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| O:Diademed head of Ariarathes VIII | R:Athena holdingNike withwreath and resting hand onshield,spear behind; T left, Λ right |
| Silverdrachm struck inEusebeia 99-98 BC B inexergue is agreek numeral meaning 2nd year of reign | |
Ariarathes VIII Epiphanes (Ancient Greek:Ἀριαράθης Ἐπιφανής, Ariaráthēs Epiphanḗs; reigned c. 101–c. 96 BC and in 95), King ofCappadocia, was the second son ofAriarathes VI of Cappadocia and wifeLaodice of Cappadocia. Ariarathes VIII had an older sister calledNysa and an older brother calledAriarathes VII of Cappadocia.
Ariarathes ascended to the throne when the Cappadocian nobleman rebelled against his maternal uncle, KingMithridates VI of Pontus and his son, the puppet KingAriarathes IX of Cappadocia. He was speedily driven out of the kingdom by Mithridates VI, and shortly afterwards died a natural death.
The death of both sons of Ariarathes VI meant that the Cappadocian royal family was extinct. So Mithridates VI placed upon the Cappadocian throne his own son Ariarathes IX, who was only eight years old. However, KingNicomedes III of Bithynia sent an embassy toRome to lay claim to the Cappadocian throne for a youth, whom, he pretended, was a third son of Ariarathes VI and Laodice. According to Justin, Mithridates VI also, with equal shamelessness, sent an embassy to Rome to assert that the youth, whom he had placed upon the throne, was a descendant ofAriarathes V of Cappadocia, who fell in the war against KingEumenes III of Pergamon. TheRoman Senate, however, did not assign the kingdom to either but granted liberty to the Cappadocians and, in 95, ordered to depose Ariarathes IX. After a short period of direct Pontic rule and a brief restoration of Ariarathes VIII, an attempt to restore a Cappadocian republic was made by the Roman Senate. As the people wished for a king, the Romans allowed them to choose whom they pleased, and their choice fell uponAriobarzanes I.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Smith, William, ed. (1870). "Ariarathes (VIII)".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. p. 285.
| Preceded by | King of Cappadocia 101 BC – 96 BC | Succeeded by |