Sames I
| Sames I | |
|---|---|
 Coin of Sames I | |
| King of Sophene and Commagene | |
| Reign | c. 260 BC |
| Predecessor | Orontes III |
| Successor | Arsames I |
| Issue | Arsames I |
| Dynasty | Orontid dynasty |
Sames I (also spelled Samos I), was the Orontid king of Sophene and Commagene, ruling around 260 BC.
Name
The name of "Samos" is possibly derived from the Avestan name Sāma, the father of the Avestan hero Garshasp, which would indicate some sort of custom of Iranian religious or epic lore amongst the Orontids.[1]
Biography
The Kingdom of Sophene was ruled by the Orontid dynasty of Iranian origin, which was descended from Orontes I, a Bactrian nobleman who was the son-in-law of the Achaemenid King of Kings Artaxerxes II (r. 404–358 BC).[2] According to the Greek writer Strabo (died 24 AD) in his Geographica, Sophene first emerged as a distinct kingdom under Zariadres (fl. 190 BC), who was installed as its ruler by the Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great (r. 222–187 BC). He further adds that following the defeat of Antiochus III against the Romans, Zariadres declared independence.[3] However this report is strongly contradicted by epigraphic and numismatic evidence.[2][4] Sophene most likely emerged as a distinct kingdom in the 3rd-century BC, during the gradual decline of Seleucid influence in the Near East and the split of the Orontid dynasty into several branches. Three rulers belonging to a different Orontid branch, Sames I, Arsames I and Xerxes ruled the western part of Greater Armenia, perhaps from Commagene to Arzanene.[5]
Building activity
Sometime before 245 BC, Sames I refounded the city of Samosata on the previous
Coinage
Similar to the early
References
- ^ a b Canepa 2018, p. 109.
- ^ a b Facella 2021.
- ^ Marciak 2017, pp. 113, 117.
- ^ Marciak 2017, p. 123.
- ^ Marciak 2017, p. 157.
- ^ Michels 2021, pp. 478–479.
- ^ Canepa 2021, p. 84; see also Canepa 2018, p. 110
- ^ Canepa 2021, p. 82.
- ^ Canepa 2018, p. 110.
- ^ a b Canepa 2017, p. 207.
- ^ Canepa 2018, p. 252.
Sources
- ISBN 9780520379206.
- Canepa, Matthew (2021). "Commagene Before and Beyond Antiochos I". Common Dwelling Place of all the Gods: Commagene in its Local, Regional, and Global Context. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 71–103. ISBN 978-3515129251.
- Canepa, Matthew P. (2017). "Rival Images of Iranian Kingship and Persian Identity in Post-Achaemenid Western Asia". In Strootman, Rolf; Versluys, Miguel John (eds.). Persianism in Antiquity. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 201–223. ISBN 978-3515113823.
- Facella, Margherita (2021). "Orontids". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation.
- ISBN 9789004350724.
- Michels, Christoph (2021). "'Achaemenid' and 'Hellenistic' Strands of Representation in the Minor Kingdoms of Asia Minor". Common Dwelling Place of all the Gods: Commagene in its Local, Regional, and Global Context. Franz Steiner Verlag. pp. 475–496. ISBN 978-3515129251.