Agreed, he could really have used better allies. But what would have been interesting is if he could have coordinated better with the Roman rebel Sertorius. Apparently Mithridates was sent some Roman officers for advising but these ultimately betrayed him when Sertorius was defeated.
I think the aristocratic feudal system they had also prevented them from sustaining an army. Pontus was a warrior ruled culture that relied on man at arms and mercenaries to build numbers since only the wealthy trained as warriors. Rome’s standardization through the Marian reforms and compensation for completing active service allowed Rome to raise capable legions efficiently.
I did my final research paper for my history degree on Lucius Cornelius Sulla. I was impressed by what Mithridates accomplished from such a small power base. If Rome had not existed, then Mithridates might have been able to establish an enduring empire. However, he was was also blinded by his own drive for power. And, he challenged Rome at its strongest. Remember, this was just one generation after Rome wiped Carthage from the face of the Earth. And, Carthage was a far stronger and more unified nation than Pontus.
True, Rome was unstoppable during this period and the fool decided to provoke the Roman beast. The Armenians hadn't even organized, by the time he lost and ran over to Tigranes II, a mustered force of mainly peasants was formed accompanied by some of the best cavalry of the period, and maybe a few thousand at most elite infantry, the Armenian army consisted of almost entirely unprofessionals and peasants.
This is fascinating for me,as a Pontic Greek.Mithridates for me symbolises the Greco-Persian fusion (despite popular belief,Greeks and Persians didn't fight all the time )The Hellenic heritage in Pontus and Crimea still stands to this day,both in the name of the cities and the ruins found.History is truly fascinating
@@isaac1674 Scythia through the eyes of the Hellenes Skrzhinskaya Marina Vladimirovna Toponyms - witness to the meeting of the Greeks and Scythians Even before the emergence of the first colonies, Greek sailors, getting acquainted with Scythia, learned from the local population a number of geographical names that related mainly to seas and rivers. Along with the name Pontus, they heard about Maeotis, whose name meant, as Pliny writes, “Mother of the Sea.”[35] It was assumed that the Black Sea was filled with the waters of the Azov Sea, and from it, through the strait, water flowed into the Mediterranean. The Hellenes identified the eight largest rivers of Scythia and retained their names in their language, which were derived from Iranian or even more ancient Indo-Aryan roots.[36] Five of them - Ister, Tiras, Hypanis, Borysthenes, Tanais - are definitely identified with the Danube, Dniester, Bug, Dnieper and Don, whose modern names were first recorded by authors of Roman times. The remaining three - Panticapus, Herr and Hypakiris - cannot be accurately identified with modern rivers; this is explained by large hydrological changes over the past two thousand years. The names of the oldest Greek colonies - Thira, Borisfen and Panticapaeum - come from the names of rivers. This is convincing evidence that local toponyms became known to the Hellenes in the pre-colonization period. After all, the name of the new city-state was given at its founding, previously approved by the oracle of Apollo, the patron god of the colonists. The Milesians received the necessary oracle in their temple of Apollo of Didyma, and the Hellenes living on the Balkan Peninsula received it in Delphi. All the geographical knowledge acquired during voyages in the Mediterranean and Black Seas flocked to the priests of Apollo, and thus the ministers of the cult were aware of the mouths of the largest rivers flowing into Pontus and the lands surrounding them.
@@isaac1674 According to legend, the place for Panticapaeum on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus was allocated to the Greeks by the Scythian king Agaet[51]. Thus, from the very beginning, both peoples stipulated zones of influence and regulated the conditions under which the Greek colonies did not interfere with the seasonal movements of nomads across the strait. Its Iranian name Panti-Kapa means “fish path”;[52] it sounds in the name of Panticapaeum, the capital of the Bosporan kingdom. Huge schools of fish passed through the Kerch Strait from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea and back, so the strait was truly a fishing route.
I loved playing as Pontus in Europa Barbarorum. The combination of Greek a Persian troops was an interesting dynamic. Also, Ancient Warfare is a great magazine. They put a lot of emphasis on researching even the smallest details in order to more accurately understand history.
Hell yeah I love hearing invicta talk about mithridates from his old total war videos to now it always is entertaining and captivating to listen to keep up the amazing work invicta
I have many subscriptions, but Invicta, BazBattles, Kings and Generals, Historia Civilis, and HistoryDen are by far my favorites, and the only channels for which I stay notified.
What I like about Roman history is that it's so long that it outlasts one person's story. The Pontic or the Macedonian empires are known best through one or two people's story but Rome's is the story of hundreds of leaders.
So True I'm talking mainstream: Persia: (One of My farovite civs) Cyrus,Darius I,Xerxes, Akkad: Sargon Babylon: Hammurabi Nebuchadnezzar II Assyria: Ashurbanipal Greece: Leonidas Peracles Phillip II Alexandros III (Alexander The Great) Egypt: Ramses II Cleopatra (Macedonian Monarchy) India: Ghandi(Revolutionary Leader) Rome: Cicero Julius Caesar Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony) Augustus Caligula Nero Marcus Aurelius Commodus Deocletian Constantine Justinian That's just political/royal leaders and mainstream (for the most part)at that. Could go further in depth.
Egypt and India have 10s of great leaders/artists'writers that are known to Indian or Egyptian people. On the other hand, an indian or egyptian only heard about Caesar or maybe Neron. You are looking to the history from your(European) side while there are more than a billion people in the world who never heard of Caligula but knows about Samudragupta or Akbar I.
Alexlaza at some point yes,but Mithridates was a prince of Persian at time and had Greek ancestry. He claimed descent from Cyrus the Great, the family of Darius the Great, the Regent Antipater, the generals of Alexander the Great as well as the later kings Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Seleucus I Nicator
Persians and Greeks had many things in common and many Greek scientists studied in Persia and adopted a lot from them. But we only heared about their conflicts and wars
But Rome‘s armies were just too strong at that time, as they were mostly professional. That is in the end why Mithridates lost the war, in almost every battle the Romans were outnumbered but still won the majority of battles like Charonea and Tigranocerta.
@@romaaugustus1694 They were not outnumbered by much, estimates from experts put Lucullus force at at least 60-70k and the Armenian force at 80-90k with most being peasants. Or do you actually believe 40000 legionaries defeated Tigranes 400,000 strong army (Fairytale).
Those folks had it so good, long before some cunning manufacturers came together and gave birth to 'intended obselecence'. Today's capes are of the same quality and durability as the average dollar store Halloween costume - but cost 10 times as much. Sigh.
Thank you for this video I found it particularly interesting because when I served in the US Army I was stationed in sinop, Turkey. Sinop was the home and I believe capital of mithridates as well as several other famous people from antiquity.
@@tanegurnick5071 they have a really fun starting position, lots of small factions around them so there's so much diversity and possibilities as the game progresses
Mithradetes had a Persian name -Mithra - chosen by mithra the ancient Iranian diety . He was also of Iranic origin but played to the Hellenic origins to solidify his legitimacy in Anatolia which was heavily helenized
Top-drawer content, as usual. I have always found Mithridates fascinating when reading about his battles with Rome and of course, his affinity for poison.
It must have been some time now for anyone to still remember this, but why didn't you finish the 4th part of the documentary about the 70 AD siege of Jerusalem?
