§955οὕτω δὴ καὶ ὁ Σέλευκος ἐβασίλευσε τῆς Βαβυλωνίας.
Thus Seleucus also became king of Babylonia.
ἐβασίλευσε δὲ καὶ Μηδίας, Νικάτορα κτείνας αὐτὸς ἐν τῇ μάχῃ, τὸν ὑπʼ Ἀντιγόνου Μηδίας σατραπεύειν ἀπολελειμμένον.
He also became king of Media, having himself slain in battle Nicator, who had been left by Antigonus to act as satrap of Media.
πολέμους δʼ ἐπολέμησε πολλοὺς Μακεδόσι καὶ βαρβάροις, καὶ τούτων Μακεδόσι μὲν δύο μεγίστους, τὸν μὲν ὕστερον Λυσιμάχῳ βασιλεύοντι Θρᾴκης, τὸν δὲ πρότερον Ἀντιγόνῳ περὶ Ἴψον τῆς Φρυγίας, αὐτῷ στρατηγοῦντι καὶ αὐτῷ μαχομένῳ, καίπερ ὑπὲρ ὀγδοήκοντα ἔτη γεγονότι.
He fought many wars against Macedonians and barbarians; of these, two of the greatest were against Macedonians: the later one against Lysimachus, king of Thrace, and the earlier one against Antigonus near Ipsus in Phrygia, who, although he was over eighty years of age, commanded and fought in person.
πεσόντος δʼ Ἀντιγόνου κατὰ τὴν μάχην, ὅσοι βασιλεῖς τὸν Ἀντίγονον ἅμα τῷ Σελεύκῳ καθῃρήκεσαν, τὴν Ἀντιγόνου γῆν διενέμοντο.
When Antigonus fell in the battle, all the kings who had overthrown Antigonus along with Seleucus divided his land.
καὶ ὁ Σέλευκος τότε τῆς μετʼ Εὐφράτην Συρίας ἐπὶ θαλάσσῃ καὶ Φρυγίας τῆς ἀνὰ τὸ μεσόγειον ἄρχειν διέλαχεν.
And Seleucus then received by allotment the rule over Syria beyond the Euphrates on the sea, and Phrygia in the interior.
ἐφεδρεύων δὲ ἀεὶ τοῖς ἐγγὺς ἔθνεσι, καὶ δυνατὸς ὢν βιάσασθαι καὶ πιθανὸς προσαγαγέσθαι, ἦρξε Μεσοποταμίας καὶ Ἀρμενίας καὶ Καππαδοκίας τῆς Σελευκίδος λεγομένης καὶ Περσῶν καὶ Παρθυαίων καὶ Βακτρίων καὶ Ἀράβων καὶ Ταπύρων καὶ τῆς Σογδιανῆς καὶ Ἀραχωσίας καὶ Ὑρκανίας, καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα ὅμορα ἔθνη μέχρι Ἰνδοῦ ποταμοῦ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ ἐγεγένητο δορίληπτα, ὡς ὡρίσθαι τῷδε μάλιστα μετʼ Ἀλέξανδρον τῆς Ἀσίας τὸ πλέον· ἀπὸ γὰρ Φρυγίας ἐπὶ ποταμὸν Ἰνδὸν ἄνω πάντα Σελεύκῳ κατήκουεν.
Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, and being powerful in using force as well as persuasive in winning them over, he ruled Mesopotamia, Armenia, the Cappadocia called Seleucis, the Persians, Parthians, Bactrians, Arabs, Tapyri, Sogdiana, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and all the other adjacent nations as far as the Indus River which had been conquered by Alexander's spear, so that he was marked out as having the largest part of Asia after Alexander; for everything inland from Phrygia to the Indus River was subject to Seleucus.
καὶ τὸν Ἰνδὸν περάσας ἐπολέμησεν Ἀνδροκόττῳ βασιλεῖ τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν Ἰνδῶν, μέχρι φιλίαν αὐτῷ καὶ κῆδος συνέθετο.
He also crossed the Indus and waged war against Androcottus, king of the Indians around that region, until he made a treaty of friendship and a marriage alliance with him.
καὶ τῶνδε τὰ μὲν πρὸ τῆς Ἀντιγόνου τελευτῆς, τὰ δὲ μετʼ Ἀντίγονον ἐποίησεν.
Some of these things he did before the death of Antigonus, and others after Antigonus.
§956λέγεται δʼ αὐτῷ, στρατιώτῃ τοῦ βασιλέως ἔτι ὄντι καὶ ἐπὶ Πέρσας ἑπομένῳ, χρησμὸν ἐν Διδυμέως γενέσθαι πυνθανομένῳ περὶ τῆς ἐς Μακεδονίαν ἐπανόδου,
μὴ σπεῦδʼ Εὐρώπηνδʼ. Ἀσίη τοι πολλὸν ἀμείνων. καὶ ἐν Μακεδονίᾳ τὴν ἑστίαν αὐτῷ τὴν πατρῴαν, οὐδενὸς ἅψαντος, ἐκλάμψαι πῦρ μέγα.
It is said that while he was still a soldier of the king and following him against the Persians, an oracle was given to him when he inquired at the temple of Didymaeus about his return to Macedonia: "Do not hasten to Europe; Asia is far better for you." It is also said that in Macedonia a great fire blazed up from his ancestral hearth without anyone having lit it.
