article for October 3, 2020
Article of the day for October 3, 2020 is Antiochus XI Epiphanes . Antiochus XI Epiphanes (died 93 BC) was a Seleucid monarch who reigned as King of Syria in 94–93 BC, during the Hellenistic period. He ruled at a time of civil war, waged by several claimants to the throne. At first a follower of his eldest brother Seleucus VI, Antiochus XI declared himself king jointly with his twin Philip I after Seleucus VI was killed in 94 BC by a cousin, Antiochus X. The twins destroyed the city of Mopsuestia, whose citizens played a part in Seleucus VI's death, then marched on the Syrian capital Antioch and expelled Antiochus X in 93 BC. Though unrecorded by ancient historians, the reign of Antiochus XI as a senior king in Antioch is confirmed through numismatic evidence (coin pictured). Philip I kept his royal title and remained in Cilicia. In the autumn of the same year, Antiochus X regrouped and counterattacked; Antiochus XI drowned in the Orontes River as he tried to flee.