(JERUSALEM) The sacred city of Judaism, and later of Christianity as well. Jerusalem was the very heart of the Jewish world. Its destruction in 70 A.D. ensured the dispersal of the Jews within the Roman Empire, and its rebirth as a Christian center ushered in a new age for the Holy land. “I shall wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.” Jerusalem was an ancient city, built, it was said by the Canaanite tribe of the Jebusites. In 1050 B.C. King David captur- ed it and made it his great capital. The name came from (Hierusaleme), or “Holy City,” and Jerusalem was, for the Jews, truly sacred. Their kings, including Solomon, lived within its walls until 588, when King Nebuchadnezzar besieged it and wholly enslaved the Jewish nation. Although Cyrus granted in 538 B.C. to the Jews the right to rebuild the city, the next centuries brought new masters and new hardships. Finally, an independence of sorts was gained by Judas Maccabaeus (167-164 B.C.) and the Hasmonean line of high priests. Internal debate led to civil war in 63 B.C., when the sons of the Hasmonean King Jannaeus Alexander, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, used Jerusalem as a battleground for surpremacy. Appropriately, given subsequent dealings, Rome’s first introduction to Jerusalem was in a siege. POMPEY THE GREAT, newly arrived in the region, immediately besieged the city in 63 to end the civil strife. Jerusalem fell and never again would know complete freedom. Hyrcanus was allowed to remain high priest, but within the city the true political force was ANTIPATER OF IDUMAEA, the royal minister who not only achieved personal supremacy in Judaea but also had one son, HEROD THE GREAT, appointed governor of Galilee. This Idumaean won the trust of Julius Caesar and was granted the right to fortify the city walls in circa 47 B.C. Strong walls could not prevent Caesar’s assassin, CASSIUS, from plundering the temple to fund his campaign against Marc ANTONY nor could they keep the Parthians from launching an invasion of Judaea in 40. Jerusalem fell to the Parthians, who placed the Hasmonaean claimant Antigonus on the throne. Herod fled to Rome, returning with Roman legions, and in July of 37 B.C. took back Jerusalem and became the King of the Jews. Just as the entire Judaean realm was given new cities and defensive constructions, so was Jerusalem fortified, including the Tower of Antonia. Relations with Rome were generally cordial at the beginning of Herod’s reign, but deteriorated as he grew repressive and estranged from his people. The Jews dislike having an Idumaean as a monarch, and riots broke out in the streets. The problems did not end with Herod’s death in 4 B.C., for Augustus named his son Archelaus as ruler of a much reduced kingdom ( JUDAEA, IDUMAEA AND SAMARIA). More unrest and violence, most notably in Jerusalem, attracted Roman attention, and in 6 A.D. Augustus acquiesced to Jewish requests that Archelaus be removed. Henceforth, Judaea was an imperial province. Caesarea became the administrative seat of the procurator for the province because Jerusalem, with its multitude of religious groups, its volatile nature and long history of violence, was not the best place for a Roman overseer. However, Roman government was unpopular everywhere in the region, and in 66 A.D., despite the presence of legions, Jerusalem was once again the scene of rebellion. The actual conflagration began here, when Gessius Florus, procurator of Judaea, seized part of the temple treasury and then stood by while his troops plundered a part of the city. Florus wisely withdrew, allowing Agrippa II to try to stem the tide. When Jerusalem started a revolution, however, Palestine joined in, and the governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, with the XII Legion, was defeated outside the city gates. This encouraged the rebels. Jerusalem’s leaders now look command of the war, appointing Ananus, a former high priest, and Joseph, son of Gorion, to be co-leaders. They faced both internal and outside foes, as the ZEALOTS and inveterate haters of Rome took over key posts and filled the city with their followers. General Vespasian pacified most of the territory during a hard-fought period from February 67 to June 68. He was preparing to lay siege to Jerusalem, actually, when the civil war in Rome called a halt to all other activities. The delay in Rome’s conquest of Palestine aided Jerusalem very little, for the ambitious John of Gischala used gangs of Zealots to massacre any moderates or opponents. Matters were made worse by the arrival of two more factions, those of Simon Bar Giora (Bargoia) and Eleazar, son of Simon. Vespasian became emperor in late 69 and in spring of 70, his son TITUS assumed control over the Palestinian legions. Jerusalem soon fell under attack, and the first of the city’s three great walls fell to Rome siege-masters by the end of May. In June, the Romans relentlessly drove on, smashing into the Tower of Antonia and moving against the Great TEMPLE. According to Josephus, Titus was firm against the destruction of the Temple, but he had no control over the disaster. On August 30, 70 A.D. (9 Ab on the Jewish calendar, the date of Nebuchadnezzar’s burning of the earlier Temple), soldiers of Titus’ legions engaged in a struggle with the insurgents just outside of the Temple. One of the Romans, caught up in the fray, threw a firebrand into the building, and a fire broke out; quite probably Titus had ordered the burning. The following day, anyone caught within the boundaries was killed, and the treasury, gates and porticos were also set on fire. All the valuables salvaged from the blaze were confiscated to be displayed in Rome for Titus’ triumph. Still the defenders would not surrender, especially John of Gischala, who fled to the defenses of the Upper City. Titus allowed his troops to sack and demolish the Lower City, and on September 8 launched his final assault. By the 26th, all of Jerusalem was on fire. Titus entered the ruined city a short time later, marveled at the magnificent towers and ordered that everything except the forts be demolished. The wrath of Rome was thus appeased, and the ancient city of Jerusalem was no more.
A similar Greco-Persian historical figure of great interest is king Antiochus of Commagene (I forget his regnal number)The massive statuary on top of Mount Nimrud in south east Turkey are the remains of his kingdom and yet to be discovered tomb which may be as impressive as that of kng Tut of Egypt.Commagene was a buffer state between Rome and Parthia/Persia and its people were probably related to the Armenians.
@@Virius.Aelius.Barbatus. he was just the king of commagene which was armenian territory he was in fact greco persian by taking a look at his parents,he was in fact related to almost all of alexander's first generation successors antipater,seleucus,lysimachus,ptolemy and antigonus
This period of history has recently, actually for many years, intrigued me. Knowing that the many chroniclers writings never align with the actual events makes for many of these stories overlapping and being well blown out of proportion. But, they seem to claw at my mind and the name Mithridates has been gnawing at my mind for a few months. I think I was reading something by Plutarch or one of the other historians, maybe Tacitus...I don't recall exactly, and this name kept entering my mind. I love the idea of his seven years left to roam the wild lands with a band of men, all learning and plotting scheming as they hunt and hone their skills as soldiers a close knit unit of fighting men. The adventures and trouble they must've gotten up to or more.likely caused through foul play. Mithridates seems to have that special link, as you.mentioned of his time.one of May celestial signs...co.ets etc bringing forth a new saviour or Messiah. That he had such a deep historical record bonding him to Alexander the Great as well as the Arabic royal lineage is fascinating. You don't really cover his full lineage...would you be able to research and do a video which shows these links in more detail? I recall a video by another UA-camr, I don't recall his name unfortunately, who spent nearly two hours covering the life and pre and post eras of Vlad the Impaler and the Wallachian nobility. Their links with Arabic royalty and the childhood bonds he had with sons of the very same kings. This period of history, well...all periods of history, fascinate me more and more the more I learn. Thank you for your upload.
If I recall correctly, Sulla went to defeat Mithridatus. That was when Marius took control of rome. When Sulla returned to Rome, he was the first roman army to march on Rome.
@@Captain_Planets No, I am just Persian (Iranian), So I know these words. Another thing you might be interested is in Persian language another name for Mithra(Sun god) is "Mehr" and "Mehrdad" is another popular name in Iran having the same meaning. 🙏🌹
@@mehrdad5767 Persian was the official language for many Turkic empires and has also influenced the Turkish language and aspects of Turkish culture too.
As a person who is also fascinated with Mithridates, thanks to the Kings and Generals Documentary, I definitely love and appreciate this video about Mithridates
I hope more videos on mezo american culture will come! They are really helpful in gathering inspiration for making games and worlds. Good work on the channel!
Looking back at this video, this time period truely was fascinating. We all know that most of the achievements and mystical stuff surrounding him probably were made up, but in the core he was still an interesting character. But what I'm actually amazed of is the huge amount of propaganda surrounding Mithridates. Like they had no social media, no internet, no phones or cars to pass on information quickly, yet we have such fabulous stories surviving time, passing on the story of an impressive king who against all odds used the circumstances of his time to form his own legend. I often wonder what would've been if such huge historical characters like Mithridates, Alexander, Caesar, had survived longer or would've had the perfect circumstances for whatever they planned. I'm curious how it would've shaped the world we live in. The good old "what if" questions of history.
