Mithridates V of Pontus
Encyclopedia
Mithridates V Euergetes; also known as Mithridates V of Pontus, Mithradates V of Pontus and Mithradates V Euergetes, was a Prince and seventh King of the wealthy Kingdom of Pontus
.
Mithridates V was of Greek Macedonian
and Persian ancestry
. He was the son of the King Pharnaces I of Pontus
and Queen Nysa, while his sister was Nysa of Cappadocia. His mother is believed to have died during childbirth, when his mother was giving birth to his sister or Mithridates V. He was born and raised in the Kingdom of Pontus. Mithridates V succeeded his paternal aunt Laodice
and paternal uncle Mithridates IV of Pontus
on the Pontian throne and the accession of Mithridates V is uncertain.
Mithridates V continued the politics of an alliance with the Roman Republic
started by his predecessors. He supported them with some ships and a small auxiliary force during the Third Punic War
(149 BC – 146 BC) and at a subsequent period rendered them useful assistance in the war against King of Pergamon
, Eumenes III
(131 BC – 129 BC).
For his services on this occasion Mithridates V was rewarded by the Roman consul Manius Aquillius
with the province of Phrygia
. However the acts of the Roman consul were rescinded by the Roman Senate
on the grounds of bribery, but it appears that he maintained his possession of Phrygia until his death. Mithridates V also increased the power of the Kingdom of Pontus
by the marriage of his eldest child, his daughter Laodice of Cappadocia
to King Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia
. The end of his reign can only be approximately determined based on statements concerning the accession of his son Mithridates VI, which is assign in the year 120 BC to end of the reign of Mithridates V.
Mithridates V was assassinated in about 120 BC in Sinope
poisoned by unknown persons at a lavish banquet which he held.
Mithridates V, was a great benefactor to the Hellenic culture which shows on surviving coinage and honorific inscriptions stating his donations in Athens
and Delos
and had great veneration in which he kept for the Greek God Apollo
. At the Capitoline Museums
in Rome
, is on a display a bilingual inscription dedication to him. Mithridates V was buried in the royal tombs of his ancestors at Amasya
.
Mithridates V married the Greek Seleucid Princess
Laodice VI
, who was the daughter of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
and Laodice IV
. Mithridates V and Laodice VI were related, thus he had lineage from the Seleucid dynasty
.
Laodice bore Mithridates V seven children who were: Laodice of Cappadocia
, Mithridates VI of Pontus
, Mithridates Chrestus
, Laodice
, Nysa
(sometimes spelt as Nyssa), Roxana and Statira. Nysa, Roxana and Statira were put to death after the fall of the Kingdom of Pontus in 63 BC.
Kingdom of Pontus
The Kingdom of Pontus or Pontic Empire was a state of Persian origin on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It was founded by Mithridates I in 291 BC and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BC...
.
Mithridates V was of Greek Macedonian
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
and Persian ancestry
Persian people
The Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
. He was the son of the King Pharnaces I of Pontus
Pharnaces I of Pontus
Pharnaces I , fifth king of Pontus and was of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. He was the son of King Mithridates III of Pontus and his wife Laodice, whom he succeeded on the throne. Pharnaces had two siblings: a brother called Mithridates IV of Pontus and a sister called Laodice who...
and Queen Nysa, while his sister was Nysa of Cappadocia. His mother is believed to have died during childbirth, when his mother was giving birth to his sister or Mithridates V. He was born and raised in the Kingdom of Pontus. Mithridates V succeeded his paternal aunt Laodice
Laodice (sister-wife of Mithridates IV of Pontus)
-Family and Ancestry:Laodice was of Greek Macedonian and Persian ancestry. She was the daughter of the Monarchs Laodice and Mithridates III of Pontus. Her brothers were Mithridates IV of Pontus and Pharnaces I of Pontus who served as Kings of Pontus after the death of their parents...
and paternal uncle Mithridates IV of Pontus
Mithridates IV of Pontus
Mithridates IV of Pontus or known by his full name Mithridates Philopator Philadelphus was a prince and sixth King of the Kingdom of Pontus....
on the Pontian throne and the accession of Mithridates V is uncertain.
Mithridates V continued the politics of an alliance with the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
started by his predecessors. He supported them with some ships and a small auxiliary force during the Third Punic War
Third Punic War
The Third Punic War was the third and last of the Punic Wars fought between the former Phoenician colony of Carthage, and the Roman Republic...
(149 BC – 146 BC) and at a subsequent period rendered them useful assistance in the war against King of Pergamon
Pergamon
Pergamon , or Pergamum, was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey, in Mysia, today located from the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus , that became the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC...
, Eumenes III
Eumenes III
Eumenes III was the pretender to the throne of Pergamon.When the Pergamene King Attalus III died in 133 BC, he bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans...
(131 BC – 129 BC).
