Glaphyra

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Glaphyra (?-died around 7) was a Princess of Cappadocia and daughter of King Archelaus of Cappadocia. Her mother is unknown, was born at an unknown date and raised in the first century BC. Her great grandfather King Archelaus of Cappadocia was the second husband of Greek Ptolemaic Queen Berenice IV of Egypt (they had no children).

Her first husband was prince Alexandros or Alexander, a son of the King of Judea Herod the Great from his wife Mariamne I. Glaphyra and Alexandros had three children, two sons Alexander and Tigranes and the last child is unknown. Alexandros was executed by his father in 7 BC. Glaphyra returned to her father with her children.

Her second husband was African King Juba II of Mauretania. Glaphyra and Juba met between 2 BC-2, when Juba accompanied Gaius Caesar as a member of advisory staff as they travelled to the Eastern Mediterranean. Juba’s first wife, Queen of Mauretania Cleopatra 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 wife Malthace.

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 from Mauretania.

Her sons Alexander and Tigranes from her first marriage returned to Cappadocia. They disinherited their Jewish heritage. A possible grandson of Tigranes is King Tigranes IV of Armenia. The source of Glaphyra’s life is from Roman Jewish historian Josephus.