Memory and Resistance in the Seleucid World: The Case of Babylon

Chapter 3 considers historical memory in Hellenistic Babylonia, focusing on the decades just before and after the collapse of Seleucid rule in the region. It advances three main claims. First, there is no evidence of major anti-Seleucid uprisings in Babylonia. Second, there is evidence that Greeks and Babylonians converged on a shared vision of imperial history that oscillated between the lows of Assyrian and Persian occupation and the highs of Neo-Babylonian and Seleucid rule. Third, the re-appearance of an aggressive Elam on the world stage rekindled memories of a long-standing Babylonian trauma and strengthened loyalty to the incumbent king at a crucial moment of transition.