Mithridates (Mithradates) tried to expand his empire, making allies where he could. It was not his intention to provoke the Romans.
Mithridates Moves into Paphlagonia
In 108/07 Mithridates and Nicomedes II of Bithynia marched into Paphlagonia. A Roman emisssary tried to force Nicomedes and Mithridates to restore its king, Astreodon. Instead, Mithridates annexed a piece of Galatia which his father was supposed to have inherited from earlier rulers, while Nicomedes, far from restoring Paphlagonia to Astreodon, put his son on the throne as puppet. The unsuccessful Roman embassy went home.Mithridates Claims Cappadocia
In 102 Mithridates waged war on Cappadocia, a rugged area of east central Asia Minor with extreme temperatures and poor crops, and installed his 8-year-old son as king, under the regency of a man named Gordius. Mithridates tried to bribe the Roman senators to accept this arrangement, his presence in Paphlagonia and Galatia, and to counter Nicomedes' claim to Cappadocia. At the same time, Nicomedes appealed to Rome on behalf of his own pretender.Rome's Involvement in the Dispute
Instead of taking a clear side, Rome ordered (1)Mithridates to get out of Cappadocia and (2)Nicomedes to leave Paphlagonia. Mithridates obliged and, as he claimed in 89 B.C., he also left Paphlagonia.Left to their own devices, the Cappadocian nobility selected Ariobarzanes for their king. Sulla helped Ariobarzanes assume power.
By allying himself with the neighboring kingdom through marriage, Mithridates hoped to expand his empire. The Armenians would do the invading and reap the spoils while Pontus would gain the territory. In this way, Mithridates himself would not antagonize the Romans.
In 96/5 Tigranes I inherited the throne of Armenia and married Mithridates' daughter Cleopatra. In 94, Nicomedes of Bithynia died. By 91, Rome was embroiled in its own Social War, leaving Mithridates an opportunity to expand his empire. He easily persuaded his son-in-law to take Cappadocia, offering to divide the spoils. Next, Mithridates went after Nicomedes' successor in Bithynia, Nicomedes III.
The ousted rulers appealed to Rome which ruled that they should be restored. M. Aquilius and Manlius Maltinus were ordered to deal with the monarchs of Pontus and Armenia.
Next page > Mithridates Gains Control >Page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Print Sources
H. H. Scullard's revised version of F.B. Marsh's Roman World 146-30 B.C.
Cambridge Ancient History Vol. IX, 1994.
The URL for this feature is
http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa053000b.htm
Also on this site
Originally written by N.S. Gill in May 2000.
-I tell the tale that I heard told.
Mithridates, he died old.
From A.E. Housman "Terence, this is stupid stuff"
