Archelaus (father of Archelaus of Cappadocia)
Encyclopedia
Archelaus was a High priest
of the temple-state of Comana, Cappadocia.
Archelaus was a Cappadocia
n Greek nobleman
, possibly of Macedonian descent
. He was the son and namesake of the Roman Client Ruler and High Priest of Comana, Cappadocia, Archelaus
by an unnamed Greek woman. He also had an unnamed sister and his paternal uncle was the Pontic soldier Diogenes, who served in the army of King Mithridates VI of Pontus
. His paternal grandfather also called Archelaus
, the Pontic General
who participated in the Mithridatic Wars
. His paternal grandmother may have been a Pontic Princess one of the daughters born from the concubine of Mithridates VI as his father had descended from Mithridates VI
.
In January/February 55 BC after the deaths of his father and sister, Archelaus succeeded his father as High Priest Temple Ruler of the Comana Cappadocia. Archelaus was the High Priest of the Roman Goddess of War, Bellona
. When Marcus Tullius Cicero
served as Proconsul
of Cilicia
in 51 BC, Archelaus assisted with troops and money for those who created disturbances in Cappadocia and threatened then King Ariobarzanes III of Cappadocia. Cicero compelled Archelaus to quit the campaign against Ariobarzanes III.
In 47 BC the Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar
after the conclusion of his military victory
against the Triumvir Pompey
, deprived and deposed Archelaus of his office of high priest and rule over Comana. Archelaus was replaced by another Greek nobleman called Lycomedes
. Pompey was their family patron and it was he that appointed his father as High Priest Ruler of the temple state of Comana. The fate of Archelaus afterwards is unknown.
Archelaus had married a Cappadocia
n Greek Hetaera
called Glaphya
.
Glaphyra bore Archelaus two sons:
High priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste.-Ancient Egypt:...
of the temple-state of Comana, Cappadocia.
Archelaus was a Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
n Greek nobleman
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, possibly of Macedonian descent
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
. He was the son and namesake of the Roman Client Ruler and High Priest of Comana, Cappadocia, Archelaus
Archelaus (high priest of Comana Cappadocia)
Archelaus was a high priest of the temple-state of Comana, Cappadocia.-Family background:Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman, possibly of Macedonian descent...
by an unnamed Greek woman. He also had an unnamed sister and his paternal uncle was the Pontic soldier Diogenes, who served in the army of King Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
. His paternal grandfather also called Archelaus
Archelaus (general)
Archelaus was a leading military general of the King Mithridates VI of Pontus. Archelaus was the greatest general that had served under Mithridates VI and was also his favorite general....
, the Pontic General
Kingdom of Pontus
The Kingdom of Pontus or Pontic Empire was a state of Persian origin on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It was founded by Mithridates I in 291 BC and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BC...
who participated in the Mithridatic Wars
Mithridatic Wars
There were three Mithridatic Wars between Rome and the Kingdom of Pontus in the 1st century BC. They are named for Mithridates VI who was King of Pontus at the time....
. His paternal grandmother may have been a Pontic Princess one of the daughters born from the concubine of Mithridates VI as his father had descended from Mithridates VI
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
.
In January/February 55 BC after the deaths of his father and sister, Archelaus succeeded his father as High Priest Temple Ruler of the Comana Cappadocia. Archelaus was the High Priest of the Roman Goddess of War, Bellona
Bellona (goddess)
Bellona was an Ancient Roman goddess of war, similar to the Ancient Greek Enyo. Bellona's attribute is a sword and she is depicted wearing a helmet and armed with a spear and a torch....
. When Marcus Tullius Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
served as Proconsul
Proconsul
A proconsul was a governor of a province in the Roman Republic appointed for one year by the senate. In modern usage, the title has been used for a person from one country ruling another country or bluntly interfering in another country's internal affairs.-Ancient Rome:In the Roman Republic, a...
of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
in 51 BC, Archelaus assisted with troops and money for those who created disturbances in Cappadocia and threatened then King Ariobarzanes III of Cappadocia. Cicero compelled Archelaus to quit the campaign against Ariobarzanes III.
In 47 BC the Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
after the conclusion of his military victory
Caesar's civil war
The Great Roman Civil War , also known as Caesar's Civil War, was one of the last politico-military conflicts in the Roman Republic before the establishment of the Roman Empire...
against the Triumvir Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, deprived and deposed Archelaus of his office of high priest and rule over Comana. Archelaus was replaced by another Greek nobleman called Lycomedes
Lycomedes of Comana
Lycomedes of Comana was a Bithynian nobleman of Cappadocian Greek descent who ruled Comana, Cappadocia in the second half of the 1st century BC. In 47 BC Lycomedes was probably about 50 years old, when he was named by Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar the priest of the goddess Bellona in the...
. Pompey was their family patron and it was he that appointed his father as High Priest Ruler of the temple state of Comana. The fate of Archelaus afterwards is unknown.
Archelaus had married a Cappadocia
Cappadocia
Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in Nevşehir Province.In the time of Herodotus, the Cappadocians were reported as occupying the whole region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine...
n Greek Hetaera
Hetaera
In ancient Greece, hetaerae were courtesans, that is to say, highly educated, sophisticated companions...
called Glaphya
Glaphyra (hetaera)
Glaphyra was a Hetaera that lived in the 1st century BC.Glaphyra was a Greek woman from Cappadocia from obscure origins. Glaphyra was famed and celebrated in antiquity for her beauty, charm as well as she had a reputation for being seductive...
.
Glaphyra bore Archelaus two sons:
- Archelaus Sisines, also known as King Archelaus of CappadociaArchelaus of Cappadocia-Family & Early Life:Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman, possibly of Macedonian descent. His full name was Archelaus Sisines. He was the first born son, namesake of the Roman Client and High Priest Ruler Archelaus, of the temple state of Comana, Cappadocia and Glaphyra. Archelaus’ father...
who reign from 36 BC until his death in 17 - Sisines
Sources
- http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0272.html
- http://www.tyndalehouse.com/egypt/ptolemies/berenice_iv.htm
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/32710/Archelaus
- H. Temporini and W. Haase, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung, Walter de Gruyter, 1980
- R. Syme and A.R. Birley, Anatolica: studies in Strabo, Oxford University Press, 1995
- D. Dueck, H. Lindsay and S. Pothecary, Strabo’s cultural geography: the making of a kolossourgia, Cambridge University Press, 2005