GENEALOGIES, INVESTITURES AND DYNASTIC STRUGGLES IN THE KINGDOMS OF CAPPADOCIA AND COMMAGENE

Power transition from one ruler to the next is a crucial moment for a monarchy, potentially raising tension and producing instability. Dynasties of the ancient and modern world have therefore evolved strategies for the transition process and to justify the right of the heir to rule. The present paper explores the strategies of monarchic succession employed by two Hellenistic dynasties of Graeco-Iranian descent, which shared a similar fate. With the help of literary, epigraphic and visual sources we can identify to which mechanism of designation (adoption, abdication, co-regency) the dynasties of Cappadocia and Commagene resorted to legitimate the chosen heir. A couple of fragmentary and often neglected pieces of evidence provide a glimpse on the most significant moment in the ceremonies of royal investiture : the transfer of the diadem.