Demetrius II Nicator
Encyclopedia
For the similarly named Macedonian ruler, see Demetrius II of Macedon
. For the Macedonian prince, see Demetrius the Fair
.
Demetrius II (Greek
: Δημήτριος Β` died 125 BC
), called Nicator (Greek
: "Νικάτωρ", i.e. "Victor"), was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter
, brother of Antiochus VII Sidetes
and his mother could have been Laodice V
. He ruled the Seleucid Empire for two periods, separated by a number of years of captivity in Hyrcania
in Parthia
.
after the death of his father, his mother and his older brother, when Alexander Balas
usurped the Seleucid throne.
from Balas and remarried her to Demetrius. Alexander fled to the Nabateans who, anxious to stay on good terms with Egypt, cut off his head.
However, Demetrius was not a popular king. The people of Syria had little respect for the young boy, who had come to power with the help of Egypt and Cretan mercenaries led by the ruthless condottiere Lasthenes. The Antiochenians offered the Seleucid throne to Ptolemy VI, who had already conquered most of southern Syria for his own interest. However, he insisted Demetrius would become king, knowing that Rome would never tolerate a unified Hellenistic state, and the year after Ptolemy VI was killed when Alexander Balas made a last desperate attempt to regain his throne. The Egyptian troops marched home, leaderless and disillusioned, and with Balas dead as well Demetrius became sole master of the Seleucid kingdom.
But new troubles soon arose. The pillaging of the Cretan soldiers caused the Antiochenians to rise in rebellion, and only after terrible massacres was order restored. Soon after, the general Diodotus
conquered Antioch and had his protégé Antiochus VI Dionysus
, the infant son of Alexander Balas, proclaimed king. Demetrius proved unable to retake the capital, instead establishing himself in Seleucia. Diodotus had Antiochus VI deposed a few years later, and made himself king as Tryphon, but the division of the kingdom between the legitimate Seleucid heir and the usurper in Antioch persisted.
Parthian activity forced Demetrius to take action. He marched against Mithradates I
, king of Parthia
and was initially successful, but was defeated in the Iranian mountains and taken prisoner the following year. The Babylonian province of the Seleucid empire became Parthian, but in Syria was the dynasty's grip was reassured under Antiochus VII Sidetes
, the younger brother of Demetrius, who also married Cleopatra Thea.
King Mithradates had kept Demetrius II alive and even married him to a Parthian princess named Rhodogune, with whom he had children. However, Demetrius was restless and twice tried to escape from his exile in Hyrcania
on the shores of the Caspian sea, once with the help of his friend Kallimander, who had gone to great lengths to rescue the king: he had travelled incognito through Babylonia and Parthia. When the two friends were captured, the Parthian king did not punish Kallimander but rewarded him for his fidelity to Demetrius. The second time Demetrius was captured when he tried to escape, Mithradates humiliated him by giving him a golden set of dice, thus hinting that Demetrius II was a restless child who needed toys. It was however for political reasons that the Parthians treated Demetrius II kindly.
In 130 BC
Antiochus Sidetes felt secure enough to march against Parthia, and scored massive initial successes. Now Phraates II
made what he thought was a powerful move: he released Demetrius, hoping that the two brothers would start a civil war. However, Sidetes was defeated soon after his brother's release and never met him. Phraates II set people to pursue Demetrius, but he managed to safely return home to Syria and regained his throne and his queen as well.
against Demetrius.
In 126 BC
Demetrius was defeated in a battle at Damascus
. He fled to Ptolemais but his wife Cleopatra Thea
closed the gates against him. He was killed on a ship near Tyre, after his wife had deserted him. His miserable death after being captured and possibly tortured, was a fitting epitaph to the many shortcomings of his reign. Demetrius II was certainly incapable of handling the developing threats to the Seleucid empire, but his reputation for cruelty was probably undeserved. He was only around fourteen at his coronation, and the real power was in the hands of others.
He was succeeded by his queen Cleopatra Thea and then by two of their sons, Seleucus V Philometor
and Antiochus VIII Grypus
.
