Ancient Greece, Pontus, Sinope (2Nd – 1St Century Bce), Bronze Unit(C)

Mithridates VI (120-63 BCE), King of Pontus and one of Rome’s greatest and most successful enemies was born in Sinope around the time this coinage was struck. In a series of conflicts called the Mithridatic Wars, Mithridates expanded his kingdom to encompass all of Anatolia and the Crimea, fighting against Roman generals like Sulla, Lucullus and Pompey, before being ultimately defeated by the later. Defeated and on the retreat, he committed suicide, it is believed the Roman General Pompey allowed him to be buried alongside his ancestors in Sinope.