Boris Chrubasik
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198786924
- eISBN:
- 9780191829055
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198786924.003.0006
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
This final chapter argues that the core weakness of the Seleukid empire was the Seleukid king’s structural inability to persuade his own elite that he was the supreme power-holder within the Seleukid ...
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This final chapter argues that the core weakness of the Seleukid empire was the Seleukid king’s structural inability to persuade his own elite that he was the supreme power-holder within the Seleukid empire. While the Seleukid kings attempted to create a dynasty with an emphasis on Seleukid landscapes, myths, and Seleukid history, they never supported the establishment of an imperial nobility that could have maintained (and in fact created) the dynasty. As such, the Seleukid king remained the most important player within his empire, but he could only hold contenders at bay if he persuaded the groups within his kingdom that he indeed was the best imaginable king. The observation that the Seleukid empire was a kingdom with strong kings, but without kingship also plays an important role for the empire’s relationship to its Achaimenid predecessor, arguing for striking differences between these two empires.Less
This final chapter argues that the core weakness of the Seleukid empire was the Seleukid king’s structural inability to persuade his own elite that he was the supreme power-holder within the Seleukid empire. While the Seleukid kings attempted to create a dynasty with an emphasis on Seleukid landscapes, myths, and Seleukid history, they never supported the establishment of an imperial nobility that could have maintained (and in fact created) the dynasty. As such, the Seleukid king remained the most important player within his empire, but he could only hold contenders at bay if he persuaded the groups within his kingdom that he indeed was the best imaginable king. The observation that the Seleukid empire was a kingdom with strong kings, but without kingship also plays an important role for the empire’s relationship to its Achaimenid predecessor, arguing for striking differences between these two empires.
Boris Chrubasik
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- December 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780198786924
- eISBN:
- 9780191829055
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198786924.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, European History: BCE to 500CE
How does one become king? This book investigates the question of kingship in the Seleukid empire, the largest of the kingdoms that arose after the death of Alexander the Great. More specifically, ...
More
How does one become king? This book investigates the question of kingship in the Seleukid empire, the largest of the kingdoms that arose after the death of Alexander the Great. More specifically, this book examines the role of usurpers in this particular kingdom, individuals who attempted to be king, and who were labelled as rebels by ancient authors after their demise. Through a careful analysis of the literary, numismatic, and epigraphic material, this study places these individuals in their appropriate historical contexts, and thus creates an image of the political landscape of the Seleukid empire in the third and second centuries BCE; an image where kings, usurpers, and other groups within the empire were in constant competition about their superior position within the state, attempting to persuade cities, armies, and other groups that they were the most successful, most persuasive, and therefore the only real option for kingship. This book is on the one hand a new, and carefully argued political history of the Seleukid empire. Beyond historical narratives, however, it is also a history of social power. It re-defines the role of the Seleukid king in his own empire, and it offers new approaches to the interpretation of the relationship between the Seleukid king and the groups within the empire. By doing so, this book questions the current consensus on the Seleukid state, and argues instead that the empire was structurally weak, yet where many strong kings ruled, and where the Seleukid kings’ position always remained precarious.Less
How does one become king? This book investigates the question of kingship in the Seleukid empire, the largest of the kingdoms that arose after the death of Alexander the Great. More specifically, this book examines the role of usurpers in this particular kingdom, individuals who attempted to be king, and who were labelled as rebels by ancient authors after their demise. Through a careful analysis of the literary, numismatic, and epigraphic material, this study places these individuals in their appropriate historical contexts, and thus creates an image of the political landscape of the Seleukid empire in the third and second centuries BCE; an image where kings, usurpers, and other groups within the empire were in constant competition about their superior position within the state, attempting to persuade cities, armies, and other groups that they were the most successful, most persuasive, and therefore the only real option for kingship. This book is on the one hand a new, and carefully argued political history of the Seleukid empire. Beyond historical narratives, however, it is also a history of social power. It re-defines the role of the Seleukid king in his own empire, and it offers new approaches to the interpretation of the relationship between the Seleukid king and the groups within the empire. By doing so, this book questions the current consensus on the Seleukid state, and argues instead that the empire was structurally weak, yet where many strong kings ruled, and where the Seleukid kings’ position always remained precarious.
