Diophantus ( el, Διόφαντος ''Diofados''), son of Asclepiodorus, of

Sinope Sinope may refer to: *Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea, historically known as Sinope ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *Sinop Province * Sinope, Leicestershire, a hamlet in the Midlands of England *Sinope (mythology), in ...

, was a general in the service of

Mithridates VI 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 ...

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 ...

. Diophantus was active in Mithridates' campaigns in the

Bosporan Kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (, ''Vasíleio toú Kimmerikoú Vospórou''), was an ancient Greco-Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus ...

and elsewhere around the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

, although their chronology is disputed. An inscription found during the excavations in

Chersonesos Chersonesus ( grc, Χερσόνησος, Khersónēsos; la, Chersonesus; modern Russian and Ukrainian: Херсоне́с, ''Khersones''; also rendered as ''Chersonese'', ''Chersonesos'', contracted in medieval Greek to Cherson Χερσών; ...

glorifies Diophantus as "the first foreign invader to conquer the Scythians".McGing, Brian Charles. ''The Foreign Policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus''. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 1986 (), p. 51. During his first Crimean expedition, he relieved the siege of Chersonesos by the Scythian king Palacus and subdued his allies, the Tauri. He finished this campaign at

Scythian Neapolis Scythian Neapolis ( el, Σκυθική Νεάπολις), also known as Kermenchik, was a settlement that existed from the end of the 3rd century BC until the second half of the 3rd century AD and was previously considered a town of the Tauric Che ...

. During the second campaign, Diophantus checked another invasion of the Scythians, who had joined their forces with the

Rhoxolanoi The Roxolani or Rhoxolāni ( grc, Ροξολανοι , ; la, Rhoxolānī) were a Sarmatian people documented between the 2nd century BC and the 4th century AD, first east of the Borysthenes (Dnieper) on the coast of Lake Maeotis (Sea of Azov), ...

under Tasius. At one point during these campaigns he established a stronghold at

Eupatorium ''Eupatorium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are herbaceous perennials growing to tall. A few are shrubs. The genus is native to temper ...

on the eastern shore of the Crimea. Around 107 BC, Mithridates dispatched Diophantes to

Panticapaeum Panticapaeum ( grc-gre, Παντικάπαιον , from Scythian , "fish-path") was an ancient Greek city on the eastern shore of Crimea, which the Greeks called Taurica. The city lay on the western side of the Cimmerian Bosporus, and was foun ...

with the task of persuading the Bosporan king

Paerisades V Paerisades V ( el, Παιρισάδης) was the son of Paerisades III and Kamasarye Philoteknos. He was last Spartocid ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom and ruled from 125 to c. 109 BC after the death of his brother Paerisades IV Philometor. With hi ...

to cede his kingdom to Mithridates. While he was in the city, the

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Cent ...

, led by a certain Saumacus, revolted and killed Paerisades, while Diophantes barely managed to escape to

. Back in Pontus, Diophantes rallied his forces and sailed to Crimea with a large fleet. The Scythian uprising was put down and the Bosporan kingdom was reduced to a dependency of Pontus.

References

External links

Decree honoring Diophantos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diophantus Bosporan Kingdom Generals 2nd-century BC people Ancient Pontic Greeks People of the Kingdom of Pontus