Kingdom of Pontus

Pontus (Ancient Greek: ΠόντοςPontos, sea) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus, in northern Anatolia, on the southern coast of the Black Sea (Ancient Greek: Εύξεινος Πόντος, literally meaning "hospitable sea"). It was ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty of Persian origin, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty.

The kingdom was proclaimed by Mithridates I in 281BC and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63BC. The Kingdom of Pontus reached its greatest extent under Mithridates VI the Great, who conquered Colchis, Cappadocia, Bithynia and the Greek colonies of the Tauric Chersonesos, plus (only temporarily) the Roman province of Asia. After a long struggle with Rome in the Mithridatic Wars, Pontus was defeated. The kingdom had three cultural strands, which often fused together: Greek (mostly on the coast and urban centres), Persian, and Anatolian. Greek became the official language of the kingdom in the 3rd century BC.