Tag: Mithradates VI of Pontus

Clash with Rome

Roman Supremacy in the Mediterranean

After the Punic Wars, Rome emerged as the dominant power in the Mediterranean. The Roman province of Asia expanded through bequests and campaigns against Cilician pirates. Pergamun, under the last king Attalus III, bequeathed its kingdom to Rome, further solidifying Roman influence. By the end of the century, Roman protectorates included Egypt, Bithynia Rome’s Ascendancy in the East, Cappadocia, Galatia, and Paphlagonia. Mithradates VI of Pontus, however, viewed Rome as an obstacle to his ambitions.

Mithradates VI’s Early Reign

Mithradates VI inherited the Pontic throne at twelve in 120 B.C. Despite his young age, he proved a skilled organizer and expanded his kingdom by annexing Colchis (Georgia) and the Crimea in the last decade of the second century. Forming alliances with Parthia and Armenia, he married his daughter to Armenia’s Ki