![Coin of Pharnaces I of Pontus, Amisos mint](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Coin_of_Pharnaces_I_of_Pontus%2C_Amisos_mint.jpg)
Pharnaces I ( el, Φαρνάκης; lived 2nd century BC),
fifth king of
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, was of
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 ...
and
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 ...
ancestry. He was the son of King
Mithridates III of Pontus
Mithridates III ( el, Mιθριδάτης) was the fourth king of Pontus, son of Mithridates II of Pontus and Laodice. Mithridates had two sisters: Laodice III, the first wife of the Seleucid King Antiochus III the Great, and Laodice of Pontus ...
and his wife
Laodice, whom he succeeded on the throne. Pharnaces had two siblings: a brother called
Mithridates IV of Pontus and a sister called
Laodice who both succeeded Pharnaces. He was born and raised in the Kingdom of Pontus.
Life
The date of his accession cannot be fixed with certainty; but it is certain, at least, that he was on the throne before 183 BC, in which year he succeeded in reducing the important city of
Sinope, which had been long an object of ambition to the Kings of Pontus. The
Rhodians
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...
sent an embassy to
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
to complain of this aggression, but without effect. About the same time Pharnaces became involved in disputes with his neighbour, King of
Pergamon
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greece, ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a ...
,
Eumenes II
Eumenes II Soter (; grc-gre, Εὐμένης Σωτήρ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon.
Biography
The eldest son of king Attalus I a ...
, which led to repeated embassies from both monarchs to Rome, as well as to partial hostilities. But in the spring of 181 BC, without waiting for the return of his ambassadors, Pharnaces suddenly attacked both Eumenes II and King
Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia
Ariarathes IV, surnamed ''Eusebes'', "the Pious", ( grc, Ἀριαράθης Εὐσεβής, Ariaráthēs Eusebḗs), was the king of Cappadocia in 220–163 BC.
Early life
Ariarathes IV was the son of the king of Cappadocia Ariarathes III a ...
and invaded
Galatia
Galatia (; grc, Γαλατία, ''Galatía'', "Gaul") was an ancient area in the highlands of central Anatolia, roughly corresponding to the provinces of Ankara and Eskişehir, in modern Turkey. Galatia was named after the Gauls from Thrace (c ...
with a large force.
![Unknown - Shield of King Pharnakes - 80](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Unknown_-_Shield_of_King_Pharnakes_-_80.AC.60.jpg)
Eumenes II opposed him at the head of an army: but hostilities were soon suspended by the arrival of the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
deputies, appointed by the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
to inquire into the matters in dispute. Negotiations were accordingly opened at Pergamon but led to no result, the demands of Pharnaces being rejected by the Romans as unreasonable, and the war was in consequence renewed. It continued, apparently with various interruptions, until the summer of 179 BC, when Pharnaces, finding himself unable to cope with the combined forces of Eumenes II and Ariarathes IV, was compelled to purchase peace with the cession of all his conquests in Galatia and
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 ...
, with the exception of Sinope. How long he continued to reign after this we know not; but it appears, from an incidental notice, that he was still on the throne in 170 BC, while he was certainly dead in 154 BC, when his brother
Mithridates IV of Pontus is mentioned as King. The Greek historian
Polybius
Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail.
Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...
accuses Pharnaces of having an arrogant and violent character, siding with the opinion of Eumenes II and the Romans.
Pharnaces married a
Seleucid Princess called
Nysa
Nysa may refer to:
Greek Mythology
* Nysa (mythology) or Nyseion, the mountainous region or mount (various traditional locations), where nymphs raised the young god Dionysus
* Nysiads, nymphs of Mount Nysa who cared for and taught the infant ...
, who was the child of princess
Laodice IV
Laodice IV (flourished second half 3rd century BC and first half 2nd century BC) was a Greek Princess, Head Priestess and Queen of the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus III appointed Laodice in 193 BC, as the chief priestess of the state cult dedicated ...
and crown prince
Antiochus. Nysa and Pharnaces were related as the parents of Nysa were Pharnaces' first cousins. Pharnaces married Nysa either in 172 BC or 171 BC, through the diplomatic work of the Seleucid King
Demetrius I Soter
Demetrius I (Greek: ''Δημήτριος Α`'', 185 – June 150 BC), surnamed Soter (Greek: ''Σωτήρ'' - "Savior"), reigned as king (basileus) of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire from November 162 – June 150 BC. Demetrius grew up in Rome a ...
.
Honorific statues and inscriptions have survived that were dedicated to Pharnaces and Nysa. Pharnaces set about to establish good relations with the citizens of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and the Greek island of
Delos
The island of Delos (; el, Δήλος ; Attic: , Doric: ), near Mykonos, near the centre of the Cyclades archipelago, is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. The excavations in the island are ...
. Pharnaces made a benefaction to the people of Athens. The exact nature of the benefaction is unknown; Pharnaces may have made some kind of voluntary donation to Athens, possibly soon after 183 BC. A lengthy honorific inscription from the Athenians on Delos honors Pharnaces and Nysa. Pharnaces and Nysa received a crown of gold from them and bronze statues of themselves were set up on Delos. Their lengthy Athenian honorific inscription is dated in the
Archonship of the Athenian Tychandros or Tychander which is now generally accepted as 160 BC or 159 BC.
Nysa bore Pharnaces two children: a son called
Mithridates V of Pontus
Mithridates or Mithradates V Euergetes ( grc-gre, Μιθριδάτης ὁ εὐεργέτης, which means "Mithridates the benefactor"; fl. 2nd century BC, r. 150–120 BC) was a prince and the seventh king of the wealthy Kingdom of Pontus.
Mi ...
and a daughter called
Nysa of Cappadocia
Nysa or Nyssa ( el, Νύσ(σ)α, flourished 150s BC-126 BC) was a princess from the Kingdom of Pontus and was a Queen of Cappadocia. She was the ruler of Cappadocia on behalf of her minor son in 130-126 BC.
Biography
Nysa was of Greek Macedonia ...
, who is also known as
Laodice. Nysa died at an unknown date in the 2nd century BC; she is believed to have died during childbirth.
[ Greek Wikipedia article of Nyssa of Pontus]
References
Sources
*B. C. McGing, The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, BRILL, 1986
*J. D. Grainger, A Seleukid prosopography and gazetteer, BRILL, 1997
*https://www.livius.org/la-ld/laodice/laodice_iv.html
*
Greek Wikipedia article of Nyssa of Pontus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pharnaces 01 Of Pontus
2nd-century BC Iranian people
Iranian people of Greek descent
Mithridatic kings of Pontus
2nd-century BC rulers in Asia