120 The Seleucid Empire - Writing on the Wall

About this episode

This episode discusses the political turmoil and civil wars in the Seleucid Empire following the deaths of key rulers.

The death of both Alexander Balas and Ptolemy VI in 145 meant that the throne belonged to Demetrius II Nicator. Yet another round of civil war would soon follow Demetrius' increasingly unpopular reign, as the official Diodotus Tryphon would endorse the infant Antiochus VI Dionysius as king, before proclaiming himself one too. The Hasmoneans in Judea hoped to leverage the situation to their advantage until the death of Jonathan Apphus, who was replaced by his brother Simon Thassi as High Priest. Such instability in Syria allowed the Parthian ruler Mithridates I to conquer Babylonia in 141, forcing Demetrius to make a desperate attempt to reclaim the Upper Satrapies before his empire crumbled around him. Episode Notes: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/2026/05/05/120-the-seleucid-empire-writing-on-the-wall/) Episode Transcript: (https://hellenisticagepodcast.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/120-the-seleucid-empire-writing-on-the-wall-transcript-1.pdf) Social Media: Twitter (https://twitter.com/HellenisticPod) Facebook (www.facebook.com/hellenisticagepodcast/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/hellenistic_age_podcast/) Bluesky…

People in this episode

Host: The Hellenistic Age Podcast

Topics covered

• Seleucid Empire
• civil war
• Hellenistic history
• political instability
• Hasmoneans
• Parthian conquest

Keywords

• Seleucid Empire
• Demetrius II Nicator
• Diodotus Tryphon
• Antiochus VI Dionysius
• Hasmoneans
• Mithridates I
• civil war
• Hellenistic history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hasmoneans, Seleucid Empire

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