Roman-Bosporan War

The Roman-Bosporan War was a lengthy conflict that took place in the Cimmerian Bosporus in 47/48 AD between the Pro-Roman and new client-king Tiberius Julius Cotys I and his allies King Eunones of Aorsi and Gaius Julius Aquila against former king and Anti-Roman Tiberius Julius Mithridates and King Zorsines of Siraces.

Prelude
Mithridates III and Cotys I were both sons of Aspurgus and Gepaepyris who were rulers of the Bosporan Kingdom. After the death of his father, he had become joint-ruler with his mother Gepaepyris, and sometime before 45 AD, Roman Emperor Claudius made him ruler of all of the Bosporan Kingdom. In 45, for reasons unknown, Claudius deposed Mithridates and made his younger brother ruler of the Bosporan Kingdom, at the same time, Claudius had withdrawn the Roman garrison under Aulus Didius Gallus and left a few cohorts under Gaius Julius Aquila.

Angered and not being able to trust his brother, he allied himself with the neighboring tribes, most notably with the Siraces under Zorsines and he was able to raise an army and push out the king of the Dandaridae and established himself in his former dominions and declared a 3-day war against his brother and the Roman cohorts under Aquila.

When Cotys heard of this, it is assumed that he feared that Mithridates was about to invade him, so he turned to Gaius Julius Aquila and his roman cohorts to fight against his elder brother. Cotys and Aquila feared that Mithridates's army was larger, and enlisted the help of Eunones, who was at the time ruler of the Aorsi. Eunones quickly sided with the Pro-Roman faction, as Aquila pointed out the strength of Rome to that of Mithridates.

Conflict and Defeat
The Romans began to siege towns under the dominion of Mithridates such as Artezian, a fortress in Crimea populated by the rich whom in desperate attempt, hid their gold inside the citadel, while the Aorsi, under Eunones laid siege to the fortified settlement of Uspe under Zorsines.

After crossing the river Panda, Eunones sieged Uspe, which was a weakly-protected fortified city of the Siraces. The settlement had weak defenses and was not able to withstand an attack. The Aorsi constructed towers to "annoy" the people of Uspe with darts and arrows. Throughout the siege, the town offered them 10,000 slaves to which the Romans travelling with the Aorsi declined, as they were too rebellious to keep in check. If it were not for the night, the siege would not last even a day before Zorsines making peace with his enemies by giving them slaves.

Meanwhile Eunones sieged Uspe, Aquila and his cohorts were attacking the towns of Mithridates. Upon hearing that is ally had made peace with his enemies, Mithridates began to find his troops too-little, and considered to whom he showed ask mercy from. He did not ask his brother Cotys, as he no longer trusted him, or any Roman of sufficient authority to make his promises valued. He finally turned to Eunones, the only one of his enemies that was not in the conflict for personal desire, he entered Eunones's palace and threw himself at the ruler's feet and said "Mithridates, whom the Romans have sought so many years by land and sea, stands before you by his own choice. Deal as you please with the descendant of the great Achaemenes, the only glory of which enemies have not robbed me." This act of greatly affected Eunones, and he raised the former ruler and was happy that Mithridates chose the Aorsi in his own good will to sue for mercy against Rome.

Aftermath
After sending the sending of envoys to Claudius, Mithridates pleaded mercy in-front of the Roman Emperor himself. Claudius deemed Mithridates's actions had extreme penalties, Mithridates said that "I have not been sent, but have come back to you; if you do not believe me, let me go and pursue me." and Claudius was impressed by the good-will of Mithridates, and let him live.