Paphlagonia in the context of Pontus (region)

Galatia (/ɡəˈleɪʃə/) was the name of a province of the Roman Empire in Anatolia (modern central Turkey). It was established by the first emperor, Augustus (sole rule 30 BC – 14 AD), in 25 BC, covering most of formerly independent Celtic Galatia, with its capital at Ancyra.

Under the Tetrarchy reforms of Diocletian, its northern and southern parts were split to form the southern part of the province of Paphlagonia and the province of Lycaonia, respectively.

Sinop, historically known as Sinope (Ancient Greek: Σινώπη, Sinōpē), is a city on the isthmus of İnce Burun (İnceburun, Cape Ince) and on the Boztepe Peninsula, near Cape Sinope (Sinop Burnu, Boztepe Cape, Boztepe Burnu) which is situated on the northernmost edge of the Turkish side of the Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey. It is the seat of Sinop Province and Sinop District. Its population is 57,404 (2022).

Bithynia (/bɪˈθɪniə/; Koine Greek: Βιθυνία, romanized: Bithynía) is a geographical region of northwestern Asia Minor (in present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It borders Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast along the Black Sea coast, and Phrygia to the southeast towards the interior of Asia Minor.

Hellenistic Bithynia was an independent kingdom from the 3rd century BC. Its capital Nicomedia was rebuilt on the site of ancient Astacus in 264 BC by Nicomedes I. Bithynia was bequeathed to the Roman Republic in 74 BC, and became united with the Pontus (region) region as the province of Bithynia and Pontus.

The Theme of Paphlagonia (Greek: θέμα Παφλαγονίας) was a military-civilian province (thema or theme) of the Byzantine Empire in the namesake region along the northern coast of Anatolia, in modern Turkey.

The Mithridatic dynasty, also known as the Pontic dynasty, was a hereditary dynasty of Persian origin, founded by Mithridates I Ktistes (Mithridates III of Cius) in 281 BC. The origins of the dynasty were located in the highest circles of the ruling Persian nobility in Cius. Mithridates III of Cius fled to Paphlagonia after the murder of his father and his predecessor Mithridates II of Cius, eventually proclaiming the Kingdom of Pontus, and adopting the epithet of "Ktistes" (literally, Builder). The dynasty reached its greatest extent under the rule of Mithridates VI, who is considered the greatest ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus.

They were prominent enemies of the Roman Republic during the Mithridatic Wars during the reign of Mithridates VI until the late 60s BC. In 48 BC, the Roman client king of the Crimea, Pharnaces II, attempted to press his claim on Pontus, but was decisively defeated by Julius Caesar at the Battle of Zela.

Mithridates I Ctistes (Greek: Mιθριδάτης Kτίστης; reigned 281–266 BC), also known as Mithridates III of Cius, was a Persian nobleman and the founder (this is the meaning of the word Ctistes, literally Builder) of the Kingdom of Pontus in Anatolia.

Mithridates is said to have been of the same age as Demetrios Poliorketes, which means he was born in the mid-330s BC. In 302 or 301 BC, shortly after having executed the young man's father and predecessor Mithridates II of Cius, the diadoch Antigonus became suspicious of the son who had inherited the family dominion of Cius, and planned to kill the boy. Mithridates, however, received from Demetrius Poliorketes timely notice of Antigonus's intentions, and fled with a few followers to Paphlagonia, where he occupied a strong fortress, called Cimiata.

Dioscorus I (Greek: Διόσκορος Α΄ ὁ Ἀλεξανδρείας), also known as Dioscorus the Great, was the pope of Alexandria and patriarch of the See of St. Mark who was deposed by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. He was recognized as patriarch by the Coptic Church until his death. He died in Gangra, Paphlagonia, in September 454. He is venerated as a saint by the Coptic and other Oriental Orthodox Churches.

Theodora (Greek: Θεοδώρα; c. 815 – c. 867), sometimes called Theodora the Armenian or Theodora the Blessed, was Byzantine empress as the wife of Byzantine emperor Theophilos from 830 to 842 and regent for the couple's young son Michael III, after the death of Theophilos, from 842 to 856. Theodora is most famous for bringing an end to the second Byzantine Iconoclasm (814–843), an act for which she is recognized as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Though her rule saw the loss of most of Sicily and failure to retake Crete, Theodora's foreign policy was otherwise highly successful; by 856, the Byzantine Empire had gained the upper hand over both the Bulgarian Empire and the Abbasid Caliphate, and the Slavic tribes in the Peloponnese had been forced to pay tribute, all without decreasing the imperial gold reserve.

Possibly of Armenian descent, Theodora was born into a rural family of traders and military officials in Paphlagonia. In 830 she was selected by Euphrosyne, step-mother of the emperor Theophilos, as a candidate in a bride-show for the young emperor. After being chosen by Theophilos she was crowned empress on 5 June 830. Theophilos was an iconoclast, who opposed the veneration of icons; it is unclear how aware he was that Theodora was an iconophile. The couple had seven children and Theodora was a loyal participant in imperial affairs and ceremonies, but she continued to secretly venerate icons throughout her husband's reign. Theophilos died of dysentery on 20 January 842, probably younger than 30. On his deathbed, he named Theodora as regent for their two-year-old son Michael III and designated a selection of advisors to assist her. The most prominent of these advisors was the logothete and eunuch Theoktistos, who would become a close confidant of Theodora.

