Kingdom of Pontus
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, which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty. The kingdom was proclaimed by Mithridates I in 281 BC and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BC. 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. The western part of it was incorporated into the Roman Republic as the province Bithynia et Pontus; the eastern half survived as a client kingdom until 62 AD.
Kingdom of Pontus | |||||||||
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| 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) | |||||||||
| Status |
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| Capital | Amaseia, Sinope | ||||||||
| Common languages | Greek (official after 3rd century BC, coastal cities) Persian, Armenian (after 115 BC) and Anatolian languages (regional and dynastic) | ||||||||
| Religion | Syncretic, incorporating Greek polytheism, Iranian religion, and local Anatolian religion. | ||||||||
| Government | Monarchy | ||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||
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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), 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.
The kingdom had three cultural strands, which often fused together: Greek (mostly on the coast), Persian and Anatolian, with Greek becoming the official language in the 3rd century BC.