Bosporus
1) a state that arose around 480 BC in Eastern Crimea and on the Taman Peninsula, along the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus. It united the policies of Greek colonists and the lands of local barbarian tribes, including the Sinds, Maeots, and Dandarii. The center of this association was the city of Panticapaeum. The ruling dynasty of the Archeanactids, originating from Miletus, was replaced in 438 BC by the Spartokid dynasty, of Thracian origin. In the Bosporan cities, along with the increase in the local population (Scythians, Taurians, Sindians and Sarmatians), democratic forms of self-government gradually became obsolete, and the state turned into a monarchy. The Bosporan kings relied on the Scythian and Sindomeotian nobility, protecting the security of transit trade in the Northern Black Sea region - the main source of their wealth. In the V-IV centuries. BC, the most important source of income for the Bosporus was the export of grain (wheat, millet, barley) to the policies of ancient Greece, primarily to Athens. In the middle of the 2nd century. BC, the Bosporus and its ally Chersonese Tauride had a conflict with the Scythian state, and the Pontic kingdom in the Southern Black Sea region provided military assistance to it. In 109 BC, the Bosporan king Perisad V ceded power to the Pontic king Mithridates VI Eupator and was killed for this by a pro-Scythian group of nobles led by the Scythian prince Savmak, a pupil of Perisad. Under the rule of Mithridates, the economic situation of the Bosporus deteriorated sharply as a result of the protracted wars between the Pontians and the Romans. This caused an uprising of the cities of Phanagoria, Nymphaeum, Theodosia and Chersonesus against Mithridates Eupator, and after his death, the Roman commander Gaius Julius Caesar defeated the troops of Pharnaces, the son of Mithridates VI, and the Bosporan kingdom received formal independence under Roman protectorate. In the first centuries AD, the cities of the Bosporus began to flourish economically and culturally, but this period did not last long. From the middle of the 3rd century. invasions of nomadic tribes began. At first, the Bosporus became dependent on the Goths and was forced to provide them with its fleet for predatory raids on the lands of the Roman Empire and the cities of the Caucasus. By the end of the 3rd century. The activity of the Goths weakened and Bosporan trade began to gradually revive, but the onset of raids by Asian nomads completely undermined its economic foundations. In the 40s IV century Bosporus stopped issuing its own coins, and in 363 asked for protection from the Roman emperor Julian the Apostate (360-363). In the 70s IV century the avalanche of Huns that swept across the Northern Black Sea region finally crushed the Bosporan kingdom;
2) a city on the coast of Eastern Crimea, which arose on the site of Panticapaeum, destroyed by the Huns capital of the Bosporan kingdom. In the V - early VI centuries. depended on the Huns, Sarmatians and Alans predominated among its inhabitants. In the 20s VI century was annexed by Byzantium and became one of the important border points of the empire. At the end of the 7th century. The Bosporus and Phanagoria, which lies across the strait from it, were captured by the Khazars. The Bosporus became the capital of the Khazar governor of Eastern Crimea. In the middle of the 9th century. the weakened Khazars retreated to the Don, and the Bosporus again began to play the role of a major trading port, a center of transit trade. At the end of the 9th - beginning of the 10th centuries. The Pechenegs invaded the Northern Black Sea region and destroyed most of the cities of Eastern Crimea, but they spared the Bosporus, which they needed to exchange captured booty for overseas goods. At the end of the 10th century. The Bosporus entered the ancient Russian Tmutarakan principality that arose on the Taman Peninsula and received a new name - Korchev. After the Russians left the Black Sea region in the first half of the 12th century. for some time the city was again in the zone of Byzantine influence, but from the beginning of the 13th century. Byzantium ceased to control the Black Sea basin, and Korchev fell under the rule of the Genoese. The city was renamed Cerchio by the Italians, and a large Genoese trading post and fortress appeared in it. From the middle of the 13th century. The Tatars became the masters of the Northern Black Sea region, but the Genoese coexisted peacefully with them and retained a number of cities, including Cherchio. The arrival of the Turks in 1475 put an end to their stay in these parts. Kerch (formerly Korchev) remained in the power of the Turks until 1771, when it was captured by the troops of the Russian Empire. The city, founded in the 10th century, miraculously survived. Church of John the Baptist, the only Byzantine temple preserved in the Northern Black Sea region.
Byzantine dictionary: in 2 volumes / [comp. General Ed. K.A. Filatov]. SPb.: Amphora. TID Amphora: RKhGA: Oleg Abyshko Publishing House, 2011, vol. 1, p. 166-168.
Bosporan Kingdom
Archonactid Dynasty, 480-438. BC e.
No specific information has been preserved about this dynasty. It is even possible that no Archonaktid dynasty existed, and the early Bosporan rulers were elected and bore the title of archon.
Spartokid Dynasty, 438-109. BC e.
Judging by the names of the kings, this dynasty was of Thracian origin. She succeeded the Archonactids on the throne.
Spartok I 438/7-433/2
Seleucus and Satyr I 433/2-393/2
Satyr I (one) 393/2-389/8
Leukon I and Gorgippus 389/8-349/8
Spartok II and Perisad I 349/8-344/3
Perisad I (single) 344/2-311/10
Satyr II and Prytanius 311/10-310/9
Prytanius (one) 310/9
Evmel 310/9-304/3
Spartok III 304/3-284/3
Perisad II 284/3 - approx. 245
Spartok IV ca. 245-240
Leucon II ca. 240-220
Hygiene approx. 220-200
Spartok V approx. 200-180
Perisad III ca. 180-150
Perisad IV ca. 150-125
Perisad V approx. 125-109
Killed by Scythians as a result of a conspiracy.
Eupatrid Dynasty, 107-8/7. BC e.
The founder of the dynasty was the king of Pontus, Mithridates Eupator, who on his mother’s side was the nephew of Perisades V. Probably, the childless Perisades V bequeathed to him power in the Bosporan kingdom.
Mithridates Eupator sent troops that suppressed the Scythians.
Mithridates I Eupator 107-63
Farnak 63-47
Asandr 46/5-17/6
Dynamia 17-16
Scribonius 15-14
Polemon 14-8/7
Aspurgid Dynasty, 8/7 BC e. - sec. floor. IV century n. e.
Aspurgus (Rescuropius I), son of Asander and Dynamia, received the title of king from Rome in 14 AD. 8/7 BC e. - 37/8 AD e.
Gepepiria 37/8-39
Mithridates III (some time together with Gepepiria) 39-44/5
Cotius I (possibly overthrown in 62) 44/5-67
Rescuropium II 68/9-90
Savromat I 93/4-123/4
Kotiy II 123/4-132/3
Remetalk 131/2-153/4
Titus Julius Evpator 153/3-173(7)
Savromat II 173/4-210/11
Rescuropium III 210/11-226/7
Kotiy III 227/8-233/4
Savromat III 229/30-231/2
Rescuropium IV 233/4
Intimay 236
Rescuropium V ser. III century
Farsanz ser. III century
Sauromat IV?
