View source for Commagene

{{Short description|Greco-Iranian kingdom (163 BC – 72 AD)}}
{{pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox country
|native_name            = {{lang|grc|Κομμαγηνή}}
|conventional_long_name = Commagene
|common_name            = Commagene
|national_motto         = 
|image_flag             =
|era                    = Hellenistic Age
|status                 = 
|government_type        = Monarchy 
|year_start             = 163 BC
|year_end               = 72 AD
|life_span              = 163 BC &ndash; 72 AD
|event_start            = 
|event_end              = 
|p1                     = Kingdom of Sophene
|flag_p1                = 
|s1                     = Roman Empire
|flag_s1                = Vexilloid_of_the_Roman_Empire.svg
|image_coat             = 
|image_map              = Roman East 50 CE Commagene highlighted-en.svg
|image_map_caption      = Map showing Commagene (light pink on the left) in 50 AD; nearby are [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], [[Sophene]], [[Osrhoene]], and the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] and [[Parthian Empire|Parthian]] Empires
|capital                = [[Samosata]]
|common_languages       = [[Greek language|Greek]] (official){{sfnp|Shayegan|2016|p=13}}<br/>[[Persian language|Persian]] (early ruling dynasty){{sfnp|Ball|2002|p=436}}<br/>[[Aramaic]] (common){{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=454}}
|religion               = [[Ancient Greek religion|Greco]]-[[Zoroastrianism|Iranian]] religious syncretism<ref>{{harvnb|Shayegan|2016|p=13}}; {{harvp|Ball|2002|p=436}}; {{harvp|Strootman|2020|p=214}}</ref>
|currency               = 
|title_leader           = [[List of rulers of Commagene|King]]
|leader1                = [[Ptolemaeus of Commagene|Ptolemaeus]]
|year_leader1           = 163–130 BC
|leader2                = [[Antiochus IV of Commagene|Antiochus IV]]
|year_leader2           = 38–72 AD
|today                  = [[Turkey]]
}}
[[File:Asia Minor in the early 1st century AD - general map - provinces, client states and main settlements - bleached - English legend.jpg|300px|thumb|[[Anatolia]] in the early 1st century AD with Commagene as a Roman client state]]
'''Commagene''' ({{langx|grc|Κομμαγηνή}}) was an ancient Greco-Iranian kingdom ruled by a [[Hellenized]] branch of the [[Orontid dynasty|Orontids]], a dynasty of [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] origin, that had ruled over the [[Satrapy of Armenia]].<ref>{{harvnb|Canepa|2010|p=13}}; {{harvnb|Garsoian|2005}}; {{harvnb|Erskine|Llewellyn-Jones|Wallace|2017|p=75}}; {{harvnb|Canepa|2015|p=80}}; {{harvnb|Sartre|2005|p=23}}; {{harvnb|Widengren|1986|pp=135–136}}; {{harvnb|Merz|Tieleman|2012|p=68}}; {{harvnb|Ball|2002|p=436}}; {{harvnb|Shayegan|2016|pp=8, 13}}; {{harvnb|Strootman|2020|p=205}}; {{harvnb|Facella|2021}}; {{harvnb|Michels|2021|p=485}}; {{harvnb|Toumanoff|1963|p=278}}; {{harvnb|Gaggero|2016|p=79}}; {{harvnb|Allsen|2011|p=37}}; {{harvnb|Olbrycht|2021|p=38}}; {{harvnb|Drower|Grey|Sherwin-White|Wiesehöfer|2021}}; {{harvnb|Ferguson|2021|p=170}}; {{harvnb|Boyce|Grenet|1991|p=309}}; {{harnvb|Vlassopoulos|2013|p=312}}; {{harnvb|Crone|2012|p=351}}; {{harvnb|Graf|2019|p=III}}; {{harvnb|Jacobs|Rollinger|2021|p=1660}}; {{harvnb|Russell|1986|pp=438–444}}; {{harnvb|Spawforth|2016}}; {{harnvb|Sherwin-White|Kuhrt|1993|p=193}}; {{harvnb|Campbell|2015|p=27}}</ref> The kingdom was located in and around the ancient city of [[Samosata]], which served as its capital. The [[Iron Age]] name of Samosata, [[Kummuh]], probably gives its name to Commagene.{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=142}}

