DEMETRIUS I., named Soter, king of Syria, was sent to Rome as a hostage during the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. He contrived, however, to escape from confinement, partly through the assistance of the historian Polybius, and established himself on the throne. He acquired his surname from the Babylonians on account of the expulsion of Heraclides from their capital, and is famous in Jewish history for his contests with the Maccabees. Demetrius fell in battle against the usurper Balas, about 150 B.C.