Mithridates VI Eupator

Names
	Mithradates Eupator Dionysus

Mithridates VI
Mithridates VI
King of Pontus
	Gold stater of Mithridates c. 89 BCE
King of Pontus
Reign	120–63 BC
Predecessor	Mithridates V Euergetes
Successor	Pharnaces II of Pontus
Born	135 BC; Sinope, Kingdom of Pontus; (modern-day Sinop, Turkey)
Died	63 BC (aged 71–72); Panticapaeum, Kingdom of Pontus; (modern-day Kerch, Crimea)
Burial	either Sinope or Amaseia, Kingdom of Pontus; (modern-day Sinop or Amasya, Turkey)
Spouse	Laodice; Monime; Berenice of Chios; Stratonice of Pontus; Unnamed fifth wife; Hypsicratea;
Issue; Detail	Mithridates of Colchis; Arcathius; Machares; Pharnaces II of Pontus; Cleopatra of Pontus; Drypetina; Athenais; Xiphares; (illeg.) Mithridates I of the Bosporus; (illeg.) Adobogiona the Younger; (illeg.) Ariarathes IX of Cappadocia; (illeg.) Orsabaris;
Names
Names
	Mithradates Eupator Dionysus
Dynasty	Mithridatic
Father	Mithridates V Euergetes
Mother	Laodice VI
Religion	Hellenistic Paganism

Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (‹See Tfd›Greek: Μιθριδάτης;^[2] 135–63 BC) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an effective, ambitious, and ruthless ruler who sought to dominate Asia Minor and the Black Sea region, waging several hard-fought but ultimately unsuccessful wars (the Mithridatic Wars) to break Roman dominion over Asia and the Hellenic world.^[3] He has been called the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus.^[4] He cultivated an immunity to poisons by regularly ingesting sub-lethal doses; this practice, now called mithridatism, is named after him. After his death, he became known as Mithridates the Great.

^ McGing, Brian. "Pontus, Encyclopædia Iranica". Encyclopædia Iranica.
^ The spelling "Mithridates" was the Roman Latin version, but "Mithradates", the spelling used in Greek inscriptions and Mithridates' own coins, is regaining precedence, see e.g. Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3d ed.
^ "Mithradates VI Eupator", Encyclopædia Britannica
^ Hewsen, Robert H. (2009). "Armenians on the Black Sea: The Province of Trebizond". In Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.). Armenian Pontus: The Trebizond-Black Sea Communities. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc. pp. 41, 37–66. ISBN 978-1-56859-155-1.

[1] McGing, Brian. "Pontus, Encyclopædia Iranica". Encyclopædia Iranica.

[2] The spelling "Mithridates" was the Roman Latin version, but "Mithradates", the spelling used in Greek inscriptions and Mithridates' own coins, is regaining precedence, see e.g. Oxford Classical Dictionary, 3d ed.

[3] "Mithradates VI Eupator", Encyclopædia Britannica

[4] Hewsen, Robert H. (2009). "Armenians on the Black Sea: The Province of Trebizond". In Richard G. Hovannisian (ed.). Armenian Pontus: The Trebizond-Black Sea Communities. Costa Mesa, CA: Mazda Publishers, Inc. pp. 41, 37–66. ISBN 978-1-56859-155-1.

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