In 141 BC he marched against Mithradates I, king of Parthia, but was taken prisoner by treachery, and remained in captivity for ten years, regaining his throne in 129 BC on the death of his brother, Antiochus VII, who had usurped it.
Demetrius' cruelties and vices, however, caused him to be greatly detested, and during another civil war he was defeated in a battle at Damascus, and killed near Tyre, possibly at the instigation of Cleopatra Thea, his wife, a daughter of Ptolemy VI, who was indignant at his subsequent marriage with a daughter of the Parthian king, Mithradates. His second successor was his son, Antiochus VIII Grypus.
However, Demetrius was restless and twice tried to escape from his exile 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.
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 DemetriusII was a restless child who needed toys.
DemetriusII was certainly uncapable to handle the developing threats to the Seleucid empire, but his reputation of cruelty was probably undeserved.
Demetrius of Alopece, sculptor 5th/4th century BC Demetrius Phalereus, philosopher and statesman of 4th century BC Demetrius I of Macedon Poliorcetes (336-283 BC)
Demetrius of Pharos, ruler in Illyria 3rd century BC Demetrius I of Bactria, Indo-Greek king ca 180-165 BC Demetrius I of Syria, Seleucid king
Demetrius of Antioch, 3rd century Patriarch of Antioch
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