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| T. J. Sauromates I | |
|---|---|
 Coin of Sauromates I, legend: BACΙΛΕΩC CΑΥΡΟΜΑΤΟΥ. (Other side: head of Hadrian, year ΥΙΗ΄ = 418 = 121/2). 19 mm, 7.82 gr. | |
| King of the Bosporus | |
| Reign | 93 - 123 |
| Predecessor | T. J. Rhescuporis I |
| Successor | T. J. Cotys II |
| Died | 123 |
| Issue | T. J. Cotys II |
| Dynasty | Tiberian-Julian |
| Father | T. J. Rhescuporis I |
Sauromates I (Greek:Τιβέριος Ἰούλιος Σαυρομάτης Α' Φιλοκαῖσαρ Φιλορωμαῖος Εὐσεβής,Tiberios Iulios Sauromates Philocaesar Philoromaios Eusebes, meanslover of Caesar, lover of Rome who is the Pius one, flourished the second half of the 1st century and the first half of the 2nd century AD, died 123) was aRomanclient king of theBosporan Kingdom.
Sauromates I was the son and heir of the Bosporan kingRhescuporis II.[1] He was ofGreek,Iranian andRoman ancestry. The nameSauromates is a name ofSarmatian origin. His paternal grandparents were the previous ruling Bosporan MonarchsCotys I andEunice.
Through his paternal grandfather, Sauromates I was a descendant of the Roman TriumvirMark Antony from his second marriage to his paternal cousin Antonia Hybrida Minor (second daughter ofRoman Republican PoliticianGaius Antonius Hybrida, Antony's paternal uncle), thus Sauromates I was related to various members of theJulio-Claudian dynasty. He was also a descendant of Roman Client RulersPolemon I of Pontus,Pythodorida of Pontus andCotys VIII ofThrace. Through his paternal grandfather, Sauromates I was a descendant ofGreek Macedonian Kings:Antigonus I Monophthalmus,Seleucus I Nicator andRegent,Antipater. These three men served under KingAlexander the Great. He is also descended from the MonarchsMithridates VI of Pontus and his first wife, his sisterLaodice and the previous Bosporan KingAsander.
When Rhescuporis II died in 93,[2] Sauromates I succeeded his father as Bosporan King and reigned until his own death in 123.[2] He was a contemporary of theRoman EmperorsDomitian,Nerva,Trajan andHadrian. Sauromates I continued his father's legacy of rebuilding the Bosporan Kingdom. In 68, Rhescuporis II had restored the Bosporan Kingdom, previously a part of theRoman province ofMoesia Inferior, as a semi-independent Roman Client State. On coins, his royal title is in Greek:ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ ΣΑΥΡΟΜΑΤΟΥ orof King Sauromates.
Either Rhescuporis II or Sauromates I establishedPhanagoria as the new capital city of the Bosporan Kingdom. From the late 1st century,Panticapaeum, the original capital city, had gradually lost its importance. Phanagoria became the new capital city because of the increasing popularity of the city's titulary goddess,Aphrodite, and her cult.
In 105, Sauromates I, entrusted and appointed a priest as an official to oversee the restoration of the porticosat the temple at Hermonassa. Out of his personal religious devotion in 110, he erected a temple dedicated to Aphrodite inGorgippia. In an honorific inscription dedicated to Sauromates I, found inNicaea, Sauromates I was given the honorific titleKtistes orFounder. He was awarded this title because of his goodness, generosity and his contributions throughout the Bosporan andAnatolia.
Sauromates I is mentioned in the letters ofRoman SenatorPliny the Younger. About 113, Pliny served as the Roman Governor ofBithynia. Sauromates I sent his ambassador (legatus) to travel to Bithynia to deliver two letters to Pliny. The nature of these letters is unknown. The first letter requested Pliny, for a messenger to use a diploma (a permit to use an official wagon) to assist the messenger's journey, which Pliny respected. The second letter was for Trajan. Pliny learned no more than that it contained news which Trajan needed to know. An imperial freedman called Lycormas took the second letter from Bithynia toRome for Trajan, a journey that would have taken 6–8 weeks.
At Panticapaeum, there is in Latin an honorific inscription, dedicating and honoring Sauromates I:
Sauromates I had at least one son,Cotys II.[1] Cotys II would succeed his father. Through his son, Sauromates I would have three descendants ruling the Bosporan that would bear his name.
| Preceded by | King of the Bosporus 93-123 | Succeeded by |