The king's tragedy is immune to all kinds of poison

King Mithridates VI trains his self-poisoning ability due to fear of assassination, only to be killed by the immunity to toxins.

Ancient rulers often sought ways to protect themselves when they came to power by fear of being betrayed by relatives and enemies. While some kings recruited loyal guards and tasted the food, King Mithridates VI of Pontus Kingdom in Northern Asia Minor, now part of Turkey, Russia, Romania and Greece, used The unique way is to absorb a lot of poison by yourself for a long time to build your immunity.

Mithridates VI was born in the city of Sinope, the kingdom of Pontus and was the son of King Mithridates V. In 120 BC, his father was assassinated with poison at a party. Queen Laodice VI, his mother, came to power due to the inauguration of two Mithridates VI brothers.

Queen Laodice VI wanted Chrestus, the younger brother of Mithridates VI, to become his successor. This puts Mithridates VI at risk, as he could be murdered to prevent a civil war. Mithridates VI decided to stay hidden to ensure safety until he was ready to take the throne.

He sought ways to avoid encountering the same fate as his father. Mithridates VI frequently swallows toxins in low doses, which is not lethal enough, believing that this will help oneself be resistant. This led him to be called the "king of potions".

Between 116-113 BC, Mithridates VI returned to his hometown in Sinope, building forces to claim the throne himself. His mother and brother were both arrested and executed.

After ascending the throne, Mithridates VI began expanding its territory with conquests throughout the Black Sea. However, the current campaign to attack Cappadocia, central Turkey, ended the friendly relationship between the kingdom of Pontus and the Roman empire.

Mithridates VI tried to turn Cappadocia into its territory through political means and mediating marriages. This was to avoid causing public conflict with King Nicomedes III of the Kingdom of Bithynia, which also wanted to own the land.

However, the two countries still had conflicts and the fighting could only be arbitrated by the Romans. King Mithiridates VI and Nicomedes III were required to restore the independence of the Cappadocia region.

Initially, Mithridates VI met Roman requirements, but in 89 BC, he continued to disperse Cappadocia invaders. Enraged by this act of betrayal by Mithridates VI, the Roman Empire launched a counter-offensive operation, sparking the first Mithridate war.

After 5 years of war, Mithiridates VI's army was repulsed by the Romans back to Pontus, before the peace treaty was signed. Two more wars occurred, of which the third and longest was fought.

By the time Pontus allied with several other kingdoms in the region, the Roman Empire began to regard Mithridates VI as a real threat and determined to destroy it with a large-scale military campaign. Before the overwhelming power of the Romans, Mithridates VI failed and had to flee to the northern lands along the Black Sea. He sought to rebuild his forces, but his draconian methods of recruiting soldiers led to a rebellion.

In a difficult situation, Mithridates VI decided to choose to commit suicide by poison instead of falling into the hands of rebels. However, his body was immune to the toxin, making Mithridates unable to die despite taking so many different poisons.

There are two different theories about the death of the "king of potions". First, he handed a sword to his best friend and asked him to hand it out. The other theory is that Mithridates VI died in the hands of rebels, because he could not kill himself with poison or sword.

"The life of Mithridates VI ended in tragedy. The fear of being assassinated with poison made him develop immunity, to the extent that he could not decide his own destiny," said historian Andrew Pourciaux.