Commagene has been characterized as a "[[buffer state]]" between Armenia, Parthia, Syria, and Rome;{{sfnp|Lang|1983|p=510}} culturally, it was correspondingly mixed.{{sfnp|Lang|1983|p=535}}{{sfn|Merlat|1960|p=3}} The kings of the Kingdom of Commagene claimed descent from [[Orontes I|Orontes]] with [[Darius I of Persia]] as their ancestor, by his marriage to Rhodogune, daughter of [[Artaxerxes II]] who had a family descent from king Darius I.{{sfn|Cook|1993|p=170, 173, 193, 212, 213, 216, 217, 221–223, 257, 263}} The territory of Commagene corresponded roughly to the modern Turkish provinces of [[Adıyaman Province|Adıyaman]] and northern [[Gaziantep Province|Antep]].{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=13}}
 
Little is known of the region of Commagene before the beginning of the 2nd century BC. However, it seems that, from what little evidence remains, Commagene formed part of a larger state that also included the [[Kingdom of Sophene]]. This situation lasted until {{circa|163 BC}}, when the local satrap, [[Ptolemaeus of Commagene]], established himself as an independent ruler following the death of the Seleucid king, [[Antiochus IV Epiphanes]].<ref>{{harvnb|Sartre|2005|p=23}}</ref>

The Kingdom of Commagene maintained its independence until 17 AD, when it was made a [[Roman province]] by Emperor [[Tiberius]]. It re-emerged as an independent kingdom when [[Antiochus IV of Commagene]] was reinstated to the throne by order of [[Caligula]], then deprived of it by that same emperor, then restored to it a couple of years later by his successor, [[Claudius]]. The re-emergent state lasted until 72 AD, when the Emperor [[Vespasian]] finally and definitively made it part of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bfkd6fy_zb8C&q=Hazel,+J.,+Who%27s+Who+in+the+Roman+World+2002 |author=Hazel, J. |title=Who's Who in the Roman World |year=2002 |isbn=9780415291620 |publisher=Psychology Press |page=13 |access-date=20 February 2014}}</ref>

One of the kingdom's most lasting visible remains is the archaeological site on [[Mount Nemrut]], a sanctuary dedicated by King [[Antiochus I Theos of Commagene|Antiochus Theos]] to a number of syncretistic Graeco-Iranian deities as well as to himself and the deified land of Commagene.{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|pages=10–11}} It is now a [[World Heritage Site]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/448 |access-date=2017-10-12 |title=Nemrut Dağ |author=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref>

==Cultural identity==
{{History of Armenia}}
[[File:Goddess of Kommagene (Tyche) (4961562037).jpg|left|thumb|upright=.6|Monumental head of the goddess Commagene (Tyche-Bakht) from [[Mount Nemrut]]]]
[[File:Nemrut Dag area A Commagene carving.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Antiochus I of Commagene]], shaking hands with [[Herakles]].]]
The cultural identity of the Kingdom of Commagene has been variously characterized. Pierre Merlat suggests that the Commagenian city of [[Dülük|Doliche]], like others in its vicinity, was "half Iranianized and half Hellenized".{{sfn|Merlat|1960|p=3}} [[David Marshall Lang|David M. Lang]] describes Commagene as "a former [[Satrapy of Armenia|Armenian]] satellite kingdom",{{sfnp|Lang|1983|p=535}} while Blömer and Winter call it a "Hellenistic kingdom".{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=19}} Millar suggests that a local dialect of [[Aramaic]] might have been spoken there,{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=454}} [[Fergus Millar]] considers that, "in some parts of the Euphrates region, such as Commagene, nothing approaching an answer to questions about local culture is possible."{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=452}}

While the language used on public monuments was typically [[Greek language|Greek]], Commagene's rulers made no secret of their Persian affinities. The kings of Commagene claimed descent from the [[Orontid dynasty]] and would therefore have been related to the family that founded the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Kingdom of Armenia]];<ref>{{harvnb|Canepa|2010|p=13}}; {{harvnb|Garsoian|2005}}; {{harvnb|Erskine|Llewellyn-Jones|Wallace|2017|p=75}}; {{harvnb|Canepa|2015|p=80}}; {{harvnb|Sartre|2005|p=23}}; {{harvnb|Widengren|1986|pp=135–136}}; {{harvnb|Merz|Tieleman|2012|p=68}}; {{harvnb|Ball|2002|p=436}}; {{harvnb|Shayegan|2016|pp=8, 13}}; {{harvnb|Strootman|2020|p=205}}</ref> while Sartre states the accuracy of these claims is uncertain.<ref>{{harvnb|Sartre|2005|p=23}}</ref> At [[Antiochus I Theos of Commagene|Antiochus Theos]]' sanctuary at [[Mount Nemrut]], the king erected monumental statues of deities with mixed Greek and Iranian names, such as [[Zeus]]-[[Oromasdes]], while celebrating his own descent from the royal families of Persia and Armenia in a [[Greek language|Greek-language]] inscription.{{sfnp|Lang|1983|p=535}} 

