塞琉古是亚历山大的继承人之一。他的名字被赋予了他和他的继任者统治的帝国。这些塞琉古王朝可能很熟悉，因为他们接触了参与马卡比王朝起义（光明节的核心）的希腊化犹太人。

塞琉古的早期生活和家庭

塞琉古本人是从公元334年起征服波斯和印度次大陆西部时与亚历山大大帝并肩作战的马其顿人之一。他的父亲安提约克曾与亚历山大的父亲菲利普作战，因此人们认为亚历山大和塞琉古大约在同一年龄，塞琉古的出生日期约为358年。他的母亲是老底嘉。塞琉古在年轻时就开始了他的军事生涯，326年时他成为了一名高级军官，指挥着皇家海帕斯泰，并担任亚历山大的参谋。他与亚历山大、佩尔迪卡斯、利西马库斯和托勒密一起穿过印度次大陆的海达斯佩斯河，他们是亚历山大雕刻的帝国中的一些著名人物。然后，在324年，塞琉古是亚历山大要求与伊朗公主结婚的人之一。塞琉古娶了斯皮塔门人的女儿阿帕玛为妻。阿皮安说，塞琉古建立了三座城市，他以她的名字命名。她将成为他的继任者安提约克一世的母亲。这使得塞琉古王朝部分是马其顿人，部分是伊朗人，因此是波斯人。

塞琉西逃往巴比伦尼亚

大约在323年，佩迪卡斯任命塞琉古为“盾牌持有者指挥官”，但塞琉古是杀害佩迪卡斯的人之一。后来，塞琉古辞去了指挥权，将其交给安提帕特的儿子卡桑德，以便在大约320年特里帕拉迪斯进行领土划分时，他可以作为萨特拉普统治巴比伦尼亚省。

在c。315年，塞琉古从巴比伦尼亚和安提戈努斯·莫普塔尔莫斯逃到埃及和托勒密·索特。

"One day Seleucus insulted an officer without consulting Antigonus, who was present, and Antigonus out of spite asked for accounts of his money and his possessions; Seleucus, being no match for Antigonus, withdrew to Ptolemy in Egypt. Immediately after his flight, Antigonus deposed Blitor, the governor of Mesopotamia, for letting Seleucus escape, and took over personal control of Babylonia, Mesopotamia and all the peoples from the Medes to the Hellespont...." —Arrian

塞琉古收回巴比伦尼亚

312年，在第三次迪亚多克战争中的加沙战役中，托勒密和塞琉古打败了安提戈努斯之子德米特里厄斯·波洛塞特斯。第二年，塞琉古收回了巴比伦尼亚。巴比伦战争爆发时，塞琉古打败了尼卡诺。310年，他打败了德米特里厄斯。然后安提戈努斯入侵巴比伦尼亚。309年，塞琉古打败了安提戈努斯。这标志着塞琉西帝国的开始。然后在伊普苏斯战役中，第四次迪亚多克战争中，安提戈努斯被击败，塞琉古征服了叙利亚。

"After Antigonus had fallen in battle [1], the kings who had joined with Seleucus in destroying Antigonus, shared out his territory. Seleucus obtained then Syria from the Euphrates to the sea and inland Phrygia [2]. Always lying in wait for the neighboring peoples, with the power to coerce and the persuasion of diplomacy, he became ruler of Mesopotamia, Armenia, Seleucid Cappadocia (as it is called) [3], the Persians, Parthians, Bactrians, Arians and Tapurians, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and all other neighboring peoples whom Alexander had conquered in war as far as the Indus. The boundaries of his rule in Asia extended further than those of any ruler apart from Alexander; the whole land from Phrygia eastwards to the river Indus was subject to Seleucus. He crossed the Indus and made war on Sandracottus [4], king of the Indians about that river, and eventually arranged friendship and a marriage alliance with him. Some of these achievements belong to the period before the end of Antigonus, others to after his death. [...]" —Appian

托勒密暗杀塞琉古

281年9月，托勒密·科劳诺斯暗杀了塞琉古，塞琉古被埋在他自己建立并命名的一座城市里。

"Seleucus had 72 satraps under him [7], so vast was the territory he ruled. Most of it he handed over to his son [8], and ruled himself only the land from the sea to the Euphrates. His last war he fought against Lysimachus for the control of Hellespontine Phrygia; he defeated Lysimachus who fell in the battle, and crossed himself the Hellespont [9]. As he was marching up to Lysimachea [10] he was murdered by Ptolemy nicknamed Keraunos who was accompanying him [11]." This Keraunos was the son of Ptolemy Soter and Eurydice the daughter of Antipater; he had fled from Egypt through fear, as Ptolemy had in mind to hand over his realm to his youngest son. Seleucus welcomed him as the unfortunate son of his friend, and supported and took everywhere his own future assassin. And so Seleucus met his fate at the age of 73, having been king for 42 years." —Ibid

来源

• 狄奥多罗斯十八世贾斯汀十三世
• 普鲁塔克
• 尼波斯
• 乔娜·伦德林
• 柯蒂斯x.5.7 f
• 约翰·沃德、乔治·弗朗西斯·希尔爵士创作的《希腊货币及其母城》
• 巴里·施特劳斯的《指挥大师》
• 詹姆斯·罗姆的《王座上的幽灵》
• “亚历山大大帝和他的帝国，”皮埃尔·布莱恩特著