After the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), his successors Ptolemy and Seleucus became rivals for the huge area he had conquered. The former took Egypt, the latter much of Iran, Asia Minor, Mesopotamia and Syria. At first the Egypt-based Ptolemies ruled the biblical land, but around 200 BC, the Seleucid Antiochus III inflicted a major defeat on them at Banias, enabling him to take over the country.