Titus Julius Tyrant 275/6-278/9
Hedosbiy (Hedobiy) ca. 280
Phofors (usurper) ca. 286/7-308/9
Radamsad (Radamsed) 308/9-318(7)
Rescuropium VI 318/19-335/or later
It is believed that the kingdom died in 370 as a result of the invasion of the Huns. But according to the latest data, the Bosporan cities were practically not damaged by the Huns. Probably, both under the Hunnic rule, and later, and under the Byzantine rule, the Bosporus was ruled by a local dynasty of rulers. In any case, around 522 a king named Diptun is known there.
Book materials used: Sychev N.V. Book of Dynasties. M., 2008. p. 76-78.
Read further:
Greece, Hellas, the southern part of the Balkan Peninsula, one of the most important historical countries of antiquity.
Thracian Bosporus- a strait between Europe and Asia (modern Bosphorus), connecting the Sea of Marmara (Propontis) with the Black Sea (Pontus Euxine).
[ ] , along which the reference point of the so-called Bosporan era was 297/6 BC. e. - this time coincides with the reign of the sons of Eumelus. But the events that caused the introduction of a new chronology system were hardly connected with the Bosporus itself.
In the Bosporus, the system was probably introduced by Mithridates VI Eupator, under whom the Bosporus became part of the Pontic Kingdom (Pontus). Thus, this (rather, Pontic) era of chronology was created in turn on the model of the era of the Seleucid state neighboring Pontus, but the date 15 years later was taken as the beginning of the countdown in Pontus (and, thus, in the Bosporus): the Seleucids believed first year - 312 BC. e. (according to Bickerman).
Such borrowing probably reflects the intensity of ties between the Seleucid power and the Pontic kingdom for the 4th-3rd centuries. BC e., an indirect result of which, thus, was the subsequent introduction of its own chronology system in the Bosporus.
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At first, the colonies did not experience pressure from the barbarians, their population was very small, and the settlements had no defensive walls. Around the middle of the 6th century. BC e. Fires were recorded at some small monuments, including Myrmekia, Porthmia and Thorik, after which small fortified acropolises appeared on the first two of them.
Conveniently located, possessing a good trading harbor and therefore having reached a significant level of development, Panticapaeum, presumably, became the center around which the Greek cities of both banks of the Kerch Strait united into an intercity union. Currently, an opinion has emerged that initially he managed to unite only nearby small towns around himself, and on the other side of the strait, the center was founded in the third quarter of the 6th century. BC e. Phanagoria. Around 510 BC. e. A temple of Apollo of the Ionic order was built in Panticapaeum. Apparently, on behalf of the sacred union of cities that arose around the temple, a coin with the legend “ΑΠΟΛ” was issued. Whether this union was political, how it was organized, who was part of it is unknown. There is a hypothesis linking the issue of these coins to Phanagoria.
According to the instructions of the ancient historian Diodorus Siculus, around 480 BC. e. , the Archeanactid dynasty came to power in Panticapaeum, apparently led by a certain Archeanact. The nature of her reign is not entirely clear. Previously, it was assumed that she could lead a broad defensive alliance of city-states - symmachy, which included all the cities on both banks of the Kerch Strait, including Feodosia. Now scientists are inclined to believe that the power of the Archeanactids was tyrannical. The association was led by the tyrants of Panticapaeum from the Greek, most likely Milesian, family of Archeanactids. The union definitely included such cities and settlements as Myrmekium, Porthmiy and Tiritaka. The inclusion of other Greek settlements on the Taman and Kerch peninsulas remains questionable.
After the death of Perisades I, a struggle broke out between his sons Satyrus, Prytanes and Eumelus. It demonstrated, on the one hand, a violation of the tradition of succession to the throne of the Spartokids, which consisted in the participation of the two eldest sons in governing the state, first together with their father, and after his death in the co-government of two brothers until the death of one of them, on the other hand, the need for the Bosporan dynasts in their policy to take into account the situation in the tribal world of the Northern Pontus and Azov region. Eumelus, the youngest of the brothers, claiming the throne, opposed the two elders. Military actions probably flared up in the Kuban region. In the army of Satyr, and after his death - Prytan, in addition to the mercenaries, an important force were allies - the Scythians. Eumelus relied on the numerically superior army of the local tribe of Fatei, who lived in the Asian Bosporus. The victorious Eumelus brutally dealt with the enemy. During his short reign (309-304 BC), he fought against piracy and maintained friendly relations with the Greek cities along the Black Sea.
The special attention of the Bosporan kings to Pontic affairs was by no means accidental. It responded to the changing situation in this region in connection with the beginning of the movements of the Scythians and the Sarmatians who were pressing them from the east. But ties with Athens were not interrupted: for a grain gift of 77 thousand liters, the Athenians twice sent an embassy to the Bosporus with gratitude. Sources indicate political connections of the Spartokids with Athens, Delphi, Delos, Miletus, and Egypt. Contacts with the Pontic kingdom in the southern Black Sea region became even closer.
On the European side of the Bosporus, an uprising broke out under the leadership of Savmak (Greek: Saumakos). Panticapaeum and Theodosius were captured. Savmak killed Perisad, and the commander Diophantus, sent by Mithridates, fled. A year later, Diophantus returned the Bosporus. He had at his disposal a land army and a navy, with the help of which he captured both Panticapaeum and Theodosia. The perpetrators of the uprising were punished, Savmak was sent to Mithridates and, apparently, executed. Destructions in cities and settlements of the European Bosporus, dating back to the end of the 2nd century. BC e., are usually associated with these events.
In the 80s BC e. The Bosporans broke away from Mithridates, but were pacified by him, and the king transferred control of the Bosporus to his son Mahar. But he betrayed his father’s cause and took the side of Rome. In the 60s BC e. Mithridates personally arrives at the Cimmerian Bosporus and turns it into a springboard for preparations for a new war with Rome. Huge exactions from the population for the maintenance of the army, the construction of the fleet and fortifications, the recruitment of slaves into the army, and then the naval blockade by the Roman fleet caused discontent in the Bosporus and depleted it.
In 63 BC. e. A devastating earthquake occurred in the Bosporus. In the same year, in Panticapaeum, Mithridates died while hiding in a palace on the top of a mountain from mutinous soldiers who proclaimed his son Pharnaces ruler.
