Ptolemaeus ( el, ) (201 BC - 130 BC) was initially the satrap of Commagene, later becoming its first king in 163 BC. He belonged to the Orontid Dynasty, founded by Orontes I. Ptolemaeus' father was King Orontes IV of Armenia, son of

Arsames I Arsames I (Greek: ; peo, 𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠𐎶) seems to have taken control of Commagene, Sophene and Armenia in the year 260 BC after the death of his grandfather Orontes III, king of Armenia, and his father Sames, king of Commagene. Name "Arsa ...

. Ptolemaeus was the last

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 ...

(Governor) of the state of Commagene, a province in the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

. He served under the

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

n Greek Kings Antiochus III the Great, Seleucus IV Philopator,

Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus IV Epiphanes (; grc, Ἀντίοχος ὁ Ἐπιφανής, ''Antíochos ho Epiphanḗs'', "God Manifest"; c. 215 BC – November/December 164 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king who ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his de ...

and Antiochus V Eupator. Ptolemaeus served as Satrap of Commagene until 163 BC. When the

began to disintegrate, in 163 BC Ptolemaeus decided to revolt and make Commagene an independent kingdom. Ptolemaeus also declared Samosata, the capital of Commagene under the Seleucid rule, as the capital of his new kingdom. Ptolemaeus was a relative to King

Mithridates I of Parthia Mithridates I (also spelled Mithradates I or Mihrdad I; xpr, 𐭌𐭄𐭓𐭃𐭕 ''Mihrdāt''), also known as Mithridates I the Great, was king of the Parthian Empire from 165 BC to 132 BC. During his reign, Parthia was transformed from a small ...

. Also, according to fragments of inscribed reliefs found at Mount Nemrut, archaeologists have discovered that Ptolemaeus was a descendant of King

Darius I of Persia Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigni ...

. Ptolemaeus died in 130 BC and his wife is unknown. His son and successor was Sames II Theosebes Dikaios.

References

Sources

* * * * * * Kings of Commagene 130 BC deaths 2nd-century BC rulers Seleucid satraps Year of birth unknown {{MEast-royal-stub