Reverse: Apollo seated on omphalos, holding arrow,and bow

The Seleukid Kingdom was established by Seleukos I, one of the generals of Alexander the Great, following the death of Alexander and the division of his empire. At its peak under Seleukos I and Antiochus I, the Seleucid Kingdom comprised almost the whole of the conquests of Alexander with the exception of Egypt. Around 245 B.C., Seleukos III Soter, “the Savior,” son of Seleukos II Kallinikos found himself facing the daunting task of restoring to his empire the lands lost by Antiochos Hierax. At the youthful age of twenty-five, Seleukos raised an army for the unavoidable clash with the Attalid King Attalos I of Pergamon. At the same time, he dispatched his younger brother, Antiochos III, to maintain control of the eastern satrapies. In 224 B.C., Seleukos III crossed the Tauros River, into Attalid territory, and the battle with the Pergamene army began. It is believed the Attalids may have had support from Ptolemaic Egypt, who fought over territory with the Seleukids. It is unclear how the war played out, but in the summer of 223, for reasons that are now lost to history, a conspiracy involving a Macedonian officer and a Galatian chieftain claimed the life of the young king. With the sudden poisoning death of his elder brother, the royal authority fell to the youthful Antiochos III and his guardian, Achaios, Horse in Exergue