Antiochus I
| Antiochus I Soter | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Basileus of the Seleucid Empire | |
| Reign | 281–261 BC |
| Predecessor | Seleucus I Nicator |
| Successor | Antiochus II Theos |
| Born | ca. 324/3 BC Persia or Mesopotamia |
| Died | 261 BC Syria |
| Spouse | Stratonice of Syria |
| Issue | Seleucus Laodice Apama II Stratonice of Macedon Antiochus II Theos |
| Dynasty | Seleucid dynasty |
| Father | Seleucus I Nicator |
| Mother | Apama |
| Religion | Greek polytheism |
Antiochus I Soter (Greek: Ἀντίοχος Α΄ ὁ Σωτήρ; epithet means "the Saviour"; c. 324/3 – 261 BC), was a king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. He succeeded his father Seleucus I Nicator in 281 BC and reigned until his death in 261 BC.
Antiochus I was half Persian, his mother Apama, daughter of Spitamenes, being one of the eastern princesses whom Alexander the Great had given as wives to his generals in 324 BC. In 294 BC, prior to the death of his father Seleucus I, Antiochus married his stepmother, Stratonice, daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. His elderly father reportedly instigated the marriage after discovering that his son was in danger of dying of lovesickness. Stratonice bore five children to Antiochus: Seleucus (he was executed for rebellion), Laodice, Apama II, Stratonice of Macedon and Antiochus II Theos, who succeeded his father as king.
On the assassination of his father in 281 BC, the task of holding together the empire was a formidable one. A revolt in Syria broke out almost immediately. Antiochus was soon compelled to make peace with his father's murderer, Ptolemy Keraunos, apparently abandoning Macedonia and Thrace. In Anatolia he was unable to reduce Bithynia or the Persian dynasties that ruled in Cappadocia.
In 278 BC the Gauls broke into Anatolia, and a victory that Antiochus won over these Gauls by using Indian war elephants (275 BC) is said to have been the origin of his title of Soter (Gr. for "saviour").
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