Tetradrachm - Seleukos II Kallinikos Seleukeia on the Tigris

Seleukos II inherited a fractured kingdom — his reign opened with the Third Syrian War against Ptolemy III, who reportedly sacked Seleukeia on the Pieria and may have briefly penetrated as far east as Babylonia. The Seleukeia on the Tigris mint, one of the dynasty's most strategically critical production centers, continued striking through this turbulence, partly to fund military operations and partly to maintain economic authority over the eastern satrapies.

His reign also saw the revolt of his own brother Antiochos Hierax, who seized Asia Minor and forced a humiliating division of the empire around 239 BC.