The Seleucid Empire ( /sɨˈluːsɪd/; from Greek: Σελεύκεια, Seleύkeia) was a Greek-Macedonian state that came into existence following the carve up of the empire created by Alexander the Great following his death. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.
The Seleucid Empire was a major center of Hellenistic culture which maintained the preeminence of Greek customs and where a Greek-Macedonian political elite dominated, mostly in the urban areas. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by emigration from Greece. Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt was frustrated by Roman demands. Much of the eastern part of the empire was conquered by the Parthians under Mithridates I of Parthia in the mid-2nd century BC, yet the Seleucid kings continued to rule a rump state from Syria until the invasion by Armenian king Tigranes the Great and their ultimate overthrow by the Roman general Pompey.
Read more about Seleucid Empire: Partition of Alexander's Empire, Rise of Seleucus, Westward Expansion, An Overextended Domain, Revival (223–191 BC), Roman Power, Parthia and Judea, Civil War and Further Decay, Collapse (100–63 BC), Cultural Exchanges
Famous quotes containing the word empire:
“Our ancestors were savages. The story of Romulus and Remus being suckled by a wolf is not a meaningless fable. The founders of every state which has risen to eminence have drawn their nourishment and vigor from a similar wild source. It was because the children of the Empire were not suckled by the wolf that they were conquered and displaced by the children of the northern forests who were.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)