The
Seleucid king Seleucus V Philometor (
Greek: Σέλευκος Ε΄ ὁ Φιλομήτωρ; 126/125 BC), ruler of the
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
Seleucid kingdom, was the eldest son of
Demetrius II Nicator and
Cleopatra Thea. The epithet ''Philometor'' means "mother-loving" and in the
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
world usually indicated that the mother acted as co-regent for the prince.
Biography
Just before
Antiochus VII Sidetes died fighting the Parthians in late 129, the Parthian king
Phraates II
Phraates II (also spelled Frahad I; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt'') was king of the Parthian Empire from 132 BC to 127 BC. He was the son and successor of Mithridates I ().
Because he was still very young when he came to the throne, his moth ...
had released Demetrius II, who entered Syria in ca. September 129. This forced Seleucus V's half-brother
Antiochus IX to flee to
Cyzicus. Cleopatra Thea remarried Demetrius and reunited him with his two sons, Seleucus V and
Antiochus VIII
Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor, nicknamed Grypus ( gr, Γρυπός, "hook-nose"), was the ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from 125 to 96 BC. He was the younger son of Demetrius II and Cleopatra Thea. He may have spent ...
.
Antiochus VII had taken a son, also named Seleucus, and Seleucus V's sister, Laodice, on his campaign against
Parthia, and when Antiochus was killed, this Seleucus and Laodice were captured. Phraates married Laodice
and showed this Seleucus (not to be confused with Seleucus V) great favor. As Demetrius II fought a civil war against the usurper,
Alexander II Zabinas, Phraates sent this Seleucus back to Syria with the body of his father, Antiochus VII, to claim the Seleucid throne as puppet king of the
Parthians Parthian may be:
Historical
* A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern of Greater Iran
* Parthian Empire (247 BC – 224 AD)
* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language
* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by ...
. Yet this Seleucus failed and returned to Parthia, where he later died.
Instead, after his father was murdered outside of
Tyre in 125, Seleucus V claimed the throne as the eldest son of Demetrius II; however, he was soon killed by his own mother. According to Appian, Cleopatra Thea had aided in the death of Demetrius, and therefore, she was afraid that Seleucus V might avenge the assassination of his father. This encouraged Cleopatra Thea to remove Seleucus in favor of his younger brother, Antiochus VIII.
[Appian, ''Syriaca'' 68-69]
See also
*
List of Syrian monarchs
*
Timeline of Syrian history
References
2nd-century BC Seleucid rulers
Seleucid rulers
125 BC deaths
2nd-century BC rulers in Asia
Year of birth unknown
Seleucus 05
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