The siblings fought a twenty-year civil war. In 112 BC, Antiochus IX's wife, Cleopatra IV, was killed by her sister Tryphaena, the wife of Antiochus VIII. Tryphaena herself died shortly afterwards. Antiochus VIII was assassinated in 96 BC; he was succeeded by his sons Seleucus VI and Demetrius III. Antiochus IX then took the capital Antioch and married his deceased wife's sister Cleopatra Selene, who was herself the widow of Antiochus VIII. Seleucus VI continued the war against his uncle. Antiochus IX Eusebes Cyzicenus was killed in battle in 96 B.C.
Following the death of his mother c. 121 BC,[2] Antiochus IX Cyzicenus challenged his half-brother, Antiochus VIII Grypus, for power over Syria.[2]
He returned to Syria in 116 BC to claim the Seleucid throne from his half-brother/cousin Antiochus VIII Grypus, with whom he eventually divided Syria,[citation needed] that same year.[2]
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus was first married to Cleopatra IV, who was said to have been killed in 112 BC[4] by her sister and rival Tryphaena, wife of King Grypus.[5][6][7] After the death of Grypus and Antiochus' capture of the capital, Antiochus married Cleopatra Selene of Syria, the sister of his former wife, Cleopatra IV.[4]
He was subsequently killed in battle by the son of Grypus, Seleucus VI Epiphanes, later in 96 BC.
Legacy
Antiochus IX probably created the Iturean tetrarchy as an ally against Antiochus VIII.[8]
^Oliver D. Hoover, Handbook of Syrian Coins: Royal and Civic Issues, Fourth to First Centuries BC [The Handbook of Greek Coinage Series, Volume 9], Lancaster/London, Classical Numismatic Group, 2009, pp. 250-251.
Wright, Nicholas L. (2005). "Seleucid Royal Cult, Indigenous Religious Traditions and Radiate Crowns: The Numismatic Evidence". Mediterranean Archaeology. 18. Sydney University Press: 81. ISSN1030-8482.
Vermeule, Cornelius (1970). "Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman Gems: A Recent Gift to the Collections". Boston Museum Bulletin. 68 (353). Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: 197–214. JSTOR4171534. OCLC866801443.