Laodice (also spelled Laodike;

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 ...

: η Λαοδίκη; died 38 BC) was a princess from the

Kingdom of Commagene Commagene ( grc-gre, Κομμαγηνή) was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a Hellenized branch of the Iranian Orontid dynasty that had ruled over Armenia. The kingdom was located in and around the ancient city of Samosata, which s ...

and a queen of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe in conque ...

by marriage to

Orodes II Orodes II (also spelled Urud II; xpr, 𐭅𐭓𐭅𐭃 ''Wērōd''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two bro ...

. She was of

and

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

descent.

Biography

Laodice was the first daughter born to King

Antiochus I Theos of Commagene Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellen ( grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Θεὸς Δίκαιος Ἐπιφανὴς Φιλορωμαῖος Φιλέλλην, meaning "Antiochos, the just, eminent god, friend of Romans and friend ...

and Queen

Isias Antiochus I Theos Dikaios Epiphanes Philorhomaios Philhellen ( grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Θεὸς Δίκαιος Ἐπιφανὴς Φιλορωμαῖος Φιλέλλην, meaning "Antiochos, the just, eminent god, friend of Romans and friend ...

Philostorgos. She married King Orodes II of Parthia. Through this marriage, she became Queen of the Parthian Empire. In 38 BC Laodice and Orodes with their children, were killed in a parricidal and fratricidal massacre perpetrated by

Phraates IV of Parthia Phraates IV (also spelled Frahad IV; xpr, 𐭐𐭓𐭇𐭕 ''Frahāt''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 37 to 2 BC. He was the son and successor of Orodes II (), and was given the throne after the death of his brother Pacorus I. ...

to whom Orodes II handed over the Parthian throne after the death of Orodes’ son

Pacorus I of Parthia Pacorus I (also spelled Pakoros I; xpr, 𐭐𐭊𐭅𐭓; died 38 BC) was a Parthian prince, who was the son and heir of Orodes II (). The numismatist David Sellwood deduced that Pacorus ruled in . It is uncertain whether Pacorus ruled alongsid ...

in battle in 38 BC. When Laodice died, her brother King

Mithridates II of Commagene Mithridates II Antiochus Epiphanes Philorhomaeus Philhellen Monocrites ( el, , died 20 BC), also known as Mithridates II of Commagene, was a king of Commagene in the 1st century BC. Of Iranian; ; ; ; ; ; and Greek descent, he was one of the so ...

had her body returned to Commagene. She was buried near her mother

, her sister

Antiochis of Commagene Antiochis of Commagene ( grc, Aντιoχίς) — was a Princess from the Kingdom of Commagene, who lived in the 1st century BC. She was of Greek and Iranian descent. Family Antiochis was the second daughter of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene ...

and her niece Aka I of Commagene. Mithridates in her honour built and dedicated a funeral monument.

Tomb

The tomb

tumulus A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones bu ...

of Laodice measures 21 metres or 69 feet. Only one column is still standing with a stele on top of it. The stele depicts a

dexiosis upleft, A relief of a Dexiosis between Mithridates or Antiochus I Theos of Commagene">Antiochus I, with Hercules image:Dexiosis Petit Palais ADUT00349.jpg, upDexiosis on Attic Lekythos 5th century BCE Dexiosis (Greek δεξίωσις ''dexiōsi ...

relief or a scene between Mithridates II and Laodice shaking hands. The inscription underneath the dexiosis relief is so weathered that the inscription was not noticed until 1938. It was not until 1979 that the inscription was finally recorded and revealed: :The great King Mithridates, the son of the great King Antiochus and Queen Isias, dedicated this image to the unfading memory of Queen Laodice, the king’s sister and the wife of Orodes, the king of kings, and to her own honour. This inscription dedicated to Laodice suggests a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...

, as Mithridates II is saying farewell to his sister, Laodice. The grave chamber of Laodice was located inside the tumulus. After the

was annexed in 72 by the Roman Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

, her tomb was plundered. Romans removed stone blocks from her tomb and used the stones for construction projects in Commagene.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laodice Of Parthia Princesses of Commagene 38 BC deaths 1st-century Iranian people 1st-century Greek people Year of birth unknown Parthian queens