Mithridates II Antiochus Epiphanes Philorhomaeus Philhellen Monocrites ( el, , died 20 BC), also known as Mithridates II of Commagene, was a king 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 ...

in the 1st century BC. Of

Iranian Iranian may refer to: * Iran, a sovereign state * Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran * Iranian lan ...

; ; ; ; ; ; and Greek descent, he was one of the sons of 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 ...

. When his father died in , he succeeded his father and reigned until his death.

Biography

According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, Mithridates was an ally of the

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 lette ...

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 ...

. In 31 BC, Mithridates personally led his forces to

Actium Actium or Aktion ( grc, Ἄκτιον) was a town on a promontory in ancient Acarnania at the entrance of the Ambraciot Gulf, off which Octavian gained his celebrated victory, the Battle of Actium, over Antony and Cleopatra, on September 2, 31 ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

in support of Antony in the war against Caesar Octavian, the future Roman emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

. After the defeat of Antony, however, Mithridates became a loyal ally to Augustus. Nevertheless, Augustus forced Mithridates to hand over a village in Commagene called Zeugma, which was a major crossing point of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

River, to the Roman province of Syria. To show his support for Augustus, Mithridates dropped the title ''

Philhellen Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

'' ("friend of the Greeks") from his Aulic titulature and adopted the title ''Philorhomaeus'' ("friend of the Romans") instead. Both titles were derived from the Commagenean royal cult that Mithridates' father had founded, and in which Mithridates played an important role. His other title ''Monocrites'' is an otherwise unattested title and was most likely a judicial function within the royal administration and a sign of his high social standing. Mithridates had a brother,

Antiochus II of Commagene Antiochus II ( el, , flourished 1st century BC) was a man of Iranian peoples, Iranian and Greeks, Greek descent. Antiochus II was a prince from the Kingdom of Commagene and the second son of King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene. He was the youngest ...

, who was also a prince of the kingdom. In 29 BC, Antiochus was summoned to

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 ...

and executed by Roman emperor Augustus, because Antiochus had caused the assassination of an ambassador whom Mithridates had sent to Rome.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mithridates 02 of Commagene Kings of Commagene 20 BC deaths 1st-century BC rulers in Asia Year of birth unknown