Polemon I of Pontus

Polemon I of Pontus
King ofPontus
Reign	36 – 8 BC
Successor	Pythodorida of Pontusas Queen
King of theBosporan Kingdom
Reign	16 – 8 BCor 12/13–8 BC
Spouse	Dynamis Pythodorida of Pontus
Issue	Artaxias III Polemon II of Pontus Antonia Tryphaena (all with Pythodorida)
Father	Zenon
Military career
Allegiance	Roman Republic
Years	36 BC
Battles/wars	Antony's Parthian War

Polemon I Pythodoros(Greek:Πολέμων Πυθόδωρος;fl. 1st century BC – died 8 BC) was the Roman Client King ofCilicia,Pontus,Colchisand theBosporan Kingdom.Polemon was the son and heir of Zenon and possibly Tryphaena. Zenon and Polemon adorned Laodicea with many dedicated offerings.

Life and career

Polemon wasAnatolianGreek.Polemon's father, Zenon, was an orator and a prominent aristocrat fromLaodicea on the LycusinAnatolia.Zenon supported Hybreas, an orator and prominent politician inMylasa(the chief city of Caria). Hybreas got into trouble with the Roman generalQuintus Labienusfor making a sarcastic comment. Labienus marched on Mylasa. Many of its citizens were inclined to surrender. However, Zenon and Hybreas refused to yield and led their cities into a revolt. Zenon encouraged the locals to resist Labienus and KingPacorus I of Parthia,when their armies invadedSyriaand Anatolia in 40 BC. Labienus sacked Mylasa. He 'shamefully maltreated' the home of Hybreas.Zenon was a friend and ally of Roman TriumvirMark Antonyand played a leading role during theParthianinvasion.

According toAppian,Mark Antonyestablished client kings in the eastern areas of theRoman empire,which were under his control, on condition that they paid a tribute. InAnatoliaPolemon was appointed to part ofCilicia,Darius, the son ofPharnaces IIand grandson ofMithridates VI,toPontus,and Amyntas toPisidia.This was in 37 BC, before his war with Parthia, when he was making preparations for it and before he wintered in Athens in the winter of 37/36 BC.

According toCassius Dio,in 36 BC Polemon took part in Mark Antony's campaign againstParthia.He was in a detachment led by Oppius Statianus which was attacked and slaughtered by the Parthians and the Medians. Polemon was the only one who was not killed. He was captured and then released for a ransom.In that year, after his defeat in his war against Parthia, Mark Antony 'assigned principalities.' He gave Amyntas Galatia and addedLycaoniaand parts of Pamphylia to his domain. He gave Cappadocia to Archelaus after driving out Ariarathes. In 35 BC he wanted to conduct a campaign againstArtavasdes II,the king ofArmenia.He sent Polemon toArtavasdes,the king ofMediaAtropateneto try to obtain an alliance with him. This was successful, and in 31 BC, when the agreement was finalised, Antony gave PolemonLesser Armeniaas a reward.

In 26 BC, Polemon, whom Cassius Dio described as the king of Pontus, “was enrolled among the friends and allies of the Roman people; and the privilege was granted the senators of occupying the front seats in all the theatres of his realm.”

Strabo gave an indication of how Polemon might have become a king of Pontus. He wrote Polemon andLycomedes of Comanaattacked Arsaces, one of the sons ofPharnaces II of Pontus,inSagyliumbecause he “was playing the dynast and attempting a revolution without permission from any of the prefects…” This stronghold was seized, but Arsaces fled to the mountains where he starved because he was without provisions and without water. Pompey had ordered the wells to be obstructed by rocks to prevent robbers from hiding on the mountains. Arsaces was captured and killed.Arsaces probably claimed the throne because he was the grandson ofMithridates VI of Pontus,the last king of an independentKingdom of Pontus.Sagylium was in the interior of Pontus, not far from Cappadocia and fromComanain Cappadocia, which was ruled by Lycomedes. Polemon must have assumed a royal title in Pontus due to the part he played in suppressing Arsaces. In a later passage, Cassius Dio, specified that Polemon was “the king of that part of Pontus bordering on Cappadocia…” (see below). Therefore, Pontus must have been assigned to several client kings who administered the various regions of Pontus.

Plutarch listed Polemon among the eleven subject kings who sent troops to support Mark Antony in theBattle of Actiumin his battle withOctavianin 31 BC. Polemon was among the five kings who did not participate in the battle personally.

In a further episode involving Polemon, Cassius Dio, referred to Polemon as "the king of that part of Pontus bordering on Cappadocia.”Marcus Vipsanius Agrippasent Polemon against a certainScriboniuswho claimed to be a grandson of Mithridates VI and that he had received theBosporan Kingdomfrom Augustus after the death of its king, Asander. He married Asander's wife,Dynamis,the daughter of Pharnaces II, who had been entrusted with the regency of the kingdom by her husband. Thus, Scribonius controlled this kingdom. When Polemon reached theCimmerian Bosporus,Scribonius had been killed by the people, who had heard of his advance. They resisted Polemon because they were afraid that he might be appointed as their king. Polemon defeated them but was unable to quell the rebellion until Agrippa went toSinopeto prepare a campaign against them. They surrendered. Polemon was appointed as their king. He married Dynamis with the support of Augustus.

