Demetrius I Poliorcetes

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: Demetrius I Poliorcetes

(born 336 BC, Macedonia — died 283, Cilicia) King of Macedonia (294 – 288). As a young general he fought to rebuild the empire of his father, Antigonus I Monophthalmus. Under his father's command, he initially failed in his assaults on Egypt and Nabataea, but he later freed Athens from Macedonia (307) and defeated Ptolemy I Soter (306), restoring some of his father's domain. He fought alongside his father at the Battle of Ipsus (301), where Antigonus was killed, and later retook Athens (294). He became king of Macedonia as Demetrius I Poliorcetes ("the Besieger") after killing Alexander V (r. 297 – 294). Driven out in 288, he surrendered to Seleucus I Nicator in 285.

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