Mithridates I Ctistes (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Mιθριδάτης Kτίστης; reigned 281–266 BC), also known as Mithridates III of Cius, was a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

nobleman and the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

(this is the meaning of the word ''Ctistes'', literally ''Builder'') of 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 ...

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. Mithridates is said to have been of the same age as

Demetrios Poliorketes Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynast ...

, which means he was born in the mid-330s BC. In 302 or 301 BC, shortly after having executed the young man's father and predecessor

Mithridates II of Cius Mithridates of Cius (in Greek Mιθριδάτης or Mιθραδάτης; lived c. 386–302 BCE, ruled 337–302 BCE) a Persian noble, succeeded his kinsman or father Ariobarzanes II in 337 BCE as ruler of the Greek town of Cius in Mysia ( ...

, the

diadoch The Diadochi (; singular: Diadochus; from grc-gre, Διάδοχοι, Diádochoi, Successors, ) were the rival generals, families, and friends of Alexander the Great who fought for control over his empire after his death in 323 BC. The War ...

Antigonus became suspicious of the son who had inherited the family dominion of

Cius Cius (; grc-gre, Kίος or Κῖος ''Kios''), later renamed Prusias on the Sea (; la, Prusias ad Mare) after king Prusias I of Bithynia, was an ancient Greek city bordering the Propontis (now known as the Sea of Marmara), in Bithynia and in ...

, and planned to kill the boy. Mithridates, however, received from Demetrius Poliorketes timely notice of Antigonus's intentions, and fled with a few followers to

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 ...

, 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 ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

'' (king). In the same year, we find him concluding an alliance with the town of

Heraclea Pontica __NOTOC__ Heraclea Pontica (; gr, Ἡράκλεια Ποντική, Hērakleia Pontikē), known in Byzantine and later times as Pontoheraclea ( gr, Ποντοηράκλεια, Pontohērakleia), was an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asi ...

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 ...

, to protect it against Seleucus. At a subsequent period, Mithridates is found acquiring support from the

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...

(who later settled in Asia Minor) in order to overthrow a force sent against him by

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

, king of Ptolemaic Egypt. These are the recorded events of his reign, which lasted for thirty-six years. He was succeeded by his son Ariobarzanes. He seems to have been buried in a royal grave near the kingdom's capital,

Amasia Amasia may refer to the following places: * Amasya, a city in Northern Turkey ** Amasya Province, which contains the city ** Amasea (titular see), the former Metropolitan Archbishopric with see there, now a Latin Catholic titular see * Amasia, Sh ...

. Next to him would be buried all the kings of Pontus until the fall of

Sinop Sinop can refer to: * Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea ** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018 ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...

e in 183 BC. According to

Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...

, he was eighth in descent from the first satrap of Pontus under

Darius the Great Darius I ( peo, 𐎭𐎠𐎼𐎹𐎺𐎢𐏁 ; grc-gre, Δαρεῖος ; – 486 BCE), commonly known as Darius the Great, was a Persian ruler who served as the third King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 522 BCE until his d ...

and sixth in ascending order from Mithridates VI of Pontus, Mithridates Eupator. However, this point is controversial since Plutarch writes that eight generations of kings of Pontus stemmed from him before Roman subjection.

Notes

References

* Appian,
The foreign wars
', Horace White (translator), New York City, (1899) * Hazel, John; ''Who's Who in the Greek World'', "Mithridates I" (1999) * Memnon of Heraclea, Memnon,
History of Heracleia
', Andrew Smith (translator), (2004) * Plutarch, ''Parallel Lives'',
Demetrius
, John & William Langhorne (translator), (1770) * William Smith (lexicographer), Smith, William (editor); ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology''
"Mithridates III"
Boston, (1867) * Strabo,
Geography
', H. C. Hamilton & W. Falconer (translators), London, (1903) ---- {{DEFAULTSORT:Mithridates 01 Of Pontus 266 BC deaths Mithridatic kings of Pontus Ancient Persian people 3rd-century BC Iranian people 3rd-century BC monarchs 4th-century BC rulers Year of birth unknown