Some rulers are reputed for their riches or for enforcing strict laws on their people. In contrast, others like Mithridates VI are known for building up immunity against poison to prevent assassination attempts. Because of this, he earned the nickname of “poison king.”
Mithridates VI was born in 135 BCE. He loved the arts, music, and science. He reportedly spoke several languages and collected precious stones.
He ruled as the king of Pontus. The small kingdom was located on the edge of the Black Sea in what is now northern Turkey. He was also one of the most dangerous enemies of the Roman Republic.
In 120 BCE, when young Mithridates was 14 years old, his father, Mithridates V, was poisoned at a banquet by Mithridates’s own mother and brother. The two of them took over the kingdom and plotted against young Mithridates.
After surviving a poisoning attempt that was likely staged by his mother, he managed to escape and carved out a life in the wilderness, where he stayed for two years. During his time in the wilderness, he learned about poisons and antidotes.
Sometime between 116 and 113 BC, he returned to Pontus. The people of Pontus welcomed his return. He had his mother and brother imprisoned, and they eventually died.
According to rumors, Mithridates would regularly experiment on himself to build an immunity against poisons. It is believed that he ingested small amounts of poisons to develop a resistance against them.
He made concoctions that contained anywhere between four and 54 ingredients, with honey as a mixer. He then tried them out on prisoners sentenced to death so he could study the effects.
Mithridates is said to have grown gardens filled with toxic plants and got his servants to collect poisons from snakes, scorpions, jellyfish, and stingray barbs.
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In order to increase his power, Mithridates decided to invade nearby countries. However, he was competing with the Roman Republic, which was a world superpower at the time. He hated the Romans and resented their expansion attempts into the region.
When a Roman commander invaded Pontus, Mithridates’s troops defeated him. From there, the Mithridatic Wars were launched to push the Romans back out of surrounding territory. In total, there were three wars, and the first one took place in 89 BCE.
The next year, in 88 BCE, Mithridates gave the order for a huge massacre of the Romans on a specific day. The plot was carefully coordinated and was a closely guarded secret to ensure it would be a surprise attack. Overall, an estimated 80,000 to 100,000 Roman men, women, and children were killed.
The Poison King was finally defeated by a Roman general in 63 BCE. Mithridates fled to Crimea and tried to organize an army, but his son, Pharnaces, staged a coup against him. Pharnaces gave him the choice of being killed or taking his own life.
Legend has it that he tried to poison himself, but was unsuccessful because he was immune to the toxin. Apparently, Mithridates’s bodyguard had to finish what he started.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
