The ancient Pontic kingdom, located in the east of Asia Minor, was one of the most prominent Hellenistic states of its time. It had a great influence on neighboring countries and the subsequent development of the Black Sea region. All the ancient states in the south of modern Russia somehow adopted something from this power. The Kingdom of Pontus is known to modern science much more than other similar countries. This is due to the fact that his sovereigns fought with Rome for a long time. There is no doubt that the threat posed by the Kingdom of Pontus affected the internal political system of the republic.
Territory
Throughout its existence in the III - I century. BC. The Pontic kingdom changed its borders many times, mainly due to its own expansion. The center of the state was Northern Cappadocia on the southeastern coast of the Black Sea. In ancient times, it was known as Pontus Euxinus, which is why the kingdom began to be called Pontic, or simply Pontus for short.
The nature of the state was largely determined by its advantageous geographical position. What territories became part of the Pontickingdoms? These were lands between Central and Western Asia, the Balkans and the Black Sea. Consequently, Pontus had trade links with all these regions, which made its rulers rich and powerful. They were visited by merchants from Northern Mesopotamia, the Iranian Highlands and Transcaucasia. Rare oriental goods brought big money. The coins of the Pontic kingdom were minted from gold and had a unique appearance. Archaeologists continue to find them in Turkey and Russia, Ukraine and the Caucasus.
Society
Traditions of many peoples are mixed in the Pontic state. Asia Minor, Anatolian, Iranian and Hellenic customs took root in this kingdom. The population was mostly engaged in agriculture, which was favored by the mild climate. There were relatively few cities in Pontus. They were mainly on the Black Sea coast. These were the policies that were founded by the ancient Greek colonizers.
Ethnically, the population belonged to the Cappadocians, Macrons, Khalibs, Colchians, Cataonians. All kinds of newcomers lived here, for example, the Phrygian tribes. There have always been many Iranian-speaking Persians in the Pontic kingdom. This whole kaleidoscope was a dangerous powder keg. Different peoples were united thanks to the great Hellenic (Greek) culture. The further east the tribe lived, the weaker this influence was. The most Hellenized was the population of the policies of the Black Sea coast.
Foundation of Pontus
The Pontic state was founded by King Mithridates I in 302 BC. ByHe was originally a Persian who served the Macedonian king Antigonus. For unclear reasons, the nobleman fell into disgrace with his monarch and fled to remote Cappadocia, where he founded a new state. By his name, the entire subsequent dynasty of the kings of Pontus became known as the Mithridatids.
It should be noted the conditions against which this state appeared. The Pontic kingdom, whose history began at the end of the 4th century BC. e., arose on the ruins of the great power created by Alexander the Great. This commander first conquered Greece, and then spread the Hellenistic culture to most of the Middle East. His power was short-lived. It broke up into many principalities immediately after the death of Alexander in 323 BC
Flourishing
The descendants of Mithridates I continued to strengthen and develop the Pontic state. They were helped by the political fragmentation of their neighbors and the struggle of potential competitors for influence in the region. This ancient power reached its heyday under Mithridates VI Eupator, who ruled in 117-63. BC
At a young age, he had to flee his native country. After the death of his father, the mother of Mithridates VI opposed the fact that her son took his rightful throne. The hardships in exile undoubtedly hardened the future king. When he finally managed to return to power, the monarch began wars with his neighbors.
Small principalities and satrapies quickly submitted to Mithridates. Contemporaries began to deservedly call him the Great. He annexed Colchis (modern Georgia), as well as Taurida(Crimea). However, the king had the most important test ahead - several campaigns against Rome. The republic at that time increased its expansion to the East. She had already annexed Greece and now laid claim to Asia Minor, where the Pontic kingdom was located. Endless wars began between the two powers.
Provincial relations
Having created a huge state that already looked like an empire, Mithridates faced a natural problem - how to keep all his acquisitions. He tried to find a balance in relations with the new provinces, giving them different status. For example, some small tribes of the south formally became his allies, while Colchis and Tauris turned into a material and raw material base for the state economy.
