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Pontus (gebied)
Pontus is het centrale deel van de Zwarte-Zeekust van Klein-Azië.
De naam stamt onder andere af van een van de generaals van Alexander de Grote die het rijk
na Alexanders dood stichtte in het noorden van wat nu Turkije is. Het rijk werd later door
Julius Caesar veroverd voor Rome.
Geography
The Black Sea region, loosely called Pontus by various scholars, has a steep, rocky coast with
rivers that cascade through the gorges of the coastal ranges. A few larger rivers, those cutting
back through the Pontic Mountains (Doğu Karadeniz Dağları), have tributaries that flow in
broad, elevated basins. Access inland from the coast is limited to a few narrow valleys
because mountain ridges, with elevations of 1,525 to 1,800 m in the west and 3,000 to 4,000
m in the east in Kaçkar Mountains, form an almost unbroken wall separating the coast from
the interior. The higher slopes facing southwest tend to be densely wet. Because of these
natural conditions, the Black Sea coast historically has been isolated from the Anatolian
interior proper.
Early history
Pontus is the most northeasterly district of Asia Minor, along the southern coast of the Euxine,
east of the river Halys, having originally no specific name, was spoken of as the country en
Pontôi, “on the Pontus” (Euxinus), and hence acquired the name of Pontus, which is first
found in Xenophon's Anabasis.
Pontus was a mountainous country--wild and barren in the east, where the great chains
approach the Euxine; but in the west watered by the great rivers Halys and Iris, and their
tributaries, the valleys of which, [p. 1301] as well as the land along the coast, are extremely
fertile. The eastern part was rich in minerals, and contained the celebrated iron mines of the
Chalybes.
The inhabitants of Pontus were called generically Leucosyri (q.v.). [1].
The term did get a definite connotation of being a separate state after the establishment of
"The kingdom of Pontus", beyond the Halys River (Kızıl river). The Persian dynasty which
was to found this kingdom had during the Fourth Century B.C ruled the Greek city of Cius (or
Kios) in Mysia, with its first known member being Ariobarzanes I of Cius and the last ruler
based in being Mithridates II of Cius.
Mithridates II's son, also called Mithridates, would become Mithradates I Ktistes of Pontus
("Ktistes" meaning "The Founder").
During the troubled period following the death of Alexander the Great, Mithradates Ktistes
was for a time in the service of Antigonus, one of Alexander's successors, and successfully
maneuvering in this unsettled time managed, shortly after 302 BC, to create the Kingdom of
Pontus which would be ruled by his descendants mostly bearing the same name, till 64 BC.
Thus, this Persian dynasty managed to survive and prosper in the Hellenistic world while the
main Persian Empire had fallen.
As the greater part of this kingdom lay within the immense region of Cappadocia, which in
early ages extended from the borders of Cilicia to the Euxine (Black Sea), the kingdom as a
whole was at first called "Cappadocia towards the Pontus", but afterwards simply "Pontus,"
the name Cappadocia being henceforth restricted to the southern half of the region previously
included under that title.
Mithridates VI
Mithridates III
This kingdom reached its greatest height under Mithridates VI or Mithradates Eupator,
commonly called the Great, who for many years carried on war with the Romans. Under him,
the realm of Pontus included not only Pontic Cappadocia but also the seaboard from the
Bithynian frontier to Colchis, part of inland Paphlagonia, and Lesser Armenia.
With the subjection of this kingdom by Pompey in 64 BC, in which little changed in the
structuring of life, neither for the oligarchies that controlled the cities nor for the common
people in city or hinterland, the meaning of the name Pontus underwent a change. Part of the
kingdom was now annexed to the Roman Empire, being united with Bithynia in a double
province called Pontus and Bithynia: this part included only the seaboard between Heraclea
(Ereğli) and Amisus (Samsun), the ora Pontica.
Hereafter the simple name Pontus without qualification was regularly employed to denote the
half of this dual province, especially by Romans and people speaking from the Roman point
of view; it is so used almost always in the New Testament.
In A.D. 62 the country was constituted by Nero a Roman province. It was divided into the
three districts of Pontus Galatĭcus in the west, bordering on Galatia; P. Polemoniācus in the
centre, so called from its capital Polemonium; and P. Cappadocius in the east, bordering on
Cappadocia (Armenia Minor).
Byzantine, Ottoman, and modern history
Pontus continued to be an autonomous state under the Imperial rule of Constantinople through
most of the history of the Byzantine Empire. Its fall gave rise to the Empire of Trebizond,
which existed in the area from 1204 to 15 August 1461. After that, the name Pontus was
preserved as a state within the Ottoman Empire.
