Seleucid Dynasty

Background

When Alexander the Great of Macedon died in 323 BC, his generals fought among themselves to divide his empire. Among them, Seleucus I, who had been entrusted with Babylonia, gained the eastern territories; the dynasty ruled by his descendants is known as the Seleucid dynasty. Its realm extended across what is today Syria, Iraq, and Iran. It was a rival of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which held Egypt. Both dynasties spread Hellenism, a culture blending Greek and Eastern elements.

History

Founding and Expansion

• c. 312 BC: Seleucus I recaptured Babylon. A dating system known as the "Seleucid era," reckoned from this year, later came into wide use.
• c. 300 BC: Seleucus founded Antioch (Antiocheia) on the Orontes River. Named after his father, Antiochus, the city later became the dynasty's principal city.
• 3rd century BC: The Seleucids fought a series of wars with the Ptolemaic dynasty over Palestine. During this period Judea was generally under Ptolemaic rule.

Rule over Judea and Antiochus IV

• c. 200 BC: Antiochus III won the Battle of Panium and brought Judea under Seleucid rule.
• c. 190 BC: Antiochus III was defeated by Rome. Under the subsequent Treaty of Apamea, he was obliged to pay an enormous indemnity.
• 175–164 BC: Antiochus IV (Epiphanes) reigned. According to the books of Maccabees, he forced a Greek way of life on the Jews and prohibited circumcision and the observance of the Sabbath. In 167 BC he is said to have introduced pagan sacrifices into the Temple in Jerusalem, defiling it.
• c. 167 BC: In response, the Maccabees, a priestly family, launched a revolt. In 164 BC they recovered the Temple and rededicated it; the festival commemorating this event is the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah), which is also mentioned in John 10:22.

Decline and Fall

From the mid-2nd century BC onward, the dynasty was plagued by internal struggles over the throne. In the east, it lost Mesopotamia to Parthia. Judea became effectively independent under the Hasmonean dynasty. The dynasty came to an end in 64 BC, when the Roman general Pompey made Syria a Roman province.

Consequences and Influence

Seleucid rule profoundly reshaped Jewish society during the intertestamental period. A division arose between those who favored embracing Greek culture and those who sought to preserve the tradition of the Law. This period is also understood to have laid the groundwork for the emergence of groups such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, who appear later in the New Testament. Antioch, founded by the dynasty, became a center of mission to the Gentiles in the New Testament era. According to Acts 11:26, Antioch was also where the disciples were first called "Christians." Seleucia, the port from which Paul and Barnabas set out on their first missionary journey (Acts 13:4), was likewise founded by the Seleucid dynasty.

Assessment

The "king of the south" and the "king of the north" in Daniel 11 have traditionally been interpreted as the Ptolemaic and Seleucid dynasties, respectively. "The abomination that maketh desolate" (Daniel 11:31) is commonly associated with Antiochus IV's desecration of the Temple. Scholars differ, however, in how they read this passage.

• Conservative evangelical scholars regard the Book of Daniel as prophecy from the 6th century BC and understand these events as having been fulfilled just as it foretold.
• Historical-critical scholars regard the Book of Daniel as apocalyptic literature written in the 2nd century BC, during the time of Antiochus IV.

Because Jesus used this expression again in Matthew 24:15, this era is also frequently discussed in connection with eschatology.

The books of Maccabees, which record the history of this period, hold different status among Christian traditions. Most Protestant churches classify them as Apocrypha and do not include them in the canon. The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church accept them as Scripture; the Catholic Church refers to them as "deuterocanonical."