Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia

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Ariarathes VI
Rare silver drachm of Ariarathes VI wearing a tiara
King of Cappadocia
Reign130–116 BC
PredecessorAriarathes V
SuccessorAriarathes VII
Died116 BC
SpouseLaodice of Cappadocia
IssueNysa (wife of Nicomedes IV)
DynastyAriarathid
FatherAriarathes V
MotherNysa of Cappadocia

Ariarathes VI Epiphanes Philopator (

Ancient Greek: Ἀριαράθης Ἐπιφανής Φιλοπάτωρ), was the Ariarathid king of Cappadocia from 130 BC to 116 BC. He was the youngest son of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and Nysa of Cappadocia
.

Name

"Ariarathes" is the

Aramaic as Ariorath or Ariourat, and in later Latin sources as Ariaratus.[2]

Reign

He was a child at his succession, and for this reason the power was kept by his mother, who acted as his regent. At some point his mother seems to have poisoned all of Ariarathes’ five brothers; but the infant king was saved by people loyal to the dynasty and had Nysa killed. Using this as a pretext, his maternal uncle, King

Ariarathes VIII Epiphanes
.

Since this wasn't deemed enough to transform Cappadocia in a satellite of Pontus, Mithridates V Euergetes' son,

Mithridates VI, murdered Ariarathes using Gordius, a Cappadocian nobleman.[3]
On his death the kingdom was briefly ruled by Ariarathes' widow and then seized by King Nicomedes III of Bithynia, who married Laodice, the king's widow. Nicomedes III was soon expelled by Mithridates VI, who placed upon the throne Ariarathes VII.

Coinage and Imperial ideology

While most Cappadocian kings preferred to portray themselves with a Hellenistic

Commagene, Pontus, and possibly Parthia, to see it.[4] The modern historian Matthew Canepa (2017) suggested that Ariarathes VI minted these two different types of images "to promote both cultural backgrounds in the numismatic medium intended for the army, court and foreign circulation."[4]

Notes

  1. ^ Brunner 1986, p. 406.
  2. ^ Sherwin-White 1984, p. 51; Erciyas 2006, p. 32; Brunner 1986, p. 406.
  3. ^ Justin, xxxvii. 1, xxxviii. 1; Memnon, History of Heraclea, 22
  4. ^ a b c Canepa 2017, p. 216.

Sources

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainSmith, William, ed. (1870). "Ariarathes (VI)". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 285.

Preceded by
King of Cappadocia

130 BC – 116 BC
Succeeded by