Iranians brought the world out of tribalism with the gathas of zarathustra, they taught the world ethics and being a good person and before his teachings everyone in the world including greeks taught things were outside of ones control. Which greek invention is bigger than that? Iranian history gave rise to the first world empire, soo the law, postal service, police, refrigerators and all basic tents of living originally come from the persians. Iranians invented phonetic language, means all sounds have letters for them. They also invented Human Rights. Just wondering how is greek history better? Dude theres no way name Greek history more grand
Excellent video as always. I love the educational value of these. Especially that you cover topics like this. Many people know Rome, some even know it OK. Not many know Pontus from Parthia, or anything about them.
@@bartomiejzakrzewski7220 it was a Greek state tho and the leaders were greek a big part of the population was greek and most of the population felt greek modern day pontians are only greek
@@bartomiejzakrzewski7220 They were hellenized and intermixed Persians with Anatolians and Greeks. They have nothing to do with the steppe. But I do dislike Mithridates, for a brilliant man he sure made a foolish decision. He had nowhere near the capability to attack Rome. They should have kept the Romans at bay, while they built their empire along with the Armenians. One.day they could have faced Rome. Also he was a traitor to Tigranes.
@@eaglecondor6754 the name is persian not greek the lineage is both greek and persian and the state was greek the language was greek and the identity was greek so it was a greek state mithridates was the protector of hellenism not of persia you need to stop trying to steal pieces of our history albanians say epirotans are albanian vardarskans claim macedonia bulgaria claims thrace turks and persians claim pontus and some persians claim the seleucid empire the egyptians claim ptolemaic egypt and the italians claim byzantium fuck off
Rome would have pursued Armenia one day, regardless of the the Pontians. But perhaps Tigran would have been given more time to establish a decent army and organize his Empire.
@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 yup. logistics were not adjusted for the new borders by that time. Army composition didn't meet the new damands. MB the outcome would be the same, maybe not, who knows
@@vardansimonyan966 Yeah, according to Roman historians, by the time Lucullus arrived at Tigranakerta, it was night time and Tigranes was scrambling to mobilize a decent army, basically most of his army was taken from the peasantry, with perhaps 7-10,000 of his heavy cavalry Aspet. So in the first battle, Lucullus arrived with 40,000 legionaries plus thousands of auxiliary which they were able to pull in from Thracia, Dacia, and Cappadocia. This is when Lucullus demanded Mithridates VI, believing he was being he was being protected by the Armenian king. In reality, or at least in Armenian sources, he never agreed to protect Mithridates. What really happened is that Mithridates fled to his lands in Sophene, where he had up to 10,000 soldiers stationed. The Sophene were Armenians themselves, so this is why perhaps the Romans believed it was ultimately Tigranes who was protecting the Pontic king. So Lucullus won the first battle, but the Roman legions were being exhausted and destroyed through guerilla warfare. Finally the Roman soldiers refused to fight and wanted to return home with their spoils, so Lucullus was replaced by Pompey. Pompey came in with even more soldiers, he then made an alliance with the Parthians, so the Persians would flank Tigranes' army at the final battle. During this time, Tigranes is around 75, which is very old for that time period, its like living until 100, but anyways during this time, one of his sons commits treason and takes a portion of Tigranes' army and joins Pompey, betraying his father and his nation. In the meantime, a tired and old Tigranes rides out on a horse to the Roman camp, he falls before Pompey and surrenders. Pompey agrees to the terms, the treasonous son is executed and Armenia remains a Roman buffer state against the east.
@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 thanks for the long message. Romans were ahead of everyone by their social structure featuring senate, citizens etc...that is why it was so hard to defeat them and was so easy for them to defeat mighty kingdoms like Armenia. Afterwards and up untill Bagratid (included), Armenia was even more divided internally, and this division supported by neighboring empires. The kingdom was potentially one of the strongest states on the globe but never went beyond regional domination. I say this not fanatically, but using comparative methods throughout antiquity and middle ages.
@@vardansimonyan966 That's true, the Romans themselves acknowledged the power of Armenia during this time, many of their historians claimed Armenia was the strongest state east of Rome, but they of course did not know about the Chinese. But to think that Armenia as a nation was once stronger than the Parthians who had a population that dwarfed our own, Ptolemaic Egypt, as well as the Seleucid Greeks, it is quite an astonishing fact when you look at the current state of Armenia. If I were to time travel and help out Tigran, I would tell him to fight in the first two Mithridatic wars. If Tigran had organized and army before Rome attack the Pontic Empire, both forces would have crushed the Romans most likely. Then the Black Sea Empire of Mithridates VI would evolve into basically an early Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire, while Armenia would evolve into an Armeno-Greco-Persian Empire, with the nobility being mainly of Armenian descent and the population being majority Iranian.
There are three great iranians with Mithridates name two of them which are more familiar in Iran were two great Arsacid (Parthian)kings(Arsaces 6 and Arsaces 9)and the another one which is more familiar to western people is the king of Pontus which was persian,as an Iranian we know very few about him,thanks a lot for making this awsome video.
Yeah i kinda stopped following hin for this reason. I understand this shorter stories bring more money and visitors, but abandoning such an insanely high quality documentary-series is such a shame.. :(
@d puski Don't disagree with you. Though what they did at Srebrencia was not cool as well as what the opposite side did, not cool. Someone got to be the bigger man and walk away. Easier said than done though. I'm Hispanic living in USA btw.
There are more than enough proofs for Srebrenica being a one sided massacre on civilians. Please, there is no way to excuse that🙈. I am tired of this poeple excusing genocide because it was against Muslims and then justify it with islamistic terror. That is almost the same Ideology the Christchurch perpetrator had.
It would have been nice to know the date of his birth, and the location those among the students of History who do not know where or when he was born much less who he was. I believe your first mentioned the date, 88 BC, was done more than halfway through the program
notice the leopard skin 0n the horse reminds me 0f the leopard in Daniel that signifies Alexander the great as a leopard with 4 heads and four wings after conquering Babylon died 0f fever and his empire was passed to his 4 generals, of which came the Seleucid empire, he is also the ram with the horn that breaks off
What peoples lived in Mithridates' kingdom? I know most people in Pontus were either Greek or Persian (like Mithridates himself). There must be Armenians, Galateans, Lycians and other Anatolians and what not. You really had to speak 20 languages!
Sorry mate but your wrong here Greek cities on the coast of Pontus existed before,the Persian Empire,as about later Seleucus called GREEKS from allover Greek world,to came as stokers they did in massive immigration and build new cities espessialy in Cappadocia,who includent in Mithridates state as the Greek cities of Pontian coast zas the old Greek colonies of Crimea ,for sure was many dilectes and cultures there because include also Modern day Georgia,the ancient Colhis of the Argonauts but the Greek,was the dominant following by the Persian
@@eliaspapanikolaou3563 This pretty much what I said :D Greek and Persian were dominant cultures, but there were all sorts of people, Frigians, Galatians, Anatolian speakers
@@CharlesOffdensen more or less like that but the Greek infiunce there was Strong since,the very,Ancient times Frigians,immigrate from North of Greece to Anatolia, Before btheTrojan war,In the region between, Cappadocia and Armenia, linguistic,And genetic Researches prooved also,And the love between Greeks and Armenians,I Remind Armenos the Thessalian Argonaut,who first with Comrades from Thessaly , Macedonia and Thrache,Create settlements in a land who took his name,remember Troy who s founder was ARCADIAN Greek Dardanus where some other Pelasgian Greek tribes in Anatolia,like Karians and a Pelasgians s,also before the Myceneans,but they where also Anatolians,who was not Greeks also couple of tribes or more,As about Galatians yes they where was a place very Beloved for retirement for all Celtic warriors and mercenary s from all over,I will not mention now the Tradition who say that Hercules in one of his traver married,a Local princes in a place located now South France and from this marriage made two sons Keletis( Celt)and Galatis (Gaul)again traditional respect and sympathy bettwen Celtic people and Greece until today,but excuse me that's Another story,so yes
Very interesting, if there is no nation who feel proud of Mithradates its ok I’m proud of this king👑 . Also he could just mount a horse the Persian way without being injured 😎
BTW, for the people who do not have any idea what Chaldis is - it is written as ხალდები - in Georgian. This was a territory of Chaldi people who are Georgian tribes.They became part of Pontus, which was made up of many different ethnicities: Greeks, Georgians, Persians, Assyrians, etc. And Colchis is also an old Georgian Kingdom , home of Medea and the Golden Fleece. Colchis was a very powerful kIngdom well before the Mitridates and after him. Mithridates escaped to Colchis for a shelter when his mom Laodice tried to get rid of him after his father Mitridates V was poisoned..