Mithridates I of Pontus
Mithridates I Ctistes (in Greek Mιθριδάτης Kτίστης; reigned 302 BC - 266 BC) was the
founder (this is the meaning of the word Ctistes) of the kingdom of Pontus in Anatolia.
In 302 or 301 BC, shortly after having executed his father Mithridates of Cius, the diadoch
Antigonus became suspicious of the son who had inherited the family dominion of Cius.
Antigonus
Antigonus was motivated to form a plan oriented on killing the boy. Mithridates Ktistes,
however, received from Demetrius Poliorcetes timely notice of his father's intentions, and fled
with a few followers to Paphlagonia, where he occupied a strong fortress, called Cimiata. He
was joined by numerous bodies of troops from different quarters and gradually extended his
dominions in Pontus and created the foundations for the birth of a new kingdom, which may
be judged to have risen about 281 BC when Mithridates assumed the title of basileus (king).1
In the same year, we find him concluding an alliance with the town of Heraclea Pontica, in
Bithynia, to protect them against Seleucus2.
At a subsequent period, Mithridates is found acquiring support from the Gauls (who later
settled in Asia Minor) in order to overthrow a force sent against him by Ptolemy, king of
Egypt.3 These are the recorded events of his reign, which lasted for thirty-six years.4 He was
succeeded by his son Ariobarzanes. He seems to have been buried in a royal grave near the
kingdom's capital, Amasia. Next to him would be buried all the kings of Pontus until the fall
of Sinope in 183 BC.
Amasia
According to Appian,5 he was eighth in descent from the first satrap of Pontus under Darius
the Great and sixth in ascending order from Mithridates Eupator. However, this point is
controversial since Plutarch6 writes that eight generations of kings of Pontus stemmed from
him before Roman subjection.
Ariobarzanes of Pontus
Ariobarzanes (in Greek Aριoβαρζάνης; reigned 266–c. 250 BC) was the second king of
Pontus, succeeding his father Mithridates I Ctistes in 266 BC and died in an uncertain date
between 258 and 240. He obtained possession of the city of Amastris in Paphlagonia, which
was surrendered to him.1 Ariobarzanes and his father sought the assistance of the Gauls, who
had come into Asia Minor twelve years before the death of Mithridates, to expel the
Egyptians sent by Ptolemy II Philadelphus.2 Ariobarzanes was succeeded by Mithridates II.
Mithridates II of Pontus
Mithridates II (in Greek Mιθριδάτης; lived 3rd century BC), third king of Pontus and son of
Ariobarzanes, whom he succeeded on the throne. He was a minor when his father died, but
the period of his accession cannot be determined. It seems probable that it must be placed
considerably before 240 BC, as Memnon tells us that he was a child at his father's death, and
he had a daughter of marriageable age in 222 BC.
Shortly after his accession, his kingdom was invaded by the Gauls, who were eventually
repulsed.1 After he attained manhood, he married Laodice, a sister of Seleucus II Callinicus,
with whom he is said to have received the province of Phrygia as a dowry.2
Seleucus II
Antiochus Hierax
But notwithstanding this alliance, we find Mithridates II fighting against Seleucus during a
war between Seleucus and Antiochus Hierax. Eventually, Mithridates defeated Seleucus in a
great battle whereby Seleucus lost twenty thousand of his troops and narrowly escaped with
his own life.3 In 222 BC, Mithridates gave his daughter Laodice in marriage to the Seleucid
king Antiochus III: another of his daughters, also named Laodice, was married about the same
time to Achaeus, the cousin of Antiochus.4 In 220 BC, Mithridates declared war upon the
wealthy and powerful city of Sinope. However, he was unable to weaken it and the city did
not fall into the power of the kings of Pontus until 183 BC.5 At an earlier period, we find
Mithridates II vying with the other monarchs of Asia in sending magnificent presents to the
Rhodians, after the subversion of their city by an earthquake in 227 BC.6 The date of his death
is utterly unknown. He was succeeded by his son Mithridates III.
Mithridates III of Pontus
Mithridates III (in Greek Mιθριδάτης) was the fourth king of Pontus, probably son of
Mithridates II. He may have ruled in an uncertain period between 220 BC and 183 BC.
