Reconstructing Early Seleucid Generalship, 301–222 BC

Given the warrior ethos of Alexander and his companions, it comes as little surprise that generals would figure so prominently in the courts of the dynasties formed by the diadochoi. The vast Seleucid empire is no exception to this, and we find that generals are key figures in its administration from its earliest generation. As the dynasty’s imperial ideology and courtly practice crystallised over the following century, the prominence of generals was likewise solidified, to the point that most of those who later attempted to usurp the throne came from the dynasty’s foremost generals. This chapter tracks the evolving place of Seleucid generals at court and in the field, beginning with the precedent set by Alexander and the hetairoi and then considering the likes of Achaeus the Elder, Andromachos, Alexander of Sardis, their contemporaries in the near east of the Empire. Precisely why and how Seleucid generals like Achaeus the Younger, Timarchos of Miletos and Diodotus Trpyhon garnered such support that their attempts at usurpation could shake the foundations of the empire is also considered.