Converging Perspectives on Antiochos III

This chapter compares three texts about the Seleukid monarch Antiochos III: a decree of the Seleukid Greek city of Teos published shortly before the king’s war with Rome; a description of his conduct of the war written by the pro-Roman historian Polybios; and a cuneiform text from Babylon about Antiochos’ visit to the city just after the war. I argue that, despite differences in style, cultural background, historical context, and political allegiance, these texts converge around key themes of Seleukid imperial discourse, such as the king as benefactor and the importance of the royal couple. The chapter thus serves as a corrective to recent scholarship that tends to stress the differences between Greek and non-Greek perspectives on the Seleukid kings.