Demetrius I Poliorcetes
The Besieger of Cities: Macedonian king and master of siege warfare.
Marie-Lan Nguyen · via Wikipedia: Demetrius I Poliorcetes · Public domain
Demetrius I Poliorcetes was a Macedonian king and military commander who ruled from 294 to 288 BC.[1] His innovations in siege warfare left a lasting mark on global military history.[2] Following his failed 305 BC siege of Rhodes, Demetrius became known as Poliorcetes, meaning "the besieger."[1]
Quick Facts
- Reign
- 294–288 BC
- Predecessor
- Antipater I of Macedon
- Successor
- Lysimachus and Pyrrhus of Epirus
- Spouse
- Phila
- Eurydice of Athens
- Deidamia I of Epirus
- Lanassa
- Ptolemais
- Issue
- Stratonice of Syria
- Antigonus II Gonatas
- Demetrius the Fair
- Father
- Antigonus I Monophthalmus
- Mother
- Stratonice
- Born
- 337 BC
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
He defeated Ptolemy at the naval Battle of Salamis in 306 BC, conquering Cyprus and capturing one of Ptolemy's sons.[3] He died in captivity in 283 BC after three years of confinement.[4] Although defeated at Gaza, Demetrius later achieved a victory at Myus over Cilles, a general serving Ptolemy.[5] The 305 BC attempt to capture the city failed, despite employing enormous engines such as the 125-foot "Helepolis" siege tower.[4]
By murdering Cassander's son Alexander V in 294 BC, Demetrius made himself the ruler of the kingdom.[6] Pyrrhus and Lysimachus forced Demetrius out of the region in 288 BC, and he later gave himself up to Seleucus I in Cilicia.[1]
What the cited sources add
Plutarch's biography describes Demetrius's pursuit of a youth called Democles the Handsome.[4][7] To get away from Demetrius, the youth removed the lid from a hot water cauldron at the baths and leaped inside.[7] Plutarch tells of Demetrius canceling a 50-talent penalty imposed on a man in return for sexual access to that man's son, Cleaenetus.[7] From the city's residents, Demetrius requested 250 talents to purchase soap and cosmetics for Lamia and other courtesans.[7]
In 294/3–293/2 BC, the Macedonian king appointed two leading figures in the city: Olympiodoros and Phillipides of Paiania.[8]
References
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Demetrius I Poliorcetes Macedonian Conqueror, Military Strategist"; Adams, Winthrop Lindsay (2010). "Alexander's Successors to 221 BC". In Roisman, Joseph; Worthington, Ian (eds.). A Companion to Ancient Macedonia. Oxford, Chich (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Rose, "Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean", Brill, 2019-11-13, p. 169–190; Rose, "Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean", Brill, 2019-11-13, p. 169–190; Rose, "Brill's Companion to Sieges in the Ancient Mediterranean", Brill, 2019-11-13, p. 169–190 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; Walter M. Ellis, Ptolemy of Egypt, Routledge, London, 1994, p. 15. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Wheatley, "Demetrius the besieger", Oxford University Press, 2020, p. 76; Wheatley, "The Chronology of the Third Diadoch War, 315-311 B. C.", Phoenix, 1998, p. 257–281 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Plutarch, Life of Demetrius (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Demetrius I Poliorcetes" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Shear, "Kallias of Spettos and The Revolt of Athens in 286 B.C.", Library of Congress, 1978, p. 53–54 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Demetrius I Poliorcetes (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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