Demetrius I Soter
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Demetrius I surnamed Soter
Soter
Soter derives from the Greek epithet , meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira...

(Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...

: Σωτήρ - "Savior"), was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...

.

Demetrius was sent to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 as a hostage
Hostage
A hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...

 during the reign of his father Seleucus IV Philopator
Seleucus IV Philopator
Seleucus IV Philopator , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 187 BC to 175 BC over a realm consisting of Syria , Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Nearer Iran . He was the second son and successor of Antiochus III the Great and Laodice III...

 and his mother Laodice IV
Laodice IV
Laodice IV was a Greek Princess, Head Priestess and Queen of the Seleucid Empire.-Ancestry, Family & Early Life:...

. When his father was murdered by his finance minister Heliodorus
Heliodorus (minister)
Heliodorus was a minister of Seleucus IV Philopator ca. [187 BC - 175 BC]. According to some sources he is said to have assassinated Seleucus.-Biblical background:...

 in 175 BC., his uncle Antiochus IV Epiphanes killed the usurper, but usurped the throne himself. When Antiochus IV died in 163 BC., his 9-year-old boy son Antiochus V Eupator was made king by Lysias
Lysias
Lysias was a logographer in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC.-Life:According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the author of the life ascribed to...

. 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. Two years later, Antiochus V
Antiochus V
Antiochus V Eupator , was a ruler of the Greek Seleucid Empire who reigned 163-161 BC, ....

 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. He immediately killed Antiochus V
Antiochus V
Antiochus V Eupator , was a ruler of the Greek Seleucid Empire who reigned 163-161 BC, ....

 and Lysias
Lysias
Lysias was a logographer in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace in the third century BC.-Life:According to Dionysius of Halicarnassus and the author of the life ascribed to...

.

Demetrius I is famous in Jewish history for his victory over the Maccabees
Maccabees
The Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...

, killing Judas Maccabaeus in Nisan
Nisan-years
Nisan-years is an ancient calendar system used around Mesopotamia. Its area of usage covers Elam, Persia, Media, Syria and Israel/Judea. Its beginning was from prehistorical era...

, 160 BC. Demetrius acquired his surname of Soter, or Savior, from the Babylonians, whom he delivered from the tyranny of the Median satrap
Satrap
Satrap was the name given to the governors of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as the Sassanid Empire and the Hellenistic empires....

, Timarchus
Timarchus
Timarchus or Timarch was a usurper in the Seleucid empire between 163-160 BCE.A Greek nobleman, possibly from Miletus in Asia Minor, Timarchus was a friend of the Seleucid prince Antiochus IV Epiphanes during his time as hostage to Rome...

. Timarchus, who had distinguished himself by defending Media
Medes
The MedesThe Medes...

 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
Ariarathes V of Cappadocia
Ariarathes V Eusebes Philopator was son of the preceding king Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia and Antiochis. Previously called Mithridates, he reigned 33 years, 163–130 BC, as king of Cappadocia. He was distinguished by the excellence of his character and his cultivation of philosophy and the liberal...

, king of Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...

. The Seleucid empire was temporarily united again. Demetrius may had married his sister Laodice V
Laodice V
Laodice V was a Greek Princess of the Seleucid Empire. Through marriage she was a Queen of the ruling Antigonid dynasty in Macedonia and possibly later of the Seleucid dynasty.-Family and Early Life:...

, by whom he had three sons Demetrius II Nicator
Demetrius II Nicator
For the similarly named Macedonian ruler, see Demetrius II of Macedon. For the Macedonian prince, see Demetrius the Fair.Demetrius II , called Nicator , was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter, brother of Antiochus VII Sidetes and his mother could have been Laodice V...

, Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature....

 and Antigonus.

Demetrius' downfall may be attributed to Heracleides, a surviving brother of the defeated rebel Timarchus
Timarchus
Timarchus or Timarch was a usurper in the Seleucid empire between 163-160 BCE.A Greek nobleman, possibly from Miletus in Asia Minor, Timarchus was a friend of the Seleucid prince Antiochus IV Epiphanes during his time as hostage to Rome...

, who championed the cause of Alexander Balas
Alexander Balas
Alexander Balas , ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom 150-146 BC, was a native of Smyrna of humble origin, but gave himself out to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodice IV and heir to the Seleucid throne...

, a boy who claimed to be a natural son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Heracleides convinced the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...

 to support the young pretender against Demetrius I.

The Jews also had a role in the down fall of Demetrius I. Alexander Balas
Alexander Balas
Alexander Balas , ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom 150-146 BC, was a native of Smyrna of humble origin, but gave himself out to be the son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and Laodice IV and heir to the Seleucid throne...

 came with a mercenary army, landed and occupied Ptolemais
Ptolemais
Ptolemais, an Ancient Greek place name and feminine personal name, may refer to:Places*Acre, Israel, once named Antiochia Ptolemais after Ptolemy I Soter*Crocodilopolis, an Egyptian city renamed Ptolemais Euergetis by Ptolemy III Euergetes...

, and reigned as a rival king of the Seleucids in 152 BC. He appointed Jonathan Maccabaeus
Jonathan Maccabaeus
Jonathan Apphus was leader of the Hasmonean Dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. The name Apphus could mean = "the dissembler", "the Wary", or "the diplomat", in allusion to a trait prominent in him -Leader of the Jews:...

, the brother and successor of Judas Maccabaeus, as the high priest of Judea, in order to made the Jews an ally of his. Jonathan, who was born of a priestly family. but not from Zadok, the high priestly stock, took the title in Tishri
Tishri-years
Tishri-years is an ancient calendar system used in Israel/Judea, and the Jewish people in Diaspora. It is based on, and is a variation of, the Nisan-years....

, 152 BC. 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 join with Balas, who defeated and killed Demetrius I in 150 BC.

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

This entry incorporates material from the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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