Nothing is known of him since the years just cited, because the kingdom of Pontus disappears
from history. His same existence is contested by certain historians, even if it is necessary to
account for Appian's indication of Mithridates Eupator as the eighth king of the dynasty and
the sixth of the name.1
Pharnaces I of Pontus
Bronze shield in the name of King Pharnakes, Getty Villa (80.AC.60)
Pharnaces I of Pontus; 185? - 169 BC; Son of Mithridates III. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΦΑΡΝΑΚΟΥ
Pharnaces I (in Greek Φαρνάκης; lived 2nd century BC), fifth king of Pontus, was the son of
Mithridates III, who he succeeded on the throne.1. The date of his accession cannot be fixed
with certainty; but it is certain, at least, that he was on the throne before 183 BC, in which
year he succeeded in reducing the important city of Sinope, which had been long an object of
ambition to the kings of Pontus. The Rhodians sent an embassy to Rome to complain of this
aggression, but without effect.2 About the same time Pharnaces became involved in disputes
with his neighbour, Eumenes II, king of Pergamon, which led to repeated embassies from
both monarchs to Rome, as well as to partial hostilities. But in the spring of 181, without
waiting for the return of his ambassadors, Pharnaces suddenly attacked both Eumenes II and
Ariarathes IV, and invaded Galatia with a large force. Eumenes opposed him at the head of an
army: but hostilities were soon suspended by the arrival of the Roman deputies, appointed by
the senate to inquire into the matters in dispute. Negoiations were accordingly opened at
Pergamon but led to no result, the demands of Pharnaces being rejected by the Romans as
unreasonable; and the war was in consequence renewed. It continued, apparently with various
interruptions, until the summer of 179 BC, when Pharnaces, finding himself unable to cope
with the combined forces of Eumenes and Ariarathes, was compelled to purchase peace by the
cession of all his conquests in Galatia and Paphlagonia, with the exception of Sinope.3 How
long he continued to reign after this we know not; but it appears, from an incidental notice,
that he was still on the throne in 170 BC, while he was certainly dead in 154, when his brother
Mithridates IV is mentioned as king.4 Polybius accuses him of having an arrogant and violent
character, siding with the opinion of Eumenes and the Romans.
Mithridates IV of Pontus
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Mithridates IV Philopator Philadelphus (Greek: Mιθριδάτης Φιλoπάτωρ Φιλάδελφoς; died
ca. 150 BC), sixth king of Pontus and son of Mithridates III. The date of his accession to the
throne is utterly mysterious, since we first hear of him as ruler only in 154 BC, when he is
mentioned as sending an auxiliary force to the assistance of Attalus II against Prusias II, king
of Bithynia -- an important event, since it signaled the start of a policy of friendship of Pontus
with Rome and its allies which would continue till Mithridates VI Eupator1 The only other
mention we have of him is as much as twenty-five years before (179 BC): his name is
associated with that of his brother Pharnaces in the treaty concluded by the latter with the king
of Pergamon Eumenes II, in a manner that would lead one to suppose he was already admitted
to some share in the sovereign power.2
Mithridates V of Pontus
Mithridates V Euergetes (in Greek Mιθριδάτης Eυεργέτης; reigned ca. 150–120 BC),
seventh king of Pontus, was probably son of Pharnaces I, and nephew of Mithridates IV.1 The
period of his accession is uncertain. He continued the politics of alliance with the Romans
started by his predecessor. He supported them with some ships and a small auxiliary force
during the Third Punic War (149–146 BC)2 and at a subsequent period rendered them useful
assistance in the war against Aristonicus (131–129 BC). For his services on this occaisson he
was rewarded by the consul Manius Aquillius with the province of Phrygia. However, the acts
of Aquillius were rescinded by the senate on the grounds of bribery, but it appears that
Mithridates maintained his possession of Phrygia until his death.3 He also increased the power
of his kingdom by the marriage of his daughter Laodice to the king of Cappadocia Ariarathes
VI. The end of his reign can only be approximately determined based on statements
concerning the accession of his son. This assigns the year 120 BC to the end of Mithridates'
reign. He was assassinated at Sinope by a conspiracy among his own immediate attendants,
which possibly included members of his own family.4 On the cultural side, his reign was
signed by strong hellenizing tendencies; he is recorded for his generous donations to Athens
and Delos and the great veneration in which he kept the Greek god Apollo.
Mithridates VI of Pontus
A silver coin depicting Mithradates VI of Pontus.
Mithridates VI (Greek: Μιθριδάτης), 132–63 BC, also known as Mithridates the Great
(Megas) and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63
BC. He is remembered as one of Rome's most formidable and successful enemies who
engaged three of the most prominent generals of the late Roman Republic: Sulla, Lucullus,
and Pompey the Great.
Contents
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1 Early reign
2 Mithridatic Wars
3 Propaganda
4 Death
5 Legends
6 Memory
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
Early reign
Mithridates VI was the son of Mithridates V (150 BC–120 BC), who died when he was a boy.
During Eupator's minority, supreme power was exercised by his mother queen Gespaepyris,
whom he eventually deposed and committed to prison (ca. 115 BC). To clear his path to the
throne of the kingdom of Pontus, he killed off many of his brothers but not his sister, Laodice,
whom he married.
