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25-472: He and his brothers engaged in a conflict for the throne , which the eldest brother, Satyrus, had inherited from their father. Shortly after his brother Satyrus became ruler, Eumelus became a pretender to the throne with the backing of Aripharnes , a ruler of the Sarmatian tribe of Siraces from whom he solicited aid. When Satyrus learned of this, he immediately went after Eumelos with his army and crossed

50-529: A sacrifice in a four-horse wheeled carriage, the horses became scared. The driver was unable to control them, so Eumelus jumped out of the carriage, but his sword became caught on the wheel and he was dragged along by the carriage and died. He was succeeded by his son Spartocus III . Bosporan Civil War The Bosporan Civil War was a war of succession that happened in the Bosporan Kingdom somewhere between 311 and 308 BCE and lasted for about

75-522: A year. The casus belli was the death of archon Paerisades I , whose sons disputed the succession. These sons were Satyros II , who claimed the kingdom by virtue of being the eldest, Eumelos , who was another claimant to the throne, and Prytanis , who engaged in battle later on in support of Satyros. The most important source on the conflict is provided by the Bibliotheca historica , book 20 chapters 22 to 24, written more than 150 years after

100-630: The Spartocids , Paerisades V , apparently left his realm to Mithridates VI Eupator, king of Pontus . This transition was arranged by one of Mithridates's generals, Diophantus , who earlier had been sent to Taurica to help local Greek cities against Palacus of the Scythian kingdom in Crimea . The mission did not go smoothly: Paerisades was murdered by Scythians led by Saumacus , and Diophantus escaped to return later with reinforcements to suppress

125-485: The mercenaries employed by Satyrus were recruited from Bosporan cities. For some unknown reason, Satyros did not use the citizen Bosporan army, probably due to there being shifting allegiances, and instead left them to protect the cities. It is important to note that the Scythians and Sarmatians were most likely competing for influence and territory. Satyrus mobilized his army into battle formations, placing himself in

150-582: The Bosporan throne. Upon hearing this, Satyrus immediately left Panticapaeum under Prytanis and sallied out against his brother, cornering him with his baggage wagons in the banks of the river Thatis with Aripharnes. The Scythians partook in this war because their rivals, the Siraceni, were trying to gain influence in the Bosporus and possibly take some of the land of the Scythians. It is very likely that

175-477: The Maeotic Lake. Prytanis was spared by his brother but soon he waged war against Eumelus again and was killed. To fully establish himself, Eumelus had the families and friends of his brothers killed. The citizens of Panticapaeum were displeased at the killing of their friends, so Eumelos gathered them to an open assembly in which he defended himself and also offered immunity from taxes for those that lived in

200-539: The River Thatis to wage war on his brother. Eumelus was defeated by him at the Battle of the River Thatis . He and Aripharnes were forced to retreat to Siracena . Satyrus and his army followed his brother to the city, but could not take it as it was surrounded by the River Thatis, leaving two heavily guarded entrances as the only means of ingress. After a four-day siege, Satyrus died while fighting against Aripharnes at

225-444: The center in a phalanx formation. He had stationed his Greek mercenaries and Thracian peltasts to his right, and his Scythian allies to his left. Satyrus rounded his best troops and charged at Aripharnes, who was opposite him, in the center of the enemy line. The two sides sustained many losses, but Satyrus was able to rout Aripharnes and he gave chase to kill the fleeing enemy but stopped when he received news that his brother Eumelos

250-631: The city of Callantia who were driven out by Lysimachus . Eumelos led a series of campaigns against pirates in the eastern regions of the Black Sea—most likely the Tauri, the Heniochi and several others—and was able to destroy them. He also took back the settlement of Tanais, which was abandoned due to continuous sieges from local tribes and made his kingdom large enough to rival that of Lysimachus. As he hurried his way back from Sindia to his palace for

275-462: The city, but had to retreat when he was overcome by enemy forces. Upon seeing this, Satyrus rushed to his aid and fought bravely, but was struck in his right shoulder by a spear and was carried back to his tent. Satyrus died that night. Meniscus, seeing no point in carrying out the siege, ended it and took Satyrus's body to Gargaza to be sent off to Panticapaeum. Prytanis, who held a great funeral for his elder brother, hurried to Gargaza and took both

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300-486: The city. He enacted several reforms, as well as the recruitment of more Greeks into the Bosporan military, who had previously only provided a small number of its forces, the rest being Sarmatians. He also reinforced the Bosporan fleet, to deal with the pirates and strengthen their trade routes. Eumelus then proceeded to show kindness to other Greek cities that were in the Black Sea and gave refuge to 1,000 refugees from

325-724: The eastern shore of Crimea , which the Greeks called Taurica . The city lay on the western side of the Cimmerian Bosporus , and was founded by Milesians in the late 7th or early 6th century BC, on a hill later named Mount Mithridat . Its ruins now lie in the modern city of Kerch . During the first centuries of the city's existence, imported Greek articles predominated: pottery (see Kerch Style ), terracottas , and metal objects, probably from workshops in Rhodes , Corinth , Samos , and Athens . Local production, imitated from

