Æ20 - Polemon I

Polemon I came to the Bosporan throne not through dynastic succession but through Roman appointment — Augustus backed him as part of a broader effort to stabilize the northern Black Sea frontier after the collapse of the Mithridatic line. His reign was less a settled kingship than a prolonged military struggle; he spent much of it fighting to assert actual control over territories nominally under his rule, and was ultimately killed in battle against the Aspurgiani around 8 BC, the likely terminus of this issue.