Tiberius Julius Sauromates I
Encyclopedia
Tiberius Julius Sauromates I Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, also known as Sauromates I was a prince and Roman Client King
of the Bosporan Kingdom
.
Sauromates I was the son and heir of the Bosporan King Rhescuporis I
by an unnamed wife. He was of Greek
, Iranian
and Roman ancestry
. The name Sauromates is a name of Sarmatian
origin. His paternal grandparents were the previous ruling Bosporan Monarchs Cotys I
and Eunice
.
Through his paternal grandfather, Sauromates I was a descendant of the Roman Triumvir Mark Antony
from his second marriage to his paternal cousin Antonia Hybrida Minor (second daughter of Roman Republic
an Politician Gaius Antonius Hybrida
, Antony’s paternal uncle), thus Sauromates I was related to various members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty
. He was also a descendant of Roman Client Rulers Polemon I of Pontus
, Pythodorida of Pontus
and Cotys VIII of Thrace
. Through his paternal grandfather, Sauromates I was a descendant of Greek Macedonian Kings:
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
, Seleucus I Nicator
and Regent
, Antipater
. These three men served under King Alexander the Great. He is also descended from the Monarchs Mithridates VI of Pontus
and his first wife, his sister Laodice
and the previous Bosporan King Asander
.
When Rhescuporis I died in 90, Sauromates I succeeded his father as Bosporan King and reigned until his own death in 123. He was a contemporary of the Roman Emperor
s Domitian
, Nerva
, Trajan
and Hadrian
. Sauromates I continued his father’s legacy of rebuilding the Bosporan Kingdom. In 68, Rhescuporis I had restored the Bosporan Kingdom, previously a part of the Roman province
of Moesia
Inferior, as a semi-independent Roman Client State. On coins, his royal title is in Greek: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΑΥΡΟΜΑΤΟΥ or of King Sauromates.
Sauromates I is mentioned in the letters of Roman Senator
Pliny the Younger
. About 103, Pliny served as the Roman Governor of Bithynia
. Sauromates I sent his ambassador (legatus
) to travel to Bithynia to deliver two letters to Pliny. The nature of these letters is unknown. The first letter requested Pliny, for a messenger to use a diploma (a permit to use an official wagon) to assist the messenger’s journey, which Pliny respected. The second letter was for Trajan. Pliny learned no more than that it contained news which Trajan needed to know. An imperial freedman called Lycormas took the second letter from Bithynia to Rome
for Trajan, a journey that would have taken 6–8 weeks.
Either Rhescuporis I or Sauromates I established Phanagoria as the new capital city of the Bosporan Kingdom. From the late 1st century, Panticapaeum
, the original capital city, had gradually lost its importance. Phanagoria became the new capital city because of the increasing popularity of the city’s titulary goddess, Aphrodite
, and her cult.
In 105, Sauromates I, entrusted and appointed a priest as an official to oversee the restoration of the porticos at the temple at Hermonassa
. Out of his personal religious devotion in 110, he erected a temple dedicated to Aphrodite in Gorgippia
. In an honorific inscription dedicated to Sauromates I, found in Nicaea
, Sauromates I was given the honorific title Ktistes or Founder. He was awarded this title because of his goodness, generosity and his contributions throughout the Bosporan and Anatolia
.
At Panticapaeum, there is in Latin an honorific inscription, dedicating and honoring Sauromates I:
Sauromates I married an unnamed woman and had a son called Cotys II
. Cotys II would succeed his father. Through his son, Sauromates I would have three descendants ruling the Bosporan that would bear his name.
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
of the Bosporan Kingdom
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...
.
Sauromates I was the son and heir of the Bosporan King Rhescuporis I
Tiberius Julius Rhescuporis I
Tiberius Julius Rhescuporis I Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, also known as Rhescuporis I was a prince and Roman Client King of the Bosporan Kingdom....
by an unnamed wife. He was of Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Iranian
Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples are an Indo-European ethnic-linguistic group, consisting of the speakers of Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family, as such forming a branch of Indo-European-speaking peoples...
and Roman ancestry
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
. The name Sauromates is a name of Sarmatian
Sarmatians
The Iron Age Sarmatians were an Iranian people in Classical Antiquity, flourishing from about the 5th century BC to the 4th century AD....
origin. His paternal grandparents were the previous ruling Bosporan Monarchs Cotys I
Tiberius Julius Cotys I
Tiberius Julius Cotys I Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, also known as Cotys I or Kotys I was a prince and Roman Client King of the Bosporan Kingdom....
and Eunice
Eunice (Bosporan queen)
Eunice was the wife of the Roman Client King, Cotys I and through her marriage was a Roman Client Queen of the Bosporan Kingdom.Eunice was a Greek noblewoman of obscure origins. At an unknown date in the reign of Cotys I, 45-63, he married Eunice as his Queen. Cotys I was a monarch of Greek,...