The Commagenean rulers had Iranian and Greek names (Antiochus, Samos, Mithridates).{{sfnp|Curtis|Stewart|2007|p=15}}{{sfnp|Cameron|2018|pp=16-17}} The various Iranian onomasticons located in Commagene demonstrate the extensive Iranization in the region.{{sfnp|Jacobs|Rollinger|2021|p=739}} Over the course of the first centuries BC and AD, the names given on a tomb at Sofraz Köy show a mix of "typical Hellenistic dynastic names with an early introduction of Latin personal names."{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=453}} Lang notes the vitality of Graeco-Roman culture in Commagene.{{sfnp|Lang|1983|p=510}}

While few things about his origins are known with certainty, 2nd-century Attic Greek poet [[Lucian|Lucian of Samosata]] claimed to have been born in [[Samosata]] in the former kingdom of Commagene, and described himself in one satirical work as "an Assyrian".{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=454}} Despite writing well after the Roman conquest of Commagene, Lucian claimed to be "still barbarous in speech and almost wearing a jacket (''kandys'') in the Assyrian style". This has been taken as a possible, but not definitive, allusion to the possibility that his native language was an [[Aramaic language#Middle Aramaic|Aramaic dialect]].{{sfnp|Millar|1993|pages=453, 456}}

In keeping with Commagene Greek and Iranian cultural elements, Antiochus' cult was a synthesis of Greco-Iranian religion, which had existed in Commagene before his time.{{sfnp|Boyce|Grenet|1991|p=347}}

==History==
{{see also|Royal Family of Commagene}}
[[File:Mithra&Antiochus.jpg|thumb|left|Mithras-Helios, in [[Phrygian cap]] with solar rays, with Antiochus I of Commagene. (Mt Nemrut, 1st century BC)]]
Commagene was originally a small [[Syro-Hittite]] kingdom,{{sfn|Bryce|2012|p=110-114, 304}} located in modern south-central [[Turkey]], with its capital at [[Samosata]] (modern [[Samsat, Turkey|Samsat]], near the [[Euphrates]]). It was first mentioned in [[Assyria]]n texts as ''[[Kummuh]]u'', which was normally an ally of Assyria, but eventually annexed as a province in 708 BC under [[Sargon II]]. The [[Achaemenid Empire]] then conquered Commagene in the 6th century BC and [[Alexander the Great]] conquered the territory in the 4th century BC. After the breakup of the Empire of Alexander the Great, the region became part of the Hellenistic Seleucids, and Commagene emerged in about 163 BC as a state and province in the Greco-Syrian [[Seleucid Empire]]. Perhaps Commagene was part of the kingdom of Armenia in the early Hellenistic period, and was possibly annexed to the Seleucid kingdom soon after Armenia's conquest{{sfn|Butcher|2004|p=454}}{{efn|"Commagene was a district separate from [[Seleucis]],<ref>[[Strabo]], XVI.2.2</ref> bordering on [[Cilicia]] and [[Cappadocia]]. Its natural borders were the [[Taurus Mountains|Taurus]] on the north and the [[Euphrates]] to the east. It occurs in [[Assyria]]n and [[Hittites|Hittite]] records as ''Kummuhu''. It was perhaps part of the [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|kingdom of Armenia]] in the early Hellenistic period, and was possibly annexed to the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid kingdom]] soon after Armenia's conquest and partition into the kingdoms of Armenia and Sophene under Antiochus&nbsp;III." — Butcher (2004){{sfn|Butcher|2004|p=454}}
}}

