Commagene () was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a

Hellenized Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the te ...

branch of the

Orontids The Orontid dynasty, also known as the Eruandids or Eruandunis, ruled the Satrapy of Armenia until 330 BC and the Kingdom of Armenia from 321 BC to 200 BC. The Orontids ruled first as client kings or satraps of the Achaemenid Empire and after ...

, a dynasty of

Iranian Iranian () may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Iran ** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran ** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia ** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...

origin, that had ruled over the

Satrapy of Armenia The Satrapy of Armenia ( Old Persian: 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴 or 𐎠𐎼𐎷𐎡𐎴𐎹 ), a region controlled by the Orontid dynasty (570–201 BC), was one of the satrapies of the Achaemenid Empire in the 6th century BC that later became an ...

. The kingdom was located in and around the ancient city of

Samosata Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

name of Samosata,

Kummuh Kummuh was an Iron Age Neo-Hittite kingdom located on the west bank of the Upper Euphrates within the eastern loop of the river between Melid and Carchemish. Assyrian sources refer to both the land and its capital city by the same name. The city ...

, probably gives its name to Commagene. Commagene has been characterized as a "

buffer state A buffer state is a country geographically lying between two rival or potentially hostile great powers. Its existence can sometimes be thought to prevent conflict between them. A buffer state is sometimes a mutually agreed upon area lying between t ...

" between Armenia, Parthia, Syria, and Rome; culturally, it was correspondingly mixed. The kings of the Kingdom of Commagene claimed descent from Orontes with

Darius I of Persia Darius I ( ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his death in 486 BCE. He ruled the empire at its territorial peak, when it included much of West A ...

as their ancestor, by his marriage to Rhodogune, daughter of

Artaxerxes II Arses (; 445 – 359/8 BC), known by his regnal name Artaxerxes II ( ; ), was King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire from 405/4 BC to 358 BC. He was the son and successor of Darius II () and his mother was Parysatis. Soon after his accession, Ar ...

who had a family descent from king Darius I. The territory of Commagene corresponded roughly to the modern Turkish provinces of

Adıyaman Adıyaman () is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Adıyaman Province and Adıyaman District. Its population is 267,131 (2021). The inhabitants of the city are mostly Turkish and Kurdish. The city was one of the ...

and northern

Antep Gaziantep, historically Aintab and still informally called Antep, is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Medi ...

. Little is known of the region of Commagene before the beginning of the 2nd century BC. However, it seems that, from what little evidence remains, Commagene formed part of a larger state that also included the

Kingdom of Sophene The Kingdom of Sophene (, ), was a Hellenistic-era political entity situated between ancient Armenia and Syria. Ruled by the Orontid dynasty, the kingdom was culturally mixed with Greek, Armenian, Iranian, Syrian, Anatolian and Roman influence ...

. This situation lasted until , when the local satrap,

Ptolemaeus of Commagene Ptolemaeus (; 201 BC – 130 BC) was initially the satrap of Commagene, later becoming its first king in 163 BC. He belonged to the Orontid dynasty, founded by Orontes I. Ptolemaeus' father was King Orontes IV of Armenia, son of Arsames I. Pt ...

, established himself as an independent ruler following the death of the Seleucid king,

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 ...

. The Kingdom of Commagene maintained its independence until 17 AD, when it was made a

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

by Emperor

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...

. It re-emerged as an independent kingdom when

Antiochus IV of Commagene Gaius Julius Antiochus IV Epiphanes (, before 17 AD – after 72 AD), the last king of Commagene, reigned between 38 and 72 as a client king to the Roman Empire. The epithet "Epiphanes" means "the Glorious". Life Antiochus was born a prince ...

was reinstated to the throne by order of

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

, then deprived of it by that same emperor, then restored to it a couple of years later by his successor,

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

. The re-emergent state lasted until 72 AD, when the Emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

finally and definitively made it part of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. One of the kingdom's most lasting visible remains is the archaeological site on

Mount Nemrut Mount Nemrut or Nemrud (; ; ; Greek language, Greek: Όρος Νεμρούτ) is a mountain in southeastern Turkey, notable for the summit where a number of large statues are erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century ...

