In his early reign Archelaus married what is believed to be his first wife, an unnamed Princess from Armenia, who died by 8 BC. There is a possibility that she may have been a distant relative of his, as she may have been a daughter of King Artavasdes II of Armenia (reigned 53 BC-34 BC) of the Artaxiad Dynasty, Artavasdes II was the father of the future Armenian Kings Artaxias II and Tigranes III. The father of Artavasdes II was Tigranes the Great, who married Cleopatra of Pontus, a daughter of Mithridates VI from his first wife, his sister Laodice, thus Artavasdes II was a maternal grandson to Mithridates VI and Laodice. With his first wife, Archelaus had two children: a daughter called Glaphyra through whom he had further descendants, and a son called Archelaus of Cilicia.