Nicomedes IV of Bithynia

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Nicomedes IV, known as Philopator, was the king of Bithynia, from c. 94 BC to 75/4 BC. He was the son and successor of Nicomedes III.

There is nothing known about Nicomedes birth or the years before he became king. However, his reign began at the death of his father. The first few years of his kingship were relatively peaceful, but soon the king of Pontus Mithridates the Great, one of Rome's greatest enemies during the late Republic, began harassing Bithynia's borders.

Nicomedes' brother Socrates, assisted by Mithridates, defeated Nicomedes' army in 90 BC, and Nicomedes was forced to flee to Italy. He was restored to his throne due to Rome's influence in the region.¹ However, the Senate encouraged Nicomedes to raid Mithridates' territory, and Mithridates struck once again in 88 BC. Nicomedes fled once again to Rome.

Due to the close ties that Bithynia had enjoyed with the Romans, his appeal for help resulted in the sending of the powerful consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla to Asia Minor and the first Mithridatic War. Sulla fought Mithridates on several occasions over the next three years, and finally in 85, Mithridates sued for peace, and was allowed to retain his kingship in Pontus after paying a heavy fine.

Nicomedes was restored to his throne in Bithynia in 84 BC. The years that followed were relatively peaceful, though Bithynia came more and more under the control of Rome. In 80 BC, young Julius Caesar was an ambassador to Nicomedes' court. It was said that Caesar and Nicomedes became lovers after, which, Caesar was known as "the Queen of Bithynia", an allegation that was much brought up by Caesar's political enemies later on in his life.²

As one of his last acts as king of Bithynia, in 74 BC, Nicomedes bequeathed the entire kingdom of Bithynia to Rome. The Roman Senate quickly voted it as a new province. Rome's old enemy Mithridates had other plans for Bithynia, however, and Nicomedes death and bequeathal led directly to the third Mithridatic War.