Kingdom of Commagene

See also: Kingdom of Armenia (disambiguation)

Kingdom of Commagene Կոմմագենէի Թագավորութիւն
← 163 BC – 72 AD →
Map showing Commagene as a tributary kingdom of the Armenian Empire under Tigranes the Great
Capital		Samosata
Languages		Armenian, Greek, Persian
Government		Monarchy
King
-	163-130 BC	Ptolemaeus
-	38-72 AD	Antiochus IV
Historical era		Hellenistic Age
-	Established	163 BC
-	Disestablished	72

History of Armenia
Etymology Timeline Traditional Urheimat
Prehistory Stone & Copper Age Shulaveri-Shomu culture c.6500–3400 BC Areni-1 Cave Complex Kura–Araxes culture c.3400–2000 BC Legend of Hayk (?) 2492 BC Bronze & Iron Age Hayasa-Azzi c.1500–1290 BC Arme-Shupria c.1300s–1190 BC Ararat/Urartu Nairi Tribes 1114–860 BC Kingdom of Van 860–590 BC
Antiquity Achaemenid Period Satrapy of Armina 553–331 BC Orontid Dynasty 553–189 BC Ancient Armenia Kingdom of Armenia 331 BC–428 AD Artaxiad Dynasty 189 BC–1 AD Empire 84–34 BC Arsacid Dynasty 54–428 AD Roman–Parthian War 58–63 AD Roman Occupation 114–118 AD Christianization 301 AD Armenia Minor 331–72 BC Kingdom of Sophene c.200–94 BC Kingdom of Commagene 163 BC–72 AD Marzpanate Period Byzantine Armenia 387–536 Persian Armenia 428–646 Mamikonian Dynasty Battle of Avarayr 451
Middle Ages Arabic Period Emirate of Arminiya 653–884 Hamamshen 700s–1300s Amatuni Dynasty Medieval Armenia Kingdom of Armenia 884–1045 Bagratid Dynasty 861–1118 Kingdom of Vaspurakan 908–1021 Artsruni Dynasty Kingdom of Lori 979–1118 Battle of Manzikert 1071 Cilician & Turco-Mongol Period Seljuq rule 1071–1201 Kingdom of Artsakh 1000–1261 House of Hasan-Jalalyan Georgian Union 1201–1236 Ilkhanid rule 1236–1335 Turkmen rule 1335–1508 Kingdom of Cilicia 1198–1375 Rubenid Dynasty 1000–1261 Hethumid Dynasty 1226–1373 Armenian Lusignan Dynasty 1341–1375
Early Modern Age Perso-Ottoman Period Safavid & Qajar rule 1508–1828 Nakhichevan deportation 1606 Principality of Khachen 1261–1750 Five Melikdoms Ottoman rule 1548–1915 Six Vilayets 1878 Hamidian massacres 1895–1896 Armenian Genocide 1909–1918 Russian Period Russian rule 1828–1918 Armenian Oblast 1828–1840 Western Armenia 1915–1918 Armenian National Movement Armenakan 1885 S.D. Hunchakian Party 1887 ARF (Dashnaktsutyun) 1890 Caucasus Campaign 1914–1918 Battle of Sardarapat 1918 Battle of Karakilisa 1918 First Armenian Republic 1918–1920 Treaty of Batum 1918 Armenian–Azerbaijani War 1918–1920 Georgian–Armenian War 1918 Treaty of Sèvres 1920 Wilsonian Armenia 1920 Turkish–Armenian War 1920 Treaty of Alexandropol 1920
Modern Age Soviet Period Armenian S.S.R. 1920–1991 February Uprising 1921 Republic of Mountainous Armenia 1921 Treaty of Moscow 1921 Treaty of Kars 1921 Independence Armenian Diaspora Armenian Republic since 1991 Nagorno-Karabakh Republic since 1994 Nagorno-Karabakh War 1989–1994
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The Kingdom of Commagene (Armenian: Կոմմագենէի Թագավորութիւն, Greek: Βασίλειον τῆς Kομμαγηνῆς) was an ancient Armenian kingdom of the Hellenistic Age.