The Romans entrusted power over the Bosporus to Pharnaces, calling him their “friend and ally,” but they miscalculated: Pharnaces declared himself “king of kings” and wanted to expand his possessions at the expense of Rome itself. As governor of the Bosporus in 48 BC. e. leaves Asandra. But he successfully won the throne, defeating in 47 BC. e. first Pharnaces, and then Mithridates of Pergamon, after which he married Pharnaces’ daughter Dynamia and from 46 BC. e. began to rule alone in the Bosporus. With his activities until 20 BC. e. associated with the construction of defensive fortifications (the so-called Asandrov Val, apparently separating the Kerch Peninsula from the rest of Crimea) for protection from neighboring tribes, large restoration work, activation of naval forces, and a successful fight against pirates.
After long wars, ruins and devastation under Asander, but especially under his son Aspurgas, the situation in the Bosporus is stabilizing. A period of new, secondary prosperity began, spanning the 1st - early 3rd centuries. n. e. Under Aspurgas, the territory of the state increased due to the temporary annexation of Chersonesos. The king waged successful wars with the Scythians and Taurians. In 14, he received the title of “friend of the Romans” and obtained from Rome the right to the Bosporan throne. His coins had portraits of Roman rulers. The Bosporus in the eyes of the Romans was a source of bread, raw materials and an important strategic point. Rome sought to place its adherents on his throne and kept its troops there. And yet the degree of dependence was not always the same and not as desired in Rome. Already the son of Aspurgus Mithridates waged wars with the Romans. But during the reign of his brother Cotis I (45-68), the connection with Rome strengthened. Since the end of the 1st century, Rome increasingly sees the Bosporus as an important outpost in the northeast, capable of holding back the onslaught of barbarians. Under Rheskuporidas I and Sauromates I, defensive structures were built, borders were strengthened, and the army and navy were strengthened. Sauromatus I and Cotys II win victories over the Scythians. Under Sauromat II (174-210), the Bosporan fleet cleared the southern shores of the Black Sea of pirates. Joint military actions with neighbors were supposed to strengthen the independence of the Bosporus from Rome.
The Bosporan state existed until the beginning of the 6th century. During the second half of the 5th and early 6th centuries, the “protectorate” of the Hunnic tribe of the Utigurs, who returned from Europe after the collapse of the Hunnic Union, spread over the Bosporus. Inscriptions with the names of the kings of the Tiberius-Julian dynasty date back to the end of the 5th century. The inscriptions contain lists of state officials of this time - eparch, comita, protocomita. The biographies of “strong people” of this “dark” time are being restored, for example, the comite Savag, a native of the Kitea region, buried with his wife Faisparta in a large crypt in the capital in 497.
There is a gradual Christianization of the Bosporus. In Panticapaeum and Tiritaka, basilicas - Christian churches - were built in the 5th-6th centuries. Nobles are buried in stone crypts, many of which are painted. The painting style, however, is extremely primitive and is an example of degradation and decline. Panticapaeum (Bosporus), Tiritaka, Kitey, Cimmeric, Phanagoria, Kepi, Hermonassa, and a number of fortresses (Ilyichevskoye settlement on Taman) continue to exist. In the 520-530s, Byzantium established direct power over the Bosporus. The ancient period of its history smoothly transitions into the Byzantine period without any breaks in the evolution of material culture. In 576, the territory from modern Georgia to the Crimea was conquered by the Turkic Khaganate after the war with Byzantium.
Economy
The leading role in the Bosporus belonged to the commercial production of cereals - wheat, barley, millet.
The basis of Bosporus trade was the export of grain bread, which reached colossal proportions for that time: Demosthenes says that Athens received from the Bosporus half of all the imported grain it needed - about 16 thousand tons per year.
In addition to bread, the Bosporus exported salted and dried fish, livestock, leather, furs, and slaves to Greece.
In exchange for all these goods, the Greek states sent wine, olive oil, metal products, expensive fabrics, precious metals, art objects - statues, terracotta, artistic vases - to the Bosporus. Part of this import settled in the Bosporan cities, the other part was transported by Bosporan traders to the steppe for the nobility of the surrounding tribes.
Under the Spartokids, handicraft production also flourished in the cities of the Bosporus. In Phanagoria, Gorgippia and other cities there are small workshops and large ergastiria, where slave labor is used.
In the first half of the 3rd century. BC e. An acute financial crisis broke out in the state. The minting of gold and silver coins of Panticapaeum was stopped. Monetary reform of Leukon II in the third quarter of the 3rd century. BC e. - the issuance of denominations of copper coins with the name and title of the king - contributed to the restoration of the monetary economy and at the same time strengthened the authority of the dynasty. After Levkon, royal coinage (but already gold) became traditional. The production of Panticapaean silver was resumed. In the second half of the 3rd-2nd centuries BC. e. Autonomous coinage was revived in Feodosia, Phanagoria, and Gorgippia.
After the annexation of the Bosporus to Pontus, trade relations with the cities of this state, primarily with Sinope, began to actively develop. According to Strabo, 180,000 medina (7,200 tons) and 200 talents (5,240 kilograms) of silver were shipped annually from the Bosporus to Pontus.
After the Bosporus came under the influence of Rome, a new economic boom began, which continued throughout the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. The Roman authorities did not levy the usual mandatory duty on Bosporan goods in the amount of 1/2 of the total goods. Bosporan merchants traded with distant Alexandria of Egypt and even distant Italian cities.
In the early 40s of the 4th century, coinage ceased in Bosporus, which indicates a certain decline in the traditional ancient economic system. Economic life is localized in territorial-economic microzones around surviving cities. One of the leading agricultural regions in the IV-VI centuries. becomes the Crimean Azov region, where numerous fortified settlements continue to exist. The coins are not minted, but continue to circulate: in the treasures of the 6th century. Byzantine and Late Bosporan coins are contained together.
The Bosporan kingdom arose in the 5th century BC. e. as a result of the unification of Greek city-colonies (Phanagoria, Gorgippia, Kepa, Patus, etc.) under the rule of the hereditary rulers of the Bosporus from the Archeanactid family (480-438 BC). The capital of the Bosporan kingdom was the city of Panticapaeum (now Kerch). The greatest expansion of the territory of the Bosporan kingdom occurred during the reign of Spartacid dynasty , which arose from the first archon of the Bosporan kingdom Spartok I (438 BC-433 BC)
In the works of ancient Greek literature the name is known Pardokas – Παρδοκας - Scythian policeman from the comedy of Aristophanes. The historian Bledyse reads the Scythian name Pardokas as Spardokas - Σπαρδοκας or Spardakos -Σπαρδακος, and considers this name identical to the Latin name Spartacus - Spartacus - Spartak.
During the reign of the Bosporan archon Satyr I (407-389 BC), lands were annexed to the Bosporan kingdom south-eastern coast of Crimea, the cities of Nymphaeum, Heraclea, Feodosiya. The heirs of the Spartokid dynasty began to call themselves “archons of Bosporus and Feodosia” from 349 BC.