A brilliant presentation! I research the Black Nobility and came across name of Mithridates in the process. Some suggest that the Black Nobility are so called because they originated in the Black sea region. I am still far from being convinced of that but the figure of Mithridates and the cult of Mithra lend the hypothesis some credence. Any ideas about this?
great video but you have one tiny little mistake Mithridates claimed to be descended of Cyrus the Great and Darius the Great from father side and descended of Antipater and Seleucus I Nicator from mother side not Alexander himself
Its not the same quality as my "Moments" or "How They Did It" series. Rather this is one of my quicker standalone episodes. Its supposed to be a way for to put out follow up episodes for the main documentaries. This allows me to be flexible as I still have a full time job and other priorities.
@@InvictaHistory right, we all have stuff going on. this vid was just a bit jarring for me, as your previous videos set an expectation for certain quality. nobody would be opposed to waiting a week or two extra for higher quality stuff
What mystifies me is in battle after battle you have - according to Roman historians anyway - Mithridates with say 100000 troops against 5000 Romans and Mithrdates troops don’t just lose they get massacred (Chaeronea 2 just one example). A change in tactics armour weapons ANYTHING seems to have been required at some point. Btw there are quite a lot of 18th operas about him...one stunning one by Mozart.
"His plan would involve careful planning" hmm
hahaha that thought did not have much thinking on my part
@@InvictaHistory Now that's a comment filled with commentary!
@@ericconnor8251 *fully filled
I wish the same could be said for many of today's leaders
This is like some sort of grammatical babushka doll!
Mithridates greatest weakness was his inability to create the same sort of cohesive alliance/client state system the Romans had.
Agreed, he could really have used better allies. But what would have been interesting is if he could have coordinated better with the Roman rebel Sertorius. Apparently Mithridates was sent some Roman officers for advising but these ultimately betrayed him when Sertorius was defeated.
@@InvictaHistory Invicta, can you do a Tigranes II video next? That would be great.
I think the aristocratic feudal system they had also prevented them from sustaining an army. Pontus was a warrior ruled culture that relied on man at arms and mercenaries to build numbers since only the wealthy trained as warriors. Rome’s standardization through the Marian reforms and compensation for completing active service allowed Rome to raise capable legions efficiently.
Lol thats why they were called Parthians, it worked till it didnt
Parthians only used shoot and run tactic with almost unlimited ammo, thats not a regular fight.
I learned a lot about this man while stationed in Sinop, Turkey. The local museum had a good exhibit about him.
I did my final research paper for my history degree on Lucius Cornelius Sulla. I was impressed by what Mithridates accomplished from such a small power base. If Rome had not existed, then Mithridates might have been able to establish an enduring empire. However, he was was also blinded by his own drive for power. And, he challenged Rome at its strongest. Remember, this was just one generation after Rome wiped Carthage from the face of the Earth. And, Carthage was a far stronger and more unified nation than Pontus.
Love Sulla
True, Rome was unstoppable during this period and the fool decided to provoke the Roman beast. The Armenians hadn't even organized, by the time he lost and ran over to Tigranes II, a mustered force of mainly peasants was formed accompanied by some of the best cavalry of the period, and maybe a few thousand at most elite infantry, the Armenian army consisted of almost entirely unprofessionals and peasants.
@fmoa parhia is another story, persia has rough terrain and horse archers, two vital things againts romans
This is fascinating for me,as a Pontic Greek.Mithridates for me symbolises the Greco-Persian fusion (despite popular belief,Greeks and Persians didn't fight all the time )The Hellenic heritage in Pontus and Crimea still stands to this day,both in the name of the cities and the ruins found.History is truly fascinating
Can you give me an example of city names with Persian influence
Agree with you Greek influence is huge but what about laz?
Not only crimea
@@isaac1674 Scythia through the eyes of the Hellenes
Skrzhinskaya Marina Vladimirovna
Toponyms - witness to the meeting of the Greeks and Scythians
Even before the emergence of the first colonies, Greek sailors, getting acquainted with Scythia, learned from the local population a number of geographical names that related mainly to seas and rivers. Along with the name Pontus, they heard about Maeotis, whose name meant, as Pliny writes, “Mother of the Sea.”[35] It was assumed that the Black Sea was filled with the waters of the Azov Sea, and from it, through the strait, water flowed into the Mediterranean.
The Hellenes identified the eight largest rivers of Scythia and retained their names in their language, which were derived from Iranian or even more ancient Indo-Aryan roots.[36] Five of them - Ister, Tiras, Hypanis, Borysthenes, Tanais - are definitely identified with the Danube, Dniester, Bug, Dnieper and Don, whose modern names were first recorded by authors of Roman times. The remaining three - Panticapus, Herr and Hypakiris - cannot be accurately identified with modern rivers; this is explained by large hydrological changes over the past two thousand years.
The names of the oldest Greek colonies - Thira, Borisfen and Panticapaeum - come from the names of rivers. This is convincing evidence that local toponyms became known to the Hellenes in the pre-colonization period. After all, the name of the new city-state was given at its founding, previously approved by the oracle of Apollo, the patron god of the colonists. The Milesians received the necessary oracle in their temple of Apollo of Didyma, and the Hellenes living on the Balkan Peninsula received it in Delphi. All the geographical knowledge acquired during voyages in the Mediterranean and Black Seas flocked to the priests of Apollo, and thus the ministers of the cult were aware of the mouths of the largest rivers flowing into Pontus and the lands surrounding them.
@@isaac1674 According to legend, the place for Panticapaeum on the shores of the Cimmerian Bosporus was allocated to the Greeks by the Scythian king Agaet[51]. Thus, from the very beginning, both peoples stipulated zones of influence and regulated the conditions under which the Greek colonies did not interfere with the seasonal movements of nomads across the strait. Its Iranian name Panti-Kapa means “fish path”;[52] it sounds in the name of Panticapaeum, the capital of the Bosporan kingdom. Huge schools of fish passed through the Kerch Strait from the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea and back, so the strait was truly a fishing route.
I love this video, I'm half Greek and half Persian, like Mithridates the Great.
And it is not something to be proud of to be Eastern because all of them were tribes just together and had no serious culture etc.
@@Thomas-ty5ol Persia/Iran is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. Proud to be half Persian.
@@Thomas-ty5ol And the Persian/Iranian culture is one of the greatest cultures.
@@Thomas-ty5ol one should not comment when you lack brain power mate.
@@SWiftxFuRY Parthians beg to differ
This video inadvertently solved my long time question about why Pontus uses a flower-like symbol in Rome II TW lol
@Manuel Sacha the star/comet
Time to start a Pontus campaing
Pontian greeks still exist. Proud to be one
John Ser proper Anatolian
@@JohnSer33 Don't Pontians have Persian origin?
