Seleucid

American  

[si-loo-sid] / sɪˈlu sɪd /

noun

• Seleucidae
  plural

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.

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adjective

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

Seleucid British  

/ 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

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adjective

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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Seleucidan
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Seleucidae
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Seleucid

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Seleucid Seleucidae

The festival celebrates the victory of the Jewish Maccabees against the Greek-led Seleucid Empire, which sought to eradicate Judaism.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 10, 2025

Hanukkah itself celebrates an ancient Jewish victory over the Seleucid Empire, which sought to impose Hellenistic culture and forced assimilation in Judea.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2024

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

From National Geographic ● Dec. 7, 2023

Even after the Bactrian kingdom split away from the Seleucid Empire in the third century BCE, Greek influence there remained.

From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023

He then declared his independent kingship, sending an army to attack Egypt in concert with the Seleucid king An- tiochus I’s invasion from the east in 274.

From "Circumference" by Nicholas Nicastro

Till the 15th century the Jews usually followed the era of the Seleucidae or of Contracts.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 "Chitral" to "Cincinnati" by Various

Other states broke off from the Syrian realm of the Seleucidae.

From Outline of Universal History by George Park Fisher

I suppose Alroy to have entered one of the deserted capitals of the Seleucidae.

From Alroy The Prince Of The Captivity by Benjamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield

Under his successors, the Seleucidae, this vast empire rapidly diminished; Bactria became independent, and a separate dynasty of Greek kings ruled there in the year 125, when it was overthrown by the Scythian tribes.

From The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo by Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy

The two houses of the Seleucidae and Arsacidae were thus already allied to some extent.

From The Seven Great Monarchies Of The Ancient Eastern World, Vol 6. (of 7): Parthia The History, Geography, And Antiquities Of Chaldaea, Assyria, Babylon, Media, Persia, Parthia, And Sassanian or New Persian Empire; With Maps and Illustrations. by George Rawlinson