Apollonius Taos
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Apollonius Taos | |
|---|---|
| Era | 2nd century BCE |
| Known for | Governor of Coele-Syria under the Seleucid Empire; defection to Demetrius II Nicator; military conflict with Jonathan Maccabeus |
Apollonius Taos (Ancient Greek: Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Ταῷς) was a governor of Coele-Syria under the Seleucid Empire during the 2nd century BCE.
Apollonius served as governor under Alexander Balas, who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 150 to 142 BCE.
This period was marked by internal strife and external threats, creating instability within the empire. A few years earlier, in 175 B.C., Antiochus IV Epiphanes had set a violent precedent by seizing the throne from his brother, Seleucus IV Philopator, and having him assassinated.
This event initiated a pattern of violent succession crises within the Seleucid dynasty. Rival claimants to the throne often relied on foreign powers and internal factions to assert their claims, further destabilizing the empire until its eventual decline and conquest by the Roman Empire.
