Antiochus I Theos of Commagene

Bust of Antiochus I Theos of Commagene from Adiyaman. Museum of Gazi Antep

Antiochus I Theos Dicaeus Epiphanes Philoromaeus the Philhellene (r. c.70-c.31 BCE): king of Commagene, builder of the tomb on Nemrud Daği.

Relatives

Father: Mithridates I Callinicus
Mother: Laodice VII (daughter of the Seleucid king Antiochus VIII Grypus and Tryphaena)

Life

c.70: Accession
In the Third Mithridatic War, which the Romans waged against king Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus, Antiochus allies himself to the Roman general Lucullus (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 36.2.5)
Later, he supports Pompey the Great (Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 106)
Pompey adds Seleucia on the Euphrates (=Zeugma) to Commagene (Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 114; Strabo, Geography, 16.2.3)
Pompey claims he has taken Antiochus captive (Appian, Mithridatic Wars, 117)
51 Antiochus warns Rome for Parthian agression (Cicero, Letters to friends, 15.1.2 and 15.3.1)
49-48 Roman Civil War between Pompey and Caesar; Antiochus supports Pompey with 200 mounted archers (Caesar, Civil War 3.4.5), who are used as garrison (Appian, Civil Wars, 2.49)
When Caesar wins the Civil War, Antiochus seeks Parthian support
39 Finds himself in trouble when the Roman general Ventidius appears on the scene (Cassius Dio, Roman History, 48.41.5)
38 Besieged by Ventidius in Samosata, but he manages to obtain a favorable treatment (Plutarch, Marc Antony, 34.2-4; Cassius Dio, Roman History, 49.19-23; Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 14.439-447)
31 (or earlier): death

Buildings

Tomb of Mithridates in Arsameia
His own tomb on Nemrud Daği (OGIS 383-404)

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