The latest on Seleucid empire building in the East

R. J. Van Der Spek*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

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Abstract

Sonja Plischke’s Die Seleukiden und Iran is an attempt to study Seleucid empire building in Iran. In view of the fact that indigenous written sources from Iran are practically absent, Plischke decided to include Babylonia in this work, since the written cuneiform evidence from that region is fairly abundant. She detects some general tendencies—such as religious policy and the general wish to connect the different parts of the empire—supported by a personal conception of Seleucid kingship, beside more specific treatment of different regions. In my view, the Seleucids probably did not pay sufficient attention to the East, so that their control weakened. I take the opportunity to discuss the Babylonian sources, correct errors in Plischke’s use of them, and adduce some new publications.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)385-394
Number of pages10
JournalJournal of the American Oriental Society
Volume138
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2018

Bibliographical note

Review of: Die Seleukiden und Iran. By Sonja Plischke. Classica et Orientalia, vol. 9. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2014

Keywords

  • ancient history
  • Assyriology
  • Iran
  • Seleucid Empire
  • classics
  • Empire

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