Gaius Julius Alexander ( el, Γαίος Ιούλιος Αλέξανδρος) was a Herodian Prince who lived in the 1st century and 2nd century in the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

. Alexander was of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Nabataean The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ; Arabic: , , singular , ; compare grc, Ναβαταῖος, translit=Nabataîos; la, Nabataeus) were an ancient Arab people who inhabited northern Arabia and the southern Lev ...

Edomite Edom (; Edomite: ; he, אֱדוֹם , lit.: "red"; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Egyptian: ) was an ancient kingdom in Transjordan, located between Moab to the northeast, the Arabah to the west, and the Arabian Desert to the south and east. ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

and Persian ancestry. He was the son of the Herodian Prince, later king Tigranes VI of Armenia and his wife Opgalli. In the spring of 58, his father was crowned as king of Armenia by Roman Emperor

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

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 ruled until 63. Alexander had a sister called

Julia Julia is usually a feminine given name. It is a Latinate feminine form of the name Julio and Julius. (For further details on etymology, see the Wiktionary entry "Julius".) The given name ''Julia'' had been in use throughout Late Antiquity (e.g. ...

, who married the

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

Roman Senator The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

Marcus Plancius Varus Marcus Plancius Varus was an Anatolian Roman noble who lived in the 1st century in the Roman Empire. His paternal ancestors were originally from Latium in Central Italy. They had immigrated to Anatolia in the time of the late Roman Republic. Varus ...

. Alexander's paternal grandparents were the Judean Prince

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and his unnamed wife. Through his father, Alexander was the great-grandson 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 ...

n Princess

Glaphyra Glaphyra ( el, Γλαφύρα; around 35 BC – around 7 AD) was an Anatolian princess from Cappadocia,Kasher, ''King Herod: a persecuted persecutor: a case study in psychohistory and psychobiography'', p.298 and a Queen of Mauretania by her seco ...

and Judean Prince

. He was the great-great-grandson of king

Archelaus of Cappadocia Archelaus ( el, Ἀρχέλαος; fl. 1st century BC and 1st century, died 17 AD) was a Roman client prince and the last king of Cappadocia. Family and early life Archelaus was a Cappadocian Greek nobleman. His full name was ''Archelaus Sisin ...

, king of Judea

Herod the Great Herod I (; ; grc-gre, ; c. 72 – 4 or 1 BCE), also known as Herod the Great, was a Roman Jewish client king of Judea, referred to as the Herodian kingdom. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea, including his renov ...

and his wife

Mariamne Mariamne is a name frequently used in the Herodian royal house. In Greek it is spelled Μαριάμη (Mariame) by Josephus; in some editions of his work the second ''m'' is doubled (Mariamme). In later copies of those editions the spelling was ...

. Alexander along with his sister and father were the last of the known descendants of the kings of Cappadocia. Prior to the year 58, little is known on Alexander's life. It is unlikely that he attempted to exert influence on Judean politics. Tigranes had arranged with king

Antiochus IV of Commagene Gaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( grc, Γάιος Ἰούλιος Ἀντίοχος ὀ Ἐπιφανής, before 17 AD – after 72 AD), the last king of Commagene, reigned between 38 and 72 as a client king to the Roman Empire. The epit ...

, with whom he was an ally, for the marriage of Alexander to Antiochus' daughter Julia Iotapa. The betrothal was held in Rome after Tigranes' coronation. After the betrothal, Nero crowned Alexander and Iotapa as Roman client rulers of the small

Cilicia Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

n region of Cetis, which had previously been ruled by Alexander's Seleucid ancestors, then by

, and then by

Archelaus of Cilicia Archelaus ( el, Ἀρχέλαος; born before 8 BC; died 38 AD) was a Cappadocian princeTacitus, Annals, 6.41 and a Roman client king of Cilicia Trachea and Eastern Lycaonia.Levick, ''Tiberius the Politician'', p.110 He is sometimes called ''Arch ...

and Antiochus IV. The Cilician city of

Elaiussa Sebaste Elaiussa Sebaste or Elaeousa Sebaste ( el, Ελαιούσα Σεβαστή) was an ancient Roman town located from Mersin in the direction of Silifke in Cilicia on the southern coast of Anatolia (in the modern-day town of Ayaş (there is a like-n ...

was made a part of their kingdom. Alexander and Iotapa ruled Cetis from 58 until at least 72. Little is known about the marriage and reign of Alexander and Iotapa. Iotapa bore Alexander three children: two sons

Gaius Julius Agrippa Gaius Julius Agrippa ( el, Γαίος Ιούλιος Άγρίππας, about 72 – before 150) was a Cilician Prince and the first-born son of King Gaius Julius Alexander and Queen Julia Iotapa of Cetis. He had two younger siblings: a brother ...

Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus ( el, Γαίος Ιούλιος Αλέξανδρος Βερενικιανός, about 75 – about 150) was a Cilician Prince and second-born son to King Gaius Julius Alexander and Queen Julia Iotapa of Cetis. ...

and a daughter Julia Iotapa. Their children were born and raised in Cetis. A possible descendant from their marriage was the

usurper A usurper is an illegitimate or controversial claimant to power, often but not always in a monarchy. In other words, one who takes the power of a country, city, or established region for oneself, without any formal or legal right to claim it as ...

Jotapianus Jotapian (; la, Marcus F. Ru. Jotapianus; died ''c.'' 249) was a usurper in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire during the reign of Emperor Philip the Arab, around 249. Jotapian is known from his rare coins and from accounts in Aurelius V ...

, who lived in the 3rd century. His name and the names Alexander gave his sons indicate that their family connections with the

Herodian Dynasty The Herodian dynasty was a royal dynasty of Idumaean (Edomite) descent, ruling the Herodian Kingdom of Judea and later the Herodian Tetrarchy as a vassal state of the Roman Empire. The Herodian dynasty began with Herod the Great, who assumed the ...

were not wholly broken. Later in his life, Alexander had entered the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

and served as a

suffect consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

in 116.

Werner Eck Werner Eck (born 17 December 1939) is Professor of Ancient History at Cologne University, Germany, and a noted expert on the history and epigraphy of imperial Rome.Eck, W. (2007) ''The Age of Augustus''. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, cover notes. His ...

"Konsuln des Jahres 117 in Militärdiplomen Traians mit Tribunicia Potestas XX"
''

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik The ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as "th ...

'', 185 (2013), pp. 235–238

Sources

* http://www.roman-emperors.org/philarab.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20080503055949/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1532.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20110605233914/http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/1722.html *
acsearch.info ancient coin search engine: Kings of Armenia
* Anthony Wagner, ''Pedigree and Progress, Essays in the Genealogical Interpretation of History'', London, Philmore, 1975. Rutgers Alex CS4.W33 * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Julius Alexander, Gaius Herodian dynasty Alexander, Gaius People from Roman Anatolia Roman client rulers Suffect consuls of Imperial Rome 1st-century Romans 2nd-century Romans