[3] He was the first-born son and namesake of the Roman Client Ruler and High Priest Archelaus of the temple state of Comana, Cappadocia and the hetaera Glaphyra.

[7] Chronologically, his paternal grandfather may have been a maternal grandson of the Pontic King—his father Archelaus, the favorite general of Mithridates VI, may have married one of his monarch's daughters.

[8] In 47 BC the Roman Dictator Gaius Julius Caesar after the conclusion of his military victory against the Triumvir Pompey, deprived and deposed his father of his office of high priest and rule over Comana.

[3] Glaphyra's powerful influence can be demonstrated by contemporary invective, dating from around the time of the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, especially certain sexually frank and famous verses which the future Emperor Augustus composed about Antony's affair.

In his early reign Archelaus married what is believed to be his first wife,[17] an unnamed princess from Armenia,[17] who died by 8 BC.

In 25 BC, Augustus assigned Archelaus to rule Cilicia Trachea, the harbor city of Elaiussa Sebaste,[24] as well as parts of the surrounding Cilician coast and Armenia Minor.

[21] By giving Archelaus all these extra territories to govern, Augustus was able to eliminate piracy[24] and build a more solid bulwark against Parthia.

Archelaus renamed a village, Garsaura, to Archelaïs,[26] turning it into an administrative centre, which later became a colony under the Roman Emperor Claudius.

At some point during the reign of Augustus, Archelaus had a temporary mental illness which resulted in the appointment of a guardian until he recovered.

Their marriage arrangement was doubtless orchestrated by Augustus in order to bind together the royal houses of Anatolia as surrogates for Roman suzerainty.

[21] Despite this, Archelaus gave greater attention to Gaius Caesar, one of Augustus' grandsons and his heir apparent, eventually arousing Tiberius' jealousy.

[15] Between 2 BC–6 AD, Tiberius was living on the Greek island of Rhodes, while Gaius Caesar was in the Eastern Mediterranean performing various political and military duties on behalf of Augustus.

[30] In Archelaus' final year, there was a shortage of funds for military pay and Tiberius wanted to convert Cappadocia into a Roman province.