Individual Details

Julia Iotapa

(85 - 117)

Wife of Galatian Roman Senator Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus
Julia Iotapa or Julia Iotape, sometimes known as Julia of Cilicia (born around 80-?) was a Cilician Princess who lived in the 1st century and 2nd century. She was the daughter to King Gaius Julius Alexander and Queen Julia Iotapa of Cetis. Her eldest brothers were Gaius Julius Agrippa and Gaius Julius Alexander Berenicianus.

Surviving inscriptions on her family reveal that her family were related to important members of Asian, non-Jewish and Jewish aristocracy. She was of Jewish, Nabataean, Edomite, Greek, Armenian, Medes and Persian origins. Her paternal grandparents were King Tigranes VI of Armenia and his wife Opgalli.


Through Tigranes, she was a descendant of King Archelaus of Cappadocia, King of Judea Herod the Great and his wife Mariamne. Iotapa along with her family and paternal relatives were among the last known descendants of the Herodian Dynasty. She was an apostate to Judaism. It is unlikely that Iotapa attempted to exert influence on Judean Politics. Her maternal grandparents were King Antiochus IV of Commagene and Queen Julia Iotapa.

The Kingdom of Cetis was a small client state in the Roman Empire. Cetis was a small region in Cilicia that was previously ruled by her Cappadocian royal ancestors and Antiochus IV. The city in Cilicia Elaiussa Sebaste was a part of the Kingdom. When her parents married in Rome in 58, then Roman Emperor Nero crowned his parents as monarchs and gave them that region to rule. She was born, raised and educated in Cetis.

Iotapa married the Galatian Roman Senator from Anatolia, Gaius Julius Quadratus Bassus. Iotapa bore Bassus a daughter called Julia Quadratilla (b. ca 100). She married to Gaius Julius Lupus Titus Vibius Varus Laevillus (ca 95 - aft. 132), Quaestor in Asia in 132.

Events

Birth85
Death117Rome, Italy

Families