Bosporan Kingdom
The
Bosporan kingdom or the
Kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus was an ancient state, located in eastern
Crimea and the Taman peninsula on the shores of the
Cimmerian Bosporus. It is interesting as the first
Hellenistic state, the first, that is to say, in which a mixed population adopted the Greek language and civilization. It depended for its prosperity upon the export of wheat, fish and
slaves, and this commerce supported a class whose showy wealth over the centuries is exemplified by the contents of the numerous burial barrows, or
kurgans. The towns have left hardly any architectural or sculptural remains, but the kurgans have yielded spectacular Greco-
Sarmatian objects now mostly preserved in the
Hermitage in
St. Petersburg. They comprise especially gold work, vases exported from
Athens, coarse terracottas, textile fragments and specimens of
carpentry and
marquetry.
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Bosporan phial (top view), 4th century BC |
The whole district was dotted with Greek cities: on the west side,
Panticapaeum (
Kerch), the chief of all, often itself called Bosporus,
Nymphaeum and Myrmekion; on the east
Phanagoria, Cepi, Germonassa, Portus Sindicus, Gorpippia. These
Greek colonies were mostly settled by
Milesians, Panticapaeum in the 7th or early in the 6th century BC, but Phanagoria (c. 540 BC) was a colony of
Teos, and Nymphaeum had some connection with Athens — at least it appears to have been a member of the
Delian League.
According to
Diodorus Siculus (xii. 31) the locality was governed from 480 to 438 BC by a line called the Archaeanactidae, probably a ruling family, who gave place to a
tyrant Spartocus (438–431 BC), apparently a
Thracian. He founded a dynasty which seems to have endured until c. 110 BC. The
Spartocids have left many inscriptions which tell us that the earlier members of the house ruled as
archons of the Greek cities and kings of various native tribes, notably the Sindi of the island district and other branches of the
Maeotae. The text of Diodorus, the inscriptions and the coins do not supply sufficient material for a complete list of them.
Satyrus (431–387 BC), the successor of Spartocus, established his rule over the whole district, adding Nymphaeum to his dominions and laying siege to
Theodosia, which was a serious commercial rival by reason of its
ice-free port and direct proximity to the corn fields of the eastern Crimea.
It was reserved for his son Leucon (387–347 BC) to take this city. He was succeeded by his two sons conjointly, Spartocus II, and Paerisades; the former died in 342 and his brother reigned alone until 310. Then followed a civil war in which Eumelus (310–283 BC) was successful.
His successor was Spartocus III (303–283 BC) and after him Paerisades II. Succeeding princes repeated the family names, but we cannot assign them any certain order. We know only that the last of them, Paerisades V, unable to make headway against the power of the natives, in 108 BC called in the help of Diophantus, general of
Mithridates the Great of
Pontus, promising to hand over his kingdom to that prince. He was slain by a
Scythian named Saumacus who led a rebellion against him.
The house of Spartocus was well known as a line of enlightened and wise princes; although Greek opinion could not deny that they were, strictly speaking, tyrants, they are always described as dynasts. They maintained close relations with Athens, their best customers for the Bosporan corn export, of which Leucon I set the staple at Theodosia, where the Attic ships were allowed special privileges. We have many references to this in the Attic orators. In return the Athenians granted him Athenian citizenship and set up decrees in honour of him and his sons.
Mithridates entrusted the Bosporus Cimmerius to his son Machares, who, however, deserted to the
Romans. But even when driven out of his own kingdom by
Pompey, Mithridates was strong enough to regain the Cimmerian Bosporus, and Machares slew himself. Subsequently the Bosporans again rose in revolt under
Pharnaces, another of he old king's sons. After the death of Mithridates (
63 BC), this Pharnaces (63–47 BC) made his submission to Pompey, but tried to regain his dominion during the civil war, but he was defeated by
Caesar at
Zela and killed later on by a former governor of his. A pretender, Asander, married his daughter Dynamis, and in spite of Roman nominees ruled as archon, and later as king, until 16 BC. After his death Dynamis was compelled to marry an adventurer Scibonius, but the Romans under
Agrippa interfered and set Polemon (14–8 BC) in his place.
To him succeeded Aspurgus (8 BC–AD 38?), son of Asander, who founded a line of kings which endured with certain interruptions until AD 341. These kings, who mostly bore the Thracian names of Cotys, Rhescuporis, Rhoemetalces, and the native name Sauromates, claimed descent from Mithridates the Great, and used the Pontic era (starting from 297 BC) introduced by him, regularly placing dates upon their coins and inscriptions. Hence, we know their names and dates fairly well, though scarcely any events of their reigns are recorded. Their kingdom covered the eastern half of Crimea and the Taman peninsula, and extended along the east coast of the Sea of Azov to
Tanais at the mouth of the
Don, a great market for trade with the interior. They carried on a perpetual war with the native tribes, and in this were supported by their Roman suzerains, who even lent the assistance of garrison and fleet. At times rival kings of some other races arose and probably produced some disorganization. At one of these periods (AD 255) the
Goths and Borani were able to seize Bosporan shipping and raid the shores of
Anatolia. With the last coin of the last Rhescuporis, AD 341, materials for a connected history of the Bosporus Cimmerius come to an end. The kingdom probably succumbed to the
Huns established in the vicinity.
In later times it seems in some sort to have been revived under
Byzantine protection, and from time to time Byzantine officers built fortresses and exercised authority at Bosporus, which constituted an
archbishopric. They also held Ta Matarcha on the eastern side of the strait, a town which in the 10th and 11th centuries became the seat of the
Russian principality of
Tmutarakhan, which in turn gave place to
Tatar domination.
With the
Diaspora a Jewish element had been added to the population, and under its influence were developed in all the cities of the kingdom, especially
Tanais, societies of "worshipers of the highest God," apparently professing a monotheism without being distinctively Jewish or Christian.
Archeologists have discovered a large series of coins of Panticapaeum and other cities from the 5th century BC. The gold staters of Panticapaeum bearing
Pan's head and a griffin are specially remarkable for their weight and fine workmanship. We have also coins with the names of the later Spartocids and a singularly complete series of dates solidi issued by the later or Achaemenian dynasty' in them may be noticed the swift degeneration of the gold solidus through silver and potin to bronze.
*
Bulletin of the Odessa Numismatics Museum*
Odessa Numismatics Museum*
Brief History of Bosporan Cities and Their Coinage.
