Ptolemaeus of Commagene: Founder of an Independent Kingdom and Orontid Prince

Introduction

Ptolemaeus of Commagene (201–130 BC) was an Orontid prince who served as the last Seleucid satrap of Commagene and in 163 BC transformed that province into an independent kingdom, becoming its first king. He belonged to the Orontid (Ervanduni) dynasty; his father was King Orontes IV of Armenia, son of Arsames I. As satrap he served under the Seleucid monarchs Antiochus III, Seleucus IV, Antiochus IV and Antiochus V, and he took advantage of the Seleucid realm’s disintegration to assert sovereignty.

Upon founding the kingdom in 163 BC he established Samosata as its capital. Numismatic and inscriptional evidence later attributed to Commagenian monuments records kinship ties with the Parthian king Mithridates I and claims of descent from the Achaemenid king Darius I. Ptolemaeus died in 130 BC and was succeeded by his son Sames II Theosebes Dikaios. His principal legacy is the creation of an independent Commagenian monarchy out of a formerly Seleucid satrapy and the articulation of a composite royal genealogy linking local Armenian, Persian and Hellenistic elements.