Ariobarzanes I ( grc, Ἀριοβαρζάνης), surnamed Philoromaios ( grc, Φιλορωμαίος, Philorōmaíos, "Friend to the Romans"), was the first Ariobarzanid king 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 Re ...

from 95 BC to 63/62 BC. Ariobarzanes I was a Cappadocian nobleman of obscure origins who was of

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 ...

descent.

Name

"Ariobarzanes" is the

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 ...

form of the

Old Iranian The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are grouped ...

name ''*Ārya-bṛzāna-'', possibly meaning "exalting the

Aryans Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ...

". It is uncertain whether Ariobarzanes had adopted this name at his accession or that it was a personal one.

Biography

Ariobarzanes belonged to one of the

aristocratic families of

. Like the previous ruling

Ariarathid dynasty The Ariarathid dynasty was a hereditary dynasty of Iranian origin.; ; ; ; . Kings of Cappadocia * Ariarathes I 331 – 322 BC * Ariarathes II 301 – 280 BC * Ariaramnes 280 – 230 BC * Ariarathes III 255 – 220 BC * Ariarathes IV 220 – ...

, Ariobarzanes also claimed to be a direct descendant of the companions of Darius the Great (), the king of the Achaemenid Empire (550–330 BC). Ariobarzanes continued to mint the same Greek-style coins as the Ariarathids, albeit with a new addition. As a demonstration of his political allegiance with the Romans, he adopted the Roman veristic style on his portraits. Ariobarzanes I was originally put in place by the citizens vote of Cappadocia after 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 ...

rejected the claims of

Ariarathes IX of Cappadocia Ariarathes IX Eusebes Philopator ( grc, Ἀριαράθης Εὐσεβής Φιλοπάτωρ, Ariaráthēs Eusebḗs Philopátōr; reigned c. 100–85 BC), was made king of Cappadocia by his father King Mithridates VI of Pontus after the assas ...

and was supported by the

Roman 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 ...

Lucius Cornelius Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla ha ...

. He was in control on-and-off of a kingdom that was considered a Roman protectorate and he was removed three separate times by King Mithridates before not only securing but actually increasing his lands under general

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

in the

Third Mithridatic War The Third Mithridatic War (73–63 BC), the last and longest of the three Mithridatic Wars, was fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. Both sides were joined by a great number of allies dragging the entire east of the ...

. He eventually abdicated, making way for the rule of his son

Ariobarzanes II of Cappadocia Ariobarzanes II, surnamed ''Philopator'', "father-loving", ( grc, Ἀριοβαρζάνης Φιλοπάτωρ, Ariobarzánēs Philopátōr), was the king of Cappadocia from c. 63 BC or 62 BC to c. 51 BC. He was the son of King Ariobarz ...

in 63/62 BC. Ariobarzanes' queen was a Greek noblewoman, Athenais Philostorgos I. Athenais bore Ariobarzanes I two children: a son, Ariobarzanes II, who succeeded him, and a daughter, Isias, who married the 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 ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariobarzanes 01 of Cappadocia Kings of Cappadocia 1st-century BC rulers in Asia 1st-century BC Iranian people