Mithradates is such an underrated guy, too bad the Roman Republic used life haxxs.
i know right
all i play in rome 2 total war is pontus
result Legionaries
He was no match for the might of Rome.
@@hashimbokhamseen7877
even though it's a shitty rendition of pontus with not even half of its actual territory, rome 2 is garbage
I loved playing as Pontus in Europa Barbarorum. The combination of Greek a Persian troops was an interesting dynamic. Also, Ancient Warfare is a great magazine. They put a lot of emphasis on researching even the smallest details in order to more accurately understand history.
Hell yeah I love hearing invicta talk about mithridates from his old total war videos to now it always is entertaining and captivating to listen to keep up the amazing work invicta
Your username isn't specific enough because there are many random guys.
I have many subscriptions, but Invicta, BazBattles, Kings and Generals, Historia Civilis, and HistoryDen are by far my favorites, and the only channels for which I stay notified.
You should look into History Time too, it's awesome and lots of it's videos are like 40+ minutes long.
And try out Dan Carlin. He is the king of history. If you don't know who he is then you are missing out on the greatest history podcaster ever
@@JuiceStainded I actually just started noticing that channel a few days ago. I listened to their podcasts on ancient Egypt just yesterday.
@@tanegurnick5071 I will absolutely check them out, too. Thank you.
The nomadic professor check him out bro
What I like about Roman history is that it's so long that it outlasts one person's story. The Pontic or the Macedonian empires are known best through one or two people's story but Rome's is the story of hundreds of leaders.
So True I'm talking mainstream:
Persia: (One of My farovite civs)
Cyrus,Darius I,Xerxes,
Akkad:
Sargon
Babylon:
Hammurabi
Nebuchadnezzar II
Assyria:
Ashurbanipal
Greece:
Leonidas
Peracles
Phillip II
Alexandros III (Alexander The Great)
Egypt:
Ramses II
Cleopatra (Macedonian Monarchy)
India:
Ghandi(Revolutionary Leader)
Rome:
Cicero
Julius Caesar
Marcus Antonius (Marc Antony)
Augustus
Caligula
Nero
Marcus Aurelius
Commodus
Deocletian
Constantine
Justinian
That's just political/royal leaders
and mainstream (for the most part)at that. Could go further in depth.
@@HVLLOWS1999 you know egypt is older than rome right like by far
@@HVLLOWS1999 You forgot all pre-Roman empire people like Scipio Africanus, Marius and Sulla, Romulus etc.
Egypt and India have 10s of great leaders/artists'writers that are known to Indian or Egyptian people. On the other hand, an indian or egyptian only heard about Caesar or maybe Neron. You are looking to the history from your(European) side while there are more than a billion people in the world who never heard of Caligula but knows about Samudragupta or Akbar I.
India is a 20th century construct. Never existed before.
It is a bit ironic that the last champion of the Hellenistic world was a dynasty of Persian origin.
Alexlaza at some point yes,but Mithridates was a prince of Persian at time and had Greek ancestry. He claimed descent from Cyrus the Great, the family of Darius the Great, the Regent Antipater, the generals of Alexander the Great as well as the later kings Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Seleucus I Nicator
@@emololasdf5492 cool
@@emololasdf5492 isn't that overstretching things a little bit?
He was Persian from father and Greek, dynasty of Seleucid from mother.
Persians and Greeks had many things in common and many Greek scientists studied in Persia and adopted a lot from them. But we only heared about their conflicts and wars
If he had succeeded, the Pontic Empire would probably evolve into a slightly different version of the Byzantine Empire
That's a pretty interesting point. But claiming and holding Greece with Rome so close would have been hard.
@@InvictaHistory Yes. Rome would've gotten its act together and cause a lot of troubles to the new Pontic Empire.
But Rome‘s armies were just too strong at that time, as they were mostly professional. That is in the end why Mithridates lost the war, in almost every battle the Romans were outnumbered but still won the majority of battles like Charonea and Tigranocerta.
@@romaaugustus1694 They were not outnumbered by much, estimates from experts put Lucullus force at at least 60-70k and the Armenian force at 80-90k with most being peasants. Or do you actually believe 40000 legionaries defeated Tigranes 400,000 strong army (Fairytale).
@fattie86 Yeah dude even had his grandson and daughter betray Tigran, his ally, after Tigran saved him from Rome.
When life gives you lemons make sure that you throw them at random people for good luck and runaway like hell.
Thank you for the video Invicta
Jonathan Williams You’re the 10 person to mention Cave Johnson’s lemons
@Henryk Gödel 😂 😂 😂 👍 👍
Note that back then they made capes that could be worn even after 300 years...
A cape that is made for the greatest king at the time, would be made with the best quality material at the time
@@MM-vs2et I would like to see how a suit for, say, Donald Trump, would look like after 300 years :D
If McDonald's food has anything to say about preservatives and extreme lasting technology.
@@Kelmorcellus XD
Those folks had it so good, long before some cunning manufacturers came together and gave birth to 'intended obselecence'.
Today's capes are of the same quality and durability as the average dollar store Halloween costume - but cost 10 times as much.
Sigh.
Thank you for this video I found it particularly interesting because when I served in the US Army I was stationed in sinop, Turkey. Sinop was the home and I believe capital of mithridates as well as several other famous people from antiquity.
Who else can't help but always start a new game as Pontus whenever you get back into Rome II?
What is pontus known for? Chariots? Do they have
Exceptional pelthast or is that baktria? I love the iberians personally
@@tanegurnick5071 Pontus have good combination of hellenic and eastern units.. Much like Bactria..
@@tanegurnick5071 they have a really fun starting position, lots of small factions around them so there's so much diversity and possibilities as the game progresses
Ikr. Pontus and Baktria are the two I always go back to for some reason.
@@Sharnoy1 for me they are the best factions in terms of variation of unit rooster..
This king was certainly an impressive man. I get why he would be so admired. I think I do myself. Nice job.
Mithradetes had a Persian name -Mithra - chosen by mithra the ancient Iranian diety . He was also of Iranic origin but played to the Hellenic origins to solidify his legitimacy in Anatolia which was heavily helenized
He Was Persian
@@zeusthesigma he was albanian
@@stratos8 bruh
@@zeusthesigma facts
@@stratos8 😂😂
Top-drawer content, as usual. I have always found Mithridates fascinating when reading about his battles with Rome and of course, his affinity for poison.
I love these videos, history just makes me happy to learn about our past.
As a Pontic Greek, I approve!
Long live Pontos, the land of heroes!
And even this day Iranians name their children mehrdăd
Modern pronunciation of old persian mithradata,
And mithradates in old Greek
Omg invicta I love you thank you for delivering the topic I so desperately wanted to see :)
Thank you for the video! He was amazing!
the poison king is a very good book. i highly recommend it as well
Such an under appreciated historical figure
Welp, now its time to start a Pontus campaing in Total War Rome 2
Mithridatis. The Greek king of Pontus
Its 0110 hours after midnight, but Invicta posts a vid, have to watch
you mean 01:10?
It must have been some time now for anyone to still remember this, but why didn't you finish the 4th part of the documentary about the 70 AD siege of Jerusalem?
Xanthos Parashis Yeah! Been waiting for years!
Xanthos Parashis LoL I’ve kinda given up, those series was why I subbed to the channel.
(JERUSALEM) The sacred city of Judaism, and later of Christianity as well. Jerusalem was the very heart of the Jewish world. Its destruction in 70 A.D. ensured the dispersal of the Jews within the Roman Empire, and its rebirth as a Christian center ushered in a new age for the Holy land.
“I shall wipe Jerusalem as a man wipeth a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down.”
