Antiochus VII Sidetes

Antiochus VII Eumenes, also called Sidetes ( " from Side" ), reigned 138-129 BC and is considered the last major Seleucid ruler. As brother Demetrios ' II Antiochus VII was placed after its capture by the Parthians to the throne, on which occasion he also married his wife Cleopatra Thea. Their son was Antiochus IX. , The same half-brother and cousin of Seleucus and Antiochus VIII V.

After years of inner turmoil and serious foreign policy setbacks - especially the conquest of the rich Mesopotamia 141 BC by the Parthians was a disaster for the Seleucids - tried the new king to give the events a new twist. First, the charismatic ruler was there quite successful: Antiochus defeated the usurper Diodotus Tryphon and besieged Jerusalem, where according to legend freely bought by the Hasmoneans themselves by Solomon's grave lifted the treasure in King ( it is clear only that they pay high tribute to the Seleucids had ). He then attacked with a very large army (the last major army contingent of the Seleucids ) to the Parthians, defeated the Parthian General Indates and won such a short time back Mesopotamia. In Babylon he took the title " King of Kings " and penetrated to the media before. The Parthian king Phraates II willing to negotiate confronted the triumphant certain Antiochus with unacceptable demands, so the war went on until he was with his army 129 BC lured into a trap and killed by the Parthians, along with most of his soldiers. Through this crushing defeat the Seleucid Mesopotamia, Iran and the Hasmonäerreich were finally lost, and the former empire was demoted to an increasingly meaningless middle power. The following decades until its annexation by the Romans were also marked by endless internal troubles and disputes about who made the kingdom of foreign policy incapacitated.

Antiochus ' brother Demetrius II was probably released by the Parthians, 130 BC to his claim to the throne to set Antiochus under pressure; He then took over again the government.