καὶ ὄναρ αὐτοῦ τὴν μητέρα ἰδεῖν, ὃν ἂν εὕροι δακτύλιον, δοῦναι φόρημα Σελεύκῳ, τὸν δὲ βασιλεύσειν ἔνθα ἂν ὁ δακτύλιος ἐκπέσῃ.
And his mother had a dream that whatever ring she should find, she should give to Seleucus to wear, and that he would be king where the ring should fall.
καὶ ἡ μὲν ηὗρεν ἄγκυραν ἐν σιδήρῳ κεχαραγμένην, ὁ δὲ τὴν σφραγῖδα τήνδε ἀπώλεσε κατὰ τὸν Εὐφράτην.
She indeed found a ring engraved with an anchor in iron, and he later lost this seal near the Euphrates.
λέγεται καὶ ἐς τὴν Βαβυλωνίαν ἀπιόντα ὕστερον προσκόψαι λίθῳ, καὶ τὸν λίθον ἀνασκαφέντα ἄγκυραν ὀφθῆναι.
It is also said that later, when he was departing for Babylonia, he tripped over a stone, and when the stone was dug up, an anchor was seen.
θορυβουμένων δὲ τῶν μάντεων ὡς ἐπὶ συμβόλῳ κατοχῆς, Πτολεμαῖον τὸν Λάγου παραπέμποντα εἰπεῖν ἀσφαλείας τὴν ἄγκυραν, οὐ κατοχῆς εἶναι σύμβολον.
When the seers were alarmed, taking it as a symbol of confinement, Ptolemy son of Lagus, who was escorting him, said that the anchor was a symbol of security, not of confinement.
καὶ Σελεύκῳ μὲν διὰ τοῦτο ἄρα καὶ βασιλεύσαντι ἡ σφραγὶς ἄγκυρα ἦν, δοκεῖ δέ τισι καὶ περιόντος ἔτι Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ ἐφορῶντος ἕτερον τῷ Σελεύκῳ σημεῖον περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοιόνδε γενέσθαι.
And for this reason, even when Seleucus became king, his seal was an anchor. However, some believe that while Alexander was still alive and looking on, another sign concerning Seleucus's rule occurred as follows.
Ἀλεξάνδρῳ γὰρ ἐξ Ἰνδῶν ἐς Βαβυλῶνα ἐπανελθόντι, καὶ τὰς ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ Βαβυλωνίᾳ λίμνας ἐπὶ χρείᾳ τοῦ τὸν Εὐφράτην τὴν Ἀσσυρίδα γῆν ἀρδεύειν περιπλέοντι, ἄνεμος ἐμπεσὼν ἥρπασε τὸ διάδημα, καὶ φερόμενον ἐκρεμάσθη δόνακος ἐν τάφῳ τινὸς ἀρχαίου βασιλέως.
When Alexander returned from India to Babylon, and was sailing around the lakes in Babylonia itself with a view to having the Euphrates irrigate the Assyrian land, a wind fell upon him and carried away his diadem, which was carried along and hung on a reed in the tomb of an ancient king.
καὶ ἐσήμαινε μὲν ἐς τὴν τελευτὴν τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ τόδε, ναύτην δέ φασιν ἐκκολυμβήσαντα περιθέσθαι τῇ κεφαλῇ τὸ διάδημα καὶ ἐνεγκεῖν ἄβροχον Ἀλεξάνδρῳ, καὶ λαβεῖν τῆς προθυμίας αὐτίκα δωρεὰν παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τάλαντον ἀργυρίου·
And while this also portended the king's death, they say that a sailor swam out, placed the diadem on his head to bring it dry to Alexander, and immediately received a talent of silver from the king as a reward for his eagerness.
τῶν δὲ μάντεων αὐτὸν ἀναιρεῖν κελευόντων οἱ μὲν πεισθῆναι τὸν Ἀλέξανδρον αὐτοῖς, οἱ δὲ ἀντειπεῖν.
When the seers ordered him to be executed, some say Alexander was persuaded by them, while others say he refused.
εἰσὶ δὲ οἳ τάδε πάντα ὑπερελθόντες, οὐ ναύτην ὅλως φασὶν ἀλλὰ Σέλευκον ἐπὶ τὸ διάδημα τοῦ βασιλέως ἐκκολυμβῆσαι, καὶ περιθέσθαι Σέλευκον αὐτὸ τῇ κεφαλῇ, ἵνʼ ἄβροχον εἴη.
But there are some who, passing over all these stories, say that it was not a sailor at all, but Seleucus who swam out for the king's diadem, and that Seleucus placed it on his head so that it would remain dry.
καὶ τὰ σημεῖα ἐς τέλος ἀμφοῖν ἀπαντῆσαι.
And the omens turned out to be fulfilled for both of them.
Ἀλέξανδρόν τε γὰρ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι μεταστῆναι τοῦ βίου, καὶ Σέλευκον τῆς Ἀλεξάνδρου γῆς, ὅτι πλείστης μάλιστα τόνδε τῶν Ἀλεξάνδρου διαδόχων, βασιλεῦσαι.
For Alexander departed this life in Babylon, and Seleucus became king over the largest portion of Alexander's territory among all of Alexander's successors.