Nicomedes III of Bithynia

Nicomedes III Benefactor
Nicomedes III Benefactor
Basileus of Bithynia
Kings of Bithynia
Reign	c. 127 BC - 94 BC
Predecessor	Nicomedes II
Successor	Nicomedes IV
Spouse	Aristonica (wife); Nysa (wife); Laodice of Cappadocia (wife); Hagne (concubine)
Issue	Nicomedes IV; Socrates Chrestus; Nysa; Pylaemenes III (possibly)
Father	Nicomedes II

Nicomedes III Euergetes ("the Benefactor", Greek: Νικομήδης Εὐεργέτης) was the king of Bithynia, from c. 127 BC to c. 94 BC. He was the son and successor of Nicomedes II of Bithynia.

Life

Memnon of Heraclea wrote that Nicomedes IV was the son of Nicomedes III with his wife Nysa^[1] but according to Granius Licinianus, Nicomedes IV was his son by an earlier wife called Aristonica who died nine days after her son's birth. He then married Nysa, the daughter of Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia and, Laodice of Cappadocia, the sister of Mithridates V of Pontus. Both Nicomedes III and Nysa shared a lineage from the Seleucid dynasty of the Seleucid Empire.^[2] He and Nysa likely had a daughter also named Nysa.^[3] Nicomedes also had another son, Socrates Chrestus, from a concubine called Hagne who was from Cyzicus. He sent Socrates and Hagne to Cyzicus with 500 talents.^[4] His third wife was Laodice of Cappadocia, his former mother-in-law.

Nicomedes and Mithridates VI of Pontus made an alliance. The latter invaded Paphlagonia and drove its ruler, who descended from Pylaemenes, out.^[5] The two kings partitioned it among themselves.^[6]^[7]

Mithridates VI had Ariarathes VI of Cappadocia (the husband of Laodice and father of Nysa) murdered by a certain Gordius in 116 BC. Afterwards he decided to remove (i.e. murder) the young sons of Ariarathes VI and Laodice as he thought that his gains from the murder, the control of Cappadocia, might be lost if they would turn against him. However, Nicomedes invaded Cappadocia "while it was left defenceless by the death of its sovereign." Mithridates VI sent assistance to his sister “on pretence of affection for her, to enable her to drive Nicomedes out of Cappadocia.” However, Laodice made an agreement to marry Nicomedes . An angry Mithridates drove Nicomedes out and restored Ariarathes VII, the son of Laodice. After this he murdered Ariarathes VII of Cappadocia and installed his son on the Cappadocian throne as Ariarathes IX under the guardianship of Gordius.^[8]

In 100 BC, after the murder of Ariarathes VII the Cappadocians revolted against Mithridates VI and called his for brother, Ariarathes VIII of Cappadocia, who was in Pergamon for his education, to return to Cappadocia to become king. Mithridates invaded Cappadocia and drove him out. Ariarathes VIII died in 96 BC. With his death, his dynasty died out. Nicomedes III now feared that Mithridates would invade Bithynia. He pretended that Laodice had a third son from him and instructed a young man to apply for the throne of Bithynia (or, more likely, the Cappadocian throne, see note) from the Roman senate.^[a] He sent Laodice to Rome to testify that he was Nicomedes' son. When Mithridates heard about this, he sent Gordius to Rome to legitimise his enthronement of Ariarathes IX in Cappadocia by claiming this man was a descendant of Ariarathes V of Cappadocia, who had been an ally of Rome and who died in 130 BC when he supported Rome in a war against Eumenes III of Pergamon. The senate saw the scheming by both kings. It ordered Mithridates to leave Cappadocia and, "to console him", also ordered Nicomedes III to leave Paphlagonia.^[9]

The text of a decree issued in 102 B.C by the city of Delphi has survived. It concerned the assignment of tasks for thirty slaves which king Nicomedes and queen Laodice provided when the city sent delegates to them to ask them for slaves. The decree also made arrangements for honouring Nicomedes and Laodice. It provided for the erection of a statue of the king and one of queen in the most prominent place in the temple of Pythian Apollo and for the grant to the two monarchs and their descendants of proxeny, priority of access to the oracle of Delphi and in receiving justice, tax exemption, privileged seating at the city's games and other privileges that were given to other proxenoi and benefactors of the city who were given same rights as its citizens, except for public office, and free trade in the city.^[10]

