Diodotus Tryphon, nicknamed "The Magnificent" was a Greek king of the Seleucid Empire.
18 Facts About Diodotus Tryphon
2.
Diodotus Tryphon rapidly gained control of most of Syria and the Levant.
3.
Diodotus Tryphon took the royal name Tryphon Autocrator and distanced himself from the Seleucid dynasty.
4.
Diodotus Tryphon is unique in the history of the Seleucid empire, as the only rebel from outside the dynasty to gain control of the whole kingdom.
5.
Diodotus Tryphon was originally from Casiana, a dependent town of the city of Apamea.
6.
Diodotus Tryphon served as a general for Alexander Balas, during the civil war which the latter fought with Demetrius II Nicator.
7.
Diodotus Tryphon is introduced in the First Book of Maccabees as "a certain Trypho [who] had formerly been one of Alexander's supporters", who sees and seizes an opportunity when "he saw that all the troops were grumbling against Demetrius [II]".
8.
Diodotus Tryphon probably considered himself to be in danger, and he fled to an Arab ruler called Zabdiel or Imalkue, who had been entrusted with the care of Alexander Balas's young son.
9.
The new king was less than five years old and Diodotus Tryphon held all actual power as his regent.
10.
In 142 BC, Diodotus Tryphon dispatched troops who lured Jonathan to Ptolemais with a small guard and captured him.
11.
In late 142 or early 141 BC, Antiochus VI Dionysus died, supposedly during a medical operation; most ancient sources accuse Diodotus Tryphon of having had the young king murdered.
12.
Boris Chrubasik argues that Diodotus Tryphon took the epithet in imitation of the Parthian rulers and to emphasise his independence from his predecessors.
13.
Diodotus Tryphon's coins depicts him in a mature guise, with a rather fat face and long flowing hair - emphasising the luxuriousness implied by the name Trypon.
14.
The break with the Seleucids was indicated by the abandonment of the Seleucid dating system, in which years were counted continuously from the rise to power of Seleucus I Tryphon instituted a new system, counting from his own accession as king.
15.
Once he was king, Diodotus Tryphon expanded his control to at least Ptolemais-Akke and Dor.
16.
Diodotus Tryphon declared himself King Antiochus Euergetes, left his home in Rhodes, and landed in Phoenicia in the face of staunch resistance.
17.
Diodotus Tryphon married the wife of Demetrius, Cleopatra Thea, further legitimizing his position.
18.
Diodotus Tryphon moved south to the fortress-city of Dor, where he was besieged.