Ariarathes VII Philometor ("mother-loving") (, Ariaráthēs Philomḗtōr; reigned in 116–101 BC or 111–100 BC), 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 ...

, was the first son of King

Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia Ariarathes VI Epiphanes Philopator (), was the Ariarathid king of Cappadocia from 130 BC to 116 BC. He was the youngest son of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and Nysa of Cappadocia. Name "Ariarathes" is the Hellenized form of an Old Iranian name, ...

and his wife

Laodice of Cappadocia Berenice or Laodice of Cappadocia, also known as Laodice ( ''Laodíkē''; flourished from the mid-120s BC to the 90s BC) was a princess from the Kingdom of Pontus and a queen of the Kingdom of Cappadocia by marriage to Ariarathes VI, and queen o ...

. Ariarathes VII had an older sister called Nysa and a younger brother called

Ariarathes VIII of Cappadocia Ariarathes VIII Epiphanes (, Ariaráthēs Epiphanḗs; reigned c. 101–c. 96 BC and in 95), King of Cappadocia, was the second son of Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia and wife Laodice of Cappadocia. Ariarathes VIII had an older sister called Nysa a ...

. In his first years he reigned under the regency of his mother Laodice, the eldest sister of the King

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and r ...

. During this period the kingdom was seized by King

Nicomedes III of Bithynia Nicomedes III Euergetes ("the Benefactor", ) was the king of Bithynia, from c. 127 BC to c. 94 BC. He was the son and successor of Nicomedes II of Bithynia. Life Memnon of Heraclea wrote that Nicomedes IV was the son of Nicomedes III with his ...

, who married Nysa. Nicomedes III was soon expelled by Mithridates VI, who restored upon the throne Ariarathes VII. However, Ariarathes objected to Gordius, his father's assassin and ally of Mithridates VI, having a role in the government of Cappadocia. So Mithridates had Ariarathes VII murdered in 101 BC. Mithridates VI then put onto the Cappadocian throne his own 9 -year-old son,

Ariarathes IX of Cappadocia Ariarathes IX Eusebes Philopator (, Ariaráthēs Eusebḗs Philopátōr; reigned c. 100–85 BC), was made king of Cappadocia by his father Mithridates VI of Pontus after the assassination of Ariarathes VII of Cappadocia in c. 100 BC. Since he ...

, with Gordius as regent for the young king.

References

*Hazel, John; ''Who's Who in the Greek World'', "Ariarathes VII", (1999) *Head, Barclay; ''Historia Numorum''
"Cappadocia"
(1911) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariarathes 07 Of Cappadocia Kings of Cappadocia 2nd-century BC monarchs in Asia Ariarathid dynasty 2nd-century BC murdered monarchs