Pontus (ancient region)
Pontus was an ancient region located in northern Asia Minor along the southern coast of the Black Sea, stretching between Bithynia to the west and Colchis to the east. Initially considered part of Cappadocia, it evolved into a distinct area known as Pontic Cappadocia due to its geographic and cultural differences. This fertile region was characterized by its mountainous terrain rich in timber and metals, and it was home to diverse communities speaking twenty-two different languages, under the influence of a feudal Iranian nobility. Notably, Pontus included significant autonomous temple states like Comana, Cabeira-Diospolis, and Zela.
The Kingdom of Pontus emerged prominently under King Mithridates I Ktistes, who established the capital at Amasia. The kingdom expanded significantly under subsequent rulers, particularly Mithridates VI Eupator, who posed a formidable challenge to Roman power through a series of conflicts. Following his defeat by Pompey the Great, much of Pontus was incorporated into the Roman province of Bithynia and Pontus. The region continued to play a role in Roman politics, with parts governed by client kings until it became fully annexed by the Romans, retaining the name Pontus Polemoniacus. The historical evolution of Pontus reflects a blend of cultural influences and significant political developments throughout its existence.
Subject Terms
Pontus (ancient region)
Pontos (`Sea’)
A region of northern Asia Minor comprising the well-watered, fertile, wooded territory along the south coast of the Euxine (Black) Sea between Bithynia and the river Halys (Kızıl Irmak) to the west and Colchis to the east, and extending southward through mountains, rich in timber and metals, into Cappadocia and Lesser Armenia. At first Pontus was regarded as part of Cappadocia, but then, in order to distinguish it from inland Cappadocian territory, it was called Pontic Cappadocia, and subsequently just Pontus. The people living in its villages, who spoke twenty-two different tongues, were dominated by a feudal Iranian nobility. But Pontus also contained the powerful, autonomous temple states of Comana (Gümenek), Cabeira-Diospolis (Niksar) and Zela (Zile). Moreover, along the coast, apparently in the seventh century BC, Miletus in Ionia (western Asia Minor) established colonies at Amisus (Samsun) and Sinope (Sinop)—which in turn established settlements on its own account.
The kingdom of Pontus took shape under King Mithridates I Ktistes (`the Founder,’ 301–266), a partially Hellenized Persian who claimed royal descent and asserted himself against the Seleucids, establishing his capital at Amasia (Amasra; replaced in the early second century by Sinope). A later member of the Mithridatid house, the philhellenic Pharnaces I (186–169), planned a state extending all around the Euxine coast, and Mithridates V Euergetes (c 150–120) became the most powerful king in Asia Minor. Then the brilliant Mithridates VI Eupator, who came to the throne in 120, increased his dominions to an enormous extent, overrunning the Asian province of the Romans, to whom, in a protracted series of wars, he laid down the most perilous challenge they had ever received from the east.
When he was finally defeated by Pompey the Great (66–63), the core of his kingdom was incorporated in the Roman province of Bithynia and Pontus. Antony and Cleopatra VII of Egypt entrusted large areas of Pontus to client princes, including Polemo I (37/36) whose dynasty remained in control of the eastern part of the country (with his capital at Cabeira-Diospolis-Neocaesarea) until AD 64, when the kingdom was reannexed by the Romans under the name of Pontus Polemoniacus. The western region of Pontus, centered on Amasia, had been attached to the province of Galatia in 3/2 BC.