After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, Seleucos Nicator (312-281) seized power in Mesopotamia, the region between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. From there, he finally took over control of virtually the whole of Asia Minor. He founded over 70 cities, including the town of Antioch in northern Syria that later became the capital of the powerful Seleucian empire.
The coinage in the Seleucian territories initially followed the Alexandrian model. After 305 BC, however, Seleucos’s name appeared on his coins. In that year, he adopted the title of King Seleucos I Nicator (Greek for Seleucos the Victor).