Mithridates
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de:Mithridates nl:Mithridates The name Mithridates (more accurately, Mithradates) is derived from the Persian sun-god Mithra and the Indo-European root da, "to give" — i.e. "given by Mithra." That name was borne by a large number of kings, soldiers and statesmen 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 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 Cius (c.336 - 302 BC)
- Mithridates II Ktistes (302 - 366 BC)
- Mithridates III of Pontus
- Mithridates IV of Pontus (156 - c.150 BC)
- Mithridates V of Pontus (died 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)
Also, the word mithridates 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.