Ariobarzanes I of Media Atropatene, also known as Ariobarzanes I of Media, Ariobarzanes of Atropatene, Ariobarzanes I and Ariobarzanes (flourished 1st century BC, ruled from 65 BC until 56 BC) was king of Media

Atropatene Atropatene ( peo, Ātṛpātakāna; grc, Ἀτροπατηνή), also known as Media Atropatene, was an ancient Iranian kingdom established in by the Persian satrap Atropates. The kingdom, centered in present-day northern Iran, was ruled by A ...

. Ariobarzanes I was a

monarch A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority ...

of Median and possibly of Armenian,

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 ...

descent. According to modern genealogies, Ariobarzanes I was a son of a previous ruling King Mithridates I and a daughter of the Armenian King

Tigranes the Great Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great ( hy, Տիգրան Մեծ, ''Tigran Mets''; grc, Τιγράνης ὁ Μέγας ''Tigránes ho Mégas''; la, Tigranes Magnus) (140 – 55 BC) was King of Armenia under whom the ...

and his wife,

Cleopatra of Pontus Cleopatra of Pontus (110 BC – after 58 BC) was a Pontian princess and a queen consort of Armenia. She was one of the daughters of King Mithridates VI of Pontus and Queen Laodice. Cleopatra is sometimes known as Cleopatra the Elder, to dis ...

, which can explain the claims of Mithridates I’s descendants to the Armenian kingship in opposition to the lasting ruling monarchs of the Artaxiad dynasty. Another possibility in linking Ariobarzanes I as a son born to Mithridates I and his wife is through his name. The name ''Ariobarzanes'' is a name of Iranian origin. There were Persian

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with cons ...

s who bore this name as did some of the ancestors of Cleopatra, 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 ...

and his sister-wife Laodice. Little is known on the life of Ariobarzanes I. Ariobarzanes I appeared to have succeeded

Darius I Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his ...

as king of Media Atropatene in 65 BC, whom appeared to have a short reign. Ariobarzanes I and Darius I were related as they may have been brothers. Although Ariobarzanes I ruled from 65 BC til 56 BC, his reign in the time-scale would appear to preclude the short reign of Darius I and shows that he came to the throne sometime before 59 BC. Little is known on the reign of Ariobarzanes I. He appeared to have died in 56 BC, as he was succeeded by his son Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene. His son from an unnamed wife, was born before 59 BC. In

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, two Epitaph inscriptions have been found bearing the name of Artavasdes. The Epitaphs are probably of the son and the grandson of a Median Atropatenian king called ''Ariobarzanes''. However it is uncertain, if the ''Ariobarzanes'' refers to Ariobarzanes I or his grandson Ariobarzanes II. Ariobarzanes I is mentioned in paragraph 33 of the ''

Res Gestae Divi Augusti ''Res Gestae Divi Augusti'' (Eng. ''The Deeds of the Divine Augustus'') is a monumental inscription composed by the first Roman emperor, Augustus, giving a first-person record of his life and accomplishments. The ''Res Gestae'' is especially sig ...

''.

References

Sources

* ''

'', 1st century * C. Toumanoff, ''Manual genealogy and chronology for the Christian Caucasus'' (Armenia, Georgia, Albania), ED. Aquila, Rome, 1976 * A. Mayor, ''The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome’s deadliest enemy'', Princeton University Press, 2009
Commagene Genealogy Notes at Rootsweb

Settipani on Baldwin on the Commagenian DFA Link Part 2 of 3

Encyclopaedia Iranica – Ariobarzanes

Encyclopaedia Iranica - Artavasdes

Azerbaijan iii. Pre-Islamic History, Atropates, Persian satrap of Media, made himself independent in 321 B.C. Thereafter Greek and Latin writers named the territory as Media Atropatene or, less frequently, Media Minor: Parthian period
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariobarzanes 01 of Media Atropatene 1st-century BC Iranian monarchs Rulers of Media Atropatene