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Home , Moesia, Tyras

THE NORTH PONTIC AREA AND

VITALIJ M. ZUBAR (Kiev)

One of the principal problems of the ancient history of the North Pontic area concerns the nature of relations between the Greek towns of the and the administration of the . In spite of the fact that the problem has attracted considerable attention in Soviet historiography, it cannot be con- sidered to have been finally solved. With rare exceptions, the scholars who have discussed the relations of the Roman Empire with the population of the North Pontic cities, have analyzed the situation through its chronological development in various centres.1 However, an analysis of the situation in the region as a whole in the various stages of its historical development has never been undertaken. The present paper is an attempt to discuss the character of relations between the ancient centres of the region and the Roman Empire in the reign of Scptimius Severus (193-211 A.D.) and to trace the influence of changes in Roman policy on the position of these cities. I should note that this study deals only with Roman policy towards , and Chersonesos. In fact from the reign of Pharnaces down to late anti- quity the kingdom of Bosporus was with the exception of small intervals friendly to Rome. Besides, after the intervention of Roman troops in the dynastic struggle in Bosporus and the enthronement of Cotys I (45/46-62/63 A.D.) in the wake of the Roman-Bosporan war a stable system of Roman con- trol was built up in the North Pontic area, and all further Roman effort was aimed at preserving and strengthening this. After the Roman-Bosporan war the came finally under the direct control of the governors of the province of -, whereas the western part of the region, 183 including Tyras, Olbia and Chersonesos, was included in the sphere of interest 2 of first the legates of , then those of Moesia Inferior.2 Such a situation was preserved later on. And for just this reason the soldiers of Roman auxiliary units, transferred from Bithynia-Pontus,3 were stationed from time to time in Bosporus. Friendship with Rome, especially strong after the Roman-Bosporan war, led to a situation where the status of friendly kingdom implied certain duties towards the Empire, for instance, that of recruiting auxiliary units for the Roman army, known from the epigraphical sources already in 8-7 B.C.4 Units formed in Bosporus took part in the Dacian wars of ,5 and in 136 A.D. Bosporan archers and spearmen were fighting the Alans, perhaps on the western borders of the Empire.6 Further- more, a Bosporan ala is known from inscriptions from , while there were I Bosporan cohorts in Armenia and ? Besides recruiting auxiliary troops, the Bosporan kings paid a special phoros to the Empire in the second half of the 2nd cent. A.D. reports a meeting with Bosporan ambassadors, who were on their way to Bithynia to bring the Roman administration there an "annual tribute".8 Interesting from this point of view is an inscription of the period of Sauromates II, found in and dated to 193 A.D., which mentions among other things that the King of Bosporus mentioned above had cleared the seas for sailings to Pontus `-' and Bithynia. I't is worth noting that Zosimus, referring to the events of the and following the testimony oi' Deixippos of , wrote about the subsidies paid by the Empire to the Bosporan Kings, who prevented the from crossing the straits into . ° There are therefore some grounds for the con- clusion that Bosporus maintained relations with the Roman administration of the province of Bithynia-Pontus not only in the final stages of the Roman- Bosporan war and during the reign of Trajan," but also throughout a period