Deiotarus
Encyclopedia
Deiotarus of Galatia was a Chief Tetrarch of the Tolistobogii
at Western Galatia
, Asia Minor
, and a King of Galatia
(Gallo-Graecia) at Anatolia
, Asia Minor
. He was considered one of the most adept of Celtic kings, ruling the three tribes of Celtic Galatia from his fortress in Blucium
. The name Deiotarus is understood as deio-taruos or "divine bull".
Deiotarus was a faithful ally of the Romans
and became involved in the struggles between the Roman Generals that led to the fall of the Republic from 44 BC. He changed sides and supported the triumvirs, keeping his kingdom until his death. He is first heard of at the beginning of the Third Mithridatic War
, when he drove out the troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus
under Eumachus from Phrygia
, and he was a witness where Mithridates VI saw his invasion of Phrygia
stopped by the Roman ally, both in 75 BC or 74 BC. His most influential friend was Pompey
, who, when settling the affairs of Asia after Mithridates VI failed in his invasion of Phrygia and was finally defeated by the Romans in 65 BC, 64 BC, 63 BC or 62 BC, rewarded him for his assistance against him with the title of King and an increase of territory (part of eastern Pontus
, to which the Senate granted him Lesser Armenia
and most of Galatia
). On the outbreak of the civil war from 49 BC to 45 BC, Deiotarus naturally sided with his old patron and ally Pompey and the Optimates
in their stand against Julius Caesar, who was defying the Senate, and after being defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus
in 48 BC escaped with him to Asia. When Pompey was defeated he faced execution, but was saved in part due to the advocacy of Cicero between 49 BC and 45 BC.
During this time, Pharnaces
, the son of Mithridates, had seized Lesser Armenia
, and defeated Deiotarus' army near Nicopolis
. Fortunately for Deiotarus, Julius Caesar
at that time (47 BC) arrived in Asia from Egypt, and was met by the tetrarch in the dress of a suppliant. Caesar pardoned him for having sided with Pompey, ordered him to resume his royal attire, and hastened against Pharnaces, whom he defeated at Zela
.
In consequence of the complaints of certain Galatian princes, Deiotarus was deprived of part of his dominions in 47 BC, but was pardoned by Caesar and allowed to retain the title of King. On the death of Mithridates of Pergamum, Tetrarch of the Trocmi
, Deiotarus was a candidate for the vacancy. Other tetrarchs also pressed their claims; and, further, Deiotarus was accused at Rome in 45 BC by his grandson Castor of having attempted to assassinate Caesar when the latter, then Dictator, was his guest in Galatia. Cicero
, who entertained a high opinion of Deiotarus, whose acquaintance he had made when governor of Cilicia
, undertook his defence, the case being heard in Caesar's own house at Rome. Cicero to Caius Caesar: "... for it was king Deiotarus who raised your family, when abject and obscure, from darkness into light. Who ever heard of your father, or who he was, before they heard whose son-in-law he was?" The matter was allowed to drop for a time, and the assassination of Caesar prevented any final decision of the verdict being pronounced. In his speech Cicero briefly dismisses the charge of assassination, the main question being the distribution of the provinces, which was the real cause of the quarrels between Deiotarus and his relatives. After Caesar's death, Mark Antony
, for a large monetary consideration, publicly announced that, in accordance with instructions left by Caesar, Deiotarus was to resume possession of all the territory of which he had been deprived. When civil war again broke out, Deiotarus was persuaded to support the anti-Caesarian party of Brutus and Cassius, but after the Battle of Philippi
in 42 BC, went over to the triumvirs. He remained in possession of his kingdom until his death at a very advanced age.
Deiotarus was the patron to whom the Greek agricultural manual by Diophanes of Nicaea
was dedicated.
He was married to Berenice, Princess of Pergamon, daughter of Attalus III Philomater Euergetes
, King of Pergamon
, and wife Attalid (it is assumed that this link is a daughter since Attalus III is noted as dying without leaving heirs). They were the parents of Adobogiona, who Brogitarus, King of Galatia, who reigned concurrently with his father-in-law. Adobogiona and Brogitarus were the parents of Amyntas, Tetrarch of the Trocmi, King of Galatia
.