Mithridates entertained ambitions of making his state the dominant power in the Black Sea
and Anatolia. After he subjugated Colchis, the king of Pontus clashed for supremacy in the
Pontic steppe with the Scythian king Palacus. The most important centres of Crimea, Tauric
Chersonesus and the Bosporan Kingdom, readily surrendered their independence in return for
Mithridates' promises to protect them against the Scythians, their ancient enemies. After
several abortive attempts to invade the Crimea, the Scythians and the allied Rhoxolanoi
suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Pontic general Diophantus and accepted, albeit at the
point of the sword, Mithridates as their overlord.
The young king then turned his attention to Anatolia, where the Roman power was on the rise.
He contrived to partition Paphlagonia and Galatia with Nicomedes III of Bithynia. It soon
became clear to Mithridates that Nicomedes steered his country into an anti-Pontic alliance
with the expanding Roman Republic. When Mithridates fell out with Nicomedes over control
of Cappadocia and defeated him in a series of battles, the latter was constrained to openly
enlist the assistance of Rome. The Romans twice interfered into the conflict on behalf of
Nicomedes (92 and 95 BC), making the Roman-Pontic war inevitable.
Nicomedes III
Mithridatic Wars
The next ruler of Bithynia, Nicomedes IV, was a figurehead manipulated by the Romans.
Mithridates plotted to overthrow him, but his attempts failed and Nicomedes, instigated by his
Roman advisors, declared war on Pontus. Mithridates invaded Bithynia and promptly overran
the country, leading his troops all the way to the Propontis.
The kingdom Pontus comprised a mixed population in its Ionian Greek and Anatolian cities.
The royal family became fully hellenised after the capital was moved to the Greek city of
Sinope. Its rulers tried to fully assimilate the potential of their subjects by showing a Greek
face to the Greek world and an Iranian/Anatolian face to the Eastern world. Whenever the gap
between the rulers and their Anatolian subject became greater, they would put emphasis on
their Persian origins. In this manner, the royal propaganda claimed heritage both from Persian
and Greek rulers, including Cyrus, Darius I, Seleucus I and Alexander the Great[1].
Mithridates too posed as the champion of Hellenism, but this was mainly to further his
political ambitions; it is no proof that he felt a mission to promote its extension within his
domains[2]. Whatever his true intentions, the Greek cities (including Athens) defected to the
side of Mithridates and welcomed his armies in mainland Greece, while his fleet besieged the
Romans at Rhodes.
Tigranes II, king of neighboring Armenia, established an alliance with Mithridates and
married the Pontic leader's daughter, Cleopatra. They would support each other in the coming
conflict with Rome.[3]
Tigranes II
After conquering western Anatolia in 88 BC, Mithridates VI reportedly ordered the killing of
all Romans living there. The alleged massacre of 80,000 Roman men, women and children in
an incident known as the Asiatic Vespers brought matters to a head. During the First
Mithridatic War fought between 88 BC and 84 BC, Lucius Cornelius Sulla forced Mithridates
VI out of Greece proper but then had to return to Italy to answer the threat posed by Gaius
Marius; subsequently, Mithridates VI was defeated but not beaten. A peace was made
between Rome and Pontus, but this proved a mere temporary setback.
Mithridates recouped his forces, and when Rome attempted to annex Bithynia, Mithridates VI
attacked with an even larger army, leading to the Second Mithridatic War from 83 BC to 82
BC. First Lucullus and then Pompey the Great were sent against Mithridates VI, who was at
last defeated by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War of 75 BC to 65 BC.
After his final defeat in 65 BC, Mithridates VI fled to Crimea and attempted to raise yet
another army to take on the Romans but failed to do so. In 63, he withdrew to the citadel in
Panticapaeum.
Later he marched north with a small number of men. At Colchis he commandeered a fleet and
went to his eldest son, Manchares, the king of Cimmerian Bosporus. However, when he
arrived he found his son had betrayed him. Manchares committed suicide and Mithridates
took the throne of the Bosporan Kingdom. Mithridates ordered the conscription of many
Scythians in order to regain his kingdom. Pharnaces II, his younger son, led a new Scythian
rebellion against his father. This rebellion was stirred by Roman exiles that Mithridates kept
as the core of his Pontic army.
