Archaeanax
| Archaeanax | |
|---|---|
| Ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom | |
| Reign | 480-? BC |
| Predecessor | Position Established |
| Successor | ? |
| Born | Mytilene |
| Died | 470 BC? Bosporan Kingdom |
| Greek | Αρχαιάναξ |
| House | Archaeanactids |
| Father | Unknown |
| Mother | Unknown |
| Religion | Greek Polytheism |
Archaeanax (Greek: Αρχαιάναξ) seems to have been a ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom some 40 years prior to the ascent of the Thracian Spartocids.
Biography
Little to nothing is known about Archaeanax prior to his ascent to the throne. He may have been a native of Mytilene[1] and a strategos of a league of city-states in the Cimmerian Bosporus[2] that likely formed as a defense of the neighboring Scythian tribes. After taking power as ruler, the cities of the Theodosia and Nymphaeum left the league.[3] It is possible that he was related to Semandrus of Mytilene, founder of the city of Hermonassa,[4] though this is uncertain.
References
- ^ Minns (1913). Scythians and Greeks: A Survey of Ancient History and Archaeology. Cambridge University Press. p. 570.
bringing them into connexion with Archaeanax of Mytilene
- ^ Podossinov, Alexander. Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World.
Archaeanaktus could have been a strategos of the already mentioned league that turned it into a tyranny
- ^ Podossinov, Alexander. Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World.
It is possible that the Crimean cities of Nymphaeum and Theodosia left the league during the establishment of the tyranny
- ^ Podossinov, Alexander. Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World.
where the Greek city of Hermonassa, founded by Semandrus from Mitylene