Putative descent from some of the kings of ancient Persia, Armenia, Lydia, Commagene, etc

through Byzantium, Rus and Hungary

Various Aryan-speaking tribes occupied the hill country of northern Iran in the centuries before 700 BC; they gradually coalesced into two main groups, which the Bible calls the Medes and the Persians. These were united into the Persian empire during the seventh century BC.

1. Achaemenes (Hakaimanish), semi-legendary founder of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persian (Parthian) kings, lived around 700-650 BC and ruled the northwestern region of present-day Iran, around Lake Urmia. Plato mentions him, and says he was the son of the hero Perseus and the mythical Andromeda (no doubt because 'Perseus' sounds like 'Persia').

2. Teispes (Shispish) , more likely a real person, led the first expansion of the Parthian tribe; he conquered the city of Anshan from the Elamites and made it his capital (about 640 BC).

3. Cyrus (Khourush) I of Anshan; ruled before 600 BC - the dates are uncertain. He was an ally of the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (668-627)

4. Cambyses I of Anshan, died 560 or 559 BC. He unified the Medes and Persians, thus laying the foundation for the Persian empire. He married Mandane of the Mermnad family, daughter of the defeated Astyarges, King of Media (by the Lydian princess Aryenis), son of Cyaxares, son of Ardys, King of Lydia c644-c625, son of semi-mythical Gyges [c680-644] (Plato says this Gyges had a magic ring, which made him invisible and helped him seize power in Lydia from a previous ruler). Mandane was an aunt of King Croesus of Lydia, who despite all the legends about him was a very real person.

5. Cyrus II, "the Great" (pictured above), had three children: Cambyses, Smerdis and Atossa, who married Darius the Great (see below). His life history is well known and thoroughly recorded elsewhere - he was the first great conqueror of antiquity, overthrowing Babylon and liberating Judaea, among other accomplishments; the Old Testament gives him a good press. Killed in battle in 529, he was probably 61 years old. He was succeeded by his two sons, Cambyses and then Smerdis; and finally by his son-in-law Darius.

6. Atossa, married her cousin Darius, who became Great King of Persia after assassinating his wife's brother. Darius (522-486) is known as "the Great" and claimed descent from Achaemenes, though he may have invented the connection to legitimize his rule. He was known for his toleration of the many ethnic groups and religions under his control, and built a highway system as well as the royal capital of Persepolis. He tried to invade Greece but was defeated at the battle of Marathon in 490 BC. He was succeeded by his son by Atossa:

7. Xerxes I (Khashayar, born about 520, ruled 486-464) suppressed a revolt in Egypt and then again tried to invade Greece, winning the battle of Thermopylae and then burning Athens. But the battles of Salamis and Plataea forced him to withdraw (479). In his later years the Persian empire began to decline.

8. Artaxerxes (Artakhshatra, 464-425) had to deal with a number of uprisings, and is considered a weak ruler; but the Old Testament treats him well, because he authorized the revival of Judaism and the renovation of the Temple in Jerusalem (see Ezra and Nehemiah).

9. Darius II (425-404) had to deal with further revolts, and lost Egypt altogether.

10. Artaxerxes II (died 359) made peace with Sparta; several of the western satraps rebelled against him and established virtual independence. Real power was in the hands of his vizier Pharnabazus. On his death there was a power struggle within the royal family and many were killed; the survivor was his son Artaxerxes III. A sister,

11. Rhodogunde, married Orontes II, the satrap of Armenia; they had a son:

12. Orontes III, made himself King of Armenia in revolt against Persia, 331 BC.

13. Mithranes I (died c318)

14. Orontes IV (died c260)

15. Samos I (ruled briefly around 260 BC)

16. Arsames I (c259-c228)

17. Xerxes I (c228-c212), married Antiochis, daughter of the Seleucid king Antiochus II (see Diadochi). The elder son Zariadres became King of Armenia; the younger, Ptolemy I, was King of Commagene, just west of Armenia. (Or Ptolemy may have been a grandson; note the date discrepancy.) Commagene was a province of the Seleucid empire and Ptolemy was its governor; in 163 BC he revolted and declared independence.

18. Ptolemy I of Commagene married Apama, daughter of King Prusias II of Bithynia by Apama, daughter of Philip V of Macedon (see Diadochi).

19. Samos I Theosebes succeeded his father in about 130 BC and died about 100 BC. His wife's name is recorded as Isias Philostorgos, but we know nothing about her origins.

20. Mithridates I of Commagene was one of the great rulers of Asia Minor in the last century BC. He established a magnificent capital, Samosata, and built impressive monuments that still exist today. He died in 70 or 69 BC. His wife was Laodice Thea of the Seleucid family, daughter of Antiochus VIII Philometer Gryphus and Cleopatra Tryphaena (daughter of Ptolemy VIII of Egypt; see Diadochi).

