Demetrius I of Macedonia. King of Macedonia . Known as the City Besieger. Son and successor of Antígono I Monoftalmos, is part of the Antigónida dynasty, founded by his father.
Summary
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- 1 Biographical synthesis
- 1 Military history
- 2 Death
- 2 descendants
- 3 Sources
Biographical synthesis
He was born in Macedonia in 294 BC
He was given the nickname of Poliorcetes (defector of cities), for the many that he had taken and in contrast to the god Zeus , protector and conservator of cities. However, the biggest siege of all, that of the city of Rhodes (305 BC) was a failure. In commemoration of this victory the Rhodians erected the famous Colossus of Rhodes , one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Demetrius was the son of Antigonus Monophthalmos, one of the generals called Diádocos, who on the death of Alexander the Great took command of almost the entire Macedonian empire. Father and son were, as historians observe, the main instigators and participants in the wars and fights that followed the death of Alexander.
Military career
He began in the arms at a very early age, acting in the service of his father in the campaign against Eumenes de Cardia (317-316 BC). At the age of twenty-two, Antigonus put him in command of an army for the first time, to defend Syria against Ptolemy I of Egypt , being completely defeated in the Battle of Gaza. Despite this, Demetrius proved to be an efficient general, the best instrument of Antigonus’ politics, and soon won a victory in the vicinity of Miunte. In the spring of 310 BC C. was defeated when he tried to expel Seleuco I Nicator from Babylon; in autumn his father would also be defeated. As a result of this Babylonian war, Antigonus lost almost two-thirds of his empire: all the eastern satrapies passed to Seleucus.
After several campaigns against Ptolemy on the coasts of Cilicia and Cyprus , Demetrius set out with a fleet of 250 ships for Athens , liberating the city in 307 BC from the tyranny of Cassander of Macedon, expelling the garrison that was stationed there under command of Demetrio de Falero, and besieging and taking Muniquia. After these victories, both he and his father were worshiped by the Athenians as tutelary deities under the title of Soter (Greek: “savior” or “benefactor above other benefactors”), as theoi soteres.
In 306 BC he obtained a very important naval victory over the Egyptian Navy, commanded by Menelaus, Ptolemy’s brother, at Salamis of Cyprus , completely destroying his fleet. Presumably, the Victory of Samothrace would commemorate this naval success.
In the same year, Demetrius conquered Cyprus , capturing one of Ptolemy’s sons. After the victory, Antigonus assumed the title of king and also bestowed it on his son Demetrius. In 305 BC, already with the title of king, Demetrius tried to punish the Rhodians, firm allies of Egypt . His ingenuity in designing new siege weapons in his failed attempt to reduce the capital earned him the title of Poliorcetes. Among his creations was a 55 m long ram, which required 1,000 men to handle it, and a wheeled siege tower, called “helepolis” (or “city grabber”) about 45 m high and 18 m high. wide, it needed 3,400 men for its displacement.
He again intervened in Greece from 304 BC, rejecting Cassander and restoring the Panhellenic League of Corinth (302 BC). The defeat and death of his father in the battle of Ipsos deprived him of his territories in Asia Minor, but he still dominated the seas with his powerful fleet and had the help of Seleucus Nicátor, who married his daughter Stratonice.
Having reached an agreement with Cassander, Demetrius seized Cilicia, until then in the power of Plistarco, but shortly after he concentrated on gaining dominion over Macedonia, where the death of Cassander 298 BC and his son Philip IV opened a succession dispute between the suitors Alexander V and Antipater II.
Proclaimed king of Macedonia as Demetrius I in 294 BC, he maintains wars with Lysimachus and his ally Pyrrhus of Epirus. In 291 BC, on the island of Corcira he married Lanassa, Pirro’s spiteful former wife. But the combined forces of Pyrrhus, Lysimachus, and Ptolemy succeed in driving him out of Macedonia in 288 BC.
He passed into Asia and attacked Lysimachus with variable success. Famine and plague destroyed most of his army, so he requested the support of Seleucus, king of Babylon and Syria. But before reaching Syria, hostilities broke out between the two, and after having obtained some advantages over his son-in-law, Demetrius was totally abandoned by his troops and had to surrender to Seleucus.
Death
His son Antígono offered all his goods, and even his own person, to obtain his freedom. But everything was useless, and Demetrio, given to drink and excesses, died after a three-year seclusion (283 BC). His remains were delivered to Antigonus and honored with a great funeral in Corinth.
Decendents
His descendants continued on the Macedonian throne until the time of Perseus , when Macedonia was conquered by the Romans in 168 BC. His son Antigonus Gonatas succeeded him as King of Macedonia. Demetrius married Fila, a daughter of the old general of Philip II of Macedonia and later Alexander’s general, Antipater. They had a son, named Antigonus II Gonatas, who also became king of Macedonia, and a daughter named Stratonice whom he gave in marriage to Seleucus I Nicátor, king of Babylon and Syria, in 298 BC.
Later he would marry Deidamia, Pirro’s sister, with whom he had a son named Alexander. Who, according to Plutarch, would spend his life as a hostage in Egypt .
She would also accept Lanassa’s offer of marriage: she, outraged at being rejected by her husband Pyrrhus of Epirus, (after his marriage to two other women of barbarian origin), fled to the Island of Corcira, now Corfu, which had been conquered by her father Agatocles and given to Lanassa as a dowry for her first wedding. From the island he sent a message to Demetrius I of Macedonia, with whom Pyrrhus was at war, to offer him both his hand and the island of Corcyra. Demetrius accepted her offer and, after sailing to the island, married her, left a garrison on the island, and returned to Macedonia. These events happened shortly before the end of the war and the fall of Demetrius.
