Laodice VI (; died 115–113 BCE) was a Greek Seleucid princess and through marriage was a queen of the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus in modern-day Turkey, and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty of Persian origin, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...

Biography

Laodice was the daughter born from the sibling union of the Seleucid rulers

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 ...

and Laodice IV, or a more obscure Seleukid relation or impostor. According to the first explanation, her grandparents were

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 ...

and Laodice III. Through her mother’s previous marriages, she had various maternal half-brothers and sisters and two full blooded brothers who served as Seleucid kings Antiochus V Eupator and

Alexander Balas Alexander I Theopator Euergetes, surnamed Balas (), was the ruler of the Seleucid Empire from 150 BC to August 145 BC. Picked from obscurity and supported by the neighboring Roman-allied Kingdom of Pergamon, Alexander landed in Phoenicia in 1 ...

. In 152 BC, Laodice became one of the supporters for her brother Alexander Balas, who revolted and overthrew the Seleucid king

Demetrius I Soter Demetrius I Soter (, ''Dēmḗtrios ho Sōtḗr,'' "Demetrius the Saviour"; 185 – June 150 BC) reigned as king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from November 162 to June 150 BC. Demetrius grew up in Rome as a hostage, but returned to Greek S ...

, who was their maternal half-brother/cousin. The other alternative is Laodice appears to have come from obscure origins, connected with the same impostorship as Alexander Balas. Laodice could have been a supposed daughter of the Seleucid King

. This is based on the assumption that the sister of

who appeared in

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, ...

with him in 153 BC as a genuine daughter of Antiochus IV Epiphanes was the Laodice who married Mithridates V. Antiochus IV Epiphanes had two daughters who were Laodice VI from this marriage to his sister-wife Laodice IV and his other daughter was Antiochis the child from his concubine. However this assumption shows that Antiochus IV Epiphanes may have had another daughter called Laodice, however this is not certain. The assumption shows that there could some confusion about the identity of this Laodice VI. After 152 BC, Laodice married King Mithridates V of Pontus, who reigned from 150–120 BC. Mithridates V and Laodice VI were related, as her husband had lineage from the Seleucid dynasty. Little is known regarding her relationship with her husband or her reign as Pontian queen. During their marriage, Laodice bore Mithridates V seven children: Laodice (I) (by marriage Queen consort of Cappadocia),

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 ...

Mithridates Chrestus Mithridates Chrestus (; ''the Good'', flourished 2nd century BC, died 115 BC-113 BC) was a Prince and co-ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus. Chrestus was of Greek and Persian ancestry. He was the second son and among the children born to the Pontian ...

, Laodice (II) (by marriage Queen consort of Pontus), Nysa (sometimes spelt as Nyssa), Roxana and Statira. Nysa, Roxana and Statira were put to death after the fall of the Kingdom of Pontus in 63 BC. Mithridates V was assassinated in about 120 BC in Sinope poisoned by unknown persons at a lavish banquet which he held. In the will of Mithridates V, he left the kingdom to the joint rule of Laodice, Mithridates VI and Mithridates Chrestus. Both of her sons were underage to rule and Laodice retained all power as regent. Laodice in her regency favored her second son over her first son. During her regency 120–116 BC (even perhaps up to 113 BC), Mithridates VI escaped from the plotting of his mother and had gone into hiding. She enjoyed luxuries that made her a compliant client of

. She accepted bribes from the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

and her extravagance pushed Pontus into debt. Mithridates VI between 116–113 BC returned to Pontus from hiding and was hailed king. He was able to remove his mother and his brother from the Pontian throne, thus Mithridates VI became the sole ruler of Pontus. Mithridates VI show clemency towards his mother and brother, by imprisoning them both. Laodice VI died in prison of natural causes, however his brother Mithridates Chrestus could have died in prison from natural causes or was tried for treason and was executed on the orders of his brother. When they died, Mithridates VI gave his mother and brother a royal funeral.Mayor, ''The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome’s deadliest enemy'' p.100

References

Sources

* Walbank, W. The Cambridge ancient history: The Hellenistic world, Volume 7 F. Cambridge University Press, 1984 * Mayor, A. The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome’s deadliest enemy, Princeton University Press, 2009 * https://www.livius.org/la-ld/laodice/laodice_vi.html * https://www.livius.org/la-ld/laodice/laodice_vi.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204408/http://www.pontos.dk/publications/books/bss-9-files/bss-9-07-hojte-2 {{DEFAULTSORT:Laodice Vi 2nd-century BC Greek people 2nd-century BC Greek women 2nd-century BC women regents Seleucid princesses Queens of Pontus Ancient Greek regents Children of Antiochus IV Epiphanes 2nd-century BC regents Daughters of kings