Eupatoria ( grc, Εὐπατορία) and Magnopolis ( grc, Μαγνόπολις) was a

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

city in the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian origin), which possibly may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemeni ...

. The city was founded by

Mithridates VI Eupator Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

just south of where the Lycus flows into the

Iris Iris most often refers to: *Iris (anatomy), part of the eye *Iris (mythology), a Greek goddess * ''Iris'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants * Iris (color), an ambiguous color term Iris or IRIS may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional ent ...

, the west end of the fertile valley of

Phanaroea The Phanaroea plain (Φανάροια), the modern Erbaa Plain (), is a plain lying mostly in the Erbaa district of Tokat Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It runs east-west for about , along the Kelkit River (ancient ''Lykos'') in a val ...

, probably in or near the village of Çevresu,

Erbaa Erbaa is a town and a district (''ilçe'') of Tokat Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The town of Erbaa lies on the left bank of the Kelkit River and is surrounded by the Erbaa Plain, most of which lies in its district. One kilometer ...

district,

Tokat Province Tokat Province ( tr, ) is a province in northern Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Amasya to the northwest, Yozgat to the southwest, Sivas to the southeast, and Ordu to the northeast. Its capital is Tokat, which lies inland of the middle Black S ...

. Eupatoria was the crossing-point of two great roads through the Pontus: the east-west from

Armenia Minor Lesser Armenia ( hy, Փոքր Հայք, ''Pokr Hayk''; la, Armenia Minor, Greek: Mikre Armenia, Μικρή Αρμενία), also known as Armenia Minor and Armenia Inferior, comprised the Armenian–populated regions primarily to the west and no ...

Bithynia Bithynia (; Koine Greek: , ''Bithynía'') was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Pa ...

; and the north-south from Amisus to

Caesarea Mazaca Caesarea ( /ˌsɛzəˈriːə, ˌsɛsəˈriːə, ˌsiːzəˈriːə/; el, Καισάρεια, Kaisareia) also known historically as Mazaca ( el, Μάζακα) was an ancient city in what is now Kayseri, Turkey. In Hellenistic and Roman times, the ...

. The east-west road followed the valley of the Lycus from

to Phanaroea; it continued over the mountains into the Destek to

Laodicea Pontica Laodicea () may refer to: Places Turkey *Laodicea on the Lycus, in Phrygia * Laodicea Pontica, in the Pontus *Laodicea Combusta, in Pisidia Syria * Laodicea ad Libanum, near Homs * Laodicea ad Mare, the present city of Latakia Other countries * ...

(modern Ladik), the Halys (Kızılırmak) and the Amnias (Gökırmak) through

Paphlagonia Paphlagonia (; el, Παφλαγονία, Paphlagonía, modern translit. ''Paflagonía''; tr, Paflagonya) was an ancient region on the Black Sea coast of north-central Anatolia, situated between Bithynia to the west and Pontus to the east, and s ...

; the north-south road went from Amisus (modern Samsun) up the

to Amaseia (Amasya), Zela (Zile), up to the

Anatolian Plateau The Anatolian Plateau () is a plateau that occupies most of Turkey's surface area. The elevation of the plateau ranges from 600 to 1,200 meters (2,000 to 4,000 ft). Mount Erciyes near Kayseri is the peak at 3,917 m (12,851 ft) ...

and

(Kayseri).B. C. McGing, ''The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus'' ( Mnemosyne Series: Supplement 89), 1997, . p. 6.

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

refounded the city under the name Magnopolis and extended its territory to include the western

n plain.

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

visited the city.

Notes

Bibliography

* Deniz Burcu Erciyas, ''Wealth, Aristocracy and Royal Propaganda Under the Hellenistic Kingdom of the Mithradatids in the Central Black Sea Region of Turkey'' (Colloquia Pontica), 2005. . p. 45''f''. * David Winfield, "The Northern Routes across Anatolia" ''Anatolian Studies'' 27:151-166 (1977
at JSTOR
* J. Arthur R. Munro, "Roads in Pontus, Royal and Roman" ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' 21:52-66 (1901) *
at JSTOR
Populated places established in the 1st century BC Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Turkey Greek colonies in Pontus History of Tokat Province {{Tokat-geo-stub