Pharnakes I.

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Coin of Pharnakes I
Tetradrachm of Pharnakes I

Pharnakes I was the fifth king of Pontus and ruled from about 185 to about 155 BC. Chr.

Life

Pharnakes I followed around 185 BC. His father Mithridates III. on the throne of Pontus. Only a few excerpts from the history of Polybius provide information about his reign ; there are also some preserved inscriptions and coin finds.

The first known act of Pharnakes is his conquest of the important city of Sinope (183 BC). In Rome , envoys of the Rhodians complained about this attack, which Pharnakes himself had envoys defended. Around this time a war had broken out between the Pontic king and Eumenes II of Pergamon. Also Ariarathes IV. Of Cappadocia stepped over to the opponents of Pharnaces. The Senateagreed to have these disputes investigated by legates on site. Upon their return, the Roman commissioners told the Senate that Pharnakes had put himself in the wrong. In the meantime, however, new messengers from the parties to the dispute had already come to Rome, and the Senate sent envoys to Asia Minor for the second time to investigate more closely . Due to the hesitant attitude of Rome, the war continued to expand and was to last from 182 to 179 BC. Last. The extracts from Polybius that have survived primarily reflect the diplomatic missions of Rome in this matter; from this, however, the overall course of the war can only be roughly reconstructed.

While Eumenes was able to win over King Prusias II of Bithynia and Morzios of Paphlagonia to his side, Pharnakes won the dynast Mithridates of Lesser Armenia as an ally. A general of the Pontic king, Leocritus , was able to take Tios , which was under the rule of Eumenes . The fact that the Pergamene king made a peace with Pharnakes after an illness is probably wrong and can be explained by a distortion of the meaning of a Byzantine excerptor of Polybius, because in the following the progress of the war is reported without mentioning a restart of the fighting. The brothers of Eumenes managed to get the senate to send envoys who should end the war under all circumstances. In the meantime Pharnakes Cappadocia and his general Leokritus had attacked Galatia . After the return of his brothers from Rome, Eumenes moved with them and his troops to Galatia, which Leocritus, however, had left again. Eumenes then crossed the Halys and met Ariarathes at Parnassus . The two kings united their troops and advanced against Pharnakes when the Roman ambassadors arrived and wanted to mediate peace. At their request, Ariarathes and Eumenes withdrew their troops. The latter wanted to meet Pharnakes personally to negotiate a peace. But the Pontic king refused and sent envoys to Pergamon , but they were not prepared to conduct any constructive negotiations. The Romans soon saw the futility of their peace efforts and left.

Now Eumenes and his allies struck an apparently successful blow against Pharnakes. Because this now had to settle for peace (179 BC). A Polybiosexzerpt handed down the terms of peace. According to this, the contracting parties were Pharnakes and Mithridates of Lesser Armenia, allied with him, and Eumenes, Ariarathes and Prusias. In future the Pontic king was to leave Galatia alone, to return Paphlagonia , Tios, which had been snatched from Eumenes, and the conquests made in the area of ​​Ariarathes, and to release all those who were deported and prisoners of war. Pharnakes 900 talents were imposed on Ariarathes and Morzios of Paphlagonia as well as another 300 talents on Eumenes in payment for the damage suffered. Mithridates of Lesser Armenia did not get off scot-free either, but had to pay 300 talents because he had violated the treaty with Eumenes through his offensive against Ariarathes. Far more participants were involved in the war than is known, because Pharnakes concluded individual peace treaties with other local princes and cities: Artaxias I of Greater Armenia, Akusilochos (whose territory is unknown), Gatalos of Sarmatia and the cities of Herakleia Pontike , Mesembria , Chersonesus and Kyzikos . In order for Pharnakes to keep the peace in the future, he also had to deliver hostages.

Pharnakes 'contract with Chersonesus has been preserved in inscriptions, namely only fragments of the oath of the townspeople, and practically the entire text of Pharnakes' oath. According to this inscription, Gatalos had attacked Chersonesus on behalf of Pharnakes and Rome apparently played a decisive role in the later negotiation of the peace treaty between the city and the Pontic king. At that time Pharnakes also concluded an alliance with the world power.

Pharnakes was able to keep the city of Sinope from his conquests, which he (or his son Mithridates V ) made the new capital instead of Amaseia . Nevertheless, his empire suffered so much from the war that it was still in use in 160/159 BC. BC could not keep his promises to Athens .

Pharnakes went to 172/171 BC. A marriage with Nysa, a granddaughter of the Seleucid ruler Antiochus III. , a. Nothing is known about the late period of his reign.

Polybius describes Pharnakes as a ruler who obeyed no laws. According to numismatics, the preserved silver coins of the Pontic king represent him realistically.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Polybios 23, 9; Livy 40, 2, 6
  2. ↑ Polybios 24, 1
  3. ↑ Diodor 29, 23f.
  4. ^ So E. Diehl (see Lit.), Col. 1849 on Polybios 24, 5; In contrast, Cohn (Article Eumenes II. in: RE Vol. VI, Col. 1097) considers the peace treaty to be genuine.
  5. ↑ Polybios 24, 5
  6. ↑ Polybios 24, 8f.
  7. ↑ Polybios 25, 2
  8. ↑ V. Latychew (ed.), Inscriptiones orae septentrionalis Ponti Eux. , I² No. 402
  9. ↑ Strabo 12, 3, 11
  10. ↑ IG XI 4, 1056b
  11. ^ Wilhelm Dittenberger , Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae 771
  12. ↑ Polybios 27:17
  13. ↑ The First Royal Coinages of Pontos (from Mithridates III to Mithridates V). François de Callataÿ, in Mithridates VI and the Pontic Kingdom. Aarhus University Press, pp. 63-94, Århus 2009.
predecessor Office successor
Mithridates III. King of Pontus
185 to about 155 BC Chr. 		Mithridates IV.
personal data
SURNAME Pharnakes I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION King of Pontus
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 2nd century BC Chr.