Mithridates
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The name Mithridates (more accurately, Mithradates) is the Hellenized form of the Old Persian Miθradatas, which means "given by Mithra". Mithra is the Ancient Persian sun god and data ("given") derives from the Old Persian root da ("to give"), cognate to Latin datum.
That name was born by a large number of kings, soldiers and statesmen in the Iranian dynasty of the Parthians and mostly by the royalty and nobility in Asia Minor:
- Mithradates, a eunuch who helped Artabanus to assassinate Xerxes I.
- Mithradates, who fought first with Cyrus the Younger and after his death with Artaxerxes against the Greeks, and is the ancestor of the kings of Pontus.
- Mithridates of Persia, a son-in-law of Darius III
- Mithridates I of Parthia (171–138 BC)
- Mithridates II of Parthia (110–87 BC)
- Mithridates III of Parthia (58–57 BC)
- Mithridates IV of Parthia (AD 128–147)
- Mithridates I of Kios (died 363 BC)
- Mithridates II of Kios (337–302 BC)
- Mithridates I of Pontus (302–266 BC)
- Mithridates II of Pontus (c. 250–c. 220 BC)
- Mithridates III of Pontus (c. 220–c. 185 BC)
- Mithridates IV of Pontus (170–c. 150 BC)
- Mithridates V of Pontus (c. 150–120 BC)
- Mithridates VI of Pontus (120–63 BC)
- Mithridates I of the Bosporus
- Mithridates II of the Bosporus
- Mithridates I of Kommagene
- Mithridates II of Kommagene
- Mithridates of Armenia (AD 35–51)
- Mithridates I of Iberia
- Mithridates II of Iberia
- Mithridates III of Iberia
- Mithridates IV of Iberia
- Mithridates V of Iberia
Also, the word mithridates or mithridate was once synonymous with antidote, and mithridatism meant the practice of taking repeated low doses of a poison with the intent of building immunity to it. Mithridates was also a common title for books containing samples of several languages. These meanings were inspired by legends about Mithridates VI of Pontus who was famed for both his immunity to poisons and speaking over 25 languages. The name is very much in use in Persian-speaking countries such as Iran, and Tajikistan, usually as the native Mehrdad.