During the reign of the Bosporus King Leukon I (389 -349 BC) The Bosporan kingdom managed to subjugate the local tribes living on the coast of Myotis (Sea of Azov) and on the shores of the Taman Peninsula. King Levkon I, became known as "Basileus of all Sinds and Maeots, Archon of Bosporus and Feodosia."
Along the banks Myotids (Sea of Azos) lived myotae, Sarmatians and Sindians. Sindikoy, that is, the lands of the Kuban River basin and part of the Northern Black Sea region were called the land of the Sinds. Name Kuban River comes from the ancient Greek word “Gopanis” (Gipanis) – “horse river”, “violent river”.
From the end of the 2nd century BC. e. The Bosporan state joined the Pontic Kingdom (Pontus), which occupied in 302 - 64. BC. vast territories on the southern coast of the Black Sea in Asia Minor.
The rise of the power of the Bosporan state is associated with the name of the Pontic , who reigned from 121 to 63 BC. e.
Believing in his power and the invincibility of his army, Mithridates IV Eupator began to fight with the Roman Empire.
As a result three Mithridatic wars with Rome (89-84; 83-81; 74-64 BC) The Bosporan and Pontic kingdoms were included in the Roman Empire and became eastern Roman provinces in 64 BC.At the end of the 4th century BC, in the Bosporan kingdom, brutal internecine wars began between his sons Perisada I. In the struggle for the royal throne princes Satyr, Eumelus and Prytan They involved the inhabitants of the Bosporan cities and nomadic tribes in a bloody internecine war. The entire Kuban region, and possibly the Lower Don, became the territory of hostilities.
Basileus (king) of all Sinds and Maeots from 310 BC. e.-304 BC e. Eumelus became Archon of Bosporus and Theodosius , son of Perisad I.
Having reigned on the Bosporan throne, he was forced come to terms with the presence of Roman troops in some cities. The next century and a half became a time of relative stability and calm in the Northern Black Sea region, the era of economic prosperity of the Bosporan cities, the era of their gradual settlement by the Sarmatians. Sarmatian nobility and ordinary Sarmatian nomads began to settle in Bosporan cities. Some of the Sarmatians were able to achieve high positions in the Bosporan administration, for example, the Sarmatian Neol became governor of Gorgippia.At the end of the 2nd and first half of the 3rd centuries. AD most city positions in Tanais It was not occupied by Greeks or descendants of Greeks from mixed marriages. The names of the ruling dynasties of Bosporus have changed; among the Bosporan kings there are known rulers who wore name Savromat (Sarmat)
The Bosporan state lasted until the 4th century AD. and fell under the onslaught of the Huns.
Abstract on Kuban studies on the topic: “Bosporan Kingdom.”
Student 10th grade "B" .
Municipal educational institution secondary school No. 3
Tsymbalyuk Dm.
KRYMSK 2004 G .
P L A N
Introduction.
The emergence of a kingdom.
Relations with neighboring tribes.
Greek colonies.
Ruling dynasties.
Agriculture and tools.
International trade.
Religion.
The struggle between sons for the throne.
Craft and trade.
Strengthening power.
Advance of the enemy and war with Rome.
Conquest of the Bosporus by Rome.
The death of Bosporus.
Conclusion.
The emergence of a kingdom.
State in the Northern Black Sea region in the 5th century BC. e. - IV century AD e. It arose in the 80s of the 5th century BC as a union of Greek city-colonies on the shores of the Kerch Strait (Phanagoria, Gorgippia, etc.) under the rule of the hereditary archons of the city of Panticapaeum (it was located on the site of modern Kerch) Archeanactids (480-438 BC n. e.).
The expansion of the Bosporan state begins after the transfer of power to the Spartokid dynasty (before 107 BC),
then the state was captured by Mithridates VI of Pontus. During the reign of Satyr I (407-389 BC), the conquest of Feodosia was undertaken. Under Leukon I (389-349 BC), the Bosporus managed to subjugate the local Maeotian tribes on the Taman side of the strait. In the 4th century BC. The Bosporan state occupied the territory of the entire Kerch Peninsula, which in ancient times was a group of islands formed by the delta of the Kuban River. On this shore, the Bosporan possessions extended all the way to the modern city of Novorossiysk. In the northeast, the sphere of influence of the Bosporus reached the mouth of the Don, where the city of Tanais was located with a mixed Greco-Maeotian population and a Scythian population. The basis of the Bosporan economy was agriculture, as well as lively trade (primarily bread) with the entire Hellenic world. Already in the 4th century BC. Panticapaeum begins regular production of its coins. From the end of the 2nd century BC. e. The Bosporan state was part of the Pontic kingdom. The Kingdom of Pontus was a state in Asia Minor in 302 (or 301) - 64 BC. e. (on the southern coast of the Black Sea). It reached its greatest prosperity at the end of the 2nd century under Mithridates VI, who conquered the Bosporan state and other territories. The three Mithridatic wars (89-84; 83-81; 74-64 BC) with Rome led to the subordination of the Pontic kingdom to Rome and the inclusion of the territory of the Pontic kingdom in 64 into the Roman state. At the end of the 4th century . BC, after the death of Perisad I, brutal internecine wars began in the Bosporus with his sons - Satyr, Eumelus and Prytan. In addition to the inhabitants of the Bosporan cities, nomadic tribes also took part in the bloody wars. The combat area covered the entire Kuban region, and possibly the Lower Don.
Having ascended the Bosporan throne, Cotius I was forced to come to terms with the presence of Roman troops in some cities. The next century and a half became a time of relative stability and calm in the Northern Black Sea region, an era of economic prosperity of the Bosporan cities, an era of their “Sarmatization”. Tribal nobility and ordinary Sarmatian nomads often moved to cities. Some of the barbarians were able to achieve high positions in the Bosporan administration, for example, Neol (who became governor of Gorgippia). At the end of the 2nd and first half of the 3rd centuries. AD Most city positions in Tanais and other cities were filled by non-Greeks and descendants of mixed marriages. According to this process, the cultural attachments of the Bosporan population were transformed. Even the names of the ruling dynasty have changed; among the kings, several rulers are known who bore the name Savromat
The Bosporan state lasted until the 4th century. AD and fell under the onslaught of the Huns.
Relations with neighboring tribes. Not only the Sarmatians, but also the Meotian tribes of the Sinds who inhabited Sindika had close ties with the Bosporan kingdom. Sindika was the name given to the lands of the river basin. Kuban and part of the Northern Black Sea region, and the later Bosporan Gorgippia arose on the site of the Sind settlement - Sind harbor (modern Anapa). Some of the Sindian tribes were later subordinated to the Bosporus. However, a number of historians, based on the found coins with the ethnonym "Sindon", as well as excavations of Semibratnye mounds and settlements in the lower reaches of the Kuban (Semibratneye, Krasnobatareinoe and Raevskoe) believe that the Sindian tribes, under the influence of the Bosporus, arose their own state led by kings, whose residence and there was the settlement of Seven Brothers. Other historians believe that the "kings" of the Sinds were simply tribal leaders, and coins with the inscription "Sindon" were minted in the Bosporan Gorgippia.
