Syria (and Beyond) Under the Seleukids

Part I: Alexander's Greatest Legacy

Online Lecture

SNAPSHOT

Lecturer: Dr John Tidmarsh
Date: Thursday 23 January, 2025
Duration: 1 hour
Start Time: 10.00am AEDT | 9.00am QLD | 9.30am SA | 7.00am WA | 1.00pm NZST
Price: $25 AUD

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Overview

The largest of numerous Hellenistic kingdoms ruled by Alexander the Great’s generals, at its height the impressive Seleukid Empire dominated Asia Minor, the Near East, Iran and Central Asia and enclosed numerous peoples of varying ethnicity. 

Yet, while its expansive boundaries extended from the shores of the Mediterranean to the Hindu Kush, and - of Alexander the Great's conquests - only mainland Greece and Egypt lay outside its borders, the fascinating remains of the Seleukid Empire reveal that the process of ‘Hellenisation’ was far from uniform. 

In the first of two lectures on the Seleukid Empire, join archaeologist Dr John Tidmarsh for an enthralling immersion in his vast and wealthy kingdom, including an examination of its formation, apogee and rapid decline. 

 

Your Expert lecturer

Dr John Tidmarsh is an archaeologist who has conducted excavations in Syria, Jordan, Greece, and Cyprus. He is currently Co-Director of the University of Sydney excavations at Pella in Jordan and also Co-Director of the Australian Mission to Jebel Khalid, Syria. He is an Honorary Associate, Department of Classics and Ancient History, University of Sydney and was previously Senior Investigator of the University of Sydney excavations in Torone, Greece and Associate Director of the University of Sydney excavations at Paphos, Cyprus.

He has travelled widely in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East and since the 1980s has led numerous tours to Jordan, Syria, Turkey, Iran, Oman, and Greece.

His main interests are in the art, archaeology and history of Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic period in the east, and in the Islamic World. He has written many articles and conference papers on these areas and has co-authored several books on the excavations at Jebel Khalid in Syria. He is soon to complete his book on the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods at Pella in Jordan.

John has a BA (Hons), MA (Hons) and PhD from the University of Sydney where he was previously tutor, then part-time lecturer in Classical Archaeology. He is a former President of the Near Eastern Archaeology Foundation at that university. John is also Chairman, Executive Committee of the Australian Archaeological Institute at Athens.

 

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