Ariaramnes (

Old Persian Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as (I ...

: 𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹𐎠𐎼𐎶𐎴 ''Ariyāramna'',

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

: Ἀριάμνης), was the Ariarathid king of

Cappadocia Cappadocia (; , from ) is a historical region in Central Anatolia region, Turkey. It is largely in the provinces of Nevşehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, Kırşehir, Sivas and Niğde. Today, the touristic Cappadocia Region is located in Nevşehir ...

from 280 BC to 230 BC. He was the son and successor of Ariarathes II. Ariaramnes' name is the Greek attestation of an

Old Iranian The Iranian languages, also called the 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 language ...

name, ''Aryārāman'' ("he who brings peace to the

Aryan ''Aryan'' (), or ''Arya'' (borrowed from Sanskrit ''ārya''), Oxford English Dictionary Online 2024, s.v. ''Aryan'' (adj. & n.); ''Arya'' (n.)''.'' is a term originating from the ethno-cultural self-designation of the Indo-Iranians. It stood ...

s"). His name is sometimes confused with an akin name, Ariamnes. Ariaramnes minted coins during his reign. On the obverse of his coins, he is portrayed wearing the

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 ...

satrap A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median kingdom, Median and Achaemenid Empire, Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic empi ...

al ''

tiara A tiara (, ) is a head ornament adorned with jewels. Its origins date back to ancient Greco-Roman world. In the late 18th century, the tiara came into fashion in Europe as a prestigious piece of jewelry to be worn by women at formal occasions ...

'', whilst the reverse shows him holding a lance whilst riding a horse. Although Cappadocia had throughout its history been hardly subjected to Hellenism, it slowly began to affect the region now with order and stability under the Ariarathid dynasty. This can be seen on the engravings of Ariaramnes' coins, who is the first king of his dynasty to mint coins with Greek engravings instead of the traditional

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

. On some of these coins the name

Tyana Tyana, earlier known as Tuwana during the Iron Age, and Tūwanuwa during the Bronze Age, was an ancient city in the Anatolian region of Cappadocia, in modern Kemerhisar, Niğde Province, Central Anatolia, Turkey. It was the capital of a Luwia ...

is engraved, which indicates that Ariaramnes had conquered the city. Originally a vassal of the

Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...

, Ariaramnes rebelled and obtained independence. However, he sustained friendly relations with his former suzerains, with one of his daughters marrying prince

Antiochus Hierax Antiochus (; ; 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 ruled as king of ...

, and the latter's sister Stratonice marrying Ariaramnes' son Ariarathes ( Ariarathes III). Consequently, the Seleucid king

Antiochus II Theos Antiochus II Theos (, , meaning "Antiochus the God"; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire who reigned from 261 to 246 BC. He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC. He was th ...

() bestowed Ariarathes with the title of "king", who ruled together with Ariaramnes from 255 BC. In 230 BC, Ariaramnes received Antiochus Hierax after the latter had fled from his ruling brother

Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon (; ''Callinicus'' meaning "beautifully triumphant", ''Pogon'' meaning "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 with ...

(). Ariaramnes died around the same period, with Ariarathes becoming the sole ruler of the kingdom.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariaramnes of Cappadocia Kings of Cappadocia 3rd-century BC monarchs in Asia 3rd-century BC Iranian people Ariarathid dynasty