I Soter
SuccessorSeleucus II Callinicus
Born286 BC
Syria
Diedearly July 246 BC (aged 39–40)
Asia Minor
(modern-day Turkey)
SpouseLaodice I
Berenice
Issuewith Laodice:
Seleucus II Callinicus
Antiochus Hierax
Apama
Stratonice of Cappadocia
Laodice
with Berenice:
Antiochus
DynastySeleucid dynasty
FatherAntiochus I Soter
MotherStratonice of Syria
ReligionGreek polytheism
Coin of Antiochus II. The Greek inscription reads ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΑΝΤΙΟΧΟΥ, Basileōs Antiochou, "of king Antiochus".
"Aṃtiyako Yona Rājā" (𑀅𑀁𑀢𑀺𑀬𑀓𑁄 𑀬𑁄𑀦 𑀭𑀸𑀚𑀸, "The Greek king Antiochos"), mentioned in Major Rock Edict No.2 of Ashoka, here at Girnar, Gujarat, India. Brahmi script.[1]
Belevi mausoleum
Belevi mausoleum from the south


Antiochus II Theos (‹See Tfd›Greek: Ἀντίοχος ὁ Θεός, Antíochos ho Theós, meaning "Antiochus the God"; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire who reigned from 261 to 246 BC.[2] He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC. He was the younger son of Antiochus I and princess Stratonice, the daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes.[3]

Antiochus II was a forceful personality who in his lifetime largely succeeded to hold the sprawling Seleucid realm intact. However his fateful decision to repudiate his first wife Laodice and marry a Ptolemaic princess Berenice as part of a peace treaty led to a succession struggle after his death that would shake the empire's foundations and cause large territorial losses.

  1. ^ Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch (in Sanskrit). 1925. p. 3.
  2. ^ "Antiochus II Theos". Livius.
  3. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Seleucid Dynasty s.v. Antiochus II. Theos" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 604.