Original: Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator , one of Alexander the Great 's generals , Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the Near East and was a cradle of gentile Christianity .
Simplified: Seleucus I Nicator won the territory of Syria , and he founded four '' sister cities '' in northwestern Syria - Antioch , Seleucia Pieria , Apamea and Laodicea-on-the-Sea .