, a Roman legion
, traces its lineage back to Deiotarus. It was originally part of the Galatian Army, and the equivalent of three legions. After suffering a defeat it was considered just a single legion, and functioned as an informal Roman legion under Julius Caesar
until Deiotarus' death, at which point it was incorporated into the Roman Army with its former king as its namesake.
Tolistobogii
Tolistobogii is the name used by the Roman historian, Livy, for one of the three ancient Celtic tribes of Galatia in central Asia Minor, together with the Trocmi and Tectosages...
at Western Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
, Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
, and a King of Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
(Gallo-Graecia) at Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. He was considered one of the most adept of Celtic kings, ruling the three tribes of Celtic Galatia from his fortress in Blucium
Blucium
Blocium is the ancient name of İskilip, a town in Northern-central Turkey. Deiotarus, king of the Celtic tribes, governed his territory from this center....
. The name Deiotarus is understood as deio-taruos or "divine bull".
Deiotarus was a faithful ally of the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and became involved in the struggles between the Roman Generals that led to the fall of the Republic from 44 BC. He changed sides and supported the triumvirs, keeping his kingdom until his death. He is first heard of at the beginning of the Third Mithridatic War
Third Mithridatic War
The Third Mithridatic War was the last and longest of three Mithridatic Wars fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and his allies and the Roman Republic...
, when he drove out the troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
under Eumachus from Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
, and he was a witness where Mithridates VI saw his invasion of Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
stopped by the Roman ally, both in 75 BC or 74 BC. His most influential friend was Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
, who, when settling the affairs of Asia after Mithridates VI failed in his invasion of Phrygia and was finally defeated by the Romans in 65 BC, 64 BC, 63 BC or 62 BC, rewarded him for his assistance against him with the title of King and an increase of territory (part of eastern Pontus
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos is a historical Greek designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area, and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Πόντος...
, to which the Senate granted him Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia , also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, refers to the Armenian populated regions, primarily to the West and North-West of the ancient Armenian Kingdom...
and most of Galatia
Galatia
Ancient Galatia was an area in the highlands of central Anatolia in modern Turkey. Galatia was named for the immigrant Gauls from Thrace , who settled here and became its ruling caste in the 3rd century BC, following the Gallic invasion of the Balkans in 279 BC. It has been called the "Gallia" of...
). On the outbreak of the civil war from 49 BC to 45 BC, Deiotarus naturally sided with his old patron and ally Pompey and the Optimates
Optimates
The optimates were the traditionalist majority of the late Roman Republic. They wished to limit the power of the popular assemblies and the Tribunes of the Plebs, and to extend the power of the Senate, which was viewed as more dedicated to the interests of the aristocrats who held the reins of power...
in their stand against Julius Caesar, who was defying the Senate, and after being defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus
Battle of Pharsalus
The Battle of Pharsalus was a decisive battle of Caesar's Civil War. On 9 August 48 BC at Pharsalus in central Greece, Gaius Julius Caesar and his allies formed up opposite the army of the republic under the command of Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus...
in 48 BC escaped with him to Asia. When Pompey was defeated he faced execution, but was saved in part due to the advocacy of Cicero between 49 BC and 45 BC.
During this time, Pharnaces
Pharnaces II of Pontus
Pharnaces II of Pontus, also known as Pharnaces II was a prince, then King of Pontus and the Bosporan until his death. He was a monarch of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. Pharnaces II was the youngest son and child born to King Mithridates VI of Pontus from his first wife, his sister Queen...
, the son of Mithridates, had seized Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia
Lesser Armenia , also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, refers to the Armenian populated regions, primarily to the West and North-West of the ancient Armenian Kingdom...
, and defeated Deiotarus' army near Nicopolis
Battle of Nicopolis (48 BC)
The Battle of Nicopolis was fought in December 48 BC between the army of Pharnaces II of Pontus, the son of Mithdridates VI Eupator, and a Roman army led by Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus....
. Fortunately for Deiotarus, Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
at that time (47 BC) arrived in Asia from Egypt, and was met by the tetrarch in the dress of a suppliant. Caesar pardoned him for having sided with Pompey, ordered him to resume his royal attire, and hastened against Pharnaces, whom he defeated at Zela
Battle of Zela
The Battle of Zela was a battle fought in 47 BC between Julius Caesar and Pharnaces II of The Kingdom of Pontus.-Prelude:After the defeat of the Ptolemaic forces at the Battle of the Nile, Caesar left Egypt and travelled through Syria, Cilicia and Cappadocia to fight Pharnaces, son of Mithridates...
