Artaxias III, also known as Zeno-Artaxias, ( el, Άρταξίας, 13 BC–34 AD) was a Pontic prince and later a Roman Client King of

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 ''O ...

. Artaxias birth name was Zenon ( el, Ζήνων). He was the first son and child born to

Roman 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 lett ...

Client Rulers Polemon Pythodoros and Pythodorida of Pontus. His younger siblings were

Polemon II of Pontus Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythodoros, also known as Polemon II of Pontus and Polemon of Cilicia ( el, Μάρκος Ἀντώνιος Πολέμων Πυθόδωρος; 12 BC/11 BC–74), was a prince of the Bosporan, Pontus, Cilicia, and Cappadoci ...

, who would succeed his mother and became the last ruler of Pontus, and

Antonia Tryphaena Antonia Tryphaena also known as Tryphaena of Thrace or Tryphaena (her name in Greek: ἡ Ἀντωνία Τρύφαινα or Τρυφαίνη, 10 BC – 55 AD) was a Pontian Princess and a Roman Client Queen of Thrace. She co-ruled with her son ...

who was the Queen of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

. He was of

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 ...

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 ...

and Roman heritage. His paternal grandfather was Zenon, a prominent orator and aristocrat, who was an ally to Roman Triumvir

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 au ...

. His maternal grandparents were

Pythodoros of Tralles Pythodoros of Tralles, also known as Pythodorus ( grc-gre, Πυθόδωρος; c. 70 – after 28 BC), was an exceedingly wealthy Greek living in the 1st century BC. Pythodoros originally came from Tralles (modern Aydın, Turkey). Not much is known ...

and

Antonia Antonia may refer to: People * Antonia (name), including a list of people with the name * Antonia gens, a Roman family, any woman of the gens was named ''Antonia'' * Antônia (footballer) * Antônia Melo Entertainment * ''Antonia's Line'', ori ...

. Zenon was named after his paternal grandfather. Through his maternal grandmother he was a direct descendant of Mark Antony and his second wife Antonia Hybrida Minor. Artaxias’ father died in 8 BC. His mother married Roman Client 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 Sisi ...

. The family had moved to

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 ...

and along with his siblings were raised in the court of their stepfather. Archelaus had died in 17 AD. After his death, his mother and Polemon II moved back to Pontus. In 18 AD, the previous Armenian King,

Vonones I Vonones I ( ''Onōnēs'' on his coins) was an Arsacid prince, who ruled as King of Kings of Parthian Empire from 8 to 12, and then subsequently as king of Armenia from 12 to 18. He was the eldest son of Phraates IV () and was sent to Rome as a h ...

, was exiled and Artaxias was a popular choice with the Armenians to replace him. Roman general

Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the pa ...

, with the approval of the Roman emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

, agreed that Artaxias be crowned as the new Roman client king of Armenia. The Armenians paid homage to him and acclaimed him as King Artaxias. He was named after the city of

Artaxata Artashat ( hy, Արտաշատ); Hellenized as Artaxata ( el, Ἀρτάξατα) and Artaxiasata ( grc, Ἀρταξιάσατα), was a large commercial city and the capital of ancient Armenia during the reign of king Artaxias I; the founder of t ...

in which he was proclaimed king. Artaxias reigned until his death in 34 AD. He was succeeded by Arsaces I, one of the sons of King Artabanus III of Parthia. Artaxias never married nor did he have any children.

Sources

* * * *

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

, Annals of Imperial Rome
Artaxias' article at ancient library

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Artaxias III 13 BC births 34 deaths 1st-century kings of Armenia Roman client kings of Armenia 1st-century deaths Year of birth unknown