Antiochis ( grc, Aντιoχίς) (d. 163 or 162 BC) was a Hellenistic princess from the dynasty of the

Seleucids The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

and in the first half of the second century BC queen of

Cappadocia Cappadocia or Capadocia (; tr, Kapadokya), is a historical region in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It largely is in the provinces Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. According to Herodotus, in the time of the Ionian Revo ...

. Antiochis was a daughter of the Seleucid king

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the re ...

and his wife Laodice. Some time before the war of her father against the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

she married king

Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia Ariarathes IV, surnamed ''Eusebes'', "the Pious", ( grc, Ἀριαράθης Εὐσεβής, Ariaráthēs Eusebḗs), was the king of Cappadocia in 220–163 BC. Early life Ariarathes IV was the son of the king of Cappadocia Ariarathes III a ...

, who therefore supported his father-in-law in the

battle of Magnesia The Battle of Magnesia took place in either December 190 or January 189 BC. It was fought as part of the Roman–Seleucid War, pitting forces of the Roman Republic led by the consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio Asiaticus and the allied Kingdom of Pe ...

(190 BC). However, Antiochus III lost the battle. Antiochis bore her husband a son, who was called ''Mithridates'' before his accession to the throne and succeeded his father as

Ariarathes V of Cappadocia Ariarathes V Eusebes Philopator ( grc-gre, Ἀριαράθης Εὐσεβής Φιλοπάτωρ; reigned 163–130 BC) was a son of the preceding king Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia and queen Antiochis. He was distinguished by his contemporaries ...

, and two daughters, among them Stratonice, who first married king

Eumenes II Eumenes II Soter (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης Σωτήρ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Biography The eldest son of king Attalus I a ...

of Pergamon and afterwards his brother and successor

Attalus II Philadelphus Attalus II Philadelphus (Greek: Ἄτταλος Β΄ ὁ Φιλάδελφος, ''Attalos II Philadelphos'', which means "Attalus the brother-loving"; 220–138 BC) was a Greek King of Pergamon and the founder of the city of Attalia (Antalya) ...

. According to the questionable report of the ancient Greek-Sicilian historian

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

Antiochis, allegedly an unscrupulous woman, is supposed to have been barren and therefore to have foisted two sons called Ariarathes and Orophernes. Later she is said to have given birth to the above-mentioned three children and to have told the truth to her husband. Thereupon she should have provided her foisted sons with sufficient money and sent the older one to

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 ...

and the younger one to

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

to make it possible for her legitimate son to succeed his father without difficulties. After the death of Ariarathes IV in 163 BC, Antiochis moved back to her birth family's homeland in Antioch, along with her other daughter (whose name is unknown, but not Stratonice). Her stay there was short, however; she and her daughter died, allegedly of assassination, in 163 or 162 BC. Polybius blames the death on an assassination by Seleucid regent

Lysias Lysias (; el, Λυσίας; c. 445 – c. 380 BC) was a logographer (speech writer) in Ancient Greece. He was one of the ten Attic orators included in the "Alexandrian Canon" compiled by Aristophanes of Byzantium and Aristarchus of Samothrace i ...

, who did not wish to have more nobles of distinguished bloodlines in the city able to oppose him and potentially challenge his authority.Judaea and Mediterranean Politics: 219 to 161 B.C.E.
/ref> That said, Polybius was personally friends with Lysias's rival Demetrius I, so he may have been eager to assume the worst of Lysias.

Notes

References

* Johannes Toepffer: ''Antiochis 5)'', in: '' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', vol. I, 2, Stuttgart 1894, col. 2449. {{DEFAULTSORT:Antiochis Year of birth missing 160s BC deaths 2nd-century BC women Seleucid princesses Queens of Cappadocia Ariarathid dynasty Assassinated royalty