Propaganda
Where his ancestors pursued philhellenism as a means of attaining respectability and prestige
among the Hellenistic world, Mithridates VI made use of Hellenism as a political tool. As
protector of Greek cities on the Black Sea and in Asia against barbarism, Mithridates VI
logically became protector of Greece and Greek culture, and would use this stance in his
clashes with Rome.[4] Strabo mentions that Chersonesus buckled under the pressure of the
barbarians and asked Mithridates VI to become its prostates (7.4.3. c.308). The most
impressive symbol of Mithridates VI's approbation with Greece (Athens in particular) appears
at Delos: a heroon dedicated to the Pontic king in 102/1 by the Athenian Helianax, a priest of
Poseidon Aisios.[4] A dedication at Delos, by Dicaeus, a priest of Sarapis, was made in 94/93
on behalf of the Athenians, Romans, and "King Mithridates Eupator Dionysus."[4] Greek
styles mixed with Persian elements also abound on official Pontic coins - Perseus was favored
as an intermediary between both worlds, East and West.[4]
Certainly influenced by Alexander the Great, Mithridates VI extended his propaganda from
"defender" of Greece to the "great liberator" of the Greek world as war with Rome became
inevitable. The Romans were easily translated into "barbarians," in the same sense as the
Persian Empire during the war with Persia in the first half of the 5th century and during
Alexander's campaign. How many Greeks genuinely bought into this claim will never be
known. It served its purpose, however. At least partially because of it, Mithridates VI was
able to fight the First War with Rome on Greek soil, and maintain the allegiance of Greece.[4]
Death
When Mithridates VI was at last defeated by Pompey and in danger of capture by Rome, he is
alleged to have attempted suicide by poison; this attempt failed, however, because of his
immunity to the poison.[5][6] According to Appian's Roman History, he then made his nonrelative twin, general, and friend, Bituitus, kill him by the sword:
Mithridates then took out some poison that he always carried next to his sword, and
mixed it. There two of his daughters, who were still girls growing up together, named
Mithridates and Nyssa, who had been betrothed to the kings of [Ptolemaic] Egypt and
of Cyprus, asked him to let them have some of the poison first, and insisted
strenuously and prevented him from drinking it until they had taken some and
swallowed it. The drug took effect on them at once; but upon Mithridates, although he
walked around rapidly to hasten its action, it had no effect, because he had
accustomed himself to other drugs by continually trying them as a means of protection
against poisoners. These are still called the Mithridatic drugs.
Seeing a certain Bituitus there, an officer of the Gauls, he said to him, "I have profited
much from your right arm against my enemies. I shall profit from it most of all if you
will kill me, and save from the danger of being led in a Roman triumph one who has
been an autocrat so many years, and the ruler of so great a kingdom, but who is now
unable to die by poison because, like a fool, he has fortified himself against the poison
of others. Although I have kept watch and ward against all the poisons that one takes
with his food, I have not provided against that domestic poison, always the most
dangerous to kings, the treachery of army, children, and friends." Bituitus, thus
appealed to, rendered the king the service that he desired.[1] (XVI, §111)
Dio Cassius' Roman History, on the other hand, records his death as murder:
Mithridates had tried to make away with himself, and after first removing his wives
and remaining children by poison, he had swallowed all that was left; yet neither by
that means nor by the sword was he able to perish by his own hands. For the poison,
although deadly, did not prevail over him, since he had inured his constitution to it,
taking precautionary antidotes in large doses every day; and the force of the sword
blow was lessened on account of the weakness of his hand, caused by his age and
present misfortunes, and as a result of taking the poison, whatever it was. When,
therefore, he failed to take his life through his own efforts and seemed to linger
beyond the proper time, those whom he had sent against his son fell upon him and
hastened his end with their swords and spears. Thus Mithridates, who had
experienced the most varied and remarkable fortune, had not even an ordinary end to
his life. For he desired to die, albeit unwillingly, and though eager to kill himself was
unable to do so; but partly by poison and partly by the sword he was at once self-slain
and murdered by his foes.[2] (Book 37, chapter 13)
At the behest of Pompey, Mithridates' body was later buried alongside his ancestors at Sinope.
(Book 37, chapter 14). Although he died at Panticapaeum, it is the town of Eupatoria in
Crimea that commemorates his name.
Legends
Various legends are told of Mithridates VI of Pontus. First, he was supposed to have had a
prodigious memory: Pliny the Elder and other historians report that Mithridates could speak
the languages of all the twenty-two nations he governed. [3] ("Mithridates, who was king of
twenty-two nations, administered their laws in as many languages, and could harangue each
of them, without employing an interpreter.") Pliny's account is referred to in the story Funes
the Memorious by Jorge Luis Borges.
