Mithridates: The Greek-Persian King Immune to Poison

Tetradrachm with the look of Mithridates c. 110 BC. Credit: Angel M. Felicisimo Wikimedia Commons CC BY 2.0

Mithridates was an ambitious Greco-Persian king who near his people successful past arsenic a effect of his fierce warfare against the Romans and his immunity to poison.

Mithridates VI Eupator (132-65 BC), was surnamed Eupator (meaning noble father successful Greek) and Dionysus to separate himself from his father, Mithridates V Euergetes (meaning benefactor successful Greek), who had been king of Pontus betwixt astir the years 151 and 120.

As soon arsenic helium inherited the throne, Mithridates declared himself an force of Rome and fought 3 abstracted wars with the Romans. These came to beryllium known arsenic the Mithridatic Wars and took spot betwixt 89 and 63 BC.

During his reign, helium won respective large battles against the Roman legions and developed immunity to poison by ingesting tiny doses astatine a time. He was yet defeated by General Pompeius the Great aft his lad Pharnaces roseate up against him and betrayed him. Facing definite decision and humiliation by his sworn enemies, Mithridates killed himself.

Descent from King Darius and Alexander the Great

Mithridates was eleven years aged erstwhile his begetter was poisoned and assassinated successful the palace. As the oldest son, helium was excessively young to instrumentality the throne, and his mother, Laodice VI, reigned arsenic regent, surrounded by conspirators.

Ever since helium was a young child, Mithridates was strong-willed, portion his younger member was much compliant. The advisors to Laodice and the queen herself preferred the younger lad for succession due to the fact that helium would beryllium easier to manipulate. Hence, Mithridates grew up successful a unsafe environment.

As a teenager, Mithridates sensed imminent danger, nary uncertainty strengthened by his father’s demise, truthful helium feigned a emotion for hunting and near the palace successful Amaseia to walk the remainder of his teenage years successful distant parts of the country. There, helium came successful interaction with caller acquaintances and introduced himself arsenic the prince who had fled to flight conspiring assassins.

In his self-imposed exile, helium managed to triumph galore supporters. Upon his instrumentality to the palace arsenic a prince, Mithridates had his mother, brother, and each those implicated successful his father’s decease arrested and imprisoned. According to immoderate reports, they were executed, yet others said they died successful prison.

Being an ambitious man, from aboriginal on, Mithridates claimed helium was the descendant of Persian King Darius and Alexander the Great. Some historians cull his claim, however, arguing helium came from a little presumption dynasty, namely from the bluish Asia Minor municipality of Cius, which was nether the power of the Seleucid Empire. He fled from determination and settled successful Pontus wherever helium established his ain kingdom and dynasty.

Mithridates purposefully emphasized his lineage from Darius and Alexander to nexus himself straight to a glorious past and springiness his reign the glamor that helium would not person different had. Using the names of Darius and Alexander did so assistance him found his authorization and attain the emotion of his people.

The Mithridatic Wars

Having yet won the throne and the enactment of his people, Mithridates expanded his kingdom from bluish Asia Minor to Crimea. Taking vantage of the resentment against Roman regularisation implicit the region’s radical and the Social War (91-88 BC) raging successful Italy, Mithridates intended to overthrow the Romans and found his empire successful the Eastern Mediterranean. First, helium annexed Cappadocia and Bithynia, 2 states bordering Roman territory.

In 89 BC, the Romans and allied troops marched against Pontic forces successful Bithynia and Cappadocia. The service of Mithridates repelled the Romans and chased them done the state of Asia, wherever concealed arrangements were made with section radical for the massacre of immoderate 8 1000 nonmigratory Italians and Romans a twelvemonth later.

After that, the radical of Asia proclaimed their independence. The revolt against the Romans caught connected successful Greece, wherever Pontic General Archelaus liberated Athens and rapidly secured Central Greece for Mithridates.

In 87 BC, the Romans launched a counterattack with General Sulla who led his 5 legions to besiege Athens. He succeeded, and Archelaus withdrew to Northern Greece, wherever helium met up with reinforcements. After 2 costly defeats astatine Chaeronea and Orchomenus successful 86 BC, the Pontic wide began negotiations for peace.

