thing like a settled condition of things
brought about. A quadripartite division of Alexander's dominions was
recognized, Macedonia, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Syria (or south-western
Asia) becoming thenceforth distinct political entities. Asia Minor, the
kingdom of Lysimachus, had indeed less of unity than the other three
states. It was already disintegrated, the kingdoms of Bithynia, Pontus,
and Cappadocia, subsisting side by side with that of Lysimachus, which
was thus limited to western and south-western Asia Minor. After
the death of Lysimachus, further changes occurred; but the state of
Pergamus, which sprang up this time, may be regarded as the continuation
of Lysimachus's kingdom, and as constituting from the time of Eumenes
I. (B.C. 263) a fourth power in the various political movements and
combinations of the Graeco-Oriental world.

Of the four powers thus established, the most important, and that with
which we are here especially concerned, was the kingdom of Syria (as
it was called), or that ruled for 247 years by the Seleucidae. Seleucus
Nicator, the founder of this kingdom, was one of Alexander's officers,
but served without much distinction through the various compaigns by
which the conquest of the East was effected. At the first distribution
of provinces (B.C. 323) among Alexander's generals after his death, he
received no share; and it was not until B.C. 320, when upon the death of
Perdiccas a fresh distribution was made at Triparadisus, that his
merits were recognized, and he was given the satrapy of Babylon. In this
position he acquired a character for mildness and liberality, and made
himself generally beloved, both by his soldiers and by those who were
under his government. In the struggle between Antigonus and Eumenes
(B.C. 317-316), he embraced the side of the former, and did him some
good service; but this, instead of evoking gratitude, appears to have
only roused in Antigonus a spirit of jealousy. The ambitious aspirant
after universal dominion, seeing in the popular satrap a possible, and
far from a contemptible, rival, thought it politic to sweep him out of
his way; and the career of Seleucus would have been cut short had he
not perceived his peril in time, and by a precipitate flight secured his
safety. Accompanied by a body of no more than fifty horsemen, he took
the road for Egypt, escaped the pursuit of a detachment sent to overtake
him, and threw himself on the protection of Ptolemy.

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