Prusias II "The Hunter"
Prusias II, depicted on ancient Greek coins in the Altes Museum Berlin
King of Bithynia
Reign182 – 149 BC
PredecessorPrusias I
SuccessorNicomedes II
Bornc. 220 BC
Bithynia
(modern-day Turkey)
Died149 BC (aged 71)
Nicomedia
(modern-day İzmit, Kocaeli, Turkey)
ConsortApame IV
Issue
GreekΠρουσίας
FatherPrusias I
MotherApama III
ReligionGreek Polytheism
Prusias II, King of Bithynia, Reduced to Begging

Prusias II Cynegus (Greek: Προυσίας ὁ Κυνηγός; "the Hunter", c. 220 BC – 149 BC, reigned c. 182 BC – 149 BC) was the Greek king of Bithynia. He was the son and successor of Prusias I and Apama III.

Life

Prusias was born to Prusias I and Apama III in 220 BC. His father died in 189 BC,[1] at which point he became the king of Bithynia. Prusias II joined with the king of Pergamon, Eumenes II in a war against King Pharnaces I of Pontus (181–179 BC).[2] He later invaded the territories of Pergamon (156–154 BC), only to be defeated, with Pergamon insisting on heavy reparations, including 500 talents and "twenty decked ships".[3]

Prusias II married his maternal cousin Apame IV, a sister of Perseus of Macedon and a princess from the Antigonid dynasty,[4] by whom he had a son, Nicomedes II, and a daughter, Apama, who would marry Dyegilos,[5] son of Cotys IV, King of Thrace, and his wife, Semestra.

Prusias II was honoured by the Aetolian League with a stele at Delphi on account of his behavior and benefactions towards them.[6]

Towards the end of his life, Prusias II had children by a later wife, and wanted to make them his heirs in place of Nicomedes.[7] He sent Nicomedes to Rome to ask its help in reducing the amount of these reparations, and directed the co-ambassador, Menas, to kill Nicomedes if the mission was unsuccessful.[8] Despite the failure of the mission, Nicomedes persuaded Menas to betray Prusias, and Nicomedes declared himself king.[9] Prusias had to renounce the kingship in favour of his son and was himself murdered in 149 BC.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Memnon. History of Heraclea Pontica.
  2. ↑ Oxford Reference.
  3. ↑ Appian. The Mithridatic Wars. The ambassadors decided that as a penalty he must transfer to Attalus twenty decked ships at once, and pay him 500 talents of silver within a certain time.
  4. ↑ Appian. The Mithridatic Wars. to whom Perseus, king of Macedonia, gave his sister in marriage
  5. ↑ Appian. The Mithridatic Wars. his son-in-law, Diegylis the Thracian
  6. ↑ Sylloge Inscriptionum Graecarum: 632 Pontica. The league of Aetolians honours king Prousias son of king Prousias on account of his virtue and his benefactions towards them.
  7. ↑ Appian. The Mithridatic Wars.
  8. ↑ Appian. The Mithridatic Wars. He sent Menas as his fellow ambassador, and told him if he should secure a remission of the payments to spare Nicomedes, but if not, to kill him at Rome.
  9. ↑ Appian. The Mithridatic Wars.
  10. ↑ Appian. The Mithridatic Wars. Prusias fled to the temple of Zeus, where he was stabbed by some of the emissaries of Nicomedes.
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