Laodice (also spelled Laodike;

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 ...

: Λαοδίκη; died 38 BC) was a princess from the Kingdom of Commagene and a queen of the

Parthian Empire The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...

by marriage to

Orodes II Orodes II (also spelled Urud II; ''Wērōd''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two brothers ...

. She was of

and

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 ...

descent.

Biography

Laodice was the first daughter born to King Antiochus I Theos of Commagene and Queen Isias Philostorgos. She married King

Orodes II of Parthia Orodes II (also spelled Urud II; ''Wērōd''), was King of Kings of the Parthian Empire from 57 BC to 37 BC. He was a son of Phraates III, whom he murdered in 57 BC, assisted by his elder brother Mithridates IV. The two brothers ...

. Through this marriage, she became Queen of the Parthian Empire. In 38 BC Laodice and Orodes with their children, were killed in a parricidal and fratricidal massacre perpetrated by Phraates IV of Parthia to whom Orodes II handed over the Parthian throne after the death of Orodes’ son

Pacorus I of Parthia Pacorus I (also spelled Pakoros I; ; died 38 BC) was a Parthian prince, who was the son and heir of Orodes II (). The numismatist David Sellwood deduced that Pacorus ruled in . It is uncertain whether Pacorus ruled alongside his father, or rule ...

in battle in 38 BC. When Laodice died, her brother King Mithridates II of Commagene had her body returned to Commagene. She was buried near her mother Isias, her sister Antiochis of Commagene and her niece Aka I of Commagene. Mithridates in her honour built and dedicated a funeral monument.

Tomb

The tomb

tumulus 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 Laodice measures 21 metres or 69 feet. Only one column is still standing with a

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

on top of it. The stele depicts a dexiosis relief or a scene between Mithridates II and Laodice shaking hands. The inscription underneath the dexiosis relief is so weathered that the inscription was not noticed until 1938. It was not until 1979 that the inscription was finally recorded and revealed: :The great King Mithridates, the son of the great King Antiochus and Queen Isias, dedicated this image to the unfading memory of Queen Laodice, the king’s sister and the wife of Orodes, the king of kings, and to her own honour. This inscription dedicated to Laodice suggests a

cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...

, as Mithridates II is saying farewell to his sister, Laodice. The grave chamber of Laodice was located inside the tumulus. After the Kingdom of Commagene was annexed in 72 by the Roman 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 ...

, her tomb was plundered. Romans removed stone blocks from her tomb and used the stones for construction projects in Commagene.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Laodice Of Parthia Princesses of Commagene 38 BC deaths 1st-century Iranian people 1st-century Greek people 1st-century Greek women Year of birth unknown Queens consort of Parthia Daughters of kings