The 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus III the Great (Greek: Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας; ca.

241–187 BCE, ruled 222–187 BCE) Seleucid Greek king rules over Greater Syria and western Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BCE.

Rising to the throne at the age of eighteen in 223 BCE, his early campaigns against the Ptolemaic Kingdom are unsuccessful, but in the following years Antiochus gaines several military victories.

His traditional designation, the Great, reflects an epithet he briefly assumes.

He also assumes the title "Basileus Megas" (which is Greek for "Great King"), the traditional title of the Persian kings.

Self-declaring himself the "champion of Greek freedom against Roman domination", Antiochus III wages a war against the Roman Republic in mainland Greece in autumn of 192 BCE only to be defeated.