, a sanctuary dedicated by King Antiochus Theos to a number of syncretistic Graeco-Iranian deities as well as to himself and the deified land of Commagene. It is now a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Cultural identity

The cultural identity of the Kingdom of Commagene has been variously characterized. Pierre Merlat suggests that the Commagenian city of Doliche, like others in its vicinity, was "half Iranianized and half Hellenized". David M. Lang describes Commagene as "a former

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

satellite kingdom", while Blömer and Winter call it a "Hellenistic kingdom". Millar suggests that a local dialect of

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 ...

might have been spoken there,

Fergus Millar Sir Fergus Graham Burtholme Millar, (; 5 July 1935 – 15 July 2019) was a British ancient historian and academic. He was Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford between 1984 and 2002. He is among the most influentia ...

considers that, "in some parts of the Euphrates region, such as Commagene, nothing approaching an answer to questions about local culture is possible." While the language used on public monuments was typically

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 ...

, Commagene's rulers made no secret of their Persian affinities. The kings of Commagene claimed descent from the

Orontid dynasty The Orontid dynasty, also known as the Eruandids or Eruandunis, ruled the Satrapy of Armenia until 330 BC and the Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity), Kingdom of Armenia from 321 BC to 200 BC. The Orontids ruled first as client kings or satraps of t ...

and would therefore have been related to the family that founded the Kingdom of Armenia; while Sartre states the accuracy of these claims is uncertain. At Antiochus Theos' sanctuary at

, the king erected monumental statues of deities with mixed Greek and Iranian names, such as

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

Oromasdes Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and god of the sky in the ancient Iranian religion ...

, while celebrating his own descent from the royal families of Persia and Armenia in a

Greek-language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic languages, Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), south ...

inscription. The Commagenean rulers had Iranian and Greek names (Antiochus, Samos, Mithridates). The various Iranian onomasticons located in Commagene demonstrate the extensive Iranization in the region. Over the course of the first centuries BC and AD, the names given on a tomb at Sofraz Köy show a mix of "typical Hellenistic dynastic names with an early introduction of Latin personal names." Lang notes the vitality of Graeco-Roman culture in Commagene. While few things about his origins are known with certainty, 2nd-century Attic Greek poet

Lucian of Samosata Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syria (region), Syrian satire, satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with whi ...

claimed to have been born in

Samosata Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Aramaic dialect. In keeping with Commagene Greek and Iranian cultural elements, Antiochus' cult was a synthesis of Greco-Iranian religion, which had existed in Commagene before his time.

History

Commagene was originally a small

Syro-Hittite The states called Neo-Hittite, Syro-Hittite (in older literature), or Luwian-Aramean (in modern scholarly works) were Luwian and Aramean regional polities of the Iron Age, situated in southeastern parts of modern Turkey and northwestern parts of m ...

kingdom, located in modern south-central

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, with its capital at

Samosata Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Samsat Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...

). It was first mentioned in

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n texts as ''

u'', which was normally an ally of Assyria, but eventually annexed as a province in 708 BC under

Sargon II Sargon II (, meaning "the faithful king" or "the legitimate king") was the king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire from 722 BC to his death in battle in 705. Probably the son of Tiglath-Pileser III (745–727), Sargon is generally believed to have be ...

. The

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

then conquered Commagene in the 6th century BC and

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...

conquered the territory in the 4th century BC. After the breakup of the Empire of Alexander the Great, the region became part of the Hellenistic Seleucids, and Commagene emerged in about 163 BC as a state and province in the Greco-Syrian

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 ...

. Perhaps Commagene was part of the kingdom of Armenia in the early Hellenistic period, and was possibly annexed to the Seleucid kingdom soon after Armenia's conquest The Hellenistic kingdom of Commagene, bounded by

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 ...

on the west and

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 ...

on the north, arose in 162 BC when its governor,

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, a

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 ...

of the disintegrating Seleucid Empire, declared himself independent. Ptolemy's dynasty was related to the

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

n kings, but his descendant

Mithridates I Callinicus Mithridates I Callinicus () was a king of Orontid Iranian; ; ; ; descent who lived during the late 2nd century BC and early 1st century BC. Mithridates was a prince, the son, and successor of King of Commagene, Sames II Theosebes Dikaios. Befor ...

(109 BC – 70 BC) embraced Hellenistic culture and married the Syrian Greek Princess Laodice VII Thea. His dynasty could thus claim ties with both

and the Persian kings. This marriage may also have been part of a peace treaty between Commagene and the Seleucid Empire. From this point on, the kingdom of Commagene became more Greek than Persian. With

Sophene Sophene ( or , ; ) was a province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia, located in the south-west of the kingdom, and of the Roman Empire. The region lies in what is now southeastern Turkey. History The region that was to become Sophene was part ...

