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Antiochus II Theos

Coin of the Seleucid king Antiochus II Theos.
Antiochus II Theos
Antiochos II Theos ('the god'): name of a Seleucid king, ruled from 261 to 246.

Successor of: Antiochus I Soter

Relatives:

Part of the decoration of the Belevi mausoleum. Archaeological museum, Izmir (Turkey). Photo Marco Prins.
Part of the decoration of the
Belevi mausoleum
(Archaeological museum, 
Izmir)
Main deeds:
  • c.286 Born
  • After 268: Antiochus I Soter executes his eldest son Seleucus; Antiochus II becomes crown prince
  • 2 June 261: Death of Antiochus I; Antiochus II succeeds
  • 260: Outbreak of the Second Syrian War against Ptolemy II Philadelphus; the Seleucids achieve several successes in western Asia Minor
  • 259/258: Liberates Miletus from a tyrant Timarchus, and is awarded the surname Theos, 'the god'
  • 253: Peace with Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who recognizes Seleucid territorial gains in the west
  • 252: Antiochus divorces his wife Laodice and marries Ptolemy's daughter Berenice Phernephorus
  • 251: Birth of Antiochus
  • 28 January 246: Death of Ptolemy II; Antiochus II repudiates Berenice, who stays in Antioch; he returns to his first wife Laodice
  • early July 246: dies in Ephesus, only forty years old, and is buried in the Belevi Mausoleum
  • His death provokes the Third Syrian War
Succeeded by: Seleucus II Callinicus

Sources:

This brief article has been written to offer background information
to the real articles on Livius.Org. One day, this webpage will be
improved. A list of completed articles can be found here.
Note 1:
Sometimes, it is assumed that this was a son named Apammes. This is based on an erroneous reading of an Astronomical Diary (more...).
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