The Seleukid Empire of Antiochus III: 223 - 187 BC

Seleukid Empire #2

by John D. Grainger

Brings to life “a major figure in the Hellenistic World . . . in his own right, rather than as just another stepping stone during Rome’s rise” (HistoryOfWar.org). The second volume in John Grainger’s history of the Seleukid Empire is devoted to the reign of Antiochus III. Too often remembered only as the man who lost to the Romans at Magnesia, Antiochus is here revealed as one of the most powerful and capable rulers of the age. Having emerged from civil war in 223 as the sole survivor of the Seleukid dynasty, he shouldered the burdens of a weakened and divided realm. Though defeated by Egypt in the Fourth Syrian War, he gradually restored full control over the empire. His great Eastern campaign took Macedonian arms back to India for the first time since Alexander’s day and, returning west, he went on to conquer Thrace and finally wrest Syria from Ptolemaic control.  Then came intervention in Greece and the clash with Rome leading to the defeat at Magnesia and the restrictive Peace of Apamea. Despite this, Antiochus remained ambitious, campaigning in the East again; when he died in 187 BC the empire was still one of the most powerful states in the world.   “We are, Grainger says, so ‘hypnotised’ by the rise of Rome that we ignore the Seleukid and Ptolemaic interlude. His clear and fascinating account breaks this spell.”—Minerva Magazine

Genres: History, Ancient History, Greece

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 31, 2015

Reviews

[Zahra · Rating 4 out of 5]

این کتاب، جلد دوم از سه‌گانهٔ ظهور و سقوط امپراتوری سلوکیه و کل کتاب هم دربارهٔ حکومت طولانی یکی از بهترین شاهان سلوکی یعنی آنتیوخوس سوم ملقب به آنتیوخوس کبیره. کسی که یک امپراتوری از هم‌پاشیده رو دوباره جمع کرد و طولانی ترین دوران پادشاهی رو بین تمام شاهان سلوکی داشت.
اسناد رومی زیادی از این دوره باقی مونده برای همین نسبت به جلد قبلی اطلاعات خیلی با جزییات تری میده و کمتر جاهای مبهم با حدس و فرضیات نویسنده پر شدن. ولی خب متاسفانه نویسنده خیلی درباره دوتا نبرد مهم آنتیوخوس سوم یعنی رفح و مگنزیه اطلاعات نداده. مگنزیه کلا تو دو صفحه جمع شده و رفح فقط یه کمی بیشتر توضیح داده شده و با در نظر گرفتن این نکته که این دوتا نبرد جزو معروف ترین نبردهای دنیای باستانن، خیلی ناامید کننده بود.
روند اتفاق‌ها تقریباً مثل جلد قبلیه؛ آنتیوخوس، اول تاج‌وتختش رو تثبیت میکنه، بعد شروع می‌کنه بخش‌هایی از امپراتوری رو که جدا شدن پس می‌گیره. این وسط هم همیشه دردسر بطلمی‌های مصر رو داره (درست مثل پنج تا شاه قبلش) که رقیب اصلی‌ش برای تصرف سرزمین‌ها بودن، به‌علاوه جنگ‌های داخلی و مدعیانی که باید سرکوب میشدن و یک دردسر جدید به اسم روم و جاه طلبی هاش که به همه اینا اضافه میشه.
باوجود اینکه کتاب فقط درباره یک پادشاهه ولی من ازش بیشتر از جلد قبلی خوشم اومد. گرینجر خیلی خوب از اطلاعات محدودی که در دسترس بوده استفاده کرده به این شکل که روایت‌های مختلف رو با هم مقایسه می‌کنه تا به محتمل‌ترین نتیجه برسه و حتی از چیزهای کوچیکی مثل سکه‌ها، کتیبه‌ها، وقف‌نامه‌ها و فرمان‌ها هم اطلاعات قابل دفاع و نتیجه گیری های منطقی کرده. بعضی از این جزئیات تو نگاه اول بی‌ارتباط به نظر می‌رسن اما تحلیل های دقیق نویسنده از نام‌ها، تاریخ‌ها و مکان‌ها باعث میشه نتیجه‌گیری‌هاش قابل قبول باشن. این روش این روزها زیاد دیده میشه و گاهی به ادعاهای عجیب بر اساس یک کلمه یا یک یافته‌ی کوچیک منجر میشه اما تو این کتاب واقعاً خوب و حرفه‌ای ازشون استفاده شده.

[Koeneman · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all I would like to say that this book shows the “movement”/activities of the king very well. But it lacks enormously in giving a picture of Antiochus III himself. The first chapter talks about his accession to the throne but after that there are no biographies or texts about his personality.

What the book does good is telling the activities of the king in detail, this mainly implies campaigns or in some cases diplomatic missions. But once again if you don’t have a picture of the man himself this all reads very blank.

