Kingdom of Pontus
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Kingdom of Pontus | |||||||||
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281 BC–62 AD | |||||||||
Status |
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Capital | Amaseia, Sinope | ||||||||
Common languages | Greek (official after 3rd century BC,[1] coastal cities) Pythodorida | ||||||||
• 38 AD – 62 AD | Polemon II | ||||||||
History | |||||||||
• Founded by Mithridates I | 281 BC | ||||||||
• Conquered by Pompey of the Roman Republic, remained as a client state (eastern part of the kingdom). | 63 BC | ||||||||
• Annexed by the Roman Empire under Emperor Nero. | 62 AD | ||||||||
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Pontus (
As the greater part of the kingdom lay within the region of Cappadocia, which in early ages extended from the borders of Cilicia to the Euxine (Black Sea),[citation needed] the kingdom as a whole was at first called 'Cappadocia by Pontus' or 'Cappadocia by the Euxine', but afterwards simply 'Pontus', the name Cappadocia henceforth being used to refer to the southern half of the region previously included under that name.[citation needed]
The kingdom had three cultural strands, which often fused together: Greek (mostly on the coast), Persian and Anatolian,[10][5] with Greek becoming the official language in the 3rd century BC.[11]
Features of Pontus
The Kingdom of Pontus was divided into two distinct areas: the coastal region and the Pontic interior. The coastal region bordering the Black Sea was separated from the mountainous inland area by the
The division between coast and interior was also cultural. The coast was mainly Greek and focused on sea trade. The interior was occupied by the Anatolian Cappadocians and Paphlagonians ruled by an Iranian aristocracy that went back to the Persian empire. The interior also had powerful temples with large estates. The gods of the Kingdom were mostly syncretic, with features of local gods along with Persian and Greek deities. Major gods included the Persian
Sun gods were particularly popular, with the royal house being identified with the Persian god Ahuramazda of the Achaemenid dynasty; both
History
Mithridatic dynasty of Cius
The region of Pontus was originally part of the Persian satrapy of
Kingdom of Pontus
We know little of Ariobarzanes' short reign, except that when he died his son Mithridates II (c. 250—189) became king and was attacked by the Galatians. Mithridates II received aid from Heraclea Pontica, who was also at war with the Galatians at this time. Mithridates went on to support Antiochus Hierax against his brother Seleucus II Callinicus. Seleucus was defeated in Anatolia by Hierax, Mithridates, and the Galatians. Mithridates also attacked Sinope in 220 but failed to take the city. He married Seleucus II's sister and gave his daughter in marriage to Antiochus III, to obtain recognition for his new kingdom and create strong ties with the Seleucid Empire. The sources are silent on Pontus for the years following the death of Mithridates II, when his son Mithridates III ruled (c. 220–198/88).[19]
His successor,
Because both the sons of Mithridates V, Mithridates VI and Mithridates Chrestus, were still children, Pontus now came under the regency of his wife Laodice. She favored Chrestus, and Mithridates VI escaped the Pontic court. Legend would later say this was the time he traveled through Asia Minor, building his resistance to poisons and learning all of the languages of his subjects. He returned in 113 BC to depose his mother; she was thrown into prison, and he eventually had his brother killed.[23]
Mithridates VI Eupator
Mithridates VI Eupator, 'the Good Father', followed a decisive anti-Roman agenda, extolling Greek and Iranian culture against ever-expanding Roman influence. Rome had recently created the province of Asia in Anatolia, and it had also rescinded the region of Phrygia Major from Pontus during the reign of Laodice. Mithridates began his expansion by inheriting
At the time, Rome was fighting the
The First Mithridatic War
A Roman army under
In the summer of 89 BC, Mithridates invaded Bithynia and defeated Nicomedes and Aquillius in battle. He moved swiftly into Roman Asia and resistance crumbled; by 88 he had obtained the surrender of most of the newly created province. He was welcomed in many cities, where the residents chafed under Roman
In
Sulla now headed north, seeking the fertile plains of Boeotia to supply his army. At the Battle of Chaeronea, Sulla inflicted severe casualties on Archelaus, who nevertheless retreated and continued to raid Greece with the Pontic fleet. Archelaus regrouped and attacked a second time at the Battle of Orchomenus in 85 BC but was once again defeated and suffered heavy losses. As a result of the losses and the unrest they stirred in Asia Minor, as well as the presence of the Roman army now campaigning in Bithynia, Mithridates was forced to accept a peace deal. Mithridates and Sulla met in 85 BC at Dardanus. Sulla decreed that Mithridates had to surrender Roman Asia and return Bithynia and Cappadocia to their former kings. He also had to pay 2,000 talents and provide ships. Mithridates would retain the rest of his holdings and become an ally of Rome.[29]
Second and Third Mithridatic wars
