Artavasdes I was a king of Media Atropatene. As an enemy of Artavasdes II of Armenia and his son Artaxias II, Artavasdes I was mentioned in diplomatic affairs of Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Mark Anthony.

Biography

When Marcus Antonius "Mark Antony" led his campaign against Parthia in 36 BC, Artavasdes I was the ally of the Parthian king Phraates IV. Antony led his troops from Zeugma northward into Armenia and then invaded the domain of Artavasdes I. Antony did not want to attack Parthia from the west, which was the shortest way, but surprisingly from the north. Antony allegedly used this strategy on the advice of Artavasdes II of Armenia, the enemy of Artavasdes I. Antony moved with his army in fast marches to Phraaspa, the strong fortified capital of Media Atropatene, where Artavasdes I had got his family to safety. Meantime Artavasdes I had joined the army of Phraates IV. Antony was not able to take Phraaspa and besieged the city, but Artavasdes I and the Parthian commander Monaeses destroyed two legions of a Antony's general, Oppius Statianus, who had slowly followed with the siege machines of the Antony's troops. Antony could not capture Phraaspa without these machines. Therefore he had to withdraw and Parthia was not invaded.

So Artavasdes I had maintained his ground against the Romans but his domain had been severely ravaged. Besides his stronger ally Phraates IV treated him condescending and gave him only little booty. Therefore in 35 BC Artavasdes I offered Antony an alliance against Parthia, and Antony gladly accepted. To deepen this friendship Alexander Helios, the son of Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt, was betrothed to Artavasdes’ daughter Iotapa, although both were infants (34 BC).

In 33 BC Antony met his coalition partner on the river Araxes; they agreed that Antony should support Artavasdes I against Parthia and that the Median king should help Antony against Octavian. They interchanged parts of their troops. The domain of Artavasdes I was enlarged with parts of Armenia. Antony had returned a standard that the Median king had taken from Oppius Statianus in 36 BC, and also took Iotape along with him. With the help of the Roman reinforcements Artavasdes I was initially able to repulse the Parthian attack. But before the Battle of Actium Antony called back his Roman troops without sending back the Median reinforcements. This time Phraates IV defeated Artavasdes who was captured in 30 BC.

Artavasdes finally escaped to Augustus who received him friendly, gave him back his daughter Iotapa and made him a client king of Lesser Armenia. He died shortly before 20 BC at the age of 39 years, probably at Rome.

Family

Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene was the son and successor of king Ariobarzanes I. He was a son-in-law of Antiochus I Theos of Commagene. His children included Ariobarzanes II, Iotapa, who was engaged to Alexander Helios and later married Mithridates III of Commagene, and Darius, who was mentioned to be the father of Artabanus II of Parthia.

Sources

• English Wikipedia: Artavasdes I

  ---

  
  

Atropatene was an ancient region in modern north western Iran, formerly a part of Media.

Atropatene was the name of Iranian Azerbaijan from the time of Alexander the Great until the Arab conquest of Iran, after which Arabs modified the name into Azerbaijan. It was called Atropatene or Media Atropatene after Atropates who made it independent soon after the death of Alexander the Great. Before that, it was called Matiene after the Matiani, an Iranic people who settled there. Before the Matiani came, it was called Mannae, and the people Mannaeans. From Persian times, the capital was Gazaca, south of Lake Matianus.

Lesser Armenia (also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, "Փոքր Հայք" "Pokr Hayq" in Armenian) refers to the Armenian populated regions, primarily to the west & north west of the ancient Armenian kingdom and north east of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. This included such regions as Hamshen, the area where the ethnic Armenian Hamshenis originated.

Lesser Armenia was the portion of historic Armenia and the Armenian Highland lying west of the river Euphrates. It received its name to distinguish it from the larger remainder of historic Armenia — Greater Armenia (or Armenia Major).

Prior to 4th century BC, the territory of Lesser Armenia was part of the ancient Armenian kingdom, which was ruled by the royal dynasty of Orontids (Yervanduni) and, in the 4th c. BC, was subject to the Persian Achaemenid Empire. Following the campaigns of Alexander the Great in 330s BC, as the Persian Empire collapsed, Mithrdates, an Armenian general of the Persian army, declared himself king of Lesser Armenia. Thus two independent kingdoms emerged from the territory of the ancient Armenian kingdom — Lesser Armenia and Greater Armenia.

