User:HistoryofIran/Orontid dynasty

The Orontid dynasty was a hereditary Iranian dynasty, which established itself in Armenia, Sophene, and Commagene during the Achaemenid and Hellenistic period.

Background
The family was descended from Orontes I, a Bactrian nobleman, who served as a military officer of the Achaemenid Empire in the first half of the 4th-century BC.

Orontes claimed descent from the Persian magnate Hydarnes, one of the six companions of Darius the Great ((r. 522 – 486)). This claim is supported by Orontes' later marriage in 401 BC to Rhodogune, a daughter of Artaxerxes II ((r. 404 – 358)). Orontes was thus most likely descended from Hydarnes through his maternal line rather than his Bactrian paternal line. The Achaemenid satrapy of Armenia seems to have been a semi-hereditary fief of Hydarnes, due to his descendants ruling it until the Hellenistic period. From his maternal side, Orontes may have been related to two Persian noblemen also named Orontes, whom were prominent figures at the end of the 5th-century BC. One of them had deserted Cyrus the Younger (died 401 BC) during his attempt to take the throne from Artaxerxes II, and as a result was executed. The other Orontes reportedly had bad relations with Artaxerxes II's mother Parysatis, eventually being executed at her behest.

In Sophene
The Orontids were involved or revived certain local practices of their Persian satrapal descendants to make their small realm stand out. Furthermore, with the names of the royal members of the family including the names of their newfound cities, the Orontids emphasized their Achaemenid and Orontid royal dynastic aspirations, and also their Iranian cultural background.

Iranian cults were popular in Sophene amongst the nobility, who gave themselves theophoric Iranian names, and the peasantry, who sacrificed horses in the name of the goddess Anahita. Anahita was highly popular in the country, with animals such as cows and horses being regularly sacrificed in her name. The coins minted in Sophene depicted several figures, such as Herakles, winged thunderbolts and eagles. The iconography of Herakles may have been used as a representation of the Zoroastrian gods Verethragna or Ahura Mazda, similar to the Parthian Empire.

The Orontids founded cities such as Samosata and Arsamosata. They were named the "joy of" or "happiness of", which was a Orontid (and later Artaxiad) practice that recalled the Achaemenid royal discourse. Although the settlements founded by the Orontids demonstrate their Persian cultural and dynastic connection, they did not reuse Achaemenid or Seleucid sites.

The royal tombs erected by the Orontids played a role in the evolution of several Middle Iranian traditions. They created them in the style of a rock-cut tomb, thus greatly stressing their Persian royal connection, as well as recalling the stories of the Achaemenid necropolis near Persepolis.

In Commagene
Contrary to the Orontids of Sophene, the Orontids of Commagene preferred Hellenistic visual architectural forms instead of Persian.

The religious sanctuary established in Mount Nemrut was part of Antiochus' political program to revive the Persian traditions of Commagene. In order to do so, he merged and adjusted the political and religious traditions of Cappadocia, Pontus and Armenia. Mimicking the custom of the Mithridatic rulers of Pontus, Antiochus stressed his descent from the Achaemenids and Seleucids, and also claimed the royal legacy of Armenia. One of the essential parts of this identity was the newly established Greco-Iranian pantheon, which was worshipped at specific sanctuaries in Commagene.

The priests of Commagene were dressed as Persians, but spoke in Greek.

A deity of fate and time also appears in the inscription, which corresponds to the Iranian god Zurvan.