[Ian Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

The middle volume of John D. Grainger's three on the history of the Seleukid empire is the odd one out insofar as it focuses on the reign of a single ruler. Antiochus III, like Alexander before him, was known as 'the Great'. As the dynasty's longest-serving King for some thirty-five years, his ability and achievements were comparable to his illustrious forbear and dynastic founder, Seleukos I Nikator.

The career of Antiochus happened to overlap with two of the acknowledged greatest generals in history in Scipio Africanus and Hannibal Barca. As King of what was then the world's largest empire, his role was rather different to theirs. And while lacking their acts of genius in individual battles, overall his efforts at statesmanship were hugely successful. At least, that is, until war with the Romans towards the end of his life.

In the first volume, Grainger did his best to construct a coherent history covering a full century from patchy sources. Thankfully the sources for this period, whilst far from exhaustive, are demonstrably superior. Polybios is heavily lent on, though much is made of others such as Livy and numismatic evidence.

Spending a similar word count on a shorter period as compared to the first volume makes for a much smoother and more detailed read, in which it's easier to get a sense of the development of and connection between events, and also to keep track of the major players. The latter was particularly troublesome in the first volume when so many figures used a handful of dynastic names.

Grainger is gratifyingly even-handed in considering the biases of the sources and attempting to discern the likely truth whilst trying not to speculate too rampantly. It's a fine balance and an important one in a work of this kind.

Overall, this is an excellent book about a major figure from ancient history who is relatively overlooked compared to some of his famous contemporaries and predecessors.

[J.P Salgado · Rating 5 out of 5]

O segundo livro da trilogia do Império Selêucida, de John D. Grainger, desta vez foca exclusivamente na figura de um único monarca: Antíoco III, O Grande. Desde o início, devo destacar como esta obra aumentou ainda mais minha admiração por Antíoco III. Ele assumiu inesperadamente o trono após a morte de seu irmão e dedicou o restante de sua vida à restauração do império, buscando recuperar sua antiga extensão territorial. Sua resiliência, sua capacidade de se reerguer mesmo após pesadas derrotas e sua determinação em continuar lutando, culminando em um reino mais estável para seu filho, fazem com que, em minha opinião, ele realmente mereça o título de "O Grande"—um peso significativo, considerando o legado de Alexandre.

A escrita de Grainger é impecável e envolvente. Apesar da escassez de fontes primárias sobreviventes, o autor consegue pintar um quadro vívido dos momentos vividos por Antíoco III. Ele faz um excelente trabalho ao integrar fontes escritas com registros arqueológicos e artefatos, como moedas, reconstruindo um cenário detalhado de eventos pouco documentados, como a Anábasis de Antíoco no Oriente e seus confrontos com regiões separatistas.

Além disso, a narrativa mantém o leitor na expectativa—mesmo conhecendo o desfecho do conflito contra Roma e o destino de Antíoco, o autor nos faz torcer por sua vitória e pelo sucesso de sua ambição de restaurar o império.

Por fim, este é um livro excepcional, que certamente revisitaria várias vezes. Rico em fontes e bibliografia, é uma leitura essencial para quem deseja compreender melhor a trajetória de um dos maiores monarcas helenísticos.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Seleukid Empire of Antiochus III, the second in John Grainger’s trilogy on the history of the Seleukid Empire, follows the career of Antiochus the Great as he rises from dark horse adolescent swayed by advisors to an enterprising King who dominates Asia for decades.

Antiochus, a mere 20 years old, assumed the throne of an empire in crisis. Strife within the royal family had rent the kingdom into shards, usurpers claimed territory from Babylonia to Asia Minor, advisors strove against each other for power and wealth, and rising foreign powers sought to profit from the chaos. Antiochus crushed his rival claimants to the throne, seized control of the warring factions in his government, systematically subdued the empire’s splinter states and foreign neighbors, and reestablished the Seleukid Empire as the major power of Asia, rivalling only Rome as the world’s superpower. Though his successes were many, his one key mistake (stumbling into conflict with Rome unprepared), marred his legacy and risked the empire’s future.

This is the strongest book in this trilogy. The wider array of sources available for this period allows Grainger to provide more detail and more analysis, enabling a deeper grasp of the history and the character of Antiochus. The narrative crafts a firmer arc than the first book, and we gain a stronger feel for Antiochus’s strengths and weaknesses than with the earlier kings. While the writing could use a bit more verve, the book argues its case convincingly, theorizes carefully, and evaluates its sources in a thoughtful and compelling way.

[Lauren Albert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t find this as readable as the first book. I did take a long break from reading it which didn’t help but the problem had started before that. As with the first volume, the spelling Grainger used was an irritant especially as the sources the Kindle book uses often didn’t recognize a name when I tried to look it up.

[Vortal Combat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome!