Macedonian general under
Alexander (III) the Great and founder of the Seleucid dynasty of Syria. After Alexander's death in 323
BC, Seleucus became governor and then, in 312
BC, ruler of Babylonia, founding the city of Seleucia on the River Tigris. He conquered Syria and had himself crowned king in 306
BC, but his expansionist policies brought him into conflict with the Ptolemies of Egypt and he was assassinated. He was succeeded by his son Antiochus I.
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