100 Interesting facts about the Hellenistic World

46. Of all the diadochoi, the one who cames the closest to reunifying Alexander's Empire was Seleucus I "Nicator. " He had begun his career as one of the most sad-sack of successors, cowering under Ptolemy's skirts in Egypt, without a kingdom or Army. Ptolemy lent him a small force that allowed him to secure a small fief around Babylon, in the shadow of the empire of Antigonus Monophthalmos. Shrewd campaigns and diplomacy in the East, during which he acquired a large heard of Indian elephants, expanded his empire, and he was subsequently a prime beneficiary of the division of spoils in the wake of Ipsus. In 281, he defeated Lysimachus,  and landed triumphantly in Europe, with visions of ruling an empire spaning from Macedonia to India. There he was promptly assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus (the Thunderbolt) the estranged son of his former benefactor, who proclaimed himself king of Macedonia, only to be in turn killed in the Celtic invasions in 279.

Edited by dexippus - 29-Dec-2007 at 15:37

Of the latter

So there is only one Diadoch in this area of the world?

Selecus ruled this area. He lost it to the Mauryans, it was regained by the Greeks a few generations later. The penetrated all the way to the Bengal at one point.

Some fascinating stuff guys.

Edited by Justinian - 09-Dec-2007 at 02:21

Sparten do you know any site about the Indo-Greek kingdom?

I recently discovered that the eastern end of the Seleucid empire had a much more interesting story than the rebelion of natives and separation from the empire I imagined.

42. Seleucus, in creating a vast empire for himself, relied heavily on the military services of his talented adult son, Antiochus. However, when father Seleucus married young daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes, Stratonike, son Antiochus promptly fell in love with his comely new stepmother. Seleucus, however, used this infatuation to cement his plans for dynastic succession, as he divorced Stratonike and married her to his son. This unorthodox marriage seems to have been motivated by real romantic feelings on the part of Antiochus and calm political calculation on the part of Seleucus. Its outcome highlights the bonds of trust and affection that made father and son such as successful empire-building team. 

40.  Two of the seven wonders of the ancient world were built during this period.

The Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse (Pharos) of Alexandria

...What of Argos? That was given to Nabis of Sparta by Philip V near the conclusion of the war, but I suppose that it can't have been considered a fetter of Greece because the Macedonian threat from Philip V had dwindled away quite sharply at that point.

There was an experimental engine, which was merely a globe on an axis with two exit points. It was filled with steam from an adjacent boiler and when it was full, it would spin on the axis. It hardly qualifies as a useful engine, though.