Seleucid

[ si-loo-sid ]

noun

, plural Se·leu·ci·dae [si-, loo, -si-dee].

1. a member of a Macedonian dynasty, 312–64 b.c., that ruled an empire that included much of Asia Minor, Syria, Persia, Bactria, and Babylonia.

adjective

1. of or relating to the Seleucids or their dynasty.

Seleucid

/ sɪˈluːsɪdən; sɪˈluːsɪd /

noun

1. a member of a royal dynasty (312–64 bc ) that at the zenith of its power ruled over an area extending from Thrace to India

adjective

1. of, relating to, or supporting the Seleucids or their dynasty

Derived Forms

• Seleucidan, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Seleucid¹

1850–55; < New Latin Seleucidēs < Greek Seleukídēs “offspring of Seleucus ( def ) ”; -id ¹

Example Sentences

In one, recounted in the First and Second Books of Maccabees, a small band of ancient Jewish zealots defeat the Seleucid army, which is intent on eliminating Jewish religious and cultural practice, and has defiled the Temple in Jerusalem with idol worship.

From Slate

In 175 B.C. the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes came into power and tried to force Judeans to assimilate.

From National Geographic

The eight days and nights of Hanukkah commemorates the preservation of light in the holy temple in Jerusalem during the 2nd century BCE, when the fundamentalist Maccabees revolted against the Greek Seleucid Empire and re-dedicated the temple through the burning of sacred oil, which miraculously lasted eight nights.

From Los Angeles Times

Established by the Seleucid Empire in 300 BC, Antakya, formerly Antioch, has been home to Jews, Christians and Muslims and destroyed or heavily damaged several times as it changed hands between Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Ottomans.

From Reuters

According to National Geographic, the Talmud, a Jewish holy text, states that Hanukkah acknowledges the Maccabean revolt the Hebrews led against the Hellenistic influence that was being imposed by Greco-Syrian Seleucid rulers.

From Fox News