The Hellenistic kingdom of Commagene, bounded by [[Cilicia]] on the west and [[Cappadocia]] on the north, arose in 162 BC when its governor, [[Ptolemaeus of Commagene|Ptolemy]], a [[satrap]] of the disintegrating Seleucid Empire, declared himself independent. Ptolemy's dynasty was related to the [[Parthia]]n kings, but his descendant [[Mithridates I Callinicus]] (109 BC – 70 BC) embraced Hellenistic culture and married the Syrian Greek Princess [[Laodice VII Thea]]. His dynasty could thus claim ties with both [[Alexander the Great]] and the Persian kings. This marriage may also have been part of a peace treaty between Commagene and the Seleucid Empire. From this point on, the kingdom of Commagene became more Greek than Persian. With [[Sophene]], it was to serve as an important centre for the transmission of Hellenistic and Roman culture in the region.{{sfnp|Lang|1983|p=510}} Details are sketchy, but Mithridates Callinicus is thought have accepted Armenian suzerainty during the reign of [[Tigranes II the Great]].{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|pages=24–25}}

Mithridates and Laodice's son was King [[Antiochus I Theos of Commagene]] (reigned 70 –38 BC). Antiochus was an ally of the Roman general [[Pompey]] during the latter's campaigns against [[Mithridates VI of Pontus]] in 64 BC. Thanks to his diplomatic skills, Antiochus was able to keep Commagene independent from the Romans. In 17 when [[Antiochus III of Commagene]] died, Emperor [[Tiberius]] annexed Commagene to the province of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]]. According to Josephus, this move was supported by the local nobility but opposed by the mass of the common people, who preferred to remain under their kings as before;{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=452}} Tacitus, on the other hand, states that "most preferred Roman, but others royal rule".{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=53}}

In 38 AD, [[Caligula]] reinstated Antiochus III's son [[Antiochus IV of Commagene|Antiochus IV]]{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=53}} and also gave him the wild areas of [[Cilicia]] to govern.{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=59}} Antiochus IV was the only [[Client state|client king]] of Commagene under the [[Roman Empire]]. Deposed by Caligula and restored again upon [[Claudius]]' accession in 41 AD, Antiochus reigned until 72, when Emperor [[Vespasian]] deposed the dynasty and definitively re-annexed the territory to the Roman Empire, acting on allegations "that Antiochus was about to revolt.{{sfn|Jones|1971|p=265}} The [[Legio VI Ferrata]], which Paetus led into Commagene, was not resisted by the populace; a day-long battle with Antiochus' sons Epiphanes and Callinicus ended in a draw, and Antiochus surrendered.{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=82}} The [[Legio III Gallica]] would occupy the area by 73 AD.{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=82}} A 1st-century letter in [[Syriac language|Syriac]] by [[Mara bar Serapion|Mara Bar Serapion]] describes refugees fleeing the Romans across the Euphrates and bemoans the Romans' refusal to let the refugees return;{{sfnp|Millar|1993|pages=460–462}} this might describe the Roman takeover of either 18 or 72.{{sfn|Collar|2012|p=102-103}}
The descendants of Antiochus IV lived prosperously and in distinction in [[Anatolia]], [[Greece]], [[Italy]], and the [[Middle East]]. As a testament to the descendants of Antiochus IV, the citizens of [[Athens]] erected a funeral monument in honor of his grandson [[Philopappos]], who was a benefactor of the city, upon his death in 116. Another descendant of Antiochus IV was the historian [[Gaius Asinius Quadratus]], who lived in the 3rd century.

==Geography==
Commagene extended from the right bank of the Euphrates to the Taurus{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=20}} and Amanus Mountains. [[Strabo]], who counts Commagene as part of Syria,<ref>Strabo [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/16B*.html XVI.2.2]</ref> notes the kingdom's fertility.<ref>Strabo XVI.2, cited in {{harvp|Millar|1993|page=53}}</ref> Its capital and chief city was [[Samosata]] (now submerged under [[Atatürk Reservoir]]).

