Aspourgos

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Tiberius Julius Aspurgus called Tiberius Julius Aspourgus Philoromaios ( Greek  Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Ἀσποῦργος Φιλορώμαιος ) († 38/39 n. Chr.) Was detectable from 10/11 n. Chr. To 38/39 n. Chr. King of the ancient Hellenistic Bosporan kingdom , the stretched along the Black Sea on both sides of the Cimmerian Bosporus . As a client of the Roman Empire , he took the additional names Tiberius Julius and "Philoromaios" (friend of the Romans). He became the progenitor of the Aspourgid dynasty, which ruled the empire with a few interruptions until 341.

Expansion of the Bosporan Empire

origin

No specific information is available on the origin of the Aspourgos family. She was probably of Greek and Persian origin. The name Aspourgos is derived from the Iranian words "aspa" (horse) or "aspabara" (rider). and refers to the ethnic group of the "Aspourgianoi" who lived as part of the tribal confederation of the Sarmatians on the Kerch Strait , a strait that separates the Crimean peninsula in the west from the Taman peninsula (now in Russia ) in the east.

The reason for the naming could have been the fact that the father of Aspourgos, Asandros , Pharnakes II , King of Pontus and the Bosporan Empire (63-47 BC), as strategist (military governor) of the "Aspourgianoi" served in inhabited areas.

Asandros, the father of Aspourgos, had around 47 BC. Chr. Dynamis , the daughter of King Pharnaces II married., Of him around the year 48th BC to the governor of the Bosporan Empire. While the king was on a campaign to dispute Julius Caesar 's former father's kingdom of Pontus and Bithynia , Asandros revolted, seized power and hoped in vain to be recognized as the new king by the Romans. But he defeated King Pharnakes II after his defeat by Caesar and return to his country. But then Asandros was fought on behalf of Caesar by his wife's uncle, Mithridates of Pergamum († 46 BC), but was finally able to defeat and kill him. Asandros' seizure of power was legitimized by the fact that he was married to the king's daughter and was the father of Aspourgos - his only biological heir. According to Pseudo- Lucian , the Roman emperor Augustus recognized Asandro's rule.

During excavations at Phanagoria , an ancient Greek colony on the Taman Peninsula on the eastern bank of the Kerch Strait (now in the Krasnodar Territory , Russia), an inscription was discovered confirming that Aspourgos was a son of King Asandros:

"King Aspourgus, friend of the Romans, son of King Asandrochus, dedicated (this statue of) Eros to Aphrodite Urania, the mistress of Apatouros, as a token of his gratitude."

Bust of Mithridates VI. von Pontos, great-grandfather of King Aspourgos (Paris, Louvre)

Dynamis, the mother of Aspourgos, was a granddaughter of Mithridates VI through her father, King Pharnakes II . "The great one" , who from around 120 to 63 BC Ruled as king of Pontus, waged three Mithridatic wars against Rome named after him and around the year 108 BC. The Bosporan state had annexed the kingdom of Pontos . Aspourgos was therefore a great-grandson of this most stubborn and at times most dangerous rival of the Roman Empire, over whom he had brilliant ancestors, as this was not only supported by the generals - and later diadochs - of Alexander the Great , Antigonus I Monophthalmos (* around 382 BC. † 301 BC), the progenitor of the Antigonids , and Seleukos I. Nicator (* around 358 BC; † 281 BC), the progenitor of the Seleucids , but also of the Persian great kings Cyrus II ( * around 590 BC; † 530 BC) and Darius I (* 549 BC; † 486 BC) descended.

Life

youth

Ruins of Pantikapaion , the former capital of the Bosphoran Empire

Aspourgos grew up at the court of his father King Asandros in Pantikapaion (modern Kerch in the east of the Crimean peninsula), the capital of the Bosporan Empire. This designation has nothing to do with the well-known Bosporus near Istanbul , which connects the Sea of ​​Marmara with the Black Sea , but takes its name from the so-called "Cimmerian Bosporus", which today bears the name Kerch Strait . This is located on the east side of the Crimean peninsula and connects the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Azov .

