Andromachus

Who is Andromachus?

Andromachus was an Anatolian nobleman of Greek Macedonian and Persian descent. Andromachus’ father was a wealthy nobleman who owned estates in Anatolia and his family had power in Anatolia with strong royal connections. Andromachus was the second son of Achaeus by an unnamed Greek mother and a grandson of Seleucus I Nicator and his first wife Apama I. He had four siblings; one brother: Alexander and two sisters: Antiochis and Laodice I. He was the father of Achaeus and Laodice II. Laodice II married her cousin, the Seleucid King Seleucus II Callinicus and they were the parents of Antiochus III the Great.

At some moment in the course of a war between the Seleucids and Egyptian Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy III Euergetes took him prisoner; and when Ptolemy III died in 221 BC, Andromachus was still a prisoner in Egypt. Since Achaeus had long shown great anxiety to secure his father's release, Ptolemy IV of Egypt’s chief advisor Sosibius, regarded the captive grandee as a very valuable piece to play in the political game. He had, perhaps, before the revolt of Achaeus, tried to strike a bargain with him-—the release of Andromachus as the price of Achaeus deserting his king.