Nicomedes II Epiphanes: King of Bithynia and Roman Ally

Introduction

Nicomedes II Epiphanes was king of the Hellenistic kingdom of Bithynia from 149 to about 127 BC. He was the son of Prusias II and Apame IV, fourth in descent from Nicomedes I, and succeeded his father after a palace revolt. While resident in Rome he acquired the favour of the Roman Senate; Prusias II sent an emissary, Menas, with secret orders to murder him, but Menas disclosed the plot and, together with the Pergamene envoy Andronikos and the support of Attalus II Philadelphus, persuaded Nicomedes to seize the throne. He returned to Bithynia, took Nicomedia, and his agents put Prusias to death.

During a long reign Nicomedes maintained a consistent pro‐Roman alignment; he aided Rome and its allies against the Pergamene pretender Eumenes III (Aristonikos) in 133‐132 BC. Numismatically he instituted a Bithynian era for dating on his coinage, a system that persisted in parts of the Greek world for centuries, and struck silver and, in limited quantities, gold issues that circulated beyond Bithynia. He died about 127 BC and was succeeded by his son Nicomedes III. Sources characterize his rule as closely tied to Pergamum and Rome and note his role in anchoring Bithynia within the Roman diplomatic network of the late Hellenistic east.