How Did Seleucid To Take Control Of Palestine

While the Ptolemies were in control of Palestine there were changes occurring in Syria to the north. In 311 B.C., just after the first Ptolemy began his rule, one of his generals, Seleucus I, moved with the soldiers who supported him to take control of Syria. This began the Syrian or Seleucid period. In the coming years Seleucus I and his successors would build their empire on the northern border of Palestine. This was often the location of conflict as Seleucid leaders from time to time attempted to expand their border south. In the end, in 198 B.C., Antiochus III a descendant of the original Seleucus would defeat Ptolemy V and take control of Palestine.

The Seleucids wanted Palestine for three specific reasons.11 Palestine’s rich timber