Greek colonies. Greek colonization was of great importance in the history of the tribes that inhabited Crimea in ancient times, during which Hellenic cities and villages appeared on the coast of the Black and Azov Seas. The massive colonization movement of the Greeks dates back to the 8th-6th centuries. BC, by the time their state (polis) was formed. This process was accompanied by an increase in property inequality, the dispossession of many peasants and part of the aristocracy, and socio-political struggle. To these reasons were added others: the search for sources of raw materials (especially metals, timber), missing bread, and at the second stage of colonization (second half of the 7th-6th centuries) - slave labor and markets for Greek goods. In the search for a new homeland, it was primarily landless peasants who took part, but also artisans, traders and representatives of the family aristocracy who were defeated in the political struggle.
The Greeks were attracted to the Northern Black Sea region by fertile soils, rich flora and fauna, an abundance of fish, and convenient harbors. Acquaintance with the local population, apparently, occurred long before the start of colonization thanks to random, sometimes pirate expeditions of Hellenic merchant seafarers. Actually, colonies (apoikias) appeared here later than in other areas of the Mediterranean and Black Sea region - the result of remoteness, the relative severity of the climate, and the hostility of part of the local population. The Asia Minor city of Miletus played a leading role in colonization. In the second half of the 7th century. The first settlement in the Northern Black Sea region was founded on the island. Berezan, at the turn of the 7th-6th centuries. - Olvia (village Parutino) and Panticapaeum (Kerch). In the VI century. - Feodosia, Nymphaeum, Mirmekiy, Tiritaka, Cimmeric in Eastern Crimea; Phanagoria, Hermonassa, Sindskaya harbor, Kepi on the Asian side of the Kerch Strait. Kerkinitida (Evpatoria) and Chersonesus (Sevastopol) are founded in the South-Western Crimea. The number of settlers is believed to have ranged from one hundred to a thousand people. The arrival of the Greeks immediately put on the agenda the question of their relationship with the local population. They developed in different ways, peacefully and hostilely, depending on specific situations and the interest of the aborigines in contacts with aliens. Local tribes became acquainted with the more advanced ancient civilization and borrowed some of its achievements, as a result of which their society improved. These interactions gave rise to a unique, unique and rich world that existed in Crimea for almost a millennium.
The most striking example of the active mutual influence of alien, ancient elements and local, barbarian ones is the largest and most powerful state in the Northern Black Sea region - the Bosporus Kingdom. As a result of the resettlement of the Greeks from the western coast of Asia Minor and the islands of the Aegean Sea in a relatively short period of time in the 6th century. Most of the compactly located settlements arose in the area of the Cimmerian Bosporus (Kerch Strait). The colonists are developing the surrounding fertile lands - this is evidenced by the finds of cereal grains, utility pits and clay vessels for storing grain, tools of rural labor, and the spread of cults of fertility deities. Farmers received plots outside the city, in the territory of the so-called city choir, stretching for several (usually five to seven) kilometers. They raised domestic animals, fished, and hunted. The remains of handicraft production (workshops, tools, weapons, dishes, tiles, clay figurines, weaving weights), as well as buildings for residential, economic and cultural purposes, have also been preserved. They traded, on the one hand, with the cities of the Mediterranean, especially Asia Minor and its neighboring islands (Chios, Samos, Rhodes), and by the end of the 6th century. and with Athens on the other hand, with local tribes - Scythians, Sindians, Maeotians. From Greece they received olive oil, wine, handicrafts, and from the barbarians - agricultural and craft products, slaves. Very early, already from the middle of the 6th century. Panticapaeum begins minting silver coins.
Politically, the Greek cities of the Kerch Strait were isolated and retained the polis organization brought with them by the first settlers. The forms of government in the policies could be different - both democratic and oligarchic - depending on a wide variety of reasons. The colonial cities were closely connected with each other. The interests of the economy, but, most importantly, the difficult international situation and the threat of attack from the surrounding barbarians, especially the Scythians, led to the need for their political consolidation. Conveniently located, with a good trading harbor and therefore having reached a significant level of development, Panticapaeum, presumably, became the center around which the Greek cities of both banks of the Kerch Strait united into one state. Based on the instructions of the ancient Greek writer Diodorus Siculus, it is generally accepted that this happened around 480. The association was headed by the archons of Panticapaeum from the Greek (Miletian) family of Archeanactids. The position of archon became hereditary. It is generally believed that the rule of the Archaeanactids was tyrannical. According to Diodorus, after 42 years (in 438) power passed to Spartok, whose descendants were called Spartokids. The latter headed the Bosporan kingdom until the end of the 2nd century. BC. In Spartok they see both a Thracian, and a representative of the Thracianized or Hellenized Sindo-Maeotian nobility, and a Hellene from the Ionian Iletian aristocracy. (It is also unclear whether there was any violent coup or whether the transition of power to the new dynasty occurred peacefully. The Bosporan state was a monarchical union in nature, most likely a peculiar form of hereditary tyranny, although the rulers traditionally called themselves archons of the Bosporus, and the Greek cities enjoyed some self-government (they had a people's assembly, a council, and elected positions). The agricultural aristocracy, trade and craft strata, and a mercenary army, mainly consisting of barbarian contingents, became the basis of power.
The polis period in the history of the Bosporan cities lasted relatively short. Already in 480 BC. e. cities located on the shores of the Bosporus Strait united into one state. It is believed that this unification was caused by a threat from the Scythians. The rulers of the new state were mysterious, believed to be representatives of a noble family, in which power was passed on by inheritance. The capital of the Archeanactids was Panticapaeum, the largest city in the European Bosporus. A huge temple of the god Apollo was built on its acropolis, which became the religious center of the Bosporan kingdom.
In 438-437 BC e. (In many ancient states, including the Bosporan kingdom, the calendar year began in the fall. Thus, the beginning of the year in the Bosporan era corresponded to one year of our (Gregorian) calendar, and the end to the next.) A coup d’etat took place in the Bosporus, as a result of which The Archeanactids were overthrown by someone who became the founder of a new dynasty. The descendants of Spartok ruled the Bosporus for more than 300 years. The Spartokid dynasty set a course for the centralization of power, the unification within the framework of the Bosporan kingdom of all Greek cities located along the banks of the strait and the surrounding lands inhabited by barbarians.
