Seleucid

American  

[si-loo-sid] / sɪˈlu sɪd /

noun

plural

Seleucidae

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  

/ 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

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adjective

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

Other Word Forms

• Seleucidan adjective

Etymology

Origin of Seleucid

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

Example Sentences

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

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

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