Diodorus Siculus wrote that when Nicomedes III was asked to provide troops for the consul Gaius Marius during the Cimbrian War with the Cimbri and Teutones in Gallia Transalpina in 104 BC, he turned down the request, saying in his reply that "most of the Bithynians had been taken away as slaves by the tax-collectors, and were dispersed throughout the provinces." The Roman senate acted on this information and decreed that "no freeman belonging to any of the Roman allies should in any province be forced to be a slave, and that the praetors should take care to see that they were all set free."^[11]

Notes

^ It is unclear why Nicomedes III should pretend to have had this son with Laodice and get him to apply for the Bithynian throne. Nicomedes has an heir for the Bithynian throne. Moreover, Bithynia was an independent kingdom. Thus, there was no need for applying for its throne from the Romans. It is more likely that this was about the Cappadocian throne. Claiming that Nicomedes ad Laodice had a son together would mean that there was a legitimate heir to the Cappadocian throne, while Ariarathes IX was a usurper. The fact that Cappadocia was an ally of Rome meant that she could rule in favour of Nicomedes' claim and against Ariarathes IX. This would also explain why Mithridates sent Gordius to Rome to support his son. This confusion might be due to an error in the transcription from the original manuscript.

References

^ Memnon, History of Heracleia 22.5
^ Gabelko, O.L. The Dynastic History of the Hellenistic Monarchies of Asia Minor [1] Archived 2011-03-16 at the Wayback Machine
^ McGing, The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus p. 143
^ Granius Licinianus, History of Rome, 29
^ Orosius, History against the pagans 6.2.2 [2]
^ Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories, 37.4.2
^ Festus, Summary of the history of Rome, 11.1 [3]
^ Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories, 38.1
^ Justin: Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories, 38.2
^ OGIS: 345
^ Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 36.3.1-2

Sources

Primary sources

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, v. 12, books 33-40 (Loeb Classical Library), Loeb, 1989; ISBN 978-0674994652
Granius Licinianus, Grani Liciniani Quae Supersunt (Classic Reprint), Forgotten Books, 2018; ISBN 978-0428904401
Festus, Eutropius: Festus, Eutropii, Sext. Aurelii Victoris, Nec Non Sexti Rufi Historiae Romanae Breviarium: Ad Codices Manuscriptos & Optimas Editiones Recognitum & Correctum, Ulan Press, 2012; ASIN: B009FV0XXY
Justin, Epitome of the Philippic History of Pompeius Trogus (Classical Resources Series, No 3), Society for Classical Studies Classical Resources, Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 1994; ISBN 978-1555409517

Secondary sources

Gabelko, O. L., The Dynastic History of the Hellenistic Monarchies of Asia Minor According to Chronography of George Synkellos. O. L. Gabelko, pp. 9–10
McGing, B.C., The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, BRILL, 1986

Preceded by Nicomedes II	King of Bithynia 127 BC – 94 BC	Succeeded by Nicomedes IV

[9] It is unclear why Nicomedes III should pretend to have had this son with Laodice and get him to apply for the Bithynian throne. Nicomedes has an heir for the Bithynian throne. Moreover, Bithynia was an independent kingdom. Thus, there was no need for applying for its throne from the Romans. It is more likely that this was about the Cappadocian throne. Claiming that Nicomedes ad Laodice had a son together would mean that there was a legitimate heir to the Cappadocian throne, while Ariarathes IX was a usurper. The fact that Cappadocia was an ally of Rome meant that she could rule in favour of Nicomedes' claim and against Ariarathes IX. This would also explain why Mithridates sent Gordius to Rome to support his son. This confusion might be due to an error in the transcription from the original manuscript.

[1] Memnon, History of Heracleia 22.5

[2] Gabelko, O.L. The Dynastic History of the Hellenistic Monarchies of Asia Minor [1] Archived 2011-03-16 at the Wayback Machine

[3] McGing, The foreign policy of Mithridates VI Eupator, King of Pontus p. 143

[4] Granius Licinianus, History of Rome, 29

[5] Orosius, History against the pagans 6.2.2 [2]

[6] Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories, 37.4.2

[7] Festus, Summary of the history of Rome, 11.1 [3]

