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Etazeta of Bithynia

Etazeta: second wife of king Nicomedes I of Bithynia, queen in her own right from 255 until 254.

When Nicomedes I of Bithynia died in 255 BCE, he left sons from two marriages: from Ditizele, a lady from Hellespontine Phrygia, he had sons named Ziaelas and Prusias, and several other children from his second wife Etazeta. Nicomedes preferred the younger children and passed over Ziaelas, who went into exile in Armenia, where he was received by a king who may be identified with Samus.note

Nicomedes had tried to prevent a civil war by appointing Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Egypt and Antigonus II Gonatas of Macedonia as guardians, together with the cities of Byzantium, Heraclea, and Cius, but it was in vain. When Etazeta became queen, Ziaelas hired Galatian mercenaries and invaded Bithynia. She tried to strengthen her position by marrying a relative of Nicomedes, but was defeated and expelled. In the end, she and her children found refuge in Macedonia.

This page was created in 2019; last modified on 21 April 2020.

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