Gyges of Lydia vs Nicomedes IV

Gyges murdered King Candaules and married his queen, seizing control of Lydia. This act founded the Mermnad dynasty and ended the Heraclid line, establishing Gyges as the first king of the new dynasty.

Gyges sent tribute to the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal, acknowledging Assyrian suzerainty in exchange for military support against the Cimmerians. This alliance marked Lydia's entry into Near Eastern power politics.

Cimmerian nomads invaded Lydia during Gyges' reign, attacking the capital Sardis. Gyges repelled the invasion with Assyrian aid, but the conflict weakened Lydia and set a precedent for future Cimmerian attacks.

Gyges is credited with introducing the first standardized coinage, made of electrum, in Lydia. This innovation facilitated trade and taxation, becoming a model for currency systems across the ancient world.

Gyges was killed in a battle against the Cimmerians, who overran Lydia after he broke his alliance with Assyria. His death ended his reign and left the kingdom vulnerable to further attacks.

After being driven from his throne by Mithridates VI of Pontus, Nicomedes IV was restored to power by a Roman commission led by Manius Aquillius. This intervention deepened Roman involvement in Anatolia and provoked the First Mithridatic War.

Nicomedes IV, under Roman pressure, attacked Mithridates VI's territory, raiding as far as Amastris. This aggression gave Mithridates a casus belli for his invasion of the Roman province of Asia, leading to the First Mithridatic War.

Nicomedes IV died without a legitimate heir and bequeathed his kingdom of Bithynia to the Roman Republic in his will. This act made Bithynia a Roman province, ending the independent kingdom and triggering the Third Mithridatic War.