Ariobarzanes III, surnamed ''Eusebes Philorhomaios'', "Pious and Friend of the Romans" (, Ariobarzánēs Eusebḗs Philorōmaíos), 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 ...

from ca. 51 BC until 42 BC. He was of

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 ...

and

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 ...

ancestry. The

Roman Senate The Roman Senate () was the highest and constituting assembly of ancient Rome and its aristocracy. With different powers throughout its existence it lasted from the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in 753 BC) as the Sena ...

agreed that he was to be the successor of his father,

Ariobarzanes II of Cappadocia Ariobarzanes II, surnamed ''Philopator'', "father-loving", (, Ariobarzánēs Philopátōr), was the king of Cappadocia from c. 63 BC or 62 BC to c. 51 BC. He was the son of King Ariobarzanes I of Cappadocia and his wife Queen Athenais P ...

;

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

Roman governor A Roman governor was an official either elected or appointed to be the chief administrator of Roman law throughout one or more of the many Roman province, provinces constituting the Roman Empire. The generic term in Roman legal language was ''re ...

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

, noted that he was surrounded by enemies who included his mother, Athenais. Originally highly supportive of

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

despite the cost, he was maintained in his position after

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

won the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

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, ...

, even gaining territory with the addition of

Lesser Armenia Lesser Armenia (; ; ), also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, comprised the Armenian-populated regions primarily to the west and northwest of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia (also known as Kingdom of Greater Armenia), on the western sid ...

. The liberator Cassius Longinus had him executed in 42 BC because he would not allow more

Roman 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 ...

intervention in his kingdom. He was succeeded by his brother,

Ariarathes X of Cappadocia Ariarathes X, surnamed ''Eusebes Philadelphos'', "Pious, brother-loving" (, Ariaráthēs Eusebḗs Philádelphos), was the king of Cappadocia from c. 42 BC to 36 BC. He was of Persian and Greek ancestry. His father was King Ariobarzanes II of C ...

References

* * Kings of Cappadocia 42 BC deaths People executed by the Roman Republic 1st-century BC monarchs in Asia Roman client monarchs 1st-century BC executions Year of birth unknown {{Royal-stub