c. 358-280 BC. Macedonian general under
Alexander the Great and founder of the
Seleucid Empire. After Alexander's death 323
BC, Seleucus became governor and then (312
BC) ruler of Babylonia, founding the city of
Seleucia on the river Tigris. He conquered
Syria and had himself crowned king 306 BC,
but his expansionist policies brought him
into conflict with the Ptolemies of Egypt,
and he was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus.
He was succeeded by his son Antiochus I.