Jerusalem was an ancient city, built, it was said by the Canaanite tribe of the Jebusites. In 1050 B.C. King David captur-
ed it and made it his great capital. The name came from (Hierusaleme), or “Holy
City,” and Jerusalem was, for the Jews, truly sacred. Their kings, including Solomon, lived within its walls until 588, when King Nebuchadnezzar besieged it and wholly enslaved the Jewish nation. Although Cyrus granted in 538 B.C. to the Jews the right to rebuild the city, the next centuries brought new masters and new hardships. Finally, an independence of sorts was gained by Judas Maccabaeus
(167-164 B.C.) and the Hasmonean line of high priests. Internal debate led to civil war in 63 B.C., when the sons of the Hasmonean King Jannaeus Alexander, Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, used Jerusalem as a battleground for surpremacy. Appropriately, given subsequent dealings, Rome’s first introduction to Jerusalem was in a siege.
POMPEY THE GREAT, newly arrived in the region, immediately besieged the city in 63 to end the civil strife. Jerusalem fell and never again would know complete freedom. Hyrcanus was allowed to remain high priest, but within the city the true political force was ANTIPATER OF IDUMAEA, the royal minister who not only achieved personal supremacy in Judaea but also had one son, HEROD THE GREAT, appointed governor of Galilee. This Idumaean won the trust of Julius Caesar and was granted the right to fortify the city walls in circa 47 B.C. Strong walls could not prevent Caesar’s assassin, CASSIUS, from plundering the temple to fund his campaign against Marc ANTONY nor could they keep the Parthians from launching an invasion of Judaea in 40. Jerusalem fell to the Parthians, who placed the Hasmonaean claimant Antigonus on the throne. Herod fled to Rome, returning with Roman legions, and in July of 37 B.C. took back Jerusalem and became the King of the Jews. Just as the entire Judaean realm was given new cities and defensive constructions, so was Jerusalem fortified, including the Tower of Antonia. Relations with Rome were generally cordial at the beginning of Herod’s reign, but deteriorated as he grew repressive and estranged from his people.
The Jews dislike having an Idumaean as a monarch, and riots broke out in the streets. The problems did not end with Herod’s death in 4 B.C., for Augustus named his son Archelaus as ruler of a much reduced kingdom ( JUDAEA, IDUMAEA AND SAMARIA). More unrest and violence, most notably in Jerusalem, attracted Roman attention, and in 6 A.D. Augustus acquiesced to Jewish requests that Archelaus be removed. Henceforth, Judaea was an imperial province.
Caesarea became the administrative seat of the procurator for the province because Jerusalem, with its multitude of religious groups, its volatile nature and long history of violence, was not the best place for a Roman overseer. However, Roman government was unpopular everywhere in the region, and in 66 A.D., despite the presence of legions, Jerusalem was once again the scene of rebellion. The actual conflagration began here, when Gessius Florus, procurator of Judaea, seized part of the temple treasury and then stood by while his troops plundered a part of the city. Florus wisely withdrew, allowing Agrippa II to try to stem the tide. When Jerusalem started a revolution, however, Palestine joined in, and the governor of Syria, Cestius Gallus, with the XII Legion, was defeated outside the city gates. This encouraged the rebels. Jerusalem’s leaders now look command of the war, appointing Ananus, a former high priest, and Joseph, son of Gorion, to be co-leaders. They faced both internal and outside foes, as the ZEALOTS and inveterate haters of Rome took over key posts and filled the city with their followers. General Vespasian pacified most of the territory during a hard-fought period from February 67 to June 68. He was preparing to lay siege to Jerusalem, actually, when the civil war in Rome called a halt to all other activities. The delay in Rome’s conquest of Palestine aided Jerusalem very little, for the ambitious John of Gischala used gangs of Zealots to massacre any moderates or opponents. Matters were made worse by the arrival of two more factions, those of Simon Bar Giora (Bargoia) and Eleazar, son of Simon. Vespasian became emperor in late 69 and in spring of 70, his son TITUS assumed control over the Palestinian legions. Jerusalem soon fell under attack, and the first of the city’s three great walls fell to Rome siege-masters by the end of May. In June, the Romans relentlessly drove on, smashing into the Tower of Antonia and moving against the Great TEMPLE. According to Josephus, Titus was firm against the destruction of the Temple, but he had no control over the disaster. On August 30, 70 A.D. (9 Ab on the Jewish calendar, the date of Nebuchadnezzar’s burning of the earlier Temple), soldiers of Titus’ legions engaged in a struggle with the insurgents just outside of the Temple. One of the Romans, caught up in the fray, threw a firebrand into the building, and a fire broke out; quite probably Titus had ordered the burning. The following day, anyone caught within the boundaries was killed, and the treasury, gates and porticos were also set on fire. All the valuables salvaged from the blaze were confiscated to be displayed in Rome for Titus’ triumph. Still the defenders would not surrender, especially John of Gischala, who fled to the defenses of the Upper City. Titus allowed his troops to sack and demolish the Lower City, and on September 8 launched his final assault. By the 26th, all of Jerusalem was on fire. Titus entered the ruined city a short time later, marveled at the magnificent towers and ordered that everything except the forts be demolished. The wrath of Rome was thus appeased, and the ancient city of Jerusalem was no more.
@@FAMA-18 "Jerusalem fell and never again would know complete freedom" this isn't correct, it knows now
A similar Greco-Persian historical figure of great interest is king Antiochus of Commagene (I forget his regnal number)The massive statuary on top of Mount Nimrud in south east Turkey are the remains of his kingdom and yet to be discovered tomb which may be as impressive as that of kng Tut of Egypt.Commagene was a buffer state between Rome and Parthia/Persia and its people were probably related to the Armenians.
He was actualy an Armenian.
@@Virius.Aelius.Barbatus. he was just the king of commagene which was armenian territory he was in fact greco persian by taking a look at his parents,he was in fact related to almost all of alexander's first generation successors antipater,seleucus,lysimachus,ptolemy and antigonus
This period of history has recently, actually for many years, intrigued me. Knowing that the many chroniclers writings never align with the actual events makes for many of these stories overlapping and being well blown out of proportion. But, they seem to claw at my mind and the name Mithridates has been gnawing at my mind for a few months. I think I was reading something by Plutarch or one of the other historians, maybe Tacitus...I don't recall exactly, and this name kept entering my mind. I love the idea of his seven years left to roam the wild lands with a band of men, all learning and plotting scheming as they hunt and hone their skills as soldiers a close knit unit of fighting men. The adventures and trouble they must've gotten up to or more.likely caused through foul play. Mithridates seems to have that special link, as you.mentioned of his time.one of May celestial signs...co.ets etc bringing forth a new saviour or Messiah. That he had such a deep historical record bonding him to Alexander the Great as well as the Arabic royal lineage is fascinating. You don't really cover his full lineage...would you be able to research and do a video which shows these links in more detail?
I recall a video by another UA-camr, I don't recall his name unfortunately, who spent nearly two hours covering the life and pre and post eras of Vlad the Impaler and the Wallachian nobility. Their links with Arabic royalty and the childhood bonds he had with sons of the very same kings. This period of history, well...all periods of history, fascinate me more and more the more I learn. Thank you for your upload.
Great content! it's always good finding new videos made by you, thanks.
If I recall correctly, Sulla went to defeat Mithridatus. That was when Marius took control of rome. When Sulla returned to Rome, he was the first roman army to march on Rome.
that sure is one eventful span of decades lol. from sulla to caesar. that's alot of the most brilliant men rome has produced
FYI his name in Persian language means; given by Mithra (the Lord of Light)
Literal Azor Ahai
@@Captain_Planets No, I am just Persian (Iranian), So I know these words. Another thing you might be interested is in Persian language another name for Mithra(Sun god) is "Mehr" and "Mehrdad" is another popular name in Iran having the same meaning. 🙏🌹
Absolutely fascinating and eye-opening two mini docs on Mithridates. Even while simply glossing over the issues. And i never say that lightly.
