DEIOTARUS

This article appears in Volume V07, Page 933 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: DAH-DEM

DEIOTARUS , a tetrarch of

Galatia

GALATIA

(Gallo-Graecia) in

Asia

ASIA

Minor

, and a faithful ally of the Romans. He is first heard of at the beginning of the third Mithradatic war, when he drove out the troops of Mithradates under Eumachus from Phrygia. His most influential friend. was Pompey, who, when settling the affairs of

Asia

ASIA

(63 or 62 B.C.), rewarded him with the title of king and an increase of territory (Lesser Armenia). On the outbreak of the civil war, Delotarus naturally sided with his old patron Pompey, and after the battle of Pharsalus escaped with him to Asia. In the meantime Pharnaces, the son of Mithradates, had seized Lesser Armenia, and defeated Deiotarus near Nicopolis. Fortunately for Diotarus, Caesar at that time (47) arrived in Asia from

Egypt

EGYPT

, and was met by the tetrarch in the dress of a suppliant. Caesar pardoned him for having sided with Pompey, ordered him to resume his royal attire, and hastened against Pharnaces, whom he defeated at Zela. In consequence of the complaints of certain Galatian princes, Delotarus was deprived of part of his dominions, but allowed to retain the title of king. On the death of Mithradates of Pergamum, tetrarch of the Trocnii, Delotarus was a candidate for the vacancy. Other tetrarchs also pressed their claims; and, further, Delotarus was accused by his grandson Castor of having attempted to assassinate Caesar when the latter was his guest in

Galatia

GALATIA

. Cicero, who entertained a high

opinion

OPINION (Lat. opinio, from opinari, to think)

of Deiotarus, whose acquaintance he had made when

governor

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

of Cilicia, undertook his defence, the case being heard in Caesar's own

house

HOUSE
HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in
Gothic
- GOTHIC
it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

at Rome. The matter was allowed to drop for a time, and the assassination of Caesar prevented any final decision being pronounced. In his speech Cicero briefly dismisses the charge of assassination, the main question being the distribution of the provinces, which was the real cause of the quarrels between Delotarus and his relatives. After Caesar's death, Mark Antony, for a large monetary consideration, publicly announced that, in accordance with instructions left by Caesar, Delotarus was to resume possession of all the territory of which he had been deprived. When civil war again broke out, Delotarus was persuaded to support Brutus and

Cassius

, but after the battle of

Philippi

PHILIPPI (Turk. Filibejik)

went over to the triumvirs. He remained in possession of his kingdom till his death at a very advanced age.
See Cicero, Philippica, ii. 37; Ad jam. viii. to, ix. 12, xv. I, 2, 4; Ad Att. xiv. 1; De divin. i. 15, ii. 36, 37; De harusp. resp. 13, and above all Pro rege Deiotaro; Appian,. Bell. Mithrid. 75, 114; Bellum Alexandrinum, 34-41, 65-77; Dio

Cassius

xli. 63, xlii. 45, xlvii. 24, 48, xlviii. 33.

End of Article: DEIOTARUS

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/DAH_DEM/DEIOTARUS.html">
DEIOTARUS
</a>

(Previous)
DEIOCES (O771.6rc17s)

(Next)
DEIR, or DEIR

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email