An Inscription of a Governor of Mithradates VI Eupator from Olbia
Diatroptov P. D., Krapivina V. V.
A marble pedestal bearing an inscription was found in 2002 on the territory which belonged to Olbia in the Roman period. Its archaeological context is that of the 1 st с AD. The date indicated in the inscription is the year 220 of the Pontic era, i.e. 79/78 ВС. at the beginning of the inscription the name and title of Mithradates VI Eupator, King of Pontus, can be restored, followed by a well-preserved text telling that Diogenes, son of Thyaias, strategos and governor of the city, dedicated a curtain of the city wall to the Mother of the Gods. Diogenes' official position implies that he was the king's governor of a vast territory, the borders of which are not known, and of the city itself. His father's name, Thyaias, being usual for Si-nope, makes it probable that the governor came from that town. The inscription for the first time definitely shows that the Pontic garrison of Olbia took part in constructing and repairing the city fortifications. This fact proves a certain military and political importance of Olbia in Mithradates' Pontic power.