Orontes I in the context of "Commagene"

The Great Satraps' Revolt, or the Revolts of the Satraps (c. 370-c.360 BCE), was a rebellion in the Achaemenid Empire of several satraps in western Anatolia against the authority of the Great King Artaxerxes II (r. 404-359/8). The Satraps who revolted were Datames, Ariobarzanes, Orontes, Autophradates, and Mausolus. The timing of their revolts varied, as did the circumstances that induced them to rebel. Though often portrayed as a general uprising, there was little coordination among them and at no time did they actually threaten Artaxerxes directly. Their efforts were aimed at secession rather than a takeover of the Empire.

Hydarnes (Old Persian: 𐎻𐎡𐎭𐎼𐎴, romanized: Vidṛna), also known as Hydarnes the Elder, was a Persian nobleman, who was one of the seven conspirators who overthrew the Pseudo-Smerdis. His name is the Greek transliteration of the Old Persian name Vidṛna, which may have meant "he who knows the guilt/wrong".

He was seemingly good friends with Aspathines, who invited him to join the conspiracy, which included the noblemen Intaphernes, Otanes, Gobryas, Megabyzus, and the Achaemenid prince Darius, who was its leader. For his services, Hydarnes was seemingly given the Achaemenid satrapy of Armenia as a semi-hereditary fief, since his descendants governed it until the Hellenistic period. Orontes I (died 344 BC), the ancestor of the Orontid dynasty, was descended from Hydarnes. According to some Persepolis tablets, Hydarnes served as the satrap of Media under Darius.

Artasyrus (also spelled Artasouras; Old Iranian: Arta-sūra) was a Bactrian nobleman in the Achaemenid Empire, who was the father of Orontes I (died 344 BC), the satrap of the Armenia and ancestor of the Orontid dynasty. The career of Artasyrus is obscure. According to the Greek historian Plutarch, he held the high-ranking office of the "King's Eye". He has been suggested to be the same person as the namesake Iranian noble who participated in the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC. He and Orontes I are the only Bactrians who are known to have occupied high offices under the Achaemenid Empire. Bactrians that settled in other parts of the empire either did so by their own will or as garrison-colonists.

Rhodogune was a Persian princess from the Achaemenid dynasty, who was a daughter of Artaxerxes II (r. 404–358 BC).

Following the Battle of Cunaxa in 401 BC, she was given by her father in marriage to the Bactrian nobleman Orontes I, who was the satrap of Armenia. Their marriage is mentioned in one of the stelae of Mount Nemrut, erected by their descendant Antiochus I of Commagene (r. 70–31 BC) in order to highlight the Commagenian claim to Achaemenid ancestry.