Mithridates I Ktistes (r. 452 – 478)
Founder's Twilight
In the last years of the life of Mithridates the Founder, the kingdom of Pontus was an anomaly among its rivals. Small, hardnosed and remarkably resourceful, the small state had held out against increasing pressure from its neighbours – and mighty Seleucia in particular. King Mithridates had already passed his 69th birthday, but while venerable, he was still hale. With the kingdom firmly in his grasp, and his son and heir in command of the Pontic army, the future of Pontus seemed secure.
Even though he was already a widower several times over, and an old one at that, the King had only one child, the diadoch
(1) Ariobarzanes. Since no other family existed, the succession to the throne was in great peril, and the King knew it. He sought to amend the problem, not just my marriage, but by a double on. On January 13th, he and his son both married their separate brides – two girls, coincidentally both named Tomyris, from leading Pontic families. Encouraged by this sign of family happiness, and by the great trading wealth that flowed through the kingdom, the People of Pontus rejoiced.
But Mithridates, who had gained his kingdom through cunning and audacity, was not one to sit back and enjoy a dignified old day. He doubtlessly enjoyed his honeymoons, but when the news reached him in early April that the neighboring kingdom of Armenia had foolishly attacked the great Seleucid Empire, his response was characteristically swift. Within days, his army was marching into Armenia, laying siege to namesake city in June. The desperate Armenians retaliated by attacking Pontus itself, even laying siege to the capital Amasya in December. Mithridates remained calm, studiously ignoring all Armenian peace overtures. His confidence was bolstered even more when his wife gave birth to a healthy son, the prince Pytheos, on January 17th, 475. Exactly two months later, the Armenians surrendered their city, and their king Mithranes grudgingly accepted the annexation of that province.
Naturally, this bold move greatly added to Mithridates' prestige, and he keenly exploited his new grand status. Rapidly sending diplomats abroad, he forged alliances with various minor states, including Rhodes and the Bosporan Kingdom, thus establishing himself as a rallying point against the might of the great Diadoch
(2) Empires. Meanwhile, his army remained active in Armenia, suppressing rebels whenever they appeared. But when a civil war broke out against the neighbouring king Pharnavaz of Iberia, it was Mithridates' son who showed his value. Eager to discourage any rebel activity near Pontic territories, he moved to besiege the rebel stronghold of Meshketi in July 476. Tragically, he left the capital only days before the birth of his own daughter, Euthalia. How his wife reacted to this is not recorded in history. Meshketi fell in early 477, and a great many of its defenders were slaughtered by vengeful Iberian troops. Prince Ariobarzanes did not enter the defeated city; that had never been his purpose. His name as a conqueror was already made.
While Ariobarzanes was busy chasing foreign rebels, the king himself was putting his new timber, gained through a merchant treaty with Bythinia, to good use. In August of that year, the newly launched trireme Akmonion became the first ship in the Royal Pontic Navy. The King himself assumed command. As Mithridates busied himself with expanding his naval power, Ariobarzanes crushed a barbarian uprising in Trapezus, adding that province to the kingdom in July 478. The power of Mithridates seemed boundless - until disaster struck that summer.
The overseer looked at the shipyard with a content smile. The new warship was finished, right on time, and ready to receive the King's blessing. Soon, the King and his court would come to this gods-forsaken piece of Black Sea coast, he would be paid for a job well done, and finally get back to civilization. Elysion, he would call the ship - "Heaven". In the far distance he saw a rider coming toward him, a court official by the look of it. The overseer frowned. The King usually came unannounced; single courtiers never came to the yard. Still, protocol mjst be observed. Inclining his head slightly, he welcomed his guest.
"Good day, lord. What brings you to this humble shipyard?"
The courtier scowled. "Stop your grovelling, wretch. The trireme is finished, that is good. You are dismissed.'
-"But... the King..."
-"Why do you think I am here, in the blazing heat, listening to a blabbering shipwright, when I could be sipping wine in the palace, fool? The King thanks your for your services. You are dismissed. I will take care of this trireme, called..."
-"I had thought of E..."
-"Be silent. The trireme shall be called Ktistes, after our kingdom's founder. H
e died this morning."
And so began the first day of the reign of Ariobarzanes I Kataktetes.
1. Here: heir, "crown prince"
2. Here: heir to Alexander the Great. The "successor kingdoms" to his Empire.
