Pontic Empire Discussion

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The Pontic Empire centered around the Black Sea and was founded by the Persian Mithridatic dynasty with a mixed population of Hellenic Greek settlers and people from Persia and the Steppes. The kingdom was Hellenized and the offical language was Greek. It was divided into two distinct areas - the coastal region and the Pontic interior. The coastal region bordering the Black Sea was separated from the mountainous inland by the Pontic Alps. The coastal regions were dominated by Greek cities such as Amastris and Sinbope which became the Pontic capital. The coast was rich intimber, fishing and olives, and the region also had rich supplies of iron, silver, copper and other metals. The Hellenic coastal regions focused on sea trade, whereas the interior was ruled by Iranian aristocracy that had a history back to the Persian Empire. The gods of the kingdom were a mix of Persian and Greek deities including the Persian Ahuramazda, Apollo and Mithras. The Pontic culture was a synthesis between Iranian, Greek and Anatolian elements. Eventually pirate activity increased in the Eastern Mediterraean enabling the Roman General Pompey to invade. The western half and Greek coastal cities were annexewd by Rome directly, whereas the interior and eastern kingdom remained an independent client kingdom of Rome.