Etazeta of Bithynia

Etazeta (Greek: Εταζέτα; fl. 255 BC – 254 BC) was the second wife of Nicomedes I, king of Bithynia. After his death, she was a regent of Bithynia.^[1][2]

Etazeta of Bithynia
Queen regent of Bithynia
Regency	c. 255-254 BC
Predecessor	Nicomedes I
Successor	Ziaelas

Life

Nicomedes removed his sons by his first wife from the succession; instead, the throne would go to the children he had borne with Etazeta.^[3] Since Nicomedes and Etazeta's children were still very young, the king sought to strengthen his family's hold on the Bithynian throne by offering the guardianship of the infants to the sovereigns Ptolemy II of Egypt and Antigonus II of Macedonia. The city-states of Byzantium, Heraclea and Cius were added to the guardianship.^[4]

On the death of Nicomedes I in around 255 BC, Etazeta ruled on behalf of her infant sons. However, Nicomedes' first-born, Ziaelas, refused to accept his father's decision and started a war against his stepmother to conquer the kingdom.^[5] Etazeta tried to resist and married the former king's brother, but around 254 BC she was removed by Ziaelas and forced to flee to Macedon with her sons.^[6]

References

1. Clinton, Henry Fynes (1834). Fasti Hellenici: The Civil and Literary Chronology of Greece, from the Earliest Accounts to the Death of Augustus. University Press.
2. Gabelko, Oleg, "BITHYNIA AND CAPPADOCIA", The Hellenistic Court, The Classical Press of Wales, pp. 319–342, doi:10.2307/j.ctt1z27gr0.19, retrieved 2024-03-21
3. Delev, Peter (2015-03-16), Valeva, Julia; Nankov, Emil; Graninger, Denver (eds.), "From Koroupedion to the Beginning of the Third Mithridatic War (281–73 BCE)", A Companion to Ancient Thrace (1 ed.), Wiley, pp. 59–74, doi:10.1002/9781118878248.ch6, ISBN 978-1-4443-5104-0, retrieved 2024-03-21
4. Tsetskhladze, Gocha R.; Hargrave, James; Avram, Alexandru (2015). "The Danubian Lands between the Black, Aegean and Adriatic Seas : (7th Century BC-10th Century AD)": 1–583. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
5. Valverde, Luis Amela (2021-05-12). Varia Nummorum XIII (in Spanish). Punto Rojo Libros. ISBN 978-84-18829-96-3.
6. Valeva, Julia; Nankov, Emil; Graninger, Denver (2020-01-29). A Companion to Ancient Thrace. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-119-01618-2.

• Memnon, History of Heracleia

Preceded by Nicomedes I	King of Bithynia 255 BC – 254 BC	Succeeded by Ziaelas