Kingdom of Pontus

Kingdom of Pontus
281 BC–62 AD
The Kingdom of Pontus at its height: before the reign of Mithridates VI (dark purple), after his early conquests (purple), and his conquests in the first Mithridatic wars (pink)
The Kingdom of Pontus at its height: before the reign of Mithridates VI (dark purple), after his early conquests (purple), and his conquests in the first Mithridatic wars (pink)
Status
  • Independent kingdom (281 – 63 BC)
  • Client kingdom of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire (eastern part of the kingdom; 63 BC – 62 AD)
CapitalAmaseia, Sinope
Common languagesGreek (official after 3rd century BC,[1] coastal cities)
Persian, Armenian (after 115 BC) and Anatolian languages (regional and dynastic)
Religion
Syncretic, incorporating Greek polytheism, Iranian religion, and local Anatolian religion.
GovernmentMonarchy
Basileus 
• 281–266 BC
Mithridates I Ktistes
• 266–250 BC
Ariobarzanes
• c. 250–220 BC
Mithridates II
• c. 220–185 BC
Mithridates III
• c. 185 – c. 170 BC
Pharnaces I
• c. 170 – 150 BC
Mithridates IV and Laodice
• c. 150 – 120 BC
Mithridates V Euergetes
• 120–63 BC
Mithridates VI Eupator
• 63–47 BC
Pharnaces II
• 47–37 BC
Darius
• 37 BC
Arsaces
• 37–8 BC
Polemon I
• 8 BC – 38 AD
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
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Antigonid dynasty
Roman Republic

Pontus (Greek: Πόντος Pontos) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus in modern-day Turkey, and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty of Persian origin,[2][3][4][5] which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty.[6][5] The kingdom was proclaimed by Mithridates I in 281 BC[7] and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BC.[8] The Kingdom of Pontus reached its largest extent under Mithridates VI the Great, who conquered Colchis, Cappadocia, Bithynia, the Greek colonies of the Tauric Chersonesos, and for a brief time the Roman province of Asia. After a long struggle with Rome in the Mithridatic Wars, Pontus was defeated.[9]

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]

  1. ^ Brian McGing, “PONTUS,” Encyclopædia Iranica, online edition, 2004, available at https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/pontus
  2. ^ The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, by B. C. McGing, p. 11
  3. ^ Children of Achilles: The Greeks in Asia Minor Since the Days of Troy, by John Freely, p. 69–70
  4. ^ Strabo of Amasia: A Greek Man of Letters in Augustan Rome, by Daniela Dueck, p. 3.
  5. ^ a b c McGing, Brian (2004). "Pontus". Encyclopaedia Iranica, online edition. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  6. ^ Bosworth, A. B.; Wheatley, P. V. (November 1998). "The origins of the Pontic house". The Journal of Hellenic Studies. 118: 155–164. doi:10.2307/632236. ISSN 2041-4099. JSTOR 632236. S2CID 162855144.
  7. ^ Strabo Geography 12.3
  8. ^ Östenberg, Ida (December 2013). "Veni Vidi Vici and Caesar's Triumph". Classical Quarterly. 63 (2): 819. doi:10.1017/S0009838813000281. ISSN 0009-8388. S2CID 170291549.
  9. ^ Kantor, Georgy (2012), "Mithradatic wars", The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, Blackwell Publishing, doi:10.1002/9781444338386.wbeah09172, ISBN 9781444338386
  10. ^ Children of Achilles: The Greeks in Asia Minor Since the Days of Troy, by John Freely, p. 69–70
  11. ^ The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, by B. C. McGing, p. 11

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