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.
Preceded by
Demetrius II Nicator
Succeeded by
Demetrius II Nicator or Alexander II Zabinas
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