The treaty agreed with Sulla was not to last. From 83 to 82 BC Mithridates fought against and defeated
The
In the summer of 69 Lucullus invaded Armenian territory, marching with 12,000 men through Cappadocia into
In response to increasing pirate activity in the eastern Mediterranean, the senate granted Pompey extensive proconsular Imperium throughout the Mediterranean in 67 BC. Pompey eliminated the pirates, and in 66 he was assigned command in Asia Minor to deal with Pontus. Pompey organized his forces, close to 45,000 legionaries, including Lucullus' troops, and signed an alliance with the Parthians, who attacked and kept Tigranes busy in the east. Mithridates massed his army, some 30,000 men and 2,000–3,000 cavalry, in the heights of Dasteira in lesser Armenia. Pompey fought to encircle him with earthworks for six weeks, but Mithridates eventually retreated north. Pompey pursued and managed to catch his forces by surprise in the night, and the Pontic army suffered heavy casualties. After the battle, Pompey founded the city of Nicopolis. Mithridates fled to Colchis, and later to his son Machares in the Crimea in 65 BC. Pompey now headed east into Armenia, where Tigranes submitted to him, placing his royal diadem at his feet. Pompey took most of Tigranes' empire in the east but allowed him to remain as king of Armenia. Meanwhile, Mithridates was organizing a defense of the Crimea when his son Pharnaces led the army in revolt; Mithridates was forced to commit suicide or was assassinated.[33]
Roman province and client kingdoms
Most of the western half of Pontus and the Greek cities of the coast, including Sinope, were annexed by Rome directly as part of the Roman province of
Coinage
Although the Pontic kings claimed descent from the Persian royal house, they generally acted as Hellenistic kings and portrayed themselves as such in their coins, mimicking Alexander's royal stater.[15]
Military
The
The navy was organized in a similar fashion as the army. While the kingdom itself provided the main contingent of ships, a small portion represented the Greek cities. The crewmen either came from the various tribes of the kingdom, or were of Greek origin.[35]
See also
Notes
- ^ Brian McGing, “PONTUS,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2004, available at https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/pontus
- ^ The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, by B. C. McGing, p. 11
- ^ Children of Achilles: The Greeks in Asia Minor Since the Days of Troy, by John Freely, p. 69–70
- ^ Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome, by Daniela Dueck, p. 3.
- ^ a b c d McGing, Brian (2004). "Pontus". Encyclopaedia Iranica, online edition. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- S2CID 162855144.
- ^ Strabo Geography 12.3
- S2CID 170291549.
- ISBN 9781444338386
- ^ Children of Achilles: The Greeks in Asia Minor Since the Days of Troy, by John Freely, p. 69–70
- ^ The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, by B. C. McGing, p. 11
- ^ Crook, Lintott & Rawson, The Cambridge Ancient History. Volume IX. The Last Age of the Roman Republic, 146–43 B.C., p. 133–136.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, p. 137.
- ^ David Ulansey, The Origins of the Mithraic Mysteries, p. 89.
- ^ a b B. C. McGing, The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, p. 10–11.
- ^ Xenophon "Cyropaedia", VIII 8.4
- ^ Appian "the Mithridatic wars", II
- ^ McGing, 16–17.
- ^ McGing, 17–23.
- ^ Polybius "Histories", XXIV. 1, 5, 8, 9 XXV. 2
- ^ Polybius, XXXIII.12
- ^ McGing, 36–39.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, p. 133.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, p. 137–138.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 141–144.
- ^ Appian, II
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 146–49.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 150–54.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 155–60.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 229–36.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 237–39.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 240–44.
- ^ Cambridge Ancient v. 9, 249–54.
- ^ John Hazel "Who's who in the Greek world", p. 179.
- ^ a b Stefanidou Vera, "Kingdom of Pontus", 2008, Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Asia Minor
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Sulla, 16.7
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Sulla, 18.5
- ^ The Cambridge Companion to the Hellenistic World by Glenn R. Bugh, p. 272
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Sulla, 15.1
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Lucullus. 7.4
Bibliography
Modern sources
- Crook, John; Lintott, Andrew; Rawson, Elizabeth, eds. (1992). The Cambridge ancient history. Vol. 9 (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. OCLC 121060.
- Hazel, John (2002). Who's who in the Roman World. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-29162-0.
- McGing, B. C. (1986). The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-07591-7.
Ancient sources
- Polybius, the histories.
- Appian, the foreign wars.
- Memnon of Heraclea, history of Heraclea.
- Strabo, Geographica.
- Plutarch, Parallel lives. 'Demetrius'.