(BC 200-169) Pharnakes III - Drachm

Pharnakes III, ca 200-169 BC. AR Drachm (4.11g, 11h). Diademed and bearded head of Pharnakes right / BAΣIΛEΩΣ ΦAPNAKOY, male figure, wearing petasos, standing facing, cradling cornucopia and kerykeion in his left arm, and holding vine branch in his right hand; star-in-crescent (Pontic royal symbol) to upper left; to lower left, deer standing right, feeding on vine; monogram to right. Good VF, toned, a hint of porosity. Well centered on a broad flan. Splendid hellenistic portrait.

The king in this issue has traditionally been labeled as Pharnakes I, but more recent literature has shown that he is actually the third Pontic king to hold that name. Pharnakes III ascended the throne after the death of his father, Mithridates III, ca 200 BC. Most of his reign was spent attempting to expand the borders of his realm, which, ca 181 BC, brought him into conflict with Eumenes II of Pergamon and Ariarathes IV of Cappadocia, who were allied with each other. Each side blamed the other for the aggression, and appealed to Rome to intervene. Hostilities were temporarily halted after the arrival of a Roman delegation, but their failure to resolve the disputes led to renewed warfare. By 179 BC, it was clear that Pharnakes could no longer withstand the combined Pergamene and Cappadocian forces. In exchange for peace, Pharnakes gave up his possessions in Galatia and Paphlagonia, except for the important trading city of Sinope. Little else is known of his reign.