what happened alexander the greats empire?

-- Anonymous, January 12, 2005

Answers

Well said: Objectivity is everything nowadays:Feel-good make believe history sucks!

-- Anonymous, January 15, 2005

After the death of Alexander the Great in the afternoon of 11 June 323 BCE, his empire was divided by his generals, the so-called Diadochi. One of them was his friend Seleucus, who became king of the eastern provinces - more or less modern Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon, together with parts of Turkey, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. His kingdom had two capitals, which he founded in c.300: Antioch in Syria (pictures) and Seleucia in Mesopotamia. Babylon was a third important city. The empire was, like the empire of Alexander, actually the continuation of the empires before: the Assyrian, Babylonian, and the Achaemenid Empire. Seleucus I Nicator (Louvre, Paris; ©***) Seleucus' reign lasted from 312 to 280 (more...), and he was succeeded by his descendants, who continued to govern these countries for two centuries. But c.246, during a short interregnum, the Seleucids lost much territory in the east, where the Parni nomads settled themselves in the satrapy of Parthia -in northeastern Iran- and the satrapy of Bactria (northern Afghanistan) became independent. The Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great was able to reconquer these territories between 209 and 204. In the southwest, the Seleucid kings fought several "Syrian wars" with the Egyptians; in 200, their king was forced to cede Palestine to Antiochus III. Seleucid power had reached its zenith. Yet, Antiochus also witnessed the beginning of its demise. Antiochus III the Great (©!!!) In 196, he crossed the Hellespont in order to add Thrace to his empire (which happened in 194). This, however, was something that the Romans could not allow to happen, and war between the two superpowers broke out in 192. Antiochus received support from many Greek towns and help from the famous general Hannibal, but was defeated and forced to pay a tremendous sum of money. Moreover, the Seleucid empire lost its possessions in what is now Turkey. Pompey the Great (Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket, København; ©!!!) The tide was now turning against the Seleucid monarchy. In the west, Rome became too powerful to resist; they backed the Jews, who liberated themselves in the years after 165 (the so-called Maccabaean revolt). At the same time, the Parni founded the Parthian empire, which seized away the eastern provinces. The towns in Babylonia, a.o. Seleucia and Babylon, were captured between April and June 141. New losses followed, until in 64, the Roman general Pompey the Great made an end to the Seleucid kingdom. The official name of the kingdom was Asia, but the Romans called it Syria.

-- Anonymous, January 13, 2005