Dynastic Wars of the Seleucids
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Were a series of wars of succession that were fought between competing branches of the Seleucid royal household for control of the Seleucid Empire.
Chronology
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January 144 BC: Alexander Balas reigned until 145 BC when he was overthrown by Demetrius I's son, Demetrius II Nicator. Demetrius II proved unable to control the whole of the kingdom, however. While he ruled Babylonia and eastern Syria from Damascus, the remnants of Balas' supporters - first supporting Balas' son Antiochus VI, then the usurping general Diodotus Tryphon - held out in Antioch.
January 138 BC: Parthian expansion continued as well. In 139 BC, Demetrius II was defeated in battle by the Parthians and was captured. By this time, the entire Iranian Plateau had been lost to Parthian control.
Was the rebellion of Seleucid General Molon in the Satrapies of Persia and Media.
January 221 BC: Molon, governor general of the higher Seleucid satrapies (including Persia and Media) revolted. Molon forced the strategists of the royal army into retirement by occupying the country east of the Tigris. King Antiochos sent only a mercenary strategist named Xenoitas against him who get beaten.
1.1.Defeat of Molon
Rebel Seleucid General Molon was defeated.
January 220 BC: Antiochos found himself in a difficult situation, having to deal with this uprising while trying in vain to reconquer Coele-Syria from Ptolemy III. The king ends up deciding to go to the East himself on the advice of Epigenes. The campaign is conducted relatively effectively as Molon is defeated and commits suicide.
Revolt of the Satrap of the Seleucid Kingdom Timarchus in the Persian east.
January 162 BC: Timarchus was a usurper in the Seleucid empire between 163-160 BC who managed to extend his realm into Babylonia (162 BC), where records of his reign were inscribed into the astronomical calendars.
January 159 BC: Timarchus' forces were however not enough for the legal Seleucid king: Demetrius defeated and killed Timarchus in 160 BC, and the Seleucid empire was temporarily united again.
Were the military campaigns of Seleucid King Antiochus VII Sidetes against several usurpers.
January 146 BC: After defeating the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom in the east, Mithridates then focused on the Seleucid realm. He invaded Media and occupied Ecbatana in 148 or 147 BC.
January 129 BC: Sidetes' campaign initially met with spectacular success, recapturing Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Media.
April 129 BC: His army was scattered in winter quarters throughout Media and Persis when the Parthian king, Phraates II, counter-attacked. Moving to intercept the Parthians with only the troops at his immediate disposal, he was ambushed and killed. Antiochus Sidetes is sometimes called the last great Seleucid king. After Antiochus was killed in battle, the Seleucid realm was restricted to Syria.
January 128 BC: After the death of Antiochus VII Sidetes, all of the recovered eastern territories were recaptured by the Parthians. The Maccabees again rebelled, civil war soon tore the empire to pieces, and the Armenians began to encroach on Syria from the north.
January 137 BC: In 138 BC Demetrius II's brother Antiochus VII Sidetes invaded Syria and brought his Diodotus Tryphon rule to an end.
January 129 BC: Antiochus VII Sidetes recaptured Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Media and defeated the Parthian Satrap of Seleucia-on-Tigris in personal combat.