[8] Justin, Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories, 38.1

[10] Justin: Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories, 38.2

[11] OGIS: 345

[12] Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 36.3.1-2

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v t e Hellenistic rulers
Argeads	Philip II Alexander III the Great Philip III Arrhidaeus Alexander IV
Antipatrids	Cassander Philip IV Alexander V Antipater II Antipater Etesias Sosthenes
Antigonids	Antigonus I Monophthalmus Demetrius I Poliorcetes Antigonus II Gonatas Demetrius II Aetolicus Antigonus III Doson Philip V Perseus Philip VI (pretender)
Ptolemies	Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy Keraunos Ptolemy II Philadelphus Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy IV Philopator Ptolemy V Epiphanes Cleopatra I Syra (regent) Ptolemy VI Philometor Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator Cleopatra II Philometor Soter Ptolemy VIII Physcon Cleopatra III Ptolemy IX Lathyros Ptolemy X Alexander Berenice III Ptolemy XI Alexander Ptolemy XII Auletes Cleopatra VI Tryphaena Berenice IV Epiphanea Ptolemy XIII Ptolemy XIV Cleopatra VII Philopator Ptolemy XV Caesarion
Monarchs of Cyrene	Magas Berenice II Demetrius the Fair Ptolemy VIII Physcon Ptolemy Apion Cleopatra Selene II
Seleucids	Seleucus I Nicator Antiochus I Soter Antiochus II Theos Seleucus II Callinicus Seleucus III Ceraunus Antiochus III the Great Seleucus IV Philopator Antiochus IV Epiphanes Antiochus V Eupator Demetrius I Soter Alexander I Balas Demetrius II Nicator Antiochus VI Dionysus Diodotus Tryphon Antiochus VII Sidetes Alexander II Zabinas Cleopatra Thea Seleucus V Philometor Antiochus VIII Grypus Antiochus IX Cyzicenus Seleucus VI Epiphanes Antiochus X Eusebes Antiochus XI Epiphanes Demetrius III Eucaerus Philip I Philadelphus Antiochus XII Dionysus Cleopatra Selene I Antiochus XIII Asiaticus Philip II Philoromaeus
Lysimachids	Lysimachus Ptolemy Epigonos
Attalids	Philetaerus Eumenes I Attalus I Eumenes II Attalus II Attalus III Eumenes III
Greco-Bactrians	Diodotus I Diodotus II Euthydemus I Demetrius I Euthydemus II Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Demetrius II Eucratides I Plato Eucratides II Heliocles I
Indo-Greeks	Demetrius I Antimachus I Pantaleon Agathocles Apollodotus I Demetrius II Antimachus II Menander I Zoilos I Agathokleia Lysias Strato I Antialcidas Heliokles II Polyxenos Demetrius III Philoxenus Diomedes Amyntas Epander Theophilos Peukolaos Thraso Nicias Menander II Artemidoros Hermaeus Archebius Telephos Apollodotus II Hippostratos Dionysios Zoilos II Apollophanes Strato II Strato III
Monarchs of Bithynia	Boteiras Bas Zipoetes I Nicomedes I Zipoetes II Etazeta (regent) Ziaelas Prusias I Prusias II Nicomedes II Nicomedes III Nicomedes IV Socrates Chrestus
Monarchs of Pontus	Mithridates I Ctistes Ariobarzanes Mithridates II Mithridates III Pharnaces I Mithridates IV Philopator Philadephos with Laodice Mithridates V Euergetes Mithridates VI Eupator Pharnaces II Darius Arsaces Polemon I Pythodorida Polemon II
Monarchs of Commagene	Ptolemaeus Sames II Mithridates I Antiochus I Mithridates II Antiochus II Mithridates III Antiochus III Antiochus IV
Monarchs of Cappadocia	Ariarathes I Ariarathes II Ariamnes II Ariarathes III Ariarathes IV Ariarathes V Orophernes Ariarathes VI Ariarathes VII Ariarathes VIII Ariarathes IX Ariobarzanes I Ariobarzanes II Ariobarzanes III Ariarathes X Archelaus
Monarchs of the Cimmerian Bosporus	Paerisades I Satyros II Prytanis Eumelos Spartokos III Hygiainon (regent) Paerisades II Spartokos IV Leukon II Spartokos V [ru] Kamasarye Paerisades III Paerisades IV Paerisades V Mithridates I Pharnaces Asander with Dynamis Mithridates II Asander with Dynamis Scribonius's attempted rule with Dynamis Dynamis with Polemon Polemon Aspurgus Gepaepyris Mithridates III Cotys I
Monarchs of Epirus	Admetus Tharrhypas Alcetas I Neoptolemus I Arybbas Alexander I Aeacides Neoptolemus II Alcetas II Pyrrhus I Alexander II Olympias II (regent) Pyrrhus II Ptolemy Pyrrhus III Deidamia
Hellenistic rulers were preceded by Hellenistic satraps in most of their territories.