Contender for the crown

Aspourgos was the only son of his parents, so prepared as a natural heir to take over rule after the death of his old father. But that should only happen after a few obstacles.

His father had reached the very notable age of about 93 when a supposed grandson of King Mithridates VI suddenly appeared. von Pontus named Scribonius laid claim to the throne of the Bosporan Empire, organized a rebellion and tried to usurp power by military force. King Asandros prepared to strike back, but had to realize that many of his soldiers were switching to the usurper's side. Desperate, he decided he'd rather starve himself to death than surrender.

The hope of Aspourgos, after the death of his father in 17 BC. To be able to succeed on the throne was in vain, since the usurper Scribonius took over the rule in the Bosporan Empire and to the legitimation of his claims married Dynamis, the widow of the king Asandros, and thus became the stepfather of the Aspourgos. As soon as Emperor Augustus (* 63 BC; † 14 AD) learned of this revolt, he commissioned his son-in-law, the Roman general and statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (* 64 BC; † 12 BC). ), with a military intervention. This was to be carried out at Agrippa's behest by Polemon I Eusebes, but the Bosporans murdered Scribonius earlier.

After the removal of the usurper, Aspourgos could not take the throne again. Agrippa, in agreement with Emperor Augustus, initially appointed Dynamis, the mother of Aspourgos, to be the sole ruler of the kingdom. However, in order to strengthen regional stability, Agrippa urged Dynamis to join in 14 BC. To marry Polemon I in third marriage, who had lived since 37 BC. As a Roman client, he ruled the kingdom of Pontus, Cilicia and also the land of Colchis , which, according to the Argonauts legend, was the home of the Medea and the Golden Fleece . Instead of Aspourgos, his second stepfather, Polemon I von Pontus, also took control of the Bosporan Empire.

This situation, i.e. that is, the third marriage of his mother Dynamis and the unification of the two Roman client states - was approved by Emperor Augustus, but was not intended to last. Soon after the marriage there was a violent dispute over the exercise of rule, in the course of which King Polemon I in 13 BC. Chr. Dynamis, who then withdrew to her loyal tribes of the "Aspourgianoi" and from there organized the resistance against Polemon I. King Polemon I, then married around 13 BC. Chr. Pythodoris of Thralles, through their mother Antonia perhaps a granddaughter of the Roman statesman Marcus Antonius was.

rebel

Dynamis and her son Aspourgos organized revolts and uprisings against King Polemon I, who could therefore only control parts of the Bosporan Empire. Aspourgos continued his policy of revolts against Polemon I for years, until it finally gave his supporters in 8 BC. BC succeeded in catching and killing Polemon I.

King of the Bosporan Empire

Emperor Augustus, who recognized Aspourgus as king, with a citizen's crown ( corona civica )
So-called “Augustus Bevilacqua” bust, Munich Glyptothek

After the death of Polemon I, Dynamis, recognized by Augustus, was ruler of the Bosporan Empire until 7/8 AD. No later than 10/11 AD, Aspourgos took over his father's inheritance as a Bosporan king and proved to be a determined ruler who managed to extend the borders of his empire to the city of Tanais (at the mouth of the Don in the Black Sea, about 20 km north of Azov ) and curb the expansion of the Scythians . Formal confirmation as King of the Bosporan Empire took place in AD 14 by Emperor Augustus and the Roman Senate . Emperor Tiberius , who ruled from 14 to 37 AD, bestowed him the title "Philoromaios" (friend of the Romans) and the Roman citizenship. Since then, the rulers of the Bosporan Empire carried the family name Julius, the first name Tiberius and the honorary name Philoromaios. To end the latent conflict with the dynasty of the Kings of Pontus - the descendants of King Polemon I of Pontus - Aspourgos married the Thracian princess Gepaipyris , who was a granddaughter of his former rival, Polemon I and his wife, Pythodoris of Thralles, was. Little more is known about his activity as ruler of the Bosporan Empire, which lasted until his death in 38/39 AD, than that he was a prudent and capable prince and a reliable ally of Rome. During his reign he was in close agreement with Emperor Augustus and his successor, Emperor Tiberius. After his death his widow Gepaipyris took over the rule as Queen of the Bosporan Empire and as Queen of Colchis until 39 AD.