, it was to serve as an important centre for the transmission of Hellenistic and Roman culture in the region. Details are sketchy, but Mithridates Callinicus is thought have accepted Armenian suzerainty during the reign of

Tigranes II the Great Tigranes II, more commonly known as Tigranes the Great (''Tigran Mets'' in Armenian; 140–55 BC), was a king of Armenia. A member of the Artaxiad dynasty, he ruled from 95 BC to 55 BC. Under his reign, the Armenian kingdom expanded beyond its t ...

. Mithridates and Laodice's son was King

Antiochus I Theos of Commagene Antiochus (Ancient Greek: Ἀντίοχος) is a Greek male personal name, likely meaning "resolute in contention", or "unwavering". It is derived from the two words αντί ("against") and ὄχη ("support"). It was a dynastic name for rulers of ...

(reigned 70 –38 BC). Antiochus was an ally of the Roman general

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. ...

during the latter's campaigns against

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 ...

in 64 BC. Thanks to his diplomatic skills, Antiochus was able to keep Commagene independent from the Romans. In 17 when

Antiochus III of Commagene Antiochus III Epiphanes (, flourished 1st century BC and 1st century AD) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Commagene from 12 BC to 17 AD. He was the son and successor of King Mithridates III of Commagene and Iotapa, and of mixed Iranian, Armeni ...

died, Emperor

annexed Commagene to the province 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 ...

. According to Josephus, this move was supported by the local nobility but opposed by the mass of the common people, who preferred to remain under their kings as before; Tacitus, on the other hand, states that "most preferred Roman, but others royal rule". In 38 AD,

reinstated Antiochus III's son

Antiochus IV 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 ...

and also gave him the wild areas of

to govern. Antiochus IV was the only

client king A client state in the context of international relations is a state that is economically, politically, and militarily subordinated to a more powerful controlling state. Alternative terms for a ''client state'' are satellite state, associated state ...

of Commagene under the

. Deposed by Caligula and restored again upon

' accession in 41 AD, Antiochus reigned until 72, when Emperor

deposed the dynasty and definitively re-annexed the territory to the Roman Empire, acting on allegations "that Antiochus was about to revolt. The

Legio VI Ferrata Legio VI Ferrata ("Sixth Ironclad Legion") was a Roman legion, legion of the Imperial Roman army. In 30 BC it became part of the emperor Augustus's standing army. It continued in existence into the 4th century. A ''Legio VI'' fought in the Roman ...

, which Paetus led into Commagene, was not resisted by the populace; a day-long battle with Antiochus' sons Epiphanes and Callinicus ended in a draw, and Antiochus surrendered. The

Legio III Gallica Legio III Gallica ( Third Legion "Gallic") was a Roman legion, legion of the Imperial Roman army. The cognomen ''Gallica'' suggests that its earliest recruits came from veterans of the Gaul, Gallic legions of Julius Caesar, a supposition suppo ...

would occupy the area by 73 AD. A 1st-century letter in Syriac by

Mara Bar Serapion Mara bar Serapion (), or "Mara son of Serapion", was a Syriac Stoic philosopher in the Roman province of Syria. He is only known from a letter he wrote in Aramaic to his son, who was named Serapion,''The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Int ...

describes refugees fleeing the Romans across the Euphrates and bemoans the Romans' refusal to let the refugees return; this might describe the Roman takeover of either 18 or 72. The descendants of Antiochus IV lived prosperously and in distinction in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. As a testament to the descendants of Antiochus IV, the citizens of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

erected a funeral monument in honor of his grandson

Philopappos Gaius Julius Antiochus Epiphanes Philopappos or Philopappus (; 65 – 116), was a Prince of the Kingdom of Commagene who lived in the Roman Empire during the 1st century and 2nd century. He was one of the most prominent Greeks in the Empire. A ...

, who was a benefactor of the city, upon his death in 116. Another descendant of Antiochus IV was the historian

Gaius Asinius Quadratus Gaius Asinius Quadratus () (fl. AD 248) was a Greek historian of Rome and Parthia of the third century. He was a senator who wrote a 15-book history of Rome, '' Chilieteris'' ("The Millennium"), which, according to the Suda, covered the period from ...

