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The Bosporan Kingdom waged a series of wars
of expansion in the Cimmerian Bosporus and the surrounding territories from
around 438 until about 355. Bosporan expansion began after Spartokos I, the
first Spartocid (and after whom the dynasty is named) took power and during his
seven-year reign, established an aggressive expansionist foreign policy that
was followed by his successors.
Oponents:
There were for separate rival groups -
1 -Sindoi, Maeotians, Ixomatae, Dandarioi, Psessoi,
2 -Spartocids, Panticapaeum ,Scythians ,Arcadian Mercenaries
3 - Athens, Nymphaeum, Kimmerikon
4 - Heraclea, Pontica, Theodosia ,Chersonesus
Commanders and leaders:
For Sindoi - Tirgatao Oktamasades
For Spartocids -Spartokos I, † Satyros I, † Seleukos, † Leukon
I, Gorgippos I, Hekataios, Metrodoros, † Sopaios
For Athens - Gylon of Cerameis
For Heraclea - Clearchus, Tynnichus, Memnon
Background:
It is possible that Spartokos I was a Thracian mercenary who usurped the
Archaeanactids, a Greek dynasty of Bosporan rulers who had ruled for 40 years.
Although disputed, some sources say that Spartokos may have been related to the
Odrysian royal dynasty as some members included the names of
"Sparatokos" and may have sought influence in other parts of the
Black Sea. Spartokos I only reigned for 7 years, leaving his son, Satyrus I to
carry on his expansionist policies. Satyrus became involved with the
neighbouring Sindike Kingdom, and was interested in bringing Nymphaeum under
his kingdom's control as well.
Encounter with Gylon:
Gylon, the maternal grandfather of Demosthenes, was an Athenian official in
charge of the Athenian garrison at Nymphaeum, which was a city that was
possibly part of the Delian League. Satyros bribed Gylon so that he surrendered
the city of Nymphaeum to Satyros. This resulted in Gylon being exiled, as he
was regarded as a traitor by the Athenians. Gylon had received "The
Gardens" from Satyros as part of their deal. Around this time, Phanagoria
lost its independence. Gylon married a Scythian noble woman. Their daughter,
Kleoboule, would go on to become the mother of Demosthenes. Kimmerikon also
seems to have fallen into Bosporan influence shortly during or after the taking
of Nymphaeum. Conflict with Tirgatao Satyros delved into Sindian affairs,
offering his daughter to marry Hekataios, the king of the Sindians. Satyros
told him to kill his existing wife, Tirgatao, but instead, Hekataios sent her
to a tower and imprisoned her there. Tirgatao managed to escape to her home
tribe, the Ixomatae, and married her father's successor and rallied many tribes
to her aid and ravaged the lands of Satyros. Satyros sued for peace, offering
one of his sons, Metrodoros, as a hostage. Tirgatao agreed and ended her war
against Satyros, only to be subject to an assassination attempt organized by
Satyros. Upon learning of this, Tirgatao killed her hostage, Metrodoros, and
began another war against Satyros.
1st Siege of Theodosia:
Main article: Siege of Theodosia (389):
At the same time as he was trying to gain influence with the Sindoi, Satyros
had laid siege to Theodosia, a city that was a commercial rival to Panticapaeum
due its ice-free ports and a possible ally of Heraclea Pontica. Satyros lost
his life at Theodosia while laying siege to the city in 389 BC. He was
succeeded by his sons, Leukon and Gorgippos.
Peace with Tirgatao:
Upon the death of their father, Leukon and Gorgippos ascended to the Bosporan
throne with Gorgippos suing for peace with Tirgatao, who demanded a great
tribute from them in exchange for peace. After that, Gorgippos and Leukon
focussed on their on-going war with Theodosia and Heraclea Pontica and further
expansion to the west and south of Panticapaeum.
2nd Siege of Theodosia:
Main article: Siege of Theodosia (c.
365):
Leukon laid siege to Theodosia around 365, hoping to annex it to his dominions.
During the siege, Tynnichus, a Heracleote commander, had been sent from
Heraclea Pontica with a small force including a merchant ship and a trireme,
successfully defeated the Bosporans as he managed to destroy their siege
weapons during the night and thus succeeded in relieving Theodosia from the
siege.
