M. Rahim Shayegan, On Demetrius II Nicator’s Arsacid Captivity and Second Rule
The captivity of the Seleucid king Demetrius II in Arsacid Iran and
his short reign in Syria following his release from Hyrcania, in the
second half of the second century B.C.E., must be considered as the
first instance of the Arsacid “hostage policy.” The policy consisted in
hosting foreign princes at Parthian courts in view of eventually
instigating a dynastic change in their home country, favorable to
Arsacid political designs. This practice, which is reported by
classical authors for a later period, most notably of Tigranes of
Armenia in the first century B.C.E., can now be corroborated by the
evidence of the recently published Babylonian Astronomical Diaries. The
Diaries not only attest to the use of political hostages by the
Arsacids already in the second half of the second century B.C.E, but
allow us to interpret Demetrius II’s captivity and release in light of
the “hostage policy.”