.
Through his paternal grandfather, Sauromates I was a descendant of the Roman Triumvir Mark Antony
Mark Antony
Marcus Antonius , known in English as Mark Antony, was a Roman politician and general. As a military commander and administrator, he was an important supporter and loyal friend of his mother's cousin Julius Caesar...
from his second marriage to his paternal cousin Antonia Hybrida Minor (second daughter of Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
an Politician Gaius Antonius Hybrida
Gaius Antonius Hybrida
Gaius Antonius Hybrida was a politician of the Roman Republic. He was the second son of Marcus Antonius Orator and brother of Marcus Antonius Creticus; his mother is unknown. He was the uncle of the famed triumvir Mark Antony....
, Antony’s paternal uncle), thus Sauromates I was related to various members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty
Julio-Claudian Dynasty
The Julio-Claudian dynasty normally refers to the first five Roman Emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula , Claudius, and Nero, or the family to which they belonged; they ruled the Roman Empire from its formation, in the second half of the 1st century BC, until AD 68, when the last of the line,...
. He was also a descendant of Roman Client Rulers Polemon I of Pontus
Polemon I of Pontus
Polemon Pythodoros, also known as Polemon I or Polemon I of Pontus was the Roman Client King of Cilicia, Pontus, Colchis and the Bosporan Kingdom....
, Pythodorida of Pontus
Pythodorida of Pontus
Pythodorida or Pythodoris of Pontus was a Roman Client Queen of Pontus, Bosporan, Cilicia and Cappadocia.-Origins & Early Life:Pythodorida is also known as Pythodoris I and Pantos Pythodorida. According to an honorific inscription dedicated to her in Athens Greece in the late 1st century BC, her...
and Cotys VIII of Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. Through his paternal grandfather, Sauromates I was a descendant of Greek Macedonian Kings:
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
Antigonus I Monophthalmus
Antigonus I Monophthalmus , son of Philip from Elimeia, was a Macedonian nobleman, general, and satrap under Alexander the Great. During his early life he served under Philip II, and he was a major figure in the Wars of the Diadochi after Alexander's death, declaring himself king in 306 BC and...
, Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucus I was a Macedonian officer of Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. In the Wars of the Diadochi that took place after Alexander's death, Seleucus established the Seleucid dynasty and the Seleucid Empire...
and Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
, Antipater
Antipater
Antipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became Regent of all of Alexander's Empire. Antipater was one of the sons of a Macedonian nobleman called Iollas or Iolaus and his family were distant collateral relatives to the...
. These three men served under King Alexander the Great. He is also descended from the Monarchs Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI of Pontus
Mithridates VI or Mithradates VI Mithradates , from Old Persian Mithradatha, "gift of Mithra"; 134 BC – 63 BC, also known as Mithradates the Great and Eupator Dionysius, was king of Pontus and Armenia Minor in northern Anatolia from about 120 BC to 63 BC...
and his first wife, his sister Laodice
Laodice (sister-wife of Mithridates VI of Pontus)
Laodice was a beautiful Pontian Princess and Queen who was first wife and sister-wife to King Mithridates VI of Pontus.She was a monarch of Persian and Greek Macedonian ancestry...
and the previous Bosporan King Asander
Asander (Bosporan King)
Asander named Philocaesar Philoromaios was an aristocrat and a man of high rank of the Bosporan Kingdom.Asander was of Greek and possibly of Persian ancestry. There is not much is known on his family and early life. He started his political and military career as a general under Pharnaces II, King...
.
When Rhescuporis I died in 90, Sauromates I succeeded his father as Bosporan King and reigned until his own death in 123. He was a contemporary of the Roman Emperor
Roman Emperor
The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...
s Domitian
Domitian
Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 to 96. Domitian was the third and last emperor of the Flavian dynasty.Domitian's youth and early career were largely spent in the shadow of his brother Titus, who gained military renown during the First Jewish-Roman War...
, Nerva
Nerva
Nerva , was Roman Emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became Emperor at the age of sixty-five, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the rulers of the Flavian dynasty. Under Nero, he was a member of the imperial entourage and played a vital part in exposing the Pisonian conspiracy of 65...
