Mithridates II (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Mιθριδάτης; lived 3rd century BC),

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

king of

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

and son of Ariobarzanes, whom he succeeded on the throne.

Early life

He was a minor when his father died, but the date of his accession cannot be determined. It seems probable that it must have taken place well before 240 BC, as

Memnon In Greek mythology, Memnon (; Ancient Greek: Μέμνων means 'resolute') was a king of Aethiopia and son of Tithonus and Eos. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. During the Trojan War, he brought an army ...

tells us that he was a child at his father's death, and he had a daughter of marriageable age in 222 BC. Shortly after his accession, his kingdom was invaded by the

Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They sp ...

, who were eventually repulsed. After Mithridates attained manhood, he married Laodice, a sister of

Antiochus Hierax Antiochus (; el, Ἀντίoχoς; killed c. 226 BC), called Hierax (, Ἱέραξ, "Hawk") for his grasping and ambitious character, was the younger son of Antiochus II and Laodice I and separatist leader in the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom, who r ...

and

Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus II Callinicus Pogon ( el, ; ''Kallinikos'' means "beautifully triumphant"; ''Pogon'' means "the Beard"; July/August 265 BC – December 225 BC),, . was a ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, who reigned from 246 BC to 225 BC. Faced ...

, with whom he is said to have received the province of

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empir ...

as a dowry.

Reign

Conflict with Seleucus II Callinicus

In 245 BCE Antiochus Hierax, supported by his mother

Laodice I Laodice I ( el, Λαοδίκη; flourished 3rd century BC, died before 236 BC) was a Greek noblewoman of Anatolia who was a close relative of the early Seleucid dynasty and was the first wife of the Seleucid Greek King Antiochus II Theos. Family ...

who held influence in Anatolia,Justin, Epitome of the Phillipic History of Pompeius Trogus, XXVII demands the possession of Anatolia (Asia Minor) from his brother Seleucus II Callinicus and quickly declares his independence in order to expand his territory and his authority. Seleucus, struggling against the Ptolemaic forces in the south, has no choice but to tolerate. Mithridates II fought with his mother-in-law and Hierax and their allies, against his other brother-in-law Seleucus during a war between Seleucus and

. Eventually, Mithridates defeated Seleucus in a great battle at

Ancyra Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

in 235 BC whereby Seleucus lost twenty thousand of his troops and narrowly escaped with his own life. Hierax died in 226 BCE.

Later Reign

In 222 BCE, Mithridates II gave his daughter Laodice in marriage to the

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...

king

Antiochus III Antiochus III the Great (; grc-gre, Ἀντίoχoς Μέγας ; c. 2413 July 187 BC) was a Greek Hellenistic king and the 6th ruler of the Seleucid Empire, reigning from 222 to 187 BC. He ruled over the region of Syria and large parts of the r ...

. Another of his daughters, also named Laodice, was married about the same time to Achaeus, the cousin of Antiochus. In 220 BC, Mithridates declared war upon the wealthy and powerful city of

Sinop Sinop can refer to: * Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea ** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018 ** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port *** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...

e. However, he was unable to weaken it and the city did not come under the control of the kings of Pontus until 183 BC. In 227 BC, Mithridates II vied with the other monarchs of Asia in sending magnificent presents to the

Rhodians Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the Sou ...

, after the destruction of their city by an earthquake.

Death

The date of his death is unknown. He was succeeded by Mithridates III, his son with Laodice.

Notes

References

*Hazel, John. ''Who's Who in the Greek World''. "Mithridates II", 2003. * Smith, William (editor); ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/ biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 ...

''
"Mithridates IV"

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, (1867). * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mithridates 02 Of Pontus Mithridatic kings of Pontus Ancient Persian people 3rd-century BC Iranian people Ancient child rulers 3rd-century BC monarchs