Seleukid ideology : creation, reception and response / edited by Altay Coskun and Richard Wenghofer.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Coşkun, Altay, editor.

Wenghofer, Richard, editor.

Series:

Seleukid Perspectives

Seleukid Perspectives ; v.1

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

History, Ancient.

Syria--History--333 B.C.-634 A.D.

Syria.

Genre:

Informational works.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (396 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Stuttgart, Germany : Franz Steiner Verlag, [2023]

Summary:

Seleukid Perspectives explore the largest successor kingdom to Alexander the Great's empire. Seleukid kings established their power on the battlefield but did not rely on coercion alone. They constructed an ideal of kingship to render their authority morally and religiously acceptable. For this, they considered the traditions and sensitivities of their soldiers, subjects, and neighbours, while facing the pretensions of their rivals. What was beneficial or tolerable varied dramatically from one polity to the next. This book examines local influence on and reactions to Seleukid claims by focusing on rituals, discourse, and creative moments in which ideological themes were shaped. Seleukos I (320-281 BCE) closely engaged with the imagery of Alexander and Macedonian rivals, borrowed from Near Eastern traditions, and courted sanctuaries of Apollo. Case studies for his descendants are drawn from Anatolia, Syria, Judaea, Babylonia, and Persia. Praise of the dynasty was more than flattery but part of a process in which subjects actively contributed to perpetuating, modifying, or undermining the royal image. The volume encourages new debates on the complexity and efficacy of Seleukid Ideology.

Contents:

Intro

Title

Contents

Preface of the Series Editors

Preface of the Volume Editors

List of Figures

1. Richard Wenghofer and Altay Coşkun - Introduction: The Dialectics of Seleukid Ideology

Section I: Formation of Seleukid Dynastic Ideology

2. Kyle Erickson - Royal Propaganda and the Creation of Royal Status for Seleukos I

3. Eva Anagnostou-Laoutides - The King-Ship of the Seleukids: An Alternative Paradigm for the Anchor Symbol

4. Altay Coşkun - The First Seleukid Benefactions in Miletos and the Creation of a Dynastic Ideology

Section II: Enacting Seleukid Kingship

5. Babett Edelmann-Singer - Material Culture, Ritual Performance, and Seleukid Rule: Antiochos IV and the Procession at Daphne in 166 BCE

6. Stephen Harrison - Antiochos at Daphne and Xerxes at Sardeis: A Comparative Perspective on the Seleukid Vision of Empire

7. Rolf Strootman - Ritual Mutilation and the Construction of Treason: The Execution of Molon and Achaios by Antiochos III

8. Benjamin E. Scolnic - Second-Hand Propaganda: Polybios and Zeno on the Role of Antiochos IV at the Battle of Panion

Section III: Resisting Seleukid Royal Authority

9. Deirdre Klokow - Connectivity and Rural Spaces in the Seleukid Empire

10. Gillian Ramsey - Rebel Poleis: The Politics of Anti-Seleukid Violence

Section IV: Reframing Seleukid Ideology

11. Germain Payen - Le royaume artaxiade dans l'Empire séleucide: de dominé à dominant

12. Benjamin E. Scolnic - Śar Wars - How a Judaean Author in the 160's BCE Transformed a Ptolemaic View of Hellenistic History into a Theology for His Time

13. Eran Almagor - "To All Parts of the Kingdom": The Book of Esther as a Seleukid Text

Section V: Re-Assessing Seleukid Ideology

14. Richard Wenghofer - Diplomatic Resistance to Seleukid Hegemony.

15. Altay Coşkun - The Efficacy of Ideological Discourse: Loyalty to the Seleukid Dynasty in Babylonia, Judaea, and Asia Minor

About the Authors

Index of Names

Index of Sources.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Other Format:

Print version: Coskun, Altay Seleukid Ideology

ISBN:

3-515-13479-4