, who lived in the 3rd century.

Geography

Commagene extended from the right bank of the Euphrates to the Taurus and Amanus Mountains.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, who counts Commagene as part of Syria, notes the kingdom's fertility. Its capital and chief city was

Samosata Samsat (, Ottoman Turkish صمصاد ''Semisat''), formerly Samosata () is a small town in the Adıyaman Province of Turkey, situated on the upper Euphrates river. It is the seat of Samsat District.Atatürk Reservoir The Atatürk Reservoir () is a reservoir on the Euphrates, created by the Atatürk Dam in Turkey. It is located between Adıyaman, Şanlıurfa, and Diyarbakır provinces. The reservoir has a surface area of 817 km2 and a volume of 48.5 cubic k ...

). The boundaries of Commagene fluctuated over time. Under Antiochus Theos, the Kingdom of Commagene controlled a particularly large area. Doliche was under Commagenian rule "for about 35 years"; after being governed by Antiochus Theos, it might have been incorporated into the Roman province of Syria as early as 31 BC. Germanicea declared itself a Commagenian city in Roman times, although originally it was not. On the other hand, Zeugma, while ruled for a time by Commagene, was popularly and traditionally considered to belong to the region of

Cyrrhestica Cyrrhestica () is a district of Greater Syria which appears to have owed its name to the hellenistic era of the country. It lies to the east of the plain of Antioch and Amanus, and was bounded on the east by the Euphrates and Commagene to the n ...

; Strabo says it had been assigned to Commagene by Pompey.

Archaeological remains

The limestone propaganda-like statues and reliefs built during Antiochus Theos' reign reflect the Parthian influence in their sculpture. When the Romans conquered Commagene, the great royal sanctuary at

was abandoned. The Romans looted the burial

tumuli A tumulus (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...

of their goods and the

Legio XVI Flavia Firma Legio XVI Flavia Firma ("Steadfast Flavian Sixteenth Legion") was a legion of the Imperial Roman army. The legion was created by Emperor Vespasian in 70 from the remains of the XVI ''Gallica'' (which had surrendered in the Batavian rebellion). Th ...

built and dedicated a bridge. The surrounding thick forests were cut down and cleared by the Romans for wood, timber and charcoal, causing much erosion to the area. Another important archaeological site dating to the Kingdom of Commagene is the sanctuary of Zeus Soter at Damlıca, dedicated in the time of Mithridates II. In Commagene, there is a column topped by an eagle, which has earned the mound the name

Karakuş Karakuş (''lit.'' 'black bird') is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Ayhan Karakuş (born 1989), Turkish wrestler * Hamit Karakus Hamit Karakus (born 22 February 1965) is a Turkish-Dutch politician and police offi ...

, or Black Bird. An inscription there indicates the presence of a royal tomb that housed three women. The vault of that tomb, however, has also been looted. The main excavations on the site were carried out by

Friedrich Karl Dörner Friedrich Karl Dörner (born 28 February 1911 in Gelsenkirchen; died 10 March 1992) was a German classicist, classics, epigrapher and archeology, Classical Archeologist. Born in 1911 as son of the mining office Karl Dörner and his wife Klara in G ...

of the University of

Münster Münster (; ) is an independent city#Germany, independent city (''Kreisfreie Stadt'') in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is in the northern part of the state and is considered to be the cultural centre of the Westphalia region. It is also a ...

. Another royal burial site is at

Arsameia Arsameia on the Nymphaios (; – "Old Castle") is an ancient city located in Old Kâhta (Eski Kâhta) in Kâhta district, Adıyaman Province, Turkey. The site is near Kâhtaçay, known in ancient times as Nymphaios. Arsameia was a royal seat of ...

, which also served as a residence of the kings of Commagene. Many of the ancient artifacts from the Kingdom of Commagene are on display at the

Adıyaman Archaeological Museum Adıyaman Archaeological Museum (Turkish language, Turkish: ) is an archaeology museum in Adıyaman, southeastern Turkey. It is located at the corner of Atatürk Boulevard and Cumhuriyet Avenue in the heart of the city. The museum displays archae ...

Footnotes

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

External links

{{Ancient kingdoms in Anatolia 01 States and territories established in the 2nd century BC States and territories disestablished in the 1st century 163 BC 160s BC establishments 72 disestablishments Roman buffer states States in Hellenistic Anatolia Seleucid Empire successor states