Mithridates, Pompey, and the Emergence of Iberia

Abstract

Abstract When Strabo considered the growth of Graeco-Roman geographical knowledge over the centuries down to his own time (c.64 BC-AD 25), he regarded the reign of Mithridates VI Eupator of Pontus as a time of substantial advance. The king and his generals had made known much of the northern coast of the Black Sea as far east as Colchis. Moreover, Pompey’s campaigns and their aftermath had generated sound information about the peoples of Transcaucasia. At the same time, Mithridates put Colchis on to the map of Roman politics: his acquisition of Colchis had been an issue for Rome. And, with the Mithridatic Wars and their aftermath, Colchis gained a new significance at Rome.