Antiochus III Epiphanes and Commagene: History on Rome’s Eastern Frontier

Introduction

Antiochus III Epiphanes ruled the kingdom of Commagene from 12 BC until his death in 17 AD. He was the son and successor of King Mithridates III and Queen Iotapa; his ancestry combined Iranian, Armenian, Greek and Median strands, the Median element coming through his mother. Contemporary records and later summaries record little detail about his policies or activities, beyond his dynastic position as king of a small Hellenistic state on Rome’s eastern frontier.

His death in 17 AD precipitated political crisis within Commagene. Sources describe two rival groups emerging, one led by nobles who urged acceptance of Roman rule and another defending the kingdom’s independence; both groups sent delegations to Emperor Tiberius, who incorporated Commagene into the Roman province of Syria. Antiochus’s children, named in the sources as Antiochus and Iotapa, are reported to have been judged too young to provide an effective succession at his death. Antiochus III is commemorated, with his son, on the Philopappos Monument in Athens, which records their place in the dynasty and the line leading to the later Roman-era prince Philopappos.