Polemon I

Polemon I ( Greek Πολέμων ) (d. 8 BC ) - King of Pontus , who ruled in 38 - 8 years. BC e. and king of Bosporus in 14-8 years. BC e.

Polemon was the son of a certain Zeno, a wealthy speaker from the city of Laodiki . In 40 BC. e. with his father, Polemon defended the city from the Parthian invasion, as a result of which the Romans granted both Roman citizenship. In 39 BC e. Mark Anthony appointed Polemon the prefect (governor) of part of Cilicia and Lycaonia , and in 37 BC. e. sent him to Pontus king. In 36 BC e. Polemon as part of the Roman army participated in the unsuccessful campaign of Anthony to the east and was captured by the Parthians. However, he was redeemed and was able to return home. In 34 BC e. Anthony included Little Armenia in the kingdom of Polemon, but three years later the Romans took it back because of Anthony's support in the Roman civil war. However, Octavian left Pontus Pontus and even added the kingdom of Bosporus to his possessions.

The basis of our ideas about this period is an excerpt from the "Roman History" of Dion Cassius ^[1] :

“... a coup took place on the Bosporus of Cimmeria . A certain Scribonius, posing as the grandson of Mithridates, and claiming that he received royal authority from Augustus, after the death of Asander, took the wife of the latter named Dynamia ... and sought to take possession of the Bosporus . After hearing about this, Agrippa sent Polemon against him, who reigned in Pontus, near Cappadocia. He no longer found Scribonius alive, since the Bospors, having learned of his plan, had already killed him; when they resisted Polemon ... he fought with them and won, but could not subjugate them until Agrippa arrived in Sinop with the intention of marching on them. Then they laid down their arms and surrendered to Polemon ... "

(Dio Cass. LIV. 24).

In order to peacefully take possession of the Bosporus, he had to marry Dynami (the granddaughter of Mithridates the Great), this marriage lasted no more than a year, since Polemon tried to change the old Bosporus orders established by Mithridates.

Exactly two years after the wedding with Dynamic , Polemon married Pythodorides , who bore him two sons and a daughter:

• Zeno (Zeno Artaxias), king of Armenia (under the name Artashes III ) in 18 - 35 years .
• Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythorus (Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythodorus), King of Pontus in 3 BC. e. - 7 n. e. (co-ruler of the mother).
• Antonia Tryphaena , wife of Cotis III (Sapey king of Thrace ), mother of Polemon II (king Pontus in 38 - 64 years).

In 8 BC. e. Polemon was killed by the rebels, and the royal throne passed to his widow Pythodorides , the granddaughter of Mark Anthony, who then married Archelaus , the last king of Cappadocia.

A somewhat different version of the cause of death of Polemon sounds in Strabo , who wrote ^[2] :

These ( meotam ) include aspurgians living in a space of 500 stages between Phanagoria and Gorgipia. When King Polemon I, attacking them under the pretext of concluding a friendship treaty, failed, however, to hide his intention, they outwitted him and captured him and killed him.

Some time after the death of Polemon, Aspurg (the son of Dynami from Asander ) managed to become the ruler of the Bosporus kingdom and the founder of a new dynasty. Octavian Augustus recognizes Aspurg as the king of the Bosporus, having achieved the separation of Chersonese from his kingdom.