Arsameia ad Nymphaios was an ancient city and the royal residence of Kings of Kommagene. It was re - founded by Armenian King Arsames (255–225 BC), the Antiochus I Theos of Commagene (r. 70-38 BC) ancestors, in the third century BC (according to the Inscription of Antiochus I). This Arsames can be identified with the Arsames whom Polyaenus in his Stratagems in Wars described as an Armenian dynast supporting the rebel Seleucid Antiochus Hierax in the mid-3nd century - Antiochus, having revolted from his brother Seleucus, made his escape into Mesopotamia; and in his march over the Armenian mountains he was joined by Arsabes1. Arsames fortified the site.
Sources:
- Friedrich Karl Dörner, Theresa Goell: Arsameia am Nymphaios: Die Ausgrabungen im Hierothesion des Mithradates Kallinikos von 1953-1956, Gebr. Mann, 1963
- http://www.burgenwelt.org/tuerkei/yeni_kale/object.php
- Getzel M. Cohen, The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa, University of California Pres 2006, pp. 153
References
- ↑Polyaenus' Stratagems 4,17 - http://www.attalus.org/translate/polyaenus4B.html