Datames (Old Persian: Dātama or Dātāma, Aramaic: Tadanmu, Ancient Greek: Δατάμης, romanized: Datámēs; 407 BC – 362 BC), also known as Tarkamuwa, was an Iranian military leader, who served as the governor (satrap) of the Achaemenid satrapy of Cappadocia (or Cilicia; the evidence is contradictory) from the 380s BC to 362 BC. A Carian by birth, he was the son of Camissares by a Paphlagonian mother. His father being satrap of Cilicia under Artaxerxes II, and high in the favour of that monarch, Datames became one of the king's bodyguards; and having in this capacity distinguished himself in the war against the Cadusii, was appointed to succeed his father (who had fallen in that war) in the government of his province. Here he distinguished himself both by his military abilities and his zeal in the service of the king; and reduced to subjection two officials who had revolted from Artaxerxes, Thyus, governor of Paphlagonia, and Aspis of Cataonia.

The Leleges (/ˈlɛlɪdʒiːz/; Ancient Greek: Λέλεγες) were an aboriginal people of the Aegean region, before the Greeks arrived. They were distinct from another pre-Hellenic people of the region, the Pelasgians. The exact areas to which they were native are uncertain, since they were apparently pre-literate and the only references to them are in ancient Greek sources. These references are casual and (it is alleged) sometimes fictitious. Likewise, little is known about the language of the Leleges.

Many Greek authors link the Leleges to the Carians of south-west Anatolia. Homer names the Leleges among the Trojan allies alongside the Carians, Pelasgians, Paeonians and Gaucones.

Cimiatene (/ˌsɪmiəˈtiːni/; Ancient Greek: Kιμιατηνή) was an ancient division of Paphlagonia, which took its name from a hill fort, Cimiata, at the foot of the range of Olgassys. Mithridates Ktistes slightly after 302 BC made this his first stronghold and was a headquarters during his conquest of Pontus. The territory remained a possession of the kings of Pontus until the death of Mithridates Eupator in 63 BC and the fall of the kingdom.

Cimiatene, as it was more to the north and nearer the sea, was less mountainous. According to Strabo, it was principally watered by the river Amnias, which was known as the location of a great battle between Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, and Mithridates Europator.

John Doukas (or Ducas) (Greek: Ιωάννης Δούκας, Iōannēs Doukas) (died c. 1088) was the son of Andronikos Doukas, a Paphlagonian nobleman who may have served as governor of the theme of Bulgaria (Moesia), and the older brother of Emperor Constantine X Doukas. John Doukas was the paternal grandfather of Irene Doukaina, wife of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.

He was the original owner of Codex Parisinus graecus 2009, i.e. the oldest known and preserved manuscript of De Administrando Imperio written by Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus, and copied by one of Doukas' scribes, a well-known encyclopedic Byzantine source on foreign nations from the 10th century.

In Greek mythology, Phineus (/ˈfɪniːəs, ˈfɪn.juːs/; Ancient Greek: Φινεύς, romanized: Phineús Ancient Greek: [pʰiː.neǔs]), was a king of Salmydessus in Thrace and seer, who appears in accounts of the Argonauts' voyage. Some accounts make him a king in Paphlagonia or in Arcadia.

Camisares (died 385 BC) was an Iranian, father of Datames, who was high in favour with the Persian Great King Artaxerxes II (404–358 BC), by whom he was made satrap of a part of Cilicia bordering on Cappadocia. He fell in Artaxerxes' war against the Cadusii in 385 BC, and was succeeded in his satrapy by Datames, his son by a Paphlagonian mother.

Thyus (in Greek Θύoς or Θυς; lived 4th century BC) was a Persian prince of Paphlagonia (in today Turkey) who rebelled against Artaxerxes II. Datames, who was his first cousin, endeavoured to persuade him to return to his allegiance; but this had no effect, and on one occasion, when Datames had sought a friendly conference with him, Thyus laid a plot for his assassination. Datames escaped the danger through a timely warning given him by his mother, and, on his return to his own government, declared war against Thyus, subdued him, and made him a prisoner together with his wife and children. He then arrayed him in all the insignia of his royal rank, dressed himself in hunter's garb, and, having fastened a rope round Thyus, drove him before him with a cudgel, and brought him in this guise into the presence of Artaxerxes, as if he were a wild beast that he had captured. Cornelius Nepos describes Thyus as a man of huge stature and grim aspect, with dark complexion, and long hair and beard. Aelian notices him as notorious for his voracity, while Theopompus related that he was accustomed to have one hundred dishes placed on his table at one meal, and that, when he was imprisoned by Artaxerxes, he continued the same course of life, which drew from the king the remark that Thyus was living as if he expected a speedy death.

Nikephoros Basilakes (Greek: Νικηφόρος Βασιλάκης), frequently encountered simply as Basilakios (Βασιλάκιος), Latinized as Nicephorus Basilacius, was a Byzantine general and aristocrat of the late 11th century, who in 1078 tried to overthrow the Emperor Nikephoros III Botaneiates and was defeated by Alexios Komnenos. Nikephoros is described as the most illustrious member of his family. His father was named Phloros, and his brother was Manuel Basilakes.

During the campaigns of Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes preceding the Battle of Mantzikert, Nikephoros Basilakes served as doux of Theodosioupolis, and was captured by the enemy after pursuing a retreating Turkish band too far, in 1068. Under Michael VII Doukas, Nikephoros Basilakes was posted to Paphlagonia and subsequently made doux of Dyrrachion. In the collapse of the regime of Michael VII Doukas, Nikephoros Basilakes, still doux of Dyrrachion, began to plan a revolt as early as the summer of 1077, initially as a supporter of Nikephoros Bryennios, but it was only in the spring of 1078 that he decided that his time had arrived. Supported by his brother Manuel, Gymnos, Tessarakontapekhys, Gregory Mesemerios, all military commanders, and by Theodore, Bishop of Deabolis, Nikephoros moved into position at Thessalonica, awaiting the outcome of the clash between two other claimants to the throne, Nikephoros III Botaneiates and Nikephoros Bryennios, in order that he might quickly crush the exhausted victor.