Mithradates VI Eupator

Mithradates VI Eupator (died 63 bce, Panticapaeum [now in Ukraine]) was the king of Pontus in northern Anatolia (120–63 bce). Under his energetic leadership, Pontus expanded to absorb several of its small neighbours and, briefly, contested Rome’s hegemony in Asia Minor. Mithradates the Great was the sixth—and last—Pontic ruler by that name. Mithradates (meaning “gift of [the god] Mithra”) was a common name among Anatolian rulers of the age. When Mithradates VI succeeded his father,...