DEMETRIUS I. furnished Soter or Saviour, was son of Seleucus Philopator, the son of Antiochus the Great, king of Syria. His father gave him as a hostage to the Romans. After the death of Seleucus, Antiochus Epiphanes, the deceased monarch's brother, usurped the kingdom of Syria, and was succeeded by his son Antiochus Eupator. This usurpation displeased Demetrius, who was detained at Rome. He procured his liberty on pretence of going to hunt, and fled to Syria, where the troops received him as their lawful sovereign. He put to death Eupator and Lyfias, and established himself on his throne by cruelty and oppression. Alexander Bala, the son of Antiochus Epiphanes, laid claims upon the crown of Syria, and defeated Demetrius in a battle, 250 years before Christ.