By 66 BC, Mithridates VI was a king without a kingdom. Pompey's campaign had driven him out of Pontos entirely, and he was retreating through the Caucasus toward the Crimea, where he would die three years later — reportedly unable to poison himself due to a lifetime of prophylactic mithridatism, and forced to have a soldier run him through. Coins struck at Pergamon in his name during this period reflect a ruler still asserting royal authority from a city that had already effectively passed out of his control.
By 66 BC, Mithridates VI was a king without a kingdom. Pompey's campaign had driven him out of Pontos entirely, and he was retreating through the Caucasus toward the Crimea, where he would die three years later — reportedly unable to poison himself due to a lifetime of prophylactic mithridatism, and forced to have a soldier run him through. Coins struck at Pergamon in his name during this period reflect a ruler still asserting royal authority from a city that had already effectively passed out of his control.