Arsames I (

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 ...

: ; peo, 𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎶) seems to have taken control 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 ...

Sophene Sophene ( hy, Ծոփք, translit=Tsopkʻ, grc, Σωφηνή, translit=Sōphēnē or hy, Չորրորդ Հայք, lit=Fourth Armenia) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Ro ...

and

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

in the year 260 BC after the death of his grandfather Orontes III, king of Armenia, and his father Sames, king of

Name

"Arsames" is the

Hellenized Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...

form of the Old Persian name ''Aršāma'' ("having a hero’s strength"), which was a common name within the

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

Achaemenid family as well as amongst the Persian elite of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC). The name is a compound, composed of ''aršan'' ("male, hero") and ''ama'' ("strength"). The name is attested in

Aramaic The Aramaic languages, short Aramaic ( syc, ܐܪܡܝܐ, Arāmāyā; oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; tmr, אֲרָמִית), are a language family containing many varieties (languages and dialects) that originated in ...

as ''ʾršm''. The feminine form of the name, ''*Aršāmā'' (Greek ''Arsamē''), is attested in the daughter of Darius the Great (522–486 BC).

Reign

The Seleucid Empire was always trying to overthrow the

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 ...

dynasties who still ruled the lands their forebears had in the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Ziaelas of Bithynia found refuge at the court of king Arsames, and upon the death of king

Nicomedes I Nicomedes I ( grc, Νικομήδης; lived c. 300 BC – c. 255 BC, ruled 278 BC – c. 255 BC), second king of Bithynia, was the eldest son of Zipoetes I, whom he succeeded on the throne in 278 BC. Life He commenced his reign by putting ...

of Bithynia Ziaelas returned to take the kingdom in 254 BC. Arsames also supported

Antiochus Hierax Antiochus (; el, Ἀντίoχoς; killed c. 226 BC), called Hierax (, Ἱέραξ, "Hawk") for his grasping and ambitious character, was the younger son of Antiochus II and Laodice I and separatist leader in the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, who r ...

against his brother,

Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon ( el, ; ''Kallinikos'' means "beautifully triumphant"; ''Pogon'' means "the Beard"; July/August 265 BC – December 225 BC),, . was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 BC to 225 BC. Faced ...

, who was defeated at a battle against king

Mithridates II of Pontus Mithridates II (in Greek Mιθριδάτης; lived 3rd century BC), third king of Pontus and son of Ariobarzanes, whom he succeeded on the throne. Early life He was a minor when his father died, but the date of his accession cannot be determi ...

near Ankara in 239 BC, after which Seleucus lost control of any lands he had across the

Taurus Taurus is Latin for 'bull' and may refer to: * Taurus (astrology), the astrological sign * Taurus (constellation), one of the constellations of the zodiac * Taurus (mythology), one of two Greek mythological characters named Taurus * '' Bos tauru ...

mountains. This was to the benefit of Arsames. Arsames then founded the cities of

Arsamosata Arsamosata (Middle Persian ''*Aršāmšād''; Old Persian ''*Ṛšāma-šiyāti-'', grc, Ἀρσαμόσατα, ) was an ancient and medieval city situated on the bank of the Murat River, near the present-day city of Elâzığ. It was founded i ...

in Sophene and

Arsameia Arsameia on the Nymphaios ( hy, Արշամաշատ, Arshamashat; tr, Eski Kale – "Old Castle") is an ancient city located in Old Kâhta (Eski Kâhta) in Kâhta district, Adıyaman Province, Turkey. The site is near Kâhtaçay, known in ancient ...

(known today as Eski Kale) in

in 235 BC. After his death his eldest son Xerxes became king of Commagene, Sophene and Armenia. Orontes IV would succeed Xerxes whilst another son known as "Mithras" (or Mithrenes II) is recorded as being the High Priest of the temple to the Sun and Moon at Armavir.

Children

* Xerxes, King of Armenia and

228 – 212 BC *

Orontes IV Orontes IV ( Old Persian: ''*Arvanta-'') was the son of King Arsames and is recorded as ruling Armenia from inscriptions found at the historic capital of the Orontid dynasty, Armavir. He was the founder of the city of Yervandashat. In his reign ...

, King of Armenia 212 – 200 BC * Mithrenes II, High Priest of the temple to the Sun and Moon at Armavir.

Notes

References

3rd-century BC kings of Armenia Kings of Sophene Diadochi 3rd-century BC rulers 228 BC deaths Year of birth unknown {{Armenia-royal-stub

Name

Reign

Children

See also

Notes

References