Furthermore, Mithridates is said to have lived for seven years in the wilderness as a child,
following the assassination of his father, Mithridates V, in 120 BCE. Here he grew strong and
accustomed to hardship, before taking on the throne and initiating his conquest of the Black
Sea and Asia.[4]
Mithridates is most famously said to have sought to harden himself against poison, both by
taking increasing sub-lethal doses of the poisons to build tolerance, and by fashioning a
'universal antidote' to protect him from all earthly poisons. Aulus Cornelius Celsus describes
this complex antidote, named Antidotum Mithridaticum, in his De Medicina:
But the most famous antidote is that of Mithridates, which that king is said to have
taken daily and by it to have rendered his body safe against danger from poison. It
contains costmary 1.66 grams, sweet flag 20 grams, hypericum, gum, sagapenum,
acacia juice, Illyrian iris, cardamon, 8 grams each, anise 12 grams, Gallic nard,
gentian root and dried rose-leaves, 16 grams each, poppy-tears and parsley, 17 grams
each, casia, saxifrage, darnel, long pepper, 20.66 grams each, storax 21 grams,
castoreum, frankincense, hypocistis juice, myrrh and opopanax, 24 grams each,
malabathrum leaves 24 grams, flower of round rush, turpentine-resin, galbanum,
Cretan carrot seeds, 24.66 grams each, nard and opobalsam, 25 grams each,
shepherd's purse 25 grams, rhubarb root 28 grams, saffron, ginger, cinnamon, 29
grams each. These are pounded and taken up in honey. Against poisoning, a piece the
size of an almond is given in wine. In other affections an amount corresponding in size
to an Egyptian bean is sufficient.[4] (Book V, 23:3)
Another large antidote, comprising 54 ingredients, was described by Pliny the Elder in
Natural History. The antidote was put in a closed flask in which it was to stay for at least two
months. Every day Mithridates VI took this medicine to counteract possible attempts to
poison him.
There was a king reigned in the East:
There, when kings will sit to feast,
They get their fill before they think
With poisoned meat and poisoned drink.
He gathered all the springs to birth
From the many-venomed earth;
First a little, thence to more,
He sampled all her killing store;
And easy, smiling, seasoned sound,
Sate the king when healths went round.
They put arsenic in his meat
And stared aghast to watch him eat;
They poured strychnine in his cup
And shook to see him drink it up:
They shook, they stared as white’s their shirt:
Them it was their poison hurt.
–I tell the tale that I heard told.
Mithridates, he died old.
– A. E. Housman, Terrence, this is stupid stuff
The king's anti-poison routines were supervised by the Agari, a group of Scythian shamans
who never left him. Mithridates was guarded in his sleep by a horse, a bull, and a stag, which
would whinny, bellow, and bleat whenever anyone approached the royal bed.[7]
Pharnaces II of Pontus
Pharnaces II (in Greek Φαρνάκης, died 47 BC) was the son of the great Mithridates VI of
Pontus, a famed enemy of the Roman republic.
Contents
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1 Coup
2 War with Caesar
3 Marriage, issue and succession
4 Sources
Coup
He was raised as his father's successor and treated with distinction. However, we know little
of his youth from writers of the time and find him first mentioned after Mithridates had taken
refuge from the Roman general Pompey during the Third Mithridatic War.
Mithridates was keen to wage war with the Romans once more, but his son was less keen, and
thus began a plot to remove his father from power. Unfortunately, his plans were discovered,
but the army, not wishing to engage Pompey and the Roman armies, supported Pharnaces.
They marched on Mithridates and forced their former king to take his own life.
Pharnaces quickly sent an embassy to Pompey with offers of submission and hostages, for he
was keen to secure his position. He also sent the body of his father, to be at the disposal of
Pompey. The latter readily accepted Pharnaces overtures, for he wished to be back at Rome
having seen to have made peace in the region. Pompey granted Pharnaces the Bosporan
Kingdom, and named him friend and ally of Rome.
Contemporary historians are silent on Pharnaces's early reign, but eventually, on viewing the
increasing power struggles between the Romans, and with an eye to recreating the kingdom of
his father, he attacked and subjugated the free city of Phanagoria, violating one of his
agreements with Pompey.
War with Caesar
In 49 civil war broke out between Julius Caesar and Pompey. Whilst the Romans were
distracted by this, Pharnaces decided to seize the opportunity and, with the forces under his
disposal and against little opposition, made himself the ruler of Colchis and Lesser Armenia.
Deiotarus, the king of Lesser Armenia appealed to Domitius Calvinus, the lieutenant of
Caesar in Asia, for support, and soon the Roman forces sought battle with Pharnaces. They
met at Nicopolis in Anatolia, and Pharnaces so defeated the Romans that he was easily able to
use his army to overwhelm Pontus. He also took the city of Amisus the late city of Pontus
(under his father's rule), sold the inhabitants to slave traders and made all the boys eunuchs.