The son of Spartok (433/32 - 393/92 BC) acted in full accordance with this doctrine. At that time, two cities located in the European part of the Bosporus maintained their independence. These cities were Nymphaeum and Theodosia. Nymphaeum entered into an alliance with Athens, the largest and most powerful center of mainland Greece. A military conflict with Athens was not part of Satyr's plans, so he decided to resort to cunning. The interests of Athens in Nymphaeum were then represented by a certain Gilon. For a large bribe, he handed over the city to Satyr and, for obvious reasons, not risking returning to Athens, he remained to live in the Bosporus. Probably, not without the help of his royal patron, Gilon managed to marry a Scythian woman of a noble family who had influence in the Bosporus.
Gilon's grandson was the famous Greek orator Demosthenes, who, by the way, lived in Athens. Demosthenes loved to make patriotic speeches in the national assembly, so he had to endure many unpleasant moments when the ugly story involving his grandfather came to light...
Despite the incident with Nymphaeus, Satyr managed to establish ties with Athens. The largest city in Greece was in need of bread, which was grown in abundance in the Bosporus, and the Bosporans willingly bought the products of Athenian artisans. In order to stimulate trade, Satyrus granted significant benefits to Athenian merchants. By the way, perhaps thanks to this very circumstance, Gilon’s betrayal was consigned to oblivion.
Following Nymphaeum, Feodosia was annexed, a city of great strategic and economic importance. There was a large harbor here that could accommodate a hundred ships. With the annexation of Feodosia, the Bosporan rulers gained the opportunity to control the territory of eastern Crimea. The Feodosian merchants successfully competed with the Bosporan merchants. Thus, Satyr had plenty of reasons to start a war with Theodosius, but he had to work hard to solve this problem.
Even before the start of military clashes, some tension arose in relations between states. Thus, the Theodosians hosted fugitives from the Bosporus - apparently these were people dissatisfied with the policies of Satyr. The Bosporan ruler did not find anything better than to start a war on two fronts at once - both against Feodosia and against the Sinds who lived on the Black Sea coast of the northern Caucasus. The Sinds stubbornly resisted, the Theodosians also did not think of giving up and even found themselves a strong ally - Heraclea Pontic. The siege of Feodosia undertaken by Satyr did not bring the expected result. The ships of the Heracleots supplied the Theodosians with food and landed troops that hampered the actions of the Bosporan troops.
The Bosporan ruler died under the walls of Feodosia, and the problems facing the state had to be resolved by his son and heir (393/92 - 353 BC).
Leukon quickly defeated Theodosius, taking Scythians as allies or simply recruiting troops. During the decisive battle, the barbarians took a position behind the Bosporan army and began to shoot with bows those who tried to retreat. Theodosia capitulated and was annexed to the Bosporan kingdom. It is interesting that Levkoi and his descendants were afraid to accept the royal title, hated by all Greeks. Despite the fact that the Spartokids were essentially monarchs, they bore the title of “archons of Bosporus and Theodosius” (in Greek city-states, “archons” were the names of elected officials who exercised executive power). But in relation to the dependent barbarian peoples, the Spartokids bluntly called themselves “kings.”
Leukon significantly expanded the eastern borders of the Bosporan kingdom. Sindica was finally annexed, and the tribes of the Torets, Dandarii and Psessians came under the rule of the king. Grain trade with Athens reached unprecedented proportions. The income received from trade operations was so great that Levkoi could afford to abolish export duties on grain. This measure further strengthened the ties between the Bosporus and Athens.
The policies of Leukon I were continued by his sons (353-348 BC) and (348 - 310 BC). They confirmed the benefits granted to the Athenian merchants by their father. In gratitude for this, the Athenians adopted a special decree in honor of the Bosporan rulers, awarded them with golden wreaths and erected a bronze statue of Perisada in their city. Perisad also managed to subjugate the Fatei and Dosh tribes living on the eastern borders of his kingdom. Now the territory of the Bosporus in the east reached the river. Gipanis (Kuban), and in the southeast - approximately to the place where the city of Novorossiysk is now located.
The heyday of the Bosporan kingdom ended at the end of the 4th century. BC e., when a bloody internecine conflict occurred there. Perisad I had three sons: , and Prytan. After the death of his father in 310 BC. e. power passed to the eldest - Satyr II. Eumelus did not recognize his brother’s supremacy, retired to the Asian part of the Bosporus and entered into an alliance with the ruler of the Sirac tribe, Arifarnes. The satyr did not enter into negotiations with Eumelus and decided to suppress the rebellion by force. He managed to enlist the support of the Scythians, who formed the basis of his army. In the battle on the Fat River, Satir completely defeated his brother’s army. Eumelus was forced to flee to a distant fortress, which was soon besieged by Satyr's troops. The situation, which seemed critical to Eumelus, suddenly changed. The satyr tried to organize an assault on the fortress, but was wounded and soon died. The third brother, Prytan, tried to speak out against Eumelus, but he, apparently, was not experienced in military affairs. In any case, the battle between the brothers ended in the victory of Eumelus, and Prytan fled. After some time, he was overtaken by assassins sent by Eumelus.
Having seized power, Eumelus quickly suppressed the resistance of the dissatisfied. Friends and relatives of Satyr and Prytan were killed, and residents of the capital received various benefits. He then defeated the pirates, who were causing a lot of trouble to the Greek merchants. Eumelus patronized the cities of the Southern and Western Black Sea region and even hatched a project to unite all the lands surrounding Pontus under his rule. Death ruined these plans. One day, when Eumelus was riding in a chariot drawn by four, the horses bolted. The king tried to jump out, but his sword caught on the wheel. Eumelus died in 304/303 BC. e.
The Bosporan throne passed to his son (304/303 - 284/283 BC). He was the first ruler who was not afraid to call himself king of the Bosporan cities. At this time, the economic situation of the Bosporus began to deteriorate. Athens, the main importer of bread coming from the Bosporus, is gradually falling into decline. It was during the reign of Spartok III that the latest information about the supply of Bosporan grain to Athens dates back to. Bosporan merchants were forced to reorient themselves to trading in livestock, fish and slaves. Probably, the needs of trade prompted Spartok III to organize an expedition to the mouth of the Don. The city of Tanais was founded here, which became a center of exchange with the tribes living in the Don and Azov regions.
After Spartok III, the throne was inherited by Spartok III, who ruled for more than 30 years. During his reign, the crisis in the economy continued. The coin gradually depreciated in value - instead of gold and silver money, the state was forced to mint copper. Perisad tried to find a way out of the crisis by agreeing on joint actions in the international grain market with the king of Egypt, Ptolemy. At this time, Egypt became the largest competitor of the Bosporus in the grain trade. An exchange of embassies took place between the states, but its results remain unclear.
