Antiochus II Theos

Antiochus II Theos (, ; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire who reigned from 261 to 246 BC. He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC. He was the younger son of Antiochus I and princess Stratonice, the daughter of Demetrius Poliorcetes. Antiochus II was a forceful personality who in his lifetime largely succeeded to hold the sprawling Seleucid realm intact. However his fateful decision to repudiate his first wife Laodice and marry a Ptolemaic princess Berenice as part of a peace treaty led to a succession struggle after his death that would shake the empire's foundations and cause large territorial losses. Early life Antiochus II was the younger son of Antiochus I Soter and his famous queen Stratonice. Antiochus was initially not expected to inherit the throne, but in 267 BC his father had his elder brother Seleucus executed on charges of rebellion. Reign He inherited lasting tensions with Ptolemaic Egypt and soon initiated the Second Syrian War in alliance with Antigonus II of the Antigonid dynasty. The war was largely fought along the coasts of Asia Minor and conflated with the constant intrigues of petty despots and restless city-states in Asia Minor. Antiochus II made some gains in Asia Minor and acquired direct access to Aegean Sea by capturing Miletus and Ephesus. During the war he assumed the title Theos (Greek: , "God"), being such to the Milesians in slaying the tyrant Timarchus. At around the same time Antiochus II also made some attempt to get a footing in Thrace which details are largely unknown and a mint in the city of Byzantium briefly issued coins in his name.