Laodice of Commagene
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Laodice (also spelled Laodike;
Kingdom of Commagene and a queen of the Parthian Empire by marriage to Orodes II. She was of Greek and Iranian
descent.
Biography
Laodice was the first daughter born to King
Isias
Philostorgos.
She married King
When Laodice died, her brother King
Isias, her sister Antiochis of Commagene
and her niece Aka I of Commagene. Mithridates in her honour built and dedicated a funeral monument.
Tomb
The tomb tumulus of Laodice measures 21 metres or 69 feet. Only one column is still standing with a stele on top of it. The stele depicts a dexiosis relief or a scene between Mithridates II and Laodice shaking hands. The inscription underneath the dexiosis relief is so weathered that the inscription was not noticed until 1938. It was not until 1979 that the inscription was finally recorded and revealed:
- The great King Mithridates, the son of the great King Antiochus and Queen Isias, dedicated this image to the unfading memory of Queen Laodice, the king’s sister and the wife of Orodes, the king of kings, and to her own honour.
This inscription dedicated to Laodice suggests a
Roman Emperor Vespasian
, her tomb was plundered. Romans removed stone blocks from her tomb and used the stones for construction projects in Commagene.
References
- ^ Boyce & Grenet 1991, p. 313.
- ^ Bivar 1983, p. 58.
Sources
- Boyce, Mary; Grenet, Frantz (1991). Beck, Roger (ed.). A History of Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrianism under Macedonian and Roman Rule. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-9004293915.
- Bivar, A.D.H. (1983). "The Political History of Iran Under the Arsacids". In ISBN 0-521-20092-X.
- "Travel Guide To Turkey, Guide de la Turquie, GUIDE MARTINE, Guide to Turkey, Guide de Turquie, Travel, Turkey, Voyage, Turquie, Istanbul, Turkey Photos, Photos de la Turquie". Guide-martine.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
- Roger Beck (2004). Beck on Mithraism: Collected Works with New Essays. Ashgate Pub. p. 297. ISBN 9780754640813. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
- Widengren, G. (1986). "Antiochus of Commagene". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. II, Fasc. 2. pp. 135–136.