Ariarathes IV, surnamed ''Eusebes'', "the Pious", (, Ariaráthēs Eusebḗs), was the 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 ...

in 220–163 BC.

Early life

Ariarathes IV was the son of the

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Ariarathes III and his Macedonian Greek wife Stratonice. He was a child at his accession, and reigned for about 57 years. He married his cousin

Antiochis The name Antiochis () is the female name of Antiochus. Women Seleucid Princesses & Hellenistic Queen Consorts *Antiochis I , a daughter of Achaeus and granddaughter of Seleucus I Nicator. She married Attalus and became the mother of Attalus I, King ...

, the daughter of

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

, king of

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, and

Laodice III Laodice III (Greek: Λαοδίκη, ''Laodikē'') also known as Laodika, was a princess of Pontus and a Seleucid queen. She was regent for her first born son, Antiochus, during the Anabase expedition of her husband, Antiochus III the Great, betwee ...

, and, in consequence of this alliance, assisted Antiochus in his war against the

Romans 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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. After the defeat of Antiochus by the Romans in 190 BC, Ariarathes sued for peace in 188, which he obtained on favourable terms, as his daughter, Stratonice, was about that time betrothed to

Eumenes II Eumenes II Soter (; ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Biography The eldest son of king Attalus I and queen Apollonis, Eumenes was pr ...

, king of

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river ...

, whom she later married, and became an ally of the Romans. In 183–179 , he assisted Eumenes in his war against

Pharnaces Pharnaces () may refer to: * Pharnaces (fl. 550 BCE – 497 BCE), founder of the Pharnacid dynasty of satraps of Hellespontine Phrygia * Pharnaces II of Phrygia (fl. 430 BCE – 413 BCE), satrap of Hellespontine Phrygia * Pharnaces (Persian noble) ...

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...

mentions that a Roman embassy was sent to Ariarathes after the death of the Seleucid

Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus IV Epiphanes ( 215 BC–November/December 164 BC) was king of the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. Notable events during Antiochus' reign include his near-conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt, his persecution of the Jews of ...

, who died 164. Antiochis, the wife of Ariarathes, is said to have at first borne him no children, and accordingly substituted two surrogates, who were called Ariarathes and Orophernes. Subsequently, however, it was said that she actually bore her husband two daughters and a son, who was named Mithridates, and afterwards became

Ariarathes V Ariarathes V Eusebes Philopator (; reigned 163–130 BC) was a son of the preceding king Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia and queen Antiochis. He was distinguished by his contemporaries for the excellence of his character and his cultivation of phil ...

, and then she informed Ariarathes of the deceit she had practiced upon him. The two surrogates were in consequence sent away from Cappadocia, one to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, the other to

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

Notes

References

*Appian,
The foreign wars
', Horace White (translator),

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, (1899) *Hazel, John; ''Who's Who in the Greek World'', "Ariarathes IV", (1999) *Head, Barclay; ''Historia Numorum''
"Cappadocia"
(1911) *

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

;
Epitome of Pompeius Trogus
', John Selby Watson (translator);

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, (1886) *

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

; ''

Ab urbe condita ''Ab urbe condita'' (; 'from the founding of Rome, founding of the City'), or (; 'in the year since the city's founding'), abbreviated as AUC or AVC, expresses a date in years since 753 BC, 753 BC, the traditional founding of Rome. It is ...

'', Canon Roberts (translator);

, (1905) *Polybius;
Histories
',

Evelyn S. Shuckburgh Evelyn Shirley Shuckburgh (12 July 1843 – 10 July 1906) was an English academic and schoolmaster, known as classical scholar and translator. Life Born at Aldborough, Norfolk on 12 July 1843, he was the third and eldest surviving son in the f ...

(translator);

, (1889) * Settipani, Christian ''Les Ancêtres de Charlemagne'' (France: Éditions Christian, 1989). {{Authority control Kings of Cappadocia 3rd-century BC births 2nd-century BC monarchs in Asia 3rd-century BC monarchs in Asia 2nd-century BC deaths Ariarathid dynasty