Antiochus (; ; killed c. 226 BC), called Hierax (, , "Hawk") for his grasping and ambitious character,Plutarch, Sayings of Kings and Commanders, p.184; On Brotherly Love, p.489 was the younger son of Antiochus II and Laodice I and separatist leader in the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, who ruled as king of Syria during his brother's reign.
Life
King of Asia Minor
Youngest son of Antiochus II and Laodice I, he was thirteen when his father died in 246 BC. That death led to the Third Syrian War. A year later, probably under the influence of his mother,Justin, Epitome of the Phillipic History of Pompeius Trogus, XXVII Antiochus demanded possession of Asia Minor from his brother Seleucus II Callinicus and declared his independence in order to expand his territory and his authority. Seleucus, struggling against the Ptolemaic forces, accepted.
War of the Brothers
In 241 BC, Seleucus made peace with Ptolemy III Euergetes and then tried to recover the territories his brother took from him. Ready for the war, Antiochus sought the help of two strong allies: Mithridates II of Pontus and Ariarathes III of Cappadocia; constituting a vast coalition of Anatolian states: Cappadocia, Bithynia and a certain number of Galatians. After an initial loss in Lydia, Antiochus decimated his brother's army in the Battle of Ancyra in ca. 239 BCOvertoom, "The Power-Transition Crisis of the 240s BCE and the Creation of the Parthian State," The International History Review Volume 38, 2016 - Issue 5. Pages 984-1013. and then ruled over Asia Minor, where he produced his own coins. His brother, meanwhile, went east to stop a rebellion in ParthiaMaurice Sartre, L'Anatolie Hellénistique, Armand Colin, 2003
Against Attalus I
In c. 238, Antiochus and his Galatians allies attacked Pergamon but had to face its powerful ruler Attalus I. Attalus defeated the Gauls and Antiochus at the Battle of Aphrodisium and again at a second battle in the east. Subsequent battles were fought and won against Antiochus alone: in Hellespontine Phrygia, where Antiochus was perhaps seeking refuge with his father-in-law,Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus, xxvii. 2-3; Polyaenus, Stratagemata, iv. 17; Eusebius, Chronicon (Schoene ed.), pag. 251; Pompeius Trogus, Prologi, 27; Ziaelas of Bithynia; near Sardis in the spring of 228 BC; and, in the final battle of the campaign, further south in Caria on the banks of the Harpasus, a tributary of the Maeander.Hansen, Esther V. (1971). The Attalids of Pergamon. Cornell University Press. , p.34-35 All his possessions taken away, Antiochus still tried to replace his brother in Syria and Mesopotamia, taking advantage of his brother' absence. He ultimately failed and was killed in Thrace in 226 BC.
Marriage relations
Antiochus Hierax had two wives: A daughter of the ruler of Cappadocia (see Ariarathes III of Cappadocia), with whom he was allied at least in 230 BCE. A daughter of king of Bithynia, with whom he was also allied. Both came from royal families whom Hierax allied with against his elder brother Seleucus II.
His sister Laodice was married with his ally, king Mithridates II of Pontus. See also Laodice.
Notes
References
External links Antiochus Hierax, article in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith Antiochus Hierax, list of sources at attalus.org