From the political history of the Bosporan kingdom in the second half of the 3rd - 2nd centuries. BC e. Only isolated episodes are known. At this time, power in the Bosporus remained in the hands of the Spartokid dynasty, but we know most of the kings only insofar as their names were put on coins. In the second half of the 3rd century, the king again fought with Feodosia. Probably, the city tried to achieve independence, taking advantage of the weakness of the ruling dynasty. The inhabitants of Pontic Heraclea again took the side of the Theodosians. The hardships of the war caused discontent among Leukon's subjects: conspiracies were formed against him, the troops refused to obey the king. The pressure of the Scythians on the Bosporus is increasing. The Spartokids were forced to pay tribute to the barbarians and enter into dynastic marriages with them.
By the end of the 2nd century. BC e. the Bosporan kings could no longer cope with the Scythian danger on their own. Therefore, when the famous commander Diophantus appeared in Panticapaeum and invited the king to abdicate the throne in favor of the ruler of the Pontic state, Perisad could only agree. The news of the king's abdication caused an uprising of the Scythians living in the Bosporus. A conspiracy was drawn up, as a result of which Perisada was killed, and Diophantus fled to Chersonesos. About a year later he returned with a large army, defeated the rebels and captured their leader, Savmak. The Bosporus lost its political independence and became part of the power of Mithridates VI Eupator.
The goal of Mithridates' policy was to create a powerful state that could challenge Rome. To do this, he, in particular, tried to enlist the support of residents of Greek, including Bosporan cities. Many of them were granted self-government and the right to mint their own coins. To encourage trade, Mithridates reduced existing taxes and cleared the sea of pirates. The Pontic king repeatedly tried to fight with Rome, but each time was unsuccessful. The first war took place in 89 - 85. BC e. Although the main battles between the opposing sides in this and subsequent wars took place on the territory of Asia Minor, the Romans were well aware of the importance of the Bosporus, which was a source of manpower and food for Mithridates. They developed tactics to fight Mithridates, deciding to cause discontent in the Bosporan cities and thus strike the Pontic king from the rear. For this purpose, the Romans brought their fleet into the Black Sea and began a blockade of the Bosporus, as a result of which the Bosporan merchants suffered huge losses. The unsuccessful actions of Mithridates in Asia against the Roman troops forced him to increase state taxes and continuously replenish his army at the expense of the inhabitants of Greek cities. The decline of trade and exorbitant taxes caused understandable discontent among the inhabitants of the Bosporus. In 86 BC. e. they broke away from the power of Mithridates. Soon the Pontic king made peace with Rome and began to restore order in his own state. The second war with Rome (83 - 81 BC) prevented the Bosporus from being brought to obedience. Only in 80 or 79 BC. e. Mithridates re-established himself on the shores of the Kerch Strait. Understanding the important strategic importance of these territories, he gives them to his son Mahar for management.
In 74 BC. e. The last, third war begins between the ruler of Pontus and the Roman state. Soon the Romans managed to win a number of important victories. They captured major trading cities on the southern coast of the Black Sea, thereby depriving Mithridates' fleet of its main bases and again threatening Bosporan trade. The Pontic king was at this time in Asia Minor. In order to strike him from the rear, the Romans entered into negotiations with Machar and persuaded him to betray. Mahar was supported by Bosporus and Chersonese, who understood perfectly well that the continuation of hostilities would lead to the final cessation of trade operations in the Black Sea basin. In 70 BC. e. Mahar openly went over to the side of his father's opponents, but Mithridates was not broken and continued the war.
In 65 BC. e. Mithridates was defeated in the fight against the Roman commander Pompey and lost all his possessions in Asia Minor. The Pontic king with the remnants of the armies loyal to him fled to the Bosporus, killed Mahar and again subjugated the local inhabitants to his power. Realizing the precariousness of his positions and counting on continuing the fight against Rome, Mithridates tried to enlist the support of the barbarians living in the neighborhood. For this purpose, he took several Scythian “princesses” as wives. In response, Pompey established a naval blockade of the Bosporus, declaring that the owners and captains of ships who attempted to reach Mithridates' possessions would be summarily executed. The prospect of continued senseless military action, the decline of trade, excessive exactions, and the abuses of the Mithridates administration forced the Bosporans to do as Pompey had hoped. The first to rebel was Phanagoria, the largest city on the Asian shore of the Bosporus. Chersonesos, Theodosius and Nymphaeum followed his example. Mithridates' son Pharnaces decided to come to an agreement with Rome and entered into negotiations with Pompey, while at the same time inciting Mithridates' army to rebel against the king. Pharnaces' intrigues led to the soldiers mutinying and proclaiming him king. Betrayed by his children, friends and army, Mithridates committed suicide on the acropolis of Panticapaeum in 63 BC. e.
The Bosporus ended up in the hands of Pharnaces, who soon managed to conclude a profitable agreement with Rome. Chersonese and almost the entire territory of the Bosporan kingdom went into the possession of Pharnaces, with the exception of Phanagoria, which, at the insistence of the Romans, was granted autonomy because its inhabitants were the first to rebel against Mithridates. For his services in the fight against his father, Pharnaces received the title “friend and ally of the Romans.”
Having established himself in the Bosporus, Pharnaces began to think about restoring his father’s power. The opportune moment soon arrived - a civil war began in Rome between the winner of Mithridates Eupator, Pompey, and another famous commander, Julius Caesar. Meanwhile, Pharnaces captured and destroyed Phanagoria, led a large army through the Caucasus and invaded Asia Minor. By the autumn of 48 BC. e. Almost all the possessions that had once belonged to his father were in the hands of Pharnaces, but at that time a certain Asander, who had been left as governor in the Bosporus, unexpectedly rebelled.
Meanwhile, the civil war in Rome ended with Caesar's victory. He went to Asia Minor and in August 47 BC. e. Completely defeated Pharnaces at the Battle of Zela. Pharnaces fled, gathered an army of Scythians and Sarmatians, captured Ponticapaeum and Theodosia, but suddenly died, and power over the Bosporus remained in the hands of Asander. This state of affairs did not suit Julius Caesar, who wanted to see one of his friends at the head of the Bosporan kingdom. The choice fell on the illegitimate son of Mithridates VI Eupator, also Mithridates, ruler of the state of Pergamum in Asia. However, the uprisings that soon began in other possessions of Rome prevented Caesar from providing real assistance to his protege. Mithridates of Pergamon tried to capture the Bosporus with his own forces, but soon died in the fight with Asander.
Asander turned out to be an extraordinary ruler. To strengthen his power, he married Dynamia, daughter of Mithridates VI Eupator and sister of Mithridates of Pergamon, and soon obtained recognition from the Romans of his rights to the Bosporus. He strengthened the western borders of his possessions by building a powerful defensive rampart there. Unstable situation in the Black Sea basin in the middle of the 1st century. BC e. contributed to the flourishing of piracy, which caused significant losses to Bosporan trade. Asander managed to destroy the pirates, in honor of which a series of coins was issued with the image of the goddess of victory, Nike, standing on the bow of the ship.