Meanwhile, Roman troops commanded by Lucius Valerius Flaccus invaded Asia Minor, and Mithridates was forced to judge presumption of bid and withdrew his forces to Pontus successful 85 BC. That was the extremity of the First Mithridatic World.

From 83 to 81 BC, the Romans launched a bid of raids against the Pontic kingdom. These attacks were known arsenic the Second Mithridatic War. Roman General Lucius Licinius Murena precocious northbound of Cappadocia and overran 4 100 villages, frankincense reinstating the presumption quo of the bid treaty.

When the kingdom of Bithynia was bestowed to the Roman radical successful 75 BC, Mithridates began the Third Mithridatic War that lasted until 65 BC. First, helium allied with the Sertorian rebels successful Spain and past invaded Bithynia to forestall Rome’s expansion. However, the Roman service nether Commander Lucius Licinius Lucullus stopped him from capturing the strategical metropolis of Cyzicus successful 74 BC. The Romans took the violative and captured each of Pontus by 70 BC.

Mithridates fled to the tribunal of his son-in-law, Tigranes the Great of Armenia. Lucullus followed him and won a conflict against Tigranes. He past captured the superior Tigranocerta successful 69 BC. However, Lucullus had governmental opponents successful Rome who did not admit his large triumph and stripped him of overmuch of his power.

Mithridates snatched the opportunity, rallied his forces, and returned to Pontus successful 68 BC, but this time, helium had to look Commander Pompeius the Great, who assumed the bid of the Roman forces successful 66 BC and took implicit Tigranocerta. Tigranes surrendered to the Romans, and the warfare ended the pursuing twelvemonth erstwhile Mithridates abandoned Pontus for his Crimean kingdom.

For Rome, the result of the Mithridatic Wars was the elimination of its astir unsafe menace successful the eastbound parts of the empire. Rome was frankincense empowered to get caller provinces successful Asia Minor and grow the empire crossed the Eastern Mediterranean.

Mithridates, the Poison King

Roman author, philosopher, and subject commandant Pliny the Elder (23/24-79 AD) had called Mithridates “the top king of his time” and wrote astir his peculiar mode of defending himself against poisoning by drinking tiny doses of poison regular successful bid to physique up immunity.

“For it was Mithridates, the top king of his time, whom Pompeius 
vanquished, that was, we cognize by grounds arsenic good arsenic by report, a more 
attentive researcher of life’s problems than immoderate of those calved earlier him. By
his unaided efforts helium thought retired the program of drinking poison daily, after
first taking remedies, successful bid that sheer customized mightiness render it harmless
he was the archetypal to observe the assorted antidotes, 1 of which is 
even known by his name; helium besides discovered the mixing with antidotes
of the humor of Pontic ducks, due to the fact that they lived connected poison addressed 
to him were treatises, inactive extant, written by the celebrated physician
Asclepiades, who erstwhile urgently invited to travel from Rome sent 
instructions instead. He then, with his superb intellect and wide interests, was an particularly diligent pupil of medicine, and collected elaborate cognition from each his subjects who comprised a large portion of the world, leaving among his private 
possessions a bookcase of these treatises (commentationum) with specimens
and the properties of each. Pompeius nevertheless connected getting possession
of each the royal booty ordered his freedman Lenaeus, a antheral of letters
to construe these into Latin. This large triumph truthful was arsenic beneficial
to beingness arsenic it was to the State.”

In her publication History of Toxicology and Environmental Health, author Adrienne Mayor, historiographer of past subject and a classical folklorist, says that Mithridates is recognized arsenic the archetypal experimental toxicologist for his extended investigations into antithetic poisons and antidotes. His fearfulness of assassination by poison led him to stitchery a squad of botanists, physicians, and shamans who sought to make a “universal antidote” that would support him from each poisons.

Influenced by accepted theriacs and erstwhile investigators and with entree to affluent earthy resources, Mithridates’ experiments resulted successful a formulation of much than 50 ingredients combining animal, plant, and mineral toxins with antidotes. He made himself immune to usually fatal amounts of arsenic and enjoyed robust wellness until forced to perpetrate termination successful his seventies. Efforts to replicate his celebrated Mithridatium made his antidote the astir fashionable and long-lived medicine successful history.