Demetrius II of Macedon
Demetrius II Aetolicus son of Antigonus Gonatas and Phila, reigned as king of Macedonia from the winter of 239 to 229 BC. He belonged to the Antigonid dynasty and was born in 275 BC. There is a possibility that his father had already elevated to him to position of power equal to his own before his...
. For the Macedonian prince, see Demetrius the Fair
Demetrius the Fair
For the similarly named Macedonian ruler, see Demetrius II of Macedon.Demetrius the Fair or surnamed The Handsome , also known in modern ancient historical sources as Demetrius of Cyrene, was a Hellenistic king of Cyrene.-Family:Demetrius was of Greek Macedonian descent...
.
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Δημήτριος Β` died 125 BC
125 BC
Year 125 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Hypsaeus and Flaccus...
), called Nicator (Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: "Νικάτωρ", i.e. "Victor"), was one of the sons of Demetrius I Soter
Demetrius I Soter
Demetrius I , surnamed Soter , was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire....
, brother of 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 his mother could have been 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:...
. He ruled the Seleucid Empire for two periods, separated by a number of years of captivity in Hyrcania
Hyrcania
Hyrcania was the name of a satrapy located in the territories of present day Gilan, Golestan, Mazandaran and part of Turkmenistan, lands south of the Caspian Sea. To the Greeks, the Caspian Sea was the "Hyrcanian Sea".-Etymology:...
in Parthia
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...
.
In exile
As a young boy, he fled to CreteCrete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
after the death of his father, his mother and his older brother, when 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...
usurped the Seleucid throne.
First reign
About 147 BC he returned to Syria, and with the backing of Ptolemy VI Philometor, king of Egypt, regained his father's throne. The Egyptian king also divorced his daughter Cleopatra TheaCleopatra Thea
Cleopatra Thea surnamed Eueteria was the ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. She ruled Syria from 125 BC after the death of Demetrius II Nicator...
from Balas and remarried her to Demetrius. Alexander fled to the Nabateans who, anxious to stay on good terms with Egypt, cut off his head.
However, Demetrius was not a popular king. The people of Syria had little respect for the young boy, who had come to power with the help of Egypt and Cretan mercenaries led by the ruthless condottiere Lasthenes. The Antiochenians offered the Seleucid throne to Ptolemy VI, who had already conquered most of southern Syria for his own interest. However, he insisted Demetrius would become king, knowing that Rome would never tolerate a unified Hellenistic state, and the year after Ptolemy VI was killed when Alexander Balas made a last desperate attempt to regain his throne. The Egyptian troops marched home, leaderless and disillusioned, and with Balas dead as well Demetrius became sole master of the Seleucid kingdom.
But new troubles soon arose. The pillaging of the Cretan soldiers caused the Antiochenians to rise in rebellion, and only after terrible massacres was order restored. Soon after, the general Diodotus
Diodotus Tryphon
Diodotus Tryphon was king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom. As a general of the army, he promoted the claims of Antiochus VI Dionysus, the infant son of Alexander Balas, in Antioch after Alexander's death, but then in 142 deposed the child and himself seized power in Coele-Syria where Demetrius...
conquered Antioch and had his protégé Antiochus VI Dionysus
Antiochus VI Dionysus
Antiochus 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 Balas, proclaimed king. Demetrius proved unable to retake the capital, instead establishing himself in Seleucia. Diodotus had Antiochus VI deposed a few years later, and made himself king as Tryphon, but the division of the kingdom between the legitimate Seleucid heir and the usurper in Antioch persisted.
Defeat and captivity
In 139 BC139 BC
Year 139 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Piso and Laenas...
Parthian activity forced Demetrius to take action. He marched against Mithradates I
Mithridates I of Parthia
Mithridates or Mithradates I was the "Great King" of Parthia from ca. 171 BC - 138 BC, succeeding his brother Phraates I. His father was King Phriapatius of Parthia, who died ca. 176 BC). Mithridates I made Parthia into a major political power by expanding the empire to the east, south, and west...
