Seleucid empire in the context of "Seleucid dynasty"

The Aetolian (or Aitolian) League (Ancient Greek: Κοινὸν τῶν Αἰτωλῶν) was a confederation of tribal communities and cities in ancient Greece centered in Aetolia in Central Greece. It was probably established during the late Classical or the early Hellenistic era. Two annual meetings were held at Thermon and Panaetolika. The league occupied Delphi and steadily gained territory after its victory there against the Gauls in 279 BC. By the end of the 3rd century BC, it controlled the whole of central Greece with the exception of Attica, Euboea, Boeotia and northwestern Acarnania. At its peak, the league's territory included Locris, Phocis, Doris, Malis, Dolopia, Achaia Phthiotis, Ainis, Oetaea, Ambracia and parts of Acarnania. In the latter part of its power, certain Greek city-states out of central Greece joined the Aetolian League such as the Arcadian cities of Mantineia, Tegea, Phigalia and Kydonia on Crete.

During the classical period the Aetolians were not highly regarded by other Greeks, who considered them to be semi-barbaric and reckless. However, during the Hellenistic period, they emerged as a dominant state in central Greece and expanded by annexing several Greek city-states to the League after their victory against the Gauls in 279 BC. Their League had a complex political and administrative structure. The Aetolian League fought against Macedon and the Achaean League in the Social War (220-217 BC), allied with Rome in the First Macedonian War and Second Macedonian War, but then fought against the Romans in an alliance with the Seleucid empire in the Aetolian War before losing its independence to Rome.

Ptolemy III Euergetes (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης, romanized: Ptolemaîos Euergétēs, "Ptolemy the Benefactor"; c. 280 – November/December 222 BC) was the third pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt from 246 to 222 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom reached the height of its military and economic power during his kingship, as initiated by his father Ptolemy II Philadelphus.

Ptolemy III was the eldest son of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe I. When Ptolemy III was young, his mother was disgraced and he was removed from the succession. He was restored as heir to the throne in the late 250s BC and succeeded his father as king without issue in 246 BC. On his succession, Ptolemy III married Berenice II, reigning queen of Cyrenaica, thereby bringing her territory into the Ptolemaic realm. In the Third Syrian War (246–241 BC), Ptolemy III invaded the Seleucid empire and won a near total victory, but was forced to abandon the campaign as a result of an uprising in Egypt. In the aftermath of this rebellion, Ptolemy forged a closer bond with the Egyptian priestly elite, which was codified in the Canopus decree of 238 BC and set a trend for Ptolemaic power in Egypt for the rest of the dynasty. In the Aegean, Ptolemy III suffered a major setback when his fleet was defeated by the Antigonids at the Battle of Andros around 246 BC, but he continued to offer financial support to their opponents in mainland Greece for the rest of his reign. At his death, Ptolemy III was succeeded by his eldest son, Ptolemy IV.

Diodotus II Theos (Greek: Διόδοτος Θεός, Diódotos Theós, "Diodotus the God"; r. 235 – 225 BC) was the son and successor of Diodotus I Soter, who rebelled against the Seleucid empire, establishing the Graeco-Bactrian Kingdom. Diodotus II probably ruled alongside his father as co-regent, before succeeding him as sole king around 235 BC. He prevented Seleucid efforts to reincorporate Bactria back into the empire, by allying with the Parthians against them. He was murdered around 225 BC by Euthydemus I, who succeeded him as king.

Diodotus’ career was recounted by Apollodorus of Artemita in the Parthian History, but this text is lost, and surviving literary sources only mention him in passing. Thus, most details of Diodotus' life and career have to be reconstructed from numismatics.

Ptolemy IV Philopator (Greek: Πτολεμαῖος Φιλοπάτωρ, romanized: Ptolemaĩos Philopátōr; "Ptolemy, lover of his Father"; May/June 244 – July/August 204 BC) was the fourth pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 221 to 204 BC.

Ptolemy IV was the son of Ptolemy III and Berenice II. His succession to the throne was accompanied by a wide-ranging purge of the Ptolemaic royal family, which left control of the realm's government largely in the hands of his courtiers Sosibius and Agathocles. His reign was marked by the Fourth Syrian War (219–217 BC) with the Seleucid empire, which culminated in a decisive Ptolemaic victory at the Battle of Raphia, one of the largest battles of the whole Hellenistic Age. In the final years of his rule, control over the southern portion of the country was lost to the rebel pharaoh Hugronaphor. Ptolemy IV died in mysterious circumstances in 204 BC and was succeeded by his young son Ptolemy V Epiphanes under the regency of Sosibius and Agathocles.

Tiridates or Teridates or Tirdad or تیرداد /tɪˈrɪdətiːz/ Parthian:𐭕𐭉𐭓𐭉𐭃𐭕 (Tīridāt) is a Persian name, given by Arrian in his Parthica to the brother of Arsaces I, the founder of the Parthian kingdom, whom he is said to have succeeded around 246 BC. But Arrian's account seems to be quite unhistorical and modern historians believe that the character of Tiridates is fictional, and that Arsaces continued to rule Parthia until 217 BC.

In Arrian's account, Tiridates maintained himself for a short time in Parthia, during the dissolution of the Seleucid empire by the attacks of Ptolemy III in 246 BC and the following years. Tiridates was defeated and expelled by Seleucus II around 238 BC. But when Seleucus was forced, by the rebellion of his brother, Antiochus Hierax, to return to the west, Tiridates came back and defeated the Macedonians. Tiridates adopted the name of his brother Arsaces, and after him, all the other Parthian kings did the same.