For his services on this occasion Mithridates V was rewarded by the Roman consul Manius Aquillius
Manius Aquillius
Manius Aquillius may refer to:* Manius Aquillius , consul in 129 BC* Manius Aquillius , possibly son of the previous, consul in 101 BC...
with the province of Phrygia
Phrygia
In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
. However the acts of the Roman consul were rescinded by the Roman Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
on the grounds of bribery, but it appears that he maintained his possession of Phrygia until his death. Mithridates V also increased the power of the Kingdom of Pontus
Kingdom of Pontus
The Kingdom of Pontus or Pontic Empire was a state of Persian origin on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It was founded by Mithridates I in 291 BC and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BC...
by the marriage of his eldest child, his daughter Laodice of Cappadocia
Laodice of Cappadocia
Laodice of Cappadocia, also known as Laodice was a Princess from the Kingdom of Pontus.Laodice was a monarch of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. She was the daughter; first born child of the Pontian Monarchs Laodice VI and Mithridates V Euergetes who reigned 150-120 BC. Among her siblings,...
to King Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia
Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia
Ariarathes VI Epiphanes Philopator , King of Cappadocia, was the youngest son of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and Nysa of Cappadocia.He reigned about 14 years . He was a child at his succession, and for this reason the power was kept by his mother who acted as his regent...
. The end of his reign can only be approximately determined based on statements concerning the accession of his son Mithridates VI, which is assign in the year 120 BC to end of the reign of Mithridates V.
Mithridates V was assassinated in about 120 BC in Sinope
Sinop, Turkey
Sinop is a city with a population of 36,734 on İnce Burun , by its Cape Sinop which is situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey, historically known as Sinope...
poisoned by unknown persons at a lavish banquet which he held.
Mithridates V, was a great benefactor to the Hellenic culture which shows on surviving coinage and honorific inscriptions stating his donations in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
and Delos
Delos
The island of Delos , isolated in the centre of the roughly circular ring of islands called the Cyclades, near Mykonos, is one of the most important mythological, historical and archaeological sites in Greece...
and had great veneration in which he kept for the Greek God Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
. At the Capitoline Museums
Capitoline Museums
The Capitoline Museums are a group of art and archeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The museums are contained in three palazzi surrounding a central trapezoidal piazza in a plan conceived by Michelangelo Buonarroti in 1536 and executed over...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, is on a display a bilingual inscription dedication to him. Mithridates V was buried in the royal tombs of his ancestors at Amasya
Amasya
- History :Its location in this steep valley makes the city a mountain stronghold, easy to defend, and thus Amasya has had a long and prominent history.-Antiquity:...
.
Mithridates V married the Greek Seleucid Princess
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
Laodice VI
Laodice VI
Laodice VI was a Greek Seleucid Princess and through marriage was a Queen of the Kingdom of Pontus....
, who was the daughter of Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes
Antiochus IV Epiphanes ruled the Seleucid Empire from 175 BC until his death in 164 BC. He was a son of King Antiochus III the Great. His original name was Mithridates; he assumed the name Antiochus after he ascended the throne....
and Laodice IV
Laodice IV
Laodice IV was a Greek Princess, Head Priestess and Queen of the Seleucid Empire.-Ancestry, Family & Early Life:...
. Mithridates V and Laodice VI were related, thus he had lineage from the Seleucid dynasty
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
.
Laodice bore Mithridates V seven children who were: Laodice of Cappadocia
Laodice of Cappadocia
Laodice of Cappadocia, also known as Laodice was a Princess from the Kingdom of Pontus.Laodice was a monarch of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. She was the daughter; first born child of the Pontian Monarchs Laodice VI and Mithridates V Euergetes who reigned 150-120 BC. Among her siblings,...
, Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
, Mithridates Chrestus
Mithridates Chrestus
Mithridates Chrestus was a Prince and co-ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus....
, Laodice
Laodice (sister-wife of Mithridates VI of Pontus)
Laodice was a beautiful Pontian Princess and Queen who was first wife and sister-wife to King Mithridates VI of Pontus.She was a monarch of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry...
, Nysa
Nysa
- People :*Nysa , daughter of Laodice IV and Antiochus, wife of Pharnaces I of Pontus* Nysa of Cappadocia, daughter of Pharnaces I of Pontus and Nysa, wife of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia and mother Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia...
(sometimes spelt as Nyssa), Roxana and Statira. Nysa, Roxana and Statira were put to death after the fall of the Kingdom of Pontus in 63 BC.
Sources
- Smith, WilliamWilliam Smith (lexicographer)Sir William Smith Kt. was a noted English lexicographer.-Early life:Born at Enfield in 1813 of Nonconformist parents, he was originally destined for a theological career, but instead was articled to a solicitor. In his spare time he taught himself classics, and when he entered University College...
(editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and MythologyDictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and MythologyThe Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary.- Characteristic :...
, "Mithridates V", BostonBostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, (1867) - Walbank, W. The Cambridge ancient history: The hellenistic world, Volume 7 F. Cambridge University Press, 1984
- McGing, B.C. The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, BRILL, 1986
- Hazel, J. Who's Who in the Roman World, "Mithridates V Euergetes", 2002
- Erciyas, D.B. Wealth, aristocracy and royal propaganda under the Hellenistic kingdom of the Mithradatids in the Central Black Sea Region in Turkey, BRILL, 2006
- Mayor, A. The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome’s deadliest enemy, Princeton University Press, 2009
- http://www.pontos.dk/publications/books/bss-9-files/bss-9-04-callatay