Seleucus VI Epiphanes

Seleucus VI Epiphanes

Seleucus VI Epiphanes Nicator was a Hellenistic Seleucid monarch who ruled Syria between 96 and 94 BC. He was the son of Antiochus VIII and his Egyptian wife Tryphaena. His reign did not last long; in 94 BC, he was expelled from Antioch by Antiochus X, who followed him to the Cilician city of Mopsuestia.

About Seleucus VI Epiphanes in brief

Summary Seleucus VI EpiphanesSeleucus VI Epiphanes Nicator was a Hellenistic Seleucid monarch who ruled Syria between 96 and 94 BC. He was the son of Antiochus VIII and his Egyptian wife Tryphaena. He lived in a period of civil war between his father and his uncle Antiochus IX, which ended in 96 BC. According to the ancient historian Appian, Seleucaus VI was a violent ruler. He taxed his dominions extensively to support his wars, and resisted allowing the cities a measure of autonomy. His reign did not last long; in 94 BC, he was expelled from Antioch by Antiochus X, who followed him to the Cilician city of Mopsuestia. He took shelter in the city where his attempts to raise money led to riots that eventually claimed his life in 94BC. He is most probably burned alive by the rioters. He may have been the source of the legitimacy of his grandfather Demetrius II, who sought to emphasize his descent by depicting himself on the coinage with an exaggerated hawk-nose in the likeness of his father.

As a king, he appeared on coins with epithets Epiphane and Nicator; the meaning of this motif has been debated among scholars. It is most likely an allusion to SeleUCus VI’s descent from his grandfather, who utilized the same short vertical stubby horns above the temple area of the temple. He also may have used the same emblem as his father, who had a similar design on his coinage. He had a son with his wife, Cleopatra Selene, who may have sent him to Cilicia as a strategos. He died in 94 BC, but some historians believe he was killed in a battle in 95 BC. His coins were minted during his preparations for war against his uncle, Antiochus VII, which would end in 9695 BC. The volume of coins minted by the new king in Sele Tucia on the Calycadnus surpassed any other mint known from the late Seleukid period.