The boundaries of Commagene fluctuated over time. Under [[Antiochus I Theos of Commagene|Antiochus Theos]], the Kingdom of Commagene controlled a particularly large area.{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=19}} [[Dülük|Doliche]] was under Commagenian rule "for about 35 years";{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=19}} after being governed by Antiochus Theos, it might have been incorporated into the Roman province of Syria as early as 31 BC.{{sfnp|Millar|1993|page=453}} [[Kahramanmaraş|Germanicea]] declared itself a Commagenian city in Roman times, although originally it was not.{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=19}} On the other hand, [[Zeugma, Commagene|Zeugma]], while ruled for a time by Commagene, was popularly and traditionally considered to belong to the region of [[Cyrrhestica]];{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=19}} Strabo says it had been assigned to Commagene by Pompey.<ref>Strabo [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Strabo/16B*.html XVI.2.3]</ref>

==Archaeological remains==
[[File:Tumulus of Karakus 03.jpg|thumb|upright=.6|Eagle-topped column from the royal burial mound at Karakuş]]
The limestone propaganda-like statues and reliefs built during Antiochus Theos' reign reflect the Parthian influence in their sculpture.{{sfnp|Colledge|1979|p=229}}

When the Romans conquered Commagene, the great royal sanctuary at [[Mount Nemrut]] was abandoned. The Romans looted the burial [[Tumulus|tumuli]] of their goods and the [[Legio XVI Flavia Firma]] built and dedicated a bridge. The surrounding thick forests were cut down and cleared by the Romans for wood, timber and charcoal, causing much erosion to the area.{{citation needed|date=November 2015}}

Another important archaeological site dating to the Kingdom of Commagene is the sanctuary of Zeus Soter at Damlıca, dedicated in the time of Mithridates II.{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=150-155}}

In Commagene, there is a column topped by an eagle, which has earned the mound the name [[Karakuş Tumulus|Karakuş]], or Black Bird. An inscription there indicates the presence of a royal tomb{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|pages=96–97}} that housed three women. The vault of that tomb, however, has also been looted. The main excavations on the site were carried out by [[Friedrich Karl Dörner]] of the University of [[Münster]]. Another royal burial site is at [[Arsameia]], which also served as a residence of the kings of Commagene.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dickemauern.de/yeni_kale/grnyborg.htm |access-date=2015-07-25 |title=Yeni Kale / Eski Kâhta - Türkei |language=de |year=2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923214656/http://www.dickemauern.de/yeni_kale/grnyborg.htm |archive-date=23 September 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Many of the ancient artifacts from the Kingdom of Commagene are on display at the [[Adıyaman Archaeological Museum]].{{sfnp|Blömer|Winter|2011|page=124}}

==Footnotes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|25em}}

==Sources==
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* {{cite book |first=Pierre |last=Merlat |year=1960 |chapter=Le site de Doliché |title=Jupiter Dolichenus : Essai d'interprétation et de synthèse. |publisher=Presses Universitaires de France |quote="une de ces nombreuses localités mi-iranisées, mi-hellénisées d'Asie Mineure et de Syrie du Nord" }}
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{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* Breitenbach, Alfred; Ristow, Sebastian (2006). "Kommagene (Euphratesia)." In: ''Reallexikon für Antike und Christentum'', volume 21. Stuttgart: Hiersemann, coll. 233–273.
* Blömer, Michael; Winter, Engelbert (2011). ''Commagene: The Land of the Gods between the Taurus and the Euphrates.'' Homer Kitabevi. {{ISBN|978-9944-483-35-3}}.
* {{cite book |last=Canepa|first=Matthew |title=Common Dwelling Place of all the Gods: Commagene in its Local, Regional, and Global Context |chapter=Commagene Before and Beyond Antiochos I |date=2021 |publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag |pages=71–103 |isbn=978-3515129251 |url=https://www.academia.edu/52655937 |url-access=registration}}
* Messerschmidt, Wolfgang (2008). "Kommagene in vorhellenistischer Zeit." In: Winter, Engelbert (ed.), ''ΠΑΤΡΙΣ ΠΑΝΤΡΟΦΟΣ ΚΟΜΜΑΓΗΝΗ. Neue Funde und Forschungen zwischen Taurus und Euphrat.'' Bonn: Rudolf Habelt, {{ISBN|978-3-7749-3517-4}}, pp. 1–35.
* Wagner, Jörg (2012). ''Gottkönige am Euphrat. Neue Ausgrabungen und Forschungen in Kommagene.'' 2nd edition. Mainz: Philipp von Zabern, {{ISBN|978-3-8053-4218-6}}.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Commagene|position=left}}

{{Historical regions of Armenia}}{{History of Turkey timeline}}{{Hellenistic rulers}}{{Roman provinces AD 117}}
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[[Category:Commagene| 01]]
[[Category:States and territories established in the 2nd century BC]]
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[[Category:163 BC]]
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[[Category:Roman buffer states]]
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