Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes (from Sidon), ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature. The brother of Demetrius II, Antiochus was elevated after Demetrius' capture by the Parthians. He married Cleopatra Thea, who had been the wife of Demetrius. Their offspring was Antiochus IX, who thus became both half-brother and cousin to Seleucus V and Antiochus VIII. Sidetes defeated the usurper Tryphon and laid siege to Jerusalem. According to legend the Hasmonean king John Hyrcanus opened King David's sepulchre and removed three thousand talents, which he then paid Antiochus to spare the city. Sidetes then attacked the Parthians, supported by a body of Jews under Hyrcanus, and briefly took back Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Media before being ambushed and killed by Phraates II. His brother Demetrius II had by then been released, but the Seleucid realm was now restricted to Syria.
External links
- Antiochus VII Sidetes entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith
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Antiochus VII Sidetes
Born: Unknown Died: 129 BC |
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| Preceded by Demetrius II Nicator or Diodotus Tryphon |
Seleucid King 138–129 BC |
Succeeded by Demetrius II Nicator or Alexander II Zabinas |