By the 3rd century BC, the kingdom of Lesser Armenia extended to the Black Sea coast. It was conquered by Romans in the 1st century BC. It was later reunited with the kingdom of Greater Armenia under the Arshakuni king Tiridates III. After the division of Armenia by Byzantian and Sassanid Persian Empires in 387 AD, Lesser Armenia, along with western regions of Greater Armenia, became part of Byzantine Empire. Its population remained Armenian, and the territory was included in the Byzantian military administrations of First Armenia, Second Armenia, Third Armenia, and Fourth Armenia. The Christian Armenian population of Lesser Armenia continued its existence in the area until the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23.

Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene

Artavasdes I of Media Atropatene, also known as Artavasdes I of Atropatene, Artavasdes I and Artavasdes (before or about 59-about 20 BC) was a Prince who served as a King of Media Atropatene. Artavasdes I was an enemy of King Artavasdes II of Armenia and his son Artaxias II. He was a contemporary with the Ptolemaic Greek Queen Cleopatra VII and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony, as Artavasdes I was mentioned in their diplomatic affairs.

Family Background & Early Life

Artavasdes I was of Median and possibly of Armenian, Greek descent. He was the child born to Ariobarzanes I by an unnamed wife. His probable paternal uncle could have been Darius I. He was born and raised in the Kingdom of Media Atropatene. Artavasdes I is the namesake of his ancestor, Artabazanes a previous ruling King of Media Atropatene in the 3rd century BC, as the name Artavasdes is a variation of the name Artabazanes (see Asha).

According to modern genealogies the father of Artavasdes I, Ariobarzanes I was a son of a previous ruling King Mithridates I of Media Atropatene and his wife, an unnamed Armenian Princess from the Artaxiad Dynasty who was a daughter of the Armenian King Tigranes the Great and his wife, Cleopatra of Pontus, which can explain the claims of Mithridates I’s descendants to the Armenian Kingship in opposition to the lasting ruling monarchs of the Artaxiad Dynasty. Another possibility in linking Artavasdes I to the marriage of Mithridates I and his wife is through his name. The name Artavasdes bears as a typical Armenian royal name and therefore, in all likelihood, Artavasdes I is a descendant of this marriage.

Reign as King

Artavasdes I succeeded his father as King, when Ariobarzanes I died in 56 BC. When Mark Antony led his campaign against the Parthian Empire in 36 BC, Artavasdes I was an ally of the King Phraates IV of Parthia. Antony led his troops from Zeugma northward into Armenia and then invaded the domain of Artavasdes I. Antony did not want to attack Parthia from the west, which was the shortest way, but surprisingly from the north. Antony allegedly used this strategy on the advice of Artavasdes II of Armenia, the enemy of Artavasdes I. Antony moved with his army in fast marches to Phraaspa, the strong fortified capital of Media Atropatene, where Artavasdes I had got his family to safety. Meantime Artavasdes I had joined the army of Phraates IV.

Antony was not able to take Phraaspa and besieged the city, but Artavasdes I and the Parthian commander Monaeses destroyed two legions of Antony's general, Oppius Statianus, who had slowly followed with the siege machines of the Antony's troops. Antony could not capture Phraaspa without these machines. Therefore, he had to withdraw to Armenia and Parthia was not invaded.

So Artavasdes I had maintained his ground against the Romans but his domain had been severely ravaged. Besides his stronger ally Phraates IV treated him condescending and gave him only little booty and was near depriving him of his dominion. Therefore, in 35 BC Artavasdes I offered Antony an alliance against Parthia, and Antony gladly accepted. To deepen this friendship Alexander Helios, the son of Antony and Cleopatra VII, was betrothed to Artavasdes I’s daughter Iotapa, although both were infants in 34 BC.

In 33 BC Antony met his coalition partner on the river Araxes; they agreed that Antony should support Artavasdes I against Parthia and that the Median King should help Antony against Octavian. They interchanged parts of their troops. The domain of Artavasdes I was enlarged with parts of Armenia. Antony had returned a standard that the Median king had taken from Oppius Statianus in 36 BC, and also took Iotapa along with him. With the help of the Roman reinforcements Artavasdes I was initially able to repulse the Parthian attack. Before the Battle of Actium, Antony called back his Roman troops without sending back the Median reinforcements. This time Phraates IV defeated Artavasdes I who was captured in 30 BC.

During Artavasdes' imprisonment, a civil war between the Parthians later took place, which gave him the opportunity to escape prison. He took refuge with Augustus, who received him with friendliness, gave him back his daughter Iotapa and made him a Client King of Lesser Armenia. He died around 20 BC probably in Rome. Artavasdes I was succeeded in the Kingship of Media Atropatene by Asinnalus.

Source :

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artavasdes_I_of_Media_Atropatene