The Roman–Bosporan War was a lengthy

war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are ...

that took place in the

Cimmerian Bosporus The Kerch Strait is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from the Taman Peninsula of Russia's Krasnodar Krai in the east. The strait is to wide and u ...

, probably from 45 to 49. It was fought between the Roman client-king

Tiberius Julius Cotys I Tiberius Julius Cotys I Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, also known as Cotys I of the Bosporus (fl. 45–63 AD), was a Roman client king of the Bosporan Kingdom. Life Cotys I was the second son of Roman client rulers Aspurgus and Gepaepyri ...

and his allies King Eunones of the

Aorsi The Aorsi, known in Greek sources as the Aorsoi (Ἄορσοι), were an ancient Iranian people of the Sarmatian group, who played a major role in the events of the Pontic Steppe from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD. They are often rega ...

and the Roman commander Gaius Julius Aquila against the former king

Tiberius Julius Mithridates Tiberius Julius Mithridates Philogermanicus Philopatris, also known as Mithridates III of the Bosporus (fl. 41 AD, died 68 AD), was a Roman client king of the Bosporus. Ancestry Mithridates was the first son of the Roman client king Aspurgu ...

and his ally King

Zorsines Zorsines was a 1st-century King (''rex Siracorum'') of the Siraces mentioned in Tacitus' ''Annals'' of the Roman Empire (XII.15-19) around 50 AD, a people he reports as residing somewhere between the Caucasus Mountains and the Don river. He had a ...

of the

Siraces The Siraces (, , also ''Siraceni'' and ''Seraci'' ) were a hellenized Sarmatian tribe that inhabited Sarmatia Asiatica; the coast of Achardeus at the Black Sea north of the Caucasus Mountains, Siracena is mentioned by Tacitus as one of their ...

Sources and dating

Sources that mention the conflict include

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

's ''

Annals Annals (, from , "year") are a concise history, historical record in which events are arranged chronology, chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction betw ...

'' (Book 12, chapter 7),

Cassius Dio Lucius Cassius Dio (), also known as Dio Cassius ( ), was a Roman historian and senator of maternal Greek origin. He published 80 volumes of the history of ancient Rome, beginning with the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. The volumes documented the ...

's ''Roman History'' (Book 59, chapter 12), and

Peter the Patrician Peter the Patrician (, , ''Petros ho Patrikios''; –565) was a senior Byzantine official, diplomat, and historian. A well-educated and successful lawyer, he was repeatedly sent as envoy to Ostrogothic Italy in the prelude to the Gothic War o ...

's ''History''. Coins found from the period are important in helping to date the events. The commonly provided dates for the war are 45 to 49, because the oldest coin found featuring the monogram of Cotys has the date 342 Bosporan era (AB), which corresponds to 45

Common Era Common Era (CE) and Before the Common Era (BCE) are year notations for the Gregorian calendar (and its predecessor, the Julian calendar), the world's most widely used calendar era. Common Era and Before the Common Era are alternatives to the ...

(CE), and Tacitus relates that Mithridates arrived in Rome in 49 CE after having been driven from the Bosporus.

Prelude

Mithridates III and Cotys I were sons of Aspurgus and

Gepaepyris Gepaepyris (, flourished 1st century) was a Thracian princess, and a Roman Client Queen of the Bosporan Kingdom, the longest known surviving Roman Client Kingdom. She ruled in AD 37/38–39. Life Gepaepyris was the first daughter and was among th ...

who were rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom. After the death of his father in 38, Mithridates III became joint-ruler with his mother Gepaepyris, and sometime between 38 and 45, Roman Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

made him ruler of all of the Bosporan Kingdom. In 45, for reasons unknown, Claudius deposed Mithridates and made his younger brother, Cotys I, ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom. At the same time, Claudius withdrew the Roman garrison under

Aulus Didius Gallus Aulus Didius Gallus was a member of the Roman Senate and general active during the 1st century AD. He held a number of offices and imperial appointments, the most important of which were governor of Britain between 52 and 57 AD, proconsul of ...

leaving only a few cohorts under

Gaius Julius Aquila Gaius Julius Aquila was the name of a number of people who lived during the Roman Empire. Prefect of Egypt Gaius Julius Aquila was a ''praefectus'' of Roman Egypt between 10 CE and 11. Governor of Bythinia et Pontus Gaius Julius Aquila was a Roma ...

. In response, Mithridates III allied himself with the neighbouring tribes, most notably with the

under

and he was able to raise an army and push out the king of the Dandaridae and establish himself in that king's dominions. He then declared war against his brother and the Roman cohorts under Aquila. When Cotys heard of this, he turned to Gaius Julius Aquila and his Roman cohorts to help him fight off his elder brother. Cotys and Aquila feared that Mithridates's army was larger, and enlisted the help of Eunones, who was at the time ruler of the

. Eunones quickly sided with the Pro-Roman faction, as Aquila pointed out the strength of Rome to that of Mithridates.

Conflict and defeat

The Romans began to lay siege to towns under the dominion of Mithridates such as Artezian, a fortress in Crimea while the Aorsi under Eunones laid siege to the fortified settlement of Uspe under Zorsines. After crossing the river Panda, Eunones lay siege to Uspe, which was a weakly-protected fortified city of the Siraces. The settlement had weak defences and was not able to withstand an attack. The Aorsi constructed towers to "annoy" the people of Uspe with darts and arrows. Throughout the siege, the town offered them 10,000 slaves, an offer which the Romans travelling with the Aorsi declined, as they were too rebellious to keep in check. Within a day Zorsines made peace with his enemies to end the siege of Uspe. Meanwhile, Aquila and his cohorts were attacking the towns of Mithridates. Upon hearing that Zorsines had made peace with his enemies, Mithridates realised that he was losing and considered to whom he should seek mercy. He turned to Eunones, the only one of his enemies that was not in the conflict for personal benefit. Mithridates went to Eunones's palace and threw himself at the ruler's feet and said "Mithridates, whom the Romans have sought so many years by land and sea, stands before you by his own choice. Deal as you please with the descendant of the great Achaemenes, the only glory of which enemies have not robbed me." This act of greatly affected Eunones, and he raised the former ruler and was pleased that Mithridates had chosen the Aorsi to help him sue for mercy with Rome.

Aftermath

After sending envoys to Claudius, Mithridates pleaded mercy in front of the Roman Emperor himself. Claudius deemed Mithridates's actions deserving of extreme penalties. However, Mithridates said that "I have not been sent, but have come back to you; if you do not believe me, let me go and pursue me" Claudius was impressed by the good-will of Mithridates, and let him live.

References

Sources

, ''

'' (Book 12, chapter 7) *

, ''Roman History'' (Book 59, chapter 12) *