Mithridates II Antiochus Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellenos Monocritis, also known as
Mithridates II of Commagene was a man of
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n and
GreekThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
descent who lived in the
1st century BCThe 1st century BC, also known as the last century BC or 1st century BCE started on the first day of 100 BC and ended on the last day of 1 BC.It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period...
. He was a prince of Commagene and one of the sons of King
Antiochus I Theos of CommageneAntiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellen , was the king of Commagene from 70 BC until his death, and the most famous ruler of that kingdom.The ruins of the tomb-sanctuary of Antiochus Theos are magnificent to behold even today...
and Queen
IsiasIsias Philostorgos was a Greek woman who lived in the 1st century BC. Through her marriage to King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene, she became the Queen of Commagene. Unfortunately very little is known on Isias. Like Antiochus I, she was a descendant of the Syrian Greek King Seleucus I Nicator...
of Commagene. When his father died in
38 BCYear 38 BC was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.-Rome:* January 1—Beginning of the Hispanic era, by Octavio Augusto's orders....
, he succeeded his father and reigned until his death.
According to
PlutarchPlutarch, born Plutarchos then, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 – 120, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, he was an ally to
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Triumvir
Mark AntonyMarcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and General. He was an important supporter and the loyal friend of Gaius Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia...
, and in
31 BCYear 31 BC was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.-Rome:*Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the third time...
Mithridates personally led his forces to
ActiumActium was the ancient name of a promontory of western Greece in northwestern Acarnania, at the mouth of the Sinus Ambracius opposite Nicopolis, built by Augustus on the north side of the strait....
in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
in support of Antony in the war against Octavian, the future Roman Emperor
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
.
Mithridates II Antiochus Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellenos Monocritis, also known as
Mithridates II of Commagene was a man of
ArmeniaArmenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n and
GreekThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
descent who lived in the
1st century BCThe 1st century BC, also known as the last century BC or 1st century BCE started on the first day of 100 BC and ended on the last day of 1 BC.It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period...
. He was a prince of Commagene and one of the sons of King
Antiochus I Theos of CommageneAntiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellen , was the king of Commagene from 70 BC until his death, and the most famous ruler of that kingdom.The ruins of the tomb-sanctuary of Antiochus Theos are magnificent to behold even today...
and Queen
IsiasIsias Philostorgos was a Greek woman who lived in the 1st century BC. Through her marriage to King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene, she became the Queen of Commagene. Unfortunately very little is known on Isias. Like Antiochus I, she was a descendant of the Syrian Greek King Seleucus I Nicator...
of Commagene. When his father died in
38 BCYear 38 BC was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar.-Rome:* January 1—Beginning of the Hispanic era, by Octavio Augusto's orders....
, he succeeded his father and reigned until his death.
According to
PlutarchPlutarch, born Plutarchos then, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. AD 46 – 120, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
, he was an ally to
RomanAncient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea, it became one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
Triumvir
Mark AntonyMarcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and General. He was an important supporter and the loyal friend of Gaius Julius Caesar as a military commander and administrator, being Caesar's second cousin, once removed, by his mother Julia Antonia...
, and in
31 BCYear 31 BC was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.-Rome:*Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian becomes Roman Consul for the third time...
Mithridates personally led his forces to
ActiumActium was the ancient name of a promontory of western Greece in northwestern Acarnania, at the mouth of the Sinus Ambracius opposite Nicopolis, built by Augustus on the north side of the strait....
in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
in support of Antony in the war against Octavian, the future Roman Emperor
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
. After the
defeatThe Battle of Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic. It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the Ionian Sea near the Roman colony of Actium in Greece...
of Antony however, Mithridates became a loyal ally to Augustus. Nevertheless, Augustus forced Mithridates to hand over to the Roman province of
SyriaSyria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War...
, a village in Commagene called
ZeugmaZeugma is an ancient city of Commagene; currently located in the Gaziantep Province of Turkey . It is a historical settlement which is considered among the four most important settlement areas under the reign of the kingdom of Commagene...
, which was a major crossing point of the
EuphratesThe Euphrates is the longest and historically one of the most important rivers of Southwest Asia. Together with the Tigris, the Euphrates is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
River. To show his support for Augustus, Mithridates dropped the title
Philhellen ("friend of the Greeks") from his
Aulic titulatureAulic titulature is a term, derived from the Greek Aulè and Latin Aula for hierarchic systems of titles specifically in use for court protocol.-Hellenistic Antiquity:...
and adopted the title
Philorhomaios ("friend of the Romans") instead. Both titles were derived from the Royal Commagenean cult that Mithridates' late father had founded, and in which Mithridates played an important role. His other title
Monocritis is an otherwise unattested title and was most likely a judicial function within the Royal Administration and a sign of his high social standing.
Mithridates also had a brother,
Antiochus II of CommageneAntiochus II Epiphanes , was a man of Armenian and Greek descent. Antiochus II was a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene and the second son of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene and Queen Isias of Commagene. He was the youngest brother of prince and future King of Commagene, Mithridates II of...
, who was also a prince of the kingdom. In
29 BCYear 29 BC was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.-Rome:* Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus becomes Roman Consul for the fifth time. His partner is Sextus Appuleius. He was granted the title of imperator, and for the third time in Roman history the doors of the Temple of Janus...
, his brother Antiochus II was summoned to
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated municipality , with over 2.7 million residents in , while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat to be 3.46 million. The metropolitan area of Rome is estimated by OECD to have a population of 3.7 million...
and executed by
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
AugustusGaius Julius Caesar Augustus was the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14.
[These are the contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian after 45 BC...]
, because Antiochus had caused the assassination of an ambassador whom Mithridates had sent to Rome.
According to an inscription on a funerary altar found in the
TurkishTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
village of Sofraz of a local wealthy leading family, which dates around the mid-
1st centuryThe 1st century was the century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. It is considered part of the Classical era, epoch, or historical period...
, the wife of Mithridates was a Greek woman called
LaodiceLaodice , was a Greek woman who lived in the 1st century BC. She had married the Greek King from the Kingdom of Commagene Mithridates II of Commagene, the first son and heir to Greek King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene and Greek Queen Isias of Commagene...
. The altar inscribes family members that stretch over 7 generations and includes the names of Mithridates, of his father and of his wife. When he died in 20 BC, his son with Laodice,
Mithridates III of CommageneMithridates III Antiochus Epiphanes was a ruler of Commagene. The son and successor of King Mithridates II of Commagene and Queen Laodice, he was of Armenian and Greek descent....
, succeeded him.
Sources