Commagene1

Ptolemaios, First King of Commagene. Initially, the Seleukid Governor of Commagene (apparently a hereditary position). He claimed descent from the Orontids, Kings of Armenia since ancient times, and from the old Achaemenid Emperors of Persia. Around 163 he asserted independence by claiming the title of Basileus (King).  Later Kings of Commagene would date their kingdom from this event, but information on the period is vague; it is unclear whether this was a revolt against Seleukid authority, or part of a Seleukid attempt to create a puppet buffer kingdom between themselves and Anatolia. He was clearly not under much pressure from the Seleukids, because he saw fit to invade Cappadocia, briefly capturing Melitene before withdrawing. He probably had issue:

• 1) Samos Theosebēs Dikaios, Second King of Commagene (see below)

Samos Theosebēs Dikaios ("God-fearing and Just"), Second King of Commagene. Possibly a son of Ptolemaios, but definitely a relative in some way, he was king around 130 but is unclear for how long. He seems to have been responsible for two major steps, which would profoundly affect the history of Commagene. The first of these was the decision to use both Iranian and Hellenistic motifs and symbols to construct a state ideology; this was a savvy move for a kingdom sat firmly on the border between east and west. His second decision was to found the city of Samosata in the valley of the Euphrates. This strongly fortified city would become Commagene's capital and was well-placed to take advantage of trade routes following the Euphrates from Mesopotamia up to Armenia. He may have married Pythodōris of Pontos in northern Anatolia. He had issue:

• 1) Mithradatēs I Kallinikos, Third King of Commagene (see below)

96 - ? Mithradatēs I Kallinikos ("Beautiful Victory"), Third King of Commagene. His dates are rather speculative. He built on the syncretism of Iranian and Hellenistic motifs begun by his father and founded two major cult centres, Arsameia-on-the-Nymphaios and Mount Nemrut. At both of these sites, he intitiated monumental construction projects. Twice in his reign Commagene admitted foreign armies; in 92 he allowed the Parthians to cross his territory in order to attack the Seleukid King Antiochos IX (his own brother-in-law), and around 88 he became a vassal of the Armenian king Tigranes the Great, who then successfully conquered the remains of the Seleukid state. He married Laodikē Thea Philadelphos, daughter of Antiochos VIII Grypos, Eighteenth Seleukid King (124 - 113) (see SELEUKID 6) and had issue:

• 1) Antiochos I Theos Dikaios Epiphanēs Philorhōmaios Philellēn, Fourth King of Commagene (see below)

• 1) Philadelphē (perhaps?)

? - 36 Antiochos I Theos Dikaios Epiphanēs Philorhōmaios Philellēn ("The Just, Manifest, Roman-loving Greek-loving God") 

Fourth Great King of Commagene. The date at which he became King of Commagene is not clear, he was already King when the Romans entered the region 

in 69; indeed, he had taken advantage of the lack of central authority to promote himself to the status of Basileus Megas (Great King), the title formerly used by the Seleukid and Achaemenid Emperors. Commagene remained wealthy; Antiochos was able to complete construction at Arasmeia and to carry out further work on Mount Nemrut. When the Romans did arrive in 69, they were hostile, Lucullus beseiged Samosata, as did Pompey in 64. Apparently this was without success, for Pompey left Antiochos as King and Commagene in place. When the Romans came into conflict with the Parthians, Commagene faced further incursions; the Parthians passed through Commagene in 51 and 40. On the former occassion they were defeated by Julius Caesar, who took the opportunity to confirm Antiochos as Great King of Commagene. On the latter occassion, however, Antiochos' failure to halt the Parthian advance led the Roman Triumvir Mark Antony and his ally King Herod to beseige the capital, Samosata. Antiochos came to terms shortly before his death. He married Isias Philostorgos ("the dearly beloved"). When he died in 36 he was interred in a fifty metre high tumulus atop Mount Nemrut, which is flanked by ten metre high statues of the gods, Antiochos depicted among them. He had issue:

• 1) Mithridatēs II Philorhomaios, Fifth Great King of Commagene (see below)

• 2) Antiochos II, possibly a co-king with his brother, in 29 BC he killed a messenger sent to the Romans by his brother as part of a fraternal power conflict. Augustus had him killed; with Commagene an essential part of his border with the Parthian Empire such squabbling was a major security risk and could not be tolerated.

• 3) A son, possibly the same as Antiochos II, who had issue:

  • a) Mithradatēs III, Sixth Great King of Commagene (see below)

• 1) Antiochis. She had issue:

  • a) Aka, a daughter.

• 2) A daughter, who married Orodēs II Arsakēs, Parthian Emperor (57 - 38) (see PARTHIA)

36 - 20 Mithridatēs II Philorhomaios ("Roman-lover"), Fifth Great King of Commagene. When he came to the throne, Commagene was allied to the Roman Triumvir Mark Antony, who, with the Ptolemaic Queen Kleopatra VII,  soon fell into civil war with Octavian (The Final War of the Roman Republic (32 - 30)). This was unfortunate, for Octavian, soon to be known as Augustus, was utterly victorious. Yet, like many before him, Augustus say Commagene's benefit as a buffer state and mercifully allowed Mithradates II to remain in power, as a Roman vassal. To be a useful bufferstate, Commagene must remain stable and entirely loyal to Rome; when Mithradates' brother murdered an envoy to Rome as part of a fraternal court intrigue he was murdered by the Romans. Mithradates himself died in 20 BC and was buried in a massive tomb at Kara Kuş, on the road to his father's mausoleum on Mount Nemrut. He seems to have been childless and was succeeded by a young nephew.

