Eumelus of Bosporus
| Eumelos | |
|---|---|
| King of the Bosporan Kingdom | |
| Reign | 309-304 BC |
| Predecessor | Prtytanis |
| Successor | Spartokos III |
| Born | Unknown, sometime before 320 BC Panticapaeum |
| Died | 304 BC Bosporan Kingdom |
| Consort | Unknown |
| Issue | Spartokos III |
| Greek | Εύμηλος |
| House | |
| Father | Paerisades I |
| Mother | Komosarye |
| Religion | Greek polytheism |
Eumelos of Bosporus (fl. 309-304 BC) or Eumelus was a ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom and a son of Paerisades. Eumelos was the brother of Satyros II (not to be confused with his great-grandfather, Satyrus I, another Bosporan ruler) and Prytanis.
He and his brothers engaged in a conflict for the throne, which was rightfully inherited by Satyros, the eldest of them, from his father.
Shortly after his brother became ruler, Eumelos became a pretender to the throne with the backing of Aripharnes, a ruler of the Sarmatian tribe of Siraces from whom he solicited aid. When Satyros learned of this, he immediately went after Eumelos with his army and crossed the river Thatis to wage war on his brother. Shortly after this, the Battle of the River Thatis occurred and resulted in a defeat for Eumelos. He and Aripharnes were forced to retreat to Siracena. Satyrus and his army followed his brother to the city, but could not take it as it was surrounded by the River Thatis, leaving two heavily guarded entrances as the only means of ingress. After a four-day siege, Satyrus died while fighting against Aripharnes at the main entryway. Meniscus, Satyros' mercenary captain, took Satyros' body back to Panticapaeum for a royal burial and ended the siege. Prytanis, the younger brother, assumed the title of ruler and continued Satyros' war against Eumelos. Eumelos appealed to his brother to split the kingdom between them, but Prytanis rejected the proposal, marching against his brother. The two fought a battle which Eumelos won near the Maeotic Lake. Prytanis was spared by his brother but soon he again waged war against Eumelos and was killed.
To fully establish himself, Eumelos had the families and friends of his brothers killed. The citizens of Panticapaeum were displeased at the killing of their friends, so Eumelos gathered them to an open assembly in which he defended himself and also offered immunity from taxes for those that lived in the city.
He enacted several reforms, as well as the recruitment of more Greeks into the Bosporan military, who had previously only provided a small number of its forces, the rest being Sarmatians. He also reinforced the Bosporan fleet, to deal with the pirates and strengthen their trade routes.
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