, king of Parthia
Parthian Empire
The Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...
and was initially successful, but was defeated in the Iranian mountains and taken prisoner the following year. The Babylonian province of the Seleucid empire became Parthian, but in Syria was the dynasty's grip was reassured under 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....
, the younger brother of Demetrius, who also married Cleopatra Thea.
King Mithradates had kept Demetrius II alive and even married him to a Parthian princess named Rhodogune, with whom he had children. However, Demetrius was restless and twice tried to escape from his exile in Hyrcania
Hyrcania
Hyrcania was the name of a satrapy located in the territories of present day Gilan, Golestan, Mazandaran and part of Turkmenistan, lands south of the Caspian Sea. To the Greeks, the Caspian Sea was the "Hyrcanian Sea".-Etymology:...
on the shores of the Caspian sea, once with the help of his friend Kallimander, who had gone to great lengths to rescue the king: he had travelled incognito through Babylonia and Parthia. When the two friends were captured, the Parthian king did not punish Kallimander but rewarded him for his fidelity to Demetrius. The second time Demetrius was captured when he tried to escape, Mithradates humiliated him by giving him a golden set of dice, thus hinting that Demetrius II was a restless child who needed toys. It was however for political reasons that the Parthians treated Demetrius II kindly.
In 130 BC
130 BC
Year 130 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lentulus/Pulcher and Perperna . The denomination 130 BC for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in...
Antiochus Sidetes felt secure enough to march against Parthia, and scored massive initial successes. Now Phraates II
Phraates II of Parthia
Phraates II of Parthia, son of Mithridates I of Parthia , the conqueror of Babylon, ruled the Parthian Empire from 138 BC to 128 BC. He was attacked in 130 BC by Antiochus VII Sidetes , ruler of the Seleucid Empire...
made what he thought was a powerful move: he released Demetrius, hoping that the two brothers would start a civil war. However, Sidetes was defeated soon after his brother's release and never met him. Phraates II set people to pursue Demetrius, but he managed to safely return home to Syria and regained his throne and his queen as well.
A failed second reign
However, the Seleucid kingdom was now but a shadow of its former glory, and Demetrius had a hard time ruling even in Syria. Recollections of his cruelties and vices - along with his humiliating defeat - caused him to be greatly detested. The Egyptian queen Cleopatra II set up an army for Demetrius, hoping to engage him in her civil wars against her brother king Ptolemy VIII, but this only added to his grief. The troops soon deserted, and king Ptolemy VIII reacted by setting up yet another usurper, a man named Alexander II ZabinasAlexander II Zabinas
Alexander II Zabinas , ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom, was a counter-king who emerged in the chaos following the Seleucidian loss of Mesopotamia to the Parthians. Zabinas was a false Seleucid who claimed to be an adoptive son of Antiochus VII Sidetes, but in fact seems to have been the son of...
against Demetrius.
In 126 BC
126 BC
Year 126 BC was a year of the pre-Julian Roman calendar. At the time it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Lepidus and Orestes...
Demetrius was defeated in a battle at Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. He fled to Ptolemais but his wife Cleopatra Thea
Cleopatra Thea
Cleopatra Thea surnamed Eueteria was the ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire. She ruled Syria from 125 BC after the death of Demetrius II Nicator...
closed the gates against him. He was killed on a ship near Tyre, after his wife had deserted him. His miserable death after being captured and possibly tortured, was a fitting epitaph to the many shortcomings of his reign. Demetrius II was certainly incapable of handling the developing threats to the Seleucid empire, but his reputation for cruelty was probably undeserved. He was only around fourteen at his coronation, and the real power was in the hands of others.
He was succeeded by his queen Cleopatra Thea and then by two of their sons, Seleucus V Philometor
Seleucus V Philometor
The Seleucid king Seleucus V Philometor , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, was the eldest son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea. The epithet Philometor means mother-loving and in the Hellenistic world usually indicated that the mother acted as co-regent for the prince.In 126 BC...
and Antiochus VIII Grypus
Antiochus VIII Grypus
Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamed Grypus , was crowned as ruler of the Greek Seleucid kingdom in 125 BC. He was the son of Demetrius II Nicator and Cleopatra Thea.-Biography:...
.