Ziaelas ( grc-gre, Ζιαήλας; lived c. 265 BC – 228 BC, reigned c. 254 BC – 228 BC), third king of Bithynia, was a son of

Nicomedes I Nicomedes I ( grc, Νικομήδης; lived c. 300 BC – c. 255 BC, ruled 278 BC – c. 255 BC), second king of Bithynia, was the eldest son of Zipoetes I, whom he succeeded on the throne in 278 BC. Life He commenced his reign by putting ...

and Ditizele.

Life

Following the death of

, his second wife

Etazeta of Bithynia Etazeta (Greek language, Greek: Εταζέτα; fl. 255 BC – 254 BC) was the second wife of Nicomedes I of Bithynia, Nicomedes I, king of Bithynia and a ruler of Bithynia. Life An ambitious woman, she was able to persuade her husband to exclude ...

acted as regent on behalf of her infant sons. Nicomedes' adult son from his first marriage Ziaelas, was denied the chance to ascend the throne, leading him to flee to

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 ' ...

and take refuge at the court of King

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 "Ars ...

Sophene Sophene ( hy, Ծոփք, translit=Tsopkʻ, grc, Σωφηνή, translit=Sōphēnē or hy, Չորրորդ Հայք, lit=Fourth Armenia) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Ro ...

. Upon his father's death he immediately endeavored to regain his rights by force, and returned, aided by some

Galatians Galatians may refer to: * Galatians (people) * Epistle to the Galatians, a book of the New Testament * English translation of the Greek ''Galatai'' or Latin ''Galatae'', ''Galli,'' or ''Gallograeci'' to refer to either the Galatians or the Gauls in ...

. Although Etazeta was supported by neighboring cities and Antigonus II Gonatas, Ziaelas rapidly conquered Bithynia, forcing Etazeta and her sons to escape to the court of Antigonus in about 254 BC. During the Fraternal War between

Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon ( el, ; ''Kallinikos'' means "beautifully triumphant"; ''Pogon'' means "the Beard"; July/August 265 BC – December 225 BC),, . was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 BC to 225 BC. Faced ...

and

Antiochus Hierax Antiochus (; el, Ἀντίoχoς; killed c. 226 BC), called Hierax (, Ἱέραξ, "Hawk") for his grasping and ambitious character, was the younger son of Antiochus II and Laodice I and separatist leader in the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, who r ...

, he seized the opportunity to attack the latter, trying to conquer Asia Minor They later became allies and his daughter, born c. 245 BC, married Hierax. He was succeeded by his son

Prusias I Prusias I Cholus (Greek: Προυσίας ὁ Χωλός "the Lame"; c. 243 – 182 BC) was a king of Bithynia, who reigned from c. 228 to 182 BC. Life and Reign Prusias was a vigorous and energetic leader; he fought a war against Byzantium ...

about 228 BC after being killed by the Galatians. Like his father and his grandfather he also founded a new city named after him, Ziaela, but the location of the city is unknown..

References

Sources

* * {{Hellenistic rulers 260s BC births 3rd-century BC Greek people Ancient child rulers 3rd-century BC Kings of Bithynia 228 BC deaths Kings of Bithynia 3rd-century BC murdered monarchs