Empire of the Black Sea: The Rise and Fall of the Mithridatic World by Dr. Duane W. Roller

 Empire of the Black Sea: The Rise and Fall of the Mithridatic World

By Dr. Duane W. Roller

There's not much about Dr. Duane W. Roller, the author of this book. He was born in the United States on October 7th, 1946, and graduated with a BA of Letters from the University of Oklahoma in 1966. He also got an MA in Latin from the same University in 1968. He then went to Harvard University where he obtained his Ph.D. in classical archaeology. Before I go forward, a quick note on what a BA of Letters is, because it's not a degree offered by most colleges or universities anymore. It's an interdisciplinary degree, meaning you have to pursue studies in multiple subjects, mostly History, Literature, and a variety of other courses depending on the student's interest (It’s basically a generalized degree in the Humanities).

After graduating he would take on a number of teaching positions, including work in India, Poland, Malta, and Austria where he received four Fulbright Awards. He also led or took part in archaeological digs in Turkey, Israel, Jordan, North Africa, and other locations. He later took a teaching position at Ohio State University, retiring and becoming Professor Emeritus of Classics in 2007. In 2008 he was granted the Karl-Franzens Distinguished Professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Graz in Graz, Austria. On top of that, he's written over 200 articles and 14 books, the most well-known being a biography of Cleopatra released in 2010 and a look at ancient geography in 2015. Our current topic is his latest book.

Pontus was a kingdom founded during the fall of Alexander's empire, when his generals, surviving family members, and all manner of men and women fought over his empire, dividing it up between themselves (Because Alexander was an idiot manchild and basically told everyone that his empire would go to the strongest of them.  And left no clear lines of succession {I’m going to point out that the witnesses to that were the generals all of whom were trying to justify their claims to chunks of the empire. There are just as many claims that Alexander was delirious with a high fever and raving or that he couldn’t even speak in his last days.  So I would take that bit of lore with some salt.}) It was an incredibly dangerous time when alliances and fortunes shifted by the minute and a man could see himself a king one moment and a crippled beggar, if not a corpse, the next. Pontus was the name for the southern coast of the black sea, the northwestern part of modern day Turkey for the most part and like the entirety of the Greek and Persian world it was up for grabs. Because Alexander had utterly destroyed the old order but died before he could forge a new one.

It was a place with a long-standing connection to the Greek world. The Argonauts were said to have adventured there. Allies of Troy were said to have marshaled armies that marched into the Epics to battle Achilles, Ajax, Odysseus, and the legion of other Greek Heroes that besieged the doomed city. At one point the Greeks believed it to be the homeland of the Amazons. In the Iron Age, the Greeks colonized the coasts of the Pontic region, founding cities and engaging in trade, intermixing, and fighting with the native peoples. Then the Persians conquered the region, settling their own cities and fortresses there creating a diverse array of peoples that called the place home.

Dr. Roller makes it a point to discuss these people in the book, giving you a view of what the region was like before the establishment of the kingdom. He also gives us a good look at the economy, and geography of the region, painting a picture of a prosperous and intermixed region that was divided into feuding city-states, independent temple states, tribes, clans, and federations. Onto this scene came an adventurer fleeing the collapse of the Persian Empire, Mithridates I. He claimed descent from Persian kings like Darius the Great, suggesting that originally the dynasty was made up of Persians. He would, with the aid of an uncle who would be slain in the riotous violence of the time, build a fortress and later declare himself a king, founding a city called Amaseia.

From there Dr. Roller takes through an at times spotty historical record, as Pontus was a minor power at the northern edge of what was considered civilization by the emerging empires of the time. In fact, there are entire Kings and their lifetimes who simply don't show up in recorded history because no one considered them important enough to write about. Remember this is a time when everything has to be handwritten, including all copies and most of the population can't read. So there is much that simply wasn't written down and worse much that was lost because no one was available to copy it.

Despite this handicap, Dr. Roller does a truly great job of leading us through the early history of the kingdom of Pontus and the region of the eastern black sea. We are taken through what records are available and shown how each monarch used a combination of warfare, marriage, and diplomacy to play great powers off each other and dominate smaller ones. As well as battle it out with other emerging rivals. We also see the dynasty increasingly claim a Greek heritage, taking on the trappings of Alexander and working to establish connections between the monarchs and figures of note in Greek history while not letting go of their Persian roots. Which creates an enthralling Hellene-Persian identity.

