Mithridates VI Eupator

Born 132 B.C.; died 63 B.C. King of Pontus.

Mithridates VI reigned formally from 121 B.C., and in fact after 111 until 63. Twice he sent armies to the Crimea to the aid of Chersonesus, which was threatened by the Scythians; in 107 he launched a third campaign to suppress a rebellion that had broken out in the Bosporan state under the leadership of Savmak. At the very start of the uprising King Perisades V was killed, and after Mithridates succeeded in suppressing it, he established his own rule over the Bosporan state. He subjugated almost all the Greek cities of the Black Sea littoral, as well as Cilicia and Colchis. His attempts to annex Cappadocia, Galatia, and Bithynia resulted in war with Rome. In the three wars that he waged against Sulla and Pompey (89–84, 83–81, and 74–63 B.C.), Mithridates was defeated. [16–100O-2]