Tiberius Julius Sauromates II Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, also known as Sauromates II (, ''Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes'', the epithets meaning "''friend of Caesar, friend of Rome, pious one''") was a Roman client king of the

Bosporan Kingdom The Bosporan Kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus (; ), was an ancient Greco-Scythians, Scythian state located in eastern Crimea and the Taman Peninsula on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus, centered in the present-day ...

. His coins are known from the period 172–210, probably accounting for his entire reign.

Lineage

Tiberius Julius Sauromates II is known from inscriptions to have been the son of the Bosporan king Rhoemetalces. Sauromates II's predecessor Eupator might have been his uncle. Although his surname "Sauromates" indicates alleged

Sarmatian The Sarmatians (; ; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples who dominated the Pontic–Caspian steppe, Pontic steppe from about the 5th century BCE to the 4t ...

ancestry by marriages to Sarmatian princesses, this does not necessarily mean those who bore the title were actual Sarmatians. His Bosporan royal dynasty had been established in the 1st century AD by

Tiberius Julius Aspurgus Tiberius Julius Aspurgus Philoromaios (, fl. second half of 1st century BC and first half of 1st century AD; died 37/38) was a prince and Roman client king of the Bosporan Kingdom. History The name Aspurgus is of Iranian origin, derived from ''as ...

and his son

Mithridates Mithridates or Mithradates (Old Persian 𐎷𐎡𐎰𐎼𐎭𐎠𐎫 ''Miθradāta'') is the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic form of an Iranian languages, Iranian theophoric name, meaning "given by Mithra". Its Modern Persian form is Mehrdad. It ...

(i.e. the son and grandson, respectively, of Bosporan ruler

Asander Asander or Asandros (; lived 4th century BC) was the son of Philotas (father of Parmenion), Philotas and brother of Parmenion and Agathon (son of Philotas), Agathon. He was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, a ...

and his queen

Dynamis Dunamis (Ancient Greek: δύναμις) is a Greek philosophical concept meaning "power", "potential" or "ability", and is central to the Aristotelian idea of ''potentiality and actuality''. Dunamis or Dynamis may also refer to: * Dynamis (Bosp ...

). Aspurgus and Mithridates were not only related to the ruling house of

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, but were also descendants of both

Mithridates VI Eupator Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 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 ...

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 ...

(both a Persian and

Seleucid The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...

Greek Greek may refer to: 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 of all kno ...

by lineage) and the Roman triumvir

Mark Antony Marcus Antonius (14 January 1 August 30 BC), commonly known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman people, Roman politician and general who played a critical role in the Crisis of the Roman Republic, transformation of the Roman Republic ...

through

Antonia Tryphaena Antonia Tryphaena also known as Tryphaena of Thrace or Tryphaena (Ancient Greek, Greek: Ἀντωνία Τρύφαινα or Τρυφαίνη, 10 BC – 55 AD) was a Kingdom of Pontus, Pontian Princess and a Ancient Rome, Roman Client Queen of Sapa ...

, Queen of Thrace and her mother

Pythodorida of Pontus Pythodoris of Pontus (, 30 BC or 29 BC – 38), also spelled Pythodorida (Πυθοδωρίδα), was a Roman client queen of Pontus, the Bosporan Kingdom, Cilicia, and Cappadocia. Origins and early life According to an honorific inscription de ...

Life

Eupator died at some point between 170 and 172 and Sauromates II succeeded him as Bosporan King, reigning from that date until his death in 210/211. He expressed his royal title in Greek on his coinage: ''ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΑΥΡΟΜΑΤΟΥ'' or ''of King Sauromates''. He was a contemporary of the Roman Emperors

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

Pertinax Publius Helvius Pertinax ( ; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. Born to the son of a freed sl ...

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dalmatia (Roman province) ...

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

and

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname Caracalla (; ), was Roman emperor from 198 to 217 AD, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father and then r ...

. Little is known of the life and reign of Sauromates II. According to surviving coinage, he appeared to be a religious person who was involved in the worship of the Goddess

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

and her cult. In 193, Sauromates II finished a military campaign against the

Scythians The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...

and Sirachi tribes, and successfully defeated them. These victories are known from an

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

found in Tanais, dedicating and celebrating the King's military victories. This military campaign perhaps began in 186, when it spurred a

financial crisis A financial crisis is any of a broad variety of situations in which some financial assets suddenly lose a large part of their nominal value. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, many financial crises were associated with Bank run#Systemic banki ...

within the Bosporan Kingdom. In order to improve the flagging economy of his kingdom, Sauromates II initiated a series of

monetary reform Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system. Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals: * A return to ...

s in 186 that, over the course of a decade, gradually reduced the weight of his bronze coinage while increasing the circulation of the golden

stater The stater (; ) was an ancient coin used in various regions of Greece. The term is also used for similar coins, imitating Greek staters, minted elsewhere in ancient Europe. History The stater, as a Greek silver currency, first as ingots, and ...

. In the last decade of the 2nd century AD, the coins of Sauromates II also commonly featured the portrait of Septimius Severus; it is not known whether or not this was a command given by the Roman emperor to his client or if the Bosporan king did this on his own volition. The name of Sauromates' wife is not preserved. They had at least one son, Rhescuporis III, who succeeded Sauromates II in 210/211.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * *

External links

Coinage of Sauromates II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauromates 2, Tiberius Julius Monarchs of the Bosporan Kingdom Roman client monarchs 210 deaths Year of birth uncertain 2nd-century monarchs in Europe 3rd-century monarchs in Europe Julii