21. a daughter, married Orodes II of Persia (ruled 57-38 BC) of the Arsacid dynasty. This king fought a long war against the Romans, defeating them at the key battle of Carrhae in 53, and forcing the Armenians to abandon their alliance with Rome. See below for continued descent.

The Arsacids were the second royal family of ancient Persia, after the Achaemenids. The earliest known ancestor was:

1. Arsaces, a Seleucid satrap who first appears around 250 BC, led a successful revolt in western Parthia against Antiochus II of Syria and ruled as Arsaces I from 238 to 211. In this early period there are several other Parthian rulers with overlapping or conflicting dates (Tiridates, Artabanus) who may or may not have been members of this family.

2. Arsaces II (211-191 BC) was defeated by Antiochus III and forced to submit to Seleucid overlordhip.

3. Priapatios or Phriapites (191-176 BC), also known as Arsaces III, again declared independence and was attacked by Antiochus III but was able to preserve Parthia's freedom. He was succeeded by a son Phraates I (176-171) who apparently left no children and was succeeded by his brother:

4. Mithridates I (171-138 BC), expanded his empire westward into Mesopotamia and as far east as Bactria (modern Afghanistan). He was a strong advocate of Hellenism and called himself "Philhellene" on his coins. He built the splendid capital of Ctesiphon (in modern Iraq) and defeated Demetrius II of Syria (who then married his daughter Rhodogunde; we are descended from a different wife: see Diadochi). His son Phraates II (138-127) succeeded at a very young age and defeated Antiochus VII of Syria, but was killed in battle against the Scythians and left no children. The next king was thus Mithridates' brother:

4. Artabanus I (127-124), killed in battle against the Tocharians. His son was Mithridates II, the Great (123-88 BC), who left no descendants. He was followed by kings named Gotarzes and Orodes, relationship unclear. But eventually the throne fell to Artabanus' younger son:

5. Sinatruces or Sanatroikes (77-70 BC), reportedly about eighty years old when the nobles made him King to end the civil unrest that followed Mithridates' death.

6. Phraates III (70-57), fought against the Roman general Pompey; he was killed in a comspiracy by his own sons, Mithridates III (57-54) and Orodes.

7. Orodes II (57-38), married the daughter of Mithridates I of Commagene (see above).

8. Phraates IV (38-2 BC) killed all his thirty or so brothers to attain the throne, and married an Italian slave girl named Musa or Thesmusa given him by Marc Antony. He was in turn killed by her and their son, Phraatakes or Phraates V (2 BC - 4AD), who was deposed by the nobles and later replaced by his brother Vonones (8-12 AD) who was also deposed and finally suceeded by yet another brother Artabanus, probably not Thesmusa's son.

9. Artabanus II (10-38) spent his entire reign fighting the Romans, and consciously rejected Hellenism in favor of traditional Persian culture; this trend continued with his descendants. His successor was probably but not certainly his son Vardanes I (40-45), who was succeeded by a brother:

10. Gotarzes II (45-51).

11. Vonones II ruled very briefly in 51 AD, and was succeeded by his son or (more likely) brother:

11. Vologaeses I (51-55 and 58-78), who restored stability to the empire but was overthrown by his own family. His son was probably:

12. Pacorus II (78-105), who had to fight various relatives for the throne but eventually won out. His son was:

13. Vologaeses III (105-147), whose reign was relatively peaceful and prosperous. His son was:

14. Vologaeses IV (147-190) fought two wars with the Romans and invaded Armenia. He married a daughter of Pharasmenes III of Iberia (a branch of the Armenian royal house, descended from the Diadochi and the Hasmonaeans, among others: see Iberia). Their sons were:

15. Vologaeses V (208-228), Artabanus IV (216-224), who fought each other for the throne and weakened the empire until it was conquered by the Sassanians (the next dynasty); and thirdly Khosroes I of Armenia, who was captured by the Romans, held hostage, and eventually made client-king of Armenia (191-216), recently conquered by Rome. The fourth son, Rev, became King of Iberia (189-216). See both Armenia and Iberia.

16. Khosroes II "the Valiant" (279-287) was killed by his brother Tiridates III, but later succeeded by his son Tiran, better known as:

17. Tiridates IV, "the Great," (298-330), who converted to Christianity and thus made Armenia the first Christian nation. His wife was Ashken, daughter of Ashkhadar, the leader of the barbarian Alans (who were then invading Asia Minor; the marriage was diplomatic). This family claimed descent from the ancient kings of Assyria (unlikely); the Alans are among the ancestors of today's Ossetians.

18. Khosroes III (330-339) had a sister who married Hesychius (Yusik), the primate of Armenia (342-348); see Gregorids). Khosroes' son was:

19. Tiridates V (339-350); whose sisters Varazdukht and Bambishen also married into the Gregorid line. See the Gregorids for the continued line of descent. Tiridates' male line continued down to Artaxias IV (422-428) but this branch of the family seems to have left no later descendants.

continue with Gregorids