Antiochus III the Great

Antiochus III the Great
Bust from the Louvre, possibly Roman copy of Hellenistic portrait of Antiochus III
Megas Basileus of the Seleucid Empire
Reign	222–187 BC (36 years)
Predecessor	Seleucus III Ceraunus
Successor	Seleucus IV Philopator
Born	c. 241 BC Susa, Persia
Died	187 BC (aged 53 or 54) Susa, Elymais
Spouse	Laodice III Euboea of Chalcis
Issue	Antiochus Seleucus IV Philopator Ardys unnamed daughter Laodice IV, Queen of the Seleucid Empire Cleopatra I Syra, Queen of Egypt Antiochis, Queen of Cappadocia Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Full name Antiochos Mégas Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ("Antiochus the Great")
House	Seleucid Dynasty
Father	Seleucus II Callinicus
Mother	Laodice II
Religion	Greek polytheism

Antiochus III the Great /ænˈtaɪəkəs/ (Greek: Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας; c. 241 – 187 BC, ruled 222–187 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to the throne at the age of eighteen in 222 BC, his early campaigns against the Ptolemaic Kingdom were unsuccessful, but in the following years Antiochus gained several military victories and substantially expanded the empire's territory. His traditional designation, the Great, reflects an epithet he assumed. He also assumed the title Basileus Megas (Greek for "Great King"), the traditional title of the Persian kings. A militarily active ruler, Antiochus restored much of the territory of the Seleucid Empire, before suffering a serious setback, towards the end of his reign, in his war against Rome.

Declaring himself the "champion of Greek freedom against Roman domination", Antiochus III waged a four-year war against the Roman Republic in mainland Greece in autumn of 192 BC before being decisively defeated at the Battle of Magnesia. He died three years later on campaign in the east.

Antiochus III was a member of the Hellenistic Greek Seleucid dynasty. He was the son of king Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II and was born around 242 BC near Susa in Persia. He may have borne a non-dynastic name (starting with Ly-), according to a Babylonian chronicle. He succeeded, under the name Antiochus, his brother Seleucus III Ceraunus, upon the latter's murder in Anatolia; he was in Babylon at the time.