Diodotus Tryphon was king of the Hellenistic
Seleucid kingdomThe Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic empire, i.e. a successor state of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan...
. As a general of the army, he promoted the claims of
Antiochus VI DionysusAntiochus VI Dionysus , king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea, daughter of Ptolemy VI of Egypt....
, the infant son of
Alexander BalasAlexander 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 heir to the Seleucid throne...
, in Antioch after Alexander's death, but then in 142 deposed the child and himself seized power in
Coele-SyriaCoele-Syria, traditionally given the meaning 'hollow' Syria, was the region of southern Syria disputed between the Seleucid dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty. Rather than limiting the Greek term to the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, it is often used to cover the entire area south of the river Eleutherus...
where
Demetrius II NicatorFor the similarly named Macedonian ruler, see Demetrius II of Macedon. For the Macedonian prince, see Demetrius the Fair.Demetrius II , called Nicator , was the middle son of Demetrius I Soter...
was unpopular for his oppressive treatment of the Jews.
The internal situation in the Seleucid domains was so convoluted, and Diodotus was so eager to gain allies, that in 143 BC
HasmoneanThe Hasmoneans were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel , an independent Jewish state. The Hasmonean dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt in 165 BC...
rule was reinstated in Judea in exchange for aid.
Diodotus Tryphon was king of the Hellenistic
Seleucid kingdomThe Seleucid Empire was a Hellenistic empire, i.e. a successor state of Alexander the Great's empire. The Seleucid Empire was centered in the near East and at the height of its power included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan...
. As a general of the army, he promoted the claims of
Antiochus VI DionysusAntiochus VI Dionysus , king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the son of Alexander Balas and Cleopatra Thea, daughter of Ptolemy VI of Egypt....
, the infant son of
Alexander BalasAlexander 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 heir to the Seleucid throne...
, in Antioch after Alexander's death, but then in 142 deposed the child and himself seized power in
Coele-SyriaCoele-Syria, traditionally given the meaning 'hollow' Syria, was the region of southern Syria disputed between the Seleucid dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty. Rather than limiting the Greek term to the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, it is often used to cover the entire area south of the river Eleutherus...
where
Demetrius II NicatorFor the similarly named Macedonian ruler, see Demetrius II of Macedon. For the Macedonian prince, see Demetrius the Fair.Demetrius II , called Nicator , was the middle son of Demetrius I Soter...
was unpopular for his oppressive treatment of the Jews.
The internal situation in the Seleucid domains was so convoluted, and Diodotus was so eager to gain allies, that in 143 BC
HasmoneanThe Hasmoneans were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel , an independent Jewish state. The Hasmonean dynasty was established under the leadership of Simon Maccabaeus, two decades after his brother Judah the Maccabee defeated the Seleucid army during the Maccabean Revolt in 165 BC...
rule was reinstated in Judea in exchange for aid. True to their words, several Jewish armies marched against Diodotus' rival Demetrius and opposing cities. However, the Jewish forces under the High Priest
JonathanJonathan Maccabaeus was leader of the Hasmonean Dynasty of Judea from 161 to 143 BCE. He is called also Apphus = "the dissembler" or "the diplomat", in allusion to a trait prominent in him; 1 Maccabees ii. 5)....
behaved too boldly, leading to his capture and murder by ruse when Diodotus marched into Judea. Despite his preparations and intentions to cow the Jews, Diodotus was entirely unsuccessful, and left the region under the rule of Jonathan's brother Simon, with little gain beyond a minor tribute of 100 talents. Finally, in 138 Diodotus was attacked and defeated in Antioch by
Antiochus VIIAntiochus 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....
of Side. Diodotus committed suicide after his defeat.
In 138 BC, Diodotus claimed that his charge had contracted an illness and supposedly required surgery, during which he died - presumably disguising his murder at his supposed benefactor's bequest.