Jews as Seleucid Soldiers

The military program of Seleucus I Nicator (r. 305–281 BCE) resulted in the founding of the four cities of Antioch, Apamea, Seleuceia Pierea, and Laodiceia toward the close of the fourth century BCE. The populations of these cities were probably ethnically diverse and included a substantial Jewish element. This is more likely the case for Antioch. The first Jewish settlers in Antioch may have constituted a military colony, and these soldiers’ honorable service to the Seleucids may have been the basis for the Seleucids granting Jews equal citizenship in certain cities of Asia and lower Syria. The Roman emperors Vespasian and Titus are thought to have maintained this privilege even after the Great Revolt. Scholars disagree, however, as to whether the Jewish populations of these cities—Antioch in particular—were granted equal rights as citizens of the Greek polis or were instead privileged foreigners (xenoi) with rights derived from the central imperial authority.