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Demetrius I Soter
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Demetrius I Soter
Drachme de D�m�trius Ier du royaume S�leucide.jpg
Drachma coin depicting Demetrius I
Basileus of the Seleucid Empire
King of Syria
Reign September/October 161 � June 150 BC
Predecessor Antiochus V Eupator
Successor Alexander Balas
Born 185 BC
Died June 150 BC (aged 34 or 35)
Spouse Laodice V
Issue Demetrius II Nicator
Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antigonus
Dynasty Seleucid
Father Seleucus IV Philopator
Mother Laodice IV
Demetrius I (Greek: ??�?t???? ?`, 185 � June 150 BC, reigned September/October 161
� June 150 BC),[1] surnamed Soter (Greek: S?t?? - "Savior"), was a ruler of the
Hellenistic Seleucid Empire.

Contents
1 Biography
1.1 Early confinement and escape
1.2 Reign as King
1.3 Downfall and death
2 Legacy
3 See also
4 Notes
5 External links
Biography
Early confinement and escape
Demetrius was sent to Rome as a hostage during the reign of his father Seleucus IV
Philopator[2] and his mother Laodice IV.[3] When his father was murdered by his
finance minister Heliodorus in 175 BC.,[4][better source needed] his uncle
Antiochus IV Epiphanes killed the usurper, but usurped the throne himself. When
Antiochus IV died in 163 BC,[5] his 9-year-old son Antiochus V Eupator was made
king by Lysias. Demetrius was then 22 years old (thus he was born in 185 BC). He
requested the Roman Senate to restore the Syrian throne to him, but was rejected,
since the Romans believed that Syria should be ruled by a boy rather than a man.[6]
Two years later, Antiochus V was greatly weakened because Rome sent an emissary to
sink his ships and hamstring his elephants for his violation of the Peace of
Apamea, storing up too much weaponry. Demetrius escaped from confinement and was
welcomed back on the Syrian throne in 161 BC.[7] He immediately killed Antiochus V
and Lysias.

Reign as King

Coin 162-150 ac.

Demetrius I is infamous in Jewish history for his victory over the Maccabees,
killing Judas Maccabaeus in Nisan, 160 BC.[8] Demetrius acquired his surname of
Soter, or Savior, from the Babylonians, whom he delivered from the tyranny of the
Median satrap, Timarchus.[2] Timarchus, who had distinguished himself by defending
Media against the emergent Parthians, seems to have treated Demetrius' accession as
an excuse to declare himself an independent king and extend his realm into
Babylonia. His forces were, however, not enough for the legal Seleucid king:
Demetrius defeated and killed Timarchus in 160 BC, and dethroned Ariarathes, king
of Cappadocia. The Seleucid empire was temporarily united again. Demetrius may have
married his sister Laodice V, by whom he had three sons: Demetrius II Nicator,
Antiochus VII Sidetes and Antigonus.

Downfall and death

Demetrius' downfall may be attributed to Heracleides, a surviving brother of the
defeated rebel Timarchus, who championed the cause of Alexander Balas, a boy who
claimed to be a natural son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Heracleides convinced the
Roman Senate to support the young pretender against Demetrius I.

The Jews also had a role in the downfall of Demetrius I. Alexander Balas came with
a mercenary army, landed and occupied Ptolemais, and reigned as a rival king of the
Seleucids in 152 BC.[9] He appointed Jonathan Maccabaeus, the brother and successor
of Judas Maccabaeus, as the high priest of Judea, in order to make the Jews his
allies. Jonathan, who was born of a priestly family but not from Zadok, the high
priestly stock, took the title in Tishri, 152 BC.[10] When Demetrius heard of it,
he wrote a letter granting more privileges to Jonathan (1 Macc. 10:25-45). The Jews
did not believe in him, because of his past persecutions of the Jews. They joined
with Balas, who defeated and killed Demetrius I in 150 BC.[2][11]

Legacy
In 1919 Constantine Cavafy published a poem about Demetrius's time as a hostage in
Rome.[12]

See also
flag Syria portal
List of Syrian monarchs
Timeline of Syrian history
Notes
"Demetrius I Soter". Livius.org.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now
in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Demetrius s.v. Demetrius I".
Encyclop�dia Britannica. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 983.
Appian, Roman History: Syrian Wars 8.46
1 Macc 1:10 (312 - [A.S.] 137 = 175 [B.C.])
1 Macc 6:16 (312 - [A.S.] 149 = 163 [B.C.])
Appian, Roman History: Syrian Wars 8.46
1 Macc 7:1 (312 - [A.S.] 151 = 161 [B.C.])
1 Macc 9:3 (312 - [A.S.] 152 = 160 [B.C.])
1 Macc 10:1 (312 - [A.S.] 160 = 152 [B.C.])
1 Macc 10:21 (312 - [A.S.] 160 = 152 [B.C.])
1 Macc 10:57 (312 - [A.S.] 162 = 150 [B.C.])
??�?t???? S?t????, snhell.gr
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demetrius I Soter.
Demetrius I Soter
Seleucid dynasty
Born: 185 BC Died: 150 BC
Preceded by
Antiochus V Eupator Seleucid King
(King of Syria)
161�150 BC Succeeded by
Alexander Balas
vte
Hellenistic rulers
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
GND: 119272830 VIAF: 20487119 WorldCat Identities (via VIAF): 20487119
Categories: 185 BC births150 BC deaths2nd-century BC Babylonian kings2nd-century BC
Seleucid rulersSeleucid people in the books of the MaccabeesSeleucid rulers2nd-
century BC rulersKings of Syria
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