After this show of strength against the Romans, Pharnaces drew back to suppress revolt in his
new conquests. However, the extremely rapid approach of Caesar in person forced Pharnaces
to turn his attention back to the Romans. At first, recognizing the threat, he made offers of
submission, with the sole object of gaining time until Caesars attention fell elsewhere; but
Caesar's speed brought war quickly, and battle took place near Zela (modern Zile in Turkey),
where Pharnaces was routed and was able to escape with just a small detachment of cavalry.
Caesar himself, in a letter to a friend in Rome, famously said of the short war:“Veni, vidi,
vici” (“I came, I saw, I conquered”).
Pharnaces himself fled quickly back to the Bosporus, where he managed to assemble a small
force of Scythian and Sarmatian troops, with which he was able to gain control of a few cities.
However, a former governor of his, Asandar, attacked his forces and killed him. The historian
Appian states that he died in battle; Dio Cassius says he was captured and then killed.
Marriage, issue and succession
Pharnaces was about fifty years old when he died, and he had reigned for nearly sixteen years.
He had several sons, one of whom, Dareius, Mark Antony made, for a short while, the king of
Pontus. His daughter Dynamis was married to Polemon I, the king of the Bosporus.
Pontic language
Pontic Greek is a form of the Greek language originally spoken in the Pontus area on the
southern shores of the Black Sea, and today mainly in Greece. Its speakers are Pontian
Greeks.
Pontic's linguistic lineage stems from Ionic Greek via Koine and Byzantine Greek, and may
contain influences from Turkish, Persian and various Caucasian languages.
Contents
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1 Dialects
2 Location
3 Archaisms
4 Comparison with Ancient Greek
5 External links
6 Bibliography
Location
Though Pontic was originally spoken on the southern shores of the Black Sea, substantial
numbers migrated to the northern and eastern shores in what was then the Russian Empire in
the 18th and 19th century; Pontic is still spoken by large numbers in the Ukraine, Russia
(around Stavropol'), and Georgia, and the language enjoyed some use as a literary medium in
the 1930s, including a school grammar (Topkhara 1998 [1932]). After the massacres of the
1910s, the majority of speakers remaining in Asia Minor were subject to the Treaty of
Lausanne population exchange, and were resettled in Greece, mainly northern Greece. The
inhabitants of the Of valley, who had converted to Islam in the 17th century, remained in
Turkey, and speak Pontic to this day (Mackridge 1987). In Greece, Pontic is now used more
emblematically than as a medium of communication; there is some limited production of
literature in Pontic, including issues of Asterix.
Contents
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1 History of Greek Colonization of the Black Sea
2 Other people of the area
3 Persecutions and population exchange
o 3.1 Settlements
4 Population
5 Conversions to Islam
o 5.1 Pontic Greeks in the former Soviet Union
6 Culture
o 6.1 Education
o 6.2 Music
o 6.3 Instruments
o 6.4 Dance
7 Notable Pontic Greeks
8 See also
9 Notes
10 References
11 External links
History of Greek Colonization of the Black Sea
The history of the Pontic Greek people is first recounted in a Greek myth. The Black Sea area
generally, and the region around Trabzon specifically, are where Jason and the Argonauts
sailed to find the Golden Fleece. This myth was formally documented by Apollonius of
Rhodes in his work, the Argonautica. Modern historians however, see this epic also as a
historical tool. They date the expedition of the Argo around 1200 BC based on the description
given by Apollonius.
The first recorded Greek colony, established on the northern shores of ancient Anatolia, was
Sinop circa 800 BC. The settlers of Sinop were merchants from the Ionian Greek city state of
Miletus. After the colonization of the shores of the Black Sea the name changed to Efxinos
(hospitable) from Axinos(inhospitable) sea. In time, other Greeks followed their path and, as
numbers grew, more Greek colonies were established along the Black Sea coastline of what is
now Turkey, Bulgaria, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, and Romania.
The Pontus region.
The region of Trapezus, now Trabzon, was also mentioned by Xenophon (430 - 355 BC)
Anabasis, when his 10,000 soldiers had reached the Pontic Euxine Sea (Black Sea) and cried
out 'Thalatta! Thalatta! (Ancient Greek) (Modern Greek 'Thalassa! Thalassa!') ("The sea! The
sea!"), the local people understood them. They were Hellenes as well and, according to
Xenophon, they had been there for over 300 years. For over two thousand years the Pontos
region, has flourished, contributing to the development of a rich civilization with a strong
Hellenic basis. This is verified by a various ancient Greek and Roman historians as many
accounts exist of the Mithridatic wars and the reign of Eupator Dionysius.With the passage of
time and the establishment of the Eastern Roman Empire Pontos was placed under its control
but due to the area natural characteristics the region remained almost totally isolated from the
'modern' Greek-speaking world. This isolation however helped maintain the Pontic language a
direct dialect of Ancient Greek language.After the fall of the Empire of Trebizond in 1461
(the last remaining Greek state) and for the next 4 and 1/2 centuries the Pontus region fell
under Ottoman rule but maintained a strong sense of Hellenism and Greek
Orthodoxy.Kingdoms either established or ruled by Pontic Greeks, or heavily influenced by
Pontic Greek culture, include Pontus, Bithynia, and the Bosporan kingdom.