Most of the funds went to the salaries and food of the army. This is not surprising, because the Pontic kingdom under Mithridates forgot about what the world is. The sovereign made the northwestern Black Sea region the main supplier of grain. The army needed endless bread for long-range raids in the Roman provinces.
External and social contradictions
Mithridates VI tried to increase the Pontic state with the help of the Hellenization policy. He declared himself the protector and patron of ancient Greek culture. But this course could not but lead to conflict with another ancient power in the person of Rome. The Republic did not need a powerful Pontic kingdom on its eastern borders.
Mithridates, in addition, tried to strengthen his country by increasing the privileges of policies. By this heattracted the urban class to his side. But against such domestic policy was a powerful aristocracy. Its representatives did not want to share their we alth and influence with the policies at all.
The domestic policy of Mithridates VI
Ultimately, the aristocracy gave the ruler an ultimatum. He was supposed to support her interests or suppress a major rebellion sponsored by the fat wallets of the elite. The king, who was constantly at war with Rome, could not put himself under a blow in the back. He had to make concessions to the aristocracy. They resulted in the birth of a tyrannical class that exploited the general population.
Because of this contradiction, the Kingdom of Pontus, whose army was built according to the ancient Greek model, in fact, could not get rid of the features of Eastern despotism in its state structure. It is also important that this great power existed only thanks to the charismatic and powerful figure of the great king. After the death of Mithridates VI, it was bound to fall apart.
The doom of the kingdom
Today, the Pontic kingdom and its role in the history of the Black Sea region are being studied by researchers from various countries. But regardless of who we are talking about, every specialist pays attention to the era of Mithridates VI, since under him the state reached its peak of development.
But even this great monarch had his mistakes and difficulties that he could not overcome. In addition to the internal problems described above, the king had to deal with the absence of any serious allies in the fight against Rome. Behind the republic were numerous provinces of the Mediterranean - Greece, Italy, Gaul, Spain, Carthage, etc. No matter how effective a ruler Mithridates was, due to his objective capabilities, he could not resist Roman expansion for a long time.
Death of Mithridates
Autumn 64 B. C. the king of Pontus was able to gather a colossal army of 36 thousand people at that time and conquer the Bosporus. However, his multinational army did not want to continue the campaign and go to Italy, where Mithridates wanted to go to strike right in the heart of Rome. The position of the monarch was precarious, and he retreated.
Meanwhile, a conspiracy was brewing in the army. The soldiers were dissatisfied with the war, and besides, there was a man who wanted to encroach on power in the Kingdom of Portia. This ambitious man turned out to be the offspring of Mithridates VI Farnak. The plot was uncovered, and the son was caught. The king wanted to execute him for treason, but those close to him dissuaded him and advised him to let him go home. Father agreed.
But this act did not help to avoid a riot in the army. When Mithridates realized that he was surrounded by enemies, he took poison. That didn't work. Then the monarch persuaded his bodyguard to kill him with a sword, which was done. The tragedy broke out in 63 BC. The Romans, having learned about the death of Mithridates, celebrated for several days. Now they rightly believed that the Pontic kingdom would soon submit toRepublic.
Decay and fall
After the death of Mithridates VI, Pontus fell into decay. The Roman Republic, having won the war with its neighbor, made the western part of the kingdom its province. In the east, the nominal power of the Pontic monarchs remained, but in fact they became dependent on Rome. The son of Mithridates Farnak II tried to revive the power of his father. He took advantage of the outbreak of civil war in Rome and attacked the republic. Farnak managed to return Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia.
However, his success was short-lived. When Caesar was freed from internal troubles, he went east to punish Pharnaces. In the decisive battle at Zela, the Romans won an unconditional victory. It was then that the Latin catchphrase "Veni vidi vici" appeared - "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Julius Caesar, however, left the formal royal title in the hands of Mithridates' heirs. In return, they recognized themselves as vassals of Rome. The title was finally abolished by Emperor Nero in 62 AD. The last ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus, Polemon II, abdicated without any resistance, since he did not have any resources to fight Rome.
