Laodice III

Laodice III (Greek: Λαοδίκη) also known as Laodika, was a princess of Pontus and a Seleucid queen. She was regent for her first born son, Antiochus, during the Anabase expedition of her husband, Antiochus III the Great, between 212 and 206 BC. Antiochus III created a royal cult dedicated to her in 193 BC. In 192 BC she was pushed out of political life due to her husband's remarriage. Her last known activities are documented in 177–176 BC and relate to the court of her son, Seleucus IV. Biography She was a daughter of King Mithridates II of Pontus and his wife Laodice. Her sister was Laodice of Pontus and her brother was Mithridates III of Pontus. Laodice married Antiochus III around 221 BC in a ceremony at Zeugma and named queen at Antioch. Polybius states that she was promised to Antiochus III as “a virgin and aforenamed as wife to the king”. The fact that her parents named her ‘Laodice’ in the Seleucid female tradition suggests that her parents intended this marriage from her birth, and named her accordingly. Like her sisters, her marriage was part of a diplomatic strategy to strengthen relations between the Seleucids and Pontus. Laodice gave birth to her eldest child, Antiochus, while her husband Antiochus III set out his expedition against Molon. During her marriage, it is believed that Laodice and her children sometimes followed Antiochus during his expeditions throughout his empire.