Other people of the area
Throughout its history Pontos was also inhabited and invaded by the Persians, Romans,
Mongols , Georgians, Russians and Turks. The region also had its share of royal rulers of
Byzantine Empire such as the Komnenos family,and was the location where the Empire of
Trebizond flourished after the fall of Constantinople to the Crusaders in 1204 till it's
dissolution by ottoman Empire in 1461.
Persecutions and population exchange
Like Armenians and Assyrians , the Pontic Greeks faced persecution and suffered ethnic
cleansing at the beginning of the 20th century by the Ottoman Empire first and Kemalist
forces later.Death marches [1] through Turkeys mountainous terrain, forced labour in the
famous "Amele Tamburu" in Anatolia and slaughter by the irregular bands of Topal Osman
resulted in thousands of them perishing during the period from 1915 to 1922.In 1923, after
hundreds of years, those remaining were expelled from Turkey to Greece as part of the
population exchange between Greece and Turkey defined by the Treaty of Lausanne. In his
book 'Black Sea', author Neal Ascherson writes:
“
The Turkish guide-books on sale in Turkey today offer this account of the 1923
catastrophe: 'After the proclamation of the Republic (Turkish), the Greeks who
lived in the region returned to their own country. Their own country? Returned?
Pontians had lived in that area for over 3,000 years. The Pontian dialect was not
understandable to 20th century Athenians.
”
[2][page # needed]
The suffering of the Pontic Greeks did not end upon their violent and forceful departure from
the lands of their ancestors. Many Pontic Greek refugees perished during the voyage from
Asia Minor to Greece. Notable accounts of these voyages have been included in Steve
Papadopoulos’ work on Pontic culture and history. Pontic Greek immigrants of the United
States from that era were quoted saying;
Many children and elderly died during the voyage to Greece. When the crew
realized they were dead,they were thrown overboard. Soon the mothers of such
children started pretending that they were still alive. After witnessing what was
done to the deceased,they would hold on to them and comfort them as if they
were still alive. They did this to give them a proper burial in Greece.
[citation needed]
Sinop, Turkey
Sinop (from Hittite: Sinuwa, in Greek: Σινώπη/Sinope) is a city with a population of 47,000
on İnce Burun (İnceburun, Cape Ince), by its Cape Sinop (Sinop Burnu, Boztepe Cape,
Boztepe Burnu [1]) which is situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of Black
Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey, historically
known as Sinope. It is the capital of Sinop Province.
Contents
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1 History
2 Miscellaneous
3 See also
4 External links
5 References
History
Long used as a Hittite port which appears in Hittite sources as "Sinuwa" (J. Garstang, The
Hittite Empire, p. 74), the city proper was re-founded as a Greek colony from the city of
Miletus in the 7th century BC (Xenophon, Anabasis 6.1.15; Diodorus Siculus 14.31.2; Strabo
12.545). Sinope flourished as the Black Sea port of a caravan route that led from the upper
Euphrates valley (Herodotus 1.72; 2.34), issued its own coinage, founded colonies, and gave
its name to a red arsenic sulfate mined in Cappadocia, called "Sinopic red earth" (Miltos
Sinôpikê) or sinople. It escaped Persian domination until the early 4th century BC, and in 183
BC it was captured by Pharnaces I and became capital of the kingdom of Pontus. Lucullus
conquered Sinope for Rome in 70 BC, and Julius Caesar established a Roman colony there,
Colonia Julia Felix, in 47 BC. Mithradates Eupator was born and buried at Sinope, and it was
the birthplace of Diogenes, of Diphilus, poet and actor of the New Attic comedy, of the
historian Baton, and of the Christian heretic of the 2nd century AD, Marcion.
It remained with the Empire of the East or the Byzantines. It was a part of the Empire of
Trebizond from the sacking of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204 until the capture
of the city by the Seljuk Turks of Rûm in 1214.
After 1261, Sinop became home two successive independent emirates following the fall of the
Seljuks: the Pervâne and the Candaroğlu. It was captured by the Ottomans in 1458.
In November 1853, at the start of the Crimean War, in the Battle of Sinop, the Russians, under
the command of admiral Nakhimov, destroyed an Ottoman frigate squadron in Sinop, leading
Britain and France to declare war on Russia.