2:43 He's gonna take that horse to the Roman roads, he's gonna ride till he can't no more
I have a friend whose name is Mehrdad i.e. Mithradates in Persian
@non-iranic viewers : _Mithradates_ is in fact the hellenized version of the actual name which (as
Milad Noushinravan mentioned) is " *Mehrdäd* "
And it's Mithat in Turkish ;)
@@TRNATO1 i dont think turkish want to choose the this name its a iranin name
@@mehrdad5767 Persian was the official language for many Turkic empires and has also influenced the Turkish language and aspects of Turkish culture too.
Meh dad, Mehrdad, Mer Dad, Merdah... Hahaha, so many pums in so many languages.
I read about him in the book “The Last King”
I love the detail you put into the life of Mithridates. Could you make a video about Pyrrhus of Epirus next?
Kings and Generals is already doing that.
As a person who is also fascinated with Mithridates, thanks to the Kings and Generals Documentary, I definitely love and appreciate this video about Mithridates
Glad I could shed some more light on the topic. Definitely check out the book "Poison King" to learn more.
You’re the best invicta
How many more Invictas are there?
Time to start a new Pontus campaign.
Hahaha true
I hope more videos on mezo american culture will come! They are really helpful in gathering inspiration for making games and worlds. Good work on the channel!
Looking back at this video, this time period truely was fascinating.
We all know that most of the achievements and mystical stuff surrounding him probably were made up, but in the core he was still an interesting character.
But what I'm actually amazed of is the huge amount of propaganda surrounding Mithridates. Like they had no social media, no internet, no phones or cars to pass on information quickly, yet we have such fabulous stories surviving time, passing on the story of an impressive king who against all odds used the circumstances of his time to form his own legend.
I often wonder what would've been if such huge historical characters like Mithridates, Alexander, Caesar, had survived longer or would've had the perfect circumstances for whatever they planned. I'm curious how it would've shaped the world we live in. The good old "what if" questions of history.
6:10 perfectly Machiavellian!
This was amazing once again! :)
Wow, this is really fascinating! I didn't know the full background behind the infamous Poison King.
Proud to be Pontic Greek 🇬🇷🇬🇷🇬🇷
Iranian History> Greek
@@user-dz9yx3et9y In your dreams clown
@@user-dz9yx3et9y In your dreams clown
@@sigmaalpha8698 it is much richer than greek history, sucks you are not informed correctly
Iranians brought the world out of tribalism with the gathas of zarathustra, they taught the world ethics and being a good person and before his teachings everyone in the world including greeks taught things were outside of ones control. Which greek invention is bigger than that? Iranian history gave rise to the first world empire, soo the law, postal service, police, refrigerators and all basic tents of living originally come from the persians. Iranians invented phonetic language, means all sounds have letters for them. They also invented Human Rights. Just wondering how is greek history better? Dude theres no way name Greek history more grand
Excellent video as always. I love the educational value of these. Especially that you cover topics like this. Many people know Rome, some even know it OK. Not many know Pontus from Parthia, or anything about them.
Ok now this is going to be an epic video!
thank you for your work, I find it fascinating and well done.
I find the enemies of Rome almost more fascinating than the “hero’s”.
Pontus and Mithridates are one of my favourite Greek states and leaders!
Potus was a mix of Greeks and step tribes
@@bartomiejzakrzewski7220 it was a Greek state tho
and the leaders were greek
a big part of the population was greek
and most of the population felt greek
modern day pontians are only greek
@@bartomiejzakrzewski7220 They were hellenized and intermixed Persians with Anatolians and Greeks. They have nothing to do with the steppe. But I do dislike Mithridates, for a brilliant man he sure made a foolish decision. He had nowhere near the capability to attack Rome. They should have kept the Romans at bay, while they built their empire along with the Armenians. One.day they could have faced Rome. Also he was a traitor to Tigranes.
Mehrdad ... the name is Persian not Greek. The lineage is Persian not Greek. Mithra-dates son of Mithra 0r light of Mithra ....
@@eaglecondor6754 the name is persian not greek
the lineage is both greek and persian
and the state was greek
the language was greek
and the identity was greek
so it was a greek state
mithridates was the protector of hellenism not of persia
you need to stop trying to steal pieces of our history
albanians say epirotans are albanian
vardarskans claim macedonia
bulgaria claims thrace
turks and persians claim pontus
and some persians claim the seleucid empire
the egyptians claim ptolemaic egypt
and the italians claim byzantium
fuck off
This channel always help me learn about things I didn’t know about history!
Thanks for this awesome video on an awesome historical figure!
You're awesome. Great Map at 5minutes, can you do some high def links to maps and a more all map videos?
That boi drew the new born Armenian Empire into a surprise war with Rome. An unprepared Tigranes II lost it all eventually ...
Rome would have pursued Armenia one day, regardless of the the Pontians. But perhaps Tigran would have been given more time to establish a decent army and organize his Empire.
@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 yup. logistics were not adjusted for the new borders by that time. Army composition didn't meet the new damands. MB the outcome would be the same, maybe not, who knows
@@vardansimonyan966 Yeah, according to Roman historians, by the time Lucullus arrived at Tigranakerta, it was night time and Tigranes was scrambling to mobilize a decent army, basically most of his army was taken from the peasantry, with perhaps 7-10,000 of his heavy cavalry Aspet. So in the first battle, Lucullus arrived with 40,000 legionaries plus thousands of auxiliary which they were able to pull in from Thracia, Dacia, and Cappadocia. This is when Lucullus demanded Mithridates VI, believing he was being he was being protected by the Armenian king. In reality, or at least in Armenian sources, he never agreed to protect Mithridates. What really happened is that Mithridates fled to his lands in Sophene, where he had up to 10,000 soldiers stationed. The Sophene were Armenians themselves, so this is why perhaps the Romans believed it was ultimately Tigranes who was protecting the Pontic king. So Lucullus won the first battle, but the Roman legions were being exhausted and destroyed through guerilla warfare. Finally the Roman soldiers refused to fight and wanted to return home with their spoils, so Lucullus was replaced by Pompey. Pompey came in with even more soldiers, he then made an alliance with the Parthians, so the Persians would flank Tigranes' army at the final battle. During this time, Tigranes is around 75, which is very old for that time period, its like living until 100, but anyways during this time, one of his sons commits treason and takes a portion of Tigranes' army and joins Pompey, betraying his father and his nation. In the meantime, a tired and old Tigranes rides out on a horse to the Roman camp, he falls before Pompey and surrenders. Pompey agrees to the terms, the treasonous son is executed and Armenia remains a Roman buffer state against the east.
@@ArthaxtaDaVince777 thanks for the long message. Romans were ahead of everyone by their social structure featuring senate, citizens etc...that is why it was so hard to defeat them and was so easy for them to defeat mighty kingdoms like Armenia. Afterwards and up untill Bagratid (included), Armenia was even more divided internally, and this division supported by neighboring empires. The kingdom was potentially one of the strongest states on the globe but never went beyond regional domination. I say this not fanatically, but using comparative methods throughout antiquity and middle ages.
@@vardansimonyan966 That's true, the Romans themselves acknowledged the power of Armenia during this time, many of their historians claimed Armenia was the strongest state east of Rome, but they of course did not know about the Chinese. But to think that Armenia as a nation was once stronger than the Parthians who had a population that dwarfed our own, Ptolemaic Egypt, as well as the Seleucid Greeks, it is quite an astonishing fact when you look at the current state of Armenia. If I were to time travel and help out Tigran, I would tell him to fight in the first two Mithridatic wars. If Tigran had organized and army before Rome attack the Pontic Empire, both forces would have crushed the Romans most likely. Then the Black Sea Empire of Mithridates VI would evolve into basically an early Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire, while Armenia would evolve into an Armeno-Greco-Persian Empire, with the nobility being mainly of Armenian descent and the population being majority Iranian.
