Amaseia (original) (raw)

Extract

Amaseia (mod. Amasya), capital of the kings of *Pontus until soon after 183 bce, birthplace of *Mithradates VI Eupator, and home of the geographer *Strabo, who provides a detailed description of the site (12. 3. 39, 561 C); it lay in a defile of the river Iris between massive heights, with a magnificent fortress commanding the river valley and the chief Pontic roads. It was one of the cities of Pontus founded by *Pompey in 63 bce and the centre of a large territory including the so-called ‘Chiliocomon’, plain of a thousand villages. In 3/2 bce it was attached to the province of *Galatia as the centre of the district called Pontus Galaticus. *Trajan assigned it to *Cappadocia around ce 112. In the 2nd cent. it received the titles *mētropolis, *neōkoros, and first city (of Pontus). It had a strategic position in the road system leading to the NE frontier, became a garrison town, and was an important source of recruits to the legions. The site is still dominated by Hellenistic and Byzantine fortifications, and by the grave monuments of the Pontic kings.