Mithridates VI of Pontus
King of Pontus and long-time enemy of Rome
- Reign
- 120–63 BCE
- Kingdom
- Pontus, northern Anatolia
- Wars
- Three Mithridatic Wars against Rome
- Died
- 63 BCE, Panticapaeum (Crimea)
- Also called
- Mithridates Eupator, 'the Great'
The king of Pontus who fought Rome for decades; his army was facing Lucullus when the silver jar fell.
What is Mithridates VI of Pontus known for?
Mithridates VI Eupator, called the Great, ruled the kingdom of Pontus on the Black Sea coast of Anatolia from 120 to 63 BCE. He built a large realm around the Black Sea and became Rome's most persistent enemy in the east, fighting three wars against the Republic. In 88 BCE he overran the Roman province of Asia, where thousands of Romans and Italians were killed on his orders.
Roman commanders Sulla, Lucullus and finally Pompey fought him over some 25 years. Defeated, he died in 63 BCE at Panticapaeum in Crimea. Ancient writers said he had made himself immune to poison by taking small doses, a story told in Adrienne Mayor's biography, The Poison King.
During the Third Mithridatic War, according to Plutarch, a force serving Mithridates under the Roman renegade Marcus Marius was about to fight Lucullus in Phrygia when a flaming silver object shaped like a jar fell between the armies, and both sides withdrew.
His war with Rome is the setting for Plutarch's falling silver jar of 73 BCE.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeThe silver jar at Lucullus' battle
- PersonAdrienne Mayor
- PersonAlexander Polyhistor
- PersonBernadotte Perrin
- PersonGaius Marius
- PersonLucullus
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Mithradates VI Eupator'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Mithridates VI Eupator'Reference
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