Seleucid Encounters with the Iranian World: Religious and Cultic Elements in the Administration and Ruling of the Seleucid East

Abstract

Among the successors of Alexander III the Seleukids were the only Hellenistic kingdom which had to deal intensively with local indigenous structures and traditions while establishing their imperial rule. In contrast to the Western territories, which had close contact to the Graeco-Macedonian world, the territories beyond Mesopotamia were militarily subjected by Alexander III, but the Macedonian ruler did not establish any new structures of control. Therefore, the Seleukid kings rather followed in the footsteps of the Achaimenid kings when facing the huge challenge of developing a concept of imperial rule, which accounted for the needs and demands of both the Western and the Eastern territories. In order to achieve this, the Seleukid kings relied heavily on local structures, especially in the Eastern territories where they tried to connect the encountered indigenous traditions and networks of power with Graeco-Macedonian elements to establish a concept of imperial rule, in which every part of the population was represented. Two aspects of this concept stand out: In contrast to the other Hellenistic dynasties the Seleukid kings were very late in introducing a Seleukid ruler cult. This element reveals a clear sensitivity for the Perso-Iranian world of worship, which was unfamiliar with cults for a living person. In addition, the adoption title ‘Great King’ under Antiochos III followed Seleukid ruling aspects and not Achaimenid ones. A similar trend can be found in the iconographic program of the Seleukid coins minted in the Eastern territories. On the one hand, there is a great diversity concerning the iconographic elements, especially in comparison with the coins minted in the Western territories. On the other hand, elements and images with an Iranian origin or an indigenous semantic level can be found in abundance, which were also understood and well known in the Mediterranean world. Thus, it can be surmised the Seleukid focus, especially in the Eastern territories, did not rest on the accurate adoption of every local and established tradition but on a case-by-case assessment of the practicability of each measure. The Seleukid concept of imperial rule should be understood as a combination of the adoption and transformation of proven elements with new specific Seleukid ruling practices.