AFTER THE death of Alexander the Great, three major powers emerged in the Eastern Mediterranean: the Macedonian Empire in Greece; the Ptolemaic Empire based in Egypt; and the Seleucid Empire, which stretched from present-day Turkey to present-day Afghanistan. The sheer size of the Seleucid Empire led to problems of control, and, during the third century B.C.E., it gradually shrunk, both in the western part of present-day Turkey and in the eastern side at Afghanistan and eastern Iran. While the Seleucids claimed sovereignty over this entire region, their core area comprised what is present-day Syria and Iraq. The Seleucids were in constant struggles with the Ptolemies of Egypt for control of the coastline from present-day Lebanon to the Red Sea, which had been in Egyptian hands since 301 B.C.E. However, following the battle of Panion (200 B.C.E.), this entire region--including Judea--became part of the Seleucid Empire.
Posted on: Sat, 31 Aug 2013 20:31:56 +0000