This takes up half the book and is fascinating to me because it's a whole world that was never covered in any of my history courses and involves things and customs both familiar and strange. This includes the incredibly repulsive things like the sibling marriages that Pontus and Ptolemaic Egypt both engaged in and the strangely interesting scholarly bent of the kings and queens of these eastern Mediterranean states where many of the monarchs were known to have written widely acclaimed books on topics ranging from economics, warfare, botany, and medicine.

But from the west arises a new power, a juggernaut that will end this world order as surely as Alexander ended the last. I speak of course of Rome and the 2nd half of the book is very much tied to Rome's advances into the Hellenic world. The 2nd half of the book is also very closely focused on the most famous of the Pontic kings, Mithridates the VI. Also known as Mithridates the Great, the Poison King, father of empirical toxicology, Eupater Dionysos, and the man who was determined to succeed where Hannibal failed and not just stop Roman expansion but to destroy Rome and conquer it.

Dr. Rollins leads us through his 57-year-long reign, and if I can be honest is a bit of a killjoy when it comes to the myths and legends surrounding Mithridates VI. Which I'm not criticizing him for, as he's writing as a serious historian, not a storyteller. Dr. Rollins openly doubts in the text that Mithridates spent his entire childhood in fear of being assassinated by his guardians. Well, in any more fear than a royal of his time and culture, which still meant a healthy amount of fear. This is an era where parents slew children and siblings murdered each other for the throne regularly. Dr. Rollins does point out that Mithridates himself worked hard to create a mythology around himself and build himself up as a figure of legend and take on the mantles of Alexander, Cyprus, and other legendary kings and emperors. On top of this the Romans gleefully mythologized fallen enemies because they knew that you're only as hardcore as the people you've defeated. Because of this, he rightfully suggests that some skepticism is called for when looking at the approved stories that came down from us from yore.

Even sticking to only the cold hard verifiable facts still paints a vivid and compelling picture, of a King throwing everything he has against a vastly more powerful opponent and coming so much closer than anyone thought possible to victory. It would take Roman generals like Sulla and Pompey the Great to finally put an end to this King and even a young Julius Caesar would get in on the action. These wars not only cemented Roman control over Greece proper but would ensure Roman rule over Asia Minor. A rule that was so complete and deeply rooted that the Romans continued to rule Asia Minor and the eastern Mediterranean even after the fall of Rome itself and would carry the banner of that empire for almost another 1000 years. All things considered, this is a pivotal moment in western history if not world history and I think Dr. Rollins rose to the challenges of describing and leading us through it with aplomb.

Now I would suggest you read some other works first if you have no idea what happened after Alexander died or don't know the basics of the late Roman Republic. Because to save space Dr. Rollins doesn't wander off to discuss what's going on in Egypt or Iran or Italy, he stays laser-focused on Pontus. Considering this is what the book is about, I consider it a good thing. So I would suggest looking at books like “Dividing the Spoils” by Robin Waterfield to get a broader view of things before picking this book up. That said if you do have a good idea of what was going on in the eastern Mediterranean at the time, this book is great and I think would help fill in some blind spots as most histories aren't going to spend time with smaller nations like Pontus until they become relevant to the history of larger more dominant empires or kingdoms.

So with that in mind I am giving Empire of the Black Sea: The Rise and Fall of the Mithridatic World by Dr. Duane W. Roller an A, but warning you not to make this the first book you read about the post-Alexander world. As for this book to have the best effect you do need some prior knowledge and at least a basic grasp of the era. If you have though, this is a great read, as Dr. Rollins looks at not just the superstar king Mithridates VI but his entire dynasty and how they built the foundations for his ambitions and rise to power.

I hoped you enjoyed this review and the companion video that I’ll link to below.  If you did, consider joining the ever-wise patrons of this work for as little as a dollar a month where you can vote on upcoming content and discuss the reviews with others.  Next week, we turn back to science fiction and look at the last book in the Breach of Faith series by Mr. Stevens and Mr. Gibbs, the Iron Dice.  I hope to see you there until then take care of yourself, each other, and of course, Keep Reading.  Watch the video: https://youtu.be/9QP2svbBzn0 Join the ever-wise: https://www.patreon.com/frigidreads Red text is your editor Dr. Allen

Black text is your reviewer Garvin Anders.