A ship ram from the navy of Mithridates VI of Pontus

[Sarissa336]

Hello Everyone,

Thought you might find the accompanying attachments of interest. They depict and discuss a ship ram from the navy of Mithridates VI of Pontus discovered recently at Phanagoria (Taman peninsula in Russia).

The English translation of the original Russian note was sent to me by Yuri Kuzmin, a research fellow (of the state museum-preserve Phanagoria) who has personally examined this object in detail. 

David

[Patrick Waterson]

Thank you for posting this, David, and good to know you are connected at the sharp end.

[Tim]

Thank you for posting this, David, and good to know you are connected at the sharp end.

Was there a point to your post Patrick?  Are you feeling sheepish about it now?

David

Thank you for sharing this.  Not convinced I like the 'obviously' but none-the-less a very interesting find.

[aligern]

The chain here is clearly missing something, have I missed a post ?
It is an interesting find and worth bringing to wider attention. David's scholarship is always interesting and illuminating. It intrigues me that Mithradates was able to spend so much and raise army after army and a fleet ( and fleets are expensive) from such relatively restricted territory.
Roy

[Patrick Waterson]

It intrigues me that Mithradates was able to spend so much and raise army after army and a fleet ( and fleets are expensive) from such relatively restricted territory.

It is intriguing how Pontus managed to field armies and fleets to match the might of Rome, even if a Rome endemically at war with itself.  Pontus itself sat on traditional trade routes (its own and those running through Cappadocia) while the Black Sea had numerous cities around its periphery.  The resources seem to have been there, and his fleets may have cost him less than we think if he simply commanded cities to supply ships and crews to make up much of his navy.  This is of course speculative, but his dynasty may have run its division of cost burdens more along traditional Achaemenid lines than fully Hellenistic.