Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Eumenes, nick-named
Sidetes (from Sidon), reigned 138-129 BC and was the last Seleucidian king of any stature. The brother of
Demetrios II, Antiochus was elevated after Demetrius' capture by the Parthians, also marrying his wife
Kleopatra Thea. Their offspring was Antiochus IX, thus both half-brother and cousin of Seleucus V and Antiochus VIII. Sidetes defeated usurper
Tryphon and laid siege to Jerusalem where, according to legends, the Hasmonean king bought him out by digging up the treasures of king Solomon's grave. Sidetes then attacked the Parthians, briefly taking back Mesopotamia before being ambushed and killed. His brother
Demetrios II was by then released, but Seleucid empire was now restricted to Syria only.