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Prusias I of Bithynia
King of Bithynia, 228–182 BC From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Prusias I Cholus (Ancient Greek: Προυσίας ὁ Χωλός, romanized: Prousías ho Chōlós, lit. 'the Lame'; c. 243 – 182 BC) was a King of Bithynia that reigned from c. 228 to 182 BC.
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Life and reign
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Prusias was the son of King Ziaelas of Bithynia and an unknown woman. He was coronated as king in c. 228 BC, succeeding his father. A vigorous and energetic leader; he fought a war against Byzantium in 220 BC, seizing its Asiatic territory, a part of Mysia that had been in its possession for a long time.[1] Then, Prusias defeated the Galatians, whom Nicomedes I had previously invited across the Bosphorus to a territory called Arisba, and putting to death all of their women and children and letting his men plunder their baggage.[2]
At some point during his reign, Prusias formed a marriage alliance with King Demetrius II of Macedon, receiving the latter's daughter, Apama, as his wife.
Prusias expanded the territories of Bithynia in a series of wars against King Attalus I of Pergamon and Heraclea Pontica on the Black Sea, taking various cities formerly owned by the Heracleans and renaming one of them, Cierus, to Prusias after himself.[3] While besieging the city of Heraclea Pontica,[4] Prusias dealt many casualties to the besieged.[5] While climbing a ladder, he was hit with a stone and broke his leg; the siege was lifted due to his injury.[6] This is likely where he was given the surname "the lame".[7] He was son-in-law of King Philip V of Macedon.[8] Philip V granted him the cities of Kios and Myrleia in 202 BC. Prusias renamed these cities as Prusias (present-day Bursa, Turkey) and Apameia respectively.[9] Although he granted sanctuary to Hannibal, who successfully employed an odd stratagem against the Attalids for him at sea,[10] he remained neutral during the war between the Roman Republic and the Seleucid Empire, refusing an alliance with the Seleucid King Antiochus III.[11] He agreed on peace terms with presumably Eumenes II of Pergamon in 183 BC, in the city of Cyzicus.[12] Apama bore him a son with the same name, who later succeeded him.
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See also
- Prusias ad Hypium, ancient city in Düzce Province, Turkey
Sources
- Habicht, Christian, s.v. Prusias I., RE. Bd. ХХШ, 1. 1957
References
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