In 20 BC. e. Asander died; power passed to Dynamia. Soon after this, a time of troubles began in the Bosporus. A fierce struggle for power begins, in which adventurers of all stripes took part. Rome played a significant role in the strife, whose rulers did not abandon attempts to establish one of their proteges on the throne of the Bosporan kingdom.
The first contender for the throne was Scribonius, who pretended to be the grandson of Mithridates VI Eupator, and claimed that it was he who was entrusted by the Roman Emperor Augustus to rule the Bosporus. Perhaps Scribonius's rebellion began during Asander's lifetime. The adventurer managed to seize power and marry Dynamia, but this situation did not suit Augustus, who wanted to see a man loyal to himself as king of the Bosporus. The Romans offered the Bosporan throne to the king of Pontus, Polemon I. The inhabitants of Panticapaeum, who did not want to quarrel with Rome, killed Scribonius, but refused to recognize Polemon as king and began to create all sorts of obstacles for him. In response, Polemon started a war, defeated the Bosporans in battle, and the Romans announced the beginning of preparations for a campaign against the Bosporus. As a result, the Bosporans had no choice but to recognize the power of Polemon. The latter, by decision of Augustus, married Dynamia. This happened in 14 BC. e.
The course of further events is very poorly covered in the sources. It is known that a few years later Polemon married a relative of Emperor Augustus - therefore, by that time Dynamia had already died. Resistance to Polemon continued. Trying to suppress him, the king destroyed several fortresses, including Tanais. Then Polemon got involved in a fight with the Aspurgian tribe living on the Asian side of the Bosporus, and in 8 BC. e. died. There are different opinions in science about who became his heir.
In 14 AD e. the ruler of Bosporus turns out to be Aspurgus, who may have been somehow connected with the Aspurgians. It is believed that he came from a noble Sarmatian family. It is possible that he was the son of Asander and Dynamia. In 15, Aspurgus visited Rome and convinced the new emperor, Tiberius, to grant him the royal title. In honor of this event, one of the sons of Aspurgus was named Tiberius Julius Cotis. Subsequently, the name Tiberius Julius became dynastic for the Bosporan kings - descendants of Aspurgus. Aspurgus managed to defeat the Scythians and Taurians and, thereby, secure the borders of his state from the barbarian threat. Aspurgus's services to the state were so great that he was deified during his lifetime. A corresponding temple was built in Panticapaeum.
After the death of Aspurgus in 37/38, power passed to his wife Hypepiria. This probably happened because the heir to the throne, Mithridates, was still a very young man. Soon another turmoil begins - the Roman emperor Caligula supported the claims to the Bosporan throne of Polemon, probably the son of that Polemon, who was the Bosporan king for some time and then died in a battle with the Aspurgians. Polemon, however, did not even manage to visit the Bosporus. Hypepiria, and then Mithridates II, firmly held power in their hands, and Caligula for some reason forgot to provide real help to his protege and soon died. The new emperor, Claudius, retained the Bosporus for Mithridates, giving Polemon control of a small region in Asia Minor.
During this conflict, Cotis, brother of Mithridates, went to Rome. Probably his task was to convince Emperor Claudius of the loyalty of the Bosporan king. Kotis, however, wanted to be king himself. He told Claudius that his brother allegedly had ambitious plans and was preparing for war against Rome. As a result, Claudius declared Mithridates deposed, named Cotys king and sent him to the Bosporus, accompanied by a large army. Mithridates managed to win over to his side a coalition of barbarian tribes living on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The Romans defeated the army of Mithridates, and he had to flee to the allies. Cotis took the throne, and the Roman troops, considering the task completed, left the Bosporus. After some time, deciding that the situation was favorable to him, Mithridates again opposed Cotys. At this stage of the war, the Sarmatians fought on the side of both brothers. In the end, Cotys was victorious, captured Mithridates and sent him to Rome.
Mithridates lived for a long time in the “eternal city” as a private citizen, then got involved in political intrigues and was executed for participating in a conspiracy against the emperor. The war for the Bosporan throne ended in 49. After its end, the Roman soldiers sailed home. Somewhere, probably off the southern coast of Crimea, the ships were caught in a storm; many of them were thrown ashore and became prey for the Tauri.
About the history of the Bosporan kingdom in the second half of the 1st - mid-3rd century. Very little information has survived. Power remained in the hands of the dynasty, whose representatives bore the name Tiberius Yuliev. The reigns of kings are usually determined by the dates on the coins they minted. Despite the fact that the rulers of the Bosporus bore pompous titles and were often deified, they had to submit to the interests of Rome in everything. The cult of the Roman emperors was established, the high priests of which were the kings themselves. Portraits of emperors were minted on Bosporan coins. The rulers of the Bosporus were called “friends of Caesar and the Romans” in official documents. There is an assumption that detachments of Roman troops were constantly stationed in the Bosporus. At any moment, the Bosporan king could be summoned to the empire to give explanations on issues of interest to the Roman administration.
The rulers of the Bosporus administered the state relying on an extensive bureaucratic apparatus. At the court there were the positions of manager, secretary of the king, bed-keeper, equerry, treasurer and others. Governors were appointed to cities and dependent barbarian tribes. Some cities also had elected officials. The position of governor of the European part of the Bosporus was very important. The army was led by military leaders of various ranks, the navy by navals. A special role in the life of the Bosporus was played by religious unions (fias), which were involved in the education of youth, held meetings at which various issues were resolved, and simply helped their members.
The Bosporan kings periodically had to conflict with the Scythians. Tiberius Julius Sauromatus I (93/94 - 123/124) fought with them twice, and both times successfully. Perhaps it was in gratitude for these victories that Sauromatus was deified. Tiberius Julius Sauromat II (174/175 - 210/211) made a campaign deep into the Crimean Peninsula, defeated the Late Scythian kingdom and took possession of its territory. It is possible that Roman troops took part in this war on the side of the Bosporans. Sauromat II also managed to defeat the Sarmatian tribe of the Siracs and inflict serious damage on the pirates who attacked the ships of the Bosporan merchants. His son, Tiberius Julius Reskuporides II (211/212 - 228/229), called himself "king of the whole Bosporus and Tauro-Scythians."
In the middle of the 3rd century. Gothic tribes appear in the Bosporus. They managed to destabilize the situation in the state, capture several cities and even overthrow the ruling dynasty. The invasion of the Goths was the beginning of the end of the Bosporan kingdom.
I.N.Khrapunov, N.I.Khrapunov
