Ariarathes X Eusebes Philadelphos: King of Cappadocia and Roman Client

Introduction

Ariarathes X Eusebes Philadelphos was a king of Cappadocia from the ruling house of the Ariobarzanids; he is recorded as reigning roughly c. 42–36 BC. He was a son of King Ariobarzanes II and Queen Athenais and brother of Ariobarzanes III; his Persian and Greek ancestry is noted in the sources. During the 40s BC he sought Roman support for his claims: in 47–45 BC Julius Caesar appears to have recognised him as a dynastic heir and may have assigned him a subordinate kingship over part of Lesser Armenia; in 45 BC Ariarathes complained in Rome that he held no territory and petitioned Caesar for a kingdom. In 42 BC, after Ariobarzanes III was executed on the orders of the Caesarian conspirator Gaius Cassius Longinus, Ariarathes X was installed as king and initially aligned with Cassius and Brutus; following their defeat at Philippi he attached himself to Mark Antony. His reign was contested by Archelaus; according to the ancient accounts Antony backed Archelaus and removed Ariarathes. Sources disagree on the date of his removal and death, citing either 41 BC or 36 BC. His coinage bears the epithets Eusebes Philadelphos. Ariarathes X is thus known chiefly for his brief, Roman-dependent rule amid the dynastic and civil-war politics that ended with his deposition and replacement by Archelaus (Sisines).