several successors! How expressly has he pointed out the nation, that was to be the Grecian; described the countries they were to possess ; measured the duration of their empires, and the extent of their power, inferior to that of Alexander; in a word, with what lively colours has he drawn the characters of those princes, and specified their alliances, treaties, treachery, marriages, and success! Can any one possibly ascribe to chance, or human foresight, so many circumstantial predictions, which at the time of their being denounced, were so remote from probability; and may we not evidently discover in them the character and traces of the Divinity, to whom all ages are present in one view, and who alone determines at his will the fate of all the kingdoms and empires of the world? But it is now time for us to resume the thread of our history.

Onias, the first of that name, and high priest of the Jews, died about this time, and was succeeded by his son Simon, who, for the sanctity of his life, and the equity of all his actions, was sirnamed the Just. He enjoyed the pontificate for the space of nine years.

с

• Seleucus, after the defeat of Antigonus, made himself master of Upper Syria, where he built Antioch on the Orontes, and gave it that name, either from his father, or his son, for they were both called Antiochus. This city, where the Syrian kings afterwards resided, was the capital of the east for a long time, and still preserved that privilege under the Roman emperors.

d Joseph. Antiq. 1. xii. c. 2.

A. M. 3704. Ant. J. C. 300. Strab. 1. xvi. p. 749, 750. Appian in Syr p. 124. Justin. 1. xv. c. 4.

Antigonus had lately built a city at a small distance. from this, and called it Antigonia; but Seleucus had entirely demolished it, and employed the materials in the construction of his own city, to which he afterwards transplanted the inhabitants of the former.

Among several other cities built by Seleucus in this country, there were three more remarkable than the rest the first was called Seleucia, from his own name; the second, Apamea, from his consort of that name, who was the daughter of Artabazus the Persian; the third was Laodicea, so denominated from his mother. Apamea and Seleucia were situated on the same river on which Antioch was built, and Laodicea was in the southern part of the same quarter. He allowed the Jews the same privileges and immunities in each of these new cities, as were enjoyed by the Greeks and Macedonians, and especially at Antioch in Syria, where that people settled in such numbers, that they possessed as considerable a part of that city as their other countrymen enjoyed at Alexandria.

Demetrius had withdrawn himself to Ephesus, after the battle of Ipsus, and from thence, embarked for Greece, his whole resource being limited to the affection of the Athenians, with whom he had left his fleet, money and wife Deidamia, But he was strangely surprised and offended, when he was met in his way, by ambassadors from the Athenians, who came to aquaint him that he could not be admitted into their city, because the people had, by a decree, prohibited the reception of any of the kings: they also informed him

Strab. 1. xvi. p. 750.

that his consort Deidamia had been conducted to Mc. gara, with all the honours and attendance due to her dignity. Demetrius was then sensible of the value of honours and homages extorted by fear, and which did not proceed from the will. The posture of his affairs not permitting him to revenge the perfidy of that people, he contented himself with intimating his complaints to them in a moderate manner, and demanded his galleys, among which was that prodigious galley, of sixteen benches of oars, As soon as he had received them, he sailed towards the Chersonesus; and having committed some devastations in the territories of Lysimachus, he enriched his army with the spoils, and by that expedient prevented the desertion of his troops, who now began to recover their vigor, and render themselves formidable anew.

Lysimachus, king of Thrace, in order to strengthen himself in his dominions, entered into a particular treaty with Ptolemy, and strengthened the alliance between them, by espousing one of his daughters, named Arsinoe; shortly after which, his son Agathocles married another.

8 This double alliance between Lysimachus and Ptolemy gave umbrage to Seleucus, who thereupon entered into a treaty with Demetrius, and espoused Stratonice, the daughter of that prince, by Phila, the sister of Cassander. The beauty of that princess had induced Seleucus to demand her in marriage; and as the affairs of Demetrius were at that time in a very bad condition, so honourable an alliance with so powerful a prince was exceedingly agreeable to him.

A. M. 3705. Ant. J. C. 299. Plut. in Demetr. p. 905

In

consequence of which he immediately conducted his daughter with all his fleet into Syria from Greece, where he was still in possession of some places. During his passage, he made a descent on Cilicia, which then belonged to Plistarchus, the brother of Cassander, to whom it had been assigned by the four kings, who divided the dominions of Alexander the Great after the death of Antigonus. Plistarchus went to complain of this proceeding to Seleucus, and to reproach him for contracting an alliance with the common enemy, without the consent of the other kings, which he considered as an infraction of the treaty. Demetrius, receiving intelligence of this journey advanced directly to the city of Synada, where the treasures of the province, amounting to twelve hundred talents, were deposited. These he carried off with all expedition to his fleet, and then set sail for Syria, where he found Seleucus, and gave him the princess Stratonice in marriage. Demetrius, after some days passed in rejoicings for the nuptials, and entertainments given on each side, returned to Cilicia, and made himself master of the whole province. He then sent his wife Phila to Cassander, in order to excuse this proceeding. These kings imitated the princes of the east, with whom it is customary to have several wives at the same time.

During these transactions of Demetrius, Deidamia, another of his wives, who had taken a journey to meet him in Greece, and had passed some time with him in that country, was seized with an indisposition that ended

1,200,00 crowns.

her days. i Demetrius having reconciled himself with Ptolemy, by the mediation of Seleucus, espoused Ptolemaida, the daughter of Ptolemy; by which means his affairs began to assume a better aspect; for he had all the island of Cyprus, and the two rich and powerful cities of Tyre and Sidon, beside his new conquests in Cilicia.

It was very imprudent in Seleucus to permit so dangerous an enemy to establish himself at so small a distance from him, and to usurp from one of his allies a province so near his own dominions as Cilicia. All this shews that these princes had no established rules and principles of conduct, and were even ignorant of the true interests of their ambition; for as to faith of treaty, equity, and gratitude, they had long since renounced them all, and only reigned for the unhappiness of their people, as the author of the first book of Maccabees has observed.*

The eyes of Seleucus were however open at last, and in order to prevent his having a neighbour of such abilities on each side of his dominions, he required Demetrius to surrender Cilicia to him for a very considerable sum of money; but that prince not being disposed to comply with such a proposal, Seleucus insisted upon his restoring him the cities of Tyre and Sidon that depended on Syria, of which he was king. Demetrius, enraged at this demand, replied very abruptly, that though he should lose several other battles as fatal to him as that of Ipsus, he should never resolve to purchase the friendship of Seleucus at so high a price. At the same time, he sailed to those two cities,

A. M. 3706. Ant. J. C. 298.

k Chap. i. ver. 9, 10.