Darius of Pontus

Darius of Pontus (reigned 37-37/36 BC) was a monarch of Iranian and Greek Macedonian ancestry. He was the first child born to King Pharnaces II of Pontus and his Sarmatian wife.

He had two younger siblings: a sister named Dynamis His paternal grandparents were Mithridates VI, the king of Pontus, and his first wife, his sister Laodice.

Hardly anything is known about Darius. There is only a mention by Appian that he was appointed king of Pontus by Mark Antony. Presumably, Polemon was appointed as a king of Pontus as a reward for suppressing Arsaces' attempt to assume the throne of Pontus. Pontus, which had become a Roman province, must have been assigned to several client kings who administered its various regions. It is not known whether Darius died and Arsaces was trying to succeed him or whether Arsaces was a usurper. Darius' reign must have lasted less than a year because Cassius Dio referred to Polemon as a king of Pontus when he was involved in Mark Antony's war against the Parthians in 36 BC.