There are three great iranians with Mithridates name two of them which are more familiar in Iran were two great Arsacid (Parthian)kings(Arsaces 6 and Arsaces 9)and the another one which is more familiar to western people is the king of Pontus which was persian,as an Iranian we know very few about him,thanks a lot for making this awsome video.
Mithridates was 3/4 greek and considered himself champion of the greek world
@@georgezaro3802 He was persian not greek
Awesome I can now roleplay with that weird hybrid faction in northern Anatolia now. Would be cool if you did something similar with other R2 factions.
I thought I was watching Kings and Generals, then I remembered I was subbed here.
Still waiting on the history of the Roman legions video
Moptopgames I’m still waiting for the end of the siege of Jerusalem
Mizanul Haque for real
Me too.
Yeah i kinda stopped following hin for this reason. I understand this shorter stories bring more money and visitors, but abandoning such an insanely high quality documentary-series is such a shame.. :(
Watch historia civilis
I misread the title at first and thought, "how could anyone make an empire out of a reeeeeally bad urinary infection?"
James Richmond Wut? How? HOW?
I'm reading it again and am wondering...how?
@@thegreatone921 And so am I
This does present a great deal of what ifs and the reality of a time of vulnerability of what blanketing thought as a juggernaut of an empire.
Asiatic Verspers of 88 BC
One of the first recorded genocides in history.
@Joe Blow it's different if you keep in kind that there weren't as many people back then, although bigger genocides did happen at that time
@Joe Blow The Srebrenica genocide is even smaller isnt it?But it is the intent that matters not the size
@d puski
Two wrongs don't make a right.
@d puski
Don't disagree with you.
Though what they did at Srebrencia was not cool as well as what the opposite side did, not cool. Someone got to be the bigger man and walk away. Easier said than done though.
I'm Hispanic living in USA btw.
There are more than enough proofs for Srebrenica being a one sided massacre on civilians. Please, there is no way to excuse that🙈. I am tired of this poeple excusing genocide because it was against Muslims and then justify it with islamistic terror. That is almost the same Ideology the Christchurch perpetrator had.
Viriathus was born in Lobriga (later roman city of Lorica), modern city of Loriga, Portugal.
Best days when you see a new invicta video.
The thought that Julius Caesar was just on his rise when this was in full swing...
I absolutely loved the poison king but always felt the author showed a bit of bias in her constant praise
A very overlooked badass.
It would have been nice to know the date of his birth, and the location those among the students of History who do not know where or when he was born much less who he was.
I believe your first mentioned the date, 88 BC, was done more than halfway through the program
First time I've heard about anything but the military canpaigns.
This sort of background history is enlightening.
notice the leopard skin 0n the horse reminds me 0f the leopard in Daniel that signifies Alexander the great as a leopard with 4 heads and four wings after conquering Babylon died 0f fever and his empire was passed to his 4 generals, of which came the Seleucid empire, he is also the ram with the horn that breaks off
Hey Invicta the new T.A.B.S is out for couple of days now and they got some cool troops , all they need is a cool general like you to lead the way
Wow Mithridates is basically Sigmar
What peoples lived in Mithridates' kingdom? I know most people in Pontus were either Greek or Persian (like Mithridates himself). There must be Armenians, Galateans, Lycians and other Anatolians and what not. You really had to speak 20 languages!
Sorry mate but your wrong here Greek cities on the coast of Pontus existed before,the Persian Empire,as about later Seleucus called GREEKS from allover Greek world,to came as stokers they did in massive immigration and build new cities espessialy in Cappadocia,who includent in Mithridates state as the Greek cities of Pontian coast zas the old Greek colonies of Crimea ,for sure was many dilectes and cultures there because include also Modern day Georgia,the ancient Colhis of the Argonauts but the Greek,was the dominant following by the Persian
@@eliaspapanikolaou3563 This pretty much what I said :D Greek and Persian were dominant cultures, but there were all sorts of people, Frigians, Galatians, Anatolian speakers
@@CharlesOffdensen more or less like that but the Greek infiunce there was Strong since,the very,Ancient times Frigians,immigrate from North of Greece to Anatolia, Before btheTrojan war,In the region between, Cappadocia and Armenia, linguistic,And genetic Researches prooved also,And the love between Greeks and Armenians,I Remind Armenos the Thessalian Argonaut,who first with Comrades from Thessaly , Macedonia and Thrache,Create settlements in a land who took his name,remember Troy who s founder was ARCADIAN Greek Dardanus where some other Pelasgian Greek tribes in Anatolia,like Karians and a Pelasgians s,also before the Myceneans,but they where also Anatolians,who was not Greeks also couple of tribes or more,As about Galatians yes they where was a place very Beloved for retirement for all Celtic warriors and mercenary s from all over,I will not mention now the Tradition who say that Hercules in one of his traver married,a Local princes in a place located now South France and from this marriage made two sons Keletis( Celt)and Galatis (Gaul)again traditional respect and sympathy bettwen Celtic people and Greece until today,but excuse me that's Another story,so yes
Finally, now make one on Tigranes II and I'll be happy.
My careful planning to watch all Invicta videos ♥
loved it.. thank you..
A fascinating individual. thanks for sharing this unique story.
Gonna check the suggested book out, it is currently included in the Audible Plus library for you Audible users out there.
Very interesting, if there is no nation who feel proud of Mithradates its ok I’m proud of this king👑 . Also he could just mount a horse the Persian way without being injured 😎
I read that book years ago. It's an excellent read.
Amazing period in history, Spartacus, Sertorius, Mithridates, vs the Roman Empire.
Thank you so much for your work, excellent video, excellent. I didn't know this, his character is top quality for a movie.
BTW, for the people who do not have any idea what Chaldis is - it is written as ხალდები - in Georgian. This was a territory of Chaldi people who are Georgian tribes.They became part of Pontus, which was made up of many different ethnicities: Greeks, Georgians, Persians, Assyrians, etc. And Colchis is also an old Georgian Kingdom , home of Medea and the Golden Fleece. Colchis was a very powerful kIngdom well before the Mitridates and after him. Mithridates escaped to Colchis for a shelter when his mom Laodice tried to get rid of him after his father Mitridates V was poisoned..
მითრიდატე ირანელი იყო ბერძნული და სპარსული კულტურის შერწყმით
Excellent. Thank you
everytime I watch a video yours I always want to start a new campaign in total war.
A brilliant presentation! I research the Black Nobility and came across name of Mithridates in the process. Some suggest that the Black Nobility are so called because they originated in the Black sea region. I am still far from being convinced of that but the figure of Mithridates and the cult of Mithra lend the hypothesis some credence. Any ideas about this?
great video but you have one tiny little mistake Mithridates claimed to be descended of Cyrus the Great
and Darius the Great from father side and descended of Antipater and Seleucus I Nicator
from mother side not Alexander himself
there's a significant drop in quality in this video, compared to your others. was this rushed or something?
Its not the same quality as my "Moments" or "How They Did It" series. Rather this is one of my quicker standalone episodes. Its supposed to be a way for to put out follow up episodes for the main documentaries. This allows me to be flexible as I still have a full time job and other priorities.
@@InvictaHistory right, we all have stuff going on. this vid was just a bit jarring for me, as your previous videos set an expectation for certain quality. nobody would be opposed to waiting a week or two extra for higher quality stuff
Thank you for the great video.
What mystifies me is in battle after battle you have - according to Roman historians anyway - Mithridates with say 100000 troops against 5000 Romans and Mithrdates troops don’t just lose they get massacred (Chaeronea 2 just one example). A change in tactics armour weapons ANYTHING seems to have been required at some point. Btw there are quite a lot of 18th operas about him...one stunning one by Mozart.
Great video
2:00 No wonder he lost at the end. His cavalry were holding their spears backwards.
The poison king is a badass nickname