02-25-2017, 02:57 PM
(This post was last modified: 02-25-2017, 08:21 PM by Nathan Ross.)
At the end of Constantine Porphyrogenitus's 10th-century De Administrando Imperio, there's an account of a war between the Romans and the Kingdom of the Bosporus, 'when Diocletian was emperor'.
The Bosporans, led by their king 'Sauromatus, son of Criscoronus', circled the eastern shore of the Black Sea and entered the province of Pontus, where they were halted at the Halys river by a Roman expeditionary force led by a tribune named Constans (who appears to be Constantius Chlorus).
While the Romans and Bosporans (who C.P calls Sarmatians) waited in detente at the river, Diocletian sent a message to the client city of Cherson in the Crimea, asking them to invade the Bosporan lands from the west. The Chersonites advanced into Bosporan territory - presumably the peninsula of Kerch - and defeated the 'Sarmatians' with the help of wagon-mounted artillery. They then occupied the Bosporan cities and took many hostages. When King Sauromatus learned of this, he agreed a truce with the Romans and retreated to his own land; 'Constans' was later proclaimed emperor.
It's a vivid story, but there are several problems with it. The date of the campaign must fall between Diocletian's accession in AD284 and Constantius's elevation to Caesar in March 293. But the king of the Bosporan kingdom at that time (based on the regnal list, itself based on coinage evidence) was Theothorses, son of Teiranes. He did have a brother named Sauromates, who had reigned briefly before him as Sauromates IV: three previous kings of that name ruled in the eras of Trajan, Septimius Severus and Alexander Severus, and all seem to have been firm allies of Rome. The second even called himself Philoromaios.
There's also no evidence in any other sources for a war between the two peoples at this time. There is, however, a much earlier inscription, AE 1991, 1378, to a soldier of Legio I Italica Alexandriana, who while a tirone participated in a bellum bosporanum - the war in question would presumably date to Severus or Caracalla.
So what are the options? I can think of three:
1. The story is entirely fictional, perhaps Chersonite propaganda.
2. The campaign happened, but either C.P has the names of the Bosporan kings wrong, or our regnal list is wrong.
3. The campaign happened, but at an earlier time - perhaps it was the bellum bosporanum mentioned in the inscription, and dates to the period of the first or second Sauromates (who maybe took his pro-Roman title after the truce had been agreed).
Which seems most likely, do you think?
The Bosporans, led by their king 'Sauromatus, son of Criscoronus', circled the eastern shore of the Black Sea and entered the province of Pontus, where they were halted at the Halys river by a Roman expeditionary force led by a tribune named Constans (who appears to be Constantius Chlorus).
While the Romans and Bosporans (who C.P calls Sarmatians) waited in detente at the river, Diocletian sent a message to the client city of Cherson in the Crimea, asking them to invade the Bosporan lands from the west. The Chersonites advanced into Bosporan territory - presumably the peninsula of Kerch - and defeated the 'Sarmatians' with the help of wagon-mounted artillery. They then occupied the Bosporan cities and took many hostages. When King Sauromatus learned of this, he agreed a truce with the Romans and retreated to his own land; 'Constans' was later proclaimed emperor.
It's a vivid story, but there are several problems with it. The date of the campaign must fall between Diocletian's accession in AD284 and Constantius's elevation to Caesar in March 293. But the king of the Bosporan kingdom at that time (based on the regnal list, itself based on coinage evidence) was Theothorses, son of Teiranes. He did have a brother named Sauromates, who had reigned briefly before him as Sauromates IV: three previous kings of that name ruled in the eras of Trajan, Septimius Severus and Alexander Severus, and all seem to have been firm allies of Rome. The second even called himself Philoromaios.
There's also no evidence in any other sources for a war between the two peoples at this time. There is, however, a much earlier inscription, AE 1991, 1378, to a soldier of Legio I Italica Alexandriana, who while a tirone participated in a bellum bosporanum - the war in question would presumably date to Severus or Caracalla.
So what are the options? I can think of three:
1. The story is entirely fictional, perhaps Chersonite propaganda.
2. The campaign happened, but either C.P has the names of the Bosporan kings wrong, or our regnal list is wrong.
3. The campaign happened, but at an earlier time - perhaps it was the bellum bosporanum mentioned in the inscription, and dates to the period of the first or second Sauromates (who maybe took his pro-Roman title after the truce had been agreed).
Which seems most likely, do you think?
Nathan Ross
