Artoces was a king of

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

(modern-day

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) from 78 to 63 BC. He features in the Classical accounts of the

Third Mithridatic War The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies dragging the entire east of the ...

(

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...

, ''Bell. Mithr.'' 103, 117;

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history on ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

37.1-2; Eutropius 6.14 rtaces

Festus Festus may refer to: People Ancient world *Porcius Festus, Roman governor of Judea from approximately 58 to 62 AD *Sextus Pompeius Festus (later 2nd century), Roman grammarian *Festus (died 305), martyr along with Proculus of Pozzuoli *Festus (h ...

16; Orosius 6.4.8) and is identified with the Artag ( ka, არტაგ), Arik (არიკ), Rok (როკ), or Aderk (ადერკ), of the medieval Georgian annals. Rapp, Stephen H. (2003), ''Studies In Medieval Georgian Historiography: Early Texts And Eurasian Contexts'', pp. 282-283. Peeters Bvba . According to the Georgian historic tradition, he was the son and successor of

Artaxias I Artaxias I (from gr, Άρταξίας; in hy, Արտաշէս, translit=Artašēs) was the founder of the Artaxiad dynasty of Armenia, ruling from 189 BC to 160 BC. Artaxias was a member of a branch of the Orontid dynasty, the earlier ruling d ...

of the Artaxiads. The medieval Georgian account of his reign is brief and focuses on the devastation of his kingdom at the hands of Iranians while the Classical sources much closer to the period in question contain a detailed description of Artoces's war with

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

on the side of Mithridates VI of Pontus and Tigranes of Armenia. Alarmed by the Roman occupation of the neighboring

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

, Artoces promised peace and friendship; but the Roman commander

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, informed that he was secretly arming so as to fall upon the Romans on their march in the passes of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

, advanced in March 65 BC, before resuming the pursuit of Mithridates, to the Iberian strongholds of

Harmozica Armazi ( ka, არმაზი) is a locale in Georgia, 4 km southwest of Mtskheta and 22 km northwest of Tbilisi. A part of historical Greater Mtskheta, it is a place where the ancient city of the same name and the original capital of the early ...

and Seusamora. Artoces, caught by surprise, hastily burnt the bridge over the

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

and retreated further in his forested country. Pompey occupied the fortresses and crossed the river, but met a fierce resistance by the Iberian army. In the end, the Romans prevailed, and, when Artoces saw the Pelorus, apparently the modern

Aragvi The Aragvi ( ka, არაგვი) and its basin are in Georgia on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Mountains. The river is long, and its basin covers an area of . The ground strata are mostly sandstone, slate, and limestone. The Zhinv ...

, also crossed by Pompey, he surrendered, and sent his children as hostages.''Roman History by Cassius Dio''
Book XXXVII, pp. 99-101. Published in Vol. V of the Loeb Classical Library edition, 1917.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Artag 63 BC deaths Kings of Iberia 1st-century BC rulers in Asia Year of birth unknown