| Asander | |
|---|---|
 Goldstater of Asander as King of the Bosporan Kingdom, dated 41/40 BC | |
| King of the Bosporus 1st co-reign withDynamis | |
| Reign | 47 BC |
| Predecessor | Pharnaces II of Pontus |
| Successor | Mithridates II |
| King of the Bosporus 2nd co-reign withDynamis | |
| Reign | 44–17 BC |
| Predecessor | Mithridates II |
| Successor | Scribonius |
| Born | 110 BC[citation needed] |
| Died | 17 BC (aged 93) |
| Spouse | Dynamis |
| Issue | Tiberius Philoromaios |
| House | Tiberian-Julian dynasty |
| Religion | Greek Polytheism |
Asander, namedPhilocaesar Philoromaios (Greek:Άσανδρoς Φιλοκαισαρ Φιλορώμαίος,[a]110[citation needed] – 17 BC) was a Roman client king of theBosporan Kingdom. He was ofGreek and possibly ofPersian ancestry. Not much is known of his family and early life. He started his career as a general underPharnaces II, the king of theBosporus. According to some scholars, Asander took as his first wife a woman called Glykareia, known from one surviving Greek inscription, "Glykareia, wife of Asander".
By 47 BC, Asander had marriedDynamis, the daughter of Pharnaces II by aSarmatian wife, as his second wife. She was a granddaughter of KingMithridates VI of Pontus by his first wife, his sisterLaodice.
In 47 BC, Pharnaces II put Asander in charge of the Bosporan Kingdom while he went with an army to invade the eastern parts ofAnatolia. Following a successful campaign, Pharnaces advanced towards the western parts of Anatolia. However, he had to stop because Asander revolted against him. Asander hoped that by betraying his father-in-law he would win favour with the Romans and they could help him become the Bosporan King[citation needed].
Pharnaces defeatedRoman generalGnaeus Domitius Calvinus but was then defeated byJulius Caesar. After this defeat, Pharnaces fled toSinope with 1,000 cavalry. From Sinope Pharnaces sailed to the Cimmerian Bosporus (without his horses), intending to recover his kingdom from Asander. He captured Theodosia (Feodosia) andPanticapaeum. In response, Asander attacked him. Pharnaces was defeated and killed in the battle because he was short of horses and his men were not used to fighting on foot.[1]Strabo wrote that Asander took possession of the Bosporus.[2]
Asander was soon overthrown from the Bosporan throne. Julius Caesar gave a tetrarchy inGalatia and the title of king to Mithridates of Pergamon. He also allowed him to wage war against Asander and conquer the Cimmerian Bosporus because Asander "had been mean to his friend Pharnaces".[3] When Caecilius Bassus plotted a rebellion against Caesar and gathered troops to take over Syria in late 47 BC or early 46 BC, he claimed that "he was collecting these troops for the use of Mithridates the Pergamenian in an expedition against Bosporus".[4] Mithridates of Pergamon overthrew Asander and becameMithridates I of the Bosporus.
Asander came back to defeat Mithridates in 47/46 BC. Sometime between 27 and 17 BC,Augustus formally recognised Asander as king of Bosporan Kingdom.
According to Strabo, Asander blocked the isthmus of the Chersonesus (Chersonesus Tauricus, modernCrimea) near Lake Maeotis (theSea of Azov) with a wall which was 360stadia long ( 53 kilometres, 35 miles) and had ten towers for every stadium. The wall was probably built because the Georgi of the region engaged in piracy.[5] This isthmus was probably the modernIsthmus of Perekop.
Lucian wrote that Asander "at about ninety years proved himself a match for anyone in fighting from horseback or on foot; but when he saw his subjects going over to Scribonius on the eve of battle, he starved himself to death at the age of ninety-three."[6]
Cassius Dio wrote that a certain Scribonius claimed to be a grandson of Mithridates VI and that he had received theBosporan Kingdom from Augustus after the death of Asander. He gained the control of the kingdom by marrying Dynamis, who had been entrusted with the regency of the kingdom by her husband.Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa sentPolemon I of Pontus against him. Scribonius was killed by the people, before Polemon got there because they had heard of his advance. They resisted Polemon because they were afraid that he may be appointed as their king. Polemon defeated them but was unable to quell the rebellion until Agrippa went toSinope to prepare a campaign against them. They surrendered. Polemon was appointed as their king. He married Dynamis with the sanction of Augustus.[7]
Dynamis died in 14 BC, and Polemon ruled until his death in 8 BC, succeeded byAspurgus.