DECONSTRUCTING A MYTH OF SELEUCID HISTORY: THE SO-CALLED “ELEPHANT VICTORY” REVISITED

Abstract

In 281 b.c., the kings Lysimachus and Seleucus, the last survivors from among Alexander the Great’s hetairoi, clashed in a major battle near Corupedium in Phyrgia. Meanwhile, Celtic chieftains from the Balkan regions prepared for the most spectacular invasion of Greece since the Persian Wars. One decade later, the hellenistic world had undergone significant change: not only Lysimachus and Seleucus, but also Ptolemy Ceraunus, Demetrius Poliorcetes, and Pyrrhus had lost their lives in the quest for power. Antigonus Gonatas had eventually established himself as king of Macedon, while Antiochus i, having overcome the turmoil that followed his succession to the Seleucid throne, kept Ptolemy ii out of Syria and halted the latter’s intrusion into southern Asia Minor in the so-called “First Syrian War” (274–271/70 b.c.). Despite the loss of Miletus, Antiochus’ control now extended eastwards to the Hindu Kush and westwards to the Aegean coast. In contrast to his father, however, Antiochus had to tolerate the presence of Galatian forces in central Anatolia. After the Celts had been defeated at Delphi in 279 b.c., two remnant groups went to Asia in 278 b.c. and became allies of Nicomedes i of Bithynia, while at least one other seems to have been hired by Mithridates i of Pontus soon thereafter. Since our sources are scanty, much early Galatian history is controversial or obscure, and individual tribal names and settlement places are attested only in subsequent generations. Among these, the best known are the Tolistobogii, who took possession of the region around Gordium, the former Phrygian residence at the confluence of the Tembris and Sangarius rivers. To the west were the Tectosages, who ultimately controlled Ancyra and its environs up to the river Halys. East of the Halys were the Trocmi, with Tavium being their central market place, although this may in fact represent a much later stage in the formation of the Galatian landscape.