.
In consequence of the complaints of certain Galatian princes, Deiotarus was deprived of part of his dominions in 47 BC, but was pardoned by Caesar and allowed to retain the title of King. On the death of Mithridates of Pergamum, Tetrarch of the Trocmi
Trocmi
The Trocmii or Trocmi were one of the three ancient tribes of Galatia in central Asia Minor, together with the Tolistobogii and Tectosages, part of the possible Celtic group who moved from Macedonia into Asia Minor in the early third century BCE ....
, Deiotarus was a candidate for the vacancy. Other tetrarchs also pressed their claims; and, further, Deiotarus was accused at Rome in 45 BC by his grandson Castor of having attempted to assassinate Caesar when the latter, then Dictator, was his guest in Galatia. Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
, who entertained a high opinion of Deiotarus, whose acquaintance he had made when governor of Cilicia
Cilicia
In antiquity, Cilicia was the south coastal region of Asia Minor, south of the central Anatolian plateau. It existed as a political entity from Hittite times into the Byzantine empire...
, undertook his defence, the case being heard in Caesar's own house at Rome. Cicero to Caius Caesar: "... for it was king Deiotarus who raised your family, when abject and obscure, from darkness into light. Who ever heard of your father, or who he was, before they heard whose son-in-law he was?" The matter was allowed to drop for a time, and the assassination of Caesar prevented any final decision of the verdict being pronounced. In his speech Cicero briefly dismisses the charge of assassination, the main question being the distribution of the provinces, which was the real cause of the quarrels between Deiotarus and his relatives. After Caesar's death, Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
, for a large monetary consideration, publicly announced that, in accordance with instructions left by Caesar, Deiotarus was to resume possession of all the territory of which he had been deprived. When civil war again broke out, Deiotarus was persuaded to support the anti-Caesarian party of Brutus and Cassius, but after the Battle of Philippi
Battle of Philippi
The Battle of Philippi was the final battle in the Wars of the Second Triumvirate between the forces of Mark Antony and Octavian and the forces of Julius Caesar's assassins Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus in 42 BC, at Philippi in Macedonia...
in 42 BC, went over to the triumvirs. He remained in possession of his kingdom until his death at a very advanced age.
Deiotarus was the patron to whom the Greek agricultural manual by Diophanes of Nicaea
Diophanes of Nicaea
Diophanes of Nicaea or Diophanes the Bithynian was an ancient Greek agricultural writer of the 1st century BC. He was a native of or associated with the city of Nicaea in Bithynia ....
was dedicated.
He was married to Berenice, Princess of Pergamon, daughter of Attalus III Philomater Euergetes
Attalus III
Attalus III Philometor Euergetes was the last Attalid king of Pergamon, ruling from 138 BC to 133 BC....
, King of Pergamon
Pergamon
Pergamon , or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC...
, and wife Attalid (it is assumed that this link is a daughter since Attalus III is noted as dying without leaving heirs). They were the parents of Adobogiona, who Brogitarus, King of Galatia, who reigned concurrently with his father-in-law. Adobogiona and Brogitarus were the parents of Amyntas, Tetrarch of the Trocmi, King of Galatia
Amyntas of Galatia
Amyntas , Tetrarch of the Trocmi was a King of Galatia and several of the adjacent countries between 36 BC and 25 BC, mentioned by Strabo as contemporary with himself. He was the son of Brogitarix, King of Galatia and his wife, a Princess of Galatia. He seems to have first possessed Lycaonia, where...
.
Legacy
The Legio XXII DeiotarianaLegio XXII Deiotariana
Legio vigesima secunda Deiotariana was a Roman legion, levied approximately in 48 BC and disbanded during the Bar Kokhba revolt of 132–135...
, a Roman legion
Roman legion
A Roman legion normally indicates the basic ancient Roman army unit recruited specifically from Roman citizens. The organization of legions varied greatly over time but they were typically composed of perhaps 5,000 soldiers, divided into maniples and later into "cohorts"...
, traces its lineage back to Deiotarus. It was originally part of the Galatian Army, and the equivalent of three legions. After suffering a defeat it was considered just a single legion, and functioned as an informal Roman legion under Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
until Deiotarus' death, at which point it was incorporated into the Roman Army with its former king as its namesake.