Little is known of the region of Commagene prior to the beginning of the 2nd century BC. However, it seems that, from what little evidence remains, Commagene formed part of a larger state that also included Sophene. The later kings of Commagene claimed to be descended from the Orontid dynasty, and would therefore have been related to the family that founded the Kingdom of Armenia. However, the accuracy of these claims is uncertain.

This control lasted until c.163 BC, when the local satrap, Ptolemaeus of Commagene, established himself as independent ruler following the death of the Seleucid king, Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Kingdom of Commagene maintained its independence until 17 AD, when it was made a Roman province by the Emperor Tiberius. It reemerged as an independent kingdom when Antiochus IV of Commagene was reinstated to the throne by order of the Emperor Caligula, then deprived by that same Emperor, then restored a couple of years later by his successor, Claudius. This re-emergent Kingdom lasted until 72 AD, when the Emperor Vespasian finally and definitively made it a part of the Roman Empire.

History

Commagene was a small kingdom, located in modern south-central Turkey, with its capital at Samosata (modern Samsat, near the Euphrates). It was first mentioned in Assyrian texts as Kummuhu, which was normally an ally of Assyria, but eventually annexed as province in 708 BC under Sargon II. The Persian Empire then conquered Commagene in the 6th century BC, and Alexander the Great conquered the territory in the 4th century BC. After the breakup of the Alexandrian Empire, Commagene was a state and province in the Greco-Syrian Seleucid Empire.

The Hellenistic kingdom of Commagene, bounded by Cilicia on the west and Cappadocia on the north, arose in 162 BC. This was the year when its governor, Ptolemy, a Satrap of the disintegrating Seleucid Empire, declared himself independent. Ptolemy's dynasty was related to the Parthian kings, but his descendant Mithridates I Callinicus (109 BC-70 BC) embraced the Hellenistic culture and married the Syrian Greek Princess Laodice VII Thea. His dynasty could thus claim ties with both Alexander the Great and the Persian kings. This marriage may also have been part of a peace alliance between Commagene and the Seleucid Empire. From this point on, the kingdom of Commagene became more Greek than Persian.

Mithridates and Laodice’s son was king Antiochus I Theos of Commagene (reigned 70 BC-38 BC). Antiochus was an ally to Roman general Pompey in his campaigns against Mithridates of Pontus in 64 BC. Through skilled diplomacy, Antiochus was able to keep Commagene independent from the Romans. In 17 when Antiochus III of Commagene died, Emperor Tiberius annexed Commagene to the province of Syria, but in 38 Caligula reinstated his son Antiochus IV and also gave him the wild areas of Cilicia to govern. Antiochus IV was the only Client King of Commagene under the Roman Empire. Antiochus IV reigned until 72, when Emperor Vespasian deposed the dynasty and re-annexed the territory to Syria, acting on allegations "that Antiochus was about to revolt from the Romans... reported by the Governor Caesennius Paetus". The descendants of Antiochus IV lived prosperously and in distinction in Anatolia, Greece, Italy and the Middle East. As a testament to the descendants of Antiochus IV, was his grandson Philopappos who died in 116. The citizens of Athens in 116, erected a funeral monument in honor of Philopappos, who was a benefactor of Athens. Another descendant of Antiochus IV, was the historian Gaius Asinius Quadratus, who lived in the 3rd century.

Archaeological relics

When the Romans conquered Commagene, the great royal sanctuary at Mount Nemrut was abandoned. The Romans looted the burial tumuli of their goods and the XVI legion (Legio XVI Flavia Firma) built and dedicated a bridge. The surrounding thick forests were cut down and cleared by the Romans for wood, timber and charcoal. The clearing of the surrounding forests have caused much erosion to the area. In Commagene, there is a column topped by an eagle, which has earned the mound name Karakush, or The Black Bird. An inscription there indicates the presence there of a royal tomb that housed three women. However, the vault of that tomb has also been looted. The main excavations on the site were carried out by Friedrich Karl Dörner of the University of Münster.

See also

• List of rulers of Commagene
• Roman province
• Mount Nemrut