Political History of Sophene
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chapter 3 Political History of Sophene 3.1 The Beginnings: Sophene and Kommagene under the Rule of the Orontids? According to Strabo Geog. 11.14.5., … Armenia, though a small country in earlier times, was enlarged by Artaxias and Zariadres, who formerly were generals of Antiochos the Great, but later, after his defeat, reigned as kings (one as king of Sophene, Amphissene, Odomantis, and certain other countries, and another as king of the country round Artaxata), and jointly enlarged their kingdoms by cutting off for themselves parts of the surrounding nations.…1 In reading Geog. 11.14.5, one can get the impression that for Strabo the politi- cal history of the Hellenistic kingdom of Sophene begins only with Zariadres, one of the two generals of Antiochos III, who became independent from the Seleucid monarch and assumed the title of the king of Sophene.2 It is evident that Strabo does not know of any predecessor of Zariadres in Sophene and apparently assumes that Sophene was under Seleucid control before.3 However, epigraphic evidence from Kommagene and Armenia, as well as numismatic data from the region (combined with a few enigmatic references in literary sources), may suggest that the history of the Hellenistic kingdom of Sophene is older. The most recent interpretation of this data has been put forward by M. Facella in her study of Kommagene.4 Let us briefly summarize the evidence and its interpretation. 1 The translation is that of H.L. Jones 1928, 324–325 with slight modifications of proper names. The main difference is the reading of Amphissene instead of Akisene, following Lasserre 1975, 123 and Radt 2004, 391. 2 The order of rulers mentioned in Geog. 11.14.5 (ὁ μὲν … ὁ δὲ …) may suggest that it was Artaxias who was the king of Sophene, but other passages in Geog. (especially 11.14.15) leave no doubt that Artaxias was the king of Armenia and Zariadres ruled in Sophene. 3 This is also probably meant by Sullivan 1990, 106 who writes that “this kingdom has no reli- able known history before the time of the Seleucid Antiochus III (‘the Great’) …” 4 Facella 2006, esp. 170–205. © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���7 | doi ��.��63/97890043507�4_005 114 chapter 3 The most important epigraphic evidence comes from Mount Nemrud in Kommagene. In addition to numerous statues and reliefs, two rows of in- scribed stelae are present on both terraces of the summit and are dedicated to a number of claimed royal ancestors of King Antiochos I of Kommagene (ca. 70–36 BCE), both in his paternal and maternal line.5 In view of this data, Antiochos I’s genealogy goes back to both the Achaemenid house in his pater- nal line (including the Persian king Dareios I and his heirs), and the Seleucid house in his maternal side (including Alexander the Great). Of special importance to our study is Antiochos I’s paternal ancestry, which may in fact suggest political affiliations of Kommagene (and Sophene). Namely, Antiochos I’s paternal ancestors include the following figures:6 Dareios I, [Xerxes I ?], [Artaxerxes I], [Dareios II], [Artaxerxes II], Aroandes I, Aroandes II, [Bar?]danes, unknown ancestor, Samos I, Arsames, unknown ancestor, [Ptolemaios ?], Samos II, and Mithradates I Kallinikos. The link with the Persian royal house is created with the person of Aroandes,7 better known from Greek sources as Orontes (I), the satrap of Armenia, who, according to Xenophon (Anab. 2.4.8; 3.4.13) and Plutarch (Art. 27.7; see also OGIS 391–392), married Rhodogune, the daughter of the Persian king Artaxerxes II. His several descendants, labeled as the Orontids, ruled in Armenia as satraps first under the Persians and later in the Hellenistic period.8 Usually in the Hellenistic period, Armenia probably lay beyond the reach of the Seleucids, and the Orontids were only occasionally compelled to recognize their overlordship.9 Several rulers of Persian-Hellenistic Armenia are men- tioned in ancient sources. Orontes I is most well-known for his participation in the battle at Kunaxa in 401 BCE on the side of Artaxerxes II (against Cyrus the Younger and the Greek army of “the Ten Thousand”), while Orontes II is most 5 See Dörner 1967; Dörner 1975; Dörner 1981, Dörner 1996; Krkiasharian 1971; Fischer 1972; Messerschmidt 1990; Messerschmidt 2000; B. Jacobs 2000a; B. Jacobs 2000b; Facella 2006, 78–224; Facella 2009; B. Jacobs 2009, 142–145; B. Jacobs 2011. 6 The stelae are preserved in a fragmentary condition, and consequently their interpretation is not straightforward. The objective of this study is not to suggest a new reconstruction. Instead, the present study follows Facella (2006 and 2009), who is in turn indebted to the epigraphic reconstruction of R: F.K. Dörner, which certainly surpassed older reconstructions by Puchstein and Jalabert, Mouterde (OGIS and OGLIS). Other important interpretations are those of Messerschmidt 1990; B. Jacobs 1997; B. Jacobs 2000c; Messerschmidt 2000; and B. Jacobs 2002. 7 B. Jacobs 2000, 300; Messerschmidt 2000, 37; B. Jacobs 2002, 77. 8 The objective of this study is not to dwell on the identification and history of the Orontids. For more details, see Russell 2005. 9 H.H. Schmitt 1964, 37; Garsoïan 1997b, 45..