, Trajan
Trajan
Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...
and Hadrian
Hadrian
Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...
. Sauromates I continued his father’s legacy of rebuilding the Bosporan Kingdom. In 68, Rhescuporis I had restored the Bosporan Kingdom, previously a part of the Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Moesia
Moesia
Moesia was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River. It included territories of modern-day Southern Serbia , Northern Republic of Macedonia, Northern Bulgaria, Romanian Dobrudja, Southern Moldova, and Budjak .-History:In ancient...
Inferior, as a semi-independent Roman Client State. On coins, his royal title is in Greek: ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΑΥΡΟΜΑΤΟΥ or of King Sauromates.
Sauromates I is mentioned in the letters of Roman Senator
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
Pliny the Younger
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo , better known as Pliny the Younger, was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate him...
. About 103, Pliny served as the Roman Governor of Bithynia
Bithynia
Bithynia was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine .-Description:...
. Sauromates I sent his ambassador (legatus
Legatus
A legatus was a general in the Roman army, equivalent to a modern general officer. Being of senatorial rank, his immediate superior was the dux, and he outranked all military tribunes...
) to travel to Bithynia to deliver two letters to Pliny. The nature of these letters is unknown. The first letter requested Pliny, for a messenger to use a diploma (a permit to use an official wagon) to assist the messenger’s journey, which Pliny respected. The second letter was for Trajan. Pliny learned no more than that it contained news which Trajan needed to know. An imperial freedman called Lycormas took the second letter from Bithynia to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
for Trajan, a journey that would have taken 6–8 weeks.
Either Rhescuporis I or Sauromates I established Phanagoria as the new capital city of the Bosporan Kingdom. From the late 1st century, Panticapaeum
Panticapaeum
Panticapaeum , present-day Kerch: an important city and port in Taurica , situated on a hill Panticapaeum (Greek: Παντικάπαιον, Pantikápaion), present-day Kerch: an important city and port in Taurica (Tauric Chersonese), situated on a hill Panticapaeum (Greek: Παντικάπαιον, Pantikápaion),...
, the original capital city, had gradually lost its importance. Phanagoria became the new capital city because of the increasing popularity of the city’s titulary goddess, Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
, and her cult.
In 105, Sauromates I, entrusted and appointed a priest as an official to oversee the restoration of the porticos at the temple at Hermonassa
Tmutarakan
Tmutarakan was a Mediaeval Russian principality and trading town that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Its site was the ancient Greek colony of Hermonassa . It was situated on the Taman peninsula, in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia,...
. Out of his personal religious devotion in 110, he erected a temple dedicated to Aphrodite in Gorgippia
Anapa
Anapa is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. It was originally a seaport for the Natkhuay tribe of the Adyghe people. Population: The town boasts a number of sanatoria and hotels...
. In an honorific inscription dedicated to Sauromates I, found in Nicaea
Iznik
İznik is a city in Turkey which is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea, the first and seventh Ecumenical councils in the early history of the Church, the Nicene Creed, and as the capital city of the Empire of Nicaea...
, Sauromates I was given the honorific title Ktistes or Founder. He was awarded this title because of his goodness, generosity and his contributions throughout the Bosporan and Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
.
At Panticapaeum, there is in Latin an honorific inscription, dedicating and honoring Sauromates I:
- ‘King Tiberius Julius Sauromates, an outstanding friend of Emperor and the populus Romanus‘.
Sauromates I married an unnamed woman and had a son called Cotys II
Tiberius Julius Cotys II
Tiberius Julius Cotys II Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, also known as Cotys II or Kotys II was a prince and Roman Client King of the Bosporan Kingdom....
. Cotys II would succeed his father. Through his son, Sauromates I would have three descendants ruling the Bosporan that would bear his name.
Sources
- The supreme gods of the Bosporan Kingdom: Celestial Aphrodite and the Most High God By Yulia Ustinova Edition: illustrated Published by BRILL, 1999 ISBN 9004112316, 9789004112315
- Rome, the Greek world, and the East By Fergus Millar, Hannah M. Cotton, Guy M. Rogers Edition: illustrated Published by UNC Press, 2004 ISBN 0807855200, 9780807855201
- http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/bosporos/kings/t.html
- http://www.american-pictures.com/genealogy/persons/per01403.htm#0
- http://www.american-pictures.com/genealogy/persons/per01404.htm#0