Mithridates III of Pontus

Mithridates III: king of Pontus (r.c.220-185 BCE).

Mithridates III of Pontus

Mithridates III was a son of Mithridates II, king of Pontus, and a Seleucid princess who is usually called "Laodice". He had two sisters; one Laodice was married to a Seleucid prince named Achaeus, another Laodice was married in 222 BCE to the future Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great.

The reign of Mithridates III appears to have started (or the reign of his father ended) with an unsuccessful attempt to take Sinope, one of the Greek ports on the southern shore of the Black Sea,note but little else is known, except for the fact that Amasia was his residence and that he was the first Pontic king to mint coins with his own portrait.

Mithridates III was succeeded by his son Pharnaces I, who captured Sinope.

This page was created in 2019; last modified on 21 April 2020.