Alexander

Who is Alexander?

Alexander was an Anatolian nobleman of Greek Macedonian and Persian descent who was a Seleucid official.

Alexander was the first son born to Achaeus by an unnamed Greek mother. His father Achaeus was a wealthy nobleman who owned estates in Anatolia. His family had power in Anatolia with strong royal connections. Alexander had three siblings, two sisters, Antiochis and Laodice I, and a brother Andromachus. His father Achaeus was the second son of King Seleucus I Nicator and his first wife Apama I.

According to surviving inscriptions, Alexander was already active and held high positions under his paternal uncle Antiochus I Soter. A surviving decree at Bargylia honoring a judge from Teos mentions Alexander as having been ‘left in charge’ by Antiochus I Soter, meaning that Alexander was some sort of governor in the Caria region. The surviving decree at Bargylia dates from 270–261 BC.

During the reign of his paternal cousin and brother-in-law Antiochus II Theos, Alexander was a very powerful figure in Anatolia. Between 261–244 BC in Magnesia ad Sipylum, he is noted in writing a letter about land allotments granted to soldiers and he was honored at Tralles.