Demetrios I Soter Seleucia On The Tigris

Demetrios I with queen Laodice 161-150 BC - BAΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΔHMHTPIOY ΣΩTHPOΣ​

Prior to becoming a Seleucid king, Demetrios I was held hostage in Rome in keeping with the terms of the Treaty of Apamaea of 188 BC. During his detention a succession of kings ruled the Seleucid world, including Demetrios' father Seleukos IV, his uncle Antiochos IV and his young cousin Antiochos V. At a time when the Romans were punishing Antiochos V for treaty violations, Demetrios escaped captivity, raised an army and landed in Syria in t179he fall of 162 BC. He found quick support, and his rival Antiochos V was soon executed, leaving Demetrios the new Seleucid king. With all of the political intrigue unfolding in Syria, the Romans represented their interests by encouraging Timarchos, the satrap of Media [and/or Babylonia], to revolt against Demetrios [In fact, the Romans may have merely lent their support to a revolt that already had been active since c.163/2 against Demetrios' predecessor, Antiochos V].

It is difficult to say how much progress Timarchos made, other than that he certainly captured Seleucia on the Tigris, where he struck some of his revolt coins. Upon learning of the revolt, Demetrios marched eastward early in 161; when their armies clashed in the spring, perhaps not far from Babylon, Timarchos was killed. Though the troubles of his reign were far from over, Demetrios was once again the sole Seleukid king. If the coinage of Seleucia on the Tigris is any indication, important events took place in the aftermath of the battle. The Babylonians conferred upon Demetrios the epithet Soter [saviour] and he seems to have married his sister Laodike, with whom he eventually had three children [two of whom, Demetrios II and Antiochos VII, would be kings].

The first coins Demetrios struck at Seleucia – including this tetradrachm – were of a victorious and commemorative nature, and bore his new epithet. They appear to celebrate his marriage, as they are the only coins of his reign that portray Laodike. The fact that so many [if not all] of these tetradrachms are overstruck on coins of Timarchos probably reflects the hurried circumstances of their production and, simultaneously, a desire to erase the memory of the rebellion.