Antiochis (Ancient Greek: Ἀντιοχίς; fl. 3rd–2nd century BC) was a princess of the Seleucid dynasty, daughter of Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II and sister of Antiochus III the Great. She may have been born in 244/243 BC as the twin sister of Seleucus III Ceraunus.Strootman, "Laodike, mother of Seleukos III," in Bagnall et al. (eds.), The Encyclopedia of Ancient History. In 212 BC, following his siege of Arsamosata, Antiochus III gave her in marriage to Xerxes of Sophene, making her queen consort of Sophene.
Biography Antiochis was a daughter of Seleucus II Callinicus and his wife Laodice III. She may have been born in 244/243 BC as the twin sister of the future Seleucus III Ceraunus.
Antiochis may have married Arsames I, king of Sophene, before c. 227 BC, when Arsames is attested as an ally of Antiochus Hierax, the rebellious brother of Seleucus II.Renzo Lucherini, "A Proposed Paternity for Ptolemaios of Kommagene: Mithradates, Nephew of Antiochos III" (2017), p. 6. From this marriage Mithridates was possibly born, who is described in Polybius 8.23.3 as "[Antiochus III's] sister’s son" and was proposed by some of the king's advisors as a candidate for the throne of Sophene in 212 BC.Polybius 8.23.3.
In 212 BC, following his siege of Arsamosata, Antiochus III settled his differences with Xerxes, king of Sophene, remitting the greater part of the tribute owed and accepting a payment of 300 talents, 1,000 horses, and 1,000 mules. Xerxes was restored to his position as king and given Antiochis as his wife.Polybios 8.23.3–5.Renzo Lucherini, "A Proposed Paternity for Ptolemaios of Kommagene: Mithradates, Nephew of Antiochos III" (2017), p. 2.
Xerxes died c. 204-202 BC.Lucherini 2015, 5. John of Antioch, a late source, reports that he was poisoned by Antiochis on instructions from her brother.John of Antioch, F 53, FHG IV. Grainger judges this account unreliable, noting that poisoning was frequently alleged in cases of politically convenient death in the ancient world, and that neither Antiochus nor Antiochis had any obvious motive for such an act: Sophene was vulnerable, Antiochus was not under pressure of time, and Antiochis, having been queen for approximately a decade, had no evident reason to act against her husband. Grainger concludes that Xerxes most likely died a natural death, and that Antiochis subsequently returned to her brother's court in Syria, where Antiochus would have resumed his role as her legal guardian.Grainger, The Seleukid Empire of Antiochus III: 223–187 BC (Barnsley, 2015), pp. 176–77.
If Mithridates was indeed the son of Antiochis and Arsames, he may eventually have succeeded to the kingship that had been proposed for him in 212 BC. Mithridates, identified as satrap of Armenia in Polybius 25.2.11, is identified by some scholars as the same person as Antiochus III's nephew mentioned in Polybius 8.23.3.Lucherini 2017, p. 9. The identification of the satrap of Polybius 25.2.11 with Antiochus III's nephew was first proposed by Théodore Reinach, Mithridate Eupator, roi de Pont (Paris, 1890), p. 41, n. 1, and accepted by F. W. Walbank, A Historical Commentary on Polybios, vol. 2 (Oxford, 1967), pp. 99–100, and Lee E. Patterson, "Rome's Relationship with Artaxias I of Armenia," The Ancient History Bulletin 15.4 (2001), p. 156, n. 6, who further argues that it strengthens the case for identifying Mithradates' territory as Sophene rather than Lesser Armenia. The identification is regarded with uncertainty by Michał Marciak, Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West, Impact of Empire 26 (Leiden: Brill, 2017), p. 128, and rejected by Luis Ballesteros Pastor, "The Satrapy of Western Armenia in the Mithridatid Kingdom," p. 268, who identifies the satrap instead with the future Mithridates IV of Pontus. Lucherini further proposes that Seleucus IV Philopator imposed Mithridates on the throne of Sophene after the battle of Magnesia, possibly with the support of Pharnaces I of Pontus.Lucherini 2017, p. 9. As ruler of Sophene, Antiochis's son may have participated in the Anatolian war of 183–179 BC.Lee E. Patterson, "Rome's Relationship with Artaxias I of Armenia," The Ancient History Bulletin 15.4 (2001), p. 156, n. 6; cf. Michał Marciak, Sophene, Gordyene, and Adiabene: Three Regna Minora of Northern Mesopotamia Between East and West, (Leiden: Brill, 2017), p. 128, who notes that these identifications remain tentative and that there is no direct evidence for any king of Sophene named Mithridates.
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