Seleucus I Nicator

Seleucus I Nicator
Basileus of the Seleucid Empire
A Roman copy of a Greek statue of Seleucus I found in Herculaneum. Now located at the Naples National Archaeological Museum.
Basileus of the Seleucid Empire
Reign	305–281 BC
Predecessor	Alexander IV of Macedon
Successor	Antiochus I Soter
Born	c. 358 BC Macedon
Died	281 BC (aged c. 77) Thrace
Spouse	Apama of Sogdiana Stratonice of Syria
Issue	Apama Antiochus I Soter Achaeus Phila
Dynasty	Seleucid dynasty
Father	Antiochus
Mother	Laodice
Religion	Greek polytheism

Seleucus I Nicator/səˈljuːkəs naɪˈkeɪtər/ (c. 358 BC – 281 BC; Ancient Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ) was one of the Diadochi. Having previously served as an infantry general under Alexander the Great, he eventually assumed the title of basileus and established the Seleucid Empire over much of the territory in the Near East which Alexander had conquered.

After the death of Alexander in June 323 BC, Seleucus initially supported Perdiccas, the regent of Alexander's empire, and was appointed Commander of the Companions and chiliarch at the Partition of Babylon in 323 BC. However, after the outbreak of the Wars of the Diadochi in 322, Perdiccas' military failures against Ptolemy in Egypt led to the mutiny of his troops in Pelusium. Perdiccas was betrayed and assassinated in a conspiracy by Seleucus, Peithon and Antigenes in Pelusium sometime in either 321 or 320 BC.