Orontobates

Orontobates(Old Persian:*Arvantapātaʰ,Ancient Greek:ὈροντοβάτηςOrontobátēs;lived 4th century BC) was aPersian,who married the daughter ofPixodarus,the usurpingsatrapofCaria,and was sent by the king ofPersiato succeed him.

Biography

On the approach ofAlexander the Greatof Macedon,(334 BC) Orontobates andMemnon of Rhodesentrenched themselves inHalicarnassus(modernBodrum). But at last, despairing of defending it, they set fire to the town, and under cover of the conflagration crossed over toCos,whither they had previously removed their treasures. In addition to the island of Cos, Orontobates, retained control of the citadel at Salmacis, and the townsMyndus,Caunus,Theraand Callipolis together withTriopium.

Next year, while atSoli, Cilicia,Alexander learnt that Orontobates had been defeated in a great battle byPtolemyandAsander.It is natural to infer that the places which Orontobates held did not long hold out after his defeat.

An officer of the name of Orontobates was present in the army ofDarius IIIat thebattle of Gaugamela(331 BC), being one of the commanders of the troops drawn from the shores of thePersian Gulf.Whether he was the same or a different person from the preceding, we have no means of knowing. We are not told that the latter was killed as well as defeated.

It is likely that Alexander the Great knew Orontobates intimately as there was a princess between the two. In his youth Alexander wanted to marry Ada II, the daughter of Pixodarus but this was negated by his father. Incidentally Orontobates married a daughter of Pixodarus, who was also called Adaand probably the same as Ada II. Thus, the relation between the two may have been far more complex than what Justin or even Plutarch knew.

Sources

• Smith, William(editor);Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology,"Orontobates (1)",Boston,(1867)
• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Smith, William,ed. (1870). "Orontobates".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.