The date of Polemon's death is unknown. An inscription indicates that he must have been still on the throne as late 2 BC.Or he died about 8 BC.

Strabo wrote thatTanais,a Greek city in theMaeotian Swamp,was sacked by Polemon because “it would not obey him.” Polemon conqueredColchis.He attacked theAspurgiani,aMaeotianpeople, under a pretence of friendship, but they defeated him, took him alive and killed him. Strabo also wrote that after Polemon's death “his [second] wifePythodorida of Pontus[was] in power, being queen, not only of the Colchians, but also ofTrapezusandPharnaciaand of the barbarians who live above these places…”

Marriages and succession

Through his first wife,Dynamis,Polemon became stepfather toTiberius Julius Aspurgus,her son from her first marriage. It seems that after the death of Polemon she regained the Bosporan kingdom and she appears to have ruled until 7-8 AD.Or Dynamis died in 14 BC.

Polemon remarried. His second wife,Pythodorida of Pontus,was a halfAnatolianGreek andRomannoblewoman. She was the first grandchild of Antony. Strabo wrote that she was the daughter of Pythodorus of Tralles and gave some information about the two sons and the daughter of Polemon and Pythodorida.They were:

• Zenon, also known as Zeno-Artaxias orArtaxias III,who became King ofGreater Armeniain 18 AD and reigned until his death in 35 AD. He was appointed byGermanicusbecause the throne was vacant and he had popular support as he had imitated Armenian customs from an early age. He was saluted as Artaxias, afterArtaxata,the capital of the kingdom.
• Marcus Antonius Polemon Pythodoros, also known asPolemon II of Pontus.Strabo wrote that "as a private citizen is assisting his mother in the administration of her empire."
• Antonia Tryphaenawho marriedCotys VIII,King ofThrace.Cotys was murdered "and she lived in widowhood, because she had children by him; and the eldest of these [was] in power" at the time of Strabo.

Pythodorida succeeded Polemon and ruledTibareniandChaldia,extending as far asColchis.She also ruledPharnaciaand Trapezus (modernTrabzon). Strabo described her as "a woman who is wise and qualified to preside over affairs of state." She marriedArchelaus of Cappadociauntil his death. She was still ruling at the time of Strabo and "in possession of not only of the places above mentioned, but also of others still more charming." She possessed the cities of Sidene andThemiscyraPhanaroea,close to Pharnacia, the area between the rivers Lycus (Kelkit) and Iris (Yeşilırmak), which included the cities ofMagnopolis,Amaseia,and Cabeira (which Pompey had renamed Diospolis), Kainon Chorion, plusZelitisand Megalopolitis. Pythodoris changed the name of Diospolis toSebaste,embellished it and used it as a royal residence.

Family tree of Polemon I

Mark Antony triumvir ∞ 2.Antonia Hybrida

Pharnaces II king of C. Bosporus 63-47 BC

Zenon ∞ Tryphaena (?)

Pythodoros of Tralles wealthy Greek

Antonia

Asander king of C. Bosporus 47-17 BC ∞Dynamis

Dynamis queen of C. Bosporus 16-8 BC ∞ 1.Asander 2.Scribonius 3.Polemon I

Polemon I king of Pontus, Cappadocia 37-8 BC ∞ 1.Dynamis 2.Pythodoris

Pythodoris queen of Pontus 8 BC-28 AD ∞ 1.Polemon I of Pontus 2.Archelaus of Cappadocia

Archelaus king of Cappadocia

T. J. Aspurgus king of C. Bosporus 8 BC-38 AD ∞Gepaepyris

Zenon/Artaxias III king of Armenia 18-34

J. Berenice daughter of Herod Agrippa I king of Judea

Polemon II king of Pontus, Cappadocia 38-64

J. Mamaea daughter of Sampsigeramus II priest-king of Emessa

Antonia Tryphaena ∞Cotys III king of Thrace 12-19

T. J. Mithridates king of C. Bosporus 38-45

T. J. Cotys I prince

See also

• Bosporan Kingdom
• Roman Crimea

References

Primary sources

Appian, The Civil Wars, Penguin Classics, 1996;ISBN978-0140445091

• Cassius Dio, Roman History, vol. 5, Books 46-50 (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989;ISBN978-0674990913
• Strabo, Geography, vol. 5, Books 10-12, (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989;ISBN978-0674992337
• Strabo, Geography, vol. 6, Books 13-14 (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989;ISBN978-0674992467
• Plutarch, Lives, vol. 9, Demetrius and Antony. Pyrrhus and Gaius Marius, Loeb Classical Library, Loeb, 1920; ASIN: B00E6TGQKO

Secondary sources

• Dmitriev, S,. Claudius' Grant of Cilicia to Polemo,Classical Quarterly,n.s., 53 (2003), pp. 286–291[2]
• Smith, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology: Polemon I[3]
• Smith, A. (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology: Zenon[4]

External links

• GreekWikisourcehas original text related to this article:Πολέμων Πυθόδωρος
• Coinage of Polemon I