Putting down the insurrection:
After his father's defeat at Theodosia, as well as his own, Leukon's subjects
were not pleased with their king. Leukon suspected that there would be an
attempt to remove him from the throne, and rallied the merchants to his aid and
borrowed whatever money he could from them. He argued that if his throne was
lost, the merchants would not be able to get their money. The merchants then
armed themselves and some acted as his bodyguards while others protected the
palace. With the help of the merchants, he killed the conspirators. He repaid
the merchants as soon as he could.
3rd Siege of Theodosia:
Main article: Siege of Theodosia (c.
360):
After putting down a conspiracy against his throne, in around 360, some time
after his unsuccessful first attempt at subjugating the city of Theodosia,
Leukon laid siege to Theodosia once more when the Heracleotes had recently
left, possibly due to Clearchus of Heraclea making himself tyrant of Heraclea
and a change of power from an oligarchy to a tyranny. Leukon attacked the city
at night and succeeded in defeating and annexing the city, finally putting an
end to the war that took his father's life. Leukon had later provoked the wrath
of Heraclea Pontica with his victory at Theodosia, making them wage an all out
war against Leukon. They succeeded in defeating the Bosporan fleet, and soon
landed on Bosporan territory. Leukon quickly went out to meet them, preparing
to protect his kingdom. Leukon was concerned that some of his men might flee
the battle, so he placed his Scythian allies to the rear with specific orders
to strike down any men who sought to flee. With this tactic, he was able to
defeat the Heraclean army.
War with the Sindike Kingdom:
The Sindike Kingdom was in the midst of a civil war, as Oktamasades, the son of
Hekataios, had taken the throne for himself. Oktamasades had attacked the city
of Labrys. Leukon, aiming to annex it into the Bosporan Kingdom, waged war
against Oktamasades and quickly defeated him in the Battle of Labrytai,
ultimately driving him out into Scythia. Before the battle, Leukon is reported
that he “made a vow to erect a victory monument, but not to the local
Apollo of Labrys, but to the supreme deity and patron of all the
Bosporans", Apollo the Healer. Leukon succeeded in convincing Hekakatios
to renounce his kingship, or perhaps he died while Leukon was fighting
Okatamsades. Leukon immediately became ruler of the land. Gorgippos renamed the
capital "Sindia" to Gorgippia and Gorgippos established himself as
the dynast of the Spartocids on the Asiatic side of the Bosporan Kingdom.
Conflict with Memnon of Rhodes:
During the last years of Leukon's reign, Memnon
of Rhodes was hired by the city of Heraclea Pontica to wage war on Leukon. He
sent ambassadors and envoys to Leukon as if he were wanting an alliance, but in
reality, he sent them there to look at Leukon's army. Upon learning about
Leukon's forces, Memnon waged war on Leukon and landed on Bosporan soil. He led
his army to a field where he was met by a Bosporan army. Memnon retreated to a
nearby hill and hid some of his troops, to make it look like that there was
discord in his army. Memnon also sent a "deserter" to the Bosporan
camp, to tell them that were was a mutiny in the army. When the Bosporans heard
of this, they marched to Memnon's army but were quickly defeated, as Memnon's
army was not facing any mutiny.
Later Campaigns and Aftermath:
Later on Leukon may have conquered several other tribes, such as that of the
Dandarioi, Toretai, and the Psessoi. These tribes were a part of his dominions
as they were mentioned as parts of his lands in his title. His son Paerisades I
expanded the kingdom even further; at some point during his reign taking
Tanais, but the exact date of Tanais being conquered is not known. Through his
marriage to his paternal cousin, Komosarye, a daughter of Gorgippos, Paerisades
achieved the title "King of the Sindians". Paerisades was also
regarded as "divine" by his people, a position none of his
predecessors held. Satyros, Leukon, and Gorgippos had established a dynasty
that would rule the Bosporan Kingdom for three centuries, and would enjoy
relative peace until 310, when Paerisades I died. Paerisades's sons began the
Bosporan Civil War in which the kingdom was divided. The victor of this war,
Eumelos, would later increase the power of the kingdom to the point of being
able to rival the powerful state created by
Lysimachus, one of
Alexander's generals.
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