Aggressive son of Antigonus
Monophthalmus who persistently harassed his father's rivals [Ptolemy,
Cassander, Lysimachus
& Seleucus] &
established the Antogonid dynasty of Macedonian kings. Though he was never
able to secure his own kingdom, his invention of the moveable siege tower
[which earned him his byname: "the besieger"] revolutionized
siege warfare & became a stock weapon for attacking fortifications
until modern times.
While Demetrius' own military
& political projects often met with failure, he repeatedly
demonstrated a remarkable resilience by seizing the initiative in the wake
of defeat. In his first command he lost the battle of Gaza
(312
BCE) to the combined forces of Ptolemy & Seleucus but regrouped
to win his next engagement. In the last coalition war against his
father (308 -301
BCE) Demetrius failed to wrest control of Babylon from Seleucus, but was hailed as
"savior" [soter] by Athenians for liberating them from
the forces of Cassander. Antigonus rewarded him with the title
"king" for his destruction of Ptolemy's navy at the battle of
Salamis (306
BCE). After failing to take Rhodes -- despite his invention of
the moveable tower he dubbed "the city-taker" [helepolis]
--,
he drove Cassander out of Greece & revived the league of
Greek city states with himself as its leader.
At Ipsus (301
BCE), however,
the pattern of failure followed by success was reversed. Flushed by a
successful attack, his cavalry got separated from the main army, turning
apparent victory into a devastating defeat that cost his father both his
kingdom & his life. Still, Demetrius did not surrender. While Lysimachus
& Seleucus divided the bulk of Antigonus' domain between them,
Demetrius not only salvaged control of Ephesus & other ports on the
southern coast of Asia Minor, he used them to launch counter-attacks
against Lysimachus & regain control of the Peloponnese & much of
the Aegean.
Cassander's death (298
BCE)
gave Demetrius the opportunity to seize an even greater prize. Invited by
Cassander's younger son to aid him against his older brother, Demetrius
claimed the throne of Macedonia for himself (294
BCE). His conquests in
Europe, however, were offset by his loss of all his holdings in Asia Minor
to Lysimachus. Moreover, Demetrius failed to consolidate his control of
Macedonia. A native rebellion coordinated with simultaneous attacks by
Lysimachus from the East & Pyrrhus of Epirus from the West forced him
to retreat to Greece (288
BCE), leaving the victors to divide Macedonia.
Instead of contenting himself
with leadership of the Hellenic league, almost immediately Demetrius
attacked eastern Asia Minor, where he was eventually captured by his own
son-in-law, Seleucus (287
BCE). Although the consummate
"Besieger" -- who had been the main destabilizing factor in
Mediterranean politics for a quarter century -- ended his own career as a
captive, his decision to leave his son [Antigonus
Gonatas] in control of Greece during his final campaign laid the
foundation for
the Antigonid dynasty to reclaim the Macedonian throne.
References:
Josephus, Against
Apion 1.184-185, 200, 206-207.
Pausanias,
Description
of Greece
1.6.5-6; 10.1-2.
Plutarch, Demetrius.
_____, Pyrrhus 4, 6-7, 10-12.
_____, Aratus.
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