page_title: Orontes I
section_title: Satrap of Mysia
hierarchical_section_title: Orontes I / Biography / Satrap of Mysia
caption_attribution_description: English: Orontes coin with running Achaemenid king
context_page_description: Orontes I or Yervand I was an Bactrian nobleman, who ruled as satrap of the Achaemenid satrapy of Armenia from 401 to 344 BC. He is regarded as the ancestor of the Orontid dynasty.
context_section_description: In 362 BC a great rebellion occurred in Anatolia, led by Datames, Satrap of Cappadocia (Revolt of the Satraps). Some sources say that it was Orontes who was chosen by the rebels as their leader. However, Orontes stayed loyal to king Artaxerxes II and aided in the collapse of the rebellion.  Apparently, he wanted to rule Anatolia and Armenia alone. He captured the city of Pergamon and sent bribes to Athens, where a decree seeking an alliance records his name.  He was able to fund these activities as he is recorded as having a personal fortune of 3,000 talents of silver.
  From around 362-361, Orontes is said to be "Satrap of Mysia", and there is various proof of his activity in the region and around Pergamon. 
  In 355 BC he rebelled against the new king of the Achaemenid Empire, Artaxerxes III. He still had possession of parts of western Anatolia.  He fought a battle against the satrap of Daskyleion and minted his own coins in Ionia, such as the one displayed in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris. He handed back Pergamon to the king.
  The kings of the Kingdom of Commagene claimed descent from Orontes I and also claimed Darius I of Persia as an ancestor, thanks to Orontes' marriage to Rhodogoune, daughter of Artaxerxes II who was a direct descendant of king Darius I.
  Xenophon's Anabasis mentions that the region near the river Centrites was defended by the Satrap of Armenia for Artaxerxes II and named Orontes son of Artasyrus who had Armenian contingents. Xenophon mentioned that he had a son called Tigranes. His successor was Darius III and after Codomannus these Satrapies were ruled by Orontes II. Whether he was the same person as Tigranes but had adopted the name Orontes or that they were brothers is not known.
caption: Orontes coin with running Achaemenid king. Legend OΡONTA (Orontes). Minted in Caria.
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