Prusias I Cholus (; c. 243 – 182 BC) was a

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

, who reigned from c. 228 to 182 BC.

Life and reign

Prusias was a vigorous and energetic leader; he fought a war against

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

(220 BC), seizing its Asiatic territory, a part of

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; ; ; ) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lyd ...

that had been in its possession for a long time. Then, Prusias defeated the Galatians who

Nicomedes I Nicomedes I (; lived c. 300 BC – c. 255 BC, reigned 278 BC – c. 255 BC), second king of Bithynia, was the eldest son of Zipoetes I, whom he succeeded on the throne in 278 BC. Life He began his reign by killing two of his brothers, but t ...

had invited across the

Bosphorus The Bosporus or Bosphorus Strait ( ; , colloquially ) is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul, Turkey. The Bosporus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and forms one of the continental bo ...

to a territory called Arisba, putting to death all of their women and children and letting his men plunder their baggage. At some point during his reign, Prusias formed a marriage alliance with

Demetrius II of Macedon Demetrius II (Greek: Δημήτριος, romanized: ''Demetrios;'' 275 - 229 BC), also known as Demetrius Aetolicus, was king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 239 until his death in 229 BC. Biography Demetrius was born in either 27 ...

, receiving the latter's daughter, Apama, as his wife. Prusias expanded the territories of Bithynia in a series of wars against

Attalus I Attalus I ( ), surnamed ''Soter'' (, ; 269–197 BC), was the ruler of the Greek polis of Pergamon (modern-day Bergama, Turkey) and the larger Pergamene Kingdom from 241 BC to 197 BC. He was the adopted son of King Eumenes I ...

Pergamum Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; ), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river ...

and

Heraclea Pontica Heraclea Pontica (; ; , ), known in Byzantine and later times as Pontoheraclea (), was an ancient city on the coast of Bithynia in Asia Minor, at the mouth of the river Lycus. The site is now the location of the modern city Karadeniz Ereğli, in ...

on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

, taking various cities formerly owned by the Heracleans, renaming one of them, Prusias, after himself. While besieging the city of Heraclea Pontica, Prusias dealt many casualties to the besieged. While climbing a ladder, he was hit with a stone and he broke his leg; the siege was lifted due to his injury. This is likely where he was given the surname "the lame". He was son-in-law of Philippus V.

Philip V of Macedon Philip V (; 238–179 BC) was king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon from 221 to 179 BC. Philip's reign was principally marked by the Social War (220–217 BC), Social War in Greece (220-217 BC) ...

granted him the ports of Kios and Myrleia in 202 BC. Prusias renamed these cities as Prusias and Apameia respectively. Although he granted sanctuary to

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

, who successfully employed an odd stratagem against the Attalids for him at sea, he remained neutral during the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

's war with

Antiochus III the Great Antiochus III the Great (; , ; 3 July 187 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 223 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the rest of West Asia towards the end of the 3rd century BC. Rising to th ...

, refusing an alliance with Antiochus. He agreed on peace terms with presumably

Eumenes II Eumenes II Soter (; ; ruled 197–159 BC) was a ruler of Pergamon, and a son of Attalus I Soter and queen Apollonis and a member of the Attalid dynasty of Pergamon. Biography The eldest son of king Attalus I and queen Apollonis, Eumenes was pr ...

in 183 BC, in the city of

Cyzicus Cyzicus ( ; ; ) was an ancient Greek town in Mysia in Anatolia in the current Balıkesir Province of Turkey. It was located on the shoreward side of the present Kapıdağ Peninsula (the classical Arctonnesus), a tombolo which is said to have or ...

. Apama bore Prusias I a son called Prusias II, who succeeded him. The town of Prusa (now

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

in Turkey), which he rebuilt, is named after Prusias.

Sources

* Habicht, Christian, s.v. Prusias I., RE. Bd. ХХШ, 1. 1957

References

240s BC births 182 BC deaths 3rd-century BC Kings of Bithynia 2nd-century BC Kings of Bithynia Monarchs of Bithynia Royalty and nobility with disabilities {{MEast-royal-stub

Life and reign

See also

Sources

References