20 BC - ? Mithradatēs III, Sixth Great King of Commagene. His parentage is unclear, but he was a nephew of the previous king, and young enough to require a Regent. He married Iotapē I, daughter of Artabasdēs I, King of Media Atropatene. He ruled only a few years before his death, but long enough for him to have issue:

• 1) Antiochos III Philokaisar, Seventh Great King of Commagene (see below)

• 1) Iotapē II, she married her brother Antiochos III and had issue (see below)

• 2) Iotapē III, she married Sampsigeramos II, Seventh Priest-King of Emesa (see EMESA)

? - AD 17 Antiochos III Philokaisar ("Caesar-lover"), Seventh Great King of Commagene. Given his father's youth, Antiochos III must also have been a child-king, but a highly honoured one; he received honours from Athens and, it appears, hereditary Roman citizenship. However, the Roman Emperor Tiberius decided, at his death in AD 17, to annex his kingdom. There were two reasons for this, the first was that Rome desired the tax and excise incomes of the rich little kingdom; the second was that, as Roman military presence in the East increased the little kingdom of Commagene became less of a buffer-state and more of a potential weak spot.  This was clearly exposed by the internal dissensions which followed Antiochos III's death. He married his sister Iotapē II (see above) and had issue:

• 1) Gaios Ioulios Antiochos IV Epiphanēs, Eighth Great King of Commagene (see below)

• 1) Iotapē IV Philadelphos ("brother-lover"). Fittingly, she married her brother Antiochos IV and had issue (see below)

[AD 17 - 38 Roman Rule: Tiberius Iulius Caesar Augustus & Gaius Iulius Caesar Caligula]

38 - 72  Gaios Ioulios Antiochos IV Epiphanēs ("the Manifest"), Eighth Great King of Commagene. At his father's death, Commagene suffered internal dissensions, and the Roman Emperor Tiberius decided to annex the kingdom. Antiochos IV is likely to have been very young at the time; indeed, this may have been the reason for the dissensions. Nevertheless, his family had done nothing to inspire disfavour, so he was highly honoured, being made a stephanophoros (crown-

bearer) of Chios and dwelling in Rome (Conveniently this also put him a long way away from his erstwhile subjects). In Rome, he became a close friend of Tiberius' grand-nephew, the future Emperor Caligula. Roman authors accused him of corrupting Caligula with ideas of oriental despotism, labelling him a tyrannodidaskalos (tyrant-trainer). This friendship paid off; within a year of Caligula's accession, Antiochos IV had been restored to his throne, and parts of Cilicia added to his domains. He was conspicuously loyal, but the highly erratic Caligula nevertheless deposed him, only for Emperor Claudius to restore him shortly thereafter. He supported the Romans in the Jewish War (66 - 72) against the rebellious Jewish kingdom, and supported Vespasian, the general in charge of that war, when, in 69, he decided to make a bid for the Imperial throne. Vespasianus was successful in that bid, but his experiences in the east had left him ill-disposed to the system of vassal kingdoms. In 72, when rumours circulated that the Commagenians were planning a revolt, he sent Caesennius Paetus, with the other eastern vassal kings, to beseige Samosata. Antiochos fled for Syria, but was captured by a lone centurion; he was relocated first to Greece and then to Rome, where he retained the title of King and lived in luxury until his death. He married his sister Iotapē IV Philadelphos and had issue:

• 1) Gaios Ioulios Antiochos "V" Epiphanēs. He was engaged to Drousilla, daughter of King Herod of Judaea, but fled at the eleventh hour rather than convert to Judaism and receive the rite of circumcision. After his father's death, he received the title of Great King, though no Kingdom to go with it, and he enjoyed a priviledged existence among the developing mega-rich aristocracy of the High Empire. He married Klaudia, daughter of Tiberios Klaudios Balbillos ho Sophos ("the Wise") and had issue:

  • a) Gaios Ioulios Antiochos "VI" Philopappos. Like his father, he officially retained the title of Great King, and, also like his father, he was a privileged member of the Roman Imperial aristocracy, in AD 109, he even received the high honour of serving as consul, officially (though not factually) the highest office in the Roman state. He made his home in Athens, where he was similarly honoured, being granted citizenship, official positions, and was eventually made an Archon. These honours were essentially bought, he donated a great deal of money to the city for construction projects, liturgies and the like. On his death he was buried atop the Hill of the Muses, directly opposite the Acropolis in a mausoleum which continues to dominate the Athenian skyline to this day.

  • a) Ioulia Balbilla. She was a poet and travelled to Egypt with the Emperor Hadrian. Some of her poems were inscribed on the Colossi of Memnon, where they still remain. She may have had issue:

    • i) [several generations]

      • (1) Tiberios Ioulios Balbillos, who was an Egyptian Priest of the Sun-Elagabalus in the second century AD.

• 2) Gaios Ioulios Kallinikos.

• 1) Iotapē V, she married Gaios Ioulios Alexandros, a member of the Judaean royal family who was Roman vassal king of Cilicia, with his capital at Elaioussa-Sebaste (near modern Mersin). He was also a Roman consul at some point (see JUDAEA). Eventually the Cilician kingdom was abolished and they returned to Rome. She had issue

  • a) Gaios Ioulios Agrippas, to whom the author Babrius dedicated a book of fables.