- Glaphyra
Glaphyra (died around 7) was a Princess of
Cappadocia and daughter of KingArchelaus of Cappadocia . Her mother is unknown, was born at an unknown date and raised in the 1st century BC. Her great grandfather King Archelaus of Cappadocia was the second husband of GreekPtolemaic QueenBerenice IV of Egypt (they had no children).Her first husband was prince Alexander of Judea, a son of the King of Judea
Herod the Great from his wife Mariamne I. Glaphyra and Alexander had three children, two sons Alexander and Tigranes and the last child is unknown. Alexander was executed by his father in 7 BC. Glaphyra returned to her father with her children.Her second husband was African King
Juba II ofMauretania . Glaphyra and Juba met between 2 BC-2, when Juba accompaniedGaius Caesar as a member of advisory staff as they travelled to the EasternMediterranean . Juba’s first wife, Queen of MauretaniaCleopatra Selene II died in 6. Glaphyra and Juba married later that year or 7.Glaphyra became Queen of Mauretania and a stepmother to Juba’s children from his first marriage,
Ptolemy of Mauretania and Drusilla of Mauretania. Their marriage was brief. According to archaeological evidence, there is no trace of Glaphyra’s name in North African inscriptions.During her second marriage, she fell in love with King of Judea
Herod Archelaus . Herod Archelaus was a half brother to her first husband and another son to Herod the Great from his wifeMalthace .When Archelaus and Glaphyra fell in love, they both divorced their partners. Although Archelaus and Glaphyra married, their marriage was considered immoral by the Jews. The Jews consider a wife to marry a former brother-in-law immoral. The marriage between Glaphyra and Archelaus was brief, as Glaphyra died soon after she arrived in
Judea fromMauretania .Her sons Alexander and Tigranes from her first marriage returned to Cappadocia. They disinherited their Jewish heritage. Glaphyra from her first marriage had a grandchild, the child from Alexander's marriage, who was Julius Tigranes, who would be King of
Armenia under theRoman Emperor Nero . The source of Glaphyra’s life is from Roman Jewish historianJosephus .ources
* Jewish Encyclopaedia.com
* josephus.yorku.ca/pd/ilan2002.pdf
* http://www.geocities.com/christopherjbennett/ptolemies/ptolemies_selene_ii.htm
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