Lycomedes of Comana ( gr, Λυκομήδης; fl. 1st century BC) was a

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

n nobleman 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 Greek descent who ruled

Comana, Cappadocia Comana was a city of Cappadocia ( el, τὰ Κόμανα τῆς Καππαδοκίας) and later Cataonia ( la, Comana Cataoniae; frequently called Comana Chryse or Aurea, i.e. "the golden", to distinguish it from Comana in Pontus). The Hittit ...

in the second half of the 1st century BC.

Biography

In 47 BC, Lycomedes was probably about 50 years old when he was named by Roman dictator, Gaius

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

, the priest of the goddess Bellona in the temple-state of Comana, and sovereign, therefore, of the surrounding country. The predecessor of Lycomedes was Archelaus, the grandson of the Pontic general Archelaus.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

reports that with Roman client King

Polemon I of Pontus Polemon I Pythodoros ( grc-gre, Πολέμων Πυθόδωρος; fl. 1st century BC – died 8 BC) was the Roman Client King of Cilicia, Pontus, Colchis and the Bosporan Kingdom. Polemon was the son and heir of Zenon and possibly Tryphaena. Ze ...

, Lycomedes besieged a fortress held by Arsaces, a rebel chief who was guarding the sons of King

Pharnaces II of Pontus Pharnaces II of Pontus ( grc-gre, Φαρνάκης; about 97–47 BC) was the king of the Bosporan Kingdom and Kingdom of Pontus until his death. He was a monarch of Persian and Greek ancestry. He was the youngest child born to King Mithridate ...

, until Arsaces surrendered. Later Lycomedes was a supporter of Roman

triumvir A triumvirate ( la, triumvirātus) or a triarchy is a political institution ruled or dominated by three individuals, known as triumvirs ( la, triumviri). The arrangement can be formal or informal. Though the three leaders in a triumvirate are ...

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the transformation of the Roman Republic from a constitutional republic into the autoc ...

, who at some point enlarged the territory of Lycomedes' kingdom. Due to Lycomedes’ partisanship with Mark Antony, he was deposed by Octavian after the

Battle of Actium The Battle of Actium was a naval battle fought between a maritime fleet of Octavian led by Marcus Agrippa and the combined fleets of both Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII Philopator. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC in the Ionian Sea, nea ...

. He was succeeded as priest and ruler, briefly, by the brigand-king Cleon of Gordiucome, and more permanently by Dyteutus. Lycomedes had married a Pontian princess called

Orsabaris Orsabaris, also spelt as Orsobaris ( el, , meaning in Persian: ''brilliant Venus'', flourished 1st century BC) was a Princess of the Kingdom of Pontus. She was a Queen of Bithynia by marriage to Socrates Chrestus and later married to Lycomedes of ...

,. the youngest daughter of King

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

,. who bore Lycomedes a daughter named

Orodaltis Orodaltis ( el, Ωροδάλτις 1st century BC), was an ancient princess who may have ruled the city of Prusias ad Mare in Anatolia. She was a contemporary to the first Roman Emperor Augustus, who ruled from 27 BC to 14 AD. Life Orodaltis is a ...

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* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lycomedes Of Comana 1st-century BC clergy 1st-century BC Greek people Anatolian Greeks Cappadocian Greeks People from Bithynia Priests of the Roman Republic Roman client rulers People of the Kingdom of Cappadocia

Biography

See also

References

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