350-503: The fact by the Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (c. 90–30 BCE). It is not known exactly when the events narrated by Diodorus happened. The war has been variously dated as having occurred during 309–308 BCE (one year long), within the year 309 BCE, during 311–310 BCE or during 310–309 BCE. In part, the difficulty in determining the period stems from the uncertainty about when king Paerisades I died: in 311 or 310 BCE. Paerisades, one of

375-420: The main entryway. Meniscus, Satyrus' mercenary captain, took Satyrus' body back to Panticapaeum for a royal burial and ended the siege. Prytanis, the younger brother, assumed the title of ruler and continued Satyros' war against Eumelus. Eumelus appealed to his brother to split the kingdom between them, but Prytanis rejected the proposal, marching against his brother. The two fought a battle which Eumelus won near

400-427: The main gate, and another through the palace of Aripharnes, both of which were heavily defended. Knowing that it would be suicide to attack the main city, Satyrus decided to let his army plunder the nearby villages and attained from this many prisoners. Satyrus then ordered some of his men to start cutting some trees to make a pathway from their camp, to the main gate. While this was carried out, Aripharnes believed that

425-580: The models, was carried on at the same time. Athens manufactured a special type of bowl for the city, known as Kerch ware. Local potters imitated the Hellenistic bowls known as the Gnathia style as well as relief wares— Megarian bowls. The city minted silver coins from the 5th century BC and gold and bronze coins from the 4th century BC. At its greatest extent it occupied 100 hectares (250 acres). The Hermitage and Kerch Museums contain material from

450-494: The only way of safety was victory and stationed archers on both sides of his city. Satyrus's men, while cutting the trees, started to take fire from Siracen wall defenders, who were throwing spears and arrows at them. After four days of cutting, on the fourth day, his army made it to the Siracen walls, but had sustained many losses getting there. Meniscus, the mercenary Greek captain, fought with bravery and boldness when he entered

475-450: The process. He also plundered various towns neighboring Gargaza and its land. Battle of Lake Maeotis Prytanis sallied out against his brother, but was defeated by Eumelos. He surrendered his throne to Eumelos, in exchange for his life. Upon re-entering Panticapaeum, the capital city of the rulers of the Bosporus, he attempted to regain his kingdom, but was overpowered and fled to a place called "The Gardens" which may mean Kepoi , which

500-502: The royal power and control of the army. Eumelos, perhaps testing his fortunes, sent envoys to Prytanis to discuss partition of the kingdom between themselves but to this, Prytanis declined. After that, Prytanis left a garrison in Gargaza and hurried back to Panticapaeum to seize the royalties that he was entitled to. Gargaza While Prytanis was away, Eumelos and perhaps Aripharnes took the chance and attacked Gargaza, capturing it in

525-488: The site, which is still being excavated. In the 5th–4th centuries BC, the city became the residence first of the Archaeanactids and then of the Spartocids , dynasties of Thracian kings of Bosporus , and was hence itself sometimes called Bosporus. Its economic decline in the 4th–3rd centuries BC was the result of the Sarmatian conquest of the steppes and the growing competition of Egyptian grain. The last of

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550-406: The sons of Leukon I , died in 311 or 310 BCE after having ruled 38 years; his eldest son, Satyros II, inherited the kingdom from his father. Eumelos was not pleased with this, and fled Panticapaeum and was given refuge by the ruler of the Sarmatian tribe of Siraces , Aripharnes . After gathering a large army and making an alliance with the neighboring barbarians, Eumelos became a claimant to

575-423: The years before his rule such as Tanais . He successfully cleared the Black Sea of pirates and gained much fame throughout the Bosporus. He expanded his realm so much, that it could rival that of Lysimachus . Panticapaeum Pantikapaion ( ‹See Tfd› Greek : Παντικάπαιον Pantikapaion , from Scythian * Pantikapa 'fish-path'; Latin : Panticapaeum ) was an ancient Greek city on

600-552: Was a place gifted to Gylon of Cerameis , the grandfather of Demosthenes by Satyrus I for giving them Nymphaeum over a century earlier in the Bosporan wars of expansion , Prytanis and Eumelos's great-grandfather. Here he was killed by Eumelos. Eumelos became ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom after solidifying his reign by killing the families and friends of his brothers, and re-took various colonies that had been lost in

625-494: Was winning at the right wing, and that his mercenaries had begun to flee. He turned around and aided his own troops and was able to rout his brother's entire army. After the routing of their army, Aripharnes and Eumelos fled to Siracena, the Siracen capital and fortified city. Satyrus gave chase to his brother, but made the observations that the city was situated on the river Thatis, it was surrounded by thick forests and long cliffs and only had two artificial entry ways: one through

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