Pictorial representations

The image of Aspourgos can be found on various coins of the Bosporan Kingdom, with depictions of the reigning emperors - Tiberius and Caligula - on the reverse.

Marriage and offspring

Aspourgos married a Thracian princess named Gepaipyris. Her father was Kotys VIII († 19 AD), who ruled from 12 AD to 19 AD as king over Thrace (province) , Greater Armenia and Cilicia , and was also an archon in Athens on Temple of Asclepius had a pillared hall built in Epidaurus . Her mother was Antonia Tryphaina (* around 15 BC; † 55 AD), the only daughter of Polemon I, King of Pontos (37 - 8/7 BC) and from 14 BC onwards. King of the Bosporan Empire and his wife, Pythodoris von Tralles, who through her mother Antonia (* around 50 BC) became a granddaughter of the Roman statesman Marcus Antonius (* around 83 BC; † 30 BC). ) and thus a distant cousin of the emperors Nero and Caligula - was.

Descendants of Aspourgos

Tiberius Julius Mithridates
  • Mithridates II, full name: Tiberius Julius Mithridates Philogermanicus Philopatris, was King of the Bosporan Empire from 39 to 44 and King of Colchis from 41 to 44, but remained unmarried.
  • Cotys I. (Kotys I.), full name: Tiberius Julius Cotys I. Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, King of the Bosporan Empire (45 - 69) and of Colchis (41 - 44), & Eunice a Greek nobleman of unknown origin († n . 69 AD). He was the closer progenitor of the dynasty.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Martin Schottky: Aspurgos. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 2, Metzler, Stuttgart 1997, ISBN 3-476-01472-X . ( Excerpt online )
  2. ↑ pontos.dk p.12
  3. ^ [Caesar], De bello Alexandrino 78; Cassius Dio , Roman History 42,48,4; Strabon , Geographika 13,625.
  4. ^ Scribonius . In: William Smith (Ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . tape 3 : Oarses-Zygia and Zygius . Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1870, p. 758 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  5. ↑ Pseudo-Lukian, Makrobioi 17.
  6. ^ Gregori Bongard-Levine, Gennadi Kochelenko, Vladimir Kouznestov: Les fouilles de Phanagorie: nouveaux documents archéologiques et épigraphiques du Bosphore. In: Comptes-rendus des séances de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres. Volume 150, Number 1, 2006, p. 268 ( online ).
  7. ↑ Mayor, The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome's deadliest enemy p. Xviii.
  8. ↑ Encyclopedia Iranica archive link ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.iranicaonline.org
  9. ↑ Pseudo-Lukian, Makrobioi 17; Cassius Dio, Roman History 54,24,4.
  10. ^ A b Edward Herbert Bunbury: Pythodoris . In: William Smith (Ed.): Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology . tape 3 : Oarses-Zygia and Zygius . Little, Brown and Company, Boston 1870, p. 629 (English, Textarchiv - Internet Archive ).
  11. ↑ wildwinds.com
  12. ↑ Strabon, Geographika 12,3,29, p. 556.
  13. ^ Christian Marek: History of Asia Minor in antiquity. 2010, p. 384, however, does not believe that Antonia , the mother of Pythodoris, was actually a daughter of Mark Antony.
predecessor Office successor
Polemon I. King of the Bosporan Empire
8 BC - 37/38 AD 		Gepaipyris
personal data
SURNAME Aspourgos
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Tiberius Julius Aspourgos Philoromaios; Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Ἀσποῦργος Φιλορώμαιος (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of the Bosporan Empire
DATE OF BIRTH 1st century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 38 or 39