Antiquity
Seleucid Empire
- Period
- 318 BC – 64 BC
- Duration
- approx. 254 years
- Greatest extent
- around 301 BC
- Area (max.)
- approx. 3 million km²
Profile
Strength
A huge empire with an elephant corps; Seleucus obtained 500 elephants from the Mauryans.
Famous figures
- Seleucus I
- Antiochus III the Great
- Antiochus IV
Wars & battles won
- Battle of Ipsus (301 BC)
- Battle of Panium (200 BC)
Wars & battles lost
- Battle of Magnesia (190 BC)
- Maccabean Revolt (from 167 BC)
- Loss of the east to the Parthians
Languages
- Greek
- Aramaic
Period and duration
Seleucid Empire — according to the map data from 318 BC to 64 BC, roughly 254 years. The dates refer to the time the empire is drawn as its own territory on the world map; historians sometimes date its founding and end differently.
Greatest extent
Seleucid Empire — greatest extent around 301 BC: the mapped borders then cover about 3 million km², roughly 2% of Earth's land area. The area is calculated from the border lines of the map and is therefore an approximation.
Predecessors and successors
States that ruled the same territory directly before and after:
Before (319 BC)
After
Neighbours around 301 BC
The largest states in the region at the same time:
Learn more
- Open the world map in 301 BC — tap the empire for a detailed description
- Seleucid Empire on Wikipedia
- All 371 empires at a glance
Borders and dates: Cliopatria / Seshat Global History Databank (CC BY 4.0). Coastlines: Natural Earth. Text: Centaurian.